Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: And welcome back to student section MLB here on Wednesday, April 3. I'm your host, Luke Tory, joined by.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: Luke Anderson and Tyler Harrison.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: And opening day has officially passed. We have had baseball since the last time we spoke with you guys.
A lot of surprises.
The Pirates haven't lost.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Are the Pirates going 162?
[00:00:33] Speaker B: The Pirates going 160?
[00:00:35] Speaker A: Tigers going 160?
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Maybe. I mean, thought the Yankees were going to for a second, the Yankees hot start. I guess we'll just start off talking about them.
They go into Houston and create possibly the best outcome you could have had.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Josh Hader masterclass blowing two saves.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: I'm just saying. So the Yankees go in to Houston shorthanded, obviously. No Garrett Cole, Nola Mayhew.
We're shorthanded. A couple bullpen guys are still injured. But we go into Houston and we come from behind three out of the four games, and we win the series. I mean, game one, you fall behind early for nothing, and then you come back and you. And you wouldn't you in that game. Juan Soto has been unbelievable for the Yankees. Absolutely unbelievable. I mean, the dude, I've never seen someone, like, hit like, I've never seen someone so disciplined in my life. Like, he might be the best hitter I've ever.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: That Josh hater at bat was the greatest thing ever seen.
[00:01:44] Speaker C: Insane.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: I mean, it was so fun. He got down an OT, was like, this is where I want to be.
[00:01:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: I mean, yeah. So the Yankees fall behind 40 in game one, and then they come back and they win five four, fueled by volpe. Volpe has been unbelievable. He worked really hard in the off season to flatten out his swing and be more of a batting average hitter instead of a home run hitter. And, man, has it paid off. Volpe right now is. Let me just. He's leading the team in batting average. He's batting 409.
I mean, him and Cabrera has been unbelievable, as well. Cabrera's batting 346.
I know it's still early, but, like, what I've seen, if Cabrera can keep up this in place of Lemayu until he's back, that's perfect. But what really looked good to me is that the resilience, we came back three times. We were down in that Houston series, and we came back and we won all of them, and we swept, and we swept them on the road, meaning we have already gained the playoff advantage against them after the first series. If we were, if we're both to be in the playoffs, we would have home field advantage. Just seriously already. Yes.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: Good.
[00:03:07] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: So that's huge. And another big thing is we. Yeah, we swept on the road in Houston and Glaber, Rizzo, and Judge combined like nine for 120.
Actually, that's way too many at best.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: They were.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: I don't know what the exact number. Judge did nothing. Judge did nothing.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: He was two for 16.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: He got his first.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, Judge was judge, but this. He was out for a while in spring training with that toe. No, not the toe. He had a separate injury towards the end of spring training, but. So he didn't get as many a bats. Everybody else I knew he was going to start slow. And now his. Since the first game of this new series, his bats have looked a lot better. And Jack Curry was saying in the Yankees pregame, he was like. Like, even though he got punched out, I don't know if you guys saw that pitch that he got rung up on last night. It was.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Yeah, that. That's terrible. Horrible.
[00:04:08] Speaker B: Aaron Judge, actually. Yeah. While we're on this topic, let me read this to you, dude. This is most called strikes. Most strikes called against them on pitches over the plate, but below the zone from 2017 to 2023. Aaron Judge, 160. The next most. Josh Bell with 97.
He leads by 63 pitches.
[00:04:35] Speaker C: Yeah. It's a challenge.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: You said on pitches, like, below is up.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: I would understand. Like, above, he's already six.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: Low is crazy.
[00:04:42] Speaker C: Well, because his strikes are way, way taller than. Yeah, I haven't seen this.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: He's a discipline literally at his shins. It's at his shins. Like, you cannot call it a strike.
[00:04:54] Speaker C: But.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: And he never gives lip to the umpires. That's how you know that's horrible.
[00:04:58] Speaker C: It's actually so hard watching judge at bat sometimes because they'll just take him out of it shins and they'll call it strikes.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: Because they're so used to calling strike zones on guys five inches shorter than.
[00:05:08] Speaker B: Just so frustrating. So frustrating. But, I mean, Juan Soto is unbelievable. The Yankees showed resilience coming back, and Judge did nothing. And now if judge is starting to hit today, he had the homer, his first homer the year, and he got the insurance run in extra innings and a double in the right center gap.
I mean, if judge starts hidden, it's over for the league. But, hey, I'm loving the start with the Yankees that the Yankees have had.
I can't say I'm surprised. I said, I said before I said on air, I said, like, something about the team this year feels different.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: And, yeah, the three top five players. I would hope y'all do good.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:52] Speaker C: I mean, I didn't realize today's game, it went into extras. Two. Two. And the final was six to five.
[00:05:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Verdugo hit. Verdugo hit a two run homer. And then there were like two just like bloop hits on the diamondback side. On the top of the 10th, I think. Or bottom of the 10th.
[00:06:12] Speaker C: Good game by judge today. Finally.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:14] Speaker C: He's.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: A Braves game got postponed again. So I've.
[00:06:16] Speaker C: I know the Mets.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: I'm sad.
[00:06:18] Speaker C: The Mets have played four games. Three have gotten postponed, including today's game, by the way.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Marlins are zero. Seven.
[00:06:25] Speaker C: Yeah. Aside from the Mets, who have only played four games, the Marlins are the only other team in MLB who has yet to win a game, including getting swept by the Angels, which is interesting.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: Let me put this into perspective. The nationals are one in three and third in the NLE.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: One thing I did see, I mean, you guys are. Anthony Rendon.
[00:06:45] Speaker C: He is not going to hit.
[00:06:47] Speaker B: Garcia has 29 home runs since the last time Anthony Rendon recorded a just quit. I mean, hang him up, dude.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: 225 million wasted dollars.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that's.
[00:06:58] Speaker C: Well, I mean, the angel scored ten runs today with twelve hits, I guarantee you. Did he get one today?
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Probably not.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Give it a second. Play.
[00:07:07] Speaker C: Wait, wait.
[00:07:07] Speaker A: Drum roll.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: Wait. He didn't play.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Shocker.
[00:07:11] Speaker C: I could have told you that. There you go.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: That might be the worst break, man. That might be the worst contract in recent history.
[00:07:19] Speaker C: Listen, I don't know. I mean, looking at the Marlins, just the box score from today as well. I mean, batting champ Luis Arias is batting. I know it's only been a week, but he's batting 185 to start the season. He struck out twice today.
Meanwhile, the Angels, I mean, on the other side, including the sweep of the Marlins, didn't look too bad against the Orioles. Like, at least later the first game, they look God awful. Aside from Mike Trout hitting the first home run of the year, very fittingly in his first at bat, because it's Mike Trout. But, I mean, angels aren't, aren't too bad. I mean, Logan Ohapi is one of the best prospects. We haven't talked about him very much. He's a very good prospect at the catcher position. He's been playing really well to start the season.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: The Angels have played, what, seven games? And Trout has four home runs.
[00:08:02] Speaker C: He has four homers.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: Yeah, he hit one today.
[00:08:05] Speaker C: Holy. Aaron Hicks is not good.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: He had a 478. Aaron Hicks, he hit one over the Marlins logo in left center. Field in that little clubhouse thing.
[00:08:13] Speaker C: Tyler Ward went three for five today with two RBI.
I mean, like, they have some, some decent guys over in LA. I mean, I know we've talked trash about them. Cause they lost Ohtani and trout presumably will get hurt. But I mean, I have hope that they could do okay to start the.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Season if they have good production out of Aaron Hicks.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: Won't happen.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Not Aaron Hicks.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: Won't happen.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Who else?
I'm not even gonna say. Anthony Rendon.
[00:08:41] Speaker C: No.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Nope.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: Trout. I mean, he's trout.
[00:08:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:46] Speaker A: I mean, he himself could lead that team to at least 500.
[00:08:50] Speaker C: I mean, we talk about how stacked that division is, but I mean, all the teams in that division off to a slow start. I mean, we just talked about how the Astros got swept by the Yankees.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: And I'll say it right now, with no hate, the Angels have a better record than the Braves right now.
[00:09:03] Speaker C: I mean, it's true it's only a week, but I mean, you look at. Yeah, so the Astros first win of the season, I guess we could talk about that was a no hitter.
So what?
[00:09:14] Speaker A: Oh, the Ash Angels.
[00:09:16] Speaker C: I was like, no, no. The Astros got swept by the Yankees and then pitcher start, a career start.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: As a no hitter.
[00:09:23] Speaker C: And it was against Toronto, who. I gotta look this up, but Toronto did really well in their opening series.
[00:09:28] Speaker A: Two walks away from a perfect game. Cause I think he was like, no hit. He had a no hitter through seven innings and had one walk.
[00:09:35] Speaker C: I didn't check the box.
[00:09:36] Speaker A: I don't know about errors or hit by pitches.
[00:09:42] Speaker C: I mean, the Blue Jays scored in their first four games. They had 20 runs in their series against the Rays. And then they went and got no hit in Houston when Houston was zero four.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: Oh, you think that's something so. Well, the Braves in a three game series versus the Phillies put up. Hold on, I'll find it.
[00:10:03] Speaker C: They still lost a game, though.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: We did. We put up 26 runs to their eleven.
[00:10:11] Speaker C: Wow. Yeah. The Braves pitching was no joke this week.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: And then on Monday, we played the White Sox, and it got rained down in the 8th inning. But they called a final. We saw that nine nothing.
[00:10:21] Speaker C: I saw final and eight. And I was confused. I was like, rain delay, but.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: And then a three two game yesterday where Ozuna from the Braves hit two home runs.
[00:10:30] Speaker C: I mean, I don't know what the weather this week has just been so bad for baseball. I mean, the Braves game getting. The Braves, Phillies and Mets, brewers, opening day games getting postponed.
[00:10:40] Speaker A: It doesn't help that we start what we have a six game, road trip. All in, all in the northeast, where rain is just heavy and the Mets.
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Are at home, and they got their game yesterday.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: The Yankees started the year on a seven game road trip.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: Now we're playing in Texas. It doesn't rain there.
[00:10:58] Speaker C: I can use the rain as an excuse, I guess.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: Well, they were, they were in Houston, and now they're in Arizona, and they just won the series today in extra.
[00:11:06] Speaker C: Innings, and they're coming back to.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Now they're off tomorrow, and then they play the Blue Jays in our home opener.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Yeah, the Braves were supposed to finish up a two game set with the White Sox, and now we're gonna.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: You know what I saw earlier?
The Phillies can't make up their game from yesterday. Tomorrow. They have an off day tomorrow. They can't. They can't use tomorrow because somebody rented out the ballpark for a wedding.
[00:11:30] Speaker C: What the.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Dad.
So they can't, they can't game tomorrow.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: One of their game. Oh, which one? I gets the Braves, where they played.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Yesterday, or it was whoever they played today. They were supposed to put, oh, their.
[00:11:42] Speaker C: Game today against Cincinnati got. Yes, we had it.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: We had a weird lineup.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: We were supposed to play Thursday and then Saturday, Sunday.
[00:11:48] Speaker C: I mean, they're playing it right now.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Maybe it was yesterday's game then.
[00:11:52] Speaker C: I don't know. I don't mean they got their game delayed against Atlanta, but that one just got.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Cause, like I said, we were supposed to play weird series. We were gonna play Thursday, have an off day Friday, and then Saturday, Sunday, it got rained out Thursday, so we just played Friday.
So that, that's an easy makeup, and it's an Nleist opponent. We're bound to have a doubleheader at some point.
[00:12:11] Speaker C: Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, if you want to talk about the affiliates for a second, their game yesterday, think it was. Yeah, it was yesterday. Bryce Harper came into the game hit list and hit three home runs.
[00:12:22] Speaker B: Yeah. So I would break the ice, huh?
[00:12:24] Speaker C: Because he's Bryce Harper.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Almost went four for four. I don't know who it was in center field. Made an incredible play, including a grand slam.
[00:12:30] Speaker C: I mean, six RBI to bring. So he came into the day hit list and then brought his ops to above one. Oh, my gosh. So, I mean, some pretty good season.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: That's still crazy out loud.
[00:12:44] Speaker C: I mean, just to go from no hits to three home runs. I mean, obviously, one week of Bryce Harper having no hits doesn't mean anything.
[00:12:51] Speaker A: Orlando Garcia leads our team in OBP with a 476.
[00:12:56] Speaker C: I mean, Juan Soto's on base is above 500.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: Good night.
[00:13:00] Speaker C: I mean, it's a lot of. One thing I did want to bring up, especially related to Juan Soto, is a lot of guys on their first week on new teams playing, like, out of their mind.
Like Reese Hoskins.
I wanted to talk about the Reese Hoskins drama from the weekend.
So, opening day against the Mets was terrible. The Mets had one hit on opening day. It was not fun to watch, but it was a home run from Sterling Marte, so that was fun. But somewhere towards the end of the game, Reese Hoskins made a slide to break up a double play. That was not the greatest slide. It was legal. I'm not gonna say it was illegal, but it wasn't great. And Jeff McNeil got pretty mad. The benches cleared, and then they went into the game the next day, and instead of trying to throw at him right away, which I wouldn't have complained, they let him get a single and a home run, and then they threw at him. And then the relief pitcher, Ramirez, got suspended for three games and ejected immediately. Like, he came in two face. Hoskins threw at his head and got ejected, and then he finished with, like, three hits that game. He already has, like, two homers. I think. I mean, pretty crazy start to his brewers tenure. I guess.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: I wouldn't put some light on Jared Kelnick whenever there's time.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: I mean, the brewers in general. I mean, talk about. I mean, I was completely wrong. I said they might not be great this season, and they went and smoked my favorite team, which was unfortunate. They just lost their first game of the season today. They've actually had some surprisingly good pitching. I mean, I don't know if it's as much good pitching as it is. The Mets offense is horrendous, but I think their pitching has been good. I mean, they beat the Twins yesterday in a pitchers duel. I think it was three to two. Final.
Let me see.
Yeah, so the brewers have had a pretty good start to their season. They did get rocked today, letting up seven runs to the Twins. But the Twins are also a good club, so. But surprising start from the brewers as well.
[00:15:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, the Pirates, I want to talk about. They are.
[00:15:15] Speaker C: Talk about surprising five and oh five.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: And has it been their offense or they're pitching?
[00:15:20] Speaker C: Both.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: Both.
[00:15:22] Speaker C: I mean, the Marlins also stink, but.
[00:15:24] Speaker B: The Pirates are losing four to two in the top of the 6th right now to the nationals.
[00:15:28] Speaker C: That's not good.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: That's oh Gallo as a homer.
No way.
[00:15:34] Speaker A: For 48 streak. And hit another one.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: Yeah, probably. But I did want to talk about the end of the Yankee game earlier today.
Really weird. They went to extras at two two.
And then Verdugo hit a two run homer in the top of the 10th and then an error scored a run and then infield single. Really wasn't Clay Holmes fault. It was just some unluckiness.
And then in the 11th, birdie scored from third on a balk.
[00:16:06] Speaker C: Oh my.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: And Torres went to second and then judge doubled to center and Torres scored. So he went up six and then we gave up a single in the bottom. So six five. But then we ultimately got the final out and we won six to five. And the Yankees are six and one after opening against the Astros and the former NL champs.
[00:16:29] Speaker C: Yeah, the NL chaps.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: All on the road.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: All on the road. You could not ask for a much better start from the Yankees.
[00:16:35] Speaker A: First of all, y'all struck out a relief pitcher tonight, the final out.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: All right, well, that's because they probably had to. They ran out of guys on the bench.
[00:16:46] Speaker A: Said Diamondbacks reliever Scott McGow, forced to take first MLB plate appearance with bases loaded in 11th inning versus Yankees.
[00:16:55] Speaker C: How. That is crazy. Oh, wait. Yeah.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: ESPN just sent out was a relief pitcher with the bases loaded.
[00:17:01] Speaker C: How do you not have enough guys? I won't question it.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: I guess I know what had to have happened was the DH for the Diamondbacks had to have been moved into the field. Forces a pitcher in.
[00:17:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:12] Speaker A: And then they intention and then y'all intentionally bases loaded to bring up the relief pitch.
[00:17:16] Speaker C: That's what I.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: Smart, but come on, your final out. Being a relief pitcher sucks, dude.
[00:17:22] Speaker B: Something you gotta think about earlier. Yeah, that's, that's, that's something you got to think about earlier would have been.
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Crazy if you walked the game off, that's for sure.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: That would have been.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: That would have been. That would have been a story and a half.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: That would have been nuts.
But the Yankees, yeah. I mean, I could not have asked for a better start. Six and one coming back home now off day, everyone will get rested, and then Friday we open up there at home. And I cannot wait for Juan Soto to experience the Bronx. How about that throw by him on game on day one?
[00:17:58] Speaker C: That was unbelievable.
[00:17:59] Speaker B: He saves the game. We're up four three, and he throws a bullet from right field to get.
[00:18:05] Speaker A: That renowned not good fielder.
[00:18:06] Speaker C: Well, that's what I was.
Soto is so good at every aspect of the game, and the one thing that people rip on him for, just to have something to rip on him for, is that he's not great in the field and then he saves the game after the Yankees came back down for nothing in that game and Juan Soto makes a throw to save the game.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Monsoto reminds me of Acuna in so many more ways. It's like, hey, terrible fielding. Okay. He will absolutely make up for it at the plate.
[00:18:34] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, and then. Yeah. And that game, it was his first game as a Yankees, first played appearance. He walked. He had to hit that game. I think even. What, did he finish that game? Like one for three or something? I mean, still very good, but. And that throw just saved the game. Unbelievable. I mean, if, if he continues to play, I mean, I can't stress enough, it has only been one week. I mean, when I say anything, I'm saying. But if he keeps that up, I mean, he can take home the MVP. He could take home his first ever MVP. I mean, he's playing like that level easily.
[00:19:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:04] Speaker C: Unbelievable.
[00:19:05] Speaker B: And one other guy I wanted to talk about, Oswaldo Cabrera.
[00:19:10] Speaker C: That kid's a beast, too.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: Yeah. He was pretty much bottom tier of the bench, bout to get sent down, and then Lemaju got hurt and he had to play. And he went like nine for 16 in that first series against Houston.
[00:19:28] Speaker A: There's a batting title. I mean, there's a silver slugger for utility players, right?
[00:19:34] Speaker C: I know there's gold glove now. I don't think there's silver slugger, but there is Gold glove, dad.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: Gamut.
Well, if there was a sliver slugger, he's on track to win it for utility.
[00:19:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:46] Speaker C: Yeah. I don't know how he can. I don't know if he can sustain it because last season he was not very good at all. But I think Volpe has a good chance of sustaining some level of like, I mean, not 500 average, obviously, but I think Volpe can go have like a 270 around, something like that. I think he gets to say something like that. I don't know how caper is going to do, but there's no denying that, like, his start of the season has been incredible. I mean, his average for through the first week is 400. He has two homers and I mean, so that's pretty unbelievable as well, right?
[00:20:21] Speaker B: And.
[00:20:24] Speaker C: I mean, more than judge already.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: Yeah, judge. Judge is gonna get going.
[00:20:29] Speaker C: He's looking better.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Recently, Volpe had a four hit night the other day in our, in our opener, his for his first career one.
[00:20:37] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:20:38] Speaker B: But we. Was I gonna say. I was gonna mention someone with a bullpen.
[00:20:47] Speaker C: It's been okay.
[00:20:49] Speaker B: It's been great. It's been great.
[00:20:51] Speaker C: I mean, the pitching overall has been good. I mean, Rodan didn't pitch long the other day in his first start, but he pitched pretty well.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, there was some gutsy outs. He pitched great today.
[00:21:01] Speaker C: Oh, he pitched today.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Two mistakes, but ultimately gave up two runs.
I had a bunch of strikeouts. His fastballs, like, alive again. He's throwing 98. Yeah.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: And Strowman pitched a shutout in.
[00:21:13] Speaker B: Yeah, Strowman's pitching the home opener against the Blue Jays on Friday.
[00:21:16] Speaker C: I mean, the only thing is, Nestor is not.
[00:21:19] Speaker B: He's not looking good.
[00:21:20] Speaker C: Not been good.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: Not looking great.
[00:21:22] Speaker C: If he could just stop.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: I mean, he gives up runs in the first and then he settles in. If he could just stop giving up runs in the first will be. We'll be fine.
[00:21:32] Speaker C: I mean, if. Honestly, I mean, well, we'll see what happens through, like, three more starts or something. But I wouldn't even mind the Yankees, like, putting in a reliever to pitch the first inning and then put in Nestor to follow.
[00:21:43] Speaker B: Mentioned this stat from the series against the Astros. We outscored them in innings seven, seven or later, 13 to nothing in the series.
[00:21:53] Speaker C: And that's where they won all those games. That's where they won all those games.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: Yeah, we did. And we.
Our bullpen era was zero after that series. They pitch 15 and a third, like, perfect innings.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: So bullpen.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Bullpen was gonna be giving you all stressful games leading up to the 7th and then feeling good, knowing you got clutch bets.
[00:22:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And great, and great guys. And blood pressure might go up.
[00:22:14] Speaker A: At least we win.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
Geez. But yeah, the Yanks looking very, very good. I'm very happy with how that started.
The Mets, on the other hand, the.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: Mets, I would feel. I would feel bad if I said anything.
[00:22:39] Speaker C: No bueno.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, do we have time.
[00:22:41] Speaker C: To go to a break? I mean, we actually can go to a break.
[00:22:48] Speaker B: I'll save you by.
[00:22:49] Speaker C: I gotta get some, some words to choice words to think about.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: I can end it with positive words.
[00:22:54] Speaker B: We'll be back in just a few minutes, and we'll talk about the Mets. We'll be right back.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:23:17] Speaker B: And welcome back to student section MLB on Wednesday, April 3, here with Luke.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: Tory, Luke Anderson and Tyler Harrison.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: And we are now going to shift into the other side of New York City, Queens and the Mets and their start to the. To the year.
[00:23:40] Speaker C: Listen, okay. First, before I want to say anything, Tyler. Okay. Tell me what you just showed me.
[00:23:45] Speaker A: What it now that's not in real life.
[00:23:49] Speaker B: That was really okay.
[00:23:51] Speaker C: Classic MLB, the show clip. If Mike Trout actually had a 600 foot homer, I would have.
[00:23:57] Speaker B: Lord. All right, anyway, anyway, talk about the Mets.
[00:24:01] Speaker C: So, I mean, listen, the Mets, not great. I mean, oh for four. Oh and four. Sorry.
Just a terrible start this season. I mean, in the first four games they've scored seven runs. I think they scored one. Like I said, they had one hit on opening day, which was a starling Marte home run. I mean, a couple bright spots in the Mets terrible start to the season. I mean, I brought it up before that. In seven days of baseball, they've only actually played four games because a bunch of them have gotten rained out because the weather in New York right now is, is terrible. But their first game, they had one hit on a Marte home run. Marte, who I've talked about like before during the off season, I wasn't 100% sure how he would play. He's played really well in the first four games. I mean, he's one of the only people on the Mets who's actually played well.
And then they scored six runs in game two. They almost came back. They scored four runs in the 8th and 9th to cut the lead to one, but they couldn't close it out. Luis Severino in his first start for the Mets, not the greatest at all, but I mean, not too bad. And then game three was Tyler McGill starting. Not terrible, but also not great. But also the Mets only scored one run that game. I mean, off of seven hits. I mean, just not a great opening series. And then they went and played the Tigers the next day looking for their first win. Sean Minia with his first start with the Mets. So when we didn't talk about too much, I brought up once when the Mets signed him, but I mean, he had a phenomenal start in his first game. Pitch to shutout. I think he went six innings.
Yeah, he went six innings only allowing one hit and eight strikeouts. But the Mets went all of the regulation innings without scoring a run also. And then the Tigers scored five runs in the top of the 10th, all unearned. I don't know how it happened. I wasn't able to watch the game.
So to give them their fourth loss on the season, and like I said, their game yesterday and today have both been postponed. But I mean, something's got to give with this Mets lineup. I mean, Francisco Lindor started the season so cold. I mean, Jeff McNeil has been quite bad. I mean, the only players who have been particularly good are Francisco Alvarez and Marte. I mean, DJ Stewart, who's the DH, like, every game so far does not have a hit.
And Jeff O'Neill has one hit. Lindor has one hit. Nemo has one hit.
[00:26:28] Speaker B: Anything with JD Martinez? Has he played yet?
[00:26:30] Speaker C: JD Martinez has not played yet. I don't know exactly when he's starting. I did hear like when he was signed that they were going to give him some time to like, settle in before he played. But also okay, here's a report from earlier today that he can join the Mets this weekend, which they desperately need.
I wish he could start tomorrow because their hitting has been quite awful. Their bullpen actually has been okay, but I mean, their lineup has been so bad, like I said, I mean, eight runs in four games is terrible. It's just terrible. I mean, Tyler brought it up before. The division right now is not very good. I mean, the Marlins are zero seven, which is a lot worse than zero four, and the nationals are not very good at all. But they are winning right now and I mean, we'll talk about the Braves in just one moment, but yeah, I mean, the Mets have to turn something around. They play a doubleheader tomorrow. Would love to take both of them, but they need to at least win one game. Especially they can't open the entire home weekend like two home stands and get swept. I mean, that would just be. That would just be terrible. So hopefully they can take both. Definitely need at least one. And then they go into Cincinnati this weekend. Cincinnati, with a pretty decent start to their season, currently tied up early against Philly. But we talked about how they lost to Philly yesterday, took one against them. So Cincinnati is going to be a tough one. But the Mets, they just got to get something going. I mean, Tyler McGill got injured in his start, so now they got to find another starter. They just signed Tehran to a contract who? I mean, he's quite old, so I don't know how that's going to work. They just needed someone, I guess so. I mean, he only pitched 14 games last year. He's 33. So, yeah, I mean, they just needed anyone to sign with them. But hopefully he can pitch some decent innings before they get multiple guys back. Senga should be back within the month, I believe, so that'll be hope for the Mets as well. But, yeah, I mean, just a rough start to the season, which is quite unfortunate. But I mean, another bright note in the division. I guess we could shift to the Braves. Tyler, what do you got there?
[00:28:47] Speaker B: Lead it?
[00:28:48] Speaker C: Yeah, buddy. I don't have to. I don't have to whoa. Anymore. I'll let Tyler have his moment. I mean, you guys both have some successful teams. Yeah, three and two.
[00:28:58] Speaker A: I mean, I could say not, not ideal, I guess, but. Oh, well, what can you do? I'm not gonna, I'm not expecting 162 and, oh, because our run differential is crazy right now. We're plus 21 because we lost to the Phillies by one. We lost to the White Sox by one. And then the games that we won, we made sure everyone knew it.
Jared Kelnick, I want to specifically apologize to, because I was kind of crapping on him because he was performing extremely bad over the last, all of spring training. He was batting under the Mendoza line and he is now batting 545. And eleven plate appearances, I mean, in eleven at bats. Orlando Arcea, who was our worst hitter in our nine starters last year, batting 450 in 20 at bats while also being the leader in OBP and hits.
The only thing that worries me a little bit was starting pitching. Didn't really do what I wanted. I mean, Reynaldo Lopez, yesterday, he went six innings with four hits in one earned run, five strikeouts, two walks. That's not terrible. He didn't get the win or lost for it because the, there was a lead change in between. So Reynaldo Lopez, a good start. Charlie Morton went five and two thirds, gave up no runs and three hits with six strikeouts. I think he pitched, what was it? Oh, yeah, he pitched the game that got called in the 8th inning. So, Charlie Morton, great start. Hopefully he doesn't go eleven and ten again this year. I don't like, I don't like the evenness. Chris sale, I liked what I saw. He did give up a two run home run to JT Realmuto. But five innings, seven strikeouts, only gave up three hits. I mean, if he can bring, if he can go six or seven with that same run score, our offense can produce just fine.
Who else? Spencer Strider. I mean, he went five, gave up three hits, two earned runs and struck out eight. I'm liking what I'm seeing. I mean, they're going to be the strikeout leader this year. If, if anyone has a dispute, feel free.
[00:31:15] Speaker C: Nothing to.
[00:31:16] Speaker A: Nah, didn't figure. Max freed, on the other hand.
[00:31:23] Speaker C: I.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: Could go, I could go into the umping umpire because we all saw the, the four seam down the middle that was called a ball with the bases loaded up, scoring three.
[00:31:38] Speaker B: Unbelievable.
[00:31:39] Speaker C: Didn't even get out of the first lighting because of that.
[00:31:40] Speaker A: I feel like I don't have a place to argue about the refs because we're going to have an amazing season. So maybe I'm not the place. Maybe, Luke, you could argue about the umps more than I could. That is complete crap.
[00:31:52] Speaker C: I saw.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: I saw the strikeout that your relief pitcher had, Luke Tory to end the game.
[00:31:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: 2Ft outside and they called it strike looking with the bases limited. Yeah, it's a really relief pitcher. Doesn't matter. That's a terrible call. What you showed me with Aaron Judge have been horrible.
[00:32:10] Speaker C: Yeah. That isn't thing to note to this first week. I very, very bad.
[00:32:15] Speaker B: Horrible.
[00:32:16] Speaker C: A lot of pies I've seen. Yeah, this is like the first time. Like a lot of times, especially now with people complaining about umpires. There's a lot of balls being called strikes. But I mean, I saw another thing, I think, from this week that was a pitch right down the middle that was called a ball and the maximum freed one with the bases loaded, that with a two strike count.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: Like, I'm happy. I'm glad that in the max freed game he didn't get the winner loss because we obviously, they went up, they went up three to two on us in that inning and then we ended up scoring a few more.
And the same thing with Strider. I mean, Strider. We were down two nothing at the end of the fifth because of Strider. And then we won that game nine to three. Like, I'm happy that our offense produced and made up for it, but like one call. I said it in my head. I was watching it. The bases loaded. He was at almost 50 pitches because he had walked. Let me see here.
[00:33:09] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, it wasn't a great first inning by him, by any means.
[00:33:11] Speaker A: No, he gave up. He gave up two hits, walked three people.
And I said, I said he was already in. It was a three one count. He got a good call on a swing and a miss on a curve ball to go three two and he missed the. No, it was three.
It was two two.
He threw a pitch down the middle and it walked him and it walked. It was three two had to have been. And it walked a run in and I was already mad because that gave them a run and I said, I guarantee that's going to come back to bite us. Not two pitches later, there's a single by, I think, Castianos or whoever was batting behind Castellanos into left field, brings in two more runs and we.
And we give up the lead. So umpiring. It's been terrible. It's been terrible. Bullpen has been fine. For us, though. I mean, Matzick's pitching well. Aaron Bummer had one appearance. He now has a loss because he pitched two innings, gave up five hits and three earned runs, which.
[00:34:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I remember seeing that in the box score.
[00:34:16] Speaker A: Yeah, that's upsetting. It's a, you could say it's a bummer.
[00:34:19] Speaker C: Oh, my goodness.
[00:34:20] Speaker A: I'm sorry.
[00:34:25] Speaker C: I cannot believe you.
[00:34:27] Speaker B: Unbelievable.
[00:34:28] Speaker C: Jesse Chavez pitched.
[00:34:30] Speaker B: I want to just update everyone. The top bottom of the 9th inning between the Royals and the Orioles. Right now, the Royals are up three to two. Orioles have first and second. Nobody out, and they're down one.
[00:34:47] Speaker A: Who's up to bet?
[00:34:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I saw that.
[00:34:49] Speaker A: Jordan Westburg, he has played out of his mind the last few games. I think he's batting like, 400 something.
[00:34:56] Speaker B: That in 250, Ben.
[00:34:57] Speaker A: 250. Why did he, did he have, like, a good game yesterday?
[00:35:00] Speaker B: Maybe at a bad game yesterday or today?
Last seven days, four for 16.
[00:35:07] Speaker A: Oh, man. I thought he was doing much better than that.
[00:35:11] Speaker B: No, I mean, that's the bravestalk.
[00:35:12] Speaker A: Three and two is. Oh, well. But over the course of the next week, we play one more game against the White Sox tomorrow, and then we have a two game stint with. Oh, hold on. I think we play one more game against the White Sox, or we're supposed to play today. We don't. We don't play tomorrow. And then we have a two game, a three game stint at home against the Diamondbacks and then a four game home stand against the Mets and then a three game away stand against the Marlins. So.
[00:35:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm actually going to one of those brave Mets games.
[00:35:47] Speaker A: You are?
[00:35:47] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay, so Mets will probably get cooked, and I'll get laughed at.
[00:35:52] Speaker A: Four games. I don't think we sweep even at home. I mean, be nice. I would love to sweep a division rival. I mean, Luke got that.
[00:35:59] Speaker B: They're not our division rival.
[00:36:01] Speaker C: I mean, they are a. Yeah, certainly a rival, though.
[00:36:05] Speaker A: I would say the Astros are a bigger rival to y'all than, like, the Orioles. And y'all are division rivals.
[00:36:11] Speaker B: Well, yeah, yeah, but not, not like they're still.
[00:36:14] Speaker A: No, Orioles are still.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: They're gonna be a pain.
[00:36:17] Speaker A: I'll say the Rays. I'll say the Rays.
The Astros, to y'all, are a bigger rival than the Rays are to y'all. Yeah, I would say now you're the Yankees fan. I don't really have a say in it.
[00:36:28] Speaker B: Yes, I would say the Astros are our biggest rival, besides the Red Sox.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: And. Or I would say Red Sox and.
[00:36:34] Speaker B: Orioles are y'all's biggest rivals, I would just say Astro. Right.
[00:36:38] Speaker C: As of recently, I mean, recently, historically is different, but as of recently, the, I mean, the Orioles haven't been competitive.
[00:36:45] Speaker A: We play in Houston Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 15th, 16th, 17.
[00:36:49] Speaker B: I hope you swipe. I hope you sweep them, make me happy.
[00:36:53] Speaker A: But we don't really have any out of division rivals that I know of other than like the Astros.
[00:36:58] Speaker B: Everybody hates the Astros. Yeah, it's true.
[00:37:01] Speaker C: I mean, they've played okay against Toronto, but it was nice to see them get swept by the Yankees. I mean, I think the Yankees are going to be kind of like a villainous team this year just because if.
[00:37:13] Speaker B: They'Re getting hated, that means they're winning.
[00:37:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:37:17] Speaker A: If I, if I had to guess, for the Brave, my last thing on the Braves, we're three and two right now. By next, next Wednesday, it'll be the third game against the Mets. Will be, the game will be going on when we, when we get back on air. I say we're three and two now. 425262. I say we're seven and three by the next time we come here. I think taking four out of the five games of the next week is, is likely. I think, I think we go on more win streaks and we go on losing streaks this year.
[00:37:48] Speaker B: All right, well, when we get back, we're going to talk about player of the weeks and who's hot, who's not right now. So we will be back in just a few minutes here on WVUA.
[00:38:11] Speaker A: WVuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:38:21] Speaker B: And welcome back to student section MLB here. We got a few more minutes to talk about who's hot, who's not in the MLB right now. The two player of the weeks were the American League was Juan Soto, and the National League was Lourdes Garriel, junior.
I don't think, think.
I mean, speaking of Gurriel, we're gonna talk about the Diamondbacks opening day.
[00:38:52] Speaker A: Was it opening day that they did that?
[00:38:54] Speaker C: I think it was.
[00:38:55] Speaker B: I believe it was opening day. Yeah, it was.
Final score of the game was 16 to one.
Arizona wins a 14 run third inning run. Third inning.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: Yeah, they didn't score after that, by the way.
[00:39:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I know.
[00:39:11] Speaker B: 16 run third inning obviously broke the.
[00:39:15] Speaker A: Franchise record for most runs in an inning by them.
[00:39:17] Speaker B: I mean, wow. And I don't even think they hit a home run in the inning.
[00:39:21] Speaker A: They had to.
[00:39:22] Speaker B: They did actually run in the end.
[00:39:25] Speaker C: I saw a clip of all of the runs they scored and it was all like gap, double, single, double, single.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: Double, single, double, single, double, double sack, fly, single, single. Well, it's crazy.
[00:39:36] Speaker C: Lourdes Guriel, in his first week, has. So six games played. He has three homers and eight for 26 with ten RBI. So his ops is over one right now. So, I mean, definitely Soto's. Yeah, I saw. So I had that up just like before we were talking about the Yankees. I know his average is above a 400 right now and his on base is above 500. So Soto has ten for 24 in six games. That's before today. But I think the. They did that before today, right? The player that we. Ten for 29, so four for 7417 average, 517 on base. So also his ops is over one and he has a homer in four RBI. Also more walks than strikeouts, which is not abnormal for him. He always does that.
[00:40:23] Speaker B: Right.
Well, anyway, now, other than that, Cordon Burns has been phenomenal.
[00:40:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, is there pit. Is there player the week for pitchers or. No, is it just like pitchers that we.
[00:40:40] Speaker B: I'm not sure.
[00:40:41] Speaker A: I don't think they do.
[00:40:41] Speaker C: Corbin Burns has been shut down.
[00:40:47] Speaker A: He only pitched one game. I think he starts tomorrow.
[00:40:49] Speaker C: Or did he start today? No, he didn't.
[00:40:52] Speaker A: Oh, no, he didn't.
[00:40:54] Speaker C: Okay, because I know baseball reference doesn't update.
[00:40:57] Speaker B: He looks great in his first.
[00:40:58] Speaker A: Oh, no, no. Corbin Burns, dead stuff start today. He pitched five and two thirds, gave up nine hits and two runs with only three strikeouts.
[00:41:05] Speaker B: Never mind.
[00:41:05] Speaker C: I mean, nine hits is not good, but two runs, I mean, preventing runs, that's not terrible.
[00:41:10] Speaker A: By the way, he pitched exactly 100.
[00:41:12] Speaker C: Pitches for anyone who's keeping up, not keeping up with the game. And heard our update before. The Orioles scored two runs in the 8th, which we said before, but they had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. James McCann walked it off with a two run single. So the Orioles did win today. So, I mean, Corbin won't get credit for the pitcher win, but. So definitely not a great outing. Definitely don't like to see pitchers get double hunter tomorrow. Yeah, they do.
[00:41:38] Speaker A: Will Smith got his second blown save of the season.
[00:41:41] Speaker C: Will.
[00:41:41] Speaker B: Will the Tiger worlds remain? Will the Tigers remain undefeated?
[00:41:45] Speaker C: Yeah, that's another thing, too. The Tigers. I mean, first series, it was against the White Sox, but, I mean, they've looked great, the Tigers. Their pitching has been incredible.
[00:41:54] Speaker B: How's Tariq scubal doing really well. Is it Tarek?
[00:41:57] Speaker A: Tariq?
[00:41:58] Speaker C: I think it's Tariq, but I think he's pitched two starts, I think. And he's. He's just.
[00:42:03] Speaker B: Spencer Turnbull's on the Phillies now.
[00:42:05] Speaker C: I did not know that. Huh?
[00:42:06] Speaker B: Yeah, wow.
[00:42:08] Speaker A: Should, should I be worried or.
[00:42:09] Speaker C: No. Actually, Tariq Scubal has only pitched one start because of how many games have been getting postponed. He'll pitch tomorrow. Actually, that's a lie. He's not, he's not pitching tomorrow, but he's pitched once. And I mean, his starting as the White Sox was incredible. So, I mean, he's like a dark horse to win the Cy young. He is very, very good.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Jack Flaherty also has pitched very well.
[00:42:32] Speaker C: I mean, we talked about it right before the break so we could bring it up now. Shane Bieber has been unbelievable on a Guardians team. That has been pretty surprising in this first week as well. I mean, Shane, Shane Bieber in two.
[00:42:46] Speaker A: Starts, twelve innings, 20 strikeouts, one walk, ten hits.
[00:42:50] Speaker C: One walk and ten hits and 20 strikeouts is just actual video game numbers. It is only two starts, but Shane Bieber was like a well noted trade target in the offseason. But I guess the Guardians decided to hold onto him and I mean, for good reason. I guess we'll see. I mean, if they start to slump in the middle of the season and he continues numbers like this, I mean, they'll get a phenomenal haul for him. But I mean, he was in talks along with Corbin Burns for getting traded in the offseason as a pitcher. And Dylan Cease, I actually haven't seen Dylan Cease's numbers in San Diego, but let me look it up. I think he pitched Joe Kane his first start, but the Padres have been pretty decent as well.
I think they split their series against the Giants and they're playing the Cardinals right now. They lost today, but I mean, Dylan Cease pitched only four and two thirds, but he pitched okay. I want to see if he pitched today because baseball reference doesn't update. And if he pitched well, he didn't pitch opening day for them. But.
Oh, this is old, but I mean, there's a lot of good starting pitcher. Like a couple good, really good starters starts throughout the season, like through the first week. Let's see, this is the Cardinals. The Padres. No, it was Joe Musgrove today, but Joe Musgrove pitched six innings, seven strikeouts, one earned run. So pretty good start by him. I mean, I was pretty low on the Padres like right before the season, but if they can continue to get some decent starts, they do still have Musgrove and Udarvish and now Dylan Cease. So. And their lineup is still good because they have Tatis and Bogarts. And I'm pretty sure Tatis is at a pretty good start in the first week as well.
So we'll see where they pick things up. But we've talked about how that division is stacked. I mean, we just talked about how the Diamondbacks have been playing pretty good baseball. Oh, yeah. Tatis is ten for 31 because the Padres have played a couple extra games because of that other series. So he has a lot more abs. But he also has three homers, batting 323 right now. So, I mean, that's just Tatis doing Tatis things right, so.
[00:45:06] Speaker B: And I was shocked, to say the least, that the Brewers, Jackson Trilio, or however you.
[00:45:22] Speaker C: Yeah, I was gonna talk about him as well because I watched the Mets play the brewers. We didn't talk about him. I, like, I didn't realize he was such a high prospect, 18 years old. He is so young, and he's so good. He has. He's very good in the field, too. He made a couple of really good plays in right field against the Mets. He is crazy at the plate.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: It looks like his strikeout numbers are a little high.
[00:45:47] Speaker B: I'm like, eight months older than him.
[00:45:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: He was born in December of 2004.
[00:45:51] Speaker A: In December of 2004, I am a year and a month older than him.
[00:45:56] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:45:56] Speaker A: And look what I'm doing versus him.
[00:45:58] Speaker B: Talking about him.
[00:45:59] Speaker C: Talking about him. Yeah.
[00:46:01] Speaker A: That's all about.
[00:46:02] Speaker B: Literally, I think on that note, we're gonna wrap up here.
[00:46:05] Speaker C: It's terrible. Made me feel so bad about myself.
[00:46:10] Speaker B: All right, we will be back next week. Hopefully, a lot more happens in the baseball world. I don't see how it won't. I mean, there was ejections this week. There was sweeps that you wouldn't, you didn't see coming.
[00:46:21] Speaker C: It's just so good to have baseball.
[00:46:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Life's just better with baseball. We will see you next week. Have a great rest of your days.
