Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00a check in around Major League Baseball. We start with the AL
00:08Pennant odds and then make our way into the National League.
00:11Here. We are in late June. The all-star break not all that
00:15far away just about 3 weeks until we get to the midsummer
00:19classic that midway point, although we will be past it
00:22technically this year in MLB. So Donnie we start in the
00:26American League where the Yankees are dealing with a
00:29couple of injuries. Giancarlo Stanton over the weekend placed
00:33on the IL as well in technically despite having the
00:36most wins in both the AL and all of Major League Baseball
00:3952 of them for New York. No longer the best winning
00:43percentage based on just strictly percentage that belongs
00:47to the Cleveland Guardians who are writing a five-game win
00:50streak in this new week and yet the Yanks remain the AL
00:53Pennant favorites at a two to one number. They should
00:57though. They really should be and I also said like, you
00:59know last week the Yankees and the Orioles, right? It's
01:02good for their fan bases that they're so close between
01:04a game and a half to two games. Whatever it was last
01:06week where you expect your front offices to hit that
01:09gas pedal when it comes time to get a better team on
01:12the field post all-star break because the one thing
01:15that you know from the Yankees and the Orioles is what
01:17Ben you're going to fight with each other throughout
01:19the stretcher and you want home field advantage. So
01:21if the Orioles go, I think we're doing fine and the Yankees
01:23go out and add a very good pitcher and a very good bat
01:25then you're going to be in a little bit of trouble, but
01:27also hear me out on this. The Yankees are good despite
01:30this past weekend not playing great baseball. Dean
01:32Carlos stands down for at least one month and I always
01:34say this sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle that
01:36way because if you are the Yankees you go out make a
01:39move to try to you know, make up for that injury and
01:41I'm certainly it's not going to be some, you know, random
01:43players that you're picking up on the side like a
01:45blockbuster player to get in there an all-star caliber
01:48guy. I'm interested to see what the Yankees do because
01:50I'm not panicking on them even with that injury to stand
01:53will be out a month. He's still going to be coming
01:54back. It's a hamstring. It's not as if it's a knee
01:56injury or an Achilles or something worse like that,
01:58but just from this past weekend. I'm just interested
02:00to see where the Yankees move forward because they're
02:02playing great baseball now frowned it a little bit
02:05over the week and now getting some injuries. I just
02:07want to see how they react to it. That's all lost the
02:10weekend series at home inside Yankee Stadium against
02:13the Atlanta Braves 52 and 28. That is the record for
02:17New York. They have played 80 games. So when I said to
02:20start off this segment that the MLB all-star game and
02:24all-star break is not necessarily the midway point.
02:27Although we consider it that the Yankees nearly at
02:30their midway point here having already played 8052
02:34and 2849 and 28 the record for Baltimore a game and
02:39a half separates those two teams the same amount of
02:42losses three less wins for the O's to the Yanks for
02:46a game and a half difference in the American League
02:49East. But again, the Guardians only 75 games played,
02:53but they've won 4949 and 26 after winning five straight
02:58games to enter this new week and now Cleveland seven
03:02and a half game advantage in the American League
03:04Central despite having two teams behind them above
03:08500. That's not often the case across many divisions
03:11in MLB four to one the price on the Orioles. The
03:15Mariners have that third best number at plus 650
03:19in the Guardians at eight to one Donnie when we once
03:22looked at the American League pennant odds. You said
03:24really outside of New York and Baltimore. There were
03:26not many teams that you trusted to be a true contender
03:29for a pennant in the American League. How do you
03:32feel now? I'm still like when it's all said and done
03:36right because I'm using projections here and saying,
03:38okay, what's the record now? What do you think it's
03:40going to be at the end of the season? But also on
03:42top of that is what's the team going to be like on
03:44the field at the end of the season not the just the
03:46record itself, but who's going to be playing because
03:48I have faith that the Yankees and the Orioles are
03:51going to press that lever and say, you know what
03:53we're in position to win a World Series. Let's make
03:56this happen. Does that mean giving away your best
03:58prospects for rental players? No, it doesn't. But
04:00if you're looking between the Yankees and the Orioles
04:02in an arms race here, you figure they're going to
04:04add pictures. They're going to add a bat. They're
04:05going to add bullpen here. The one thing that I worry
04:07about is because once again, the or is only a game
04:09and a half back of the Yankees. They're going to
04:11fight it out in the east for the rest of the summer.
04:13My question is can the Minnesota Twins hang on
04:15close enough to force the Guardians into saying,
04:17you know what we might need a little bit of extra
04:20revamp on this team to make it to that finish line
04:22and still be in first place. They're a really good
04:24baseball team getting quality pitching and some
04:26guys in that lineup that have really loved the bat
04:28on a night-to-night basis. But I think sometimes
04:30you get lulled to sleep like let's just say the
04:31Guardians in a week's time your bed or ten and a
04:34half games up in the Central Division their
04:36ownership group. But again operates like a small
04:39market team might say, you know what we're not
04:41going to give up any of our prospects here. We're
04:43not going to add to payroll. We're good enough
04:44as is because when you get to the playoffs, I don't
04:47think they line up number one versus number one
04:50number two versus number two and certainly that
04:52line up one through nine again. I preface by
04:54saying I really like that Cleveland line, but if
04:56you look at the Yankees, if they're fully healthy
04:58and adding on by the time you get to the playoffs,
05:00I just don't think they stack up in the playoffs.
05:02So I love what I see out of the Guardians. I just
05:04want that ownership group to say look, it's not
05:06often that the Guardians may be the best team in
05:08baseball record wise add on to it go win a World
05:11Series here for Cleveland and it would be very
05:14interesting as well to look at where the pennant
05:16prices were at this point a season ago on the two
05:19teams that won the pennant the Rangers out of the
05:22American League. The Diamondbacks came out of
05:23nowhere to win the NL and play in a World Series
05:27in the expanded postseason now in the bigs anything
05:31can really happen by the time we reach October
05:33and that's what it takes to cash this ticket not
05:36to be the best team in your league or the pennant
05:38favorite when the playoffs begin, but making sure
05:41you carry over the momentum from a long 162 into
05:46the postseason. I think the oddsmakers have it
05:48correct with the two teams at the front of the
05:51pennant prices the Yankees as the favorites the
05:53Orioles just not all that far behind at a 4 to 1
05:57price, but you are going to get the benefit of
06:00winning a division in Cleveland right now with
06:03the season ended today. Of course, it does not but
06:05nearing its Midway point would be the number one
06:08overall seed in the American League playoffs. The
06:11Guardians again seven and a half game lead in the
06:13American League Central minus 220 to win the
06:16division. The twins not all that far behind. They
06:19would be a wild card team. If the season ended
06:22today, Baltimore has a six and a half game lead
06:24over Minnesota for that top wild card spot. So
06:28let's look at the American League West reigning
06:31World Series champs. The Rangers they swept the
06:34Royals this weekend. The Houston Astros who have
06:37played in the last seven ALCS is they swept the
06:41Orioles worth a sprinkle at all DRS in your
06:46estimation on the two teams from Texas in the AL
06:49West again come back a couple weeks. I was
06:52thought it was going to be Texas that would be
06:54able to overcome the Houston Astros and the
06:56Seattle Mariners. So I'll still stick with that
06:57opinion. I don't love what I see but get Max
06:59Scherzer back. It looks pretty good. But hear me
07:01out on this the Yankees run differential plus
07:04109 the order.
07:09Looks as though we had a technical difficulty
07:11there with Donnie right side does not often happen,
07:15but I am here. Donnie was making great points on
07:19the American League pennant prices. We'll do the
07:21same in the National League up next live right
07:24here on this Monday on the early line on Sports
07:27Grid. I'm Ben Stevens as we look around the
07:30updated pennant prices in Major League Baseball
07:33as we share to start off our American League
07:35discussion. Most teams are near the midway point
07:38of their 162 game season around the major leagues.
07:43The Yankees have played 80 games teams like the
07:46Padres and the Dodgers that got started a week
07:49early in Seoul South Korea already past their
07:51midway point of this MLB season. Every team in
07:55Major League Baseball has played at least 76 games
07:58so far 81 is that midway point of 162. So now we
08:04spin our discussion over to the National League
08:07Donnie right side here. Once again, a rare computer
08:11crisis for DRS, but he is back to break down the
08:15National League pennant odds and DRS the best team
08:17in baseball. That's your Philadelphia Phillies the
08:20best record in all of the bigs the second most wins
08:24in all of MLB at 51 again best win percentage second
08:29most wins for Philadelphia make it a 51 and 26 record
08:34for the Phil's after having a series victory this
08:38weekend. So DRS when you look at the Phillies still
08:41trailing the Dodgers plus 145 for LA plus 270 for
08:45Philadelphia to you. Is that that clear tier of two
08:48in the National League? It does feel like it's a
08:51clear tier of two at this point. And also I was
08:53trying to bring up a point before I got cut off
08:55by the computer out here just zapped me was the
08:57fact that we're taking at the Mariners at a plus
08:5917 run differential as opposed to other teams in
09:02first place like the Gardens at a plus 104 the
09:05Yankees and the Orioles easily over a hundred.
09:07Look at the Philadelphia Phillies at a plus 114
09:09reason. I bring that up is the 51 and 26 on the
09:11season. Nobody's watching the Philadelphia Phillies
09:13game going man. I don't know how to get him by
09:15like the lineups not that good. The pitching is
09:17not good. They're dominant on a night-to-night
09:19basis, even though the only five and five in their
09:21last 10 games, but when you're trying to line up
09:24and say what's what in the National League the
09:26Phillies plus 114 differential the Dodgers plus
09:28112 even though the Phillies do have a better
09:31record at this time right now. There's no fluke
09:33between those two teams. So for me to try to say
09:35like well who's going to enter into the equation
09:37and take them down that granted once we do get to
09:39the playoffs. We've seen it time and time again
09:41been the best team doesn't always win it quite
09:43frankly use of the best team doesn't ever win.
09:45It feels like for the past couple years, but if
09:47I'm just being honest, the Dodgers are going to
09:49ramp up at the deadline. The Phillies will do the
09:51same. They're just the best teams combo for combo
09:55pitching bullpen and lineup by far in the National
09:58League and that's not really it's like to the
09:59Braves. They're just injured at this point.
10:01Otherwise, they would be up there. But for me the
10:03original point Ben Dodgers Phillies will see you
10:06in the playoffs and it should be a dandy if they
10:08do meet up in the last few years Donnie in the
10:12start off this season. There has been that tear
10:14of two from the odds perspective in the National
10:16League the Dodgers and the Braves but unlike or
10:20the last two seasons. We did not see those two
10:23teams win a pennant. In fact, we didn't even see
10:26them play in the National League championship
10:28series. The Phillies have played in the NLCS each
10:31of the past two MLB campaigns. It has been weird
10:35at times throughout postseason baseball. And
10:38again, we stress that point as we look at the odds
10:41the tear of two first in the National League was
10:43the Dodgers and the Braves now Atlanta has slipped
10:46a little bit because of the injuries to Ronald
10:49Acuna Junior Spencer Strider really for the majority
10:52of this year and some poor play but a big weekend
10:55win for Atlanta on the road in the Bronx against
10:59the New York Yankees. You have a very large drop-off
11:02from the Braves to the Milwaukee Brewers 12 to 1
11:04price on the brew crew, but they've got a five-game
11:07lead in the National League Central. The Cardinals
11:10playing better baseball two games above 500 the Brewers
11:13avoided a four-game sweep on the road in San Diego
11:17against the Padres losing the first three games,
11:20but winning the finale yesterday. The cards sweat
11:23the Giants in that extended weekend series the game
11:26on Thursday night at Rickwood Field the last two
11:28Saturday and Sunday in st. Louis. Yeah. And again,
11:32it's sort of that central bias that we had because
11:35the big name markets on the East Coast and the West
11:37Coast usually dominate the standings dominate the
11:39money and dominate the lineups here. I do like
11:41what I see out of Milwaukee, but what are they
11:43going to do with the trade deadline? Are they going
11:44all in like I'm asking like not that not the Cleveland
11:47Guardians to go all in but make some adjustments
11:49here or do they just rest on their laurels, but I
11:51do like the way the st. Louis Cardinals have played
11:53as of late that one through nine is fun in that
11:55lot of it. They can just get the pitching staff to
11:57go along with it. So that's what we're asking those
11:59questions like, okay, the Braves. Yes, we understand
12:01they can pitch but it's the lineup going to be good
12:03enough here to carry them through the summer because
12:05you know, Ben, you can't win every game two to one
12:07three to one eventually that's going to catch up
12:09to you here. But the question for the Brewers is
12:11I like this lineup hitting one through nine much
12:13much more than I've liked that ladder for the past
12:15couple years. So there is a little bit of intrigue
12:17to the Milwaukee Brewers. But again, it's the Dodgers.
12:20It's the Phillies. It's going to be an arms race
12:22in the NL. We'll see who gets some of those linchpins
12:24at the deadline to sort of propel those teams. I'm
12:27excited to watch you play. It's very top-heavy to
12:29me in the American League and the National League,
12:30but that doesn't mean we can't still can't have
12:32some fun here. There are seven teams in the American
12:35League that are three games above 500 or better only
12:39for the NL should make for a wild wild card race.