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Get ready to step up to the plate with The Throwing Partners Pod! Join hosts Kirby Dickinson (@Kirbyd4) and Joseph Aguilar (@Jaguilar7891), and the official podcast handle (@Throwing_Partners_Pod) as they gear up to knock it out of the park with their brand new baseball podcast.
Kirby D (00:04)
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Throwing Partners podcast. It's Kirby and Joseph here, coming to you on a Wednesday night. Joe and I have had some technical difficulties throughout the past couple of days. We are hoping they are fixed and we're going to bring you a lot of content tonight, so buckle in. Joe, I'm going to go ahead and let you get us started with an Astros update. It's about nine or 10 games worth now, so let's hit it off.
Joseph (00:28)
Mm -hmm. All right. Well, as you as Kirby mentioned, we have about 10 games to catch up from on for the Astros, but they have gone 10 of 12 and it's about to be 11 of 13 with when they seal the deal on this 9 to 2 victory against the Blue Jays, which is wrapping up here shortly. But the last time we spoke, the Orioles series wasn't done yet and they were.
getting ready to play the final game of that series and they swept the Orioles. The Astros swept the probably the second or third best team in baseball. It's really semantics at this point, you know where you want to put them, but one of the better teams in baseball. Fromber gave us a strong seven innings. He gave up six hits and he gave up six or he struck out seven bouncing back from two consecutive losses that he had had.
Yiner Diaz continued to hit well over the home stand. He hit really well in that Orioles series and then he carried on into the Colorado series. And then Jose Altube also hit very well that series. He had a leadoff homer to start the game off and you know, Altube leadoff homer is always a great way to start a ball game. Bregman also did really well in the game and then Pena also had an RBI I believe. So you know, it's just a great overall series.
It kind of set the tone for the rest of the last two weeks that the Astros have been playing. And it was just great to see them get off on the right foot against the Baltimore Orioles on that home stand. So moving on to the Rocky series, the Astros had two off days last week. They had an off day on Monday and then they had an off day on Thursday. But in between those off days, they played the Rockies for a two game series. And they swept that series as well. So the Astros won a perfect five and on their home stand.
They won the first game on Tuesday 5 -2. Hunter Brown continued to dominate. He had 7 Ks and 0 runs. And he pitched phenomenally. I can't really say enough about the way that Hunter Brown has bounced back. People have pointed out the teams that he has pitched against while he's had made this comeback.
But you know, he still has to go out there and perform. And he's been solid in the month of June. He was solid and his first start in July, which I will talk about in a little bit. And, and all honesty, he absolutely should have been pitcher of the month. It's a real tragedy that he wasn't. I don't know how they came up with that, but I mean, he was almost perfect the entire month. So, you know, it's really unfortunate to see him not get that credit where credit is due.
But once again, Hunter Brown dominated in that five to two win for the Astros against the Rockies opening up that series. Chas McCormick had two RBI's in that game and it was good to see him kind of get back on track. He still hasn't been very good. He's had his moments, but it's not the Chas McCormick of 2023. And it's really disappointing to see because it's kind of proving Dusty Baker right.
where he was right about Chaz, he was wrong about Yiner. But I'm hoping that Chaz can get it right and he can find that form that he had in 2023. Because he's not even hitting lefties at this point. So it's been really frustrating to watch. But I think he had a couple of RBIs in today's game. So again, he's slowly improving. But moving on to that Wednesday game, Spencer Arrighetti, he shined in this game.
It's been a very, it's a very light moment and a series of very dark moments for Spencer Arregedi. He dazzled with 10 strikeouts and the Astros. They would move their win streak up to seven games with a seven to one win over the Rockies. And once again, Yiner Diaz, he had three hits in the game and he's been hitting the cover off the ball lately.
It's very funny to go back a couple weeks before that and just see the reactions to Yiner Diaz's flight appearances because everybody wanted him benched. But I remember it specifically one game where everybody really was like super frustrated and kind of at their breaking point with Yiner Diaz. He ended up going off and you know, it's just been smooth sailing for him since then. And he's been
He's been on fire. I believe he's tied for second and RBI is for the team and he has one of the highest batting averages with runners on and two outs in the league. So it's been really good to see him kind of make that adjustment and just hit balls hard everywhere. As I mentioned earlier, the Astros had an off day on Thursday. So moving on to the Friday game against the Mets, the Astros had the opportunity to extend their win streak to eight games, but unfortunately it snapped with a renal Blanco start.
Manel Blanco struggled all game. He struggled with command and he was not helped by the defense. I believe Alex Bregman made an error which then led to three more runs. Blanco gave up three home runs in this game and it was not his sharpest outing. He had five strikeouts and three walks, but those walks killed him. And as I mentioned, he also had an error by Bregman.
You know, it's just one of those starts, you know, he's allowed one of those. his ERA is still a 2 .49 and he bounced back tonight with another great outing. He pitched five and two thirds again. and he pitched really well tonight as well. I'll get to that when that, recap comes, but the offense struggled. Mauricio Dubon probably had the worst game of his career.
He left 10 runners on base by himself and the Astros were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position. It seemed like every opportunity there was a chance to have a big inning. It was Mauricio Dubon stepping up to the plate and he was not able to come through. So it was very unfortunate to see that because usually he's very clutch in those situations. But he had one of those nights and that's really all you can say about that is, luckily we didn't see him hang his hat on that too bad.
because he would be a big contributor the next two days and Astros come back win and then getting the Astros above 500 on Sunday. So not too upset with that. It was going to happen eventually. But yeah, so moving on to that Saturday game, Fromber Valdez pitched horribly. It was a really bad game for him. But fortunately, the Astros were able to mount
the biggest comeback of the season, coming back from a six to one deficit. But talking about Valdez's start, he only pitched four and two thirds. He gave up eight hits, six runs. He had three walks and five strikeouts and he gave up a home run. His home run rate has been very high this season as well as his fly ball percentage. And that's
been really jarring to see. It's probably a big reason why we've seen such a lack of inconsistency or such a lack of consistency from him. And honestly, the mental weakness is once again, just shining through. There was a play in the game when the Mets kind of broke it open in that second inning where a ball was hit right back to him and he tried to glove flip it to Salazar.
And he glove flipped it over Salazar's head and then immediately spiked his glove on the ground while the ball was still live. And if I'm not mistaken, a run came in to score from that. But luckily the Astros didn't get too down. And it was a good thing because the Astros had just gone over or just gone at 500 during that Rocky series with the loss to the Mets on Friday. They went back under 500, but they bounced back from the large deficit.
and from losing against the Mets on Friday to not like I said, the largest comeback they've had all season and win the game nine to six against the Mets. Bregman was huge with a clutch, two RBI hit late in the game. Jake Myers has continued to prove why he should be the everyday starting center fielder. He's been clutched. He's come up with a lot of big hits. Jeremy Pena had two RBI's. John Singleton has been on a tear this road trip.
and you know, you cannot say I cannot say enough about the way that some of these guys have been stepping up for the team in the absence of Kyle Tucker and Trying to fill the hole The Jose Abreu, you know left on this team. So it's been really great to see that And like I said Astros got back to 500 at 41 and 41 with this win not hanging their hats on that really bad loss against the Mets on Friday and moving on to the
Sunday game against the Mets. This was a wild one. We saw some things that we usually never see in Astros games. We had some rare occurrences. We had a Jose Altuve ejection. We had an Astros win in extra innings and we had the Astros scoring multiple runs in extra innings. So that was great to see. There is one person on the team that I am not going to give props to.
And that is Brian Abreu because he has been horrible this season. He's been bad. He gave up the lead and the seventh or he yeah, he gave up the lead in the seventh because the game the Astros were winning four to two going into the seventh and Brian Abreu gave up a two run home run after walking a batter and then giving up a home run on an O2 count.
Kirby D (10:36)
Thanks.
Joseph (10:49)
Which is probably the worst thing you could do as a pitcher, you know, you get ahead of the batter You have them on the ropes and then just throwing a cookie right down the middle high in the zone and You know letting that hit or rip it And it was just really unfortunate to see because like I said, he has not been good and I mentioned this in a video the other week that You know, he's been effectively wild because that eRA to me lies
He has not had a lot of clean innings and he's gotten very lucky. And he actually got very lucky against the Blue Jays to open up the series, which I will talk about in a little bit. But unfortunately that luck caught up to him and he was not able to escape the 7th inning without giving up damage and ultimately forcing the Astros to go into extra innings. And what was already a bullpen game, Sean Dubin
I mean, he came out and he put his life on the line for the Astros. Due to all the injuries, the Astros have had to go to a bullpen game. They'll have to again this Friday, I believe. But Sean Dubin laid it all out there and he gave the Astros three and a third innings of no run ball. He had three walks and two Ks. Brian King stepped up big with an inning and two thirds and he's been very good since he got called up from the Astros minor league.
Him and Luis Contreras, I don't know where they pulled these guys out of but he's they've both been very good for the Astros Seth Martinez did get banged up a little bit. He gave up two runs which made the game four to two the Astros were leading for For nothing before he came in But then he gave up two and then Brian Abreu you immediately gave up the lead tying it And then Ryan Presley actually had a scoreless inning. So that was good
Taylor Scott, man, I can't say enough about the way that Taylor Scott has performed this season. He deserves to be an All -Star. He pitched two innings for us. He gave up one run, which was the Ghost Runner, and extra innings because he started the 10th. But he's been solid. He's got a 1 .49 ERA. And he absolutely deserves to be an All -Star too because, I mean, where the hell did he come from? I mean, what is this performance that he's been putting on for us? It's insane. And as I mentioned, Luis Contreras finished out.
the game for us. And the Astros bullpen was able to cover a full 11 innings escaping Queens with the win. But the Astros offense went off. Like I mentioned earlier, Chas McCormick had an had an RBI in this game, which was huge. Yanger Diaz, another RBI. Jake Myers had two. John Singleton had one, which started off the scoring with a solo home run. Joey Lo Perfito came up clutching extra innings with a single down the third base line.
And then Trey Cabbage also hit a rocket to score two as well in extra innings. They were all contributors to that five run 11th. And, you know, as I mentioned, Altuve had, you know, he got ejected, which was something he's only done one other time. He was ejected by the same umpire. He was the first time he was ejected in his career, which is really crazy to see. He fell the ball off his foot.
with two runners on and two outs. And the runners were on second and third and he found the ball off his foot, but he didn't run it out and the umpire, the home plate umpire did not see that he found it off his foot. So while he was dancing around in pain, the Mets threw the ball to first and he was subsequently called out. After the umpires convened, they still rolled him out and he
was furious because why would he react that way if he was not hit in the foot and a close ball game, you know, only leading by a couple of runs with two men on and scoring position. You know, you just don't do that as a hitter. If, if you don't think you're going to get that call, if you don't think it hit your foot, then you're not going to wince around in pain. You're going to run it out and try to force the defense to make an error. But they, they convened and they called them out still.
And that's when he lost it. That's the second time so far this season I've seen Jose Altuve pissed and that's the second time and watching Altuve I've ever seen him get that mad. It's been really interesting to see. I think a lot of it has to do with the losing and the pressure that he feels. But also, you know, just wanting to, you know, put it all out there for the team, you know, not trying to give up anything and
getting screwed like the Astros have by the umpires so far this season has been really daunting to see. I'm not making it up. There's actual statistics to back it up. This isn't something that I'm just pulling out of my head. These are real things that we've been able to see from stat providers. So I think that that's also part of the reason why Al Tuve got so frustrated was because we have been screwed over by the umpires for so long so far this season.
Kirby D (15:50)
Thank you.
Joseph (16:05)
You know, luckily the Ashes were able to overcome one of their best players getting thrown out and ultimately winning after a rain delay in 11 innings against the Mets, which put them back over 500 at 42 and 41. And they would continue their hot streak going into Toronto for Canada Day. Hunter Brown, once again, the calendar flipped to July, but he was still pitching like it was June 31st.
He pitched six strong innings and I believe he only gave up one run.
no, he gave up no runs. He had three walks and five strikeouts. He battled command a lot this game and it was really good to see him kind of work around it. Like I said, he battled command so it wasn't his sharpest outing. He did have those three walks and he did get in a basis loaded jam at one point. But other than that, you know, he really, he pitched like it was, like I said, July 31st, I mean, June 31st. He pitched very well. The bullpen came in and
You know, they shut it down, although Josh Hader did give up a late inning home run, which thankfully didn't matter because Jeremy Pena hit a solo home run to start the scoring for the Astros. And then Jordan Alvarez came up clutch with a two run home run late in the game, making that solo shot and the ninth meaningless. The Astros offense didn't do very much, but they did just enough to get the win. So, you know, that was always great. Moving on to yesterday's game.
The Astros lost 6 -7 against the Blue Jays and this was another Spencer Arrghetti loss. Like I said, he had that one really good start where he had 10 strikeouts but he just hasn't been consistent and you're really trying to develop him to become more consistent over time and we just haven't seen that progress. He will most likely be sent down when...
Everybody gets healthy just so that he can continue to develop. He gave up one in the first and then four in the third and then two in the fourth. Actually, one of those runs in the fourth was not his, but he gave up six runs overall. He only pushed four innings. Yeah, he gave up six earned runs. So maybe actually one of those runs was unearned. Yeah, one of those runs was unearned.
So he did give up all seven runs that the Blue Jays had. Luckily the bullpen, Luis Contreras, pitch two innings, Seth Martinez, pitch two innings. They both gave up nothing. So the Blue Jays scoring stopped after Aaron Getty came out. And the Astros offense made a push to come back. They would score five in the fifth. Altuve had three hits, one RBI. Jordon had two hits, three RBIs, and he had a huge home run.
Jake Myers once again continues to rake. He had an RBI.
Although I believe that was on a feeler, a sack fly probably. I can't remember. But anyways, Cesar Salazar has also been pretty clutch for us in filling in for Victor Carantini who's injured. But the Astros unfortunately fell short losing six to seven. That ninth inning was a really tight ninth inning. The Astros had
the winning run on second base with no outs after a Jeremy Pena leadoff double and they were unfortunately not able to move him in after reaching with nobody on and or actually nobody out. So that was a little frustrating to see but I mean scoring six runs should usually win you a baseball game. Unfortunately, you know Spencer and get he just did not pitch very well.
and that ultimately led to the Astros falling just short. It's gonna happen. That put the Astros at 44 and 42. Actually 43 and 42. They just went final against the Blue Jays tonight. So now they're at 44 and 42. And I mean, I don't know what to say, man.
Jordan Alvarez is just insane. Jose Altuve is insane. Nyahner Diaz, like I said, has been insane these last couple of weeks. They're all hitting the cover off the ball. Nyahner, Jordan and Altuve. Two of those are now officially All -Stars. It's Altuve and Jordan. And you know, they just they've continued to prove why they deserve the contracts that they've received from the Astros. And they've just
They've been otherworldly this year and they deserve that all star recognition for sure. Jordan had a very clutch home run, which really didn't end up mattering at the end of the game because the final was nine to two. But like I said, I just can't say enough about the way that the offense has kind of turned it around as of late and really picked up the pitching staff since they've been battered with injuries.
Rene Blanco made his second to final start before the All -Star game. He should be named an All -Star any day now. He pitched five and two thirds. He gave up four hits, two runs. He had two walks and four strikeouts. That raised his ERA actually to a 2 .53. You know, it's always good when you give up two runs and you raise your ERA slightly. That means that your ERA is pretty low in general.
So, you know, he had another pretty decent outing. It wasn't his best, wasn't his worst. But, you know, just good to see him continue to pitch well for the Astros. You know, someone that has come out of nowhere and like I said, deserves the All -Star recognition for stepping up when the Astros have needed him to step up the most. And again, Taylor Scott coming in, he pitched a third of an inning getting out of...
the sick getting out of the top of the or the bottom of the sixth and Blanco's jam that forced him out of the game. He lowered his ERA to a 1 .48. Brian Abreu came in, pitched a scoreless inning. Brian King, once again, scoreless inning. And then Rafael Montero, scoreless inning. The Ashrows bullpen has been very solid since I believe it was May 1st. We've had a couple of hiccups here and there with Josh Hader, Brian Abreu and
Ryan Presley, but for the most part everybody else has held up. There's one player in particular that, you know, a lot of people have been really worried about besides those big three and that's Rafael Montero, but he's had a couple of decent outings in a row now. So it's very good to see him build on that. Hopefully, you know, it's not just him hitting in the luck. Hopefully this is sustainable for him because, you know, we saw what he could do.
when he was elite in 2022 and just hoping that he can kind of find that form again. But he's been better in this last couple of, in this last week or two. So hoping he can build on that for a good remainder of the season.
Kirby D (23:49)
Alright Joe, that was a great Astros update. I'm gonna give you a fun fact real quick before I get started on my Braves update. Okay, so the Braves in May were 13 and 14. In June, they were 14 and 13. And so far in July, after two games, they are 1 -1. That means that since May 1st, they are exactly a 500 team.
They went, they've gone 28 and 28, which sucks, but overall it's still not the worst that this team could possibly be because they are still 47 and 37 after tonight's win. To start our Braves update, we've got to go all the way back to June 23rd. That was a series win against the New York Yankees. It was a very clean game. The Braves won three to one. We saw Max Fried square off against Nestor Cortez.
And Max Fried actually won that start. He went six innings, gave up one run and had four K's. We saw a really good game from Jarrett Kellnick where he had a sack fly and a home run. So very good clean ball game. And then moving on to the next week, which was last week, didn't go particularly well for the Braves. They played a series against the Cardinals and then a series against the Pirates. The series against the Cardinals.
Joseph (25:10)
and
Kirby D (25:15)
They played Monday and they lost 4 -3. We saw Spencer Schwalenbach not do so well. He pitched five innings and gave up four runs. But he didn't have any walks, which is good. He's got good command on his stuff. And he had six Ks. Then we also saw a red -hot Austin Riley have a home run. And then Wednesday ended up being a double header because their game got canceled Tuesday night. So during the day game Wednesday, the Braves got a 6 -2 win.
We saw Reynaldo Lopez struggle through five innings, but he only gave up two runs. But he did have four walks and had five Ks. Zach Short had a really big two RBI knock in the top of the second. And Jared Kellnick had three hits, including a home run. And then once again, Red Hot Austin Riley had two hits. And then that night, the Wednesday night game, the Braves actually lost four to one. However, we did see a really nice start from Bryce Elder.
Quality started that he threw six innings and only gave up two runs. I had no walks, which is huge for him And then basically the only offense was Jerick Kellnick. He had three hits of the Braves total six So not a great job by the offense that seems to be a reoccurring problem for the Braves the past couple of months Thursday's game was even worse Thursday's game. They played the friggin white Sox and lost 1 to 0 The Braves completely
just wasted a Chris Sale start. He had one bad pitch which was to Loisa Robert and it was a home run. Other than that, Chris Sale threw seven innings and had 11 Ks. I'm going to talk a little bit more about Chris Sale after a while because and you're going to want to listen because it's some really good info. The Braves were 0 -5 with runners in scoring position and left seven guys on base. A horrible game. Wasted start.
Then Friday's game was actually against the Pirates at home and we saw a really nice start from Charlie Morton He threw six and a third. He only had one walk, which is huge for him and had seven K's The big bear Marcelo Zuna who got snubbed from the all -star game by the way so far We're gonna talk about that in a little bit. He had a big three run double Red hot Austin Riley had another home run and Ozzy and Olsen both had two two hits each so that was actually a
Pretty good offensive night for the Braves. And then Saturday, and in my opinion, Joe, this is probably one of the best pitching matchups of the year. We saw Paul Skeens against Max Friede. Both starters through six innings and they only gave up one run. Jared Koenig actually hit a lead off Homer off Skeens, which was a really cool moment for this season. And then actually in the bottom of the 10th, Adam Duvall had the game winning hit, which was good to see because he has really struggled and
honestly been on the, in my opinion, he has been almost unplayable. And then Sunday kind of left a bad taste in Braves fans' mouths because they had won the previous two games, but ended up blowing the series finale and lost four to two. We saw Spencer Swalombach do really well through four and two thirds, but then gave up a walk and then a homer to O 'Neal Cruz, which I think could have killed somebody. It was hit that hard. And then he gave up another walk.
and he gave up a home run to Routy Talez. So that ending just unraveled on him. And besides that, the Braves offense really didn't do very much. So they took the L there. And then they had an off day Monday, but then played Tuesday against the Giants at home. I've actually got a couple of friends that are there supporting the Giants right now. And I hate that they saw the Giants win Tuesday. The Braves lost five to three.
Rinaldo Lopez, once again, he's he kind of struggled. I think he's getting worn down a little bit. He threw four and a third. He had four walks, which is really concerning, but he did have six strikeouts. But it was... I thought the offense was really going to break out in this game. We saw back -to -back homers by Austin Riley and Sean Murphy, which were both bombs by the way. But then after that, the offense really didn't do much. The bullpen gave up a couple of runs and the Braves ended up losing five to three.
And then tonight's game was actually great because the Braves actually won 3 -1. Chris Sale had a phenomenal start. He threw six innings, he gave up one run, he had nine Ks. Once again, I'm going to talk about him in a little bit when we start talking about the All -Star game. And then the rest of the bullpen looked really sharp between AJ Mentor, Joe Jimenez, and Raicela Iglesias. Now...
Going back to, I want to talk about something about the Braves real quick. Through June, okay? Like I said earlier, they had a 14 and 13 record. They had three guys actually hit really well during the month. You had Austin Reilly, Jared Kellnick, and Marcelo Zuna. They all hit really well during June. Adam Duvall and Orlando Arce on the other hand. I hate to say it, those two were on the chopping block. Adam Duvall had a WRC plus of 10 during the month of June.
and Orlando Arcia had a WRC plus of 29. For those of you who don't know, 100 is league average. So for them to have a 10 and 29 respectively, that's god awful. That is unplayable. I don't care how good the defense is from Arcia. We've got to have better production from his spot in the lineup. But I do want to give one big shout out to the bullpen. Joe, right now, the bullpen for the Braves has five guys with an ERA under three. That's Jesse Chavez, AJ Mentor,
Rice -Ella -Glacius, Dylan Lee, and Joe Jimenez. And for those of you who don't know, Jesse Chavez, all right, has an ERA of 151 in 30 innings pitched, over 30 innings pitched, and he has 30 Ks. Hashtag get coached to Texas. If there is anybody that has been more deserving of an all -star nod, it's Jesse Chavez. He is 40 years old. I'm pretty sure this guy was drafted before you were born, Joe, or like the year birth year.
Okay, I'm not. What year were you born? Were you born in 02?
Joseph (31:30)
Okay, okay. I was born in 2000.
Kirby D (31:35)
Okay, you're born in 2000. Okay. He was drafted. but needless to say, there was a really cool moment yesterday where we actually saw all of the Braves pitching staff where the Roto wear shirts that said get coached to Texas, which I thought was really special because the Braves pitching staff has like three or four guys that are all star worthy between Chavez and Max Fried and right. Reynaldo Lopez and Chris sale. so shout out to Chavez.
I hope he gets the nod. I would love that for him just to experience that and what's probably going to be his final season. So with that being said, that's my Braves Update, Joe. Do you want to talk about some All -Star snubs and the All -Star lineups?
Joseph (32:17)
Yeah, let's talk about the All -Star lineup. We officially got the starting lineup for the American League and National League All -Star teams. I'm going to start it off, you know, giving my thoughts on the American League starting lineup. So starting off, you got catcher Adley Rushman of the Baltimore Orioles. You've got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays at first base. You've got Jose Altuve.
At second base for the Houston Astros. You got Jose Ramirez at third base for the Guardians. You've got Gunnar Henderson at shortstop for the Orioles. You've got Aaron Judge for the Yankees in the outfield. You've got Juan Soto for the Yankees in the outfield. You've got Stephen Kwan in the outfield for the Guardians. You've got Jordon Alvarez for the Astros at DH. This lineup is stacked. I do think that for the second phase of voting, there was one snub.
I'm not going to say that I think he deserved it over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But I don't think that it should have been Vladimir Guerrero Jr. versus Ryan Mountcastle in the second round of voting. I think that Josh Naylor deserves some more credit for the performance that he's put up for the Guardians so far this season. The dude's been a beast and he has been outplaying Ryan Mountcastle by almost every metric. So it's quite a shame to see him not get that chance in the second round of voting.
But other than that, there's not really too much I can complain about. It would have been nice to see Kyle Tucker get that last all -star spot for the outfield, but he has been injured for almost a month at this point. So I'm not surprised to see Stephen Kwan get that last spot in the outfield. It is what it is. You can't win them all, but the Astros do have two all -stars in the starting lineup. Jose Altube has his ninth selection.
first career and his I believe his sixth start if I'm not mistaken. Jordan Navarez has his third career selection and his first career start. So you know great to see that. You know Altuve is a Hall of Famer at this point. There's not really much you can you can say against you can say that he's not. He has the numbers. He's got the postseason numbers too. You can say whatever you want about 2017 but
Even outside of that, you know, I saw some people trolling on when the MLB was promoting the All -Star voting saying that, you know, what are his roads? What is it? What is his home and road splits? Well, Altuve is actually a better road hitter than he is a hitter at home. So suck on it. Suck on that. He's proven time and time again that it was never about the trash cans. It was never about the Astros cheating scandal. He was always legit. He was legit before that.
and he's been legit after that. So, y 'all haters can shove it up and just shut the hell up.
Kirby D (35:21)
Joe, I am sitting here looking at this lineup of players. I'm gonna tell you what I would make the lineup like, okay? What's crazy looking at this, Joe, is you actually have four guys that actually hit leadoff for their teams. Between Altuve and Gunnar and Quan and I thought there was four, maybe it's only three. Okay, anyway.
I'm actually gonna go, I'm gonna go out to a one. Okay, and Just because it's funny. I'm gonna go judge two because there's such a height difference. Okay? I'm gonna go And then I'm and then the thing is Joe this is actually what's crazy this lineup is almost predominantly lefties You've only got like three righties in the whole lineup So after that I'm gonna go so I went out to a
Joseph (35:57)
choice.
Yeah, that's gotta throw a picture off.
Kirby D (36:21)
I went Judge, I'm gonna go Gunnar, I'm gonna go Soto, I'm gonna go Jordon, and then I'm gonna go Jose Ramirez, I'm gonna go Adley, Vladdy, and Quan. I'm gonna have Quan hit last. I think he's gonna turn the lineup over. This is, honestly Joe, I think this is one of the best American League lineups we've seen in a long time. This lineup was incredible.
Joseph (36:46)
It's stacked. It's yeah. I'm really excited to see Jose Ramirez in there. You know, I don't think he's a guy that's been snubbed. But I just, I don't think that he's ever gotten the recognition that he deserves fully because he is just Mr. Consistency. You know, he's up there with Jose Altuve. You know, is one of the game's greats, you know, and
Kirby D (36:53)
Love that, dude.
Joseph (37:13)
I just, I don't ever think that he gets the recognition he deserves because he plays for the Guardians. So I'm excited to see him really get a chance to be an All -Star again.
Kirby D (37:23)
You know, besides our two teams, Joe, I would have to say like my two or three favorite players outside of our teams, it's probably like Mookie and Jose Ramirez. Like those are my two favorites outside of our team with Soto being in there too, just because I love watching him hit. But Jose Ramirez, for those of you who don't know, this dude is a total package. He hits, he hits for a high average. He hits for power. He steals a lot of bases. He plays really good defense at third base.
Joseph (37:27)
Ahem.
Kirby D (37:53)
He's got a good arm over there. He just does everything well. He may not be the best at everything, but at five foot nine, this dude's an animal. I would take him on my team over most everybody else. And he's just, and not to mention knock on wood, he's exceptionally healthy. He plays in 140, 150 games a year at least. And I really just hope that he has like four or five more healthy seasons because he's on a hollow frame track right now.
Joseph (38:04)
Mm -hmm.
Kirby D (38:22)
I mean, he's going to end his career with 400 or more home runs. He's going to end his career with 300 or more stolen bases. And he's going to be a Hall of Famer if he stays healthy, which for his sake, I hope he does because I love watching this dude play baseball. But moving into the National League, Joe, this lineup kind of sucks if I'm being real. I think the American League could beat this could beat this team by 10 and I'm not playing.
Joseph (38:40)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
I'm not, yeah, I wouldn't bet against that.
Kirby D (38:49)
So you've got William Contreras catching. A month and a half ago, this guy was like a top three MVP candidate, but he's since fallen off. You've got Bryce Harper, who's hurt, which means that who's, Freddie Freeman will probably start there instead of Harper. Cattell Marte is the second baseman for the National League All Stars. I really liked that pick. He's also a really underrated guy like Jose Ramirez. When he's healthy, he's a top 10, top 20 player in the game.
Alec Bohm is having a career year starting at third. Trey Turner is starting at shortstop. Then you've got Christian Jelic in the outfield along with Jurek Zemprofar and Fernando Tatis Jr. And then Shohei Otani is your DH. I don't know that there are any... This is pretty fair as far as the starters go. But let me say this, for all of you Phillies fans who thought it'd be funny to vote in Kyle Schwaber,
Have fun watching him strike out against the American League during the All -Star Game instead of watching the big bear, the big bear Marcelo Zuna hit tanks for the National League. Because Kyle Schwarber is the epitome of home run, strike out or walk. That's his whole MO. He does nothing else well. He doesn't run well. We've seen him play left field. I'd rather have a dumpster out there than Kyle Schwarber. And he's just, he's, he's literally, that's, that's his whole MO. He's not a great player. He's had some big moments.
in the postseason but overall, wrong wrong move to pick him just just you know, thanks phillies fans you Yes, exactly. Yeah, you know not during a world series game or anything. Let's go ahead and make that Now we've talked about we talked about the al lineup as far as the nl lineup joe I don't even know how to construct construct this if we're being honest
Joseph (40:20)
Bunting with two strikes and two outs, very big moment.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirby D (40:41)
Can I be honest though? You know who I would put his lead off? Shohei Otani. I'm gonna let Otani hit lead off.
Joseph (40:47)
yeah, yeah. No, I think I would put Turner at lead off. Honestly, Turner or Cattell? I don't know.
Kirby D (40:53)
That's the only two that you got that could hit leadoff. I don't like Tati sitting there necessarily. Jurikson Profar decided to finally have a career year when he was like a top prospect in 2012. This guy has only been, you know, he's only been what should have been on a Hall of Fame track 12 years ago. Because literally 12 to 14 years ago, Joe, they were talking about this guy, you know,
Joseph (40:58)
Yeah.
now
Yeah.
Kirby D (41:23)
You know, Elvis Andrews came up and moved over Michael Young to third. They were talking about Pro -Far coming up and moving Elvis Andrews to second. Okay. So for jerks and Pro -Far to now, to now actually be a star, good for him, but it's been like 12 years late. Okay. Which is just crazy to think about. this, this lineup is very, don't get me wrong. It's a good lineup, but ain't nothing like the American league. you know, when I look.
Joseph (41:23)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, no, it's not.
Kirby D (41:52)
When I actually look at the American League, Joe, between, let's just say, granted, these guys stay healthy throughout their careers, between Jordan, Soto, Judge, Anderson, Ramirez, Altube, and Richmond, all of those have Hall of Fame potential. Every single one of those guys has Hall of Fame potential. When I look at the National League, there's like maybe three of them that have Hall of Fame potential. That's Harper, that's Ohtani,
Joseph (42:10)
Mm -hmm.
Kirby D (42:21)
And that's about it. Because I was gonna say...
Joseph (42:22)
I I Yeah, I would leave it at that. I'm not putting Fernando Tatis in there. I'm not putting yellow chin there You know, yeah, it's rough now, but I completely agree with you on that ale on that ale take because yeah, I mean You got Jose Ramirez Jose Altuve Aaron judge Juan Soto and you're on Alvarez I'm sure like like you said barring health. They're all almost
Kirby D (42:36)
I would say
Joseph (42:51)
They're all on that trajectory for the Hall of Fame at this point.
Kirby D (42:56)
I think within about 10 years, Joe, we're going to look back on that lineup and we'll be able to say, because in 10 years, Altuve's career will be done, Jose Ramirez's career will be done, Judge will be done. A lot of these guys will be on the back end of their career. But those three or four guys, we'll look and we'll know that that lineup had several Hall of Famers. The National League, on the other hand, is going to have a whopping two between probably Harper.
Joseph (43:06)
Mm -hmm.
Yep.
Kirby D (43:25)
and a Tony and that's it.
Joseph (43:28)
And guess what? We're gonna go back and watch those highlights and we're gonna watch them play in those ugly ass jerseys.
Kirby D (43:34)
God, they're terrible. I don't know about you. Okay. Well, do you like either one of those, though?
Joseph (43:36)
What? No, they're horrible. They're both horrible. Nike needs to sell their contract because what the hell are they doing? It was never this bad with Majestic. Majestic always came out with some pretty solid designs. They had some misses at some points, but they were almost always very clean, very nice jerseys that you would want to go out and buy for an All -Star game. What?
Kirby D (43:48)
You know?
Joseph (44:05)
the hell is Nike doing? They are horrible. I just, it's so frustrating because I actually like a lot of what Nike does for the NBA in past years, but what they're doing with the MLB is horrible. There needs to be a change in leadership for the Nike baseball because the way that they're going right now, it's horrible. It's awful.
Kirby D (44:13)
Let me just say this.
I hate the American League. The National League, I would give it a meh at best because at least it's like black and blue. But other than that, I think they're god awful. They are just ugly. I actually liked... Honestly, Joe, what I wish would happen for the All -Star Game is I wish that they would let the players pick a jersey from their team that they could wear and whatever that may be. So like, let's say like, Altuve, if he wanted to wear 90s blue and gold,
He could go wear 90s blue and gold. If Jordan Alvarez wanted to wear, you know, the blue jersey with the rainbow sides, let him wear that. If Bryce Harper wanted to wear, you know, the powder blues, let Harper wear the powder blues. You would have a beautiful all -star game in that case. And then they could put the all -star. They could have the all -star game patch on it so you know that's what they wore and the all -star game would be gorgeous, you know? But I just, I don't,
Joseph (45:18)
that would be so clean.
Mm -hmm.
Kirby D (45:30)
That's never gonna happen because that's not the .O. But I don't know. We've talked about lineups for the All -Star game, Joe. Can I give my take on who I think should start the All -Star game as far as pitching?
Joseph (45:45)
Go ahead.
Kirby D (45:46)
Okay, so I have done some deep thought on this Joe. I just saw this stat the other day. Actually, no, not the other day. This was like right before we started this pod. I want to see an All -Star game. Now this is me just dreaming here. This is not going to happen. I want to see an All -Star game started by Power Lefties. And here's what I mean by that. Garrett Crochet and Chris Sale. Okay, Garrett Crochet has a whip of 0 .92, which is
outstanding and he's got 12 and a half Ks per night. For the National League, I would love to see it be Chris Sale. He's averaging 11 Ks per night and he just lowered his ERA, I think down to like two seven for the year, which is phenomenal. Sorry, two seven one. For those of you who don't know, Chris Sale right now, National League ranks. He's first in war, he's first in wins, he's second in K percentage, he's third in walk percentage.
He's first in K to walk percentage. He's fourth in the array. He's first and fifth. He's first and expected fit. Not only is that probably your Cy Young winner, he should probably start the All -Star game. Do I think that happens? No. But is he deserving of said role? Absolutely. Nobody wants to go see stupid Ranger Suarez go out there and soft toss to the American League and watch him get torched. It's not going to happen. I want to see a power arm go out there.
Blow one by Aaron judge at 98 miles an hour up at his grill That's what I want to see and I want to see somebody that has some that has some nerve up there and isn't afraid to go up and into somebody or you know somebody like Soto because so far this year Chris sale made judge and Soto look absolutely stupid Not a lot of people can do that unless you're Chris sale So that's just kind of my take Joe. What do you think?
Joseph (47:41)
Well, I'm gonna go with my Astros bias here. I think it should be Renell Blanco. He's pitched his ass off so far this season. He's been the only consistency in the Astros rotation. He threw the first no -hitter of the season and he's continued to get deep into games without allowing a hit. His ERA is a 2 .49. He ranks fourth in the AL among qualified pitchers for ERA.
so, you know, I think, I think it should be Renal Blanco. I just, I've got to go with my Astros bias there, but if not, I will say, I think, you know, Seth Lugo, kind of, you know, under the radar, is having a very fantastic season. he's got a 2 .17 ERA and I mean, his stuff is just disgusting. he's got 11 wins, which I know isn't a really.
good pitcher stat, but I mean, he's been pretty, he's been very solid for the Kansas City Royals who have needed him big so far this season as they've gone through their ups and downs. But he's been huge. He's been their only consistency really. And he's got 116 innings pitched. So it's not, you can't say sample size for that, that 2 .17 ERA. He's pitched very well. And I think that he's also pretty deserving as well.
Kirby D (49:11)
Joe, let me ask you something. Okay. So the All -Star game is a lot about entertainment. It's not necessarily because it doesn't, the game doesn't matter itself anymore. if it doesn't matter and we're really looking for entertainment and we're looking for these high octane guys that come out and just blow cheddar at 99 or 101 or 103. Should, should the All -Star managers consider like starting like a closer?
Like, can you see somebody like Mason Miller starting the All -Star game? I mean, this guy's blowing like, well, he could. Like, how crazy would that be though? Mason Miller comes out throwing 102 and just blows it by Ketel Marte. You know, or blows it by Corey Turner. I don't, it just, the interactive value is there. People would tune in for that.
Joseph (49:46)
No, I cannot.
Am I right?
I mean, they would, but at the same time, you're doing a lot of disservice to the starting pitchers who have worked their butts off to this point in the season and have really earned that opportunity to make their start. So while I do see your point, I do think there's also, you know, you gotta give your starting pitcher some love. You can't just go throw nine closers out there and hope they all blow by them.
Kirby D (50:31)
I mean, I'm just looking, I'm sitting here looking at the saves leaders for the year and I'm looking at like Craig Kimbrel, okay? Like Craig Kimbrel, Kimbrel's gonna come out, he's gonna walk two, he's gonna hit a third and all of a sudden he's gonna strike out the side because that's what he does. Like just for that pure adrenaline and entertainment value, it's just something different, you know? Because the game doesn't mean anything, you know? Like when I was little,
I get meant something that's who got home -filled advantage in the World Series. But now that it doesn't mean anything, I do too. I wish there was some kind of emphasis or value that they could put on it now, not necessarily for the World Series, but just something different. I don't know what it could be. It would be cool to see it have some kind of meaning.
Joseph (51:03)
Mm -hmm. I miss that.
Yeah.
Yeah, I do agree. I miss the fact that it doesn't determine home field advantage anymore. That was one of the corks of baseball. You just don't see very many corks in sports these days. I think that's one of the lost treasures of baseball.
Kirby D (51:43)
I agree. I agree. Joe, what else? Is there anything else that you wanted to talk? I know what I was going to do. Okay. I have two questions that I'm going to ask you here and I want you to be as honest as you can about, we have officially just passed the halfway point of the season. Okay. we have two guys in the American league that are having phenomenal years. Once again, that's Jose Altuve. That's Aaron judge. Okay.
Health pending. Does Jose Altuve rejoin the 200 hit club this year?
Joseph (52:25)
Well, I think he's got a very good chance. He's already at 107 hits. I think that's including today's stats. If not, I think he might have gone hit list today. I don't remember. But I definitely do see the possibility as you mentioned, barring health, because he has missed significant time in the last couple of years. Not so significant, but
you know enough to throw him off track. But if he plays like 155 games I don't see why he couldn't and I would love to see him get back there because it would only mean he's that much closer to 3 ,000. And I already said this the other day, I tweeted it out but I don't care where it's at, I don't care how far I have to fly, I don't care how expensive the ticket is, the day that Altuve is up for
3000 hits I will be attending that game. I'll also be attending the day that he retires. Yeah, I will also be attending.
Kirby D (53:25)
We're gonna be doing live content there. Yep. We're doing live content at 3000, at Retirement and Hall of Fame. We're doing that.
Joseph (53:35)
Yeah, I will also be, you know, attending the game that they at the Astros retire his number. I will be seated. I will be there. I don't care what I have to do. I was there for Craig Vigios who, before Altuve was my favorite player, of all time. but it's now Jose Altuve. I mean, just because of the way that he plays the game and the way that he didn't quit when people told him to. so.
To get back to your question, yes, I do think health pending, he will be able to get to 200. I think that he has a real shot of maybe winning a batting title again. So I'm really looking forward to see him continue to play out the rest of this fantastic season so far.
Kirby D (54:22)
Okay, now here's my other question. Aaron Judge started off the year not so great. Through April and March, or March and April rather, he only had a 754 OPS, he only had six home runs. Okay. Then he turned it on after that. Yeah, he went on a historic rampage at the plate. He hit 14 home runs in May, he hit 11 in June.
Joseph (54:39)
And did he turn it on?
Kirby D (54:50)
No telling how many he's going to hit in July. Joe, does judge become, I believe the second member of the multi 60 home run seasons, because I think Sosa is the only one to have like 60 or more, more than once. does, does he, does he joins the 60 club again?
Joseph (55:11)
Yeah, absolutely. He's already at 32 home runs. He is on an insane pace. So that would be my only concern. But he has, you know, he's been doing that. He's done this even after his slow start. So I think it is completely possible. And I just
I love to hate on him because of the way that he's performed for the Yankees during the postseason, when the lights are the brightest. But when the lights are a little dim, he does pretty well for himself. I can't really hate on him too much there because I don't really care. He's not in my division. He's not really hurting the Astros outside of the two series that they play. So I like to not cheer for him, but just watch because he's an incredible hitter all around.
Not even just for the power. I mean Some of the numbers that he puts up on a yearly basis are insane But like I said, he doesn't do it when the lights are the brightest So, you know, that's kind of my only knock on him But I do think that so, you know the way that he's going right now 60 plus is definitely possible again for him
Kirby D (56:21)
I agree. and I apologize. I was incorrect on my stat. So Sosa, hit 60 or more three times, but never actually led the league in any of those seasons. and then Mark McGuire, I know Mark McGuire actually did it twice. he hit 70 and 65. and then you've got bonds that has done it. you know, Roger Maris and Babe Ruth. but besides that, it's honestly Joe, it's unreal.
Joseph (56:33)
That's crazy.
Steroids, man.
Kirby D (56:51)
to look at like my childhood growing up, I loved watching Sammy Sosa. he was one of my favorite players of all time, until all the steroid stuff, until the cork bat incident. but now you see.
Joseph (56:57)
Ahem.
You loved cheating baseball. How does that make you feel? You really are an Astros fan.
Kirby D (57:08)
Let me just say this, honest to God though, here's the thing Joe, is when the strike happened in 94, baseball lost a lot of fans because a lot of fans were mad that they essentially quit on the season. After that, when we started seeing the steroid era come into full effect in the late 90s and early 2000s, that brought fans back and that brought in new fans because it was exciting. There was a lot of entertainment.
you know, you had the home run race in 98 with Sosa and McGuire and King Griffey Jr. which is still honestly that whole special about that summer, is incredible. and then, you know, it's just, it was fun to watch Joe. Like it was, it was unreal seeing these like jacked juiced guys mashing baseballs, like 500 feet. Now at the time, you know, we didn't really know.
Like the implications of all the steroids and all of that stuff that was going on that they were doing that they shouldn't have been doing. But at the time it was fun to watch, you know? Now granted it sucks that they cheated and they will never be in the Hall of Fame because of it. But I mean, it was an incredible time for baseball just as far as like its popularity and you know, how much people enjoyed watching it. So, it was crazy.
Joseph (58:12)
Mm -hmm.
You know, I just want to say with all the hate the Astros give for 2017 What hit her on the 2017 Astros hit 62 home runs? Which one was it? none of them. Yeah, that's right because the that cheating didn't actually really help them They were better on the road that season and that's my little 2017 around right there
Kirby D (58:46)
Exactly.
Well, and also too, it's just annoying because like, you know, baseball has brought a rod back into the picture picture as far as, you know, like, you know, he's an analyst now for ESPN and he does all these things and whatnot, but he's like known cheater, like to the core. and they absolutely love a rod, you know, and like, it just, it just blows my mind. Like that, that he is so popular now. now I will say when I was a little kid, Joe, a rod was that guy.
Joseph (59:08)
Yeah. Yep.
Kirby D (59:21)
He was the ultimate power speed combination. He played a phenomenal shortstop. He was good at everything But then you know all of this cheating stuff came out and it wasn't the same anymore But it just it just it's it was great at the time because we got to see so many records smashed and all this other stuff But then it sucks later on down the road because all these guys cheated so which sucks, but
Joseph (59:45)
Mm -hmm.
Kirby D (59:51)
Anyway, Joe, what else is there to talk about tonight? Are we pretty much ready to wrap this thing up?
Joseph (59:58)
Yeah, I think so. I just want to give a shout out to the Seattle Mariners because they suck. And the Texas Rangers, they also suck. They let the Astros come back from the dead. The Astros were seven and 19 before they started that Mexico City series against the Colorado Rockies. And they have climbed all the way back from the dead.
to only be two and a half games back as of right now. If the Mariners who are playing the Baltimore Orioles lose tonight, they will officially be two games back of the AL West. You know, Cal Riley hit a walk off the other day. And one of the first things out of his mouth was, isn't it good when the Astros lose? Which I think is such a loser mentality. You just hit a walk off. Your team has had been doing, you know, pretty well as of late. And the first thing on your mind is the Houston Astros.
I think that's pretty pathetic. That's loser mentality. And guess what? The Mariners since then haven't won a game. So, Cal Riley, you know, maybe focus on your team before you look at the Astros, next time, and the Rangers, you know, they just suck. I predicted that at the beginning of the season, you know, I was kind of afraid to, you know, fully voice my opinions on the Rangers before the season started. because
going in I didn't think their lineup would regress so hard. I knew it would regress a little because they were so flukey last year. But they suck. Their pitching sucks. Their offense is horrible most nights. So that's also been really fun to see.
Kirby D (1:01:34)
Yeah, if they're looking to sell, I would happily take a couple guys off their hands because nothing would make me happier than to see Corey Seager in a Braves jersey and to see Wyatt Langford playing left field. Because we could still take both of those guys and happily take them. I would give up half the farm to have Seager playing shortstop. That dude hitting in the two hole in Atlanta, that offense takes a complete 180. So if they're looking to sell,
Joseph (1:01:40)
absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirby D (1:02:02)
Chris Young, you just come holler at me, I'll make the deal for you.
Joseph (1:02:07)
Yeah, I think we can officially say that the 2023 World Series was probably the biggest fluke in sports history. You know, the defending World Series champions are 39 and 46 and the defending NL champions are 41 and 44. The Rangers are seven games out of their division, the AL West and the Diamondbacks are 11 and a half games out of their division, the NL West.
I think it just goes to show how fluky that series was. And it kind of just, it makes what the Astros have been able to do just that much more impressive in my opinion. Them being able to go back to seven straight ALCSs is just really impressive. They've been to four World Series out of that. They've won two.
And they've been able to sustain the success over such a long period of time. And I just, you know, just seeing where the Rangers are at in the Diamondbacks all right now, it makes me appreciate what the Astros have done just that much more.
Kirby D (1:03:18)
You know, it's crazy Joe looking at like the expected win losses in all of the standings. Like the Astros expected win losses are 47 and 39. The Mariners expected win losses 44 and 43. And the Rangers is 42 and 43. And we told everybody at the beginning of this year that that will be a dogfight division. If all three of their expected win losses were the same, all of that's a four, that's literally like those three teams are within four games of each other, all three of them.
But it has not been that way so far. So I'm interested to see where all of these teams go with the trade deadline. Because it's been rumored that Seattle has the prospects and they're going to go get a bat or two, which they desperately need. No idea what the Astros are going to do. Because they don't really need any bats. They could. But where are you really going to upgrade when Tucker comes back? They need an arm or two at the very least.
Joseph (1:03:51)
It does not.
Mm -hmm.
Kirby D (1:04:16)
And then the Rangers need pitching because their offense is not horrible because their run differential is only negative three and their seven games below 500. So their offense has been touch and go, but their pitching staff is atrocious.
Joseph (1:04:20)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. and adding to the Mariners, they, their offense, like you said, horrible. I, if I was a pitcher on the Mariners, I would be so pissed off that my offense was not able to score more than three runs, almost on a nightly basis because the, their pitchers have only given up, 328 runs, which is if I'm not mistaken, like third or fourth best in the league.
But their offense has only scored 332, which is gotta be bottom half of the league. I mean, it not got to be, it is bottom half of the league. It's bottom five in the league. They've been that bad. And so, they're just lucky that even in my opinion, they're lucky to be 500 right now with the way that their offense is played. It just gives that much more credence to the way that their pitching staff has performed honestly and how.
You know, they've kind of been just carrying the load for the Mariners. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see what kind of bats they go after at the trade deadline, because Jesus, do they need a bat or two to help that line up?
Kirby D (1:05:42)
Okay, fun fact, Joe, because you were talking about runs allowed. Okay. In the National League right now, you have two teams that have given up 310 runs or less. Both of those teams are in the National League East. One of those is the Phillies, the other is the Braves. In the American League, nobody has given up less than 323. So the Braves overall have only given up 307 runs.
Now granted, they've played two or three less games than everybody else. But still, when you look at that overall right now, in all of baseball, they've given up the second least amount of runs, which is pretty impressive. However, their offense has just been so atrocious that they're only ten games above 500. If the offense ever gets right or which at the trade deadline, I'm sure they'll address that, hopefully. Then they'll be right back in the fight, not saying necessarily for the division, but they'll at least be the top wild card spot.
But... Okay.
Joseph (1:06:43)
Yeah, absolutely. It'll definitely be interesting. It's in a couple of weeks. We got the trade deadline coming up.
Kirby D (1:06:50)
Okay. So today is July 3rd. The Dread Deadline is the 31st. So we're like 27, 28 days. It's going to be a wild next few weeks. The Rays and was it the, who, who, who made the trade today? The little small trade was at the Brewers. Yes. They made a small trade today. Pretty insignificant if you ask me. But I'll, I'll be interested to see what happens at the trade deadline.
Joseph (1:06:57)
Mm -hmm.
Absolutely.
The Brewers. Yep.
Kirby D (1:07:19)
because not a lot of teams are actually out of it. If you look at the wild card stand right now in the National League, there are only two teams that are out of it. Even the Cubs at eight games below 500, about 79 games, are only going to be six games out of the third wild card spot. If you look at the American League, you've got about six teams that are out of it, but two more that are in it. So really and truly only eight teams right now.
Joseph (1:07:23)
Yeah.
Kirby D (1:07:45)
out of the entire MLB are actually out of it. That leaves 22 that are still in contention. That's not gonna sell.
Joseph (1:07:51)
I think that that's an unfortunate casualty of the expanded playoffs is such an exciting trade deadline. But it'll be interesting to see how teams operate after how they operated last year. And breaking news, the Seattle Mariners just went down two to nothing against the Orioles and the top of the third Logan Gilbert is at 48 pitches and he's already given up two runs.
Kirby D (1:08:20)
The Orals are good. I don't care what anybody says. They are awesome
Joseph (1:08:25)
Not good enough to not get swapped by the Astros.
Kirby D (1:08:29)
It's crazy they've been swept twice this year after going like, you know, however many series without getting swept.
Joseph (1:08:36)
Yeah, that was crazy. It was, Adlai Richmond's debut or whatever that they hadn't gotten swept. And those were the first two series, since he's been called up that they've been swept. That's insane. That's, that's unheard of really. Cause even the 2019 Astros got swept and that was one of the best offenses in all of baseball.
Kirby D (1:08:51)
You know what's wrong?
You know what's funny is the Orioles technically got swept last year in the postseason against the Rangers at their place. And that was, they actually got embarrassed at their place last year because the Rangers went out and just stomped them. But that also they had last year.
Joseph (1:09:06)
Yeah, that is true. Yep, that is true.
Mm -hmm.
Boom. Yep.
Three to nothing, Mer - three to nothing Orioles.
Kirby D (1:09:22)
yeah. I'm currently keeping an eye on the Phillies game because they're up 5 -3 right now. Yeah, this game is going to be over. I'd love to see them tie it right here and just send the Phillies into a forensic... a frenzy. Okay, whatever. They lost. Or they won, so... The Cubs suck, by the way, Joe. They're horrible.
Joseph (1:09:32)
I believe it's five to three. Yeah, I've got that game on too.
OHHHH
Yeah.
it's a hip parade in Seattle. It's a hip parade in Seattle for the Orioles. Is it going to be 4 -0? they held them at third. They held them at third. Okay. All right. Well, let's end it off there. Hopefully, you know, by this time tomorrow when this is uploaded, the Astros will only be two games out of the AL West and, you know, right back in it.
Kirby D (1:10:03)
Yep.
Yep. All right. Well, thanks everybody for listening to the Throwing Partners podcast. Remember to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube channel. I was very pleased to see our last YouTube video. Actually had quite a few views on it for our standards. So thank you guys for watching. And then also remember we are on Apple Podcasts now. One of the best things that you can do to support our show is to leave us a five star review. So if you could do that guys, we would really appreciate it.
Thanks again, everybody. It's Kirby and Joseph here, your friends at the Throwing Partners podcast. Have a great rest of your week.