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00:00The Daily Base is live on this Tuesday fall Memorial Day weekend here on the early line
00:08on Sports Grid with our MLB insider and the host of Newswire which starts at 11 a.m. Eastern
00:14time.
00:15That is Craig Mish.
00:16Craig, we appreciate you joining us bright and early on this Tuesday morning.
00:20As you have often said, as we reminded people as we were recapping the weekend in Major
00:25League Baseball, Memorial Day is looked at by many around the bigs as that big turning
00:31point in the calendar.
00:32How legitimate is your team going to be the rest of the summer?
00:36And it's really that point in the calendar you get a full and true assessment on how
00:41your ball club looks for the entirety of an MLB campaign.
00:45So how did you look at this Memorial Day weekend around the bigs?
00:48Yeah, I mean, listen, I wish there were more games yesterday.
00:51There were only a handful of games.
00:53So, you know, I guess because there was rain outs and things like that.
00:56But, you know, to me, I think it determines where teams move forward.
01:00They have two months to get things figured out.
01:02And naturally, any team could go on a hot run, Ben, in the summer and they could look
01:06back and say, hey, I wish we would have still pad or I wish we would have sold.
01:10But that's what deadlines are made for.
01:11And at the end of July, some teams are going to have to make decisions.
01:14I think you could probably say it's fair to say there's at least a half a dozen teams
01:18right now that you know that are completely out of it and are going to be sellers at the
01:22trade deadline.
01:23And I think you could probably look at it the other way, too.
01:25And then everybody else is sort of in between.
01:27And that's the hard part to figure out between now and the trade deadline.
01:31You would expect the Atlanta Braves at this moment to be a buyer trying to fill out some
01:36critical spots on their roster, because, Craig, that was the big news from Sunday.
01:41A torn ACL has ended the year for the reigning National League MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr. for
01:47the Atlanta Braves.
01:48He's out now for the remainder of this 2024 MLB season, obviously, when you lose the reigning
01:54NL MVP and one of the superstars on your lineup, it is a huge blow.
02:00But just how debilitating is this going to be for Atlanta and how does it alter their
02:04outlook for the remainder of this season?
02:07It's a fair question to ask.
02:08It's also fair, Ben, to go back and look and say the Braves won the World Series without
02:12him a couple of years ago.
02:14Remember, he got hurt at a game that I was at in South Florida where he banged his knee
02:18up against the wall or turf, I can't remember what it was, missed the rest of the season,
02:22didn't play in the postseason, they ended up getting Jorge Soler, he was the MVP of
02:25the World Series.
02:26So, you know, for the Braves right now, the thing to do is hold on and just wait, because
02:31everybody wants them to make a move to replace him.
02:33That's not the way baseball works.
02:35Everybody knows the Braves are going to be desperate to replace him.
02:38So naturally, I think what Alex Anthopoulos will do is he'll wait a couple of months and
02:43then at the trade deadline, see where the team is at, and then just determine how aggressive
02:48they want to get.
02:49But there'll be no shortage of players that will be available.
02:51Acuna is arguably the best or one of the best players in the game.
02:55He's not having that kind of season.
02:57He wasn't having it.
02:58I would expect him to be fully healthy for next year.
03:00But right now, Ben, the question will be is, you know, for the time being, it looks like
03:04probably Adam Duvall, I guess, will play.
03:06He's not Acuna.
03:07But how aggressive the Braves get to sort of replace him.
03:10Let's also not forget their best pitcher, Spencer Strider, also out for the year.
03:14Yeah, it's kind of wild.
03:16We usually can say to Seth, you can absorb at least one of those blows.
03:19But to have an MVP and also a Cy Young go down and expect to win the World Series, that's
03:23going to be a tough task.
03:24Even if we take a look at the Fanbula Sportsbook right now, Craig, and say, where do the odds
03:28stack up?
03:29Even in the division, which last week was still a Braves division, odds wise, the Phillies
03:33have flipped over now to a minus 200 prize to win the NL East and the Braves now plus
03:37165.
03:38So you see those NL pennant odds and World Series odds plummeting for the Braves.
03:42So over the length of the summer, they're still going to win a lot of baseball games.
03:46But longevity for the Braves this season for you, Craig, what is it for them?
03:50Well, you look right now, I don't think that you could put them ahead of Philadelphia or
03:54Los Angeles or the Dodgers.
03:56I think that they're probably third.
03:58They're right there.
03:59So I would discount them.
04:01And again, I've seen them do this without Acuna.
04:04So you know, Matt Olsen hasn't been himself.
04:07They just got Sean Murphy back off the injured list.
04:09A lot can happen in a positive way for the Braves down the stretch.
04:13So I'm not going to discount them at all.
04:16And you know, obviously, what they do at the deadline, Don, is going to be the key.
04:19If they just do nothing, then it's hard to foresee them beating L.A. or Philadelphia.
04:24But I think that Atlanta will make the playoffs.
04:27And it's just a matter of what they do and how aggressive they get.
04:30I hate to be repetitive about it, but I just don't think we're going to have any real answers
04:33on them until August 1st.
04:36Yeah, we both said that we expect the Braves to be an NL postseason team.
04:40You never know what happens in a Major League Baseball postseason.
04:44By the time we reach October in Atlanta, even with the season-ending injuries to Spencer
04:49Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr., they still are one of four teams around MLB with a three-digit
04:54price to win the World Series, 8-1 the number still on Atlanta.
04:59Let's stay in the National League at this moment, Craig, and look at the award favorites
05:03at this moment following Memorial Day weekend.
05:07Nuki Betts, the frontrunner to win the National League MVP award, but his teammate Shohei
05:10Otani in L.A., not all that far behind.
05:13Zach Wheeler from Philadelphia, the favorite to win the Cy Young.
05:16Shota Iminaga now minus money to win the National League Rookie of the Year and probably in
05:20contingent for the Cy Young award as well.
05:23Craig, as you look up and down this list, how many other names should we be following
05:28in some of those key award categories?
05:31Yeah, I still think Iminaga could win both awards.
05:34I'm not going to discount that.
05:35I think it's sort of unfair because he's a rookie that he's not the favorite right now
05:39on the FanDuel Sportsbook.
05:40I mean, you're telling me at the end of the year, Iminaga goes like 13, 14, and 1 with
05:45an ERA of 1.1, and you're not going to give this guy the Cy Young award pitcher of the
05:49year?
05:50So to me, that's one deviation that I would have over Zach Wheeler there.
05:54I would take a shot there.
05:56Anything can happen with relievers, so certainly Helsey's been fantastic.
06:00The Cardinals have gotten back in it, Ben, but if they're not in it, is Helsey still
06:04with the Cardinals, by the way, at the trade deadline?
06:06I'm not so sure.
06:07So those are two markets, I think, that are still open.
06:10Pat Murphy's done a great job for the Brewers as their manager, so I think that's pretty
06:13solidified.
06:14Mookie Betts feels like there's a great chance that he wins the MVP, but as we say with these
06:20awards, there's always one injury away from things just shifting completely.
06:24So as we look at the American League then, Craig, same question to you.
06:29What is your assessment on the awards markets at this point?
06:33Look pretty solid, I would say, there.
06:35Cortaro has done an unbelievable job in Kansas City.
06:39I mean, look, with the way that they're trending right now, they're on pace to win 95 games
06:44or something like that.
06:45Look, Scoble right now could potentially win the Cy Young.
06:49MVP, to me, is the one market I still think that is open.
06:53I would not guarantee Soto there.
06:55It depends on what happens with Baltimore.
06:57Obviously, right now, Judge has been the hottest player in baseball, so I wouldn't discount
07:01him as well.
07:02As far as the rookie market, Mason Miller, he's the guy on the A's.
07:05He's been fantastic.
07:06Yeah, he's good.
07:07All right.
07:08So there you go.
07:09You've got a plus-money price on Mason Miller.
07:10Still, while you have it, by the way, five guys within three dollars of each other for
07:14the AL MVP award, so Craig is right, still very much up in the air.
07:18Craig, we'll see you on Newswire in just a little bit.
07:21More of the early line comes your way next.
07:24Yesterday, sadly, a rainout at Citi Field.
07:27Terrible weather, hurricane-like weather, torrential downpours in the greater Big Apple
07:33area for what was supposed to be the debut of a midweek series between the Dodgers and
07:38the Mets.
07:39And boy, both of these clubs could use a win.
07:41I was at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon, and when Diaz comes out to the trumpets, the
07:47Mets up 2-1, trying desperately to hold onto a lead against the San Francisco Giants before
07:54the Giants rally in the top of the ninth.
07:56They force extras.
07:58The trumpets were bad.
07:59One of my good friends, Tim, huge Mets fan.
08:02The moment, the silent pause before the trumpets started, because I asked him, do you think
08:07Diaz is coming out, given the struggles, given the fact he pitched in the seventh inning
08:12the night before on Friday against the Giants?
08:15And there was a pregnant pause of silence right before the trumpets came out, and it's
08:21almost as if my friend Tim knew what was on the other side.
08:25Trumpets blare, stadium stands up, only for Edwin Diaz to blow the save opportunity against
08:32the San Francisco Giants.
08:34So can the New York Mets chalk up a win?
08:37Can the Dodgers snap a five-game losing skid as well?
08:42Game number one of a doubleheader, Tyler Glass now on the bump against Tyler McGill for New
08:47York.
08:48Is the Dodgers greater than a $2 road favorite?
08:50Yeah, not to go a lot here on McGill, but also, like, this is perfect, though, for the
08:55Mets.
08:56Like, you hear the trumpets, the trumpet celebration when Edwin Diaz comes out.
08:59Now, you know what it's going to, like, that can't happen anymore.
09:01You can't have that entrance.
09:02So now it's just going to be wah, wah, wah, wah, like, that's the new trumpet celebration
09:09when you see him come out of the bullpen, because you know you're going to lose.
09:12Now, granted, what happened with the Dodgers here over the past couple games, I don't know,
09:15but Bernie in the RBI market, nonetheless, over the weekend, shout out to Oscar Hernandez
09:20with two doubles and a rocket line out, which got no RBIs because they can't score and get
09:24anybody on base.
09:25Where's Mookie Betts getting on base?
09:27Where's Shohei Otani getting on base?
09:28It hasn't been happening, but you should have some shots here against Tyler McGill.
09:32Now, having said that, that game probably going under because I can't trust either one
09:36of these offenses, and Glass now one of the better pitchers in Major League Baseball.
09:40And you're right, maybe an extra day to sort of sit back and say, all right, let's calm
09:44down, things will be OK.
09:45It's 80 degrees with a crosswind blowing today at Citi Field.
09:49It's good hitting weather, but these two teams, I don't know if we're going to get a lot of
09:53good hits today, Ben.
09:54Game number one, give me the under.
09:55Yeah, it's just been the story, eight and a half is that over under for the first game
10:01of this series, a World Series rematch today as well.
10:05Brandon fought on the bump for the Diamondbacks in Arlington against the Rangers.
10:10As of this moment, I do not see a starter named for Texas.
10:15Either of these two teams, DRS not looking like the World Series caliber contenders that
10:20we saw a year ago.
10:22The D-backs three games below .500, the Rangers four games below .500, Arizona a slight road
10:28favorite.
10:29What gives tonight in Texas?
10:31Yeah, not a lot of great opportunities here to get some runs apparently, but we're taking
10:35a look.
10:36Maybe Dane Dunning is going to get the start today for Texas, a couple of those confirmations
10:41on a few different sites here.
10:42He's actually been very good.
10:43Last 53 batters he's faced, Ben, an 098 ISO power number and a weighted on base percentage
10:47of 248.
10:48Why is that important?
10:49Because on the season through 169 batters, it hasn't been that good.
10:52A two or three ISO and a 315 weighted on base percentage.
10:55So he's actually improving at pitching much better over the past month.
10:58And also you're right about this.
11:00You look at that line of Corbin Carroll, still waiting on this guy to get hot.
11:03Jock Peterson and Christian Walker in the middle of that lineup.
11:05The only two guys doing damage against right-handed pitching over the past 30 days.
11:10And if we take a look at Brandon Fault on the mound, he's actually been really good
11:13over the past month.
11:14He's faced 125 batters, that ISO at 119, a weighted on base percentage of 258.
11:19He's going to face a lot of really good at bats.
11:22Seager and also Leota Tavares, probably the best of it in the RBI market.
11:26But having said that, Fault's been good.
11:28So maybe we're looking at another under in this game as well, Ben.
11:32Total eight and a half there in Arlington as well.
11:35A very large Tuesday slate around MLB.
11:38Memorial Day, maybe not as jam-packed as we expected.
11:42Donnie, of these games, which one intrigues you the most?
11:46I got to tell you, we're going to go to the nightcap.
11:47And you know, on a Tuesday, I'm probably not going to be up that late, but I might have
11:50to stay up because that Yankees-Los Angeles Angels game, we should get some fireworks.
11:54And as for Cortez, it's been okay.
11:56He should be able to keep that lineup down.
11:57That's very, very good against left-handed pitchers.
12:00But my focus on the opposite side is going to be a fading Griffin Canning, who can't
12:04get any left-handed batters out, which you see Juan Soto in the beginning of that lineup.
12:07But his X-stiff at home to both lefty and righty batters is off the charts bad.
12:13So it is dinger Tuesday.
12:15And you take a look at Aaron Judge.
12:16It's not going to be that big of a price, a 476 ISO and a 531 weighted on base percentage
12:22against right-handed pitching.
12:24Good luck tonight.
12:25Aaron Judge, he's probably on your card to go deep tonight for the Yankees.
12:30Total of nine in Anaheim.
12:33Yankees team total just by themselves out there in Southern California as well.