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00:00One of our favorite insiders on coast to coast and sports grid is Scott Miller with the New
00:08York Times.
00:09A great baseball writer extraordinaire.
00:12And he's back again in San Diego talking to us.
00:15And Scott, it's good to see you.
00:16I hope you had a great fourth of Pharrell holiday.
00:19Just real quick.
00:20St. Louis is up on the Nats to zip in the bottom of the seventh in D.C.
00:23The Pirates already beat the Mets eight to two.
00:26I want to start with that.
00:27So Friday night, I watched something I hadn't seen, I think, in my entire life.
00:34I've been going to pirate games since 1971.
00:38And I saw my dad took me to the World Series in 71 and in 79 against the Orioles both times.
00:47The last time I went to a pirate playoff game, I think, was in 92.
00:55And literally in my entire life, I've been watching the Mets beat the Pirates.
01:00I had to go through all those Keith Hernandez teams with Dykstra, Strawberry, Gooden, Howard
01:07Johnson, Davey, their manager, just all of them.
01:12Davey Johnson.
01:13Yeah.
01:14Like, I honestly, they make me sick to my stomach.
01:17I hate them dead.
01:19And to see the Pirates, honestly, score 14 runs, have 16 hits, hit seven home runs, and
01:28watch Skeens strike out eight, and I think he struck out Bader three or four times.
01:33To watch that all in one night was the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in my entire
01:40life.
01:41Friday night was the greatest day of my life.
01:45It's Skeens.
01:46I saw part of that game.
01:47Skeens gave up too early, right?
01:50The Pirates spotted him, and then they came back and won.
01:53I mean, it's a new era.
01:54I had a feeling, my friend.
01:56I am not surprised.
01:58I had a feeling, knowing you, knowing your background, I had a feeling Paul Skeens might
02:02be the first topic of discussion today.
02:05It should be.
02:06And I don't blame you, brother.
02:07Pirates are, you know, finally there's a reason, you know, I'm not saying they're going to
02:10come back and win it all this year, or they're a juggernaut or anything, but there's finally
02:14reason to believe, you know, they're on the right path.
02:17And, you know, I mean, Paul Skeens must watch TV every five days and, you know, boy, wouldn't
02:24that be fun if he starts the All-Star game?
02:26I think he should, but I would say Sale or Skeens and, you know, Sale, what he's done
02:34in Atlanta is truly remarkable because he was broken down in Boston.
02:38I thought he was finished.
02:40You know, I think Matt Max has had that problem.
02:43DeGrom's had that problem.
02:46Obviously Sale has had it way worse than either one of them.
02:49And then to see what he's done in Atlanta is truly remarkable.
02:52And he's pitching tonight again, and he's been ferocious.
02:57But honestly, Skeens, what he's doing on a five-day basis, and when he pitches at that
03:05ballpark, there's one thing you notice.
03:07There's not one empty seat.
03:08I mean, they are selling out when that guy pitches, and they haven't sold out Pirate
03:14Games in decades.
03:16Like no one goes to Pirate Games.
03:18Like they average 20 at best.
03:21This kid has changed that franchise on its head.
03:25Yeah, and it's so cool to see because, you know, like you, I mean, I'm a Midwesterner.
03:33I live in Southern California.
03:34I have forever.
03:35But I grew up in Michigan, and the reason I bring that up is I'm partial.
03:40I've got a soft spot.
03:41I always have for those old, the Midwestern teams that have been playing baseball since
03:461900, like the Pirates in Cincinnati and Detroit.
03:52And it's sad to see when franchises with this history go through a losing stretch and when
04:01it looks like economically they cannot compete, and as a result, fans stay away.
04:07I mean, Pittsburgh, I don't have to tell you, is a great sports town.
04:10The Pirates have such great history.
04:12They've got arguably the most beautiful ballpark in the country.
04:16Some people might say San Francisco or Camden Yards in Baltimore, whatever.
04:20Pittsburgh's one of the best.
04:22And when you have that jewel of a ballpark and that history behind you, and you're going
04:29through the times the Pirates have gone through and they don't draw, that, I agree with you,
04:35but the schemes and the excitement he's brought to that city and the fact that fans are starting
04:41to come back, especially on the nights he pitches, I mean, it is so cool to see.
04:46It's so overdue, and you can't help but root for Pittsburgh, you know, especially on nights
04:53like that where, you know, the love of baseball has been rekindled there.
04:59How about the Padres getting all those guys in the outfield into the All-Star Game?
05:04And that Tatis is back without a deuce, doing great things.
05:10And then I think that kind of race between them and the Diamondbacks is getting really juicy.
05:16Yeah, it is.
05:19And, you know, obviously, the Diamondbacks coming off that World Series last year appearance,
05:24and you know, they've been hurt this year, among other things, you know, a couple injuries,
05:27but Corbin Carroll, the rookie of the year last year, has just gotten off to such a dreadful start.
05:32You know, his batting average down around .210, and, you know, that's one of the reasons
05:37that the Diamondbacks haven't been hitting it on all cylinders this year.
05:42But you also look at it from the Diamondbacks' perspective, I mean, if they get the Corbin
05:48Carroll in the second half that they got last year, and there's no reason to believe eventually
05:53he shouldn't take off, that's only going to make them, you know, legitimate wild card
05:59contenders.
06:00And you're right, the Diamondbacks' Padres rivalry is probably going to stoke up because,
06:04you know, the Padres right now, after trading Juan Soto, a lot of people kind of left them
06:09for their, they're cutting costs, they're cutting payroll, they had to trade Juan Soto.
06:13But, you know, they've been hitting all the right notes.
06:15I thought they could be better without Juan Soto, because as great as he's been for the
06:19Yankees this year, Scott, he was disappointing in San Diego.
06:23And even given last year, his numbers in the end were there, but he was unable to lift
06:28up the team.
06:30But, you know, by trading him, it opened the spot in center field.
06:32Jackson Merrill, the rookie, has just been nails, and he was the name of the all-star
06:36team.
06:37And you're right, the entire Padres outfield makes the all-star team.
06:43They're going to need pitching like everybody else the second half, but they've got a shot.