We Power Rank The 9 Best Teams In MLB

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last year

Carl | Starting 9

Transcript

00:00:00 Good morning, good afternoon and evening baseball fans.

00:00:02 Welcome back to the Barstool Baseball Show.

00:00:05 Welcome back to the Power Rankings panel.

00:00:07 It is early Sunday as we record this.

00:00:12 I wanna say that up front, it is early Sunday.

00:00:15 No baseball has been played yet today

00:00:17 and so this is the only time we could record today.

00:00:20 Clemmer, you are a big morning guy though.

00:00:21 You're happy, hugs, everybody looks cheerful.

00:00:25 We look like a pile of shit.

00:00:27 Pile of shit.

00:00:29 We look like Jimmy Dugan from a fucking League of their own.

00:00:33 Yeah, this is rough.

00:00:35 And I have one thing to blame,

00:00:38 it's hotels with this 11 o'clock checkout time.

00:00:41 This didn't used to be a thing.

00:00:42 This is new, it's bullshit.

00:00:44 My wife knows I'm not a morning person.

00:00:46 She even asked for the late checkout today

00:00:49 and she was told no, the hotel sold out.

00:00:51 But this 11 o'clock checkout time, this has got to go.

00:00:53 Hotels have improved so much in the last 20 years

00:00:56 and for some reason they've taken this hour from us.

00:00:58 I don't understand why.

00:01:00 Are we becoming more of a morning people as culture?

00:01:03 I don't think so, I don't know.

00:01:04 11 o'clock checkout times go away

00:01:06 and that's why we're doing this this early today.

00:01:08 I blame hotels.

00:01:09 I think it has to do with room service

00:01:13 and housekeeping staffing since COVID.

00:01:18 Maybe, you might be right, I don't know.

00:01:23 I don't know, it just didn't used to be this way.

00:01:25 I feel like an old man.

00:01:26 But we're here early.

00:01:27 We're here, no baseball events played.

00:01:29 You're in Baltimore for Mets, Orioles.

00:01:32 Some debate before the show started

00:01:34 whether it's worth your time to even watch these games

00:01:37 or whether you should just go out back and shoot yourself.

00:01:40 - Yeah, it's a fair question.

00:01:42 Mets, they've completely quit, completely given up.

00:01:47 - You're gonna get a tattoo, huh?

00:01:49 - Oh, I think I might, yeah.

00:01:50 If I didn't lose 90, I'd have to get a tattoo

00:01:51 with the bet I made with Frank.

00:01:52 And right now, they're on pace to lose 90.

00:01:54 But the thing I have with this team though

00:01:56 is you still have Alonzo, Lindor, Nimmo.

00:01:59 I know he's washed up at Marti, whatever.

00:02:01 There are still three good players in that lineup.

00:02:04 No one gives a fuck.

00:02:06 This team is mailing it in like a 110 loss team.

00:02:10 They don't care about shit.

00:02:11 Hopefully, they can reverse that before the season's over

00:02:13 and at least string together some wins.

00:02:15 But right now, at this moment, on August 6th,

00:02:18 this is a dead team walk.

00:02:19 - Hubs, vibe check, Astros, Yankees series check-in.

00:02:24 That was a big talking point on our Friday show.

00:02:26 Go listen to that.

00:02:27 - Yeah, I said going into the series,

00:02:31 you win three or four, you reel me in,

00:02:33 in this dumb brain and you convince me,

00:02:34 all right, here we go.

00:02:36 And if we do that, we win today, that's three or four.

00:02:40 So I don't know.

00:02:41 Like, oddly enough, it's a big Rodon start today.

00:02:46 We'll see what he's got.

00:02:48 I think your Queenie's pitching.

00:02:49 I thought this was gonna be a Framboise game.

00:02:51 I think it's your Queenie.

00:02:52 - Yeah, it is, yeah.

00:02:53 I have a thing about the Astros.

00:02:56 They'll come up in this power rankings, of course.

00:02:58 It's just a question of what they're doing.

00:03:00 But yeah, listen, you win three or four against Houston,

00:03:04 you got me.

00:03:05 So we'll see what happens today at one o'clock

00:03:08 at Yankee Stadium.

00:03:09 By the time you're hearing this, you know what happens.

00:03:11 So you know if I'm gonna be sad or happy.

00:03:14 So, and I don't, which is scary.

00:03:16 - Yeah, and I fucked up in the intro.

00:03:18 That's because it's early and the brain's not fluid.

00:03:21 Usually I introduce this.

00:03:22 It is the panel of experts.

00:03:23 It's the full round table.

00:03:25 It's the four horsemen.

00:03:26 It's Carl Klemmer, Hubs, and of course, Castellani.

00:03:29 Not necessarily lights camera action

00:03:31 if you're watching on YouTube.

00:03:32 This isn't the smooth, slick back version.

00:03:34 We are getting Castellani.

00:03:35 This is Castellani on cut.

00:03:37 - This is post trade deadline, nervous wrecked,

00:03:40 mad scientist Castellani look

00:03:42 that we got going on right here.

00:03:43 But no, it should be a good one, man.

00:03:45 I think this has been,

00:03:47 this week in many ways for this show

00:03:49 could not have worked out any better

00:03:51 with certain teams playing the way they did,

00:03:52 both ascending one way and descending the other way.

00:03:56 So it should be a pretty fascinating list.

00:03:58 I think this is gonna be a solid power ranking show.

00:04:02 The deeper we get,

00:04:03 the easier these lists become, at least for me,

00:04:05 'cause I think with each passing week,

00:04:07 you kind of separate the contenders from the pretenders.

00:04:10 - I'm gonna do something here.

00:04:11 I'm gonna ask us before we get to the power rankings,

00:04:15 we do have to talk about a topic.

00:04:18 Tim Anderson got his fucking shit rocked last night.

00:04:22 - A real shame.

00:04:23 - I mean, absolutely cold cock,

00:04:27 knock the fuck out.

00:04:29 - Yeah.

00:04:30 - One of the all time sports knockouts.

00:04:34 If I can't recall a better fist to jaw,

00:04:39 body to floor sequencing.

00:04:42 And I'm a Tim Anderson guy, he's a friend of the program.

00:04:48 Friend of the program, objectively speaking,

00:04:50 greatest sports knockout I can remember.

00:04:52 Someone tell me otherwise.

00:04:53 - I mean, they were in boxing stance.

00:04:57 It was boxing stance.

00:04:58 Tim Anderson dropped his glove,

00:05:00 pounded his chest real quick,

00:05:03 and then three seconds later was on the ground,

00:05:07 having no idea where he was,

00:05:10 what sport he was attempting to play.

00:05:12 It was insane.

00:05:13 The umpire getting out of the way

00:05:16 and seemingly like a boxing or UFC guy going like,

00:05:19 "All right, go to war."

00:05:20 Like, it was awesome.

00:05:22 - Tough look for Tim.

00:05:23 - It was incredible.

00:05:24 TA for the amount of shit that guy talks, done.

00:05:28 Like he's got nothing to stand on anymore.

00:05:31 The amount of his tweets that he tweets sleep,

00:05:35 and he had to go back and delete all those tweets at night.

00:05:39 It was something else, man.

00:05:41 It was thoroughly entertaining.

00:05:44 - I think honestly, Tim Anderson,

00:05:47 his legacy as a baseball player

00:05:49 will now go the way of Robin Ventura.

00:05:52 Well, Robin Ventura had a very good career.

00:05:53 Robin Ventura had a 50-something war,

00:05:56 but when you bring him up, you're like,

00:05:57 "Oh, wait, you mean the guy who got put in a headlock

00:05:59 by 43-year-old Nolan Ryan?"

00:06:01 Tim Anderson's got a batting title.

00:06:02 He's made multiple all-star teams,

00:06:04 but when he calls it quits, we're like,

00:06:05 "Oh, dude, J-Ram put him on his ass."

00:06:08 You guys remember that?

00:06:09 So yeah, rough.

00:06:10 Dude, but shout out Jose Ramirez.

00:06:12 I mean, falling over, blind right hook right to the jaw.

00:06:15 That was some impressive shit.

00:06:16 - And he doesn't have reach.

00:06:18 We've went over this show before.

00:06:19 Jose Ramirez has a physically stunted length of arm,

00:06:22 which allows him to hit inside fastballs.

00:06:25 Proven fact, he has the shortest reach

00:06:27 in Major League Baseball.

00:06:29 His arms don't even hang down to his hips.

00:06:31 It's a very funny thing to look at,

00:06:33 and he has the reach to get inside Tim Anderson.

00:06:36 Clemmer, what fight from 1936

00:06:38 does that remind you of most of?

00:06:40 - Yeah, I can't go back quite that far,

00:06:42 but it is really rare to see two guys actually square up.

00:06:46 Those guys were both like, "Let's go."

00:06:48 Now, back in the '80s,

00:06:50 there was a great fight between the Reds and the Mets,

00:06:52 like '86, I think it was.

00:06:53 It might've been that year.

00:06:55 It was right around then, this wild fight.

00:06:57 You used to see more wild fights in the '80s.

00:07:00 I'll say that.

00:07:00 As a kid growing up, I remember you'd see some crazy shit.

00:07:03 You don't see as much anymore,

00:07:04 but I can't remember too many times

00:07:05 where I saw two men square up

00:07:08 in the middle of a baseball diamond like that.

00:07:09 Like, "Let's go."

00:07:10 And like you said, the umpire was just like,

00:07:11 "All right, go get 'em, boys."

00:07:13 I don't recall that too often.

00:07:16 I also like watching that, like what started it?

00:07:19 Jose Ramirez slid in, head first, second base.

00:07:23 Anderson was there.

00:07:25 It seemed innocuous.

00:07:26 And the next thing I know, those guys are squared up.

00:07:27 I don't know what happened.

00:07:29 - I think he tagged 'em with two hands.

00:07:33 I think it was an aggressive tag,

00:07:36 and it was unnecessarily aggressive.

00:07:38 And Ramirez was probably like, "What are you doing that for?"

00:07:41 And that's all it takes for Tim.

00:07:43 What'd you say to me?

00:07:45 Now, Tim's a good guy.

00:07:46 This sucks.

00:07:47 I gotta get a spin zone ready for him.

00:07:49 You know, trip, cheap shot,

00:07:51 not really sure what angle to take.

00:07:52 Behind the baseball player, whatever.

00:07:55 I know you guys don't like him

00:07:56 'cause he talks a lot of shit, though.

00:07:57 He is a fucking nice guy.

00:07:58 He's a super nice guy.

00:07:59 So this is just, it's just a bad look all the way around.

00:08:02 Especially Chicago White Sox.

00:08:04 The face of the Chicago White Sox.

00:08:06 They're supposed to be tough.

00:08:09 That represents a very blue collar part of this country.

00:08:12 It's disappointing to say the least.

00:08:14 This is the power-wringing panel.

00:08:15 - By the way, shout out, Eloy Jimenez

00:08:17 found a way to get hurt in that fight.

00:08:20 Wasn't involved in the fight.

00:08:22 He's probably the most hurt of anybody.

00:08:24 So, shout out to him.

00:08:25 - What did he hurt?

00:08:27 - He came away limping,

00:08:28 as if someone took a bat to his ankle.

00:08:30 He wasn't involved in the fight.

00:08:33 I have no idea how that happened.

00:08:36 - I wonder if those are two angry teams.

00:08:38 Like obviously the White Sox are angry

00:08:39 'cause it's just disappointing.

00:08:40 And the Guardians didn't do any of the deadline.

00:08:43 And I wonder, you know, they're kind of flying around.

00:08:45 I wonder if these are just two pissed off teams.

00:08:47 It's like, you know, early August saying, "Fuck it."

00:08:50 - Yeah, well, it's reminiscent to me.

00:08:52 I remember the Tigers and Yankees

00:08:53 got in a big brawl in 2017.

00:08:55 Miguel Cabrera tackled Austin Romine at the dish.

00:08:58 And that was like the initial kicking off point

00:09:01 of the Tigers' rebuild.

00:09:02 And so they had just traded like J.D.,

00:09:05 a bunch of their really good players.

00:09:06 And they were like, "Dude, fuck it.

00:09:07 "We just, this is not fun anymore.

00:09:09 "Our manager's about to get fired.

00:09:10 "We keep getting hit by pitches.

00:09:12 "Like the Yankees are playing for something.

00:09:13 "Fuck it."

00:09:14 And they went to blows.

00:09:15 Yeah, it's a little bit like that.

00:09:17 - Are we ready to power rank

00:09:21 some major league baseball teams?

00:09:22 - Let's do it. - Let's do it.

00:09:23 - We need a batting order.

00:09:26 - Yeah, I don't have one.

00:09:27 We're just going in blind.

00:09:29 - We are very blind right now.

00:09:31 So I'm gonna say we'll go,

00:09:34 we'll go Casalani one, Hubs two, Clemmer three, myself four.

00:09:38 - Okay. - Okay.

00:09:39 - Casalani one, Hubs two, Clemmer in the three hole.

00:09:44 - Oh, that works.

00:09:45 I like that.

00:09:46 - Okay.

00:09:47 - Perfect.

00:09:48 - Boys, let's kick it off.

00:09:49 Let's have a great show.

00:09:50 Casalani.

00:09:51 - Let's do it.

00:09:52 I'll keep it quick.

00:09:52 Keep it easy.

00:09:53 Number one with a bullet has not changed.

00:09:55 No reason to change.

00:09:57 The Atlanta Braves.

00:09:59 You know, it really is funny.

00:10:00 We didn't talk about them very much at all

00:10:02 during our trade deadline stream.

00:10:04 And the reason for that is they didn't do a whole lot.

00:10:06 And it's pretty rare that you have a team

00:10:08 that looks at the assembling of their roster and says,

00:10:11 "We're complete.

00:10:12 We don't need a whole lot of changes.

00:10:13 Why rock the boat?

00:10:14 Why add new guys from other clubhouses?

00:10:16 We trust our offense.

00:10:17 And guess what?

00:10:18 We're getting Max Fried back."

00:10:19 Max Fried came back in Wrigley against Chicago.

00:10:21 Looked fan-freaking-tastic.

00:10:23 I mean, if this is the version of the him

00:10:25 they're gonna get, just give them the pennant right now.

00:10:27 Because they're not--

00:10:28 - Yeah, great point.

00:10:30 - Yeah, 'cause you're not going to

00:10:32 out-slug that offense ever.

00:10:34 The only thing you can hope to do

00:10:35 is maybe get to their starting pitching.

00:10:36 Well, Fried looked unstoppable.

00:10:38 And he's still a Charlie Morton.

00:10:39 And he's still a Spencer Strider.

00:10:41 This is the best team in baseball.

00:10:42 They have an offense that is not just capable of beating you

00:10:46 but demoralizing you in a way where like,

00:10:48 it fucks your bullpen for a week.

00:10:50 I mean, that's how good and deep they are.

00:10:52 So yeah, spectacular team.

00:10:54 I would say right now, you know, pending injury,

00:10:56 but it seems like they're healthy.

00:10:57 They're a durable club.

00:10:58 It would be a massive surprise to me

00:11:02 if they didn't at least make it to the World Series.

00:11:05 If they got there and somebody knocked them off,

00:11:06 I could see it.

00:11:07 But right now, given the outlook in the National League,

00:11:10 this has got to be theirs.

00:11:13 They've just had a phenomenal season.

00:11:14 - Yeah, the Max Fried stuff is terrifying.

00:11:18 Like, to add a player of that caliber to this team

00:11:20 that's already just beating the shit out of teams

00:11:23 is exactly, you know, it's funny.

00:11:25 I know we'll talk about them later,

00:11:26 but the Rays, complete opposite direction, right?

00:11:28 McClanahan goes in the I.O.

00:11:29 That's a team that really needed something

00:11:31 and then it didn't, McClanahan came back,

00:11:32 didn't work out, he's probably out.

00:11:34 You know, I imagine he's out for a long time,

00:11:36 probably a year, I'm guessing.

00:11:37 Like, it didn't look good.

00:11:38 And then meanwhile, the Braves get Max Fried

00:11:40 and he's, it looks like he's same old Max Fried.

00:11:43 And it's like, oh, the Braves are in this thing

00:11:45 where they just cannot do anything wrong.

00:11:47 Everything they do just works out for them.

00:11:48 - Yeah.

00:11:49 - Yeah, we were talking like, well,

00:11:53 I had mentioned like the, oh fuck,

00:11:55 like the whole league would have had

00:11:56 if the Braves went and got an arm at the deadline.

00:11:59 - Yes.

00:11:59 - They just had the, they just had it ready to go.

00:12:02 That's their, oh fuck, is Max Fried.

00:12:03 Everyone's just like, all right, he'll come back

00:12:05 and he'll eat, nope, he's not easing in.

00:12:07 He's just Max Fried and the Braves

00:12:09 just got a whole lot better.

00:12:10 - Yeah.

00:12:11 - Now, they're different games and they're two starts,

00:12:12 but Max Fried through just was absolute filth on Friday.

00:12:15 Cubs went out and smacked Bryce Elder the next day.

00:12:17 So just Fried first start back to carve up a lineup

00:12:23 that was just red hot.

00:12:25 - Yes.

00:12:26 - And then completely destroyed all-star Bryce Elder

00:12:29 the very next day.

00:12:31 Like he just went right into the Cubs

00:12:33 was just surging, done, donezo, donezo.

00:12:36 Now, Ronald Acuna stole his 52nd base

00:12:41 of the season this weekend.

00:12:42 He also, if you look at their lineup,

00:12:45 it goes like 25 homers in the leadoff spot,

00:12:48 26 homers in the two spot.

00:12:50 I think Austin Riley, the three hitter has 26 homers.

00:12:52 Matt Olsen has 38-ish, something along those lines.

00:12:57 - Yeah, Olsen has 38.

00:13:01 - He's having the quietest 50 home run season of all time,

00:13:05 Matt Olsen.

00:13:06 I mean, he's just crushing the ball this year.

00:13:08 - Yeah, another guy slept on,

00:13:09 Michael Harris has about a thousand OPS

00:13:13 since the beginning of June.

00:13:14 He had like a rough start to the year

00:13:15 where people are like, "Oh, what's going on here?"

00:13:18 The beauty of the Braves lineup is you don't have to press.

00:13:20 Just get it going.

00:13:20 Whenever you get going,

00:13:21 the rest of us will still be here for you.

00:13:23 He's their nine hitter,

00:13:25 and he's got an OPS over a thousand

00:13:27 over the last two months.

00:13:29 So, three, yeah, two months.

00:13:31 It's crazy how deep and balanced the lineup is.

00:13:36 - So when I was growing up,

00:13:37 the '61 Yankees had the record for most home runs

00:13:40 by a team, 240.

00:13:42 That's kind of a magic number for a long time.

00:13:44 Steroid era changed all that, obviously,

00:13:45 but when I was a little boy, that was it.

00:13:47 The Braves already have 211 home runs.

00:13:50 So it's just wild.

00:13:52 You look at this, and they've played 108 games.

00:13:54 So they've played two thirds of the season.

00:13:57 So that means they're on pace for over 300 home runs,

00:14:01 which is wild.

00:14:03 We're in some weird, wild, weird, wild stuff

00:14:07 with some crazy territory.

00:14:09 - Yeah, I mean, nine positions in a lineup.

00:14:12 It's insane.

00:14:13 That's 33 homers a guy.

00:14:15 - Yeah, Jesus.

00:14:18 - That's 33 and a .3.

00:14:20 Who's number two?

00:14:21 - That'd be me.

00:14:23 Pretty standard.

00:14:26 I don't know if you can make any reasonable case

00:14:28 to put another team here.

00:14:29 I guess maybe Klamer goes crazy with the Rangers

00:14:32 'cause they haven't lost this week,

00:14:33 but it's still the Orioles, in my opinion.

00:14:36 They're 69 and 42.

00:14:37 A win today against this Corp's version of the Mets

00:14:41 will be 70 for them on August 6th.

00:14:45 They had a big series, fresh off of playing the Yankees,

00:14:47 that's like a little bit of a,

00:14:49 maybe an emotional letdown spot for them would be,

00:14:53 they play the Blue Jays in Toronto.

00:14:55 It wouldn't stun me if they let up a little bit here.

00:14:59 They won three or four in Toronto.

00:15:01 Got really good starting pitching performances

00:15:04 all across the board.

00:15:05 Grayson was the worst one and his was fine.

00:15:08 Bradish was really good.

00:15:10 The biggest one was Flaherty.

00:15:13 Flaherty, he's their deadline piece.

00:15:15 We'll see what he's got here.

00:15:16 A little bit of a letdown, right?

00:15:18 'Cause they didn't get Dylan Cease.

00:15:19 Like, oh, we got Jack Flaherty.

00:15:21 He's still an improvement.

00:15:22 And I mean, if he pitches the way he did

00:15:25 in the series finale, six innings, one run,

00:15:27 eight Ks against this Blue Jays offense

00:15:29 to win the series, go three of four, very impressive.

00:15:34 A great sign for the front office and the whole team.

00:15:37 Like, wow, like, all right,

00:15:38 this guy's gonna be here and be producing.

00:15:40 Yeah, and then they'll sweep the Mets today, assumingly.

00:15:44 And they'll be on their merry way

00:15:46 and they continue to pad that division lead,

00:15:50 which is now up to three games,

00:15:51 four in the lost column on Tampa.

00:15:54 And they look all the parts of a team

00:15:55 that's just gonna keep rolling here

00:15:56 and gonna keep getting better

00:15:58 and gonna win the American League.

00:16:00 So yeah, number two is the Baltimore Orioles.

00:16:02 - Yeah, so I have them fourth.

00:16:04 And it's not, honestly-

00:16:06 - It's just an asshole move.

00:16:08 - No, I'm not.

00:16:08 No, no, let me preface this.

00:16:10 Relax, relax, don't be a little bitch, relax.

00:16:13 - You're being a bitch.

00:16:14 - I'm not, I'm gonna explain myself.

00:16:16 You're not gonna let me explain myself.

00:16:17 Now, this is like really like a three-way tie for me.

00:16:19 I had a really hard time with this.

00:16:21 I was kind of hoping,

00:16:21 no, when I found out I was in the three-hole,

00:16:23 I was kind of hoping you would choose

00:16:24 between Astros, Rangers for me.

00:16:26 'Cause I have Astros, Rangers, and Orioles

00:16:28 kind of all lumped together.

00:16:30 Like, I really see them,

00:16:32 I honestly think the Astros are probably the best team,

00:16:34 one through 26 of those three teams.

00:16:37 The Rangers are the hottest,

00:16:39 but then the Orioles are the most like level,

00:16:42 if that makes any sense, maybe, I don't know.

00:16:44 Look, I've spent the last two nights here at Camden Yards

00:16:47 watching the Orioles dissect, dismantle,

00:16:49 and dismember my Mets.

00:16:50 So like, I have no problem with the Orioles at two,

00:16:54 I'm not gonna argue with you at all, Hubs.

00:16:56 Like, I really don't at all.

00:16:58 I just see this, and this is interesting,

00:16:59 there's a difference between the AL and the AL.

00:17:01 I have three teams in the AL that are like,

00:17:03 for me, like boom, boom, boom, boom, like right there.

00:17:05 And I have one team in the AL and everybody else.

00:17:07 So like, it's gonna make an interesting playoffs,

00:17:09 potentially, where you have three, in my opinion,

00:17:11 real juggernauts in the AL,

00:17:13 that if any of them went to the pen,

00:17:15 I wouldn't be shocked at all.

00:17:16 So I have no issue with the Orioles at number two.

00:17:19 They really impressed the hell out of me

00:17:21 the last two nights.

00:17:23 - I think the way you could say it is that the Orioles,

00:17:25 obviously, over the gross part of the season

00:17:27 with approaching 70 wins,

00:17:28 they've had the more impressive 111 games,

00:17:32 whatever, first two thirds of the season.

00:17:34 The Rangers are probably hotter for purposes

00:17:37 of power ranking right now, who's hottest right now.

00:17:42 And the Astros probably have the best World Series odds

00:17:45 because of Verlander and Valdes.

00:17:48 I think I can break it into those kind of

00:17:49 three different tranches of who's played the best,

00:17:51 who's the hottest, and who's got their World Series odds.

00:17:54 And I think it's fair to put it like that, Clemmer.

00:17:57 I think it is.

00:17:58 - Yeah, but Clemmer, you also can't say like--

00:17:59 - I think it's completely fair to criticize,

00:18:01 but like, I don't have a problem with the Orioles at two.

00:18:04 I wouldn't have, the only team I'd have a problem with

00:18:07 would be the Astros at two.

00:18:08 I don't think the Astros would be able to leapfrog

00:18:10 these other guys, but I like the way

00:18:12 we're talking about them.

00:18:13 - Why though?

00:18:14 Like, I mean, I'm fighting--

00:18:16 - Why?

00:18:16 - I can't believe, but like, why, like the Astros,

00:18:20 if the Astros were to play--

00:18:21 - I couldn't put the Astros above the Rangers.

00:18:23 The Rangers went five and 0 this week.

00:18:25 The Rangers are hot.

00:18:25 - He's saying this week.

00:18:27 - This week, right now, week 19, power ranking, boom.

00:18:30 Rangers are coming in hot.

00:18:32 - I mean, into the Orioles' defense,

00:18:34 the Orioles is the only team in American League

00:18:36 that's on pace for 100 wins.

00:18:37 So, you know, that's another reason why I have no problem

00:18:40 with the Orioles at two here.

00:18:41 You know, I just, there's three teams in there

00:18:43 so close and for such different reasons.

00:18:46 - I also don't get what you're saying,

00:18:47 where you were impressed with them,

00:18:48 'cause you're in Camden Yards, you're in Baltimore.

00:18:51 There's no, there's nothing you can take out

00:18:55 of the series from Baltimore.

00:18:56 They're playing a team that is a corpse in the Mets.

00:18:59 - Oh, I disagree.

00:19:00 There's something you can take from every game.

00:19:01 And there's something you can take from every series.

00:19:03 And the way they're doing it so efficiently,

00:19:05 I think like weaker teams or teams that are like,

00:19:07 oh, they come in kind of like half-assed,

00:19:09 oh, we're playing the Mets, this team sucks.

00:19:11 They can like sweep, no, no.

00:19:12 They're going in there and they are, like I said,

00:19:14 dissecting every element of it.

00:19:15 They're hitting when they need to,

00:19:16 they're pitching when they need to.

00:19:17 I love the moves, even like Brandon Hyde,

00:19:19 like I love going to whole serieses,

00:19:21 'cause you can really like understand how a team operates.

00:19:23 And I love all the moves Brandon Hyde's making.

00:19:26 They're sitting guys too, like Santander,

00:19:28 Santander sat the first game, Hayes sat yesterday.

00:19:32 So they're not even starting,

00:19:33 they're playing Colin Couser, who had a couple of key hits.

00:19:37 So even like these like lower guys on the roster

00:19:39 are still playing well, I don't know, man.

00:19:41 I take something from every game, like I said,

00:19:43 and I really am really impressed

00:19:45 with how the Orioles are carrying themselves

00:19:48 and like dealing with kind of these new high expectations.

00:19:51 - Serieses isn't a word, it's just series.

00:19:54 And they don't need to play-

00:19:55 - Relax, it's 9.50 AM.

00:19:57 I'm gonna eat your fucking skull for your Reds pick.

00:20:00 Just give me a sec.

00:20:01 - Well, I mean, you wanted to put the Orioles,

00:20:03 you wanted to put the Orioles,

00:20:04 you wanted to put the Orioles forth as egregious.

00:20:07 And the reason they're playing these guys,

00:20:09 like you said, Hayes one day, Couser one day,

00:20:11 is because they're playing the corpse of the Mets.

00:20:13 They don't have to play like they're juggernaut.

00:20:14 - That's my whole point.

00:20:15 - Yeah, they're just having fun out there.

00:20:17 - I wasn't even mad.

00:20:18 Like two minutes ago, now you're making me mad.

00:20:20 I wasn't even mad two minutes ago.

00:20:21 I was like, I'm mad right with you.

00:20:23 - I wanna clear this up for the audience

00:20:25 that we are doing a weekly power ranking show

00:20:28 where we come in here and each week we rank

00:20:31 who's really hot right now.

00:20:34 The concept of someone being wrong

00:20:36 about a fucking pick on this.

00:20:39 Like you, you, Clemmers been group texting us

00:20:41 thinking that like, you think we're wrong about the Reds?

00:20:45 - Oh, you were wrong.

00:20:45 - You were wrong to put the Reds where?

00:20:48 You guys wanna get this.

00:20:49 - I keep track.

00:20:52 I'm a vindictive little man.

00:20:54 And I swear to God, I know, I know you guys all laughed at me.

00:20:58 Oh, ha ha ha.

00:21:00 Who's laughing now?

00:21:01 I was absolutely right about the Reds.

00:21:02 - Yeah, it's one week of being right

00:21:04 and like a lot of being wrong.

00:21:04 - No, one week.

00:21:05 (laughing)

00:21:06 No, not at all.

00:21:07 No, it's actually the fact that I've been right

00:21:09 the entire time.

00:21:10 I've been saying all along that the Reds are a fraud.

00:21:12 You guys all laughed at me.

00:21:13 - Also, there's two months left here.

00:21:15 - They were in first place.

00:21:17 When we did the show, when we do these shows,

00:21:20 when we talked about the Reds,

00:21:22 it's not like we were saying they're gonna be great.

00:21:27 They were great.

00:21:28 They were playing great.

00:21:29 They earned their way in the list.

00:21:30 - Don't say there are no shrines and there's camaraderie.

00:21:33 And I'm telling you, that's not true.

00:21:34 - Yeah, there is no camaraderie.

00:21:35 - It's all bullshit.

00:21:36 It's a fraud team playing against a weak schedule.

00:21:39 - Hale Morris told you to your face it was true.

00:21:43 World Series champion, Hale Morris told you

00:21:45 to your goddamn face the camaraderie

00:21:47 and believe in himself.

00:21:48 - And he laughed at your,

00:21:49 and he completely ignored your baseball gods thing.

00:21:51 So we both-

00:21:52 - The baseball gods exist.

00:21:53 He, it was a two part question.

00:21:55 No, no, no, no, no.

00:21:55 It was a two part question.

00:21:57 He didn't know the-

00:21:58 - For the sake of the show, for the sake of the show,

00:21:59 let's, for the sake of the show,

00:22:01 we have a portion dedicated to this.

00:22:03 So let's, let's move.

00:22:04 - Yeah, I was gonna say, we're only on number three.

00:22:06 - I was wondering, I was wondering how long-

00:22:07 - We're not gonna talk about it.

00:22:08 - They stink.

00:22:09 They'll never grow up with this.

00:22:10 - You're a fucking bozo, all right?

00:22:11 You're a bozo.

00:22:12 Keep it quiet over there.

00:22:13 We're, we gotta, we gotta do a power ranking panel here.

00:22:16 You're all busy getting mad about the Reds, Clemmer.

00:22:19 Who's number three, Clemmer?

00:22:22 - Yeah, Clemmer, now speak.

00:22:25 Yes.

00:22:26 - Oh, now I'm allowed to talk again?

00:22:28 Yeah, come right here, please.

00:22:28 (laughing)

00:22:30 My number three team is gonna be the Reds.

00:22:32 No, I'm kidding.

00:22:33 They're not gonna be on this list

00:22:34 because it's like I've been saying all along,

00:22:35 they're not, they're not an actual contender.

00:22:37 I'll take, I'll take the Astros,

00:22:39 I'll take the Rangers, excuse me.

00:22:41 That's fine.

00:22:41 I'm fine with the Rangers here.

00:22:42 I can kind of, I mean, I can say, I really,

00:22:46 I know I made the point earlier,

00:22:48 but I really do see these three American League teams

00:22:50 as so, as so tied together.

00:22:52 I will set prefaces where I think the Astros

00:22:56 are my AL pick.

00:22:58 I think the Astros are gonna go to the World Series

00:22:59 out of these teams.

00:23:00 It's a playoff sort of crapshoot.

00:23:02 Phillies, I didn't expect, you know,

00:23:03 I thought the Dodgers were gonna waltz

00:23:05 into the World Series last year and what happened there.

00:23:07 But the Astros have set themselves up so well

00:23:10 since deadline, like they completely changed.

00:23:13 And then Framboise, there was no hitter this week.

00:23:15 Like, it's not like the Astros are ice cold here,

00:23:18 but I'll go with the Rangers.

00:23:19 I really, obviously they made some huge improvements

00:23:21 that they're at the deadline.

00:23:23 You know, they're on a five game winning streak.

00:23:26 You know, their run differentials,

00:23:27 164 for the season, the Astros is only 63.

00:23:31 Now obviously there's injuries and some things

00:23:34 play into that, but the Rangers are a fantastic team.

00:23:36 They've been fantastic all year.

00:23:38 We've been consistently talking about the Rangers

00:23:40 since we started doing this show.

00:23:41 I think on like week one, I wanna say,

00:23:43 or week two, the Rangers popped up.

00:23:45 They were just, they've been really solid all year.

00:23:48 And for a team that lost 90 plus games last year,

00:23:50 that's really impressive.

00:23:51 I like the Rangers a lot.

00:23:52 The deadline, like since it happened,

00:23:56 has made me even more excited for the playoffs.

00:23:59 Like with the Astros improvements

00:24:01 and the Rangers improvements, it's like, oh shit.

00:24:03 Like, and even the Orioles getting,

00:24:05 I know we knocked them a lot for not making enough moves,

00:24:07 but they did get better.

00:24:08 They did get better.

00:24:10 So it's like, all right, wow.

00:24:11 Like even more reason to get amped up for this,

00:24:13 especially the Maraconi playoffs can be awesome.

00:24:15 - I'm convinced that the Rangers are there at three.

00:24:17 I don't know if I'm like comfortable, you know,

00:24:20 there's another team in the National League.

00:24:22 I do really like the Rangers here at three.

00:24:24 And I do really like the Rangers at two

00:24:26 if someone was going to say Rangers at two,

00:24:28 I'm fine with that too.

00:24:30 They've been hot.

00:24:31 It's a great lineup.

00:24:33 It's a great team.

00:24:34 - And they got Seager back this week,

00:24:36 three homers in four games.

00:24:38 How you doing?

00:24:39 No problem.

00:24:40 - He just does, he does not miss a beat ever.

00:24:43 Like it does not matter how much time he misses.

00:24:45 Like typically a guy comes off the IL,

00:24:47 there's some sort of learning curve

00:24:49 those first few games.

00:24:50 It's just, this guy rolls out of bed

00:24:52 and could hit a home run every game.

00:24:53 - Yeah, if they did the MVP award

00:24:55 and they just like assumed,

00:24:56 like they gave Otani his own award

00:24:58 being like, you're an alien,

00:24:59 like you get to get this.

00:25:00 And like, we're going to do an AL like forever,

00:25:02 every human, like human award.

00:25:04 I wonder where Seager would place

00:25:07 cause he's missed a ton of time,

00:25:08 but his numbers are amazing.

00:25:09 - He's missed 41 games already.

00:25:11 - He does have the highest wins

00:25:13 above replacement per game played.

00:25:15 - It's crazy man.

00:25:16 - Like he still has five wins above replacement

00:25:18 in like 70 games or something.

00:25:20 - He's so, so, so good.

00:25:22 And worth noting,

00:25:23 because the deadline acquisitions is post deadline,

00:25:26 Scherzer and Montgomery had pretty solid starts for them

00:25:29 in their first, you know, tune up with the Rangers.

00:25:31 Scherzer had a rough first inning, really settled.

00:25:33 And after that Montgomery was really good.

00:25:35 I thought that's a great sign

00:25:37 because they need some rotation help big time.

00:25:40 And if you get them and then Seager,

00:25:41 it's like they had a fucking bonanza at the deadline.

00:25:44 - They're going to need a Voldy back at full health though.

00:25:46 That'll be, and I'm with you.

00:25:48 They at worst are number three on this list to me.

00:25:52 Like I think they're where they belong to be,

00:25:55 but going forward, yeah.

00:25:57 I mean, as good as Scherzer can be

00:25:58 and Montgomery's good as well, you know,

00:26:01 the key will be getting a Voldy

00:26:03 'cause that makes for a pretty dynamite playoff rotation.

00:26:05 - Big time.

00:26:06 - Yeah.

00:26:07 - Yeah, so I'm at four and I've got two, I have two teams.

00:26:11 I have two teams and I actually had one team,

00:26:15 but then Clemmer started talking up the Astros.

00:26:18 So I started considering them,

00:26:20 but I don't know if I want to back down from the Dodgers

00:26:22 'cause they're four and one.

00:26:23 I know they lost to the Pirates.

00:26:24 So, but Clemmer rolls his eyes, it's the pitching.

00:26:26 I know he's going to go, it's the pitching,

00:26:28 but the Astros just got Verlander and they're better.

00:26:31 I know they have a, like, so it's like,

00:26:32 this is where I have to go back and say,

00:26:34 you convinced me during the show

00:26:36 'cause it forces me to think about who has a better outlook

00:26:39 where I can say, I think the Dodgers to this point

00:26:42 have played a little bit better this week.

00:26:45 The Astros could end up losing three or four

00:26:48 in Yankee Stadium.

00:26:49 - They did also throw a new hitter this week.

00:26:51 I don't know how much you'd count that

00:26:52 or what that's worth, but I mean, Frambo is back,

00:26:56 I guess is the point maybe to that.

00:26:58 Or at least he looked back.

00:27:00 Frambo and Verlander, I know Verlander-

00:27:02 - Don't guys regress after no hitters?

00:27:05 - I don't know, but that's true.

00:27:06 I have to see numbers on that.

00:27:07 - Only perfect names to make a remark.

00:27:09 - But like, you know, Verlander now, you know,

00:27:11 he has an ERA of like one,

00:27:13 going into yesterday he has an ERA of like 140 or something

00:27:16 in his last like six stars, something crazy like that.

00:27:18 And then he pitched pretty well yesterday.

00:27:20 It's weird that he's not striking guys out,

00:27:22 but he's getting outs.

00:27:24 - That's way more important to him.

00:27:26 And he's probably thinking about saving his bullets.

00:27:29 - I think so.

00:27:30 - If he wants the strikeouts, he'll hunt the strikeouts.

00:27:32 But if he can get outs more efficiently,

00:27:33 I think that's just part of getting older

00:27:36 and knowing like what you have left in the tank.

00:27:37 - We had him on the ropes, man.

00:27:39 We had him over 40 pitches through two.

00:27:41 He shouldn't have saw the sixth inning.

00:27:43 And he gets through seven.

00:27:45 - That's the Verlander special though.

00:27:48 That is, I have seen Verlander do that in so many starts.

00:27:52 - Against the Yankees alone, nevermind other teams.

00:27:54 But yeah, he does that.

00:27:56 - It's 50 pitches through two.

00:27:58 You're like, fuck yeah,

00:27:59 we're going to chase Verlander out of this thing.

00:28:00 And then before you know it, it's seven innings to win.

00:28:02 I mean, he's the master of that.

00:28:03 So yeah, he is the best pitcher ever

00:28:07 on nights where he doesn't have his best stuff

00:28:09 because he could have easily gotten popped yesterday,

00:28:13 settled in, two runs.

00:28:14 I know they lost the game, but I mean, I think in general,

00:28:16 if Verlander is going to be going seven innings to earn

00:28:19 every start the rest of the way,

00:28:20 the Astros is going to be an incredibly dangerous club.

00:28:23 I guess, so I-

00:28:25 - Oh, I thought, I thought.

00:28:26 - You had Dodgers at four, right?

00:28:28 - I did going into this,

00:28:29 but then Clemmer gets onto his,

00:28:31 I've got three American League teams

00:28:33 and he starts talking about the Astros.

00:28:34 And I'm thinking about,

00:28:35 well, now with the Verlander acquisition,

00:28:37 so what got us here, no, but where they're going.

00:28:41 And as we kind of get into the close of the season,

00:28:43 I want to start putting more weight towards the playoffs

00:28:45 and in how I think teams will fare in the playoffs.

00:28:48 If it was May and June and stuff,

00:28:50 I'm not going to get fucking take your October stuff

00:28:52 and it's baloney,

00:28:53 but as we're kind of getting closer

00:28:54 to the end of the season,

00:28:55 I want to start weighing that more appropriately.

00:28:57 And the other thing I want to stress is an open mind

00:28:59 as I come in here.

00:28:59 I did want to talk about Bobby Miller

00:29:01 and his 101 mile an hour fastballs

00:29:03 and how I think that's somebody in October

00:29:05 who I think gets more interesting for the Dodgers,

00:29:07 but I'm not taking the Dodgers here.

00:29:09 I'm taking the Astros in the fourth spot.

00:29:10 We are going to put the Astros fourth.

00:29:13 We are going to do that.

00:29:14 That's the smart, sensible thing to do

00:29:16 and putting some pride behind me and that's okay.

00:29:20 - So the thing I'll say is seeing this team

00:29:23 for three games so far,

00:29:24 going to be four today.

00:29:26 It's crazy that they continue to hit Jeremy Payne as second.

00:29:31 I don't understand it.

00:29:33 I'm not going to object to it.

00:29:34 He's doing it again today.

00:29:36 From my understanding,

00:29:37 Astros fans are not happy about this.

00:29:39 Your Don's, let's see what he's hitting today.

00:29:41 He hit fifth yesterday.

00:29:42 It's like, what are you?

00:29:44 He's hitting fifth again today.

00:29:47 I don't really understand it.

00:29:49 Payne has not been good.

00:29:51 He's just been what he was last year,

00:29:53 which is like around a 700 OPS.

00:29:56 He's worse this year though.

00:29:57 He's a strikeout machine.

00:29:59 I don't really get what,

00:30:01 and they're like an analytically driven team too.

00:30:04 So what is pointing them to putting Payne?

00:30:07 I don't get it.

00:30:08 As an opponent for them, I'm okay with it.

00:30:11 I'm sure today he hits three home runs.

00:30:13 But if you look at the game on Saturday,

00:30:16 it's like, wow, thank God your Don's up here

00:30:18 in the ninth inning with a guy on.

00:30:21 This is fine.

00:30:22 So yeah, I don't really understand that

00:30:24 what's a head scratcher.

00:30:25 I think Astros fans share the same like the funnel.

00:30:28 - If you look at his stat line,

00:30:31 you're like that guy should be batting seven, three.

00:30:33 - Yeah, I don't think he-

00:30:34 - Yeah, no, that's what's weird about the Astros

00:30:36 is they have a really good lineup,

00:30:37 but their lineup construction is bizarre.

00:30:39 Like Chaz McCormick has been either sat

00:30:44 or consistently batting like seven.

00:30:46 To me, it would be as simple as like,

00:30:48 just switch McCormick and Payne.

00:30:51 I mean, if you want your Don in the middle

00:30:53 to line up with guys on base, I understand that.

00:30:55 Now batting fifth, your Don got three at bats yesterday

00:30:57 in a one run game.

00:30:58 He shouldn't be getting three at bats.

00:31:00 Yeah, so I mean, it is frustrating for them.

00:31:02 I don't know if and when they'll ever change that.

00:31:05 'Cause that last year-

00:31:05 - Probably the game one of the playoffs

00:31:07 and we'll just be like, fuck.

00:31:08 Like that's- - Right, exactly.

00:31:10 Yeah, and they'll figure it out

00:31:11 and I bet your Don's second and he'll be mashing.

00:31:12 Yeah, so I do think sometimes they have a tendency

00:31:16 to get in their own way, but when it matters,

00:31:18 I, you know, 'cause they play down

00:31:19 to their competition sometimes.

00:31:20 - Yeah, they're playing also Kessinger a ton

00:31:23 over Janir Diaz.

00:31:25 - Who's been really good.

00:31:27 - Don't, Diaz, you're talking about.

00:31:28 - Diaz has, yeah.

00:31:29 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:31:30 I don't know why they, I guess they like-

00:31:31 - You gotta play your Don.

00:31:32 - Man, I mean, that's just the way it is.

00:31:33 He's on the roster.

00:31:35 - These are things that I see frustration

00:31:37 and it's just like, well, they're not doing the things

00:31:39 that can make them like optimal.

00:31:40 And I'm like, okay, sure.

00:31:42 - I mean, this is a great, this is a good point

00:31:45 and it's a good insight from your perspective

00:31:47 of watching the Astros play the Yankees

00:31:49 and you would do things differently.

00:31:50 And I would love to hear whoever that decision maker is

00:31:54 or whatever that ultimate decision metric is

00:31:56 from the Astros, someone to shoot a straight

00:31:58 just tell us black and white.

00:31:58 Well, this is why we hit Jeremy Payne in second

00:32:00 because A, B, C, D, E, F, G,

00:32:01 because you know they have all the reasons why they do it.

00:32:04 They're not just making shit up.

00:32:05 They are not.

00:32:07 - Yeah.

00:32:07 - Imagine it's just like, yeah, we didn't really care

00:32:09 until like October anyway.

00:32:11 So like, we're just, we haven't really

00:32:12 put any thought into this.

00:32:13 Like why, why would we?

00:32:14 We're just, we know we're just gonna get there.

00:32:16 And then when we get there, we're gonna be awesome.

00:32:17 So like, that's who we'll care.

00:32:19 - Could be.

00:32:21 - Yep, so on to me for five now.

00:32:24 - Okay, so Lonnie is fifth.

00:32:25 We're comfortable Astros four.

00:32:27 - Very comfortable Astros four.

00:32:29 I, you know, you know what, you know, it's interesting

00:32:30 looking at the records.

00:32:32 Like I, there's a part of me that's like,

00:32:35 are we being too hard on the Tampa Bay Rays?

00:32:39 Because the Rays got off to such that,

00:32:40 that's incredible start.

00:32:43 And so I asked myself that question

00:32:45 and the answer is no, no, we're not.

00:32:47 I got the Dodgers here at five.

00:32:49 I just, because I'm basing it on often kind of the principle

00:32:52 that Clemmer has used on here, which is who would you

00:32:54 believe has a better shot in a five or seven game series

00:32:57 against some of these teams?

00:32:59 And, and ultimately I just, I, my concerns about the Rays

00:33:03 pitching depth, especially when it comes to starting

00:33:05 pitching is very legitimate.

00:33:06 Now I have a lot of concerns about Dodgers pitching depth

00:33:08 as well.

00:33:09 I mean, I think that they had a trade in place.

00:33:11 It fell through, but I really think this is a,

00:33:14 they're really going to have to kind of maneuver and,

00:33:15 and, and do, you know, bullpen's going to have to be really

00:33:19 strong in October.

00:33:20 Cause I don't see any of their starting pitchers going

00:33:22 particularly deep into games,

00:33:23 but this is a regular season based rankings.

00:33:26 And this is an offense that is as explosive as it gets.

00:33:30 I mean, Mookie and Freddie Freeman are both,

00:33:32 these are two hall of famers that are having two of their

00:33:34 best seasons.

00:33:35 Like, I mean, from, from Howard standpoint,

00:33:37 this is the best version of Mookie that we've gotten

00:33:40 probably since he won the MVP in 2018,

00:33:43 Freeman's been a machine for them.

00:33:44 So they're going to find a way to keep winning.

00:33:46 And they're now reaching a point where the division is

00:33:49 becoming a little bit more comfortable to the giants that

00:33:52 played some really good baseball as of late.

00:33:54 So there's not a whole lot to say it's an explosive

00:33:56 offense. They keep winning games.

00:33:57 They keep getting it done.

00:33:58 They do a good job.

00:33:59 I feel like consistently,

00:34:00 we're talking like a decade now of avoiding those horrible

00:34:03 weeks or horrible months, those, those 14, 16, 16 months,

00:34:07 you know, those, where, where they start sliding,

00:34:09 they've been remarkably consistent.

00:34:11 I think it's going to stay that way. I got them at five.

00:34:13 - Yeah. I did five as well.

00:34:16 Yeah. They're, they're, I'm still trying to figure them out

00:34:21 a little bit. Like their offense is so good.

00:34:23 The starting pitching has been kind of at times lousy.

00:34:27 Them getting Kershaw back would be huge.

00:34:30 I don't know when exactly that's supposed to happen.

00:34:33 I'm always worried older guys, especially like him,

00:34:36 who's not particularly durable, like,

00:34:38 is he going to come back or is he going to come back like

00:34:40 two weeks before the season ends?

00:34:42 Like throw like four or five innings and then he's going to

00:34:44 get knocked around the playoffs.

00:34:45 Is that what's going to happen? I don't, I don't know,

00:34:46 but I'd like to see him back sooner than later.

00:34:48 I'm sure everybody would.

00:34:50 And obviously if they got Nero,

00:34:51 that would have made the team much better, much, much,

00:34:54 much better.

00:34:56 But that didn't work out either. So I don't know.

00:34:59 The Dodgers, this is a weird year for the Dodgers where I

00:35:01 almost feel like this is a bridge year for them in a lot of

00:35:03 ways.

00:35:04 Maybe they go and get Otani or try and make an effort or

00:35:06 there's a lot of starting pitchers,

00:35:08 including one of their own, Urias,

00:35:10 who's a free agent this year.

00:35:11 You know,

00:35:12 maybe they go and spend a ton of money and rebuild that

00:35:14 rotation. I don't know,

00:35:15 but this has been a strange year for the Dodgers.

00:35:18 - Kershaw threw a four inning simulated game three days ago.

00:35:21 He's on track to maybe join them next week. So.

00:35:24 - Okay.

00:35:25 - I think it's sooner rather than later for him.

00:35:27 - I just would love to see him back before the end of

00:35:30 August. And it sounds like-

00:35:30 - That feels like a certainty.

00:35:32 - He's going to be rolling.

00:35:34 They're going to, he's going to be ready for October.

00:35:36 - If that's the case, that, that puts them in a great spot,

00:35:39 especially, like I said, with the NL, in my opinion,

00:35:41 being weak, having less top tier teams than the AL does.

00:35:45 So then you only got to, it's a big worry, but then you got,

00:35:48 then, then it's the Braves.

00:35:49 But other than the Braves,

00:35:50 I think every other team in the NL is,

00:35:53 has some pretty big flaws, pretty beat up.

00:35:54 - Yeah. I'm with you.

00:35:56 - It does feel like an NLCS matchup where everyone has

00:35:59 talked about the Braves all year long.

00:36:00 And then all of a sudden you're going to get the Dodgers

00:36:02 there, unless, you know, someone else joins the party.

00:36:04 And, and then you're going to see that Dodgers lineup,

00:36:07 like in the, in the first inning,

00:36:08 when they introduced everyone, you'd be like, oh.

00:36:11 - Right.

00:36:12 - I would do bad things for an ALCS and an NLCS to come from

00:36:17 these top five teams.

00:36:18 - Yeah.

00:36:19 - Bad things.

00:36:21 - Oh, you know, it never works that way in the NLCS though.

00:36:24 - It never does.

00:36:25 - No.

00:36:26 - We're going to get the Marlins.

00:36:27 - Marlins, Cubs.

00:36:28 - Marlins, Cubs it is.

00:36:29 We get an 0-3 rematch.

00:36:31 - Yeah.

00:36:32 - As it is, we're still like, I don't want to say sleeping,

00:36:34 but you know, they're still there too.

00:36:35 You know, they could always do another, you know,

00:36:37 same thing they did last year and surprise us.

00:36:39 - When I say we, I'm talking about the National League.

00:36:41 We only submit 86, 87 win teams to the World Series.

00:36:45 - Right.

00:36:46 - That's the best we're going to do.

00:36:48 - We can't do any more. Sorry.

00:36:49 - I do have National League pride.

00:36:53 I don't, can I just take a pot?

00:36:54 Do you guys cheer for the,

00:36:55 KSL, do you cheer for the American League?

00:36:57 KSL, do you cheer for the National League,

00:36:59 Hubs, American League, and the World Series?

00:37:00 - No.

00:37:01 - Not for the Red Sox and Astros.

00:37:02 I'll choose for, I'll root for the Mets

00:37:04 over the Red Sox and Astros.

00:37:05 - I almost always cheer for the National League.

00:37:07 Almost, almost.

00:37:09 I'm trying to think if I've never cheered for,

00:37:11 the Red Sox, I like when the Red Sox win.

00:37:13 - All right.

00:37:17 - Yeah, I guess I don't really,

00:37:18 I'm not a big like root for your comfort.

00:37:20 Like it's like that with college too.

00:37:21 Like when fucking Wisconsin made it to the final four

00:37:24 and people are like, are you rooting for the Big Ten?

00:37:26 - Always, always.

00:37:27 - I'm not.

00:37:28 - Listen, if Iraq came out of the NL

00:37:31 and they were playing the Red Sox, I'm choosing Iraq.

00:37:33 Like that's, that's how we're, that's how I'm.

00:37:36 - Not as surprised at all to hear from you, Hubs.

00:37:38 (laughing)

00:37:40 - I mean, the Taliban, is that what you meant?

00:37:42 You mean like them?

00:37:43 All right, let's go.

00:37:44 Who's number six?

00:37:45 - That'd be me.

00:37:47 - No.

00:37:48 - I think, yeah.

00:37:51 They, you can make an argument

00:37:53 like they could be dropped further than this,

00:37:54 but I don't want to.

00:37:55 Like, like there is a drop off here.

00:37:57 I think, I think there's, in my opinion, like,

00:37:59 I guess one, two, three, four is pretty good.

00:38:03 And then after six, there's a difference in level.

00:38:07 So the Rays are still here at six.

00:38:09 - Yeah.

00:38:10 - McClanahan, we're going to find out more about his injury.

00:38:12 Seeing a specialist on his elbow.

00:38:14 That's never a, that's never a good sentence

00:38:16 for your players.

00:38:17 They're seeing a specialist about your elbow.

00:38:19 Especially when you go through how many pitchers

00:38:22 they've run through this year.

00:38:23 It's, it's insane.

00:38:25 I do really worry about the amount of pressure

00:38:29 that is now on Glasnell and Efflin.

00:38:32 - Yeah.

00:38:33 - To kind of just like,

00:38:34 keep this rotation somewhat together.

00:38:37 And if you, I don't even know if it's together

00:38:38 at this point, but Glasnell is like,

00:38:41 you got to stay healthy.

00:38:42 I'll do like, we don't like have pitchers for the postseason.

00:38:45 If, if McClanahan doesn't return here.

00:38:46 - Well, they did just get, they did just get Aaron Civali.

00:38:49 - Who like, I, I don't think that guy's going to put

00:38:51 the fear of God in anybody.

00:38:52 He's a nice pitcher.

00:38:53 Like that's not, he's not a Glasnell,

00:38:55 McClanahan type like, you know, opponent.

00:38:58 He can go out there, but like, you know,

00:39:01 if I see Civali out there, I can hit him.

00:39:03 I can't.

00:39:04 And Efflin's fine.

00:39:06 And he had a really nice start, but yeah,

00:39:09 there's a lot of pressure on these guys to stay,

00:39:10 these remaining guys to stay healthy

00:39:12 because if McClanahan's not returning

00:39:13 and elbow specialist, all that,

00:39:15 it doesn't exactly, you know,

00:39:16 paint the greatest picture for them.

00:39:18 They still took two, two or three from the Yankees.

00:39:21 If they went today to take two or three from the Tigers,

00:39:23 before that, they took two or three from Houston.

00:39:25 Like they're still winning series here.

00:39:27 They're still got a nice cushion.

00:39:28 I know I said a couple of weeks ago, like,

00:39:30 Oh, wonder if Tampa, like, you know,

00:39:32 threatens to fall out of the wildcard race altogether.

00:39:35 It'd be pretty difficult still.

00:39:36 Like there there's six up in the loss column on Seattle.

00:39:39 Who's the fourth team right now,

00:39:40 but they're not trending in the right direction.

00:39:44 So they gotta, they gotta pray

00:39:46 for some good news in McClanahan.

00:39:47 - Yeah.

00:39:50 - No, I completely agree.

00:39:51 This race team is a mess and they, you know,

00:39:54 they might be the poster child for peak too soon.

00:39:58 You know, look at how they were in April and May

00:40:01 and then look at them now.

00:40:02 They've been, they honestly,

00:40:03 you know what they're playing themselves into?

00:40:05 They're playing themselves into the team

00:40:06 that everyone wants to play in the playoffs.

00:40:08 It's like, all right, great.

00:40:09 We got the race.

00:40:10 And like, what a difference compared to what we thought

00:40:13 about them in April and May, we were like,

00:40:15 I was saying it too, like they were juggling out.

00:40:16 They're, they're unbeatable.

00:40:17 They're just destroying teams.

00:40:19 And, and now they've just kind of, you know,

00:40:21 they're at best, they're mediocre the last couple of months.

00:40:24 You can even say they're worse than that.

00:40:25 - Yeah, that's where, I'm sorry.

00:40:27 I wanted to say, I don't think there's,

00:40:29 we're starting to get to the point where like,

00:40:30 I don't give a fuck about the Tampa Bay Rays.

00:40:32 Cause they were good in April.

00:40:33 They were out, they were historic in April and May.

00:40:36 They're making TikToks, the run differential.

00:40:38 They're on pace to fucking 450.

00:40:41 Like right now with the Rays rolled into Angel Stadium,

00:40:45 I'm not fucking saying the Rays are ain't like,

00:40:47 I know the Angels haven't won since they acquired G-Lito.

00:40:49 That's why I'm using them as an example.

00:40:51 Or like the Rays versus the Mariners.

00:40:53 Is that a, in a seven game series?

00:40:56 Sure, maybe a slight edge.

00:40:57 I don't know.

00:40:58 What the fuck?

00:40:59 - I don't know, right now I'd have to say that.

00:41:00 - They're 500 since June.

00:41:01 - The Mariners, I would say,

00:41:03 I would give the edge to the Mariners.

00:41:05 If the Mariners played the Rays right now,

00:41:06 I'd give the edge to them.

00:41:07 But like you said, though, you know,

00:41:08 the Rays have a huge lead in the play.

00:41:11 Like I would be very surprised.

00:41:14 And a lot of teams have to leapfrog over them.

00:41:16 So I'd be very surprised to see the Rays

00:41:18 out of the playoffs.

00:41:19 But if I'm a Maryville 18, I'd be like,

00:41:21 all right, let's go.

00:41:21 I get to place the Rays.

00:41:23 - Yeah, which is crazy.

00:41:24 'Cause for a while it's been seen as that third wildcard

00:41:28 spots, the sweet spot to get,

00:41:29 'cause you get the central winner.

00:41:31 Now it actually might be that one,

00:41:33 the team that's not the Rays and the wildcard playing them,

00:41:36 like that's who you want.

00:41:37 Not necessarily playing the central.

00:41:39 I mean, playing the central is kind of a lottery ticket,

00:41:42 but yeah, the Rays have kind of turned into like,

00:41:44 all right, we're not gonna be intimidated by this team.

00:41:46 Like I don't even know half these people

00:41:48 on this roster right now.

00:41:49 - One scary thing too,

00:41:51 that people might be overlooking about them.

00:41:53 You know, we talk about their pitching injuries

00:41:55 and that's fair.

00:41:56 Randy Rosarena, four for his last 47.

00:42:00 I mean, OPS has dropped from 849 to 790 in that stretch.

00:42:04 I mean, that is still a ridiculously deep, powerful offense.

00:42:08 If one of those guys falls off and Wanda Franco hasn't even

00:42:11 go to it last month or so either, as good,

00:42:14 then we're talking about some real problems.

00:42:16 'Cause they've kind of been carried by that offense.

00:42:19 If that thing, if they go to the wayside,

00:42:20 they're in deep trouble.

00:42:21 - This is a reminder too, one last thing on the Rays.

00:42:24 This is a reminder of how bad their ownership is.

00:42:26 'Cause imagine if it was the Dodgers, Yankees,

00:42:30 Mac, whatever, pick your big market team or whatever,

00:42:32 pick your Astros even, or other teams.

00:42:35 If they got off to that great start,

00:42:37 started scuffling the middle of the season,

00:42:39 they would have made some big moves.

00:42:40 The Rays might not get Aaron Zavala, it's about it.

00:42:43 - Yeah.

00:42:44 - Like, what the fuck?

00:42:46 - Yeah, you would think they'd be like,

00:42:47 they'd be head on for Seas or something, right here.

00:42:49 - I mean, honestly, like we did that,

00:42:51 we did the trade deadline show and how often did the Rays

00:42:54 come up among the four of us?

00:42:55 (laughing)

00:42:56 Like we were just like, we know they're not gonna do

00:42:57 anything, we'll talk about shit that's actually

00:42:59 gonna happen.

00:43:00 Like, how pathetic.

00:43:01 And I feel really bad for Rays fans, like in that sense,

00:43:04 it's like, they do, they're fans, they are.

00:43:08 They actually get pretty good TV ratings.

00:43:11 I think the fans are probably older,

00:43:12 I'm sure they're not watching this.

00:43:13 - Yeah, they can't move to the stadium,

00:43:15 they can't actually get to the stadium physically,

00:43:17 so they have to turn on TV.

00:43:18 - That's true too, you're not wrong.

00:43:20 I lived there for two years, that is a disaster.

00:43:23 - Tampa?

00:43:24 - Yeah, I lived there '04, '05.

00:43:27 - You were in Tampa in '04, '05,

00:43:29 you were in the Gruden years?

00:43:31 - Yeah, yep.

00:43:33 - What was that like?

00:43:33 - And that bridge, that's not a joke.

00:43:35 Crossing that bridge is a disaster.

00:43:38 - It is, yeah.

00:43:39 - Yeah, it sucks.

00:43:41 - Okay, I wanna know more about the Tampa years.

00:43:46 Start thinking of the stories you wanna get going.

00:43:48 - A lot of drinking.

00:43:49 - Tampa Clemmer is great.

00:43:51 - A lot of strip clubs.

00:43:52 - A lot of strip clubs.

00:43:53 - I'm not a big strip club guy.

00:43:55 - Neither am I.

00:43:55 - But there are a lot.

00:43:56 - I drank a ton, I was miserable basically

00:43:59 the entire time I was there.

00:44:01 My best friend is still out there, I went there with him.

00:44:03 But yeah, a lot of sadness, two years of sadness.

00:44:06 - All right, let's cheer up boys.

00:44:09 Stu Sternberg.

00:44:10 - That guy.

00:44:13 - Thanks.

00:44:14 - All right, number seven, Clemmer, back to you.

00:44:18 - Oh, okay, so this is tough.

00:44:21 Now we're in like, almost a razor in their own bracket

00:44:25 in a weird way, and then it's now it's everybody else.

00:44:28 - Deep drop.

00:44:29 - I have the Boojays here.

00:44:31 - Same.

00:44:32 - And I know, I probably, and Hubs and I,

00:44:34 like we say it every week,

00:44:35 Hubs and I have this argument every day at the office.

00:44:37 Hubs is right about this.

00:44:40 He's been right the entire time I've worked there,

00:44:42 that the Boojays are just like this fraud team

00:44:44 that I look at their roster and my brain is like,

00:44:47 this team has to be good.

00:44:49 And I do think they'll make the playoffs,

00:44:52 I wouldn't wanna face them in the playoffs,

00:44:54 but the same token, there's this little voice,

00:44:55 the Hubs voice inside my head, which is a sad voice,

00:44:58 the voice I hate.

00:44:59 - Should never have my voice in your head, never.

00:45:01 - It's awful, and it's like, yeah,

00:45:02 that horrible Hubs voice, and he's like,

00:45:04 they're not for real, they're not for real,

00:45:06 they're not for real.

00:45:07 But I do have to, I think I have to put them seventh here.

00:45:09 They are, they've won six of the last 10,

00:45:12 they are on pace for 90 wins,

00:45:13 they have incredible talent in this roster.

00:45:16 Assuming Bobachet's back, he's on the IL,

00:45:19 and they first are like, all right,

00:45:21 they go and get Paul Dejean,

00:45:23 then they say, oh, he's fine,

00:45:24 but we're gonna put him in the IL anyway,

00:45:26 which is always a lie.

00:45:27 So assuming he comes back,

00:45:29 this team is dangerous in the playoffs,

00:45:31 but I say that every year, and every year,

00:45:32 they don't, they're not dangerous at all.

00:45:34 So I don't know.

00:45:36 - They are, to me, the most frustrating team

00:45:38 in the sport of baseball,

00:45:39 because, you know, Hubs, you brought it up last week,

00:45:41 that this was a big week for them.

00:45:42 You know, you have a four game set at home against Baltimore,

00:45:46 then you have a three game set on the road against Boston.

00:45:50 They proceeded to shit down their leg

00:45:52 in that four game set at Baltimore.

00:45:53 I mean, they lost three out of four.

00:45:54 If not for just an error and hit by pitch riddled inning,

00:45:59 they would have ended up getting swept at home

00:46:02 in that series.

00:46:03 Like, that's the kind of series that you lose.

00:46:05 And nationally, you take a step back and you look and say,

00:46:08 yeah, you know what, that team,

00:46:09 I just don't know if they have it.

00:46:10 But, you know, the six out of 10,

00:46:13 they've lost the big games,

00:46:14 but they keep beating the teams

00:46:15 they're supposed to be beating.

00:46:17 And ultimately, I can't give up on them

00:46:19 'cause I could easily see them being this year's champions.

00:46:21 - I can't make fun of Benue's Wi-Fi today,

00:46:22 'cause my Wi-Fi sucks in the hotel.

00:46:24 So, Cancellani needs a pass from me.

00:46:26 - Is mine shitty right now?

00:46:28 - Yep.

00:46:29 - Yep.

00:46:31 - Well said.

00:46:32 - Well said.

00:46:33 - Yeah, they're a frustrating bunch, man.

00:46:35 I don't know how much.

00:46:37 (laughing)

00:46:38 I was just gonna keep going.

00:46:39 - No, it's a great moment for the show.

00:46:42 It's a great moment for the show,

00:46:44 'cause Cancellani, he's not in on the joke.

00:46:46 He doesn't know that we do this every time it happens.

00:46:49 - Oh, yes I do.

00:46:50 Yes I do.

00:46:52 - So, are you mad at your internet or are you mad at us?

00:46:55 - Yeah, of course, no, I'm not mad at you.

00:46:56 If somebody else on this show had an internet

00:46:59 that was run by a fucking hamster on a wheel,

00:47:01 I'd throw my laptop across the room.

00:47:02 So, no, I'm not mad at you guys, not at all.

00:47:05 - I try to just keep it going.

00:47:08 - We just nod and smile.

00:47:12 None of this is getting edited out.

00:47:15 But everything you said though, Chris,

00:47:17 I do believe was true and valid.

00:47:19 - It was.

00:47:20 - One of the two is complete bullshit.

00:47:21 - One of the two, it's one of the two though.

00:47:24 - No, the Blue Jays are a frustrating team

00:47:26 that I could see being this year's Phillies, is the point.

00:47:28 Is that you get into October

00:47:31 and all their hitters start mashing home runs,

00:47:33 all their pitchers start pitching really well,

00:47:35 but they are inconsistent as fuck.

00:47:37 And I feel like they're not as good as they should be,

00:47:39 but they're still a really dangerous ball club.

00:47:41 - Yeah, congrats to the Red Sox.

00:47:44 You managed to make Alec Manoa

00:47:47 almost clear seven innings and a start.

00:47:50 You've also made a great manager like Alex Carr

00:47:52 completely lost.

00:47:55 - Yeah.

00:47:56 - That clubhouse is in shambles.

00:47:57 What's going on?

00:47:58 - I guess let's take the moment.

00:47:59 Yeah, I actually had brought them up at the end of the show

00:48:02 because they were playing good.

00:48:03 They were playing up until basically we recorded last week.

00:48:07 I think they had the second best winning percentage

00:48:09 over the last 45 games, only behind the Braves.

00:48:12 Like Cassius was hitting the shit out of the ball,

00:48:14 Yoshida, all this.

00:48:15 I know we're talking about the Blue Jays here,

00:48:17 but they have completely taken a nosedive here

00:48:20 out of nowhere.

00:48:22 And Cora called yesterday one of the worst days

00:48:26 he's had as a manager of the Red Sox.

00:48:28 And they say Verdugo is two hours.

00:48:31 He only showed up two hours before the game.

00:48:33 I think there's more to that.

00:48:34 And I think Clement and Morty, you were saying,

00:48:35 I don't know if Cora has the clubhouse right now.

00:48:38 - Verdugo's a punk.

00:48:39 Come on, he's-

00:48:40 - He is.

00:48:41 - Verdugo's a bad person.

00:48:42 - No, punk.

00:48:44 The word's punk.

00:48:45 It's 'cause punk is light.

00:48:46 - Bad person's heavy stuff.

00:48:48 He's young, he's athletic, he's a professional athlete.

00:48:51 He's punky.

00:48:52 - I don't like the word punk either.

00:48:53 I don't know, Verdugo, maybe he's not a bad person,

00:48:55 maybe he was a little strong there,

00:48:56 but he's definitely something's not,

00:48:58 I mean, think about that videotape incident

00:49:01 that happened a few years ago,

00:49:02 where videotaped these people fighting,

00:49:04 these girls fighting.

00:49:05 There was that whole thing.

00:49:06 Like there's been like a number of things with Verdugo,

00:49:08 and you're like, what's going on with this guy?

00:49:10 - Yeah, I don't know.

00:49:11 They tried to trade him at the deadline.

00:49:12 Bloom definitely floated his name out there.

00:49:14 No one, I guess, wanted him,

00:49:15 they didn't offer enough,

00:49:16 but I don't know if that is trickling over.

00:49:20 'Cause that happened with Glaber last year or something,

00:49:23 where you're almost traded,

00:49:24 and it just throws your brain in a blender.

00:49:26 But yeah, there's something weird going on there,

00:49:29 and the Blue Jays took advantage of them.

00:49:30 I just don't take too much out of this series.

00:49:33 I'm really disheartened by how Toronto showed up

00:49:35 in that Baltimore series.

00:49:36 At home, a chance to really get going here,

00:49:39 and you lose three or four,

00:49:40 and like Castellani said, he almost got swept.

00:49:43 Ryu made his season debut in that series.

00:49:46 He didn't look all too good.

00:49:47 I'm not too big of a fan.

00:49:49 I'm not intimidated too much by him in big moments.

00:49:52 Yeah, I don't know, I guess seven's fine for them.

00:49:55 They have a ton of potential to keep,

00:49:56 to really get going.

00:49:57 And they still have a decent lead in the wild.

00:50:01 Actually, it's down to two with the Mariners.

00:50:03 - Yeah, no, they're hot.

00:50:04 They had a good week.

00:50:05 - Mariners are playing well.

00:50:06 - Yeah, I didn't realize it was down to two

00:50:08 in the loss column.

00:50:09 But yeah, it was seven, right?

00:50:12 - Yeah. - Yeah, that was seven.

00:50:13 - Seven, yeah, yeah, I'm fine with that.

00:50:15 Yeah, I like it.

00:50:17 It's a good pick.

00:50:18 They're almost in their own category,

00:50:19 their own underneath the Rays.

00:50:21 - Yeah.

00:50:22 Who is eight?

00:50:25 - I'm eight, but we're comfortable with blue.

00:50:26 Okay, I'm gonna take--

00:50:27 - Nah, it's fine.

00:50:29 - There's a couple National League teams to play with here.

00:50:31 - There are, yeah.

00:50:33 - And people probably expect me to take the Cubs.

00:50:35 I'm not, I'm taking the Phillies.

00:50:37 - You're taking the Phillies?

00:50:38 - That was my pick as well, yeah.

00:50:40 - Yeah, so I had the Phillies eight.

00:50:41 - That's what I had too.

00:50:42 - Okay, I do not have the Cubs at eight.

00:50:44 I'm not moving the Cubs up this week.

00:50:45 I know a lot of people probably want me to do that.

00:50:47 I'm not doing that.

00:50:49 I'm still, hold, I'm like Mel Gibson in "Braveheart"

00:50:54 pulling the sticks up on the charging horses.

00:51:01 It's a bloody scene.

00:51:01 No animals were hurt in the filming of that.

00:51:04 But I'm just there, hold steady, hold steady on the Cubs.

00:51:08 I like the Phillies.

00:51:09 - Well, the Cubs are winning that division, Carl.

00:51:10 Do you acknowledge that now?

00:51:12 Can we all acknowledge that, that I was right about this?

00:51:15 Or are we not doing that yet?

00:51:16 - I'm out there, yeah.

00:51:17 - I said the Cubs could trade their best player

00:51:18 and still win that division.

00:51:19 So don't fucking come at me about whether or not

00:51:22 the Cubs could win the NL Central.

00:51:25 - Come on, Carl.

00:51:25 No, I was, come on, guys.

00:51:28 A little, no, no, I'm sorry, Chris.

00:51:31 - No, I was with you when you put them ahead of everybody.

00:51:36 But I will say, yes, you were mad last week.

00:51:40 You wanted to talk about the Reds.

00:51:41 I don't, are we jumping ahead of that?

00:51:43 Talk about the Phillies.

00:51:44 We can suck your dick just 'cause I brought the Cubs up.

00:51:46 - It'd be nice.

00:51:47 It'd be nice to look at.

00:51:48 - I think the Cubs should be nine.

00:51:49 I don't think we should take the Cubs off the list

00:51:51 after they go three of four against Cincinnati at home,

00:51:54 spank 'em, hitting 50 fucking runs.

00:51:56 And now they have a chance to take a series

00:51:58 from the Braves today.

00:51:59 They could get smacked again.

00:52:01 They did get smacked on Friday.

00:52:02 They came out and played well on Saturday.

00:52:04 So I do like that a lot about the Cubs.

00:52:06 But I still don't have 'em above the Phillies.

00:52:08 The Phillies have a better roster.

00:52:09 - All right, let's talk Phillies.

00:52:10 I agree, Carl, exactly those reasons.

00:52:12 The Phillies have a better roster.

00:52:13 I have them at eight as well.

00:52:14 The Phillies are kind of like the National League Blue Jays

00:52:19 for me this season.

00:52:19 And like, I expect them to be better.

00:52:22 But then again, unlike the Blue Jays,

00:52:24 the Phillies went to the fucking World Series last year.

00:52:26 So, but yeah, this is like a team

00:52:29 that I just look at their roster and I'm like,

00:52:30 wow, this team needs to be better.

00:52:32 And they're not even on pace.

00:52:33 What are they on pace for?

00:52:35 89, 88 wins.

00:52:37 And it's like, if you told me that roster would only,

00:52:39 and Wheeler and Noah would be healthy all year,

00:52:41 and they'd only have 88 wins, I'd be like, are you crazy?

00:52:44 But that's where we are.

00:52:45 But then again, you can't sleep on this team in the playoffs.

00:52:48 We saw what happened last year.

00:52:49 So I don't know, I also just love that depth they have

00:52:52 in that rotation, getting Lorenzen.

00:52:54 - Good pick up. - Makes a big difference.

00:52:56 - Yeah, he looked great in his debut.

00:52:59 - That sets them up really well for the next two months.

00:53:02 Maybe it is, you know, if someone gets hurt,

00:53:04 they can slot someone right in with Christopher Sanchez

00:53:06 sitting right there.

00:53:07 So I like the Phillies a lot.

00:53:09 Shout out Phillies fans,

00:53:10 known as a very hostile, raucous bunch.

00:53:13 Using the power of friendship here

00:53:16 to get Trey Turner going,

00:53:18 you know, giving him like a standing ovation,

00:53:20 like a sympathy standing ovation, be like,

00:53:22 hey, you know what?

00:53:23 You're gonna be here for a while.

00:53:25 You know, we're around around you.

00:53:26 You're better than this.

00:53:28 And he's had a nice few games here,

00:53:29 and a really nice Saturday with a home run and all this.

00:53:33 And the standing ovation, curtain call, like, all right?

00:53:38 Power of friendship from the Philly fans,

00:53:41 getting Trey Turner going.

00:53:42 If they get him going, that changes, like he,

00:53:46 that changes their whole life.

00:53:48 - Plummer, any regrets you didn't give Lindor

00:53:49 a standing ovation this year?

00:53:51 You guys didn't do more for the Mets?

00:53:53 - All kidding aside, I think Mets fans

00:53:55 have been way too nice with this team,

00:53:57 including myself, probably.

00:53:58 Like, we haven't been too many boos

00:54:00 at City Field this year, and this team deserves it.

00:54:03 Maybe we'll see some shit in August and September,

00:54:04 but I will say the Mets fans

00:54:06 have kind of coddled this roster.

00:54:08 - Interesting.

00:54:09 - If you buy a ticket for Mets games moving forward,

00:54:11 it should be to strictly boo.

00:54:13 Like, you're not watching the team play at City Field.

00:54:15 You know what I mean?

00:54:16 Like, you're buying a ticket.

00:54:18 You're buying a ticket to boo the Mets, like, in my opinion.

00:54:21 Like, I don't know why else you would be going.

00:54:23 - Yeah.

00:54:24 - You're a crazy person, 'cause I think Hubs

00:54:27 would actually do that.

00:54:28 Like, in your world, you would buy a ticket to boo somebody.

00:54:31 Like, you would go to a Mets game to boo.

00:54:33 - I don't know if I would,

00:54:35 with how the Yankees are playing this week,

00:54:36 like, I wasn't gonna go to the stadium the rest,

00:54:38 if they didn't turn it around.

00:54:39 Like, I have no interest in going there to boo.

00:54:41 I'll just watch at home.

00:54:42 So I'm not exactly like that.

00:54:44 - Okay.

00:54:44 One through eight, let's go through this

00:54:48 before we get to nine.

00:54:49 One through eight.

00:54:50 Or do we just wanna say, do we agree?

00:54:52 - I'm fine with the Phillies at eight.

00:54:56 - Yeah, we all--

00:54:57 - I do think you can make an argument--

00:54:58 - My next follow-up question is, like,

00:55:00 then the Cubs were nine last week.

00:55:02 Is there anybody--

00:55:03 - Right, so the Giants could easily be

00:55:06 in the conversation here.

00:55:07 Like, the Giants are sneaky, like, not dead in the West.

00:55:12 Nevermind the wild card,

00:55:13 like, firmly in the wild card right now.

00:55:15 Giants just, like, and you know what's crazy?

00:55:19 Is I've watched them, and I'm not, like,

00:55:20 overly impressed by, like,

00:55:21 maybe it's just a random game, so I'm watching them.

00:55:24 But then you look at all their numbers and their stats,

00:55:26 and it's just like, they're here,

00:55:27 and then they've been here for a while.

00:55:30 It's just, like, very--

00:55:31 - They go out and just win games.

00:55:34 - Yeah.

00:55:34 - Even a lot of, like, five, three games,

00:55:36 like, four, two games.

00:55:37 Like, it's not sexy wins at all.

00:55:39 They're not a sexy roster.

00:55:40 - No.

00:55:41 - But they're efficient as hell.

00:55:42 - They have--

00:55:43 - And they have a really deep roster,

00:55:45 and if they have injuries,

00:55:45 they can kind of just flip guys in there.

00:55:47 I love their, like, one through 26,

00:55:49 'cause even, like, they're,

00:55:50 I bet they have the best, like, 20 through 26 in the majors,

00:55:54 if that makes any sense.

00:55:55 Like, I think that their depth is super strong.

00:55:58 - And a really, really good bullpen.

00:55:59 They're capable of shortening games as well.

00:56:01 And they have did at least two really good starters

00:56:03 in Webb and Cubs.

00:56:04 That was my number nine.

00:56:05 That's who I have at nine.

00:56:07 I know it's probably going to look a bit bizarre

00:56:11 that, you know, the Cubs had a really good week.

00:56:13 They go from nine to off the list,

00:56:14 but ultimately, we're talking about a team that's 11.

00:56:16 We're talking about a team that's 11 games--

00:56:17 - See, I totally disagree with him here.

00:56:19 - Yeah, you would've had Cubs, or?

00:56:21 - No, I'm just talking when the internet went out.

00:56:23 - Oh, okay.

00:56:23 (laughing)

00:56:25 - That's great.

00:56:26 - It's--

00:56:27 - All right.

00:56:28 - Eat that watermelon.

00:56:29 - It was a good point.

00:56:30 Whatever you--

00:56:30 - The Giants are nine.

00:56:32 They played fantastic.

00:56:33 They're not completely out of that divisional race either.

00:56:35 I mean, they're only three games back.

00:56:37 - No.

00:56:37 - You know, they have their system.

00:56:39 They go through, they're true to form with that system.

00:56:42 Really good pitching, deep roster.

00:56:43 They're gonna platoon guys.

00:56:44 They're gonna pinch hit guys.

00:56:45 But they're also going to win a lot of games.

00:56:47 They've had a nice bounce back

00:56:48 from last year's disappointing campaign.

00:56:50 I don't really see them going anywhere.

00:56:51 I mean, it seems like there's a really good,

00:56:54 like, kind of sense.

00:56:55 There's a really good connection there

00:56:56 within that organization.

00:56:58 Seems like everyone's always on the same page.

00:57:00 It's been that way since they were winning World Series

00:57:02 in the early 2010s.

00:57:03 Good roster.

00:57:04 - Let me ask you guys this.

00:57:05 Let me ask you, who do you think on their,

00:57:06 in their offensive lineup has a 900 OPS?

00:57:09 - Wait, let me think about this.

00:57:12 Does anybody?

00:57:13 - A 900 OPS?

00:57:17 - 900 OPS in their lineup.

00:57:20 - Estrada.

00:57:21 - Cassier, Bailey?

00:57:23 - No, Bailey has sub 700, if I'm reading this correctly.

00:57:27 Yeah, sub 700.

00:57:28 But he's great defensively.

00:57:30 - It's not, oh, it's not Jastrzemski.

00:57:32 It's not Brandon Crawford.

00:57:34 - This is a fun question.

00:57:35 - I just looked it up, so I'm not gonna answer it.

00:57:37 - Is it Wade?

00:57:38 - It's not.

00:57:39 He has the highest war on the team, though.

00:57:41 He's 822.

00:57:42 He's having a fantastic time there.

00:57:45 He's nice.

00:57:46 - It's not Aubrey Huff.

00:57:47 - It's not Aubrey Huff.

00:57:48 - Who is it?

00:57:50 - Who's their?

00:57:51 - It's Wilmer Flores.

00:57:53 - Oh, old friend.

00:57:55 - Wilmer.

00:57:56 - Who surprisingly has like,

00:57:58 his history of OPS pluses are all north of 120.

00:58:02 Wilmer Flores is hitting 308 with a 906 OPS for them

00:58:06 in 80 games.

00:58:08 Like what the fuck is happening here?

00:58:10 - Has anybody been to a game there?

00:58:12 - I never have.

00:58:13 - Yes, I have.

00:58:14 - I want you so bad.

00:58:15 - It's supposed to take your breath.

00:58:16 It's supposed to be amazing.

00:58:17 Like getting to the upper deck there

00:58:19 is supposed to be fucking awesome.

00:58:20 - Yeah, I sat on the upper deck.

00:58:21 It was not like the top top, but I went for a day game.

00:58:24 I went for a night game as well.

00:58:25 I used to date a girl out there.

00:58:28 And I will say the one thing, it's so fucking cold,

00:58:31 but it's beautiful.

00:58:32 It is, like in the summer it gets cold

00:58:35 because it's so by the bay, but man,

00:58:37 it is, that is a park to cross off your bucket list.

00:58:40 Wilmer Flores has a 145 OPS plus.

00:58:42 - Incredible.

00:58:45 - Crazy.

00:58:45 - Yeah, I love, I do.

00:58:47 Okay, so I know we're going to talk about

00:58:48 this giant roster itself, but.

00:58:51 - Did we just convince ourselves that they're nine?

00:58:53 - Well, I won't tell you a thing about them.

00:58:55 - Here's the problem.

00:58:56 I don't like, and I don't want to argue too hard

00:58:59 for the Cubs.

00:58:59 The Cubs could take a series from the Braves.

00:59:01 - Yeah.

00:59:02 - And they would have taken a series from the Reds.

00:59:03 - And it would be tough to like leave them off

00:59:04 if they did that.

00:59:05 - Yep.

00:59:06 - And so that happens later today.

00:59:08 - So here's my negative fact on the Giants.

00:59:11 Their run differential is very bad.

00:59:13 It's only plus 26.

00:59:15 - That's not very bad.

00:59:17 That's not very bad.

00:59:18 There are 60 win teams in baseball.

00:59:20 - I'm sorry, very bad.

00:59:21 I'm sorry, very bad for a top nine team.

00:59:23 I should preface that.

00:59:24 - What's their record in one run games?

00:59:26 - I bet it's exceptional.

00:59:27 - I'm putting them in like,

00:59:29 I mean very bad for being an elite team, excuse me.

00:59:32 The Cubs meanwhile, plus 73.

00:59:35 I mean, whatever you-

00:59:36 - I think we go Cubs.

00:59:37 I think we go Cubs just like,

00:59:39 they've been playing good baseball.

00:59:41 They did their job and took, you know,

00:59:43 they took it to the Reds.

00:59:45 And if they take the Braves for two of three at Wrigley

00:59:48 and we leave them off the nine,

00:59:50 I think we all get killed.

00:59:50 - We're the worst people in the world.

00:59:51 - I think we get killed.

00:59:52 - Yeah, we're dumb.

00:59:53 - Not like killed internetly.

00:59:54 I think people come to our places and kill us.

00:59:56 So I think we have to go Cubs nine.

00:59:58 - I said this off the top.

01:00:00 That's why I said we're doing this first thing

01:00:01 in the morning because this,

01:00:02 or else there's no panel this week.

01:00:04 Like that's just a reality.

01:00:05 Like there's no panel.

01:00:06 We have to do the panel.

01:00:07 We're doing our best.

01:00:08 So it's going into this to say,

01:00:11 yeah, if the Cubs come out,

01:00:13 when they play a close game, then we're fucked.

01:00:15 You know, we got-

01:00:16 - I don't think there's gonna be many people.

01:00:17 - And they smash, the Cubs hung 36 runs

01:00:19 in two games against the Reds.

01:00:20 They killed the Reds.

01:00:21 I know we don't think the Reds are very good.

01:00:22 - I also don't think there's,

01:00:24 and not that we do this,

01:00:25 you know, we're saying in teams for the perception

01:00:27 of how people are gonna take it,

01:00:28 but I don't think there's many Giants fans

01:00:30 killing us, leaving off the top nine.

01:00:32 Whereas it would make,

01:00:35 if the Cubs win today

01:00:37 and they take two of three from Atlanta,

01:00:39 fresh off these Reds-

01:00:40 - People are gonna want to see them six.

01:00:41 - Right.

01:00:42 So yeah, right.

01:00:43 People will think nine is too low.

01:00:44 Like they should be eight.

01:00:45 - Who cares what they say?

01:00:46 I don't care about that.

01:00:47 - No, no.

01:00:48 But like, if we knew already

01:00:51 that the Cubs won today,

01:00:53 like we would have them like probably eight.

01:00:57 So we gotta put them nine.

01:00:58 - I'm fine with either the Cubs or Giants.

01:01:01 I don't care.

01:01:02 - I want the Cubs here.

01:01:03 I want the Cubs here.

01:01:05 - Let's go Cubs.

01:01:06 - Okay.

01:01:08 - I'm gonna clip that up.

01:01:09 So I have a clip of Hubs going, "Let's go Cubs."

01:01:12 - I don't mind the Cubs.

01:01:13 I mean, I might talk to you, man.

01:01:14 - I know, it's like a nice little rally clip.

01:01:15 Like that'll be a good little rally clip.

01:01:16 - I don't know if you reached out to the sock man yet,

01:01:18 but I mean, he's a stoolie and he's great.

01:01:20 And like, he's been playing good ball for you.

01:01:22 Like I like Mike Tockman, I root for the Cubs.

01:01:24 - Tockman's from Friend High School.

01:01:25 He's a suburban Chicago guy.

01:01:27 - Yes, yes, yes.

01:01:28 - We like him.

01:01:29 It's an interesting roster.

01:01:31 It's an interesting roster of above average players.

01:01:35 - So I get to receive any apologies from you guys

01:01:37 about the Reds thing.

01:01:38 I am on that.

01:01:40 Because right now-

01:01:40 - I'm sorry the Reds are playing poorly right now.

01:01:43 - Reds had a train, they absolutely shit themselves.

01:01:46 When I wanted them, they're pitching imploded

01:01:49 exactly how you said.

01:01:50 There are two months to go here.

01:01:53 But like, I think this can still go either way,

01:01:55 but it's not trending in my direction, I'll say that.

01:01:58 - Eli De La Cruz has a hole,

01:01:59 has a gaping hole in his swing.

01:02:01 It is, it falls off a table.

01:02:04 I went to a Cubs-Reds game with a buddy of mine

01:02:06 who pitched in the big leagues for about,

01:02:08 I don't want to say five years,

01:02:10 if it was actually three and a half.

01:02:11 But he knows a lot.

01:02:13 And it was interesting to sit with him

01:02:15 and say, what would you throw him?

01:02:16 And he was like, oh, well, you know,

01:02:18 I've seen Eli for a second.

01:02:19 And after like the first plate appearance,

01:02:21 he was like, all right, this is exactly what you do.

01:02:23 Anything hip high that can bury itself on his back foot,

01:02:27 anything with downward action,

01:02:28 he's just gonna swing right over it.

01:02:30 And you see multiple times,

01:02:32 like he cannot recognize big league spin.

01:02:34 He can't, he can hit fastballs,

01:02:36 he can hit stuff over the plate,

01:02:37 but he cannot see spin.

01:02:39 So if you have three pitches,

01:02:41 like if you have three pitches,

01:02:43 you can make Eli De La Cruz your little bitch right now.

01:02:45 And they don't even have to be three amazing pitches.

01:02:48 You just have to have three big league pitches.

01:02:50 If you could throw a fastball change up

01:02:51 and something with a little bit of spin on it,

01:02:53 he's fucking cooked, cooked.

01:02:56 - His on base percentage since the All-Star break is 253.

01:02:59 Like, you know, baseball teams is smart.

01:03:01 Like, you know, it doesn't take much.

01:03:03 You give me, you know, 25 games,

01:03:05 and we have videotape

01:03:07 and all these bright guys work on this.

01:03:08 They're gonna find your holes.

01:03:10 You'll find your weaknesses really quick.

01:03:12 And De La Cruz is kind of going through it right now.

01:03:14 He's obviously really talented.

01:03:15 He'll figure it out.

01:03:17 But will he figure it out before the end of this year?

01:03:19 I don't know.

01:03:21 You know, we'll see how fast he can learn on the fly here,

01:03:24 but I'm sure he'll be an awesome player.

01:03:26 I'm not saying this player is not gonna have a great career.

01:03:28 I believe he will.

01:03:29 He's so talented.

01:03:30 - No, the adjustment you're talking about

01:03:32 would be a hard adjustment for him to make

01:03:34 before October starts to carry into October.

01:03:37 Now, he could level out and get better.

01:03:38 He's very much slumping right now.

01:03:40 He will improve steadily, but there's an adjustment phase.

01:03:43 He's got to adjust to what the league's doing to him.

01:03:45 Then the league's gonna make their adjustments back,

01:03:47 and that's it.

01:03:48 And then they play baseball against each other

01:03:49 for the rest of his career.

01:03:50 But you have to get through into this moment

01:03:52 of who the fuck is this guy?

01:03:53 This is how we're gonna pitch to you.

01:03:55 And then that's how he learns what big league pitching is.

01:03:57 - You really do have to suck at this game.

01:03:58 - He's not the first guy to go through it.

01:03:59 Like, Willie Mays went through this.

01:04:01 - Everybody, literally everybody goes through it

01:04:04 except for Bobuchat. - Like Schmidt.

01:04:06 - Yeah, like, right, right.

01:04:07 Like, you go through the list,

01:04:09 and there's a number of guys who have gone through this.

01:04:12 So he's not, you know, Hall of Famers

01:04:13 who have gone through this.

01:04:14 So he's not, he'll be fine.

01:04:16 He's so talented.

01:04:17 But for the rest of this year,

01:04:19 and this is a big reason why I kept saying

01:04:20 the Reds aren't for real,

01:04:21 is 'cause you can't have that many young guys

01:04:23 'cause they'll work it out.

01:04:24 And then also the pitching staff just couldn't hold up,

01:04:26 and it didn't.

01:04:27 I think this Reds team is much more at risk

01:04:29 of going under .500 for this season

01:04:31 than making the playoffs.

01:04:32 I'm sure we probably can all potentially agree on that.

01:04:36 - I will say, like, the Cubs look great.

01:04:38 The Brewers equally look just as bad, I feel like,

01:04:41 as the Cubs right now.

01:04:42 Like, the Brewers have had a very bad week.

01:04:44 They have not, they're not convincing anybody

01:04:46 that they're a legit team right now, at least to me.

01:04:49 Like, they-

01:04:49 - They're an average, they're average.

01:04:51 They are what they are.

01:04:52 They're a .500 team.

01:04:54 - Yeah.

01:04:55 But I'm saying, like, they have-

01:04:56 - They're nine times above .500.

01:04:58 - It's 'cause they have a great manager.

01:05:00 - Thank you.

01:05:01 - Like, that's why, like, they have, like,

01:05:02 and pitching, I would rather have, like,

01:05:04 really good B-plus pitching than B-plus hitting.

01:05:07 You know what I mean?

01:05:08 Like, if that makes any sense,

01:05:08 like, they have the strengths in the right areas.

01:05:10 They can keep them in games,

01:05:12 and they have a great manager.

01:05:13 But that team is not that good.

01:05:15 I mean, the only reason I was, like,

01:05:16 high in the Brewers is because, like,

01:05:18 them and the Reds, the Brewers will finish

01:05:20 with a better record than the Reds.

01:05:21 - That equation, though, like,

01:05:22 that they've been using for years,

01:05:24 is the B-plus pitching over the B-plus hitting.

01:05:26 It's gotten them nowhere.

01:05:28 They get to the playoffs, and they just,

01:05:30 they score one run in a series.

01:05:31 Like, they, like, they got a chain,

01:05:34 and Yellow just, and it's disappointing, too,

01:05:36 'cause Yellow just had a really, like,

01:05:37 nice resurgent year.

01:05:38 They've gotten some good production

01:05:41 from their young players, and it's just like-

01:05:42 - Is it a sale free lick?

01:05:44 - Yeah, sounds great.

01:05:45 Sounds nice.

01:05:46 But they've gotten, they just don't have it.

01:05:51 I don't know what that means, you know?

01:05:52 - No, no, no.

01:05:54 If they make the playoffs, they'll get,

01:05:56 they'll be, like you said, the lottery ticket, you know?

01:05:58 - Right.

01:05:59 - Okay, Solani, how we doing?

01:06:01 - Fine, just, you know, making sure I don't cut out again.

01:06:06 No, in general, I agree with everything you guys are saying.

01:06:08 I guess I'm-

01:06:09 - That's why I like having him on this show.

01:06:12 - Yes!

01:06:13 - The reason why we have Chris Castellanos.

01:06:15 - I like the Brewers a little bit more than you guys do,

01:06:19 but I think that when we're talking about these rankings,

01:06:22 it's very clear one team is trending upwards,

01:06:24 and also, the thing, the issue I have with the Brewers

01:06:26 is every time you think,

01:06:28 here comes the moment they run away with the division,

01:06:30 the pitching's starting to turn around,

01:06:32 they're getting healthy, they'll drop a series,

01:06:33 or they'll play like they did against the Nationals.

01:06:35 And I think that's why they've been so inconsistent

01:06:37 in October as well, as well-constructed as they can be,

01:06:41 as good of a manager as they have.

01:06:43 It's talent that matters

01:06:44 by the time you get to the postseason.

01:06:46 And offensively, I just don't think

01:06:47 that there's enough pieces there to carry them

01:06:49 through a playoff series.

01:06:51 Could I see them back on this list

01:06:53 at some point in the future?

01:06:54 Yeah, I could, 'cause I've seen them get hot before.

01:06:56 But it's their issue, which is that they're good,

01:06:59 but they're rarely ever dangerous.

01:07:01 - Well said.

01:07:02 - Thank you.

01:07:03 - I like Sale Free, like, getting dangerous.

01:07:04 I do like 'em.

01:07:05 I like Sale Free, like, a lot.

01:07:07 This is Barstool Baseball.

01:07:08 This is a one through nine.

01:07:09 I'm gonna go through it.

01:07:10 Braves, one.

01:07:12 Orioles, two.

01:07:13 Rangers, three.

01:07:14 Astros, four.

01:07:16 Dodgers, five.

01:07:18 Rays, six.

01:07:20 Blue Jays, seven.

01:07:23 Phillies, eight.

01:07:25 Cubs, nine.

01:07:27 Cold turkey, didn't even write it down, guys.

01:07:28 Feels good.

01:07:29 That's a good one through nine.

01:07:30 That is a very good one through nine.

01:07:32 And we have a big day of baseball in front of us.

01:07:34 To the audience, thank you guys for tuning in.

01:07:37 And thanks for letting us record this early Sunday morning

01:07:40 so we can get you a panel.

01:07:41 We wouldn't do it otherwise.

01:07:42 We'll be back next Sunday, or next Monday.

01:07:46 Buck, we'll be out on Wednesday and Friday, obviously,

01:07:48 but the panel will be back next Monday.

01:07:50 Tune in.

01:07:50 Until then, this is Barstool Baseball Show.

01:07:52 (whooshing)

01:07:55 you

We Power Rank The 9 Best Teams In MLB

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