Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: And welcome back, everyone, here to Students Section MLB. I'm, of course, your weekly host, Carson.
[00:00:20] Speaker C: Keel, joined by Luke Tori and Tyler Harrison.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: And let's get right into things, Luke, of course, welcome back. After your little absence from the show, how was your little sabbatical? Thanks to the wonderful university providing you so much schoolwork.
[00:00:36] Speaker A: We made it.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: We made it. Okay, Wordy, as always, from Luke, Tori here, let's get right into things, of course, with the news. A lot to talk about. There was some concern last week that maybe. Oh, well, might not be a lot to talk about, but we were very wrong indeed. Let's get right into things. Of course, we got to quickly mention last week, we were, when we left you, it was the middle of game five for the World Series. Texas was up against Arizona. We thought possibly Arizona can make a comeback. Well, we were all wrong, Luke. Course he didn't make the prediction. So you don't have to say you were wrong. But yes, the Texas Rangers are now the World Series champions, of course, the first time in their organization's history to win that trophy. So once again, a congratulations to them and that accomplishment.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: Thank you for taking down the Astros.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Along the way, of course, the Yankees fanbacks.
[00:01:35] Speaker C: I still love you for taking down the Phillies.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: Yeah, there we go. Yeah, I agree with that. Not so much for that one. But let's get into the more current news. I mean, let's get straight into things. Who would have thought that a former brewers manager would quickly become within a matter of not even being fired from the brewers, basically would just swap over to being a Chicago Cubs coach?
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Not me. I mean, that threw me off. I'm not going to lie. Was not expecting that at all. But the more I look into it, the more it's like it could work. I mean, it can't be much worse than what the Cubs had going on these past few years.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Yeah, well, let's go quickly, right? Just to explain kind of what's going on, if you're kind of thinking, oh, what's going on with the Cups? Well, of course, Craig Council, I mean, what about ten years? He was the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers. Of course, since 2013, the Milwaukee brewers have been in the NL Central Division after the move from the AL Central. So, of course, that brought them into the same division as the Chicago Cups.
And then, of course, Craig's been part of the organizations basically since then. And then with that know he's been manager.
I think they've been.
How many times they go to the playoffs with think. I think it's mean they've won the.
[00:03:04] Speaker C: NL Central, I think five out of last seven years.
[00:03:07] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, again, very good coach. Able to bring his teams to the playoffs, even if the quality of such teams were sometimes questionable, even though it's the NL Central at the same guess. You know, it was what it was right before the World Series. The rumor kind of came out, hey, his contract is expiring, and he might be looking to kind of move around. And then, Luke, I don't think we ever got your opinion on when pre, we have the news where he landed, but I guess. What was your thoughts when you heard, oh, his contract expiring? He could be looking to make a jump somewhere else.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: Instantly. I was just thinking, like, potential suitors, like where I think he could.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: Everyone'S thought Mets.
[00:03:58] Speaker A: Yeah. That was the first one that went to my head, honestly, I didn't really think.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: I know last week we talked about him going to the Astros, possibly.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: That wouldn't surprise me.
[00:04:08] Speaker C: It was a long stretch, obviously a longer stretch now that he's with the Cubs. But we were talking about how the Astros were looking for potential managerial options that could get them to the playoffs consistently because they have to be win now.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, it was definitely a surprise to see him land with the Cubs, but I wouldn't say I ruled them out of that.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: But here's the thing, though. But the Cubs, I'll say this, I 100% thought David Ross was going to be the, yeah, he was going to.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: Stick around for one more year, at least.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: I did, too, because we'll talk about the Wilson Contreras comments in a second. But you would think from the players perspective, they seem to love the guy. So it was kind of know, all right, if we're not doing great by the All Star break, you gotta let him go by. But, like, it seems like, okay, he's at least got another half a season leniency to kind of go through with.
I mean, I guess let's talk about quickly the deal, and then we'll talk about the firing at the same mean. Chicago absolutely won this guy with the contract. He's mean. $8 million a year. I know people kind of talk about coaches salaries and other leagues, but of course, in the MLB, it's kind of famously, it's not super crazy, but if Chicago is willing to set a record breaking deal with Craig Council become their mean, how badly do they really want him on that mean? I think that says a lot. Would you guys.
[00:05:42] Speaker A: Mean. Yeah, it clearly states like they wanted him. They knew they wanted him.
So I don't know how well it's going to work. Obviously, a new coach coming in to know.
Rough situation.
The Cubs, they're almost there, but they're not quite there. I feel like they need to make a big move in the offseason if they want to take that next step. But I feel like you got to give the Cubs a year, especially with the new manager to build that chemistry.
[00:06:23] Speaker C: I think council put himself in the same situation he was at with the.
[00:06:30] Speaker B: Cut.
[00:06:31] Speaker C: Like you said, Luke, the Cubs are in the same situation that they're almost there.
Cody Bellinger may not be resigned with them. Yankee hopefully not. Yamer Candelario. They need to resign. They need better offensive production out of Dansby Swanson and Nico Horner. They're getting it defensively. They need it offensively. Now.
They need. I almost said Jordan Montgomery. No, Justin Steele. They need Justin Steele to show up like he has the second half of the season. But the Cubs aren't in contention with other NL teams. They're just not.
They're in the same situation as the brewers, where they almost have the talent, but they need a superstar like the Cardinals. They had GoldscHman, who was the MVP last year, but they kind of fallen off. But with other NL teams such as up and coming Corbin Carroll for the Diamondbacks or the Phillies and Braves as an entire team, the Cubs just, they don't compete. They don't compete in that same category as those NL teams. There's a pyramid. They're not on the same level.
Council put himself in the same situation that he was in in Milwaukee, and I think with Cubs players wanting to keep David Ross and then getting a rival manager to come in and tell them what to do, I'm not seeing good things for the seeing because council's playground got defaced in Milwaukee. He had like some school or park or whatever named after him, and as soon as he was signed with the Cubs, it instantly got defaced. So Milwaukee clearly is not taking it well. I think Chicago players aren't going to take it well. It just does not look like a good sign for the.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: I mean, I want to circle back to that when it comes to kind of the reaction from Milwaukee because I've been very, I mean, let's talk about kind of the players reaction real quick because you have Wilson Contreras, of course, a former Cub, was with the organization for a while, but then you had the trade. That kind of happened where he got shifted around, I believe that was, of course, part of the Elena Oakland trade for Sean Murphy. And he goes, of course, to Chicago. But as soon as the news comes out, I mean, Chicago fans were showing evidence of, like, Contreras at least did not like Ross because I found a red. Like, there was a guy who showed off a DM from like two years ago when Contreras was on the team, kind of talking about Ross, how he didn't like him. And then, of course, there was a comment where it came out, kind of talking about Ross after he was mean, maybe from the player's perspective, maybe that love was not exactly as much as we thought behind closed scenes for him. I mean, Luke, what do you think about mean?
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I think you said it pretty perfect. You summed it up pretty perfectly. But it's tough to going off of last season, for example, I wouldn't say he did a bad job, but I also wouldn't say he did a great job. So it's tough, and it's obviously a tough situation to predict because obviously it's a new guy coming in. But I could expect to see the Cubs maybe take a jump within the next few years. But you got to give it a little bit of time.
[00:10:05] Speaker B: All right, well, then I guess let us now talk about the brewers fans.
I don't know. I feel like they're acting way more shocked than they should be because basically, the moment the rumor came out, it was very clear he was jumping somewhere mean. Now, to be fair, everyone was predicting it was going to be like New York. No one was saying it was going to be Chicago.
I think that's one of the things. I mean, how do you guys react to that news?
[00:10:37] Speaker C: I thought it was going to be New York, too. I thought council was going to put himself in the same situation that he was at with the Brewers. But with New York, where they have talent, they have Lindor, Alonzo, Brandon Nemo, starling Marte up and coming Francisco Alvarez.
They could be contenders if they didn't get rid of two young award winners.
But no, it came as a surprise to me, seeing the ESPN notification come up that he was pretty much replacing David Ross. It wasn't that David Ross kind of resigned or he was fired? No, he was signed with the Cubs, and then council just said, I'm here, too. So it's extremely surprising.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: So let me ask you both this. Who do you think replaces for the brewers job?
[00:11:23] Speaker B: I mean, there's been a couple of reports already that the brewers are looking, possibly internally, so maybe they go after someone like, maybe they're the AA guy. Maybe they look at maybe. Yeah.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: Someone who knows the team. I think it'd be the smartest decision.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: To go the Brewers. It'll be the cheapest.
[00:11:43] Speaker A: The brewers are a very systematic program, and that makes sense to me that they would stay in program.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
All right. Well, speaking of kind of staying in program a little bit, let's talk about the Angels.
Yeah.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: I'm sorry to both of you.
[00:12:01] Speaker C: Yeah. We lost our first and third base coach. I'm going to Miss Ron.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: Yeah. Ron's a good character.
[00:12:06] Speaker C: Young guy.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Yeah. So I guess.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: How many years did they sign him for? Because he's old.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: I was going to say really old.
[00:12:15] Speaker B: I was going to say, I don't.
[00:12:19] Speaker C: Think that's come out yet. I don't think has come out.
[00:12:22] Speaker B: The team announced that they have signed him, so it's out there. I'm not sure about the contract.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: It can't be more than like four years.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: I was just thinking about this. There's no way the man isn't dying during a baseball game at this rate. Like, come on, he's going to be on the field and he's going to grab his chest or something like that.
He's just going to fall over. Like, come on, at this rate.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: All right.
[00:12:47] Speaker C: Live and die by the baseball.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:12:52] Speaker C: I was going to go with tearing a rotator cuff.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: How old was Laso?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Hang on.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: The second time around, like last year when he was on the White Sox.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Okay, Ron Washington, 71.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: Can you look up how old?
[00:13:08] Speaker C: That's younger than Nick Saban. He still got it in him.
[00:13:11] Speaker A: He's fine.
[00:13:13] Speaker C: He may hurt himself making somebody round third, but other than that, I think he'd be all right.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: He ain't Ron in third no more.
[00:13:19] Speaker C: Yeah, well, he's throwing his hands up when they win their 20th game of the season after the All Star break.
I feel bad for Ron because he's going into a system where there should not be allowed any hate towards him. For Angels fans, they are going to lose trout Notani by this time next year.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: I'm sorry, Angels fans, it's time to not rebuild, restart.
I think if you added an expansion team to the league right now, they'd have quicker success than the Angels.
[00:13:50] Speaker C: I think the Athletics are going to finish with a better record than the Angels.
[00:13:54] Speaker A: Not crazy to say. It's not ridiculous to say that.
[00:13:57] Speaker C: That makes my body recoil.
[00:14:01] Speaker A: It brings you back to simpler times when the Athletics were like, good, when they had Coco Crisp and Chris Davis. That team was exciting. That team was exciting.
[00:14:10] Speaker C: Like moneyball.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, come on, man. But now they're sadly not going to be a team anymore.
[00:14:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
For the Angels, I think they're in a really weird place because again, Otani's gone.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: Like, come on. Yeah.
[00:14:27] Speaker C: Probably going to be a Dodger.
[00:14:28] Speaker A: Watch Otani go to some irrelevant team like the Twins or something.
[00:14:32] Speaker B: He's going to be a brave. Come on.
[00:14:34] Speaker C: Realistically, I was doing a simulation on MLB, the show. He's going to be an athletic, according to them.
No, that made my head hurt.
That gave me a headache.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: Well, maybe once they move to Vegas, they'll actually throw the money around.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: There you go. Oh, well, for sure, if they're moving.
[00:14:50] Speaker C: To Vegas, they definitely, or they're going to gamble on.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: Get it?
[00:14:54] Speaker C: Vegas.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: Funny guy.
[00:14:57] Speaker B: Yeah, funny. Anyway, I guess what's your expectations? Because for credit counsel, I mean, for college fans, it's pretty much like you have to make the playoffs next year for the Angels, though. And Ron Washington. Ron Washington again took the Rangers the World Series twice in a row. And then, of course, he kind of had his miniature downfall. But now he's back in the AL west with the mean. But here's the problem. You're looking at that Angels roster. I'm not saying you couldn't do something with that. I think you can.
I think it's going to be very blue collar baseball kind of approach. But what's your expectations, at least for Year one?
[00:15:41] Speaker C: Ron WashinGton, they need production out of Logan O'Hoppe, Luis Renjifo, they need Anthony Rendone to play more than 50 games.
If I didn't say Eduardo Escobar, he needs production. If they're going to lose two pretty much hall of Famers. I don't know if Showhay's clinched his spot yet, but he will. Two pretty much hall of Famers if they're going to lose them, the Angels fans are just maybe hoping to break 500. Hoping to break 500 without two all time greats and positive production out of players that aren't named after a fish in Mike Trout, obviously. But Angels, they don't need to have high expectations, and I hate to say.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: That because they shouldn't have any expectations.
[00:16:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: If they expect to be bad, they're just going to be worse.
[00:16:34] Speaker C: So they should really, the most they can hope to do is Ruin the Astros playoffs at the end of the year maybe, or have the greatest midseason tournament with the Athletics. I don't know. I'm not going to enjoy watching the Angels anymore.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: No. Mike Trout's got to be on a team that's relevant.
[00:16:56] Speaker C: He also needs his body to hold for once. He's a great center fielder, but I think at his age right now, he's not Gold Glove material that he was before. He's not the.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: I mean, let's talk about Mike Trout because do you see the Angels keeping him?
[00:17:18] Speaker C: No.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: I mean, yeah, I do see them keeping him. I've said he's got to go for years and right next year he's right back where he was. I think 60% sure he will be an angel next year. But that other 40%, truly, I want him to be on a team that's a contender. And no, I don't mean the Dodgers. Please don't give him to the Dodgers.
[00:17:38] Speaker C: Dodgers are getting either Trout or Otani. It's unfortunate, but it's got like, seeing.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: Trout in a Dodgers uniform would just kind of ruin my childhood.
[00:17:46] Speaker C: Any good player in a Dodgers fan is going to make my, it would.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: Just ruin my, like, the Dodgers have just been so good for so many years as we grew up, and now you're just going to see the guy who ran the league just in a Dodgers uniform. That just hurts to look at. I don't want that at all.
Trout's got to be like a Texas Ranger.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: I think it's going to be a Philly.
Oh, no.
Yeah, that's the thing.
[00:18:20] Speaker A: Trout and Harper would be.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: The tongue has the power of life and death.
[00:18:24] Speaker C: You don't speak that.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: I remember being in fifth grade reading in magazine in the library of who's better, Trout or Harper? And now they're going to be together.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: Unfortunately, I think that's the most realistic scenario.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Could you imagine the Phillies team? But instead of who's their center fielder? That was Marsh. No, no, this dude.
[00:18:48] Speaker C: Josh Rojas?
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Was that his name?
[00:18:51] Speaker C: Oh, wait, how many years ago?
[00:18:52] Speaker A: No, this year.
[00:18:53] Speaker C: Yeah. Josh Rojas.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: Was it Josh Rojas or was it something Rojas?
Imagine replacing him with Mike Trout.
They are not losing to the Diamondbacks in seven, let me tell, would be.
[00:19:06] Speaker C: Brandon Marsh Trout and JosH Rojas. Bryce Harper at first. They've got Trey Turner.
[00:19:11] Speaker A: Nah, Schwarber would Costellanos would play left Marsh and right Trout and center.
[00:19:20] Speaker C: I think you need to move Costian. Oh, goodness, no. Put Schwaber at catcher. He's playing.
[00:19:23] Speaker A: Harper's just got to man up. Harper's got to play right. And you put Castellanos at first. That's what you have to do.
[00:19:30] Speaker C: I don't like talking about the Phillies.
[00:19:32] Speaker A: They have the potential if Harper were to move back to the Alpha, they have the potential to form one of the best lineups I've ever seen.
Could you imagine this outfield? Brandon Marsh, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, infield, Bryson Stott, Trey Turner, Nick Castellanas at first, and then Alec Bohm and then JT Romuto, a perennial top five catcher. That would be unbelievable.
[00:20:02] Speaker C: I hope it.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Oh, my God, that would be crazy. That would be crazy.
[00:20:08] Speaker B: All right, well, we'll have more to talk about when we get back. I mean, Luke, we got to talk about some comments about the Yankees in regards to Brian Cashman.
We'll have that and more. We'll be back in five minutes, guys.
And welcome back everybody, to student section at MLB. Of course, I'm your host, Kirsten Keel.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: With Luke Torrey and Tyler Harrison.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: And let's get right into things when talking about the New York Yankees. Luke, how did the New York Yankees do this past season?
[00:21:04] Speaker A: Horrible.
[00:21:05] Speaker B: Describe horrible for me.
[00:21:07] Speaker C: Worse batting average than they were.
[00:21:09] Speaker A: Bottom tier. They were literally bottom of the line for all statistical hitting categories. They finished 82 and 80. Somehow the only reason they did was because they have a guy named Garrett Cole who's going to win the sight young and major changes need to be made, not only to the team, but to the organization and what we value, starting with the analytics team. I am so sick and tired of that.
Oh, trust the analytics. Trust the analytics. Stop it. Stop it. It's not working.
Something's got to change. And it does not feel good, as a Yankee fan to see our general manager, Brian Cashman, thinking that we are pretty effing quote.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Okay, okay, hold on 1 seCond. So let's talk about.
[00:21:55] Speaker C: I'm not laughing at him. I'm trying not to.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: Okay, let's talk about. So Brian Cash. And of course the New York Yankees.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Have a horrible general manager, have a.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: Passionate, fervent fan base. Would you agree with that, Luke?
[00:22:12] Speaker A: Yes, I'm very passionate.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:22:14] Speaker A: And realistic.
[00:22:17] Speaker B: I won't say Yankees fans are realistic, but have fans been beloved by Brian Cashman?
[00:22:27] Speaker A: Would you say Brian Cashman hates us and we hate Brian Cashman?
There's no love hate. I've never loved anything about him.
[00:22:37] Speaker C: So you'd say mutual?
[00:22:38] Speaker A: Yes, it's mutual hatred. I want him gone. I've wanted him gone. Ever since the boss died, this organization has just been trending downward.
[00:22:46] Speaker B: So you're saying Big Stein would have fired Catherine?
[00:22:49] Speaker A: Yes. Years ago. 100% the boss would have fired him. Hal doesn't have the. You know what I'm telling you something's got to change. And in an interview for those who don't know what I was just referring to, there was a press conference where Brian Cashman got flustered and frustrated at a comment from one of the reporters, and he responded with, quote, I think we are pretty effing good. Honestly, as a Yankee fan, how on God's green earth do you think that we are pretty effing good, honestly? Because we finished bottom in every statistical category for hitting. We almost broke our streak of 35 years straight of finishing above 500.
We've filtered through hitting coaches during the regular season. Nothing seemed to work. So how are we almost. No, how are we not almost? How are we, quote, pretty effing good? Because it's not clicking in my brain.
[00:23:52] Speaker C: You threw a perfect game.
[00:23:53] Speaker A: Oh, and you know that guy that threw the perfect game?
[00:23:56] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:23:56] Speaker A: He got kicked off the team two weeks later for alcohol abuse.
[00:23:59] Speaker C: Well, that's his issue.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: And he's now been designated for assignment, and he'll be picked up by some twins team, and he'll go win the sigh young, because that's what happens.
[00:24:08] Speaker C: Chapman got a ring.
[00:24:09] Speaker A: That's what happens when you. So did Jordan Montgomery. It just happens.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: Okay, so, without causing a potential scandal, how much longer do you think Littlestein, who probably doesn't like calzones.
Yeah, there you go.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Good one.
[00:24:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I got to get those Seinfeld references.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: Yeah. All right. Come on.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: All right. Well, how long do you think for Little Stein, do you think. How long does he have with the fan base to fire Cashman and Arboon?
[00:24:44] Speaker C: They've got until the season starts.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: No, realistically, 2026?
[00:24:51] Speaker B: You think that's when they'll actually fire catchman?
[00:24:53] Speaker A: Realistically, if there's no changes made in the next two years with our program and how we produce, they will both and should be both. They should be and will be both gone by 2026. Two more years.
[00:25:06] Speaker C: Do you think, mentally, you could put up with that?
[00:25:07] Speaker A: No, but I know, realistically, this is.
[00:25:09] Speaker B: What we're getting with.
[00:25:10] Speaker A: Like, with what I've seen from this organization.
If I'm being completely frank and completely realistic, I think it's very fair to say that 2026 is the years that those two are gone.
The problem with the organization is that they are too player friendly. They keep Boon around because Cole and Judge love him. Cole and Judge love him. And you go to your two superstars and you ask them what they want to do. They say, we want to keep Boon around. They'll keep Boone around sometimes.
Yeah, you can do that. For a year, maybe two years. But now it's time to take matters into your big boy hands and you figure it the heck out. You got to figure out what is going on, and it's got to be now. I've seen so much on Twitter this offseason, or formerly Twitter now. X Whatever about, oh, the Yankees, big changes are coming. We're not following the analytics to know more like blah blah blah, this and that. Judge saying that big change is going to be made. I'll believe it when I see it. When Juan Soto and Yamamoto are Yankees, I'll be happy. And Bellinger kept Bellinger, too. Because imagine an outfield of Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge.
[00:26:22] Speaker C: I can't wait for that. I can't wait for that outfield to go 83 and 70.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: No, honestly, all honesty, if that is our outfield, here comes 28. Here comes 28. If that is our outfield, that would be the best outfield of all time.
[00:26:38] Speaker C: You're getting your hopes up.
[00:26:39] Speaker A: I know. Here it is. Yankee fan doing it again. Getting my hopes up for no reason. No, I did, too. But, you know, here it is.
[00:26:46] Speaker C: Braves fans win 104 games.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: I'll leave you all with this.
Brian Cashman has two offseasons to get me 28, and if he doesn't, I want him fired. And I do not want him rehired. I want him unemployed for the rest of his life.
[00:27:01] Speaker C: What about his family?
[00:27:04] Speaker A: I don't care about his family.
Okay, I'm done. I am done ranting and seen. I'm done ranting about Brian Cashman.
[00:27:16] Speaker B: Let's talk about Aaron Boone.
[00:27:18] Speaker A: All right, I'm cool with that. Aaron Boone the most.
[00:27:21] Speaker C: Here we go.
[00:27:22] Speaker A: No, I genuinely like Boone as a manager. I do the passion he shows for his players. He leads the league in ejections. What can't you love about know?
I actually like Boone.
[00:27:33] Speaker C: I wouldn't want to be around the losing team.
[00:27:35] Speaker A: I can't put all the blame for the hitting and the injuries. I can't put that all on Boone. Does Boone make some questionable decisions?
[00:27:45] Speaker C: Yes, a lot.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: But he also makes good decisions sometimes. And those don't get looked at as much as the bad decisions do because good decisions are expected to be made. Bad decisions aren't. So, honestly, I think Boone gets a lot more hate than he should for the situation that goes on with the Yankees. But that being said, I give him until 2026 as well, pouring out all this love.
[00:28:08] Speaker C: And then you have until I graduate to get it together.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: If Alabama doesn't win a national championship, fire Boone.
If Alabama doesn't win a national championship by the time I graduate and the Yankees don't win a World Series. Fire Boon.
[00:28:25] Speaker C: So you want Saban as a manager?
[00:28:26] Speaker A: Yeah. Saban take over as a Yankees man. He's a Yankee fan, if you didn't know that. Oh, wow.
[00:28:30] Speaker C: That I am an Auburn fan.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Now, every time he posts his Lake Day pictures with how he takes the guys on his leg on his boat on Lake Tuscaloosa, he's always wearing a Yankee.
[00:28:43] Speaker C: Wait, no. Then we need the Yankees to lose, so he gets mad. So we get fired up, so we win a national chAmpionship. Yes.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: No.
[00:28:49] Speaker C: Nobody.
[00:28:50] Speaker A: Well, the Yankees lost, so he should be mad fired up, and that's why we haven't lost.
[00:28:53] Speaker C: So number 19 is coming our way.
[00:28:55] Speaker A: Wait, when Texas was playing, the Yankees were still in, right? That was before the playoffs. Yeah. So now Yankees are eliminated. We haven't lost since, and we're looking like a national championship contender. Oh, my God.
[00:29:04] Speaker C: We just cracked a code. Yes, we're what it's due.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: Natty confirmed is here. Natty confirmed. Roll tide.
[00:29:11] Speaker B: Anyway, code.
[00:29:12] Speaker A: This is my quarterback.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: What was.
[00:29:24] Speaker A: Back to baseball.
[00:29:25] Speaker B: I hope we beat Kentucky anyway. All right, so I guess, Luke, instead of just ranting and raving, let me.
[00:29:34] Speaker A: Ask you this, right.
[00:29:35] Speaker B: Do you think that such a speech will rally support for Cashman, for fans? Because he seems mixed.
[00:29:44] Speaker A: Genuinely, all the reactions I saw to what Cashman said the other day have been my reaction just there.
[00:29:52] Speaker C: I've seen only negative.
[00:29:53] Speaker A: Only negative.
[00:29:54] Speaker C: I mean, I'm hoping for some people to be like, oh, well, he knows.
[00:29:57] Speaker B: We have the talent. Let's get.
[00:29:58] Speaker C: But, no, I've only seen but, like.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: No, he doesn't know we have the talent. Because I don't know we have the talent. And I know every single player inside and out.
We have not produced a single successful farm system grown player other than Aaron Judge.
[00:30:19] Speaker C: Volpe.
[00:30:20] Speaker A: Volpe. I haven't seen enough from him yet. Glabor, we got via trade.
[00:30:28] Speaker C: I want Jason Dominguez to heal up because I was excited to see the Martian. I'm excited to see him play.
[00:30:33] Speaker A: I've been waiting since I was, like, 1615. We signed him when he was, like, my age, at 15, for, like, $5 million. And I was like, this dude's going to be crazy. His first seven games got hurt, and each year he's our top prospect. I'm like, damn, man, where is this guy? And finally he made it. And in typical Yankee fashion, torn UCL.
[00:30:55] Speaker C: I'm hoping for good, for him because he did really well. He was off to a historic start. I'm hoping for good things for him.
[00:31:01] Speaker A: Yeah, should be.
[00:31:03] Speaker B: All right. Well, since you say that about County Yankees, here's the problem. What do the Yankees have a legacy of? Do they have the legacy of basically buying players?
[00:31:12] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:31:14] Speaker B: Or do they have a history of developing players?
[00:31:16] Speaker A: They have a history of buying players.
[00:31:17] Speaker C: They signed Randy Johnson at one point, didn't they?
[00:31:20] Speaker A: They did. He was a Yankee at some point.
[00:31:24] Speaker B: I think that should go kind of the point of how Yankees fans are saying, oh, well, why aren't we developing players? But at the same time, where's that legacy of developing players? I mean, what the Atlanta Braves are known for, what developing? Andrew Jones, Chipper Jones, Ronald Acuna, Jr. Ozzy.
[00:31:39] Speaker C: Right now we're known for many year, not a lot of money deals.
[00:31:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Cheating.
[00:31:45] Speaker B: No, they're not cheating.
[00:31:47] Speaker C: Who won 100 games?
[00:31:49] Speaker A: You know, I'm kidding.
In all honesty, though, if I was the Yankees general manager, I'd step down. I'm kidding. But hypothetically, if I was Brian Cashman right now, this offseason, I'm getting Kevin Kiermeyer as a little rental center fielder until Dominguez gets back, I'm getting Yamamoto, and I'm getting either Cody Bellinger or Juan Soto. We can't get both.
[00:32:18] Speaker C: And then we'll get Shouhei and then.
[00:32:19] Speaker A: No, we can't get both. I think it's very reasonable to ask for Yamamoto, one of Soto or Bellinger, and then get some. Stop. I hate the word stop. Gap. Stop. Gap guys. Because for those who don't know why I hate the word stopgap, it's because that's Brian Cashman's go to. Oh, we're not going after Trey Turner. We're not going after Corey Seeger. We got a stopgap guy because we believe in Volpe.
World Series MVP. Well, Corey Seeger, Brian Cashman didn't even want to talk to. Did you know Bryce Harper wanted to go to the Yankees? He did.
[00:32:54] Speaker C: He did.
[00:32:54] Speaker A: He did. And Brian Cashman wouldn't even talk to him.
Wouldn't even have a conversation with Bryce Harper.
Someone else talk. I'm going to lose my mind.
[00:33:04] Speaker B: Okay, well, all right, I guess let's start. If we want to lose our mind, let's talk about some dumb comments Scott Boris made.
I brought you back real quick.
[00:33:17] Speaker C: Welcome back.
[00:33:18] Speaker A: Okay, I am back.
[00:33:19] Speaker B: So let's talk about the first one I don't think is as crazy.
Of course, if you don't know what Scott Boris is imagine Jerry McGuire, but the ego the size of Texas.
That is Scott Boris. But like I was saying, the first kind of reasonable mean. What do you guys think about his comments on the draft? Should be away from the All Star Game weekend. It should be kind of its own event.
I have to personally disagree. I think that if you want the most attention on a draft, All Star weekends are pretty good.
[00:33:54] Speaker C: Do it during the biggest weekend of the season.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Besides the World Series.
[00:33:59] Speaker C: Well, yeah, but that's a multi week thing.
[00:34:03] Speaker B: Mean, mean. I. Luke, what's your thoughts on the idea of let's make the draft its own big separate event?
[00:34:08] Speaker A: I agree.
I think the MLB draft has less attention to it than all other sports.
[00:34:16] Speaker C: Drafts because it's so much like NBA.
Wimbanyama gets drafted first and he's an instant starter. NFL, maybe you're not an instant starter.
[00:34:27] Speaker A: But you'll, I mean, you are if you're a first round pick. Usually, unless you're a quarterback, maybe groom.
[00:34:32] Speaker C: But you get development and you see them within a year. But MLB, like five, six years it takes to get like, Michael Harris. I was like, oh, man, this dude is.
[00:34:42] Speaker B: This.
[00:34:42] Speaker C: I mean, obviously he was a rookie last year, but you look at Aaron.
[00:34:47] Speaker A: Judge, called up when he was 24. I mean, he was 24 years old when he got called up.
[00:34:52] Speaker C: Well, he was in the minors, what, in 2011, 2000.
[00:34:57] Speaker A: And he was drafted in 2012.
[00:34:59] Speaker C: He was drafted 2013.
[00:35:01] Speaker B: 30.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: Yes, because it was ten years ago. Like a couple.
Yeah.
[00:35:07] Speaker C: He was drafted the same year that Max Scherzer went 21 and three on the Tigers.
[00:35:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: All right, well, then I guess let's talk about the other comment real quick. We'll probably split this into the next segment.
The idea that the World Series should be a neutral site event.
[00:35:26] Speaker C: No, absolutely no.
[00:35:28] Speaker A: That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my entire life.
[00:35:30] Speaker C: I was talking to Carson earlier as we were walking into the studio, and personally, I think of a team like the early 2000s Mariners. They won 116 games, and then you have the, let's say, braves of two years ago where they win 86 games and they barely get in. I think if you win 116 games, I think you deserve five home games out of seven.
Something like that. Like, no, you can't have it in a neutral site. We tried that once and that was when we didn't have fans and no one liked that.
[00:36:01] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I mean, we all know the reason why. I was Texas.
[00:36:06] Speaker C: Yeah, but still a neutral site. I don't like the idea of that. You can't make it feel like the All Star Game. The All Star Game is. The All Star Game is fun. You have activities for it. World Series is something that you get a pay raise for, you work all year for and you want to do it for your fans. Say it goes to seven games and you get the home game and you win the home game for the World Series. You want your fans to almost storm the field. You want to be able to celebrate with the crowd. You don't want to celebrate with a bunch of people who are just like, oh, there's a baseball game coming town.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it's such a dumb comment. I wish we had more time so we could keep this in one segment, but we got to go into the next one. But I'm just going to say there's a reason only the Super bowl is a neutral side game when it comes to championships. We'll talk about that and more when we get back. But five minute break. We got back. When we get back, we'll talk about some players signing extensions, kind of what's going on, player options and stuff like that. We'll be back in five minutes.
And welcome back, everybody, to student section MLB. I'm of course your host, Kirsten Keel.
[00:37:39] Speaker C: With Luke Torrey and Tyler Harrison.
[00:37:42] Speaker B: And let's get back to kind of the topic at hand. We were talking about the Scott Boris comments about keeping the World Series in a neutral site.
I want to remind people what is the only championship in the world right now that is at a neutral site?
[00:37:56] Speaker C: Super Bowl.
[00:37:58] Speaker A: The Super Bowl Olympics makes it reason the Super bowl is at a.
[00:38:04] Speaker C: Except for two years ago when the Buccaneers.
That's based on luck. It's predetermined.
[00:38:09] Speaker A: Yes. The reason it's predetermined at a neutral site is because there's one game, it's the big game, it's one game.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: OkaY, well, that in a culture ball championship, right?
[00:38:20] Speaker A: Yeah. It's the big game. It's one game and that shouldn't be changed.
[00:38:28] Speaker B: Obviously, I'm with you, but what's the one word that everyone uses to describe a Super bowl or a college football championship?
[00:38:36] Speaker A: Would they go the big game?
[00:38:38] Speaker B: No. How do they describe the atmosphere? What's the one word?
[00:38:42] Speaker A: It's like unmatched.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: No, it's corporate. They think it's corporate.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: It's not one sided.
[00:38:48] Speaker B: Because.
[00:38:50] Speaker A: When you have seven game series in baseball and the NBA, it makes much more. And NHL, it makes much more sense to have some games at home. Some games mean. That's so dumb that Boris would say that.
[00:39:11] Speaker B: It's just like here's the thing with.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: Strider saying there shouldn't be any fans. Like, dude, what are you even talking about?
[00:39:18] Speaker B: Well, to be fair, I think that was him just kind of making a dumb joke. But when it comes to, like, again, should the World Series be a corporate event? Because that's basically what the Super bowl is besides TV. It's a corporate.
So it's just kind of like one of those things where it's like, okay, well, all right, anyway, let's start talking about some player options real quick. Let's kind of go over those, Tyler, real quick. I know the Parades have a couple we want to talk about.
[00:39:48] Speaker C: Yes, unfortunately, our amazing Gold Glove finalist and an NLCS MVP, Eddie Rosario, we have declined his option.
[00:40:02] Speaker B: Right.
[00:40:02] Speaker C: Unfortunately, now we are getting Charlie Morton back. I know we signed Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand at the trade deadline, and Pierce Johnson we signed to a two year, $34 million extension. Something like that.
Good production out of him, especially coming out of Colorado where your era Skyrockets. So we took a chance on him. Good stuff. And we took Brad Hand, who turns out his era skyrocketed because he is not the best and not because he was in Colorado. But I hate losing Eddie. I hate it.
I love his swing. Looks nice. I love watching him play. There were so many moments during this year where he was hyped up. He hit a missile off of Tyler Rogers and then hit a missile off of Trevor Rogers in back to back games. He had a back to back days where he had a home run off of brothers against the Giants and the crowd was just hyped. I remember seeing his run in 2021 during the playoffs. It was just amazing. And getting him from the Twins, who were hitting monstrous home runs in 2019, getting him from there. I hope his success continues wherever he has picked up and if we regret our decision and we decide to, I guess, get him back, some trade deadline or in a couple of years, I would love to see it.
[00:41:26] Speaker B: I think there's a chance he could stay around. I just think they're going to basically lower that contract a lot because he was pretty good defensively. It's just offense. It fell off like a rock.
[00:41:37] Speaker C: It was super 50 50. He was kind of like Marcelo Zuna where beginning of the year he would have spurts of just going over 15 and then, like I said, that series against the Giants, he had seven extra base hits in four games. And you're like, wow, where'd this all go? And then he goes over 16 in the next four games. So it's Super 50 50. I want consistency out of offense.
I hope we keep him for certain situations, but I think he would be better as a platoon bat, unfortunately.
[00:42:12] Speaker B: Yeah, that's kind of thing. I mean. Luke, what's your thoughts on the Eddie Rosario situation? Do you see him possibly going anywhere? I think he stays to the brave, but who knows at this point?
[00:42:23] Speaker A: How old is he now?
[00:42:24] Speaker B: Like, early thirty s. Yeah, I was early thirty s. Thirty two?
[00:42:28] Speaker A: Thirty three ish.
[00:42:29] Speaker B: I don't think he's as old as Mike Trout. Hold on. Eddie Rosario?
I do real life research.
He's 32.
[00:42:38] Speaker A: 32, okay. Yeah, that's what I thought.
Yeah, I'd say he stays. Honestly, I think he'd be a brave for the rest of his career. I could see him. Even if he's not starting, that'd be a good bench. Guy to have, guy who knows the system, guy who knows who's got the experience, Guy who's been there.
[00:42:58] Speaker B: Yeah, but here's the thing. After the 2021 offseason, everyone thought George Solaire was going to be a brave for life, whereas he's a Miami Marlin.
[00:43:07] Speaker C: Actually, that was my next point. Jorge Solaire is declining his option with the Marlins. Potential reason we sign our World Series MVP back. Well, you know, after we beat the lawsuit of him throwing a baseball into the stands, and now the Braves and him are getting sued. Even though when you walk into a baseball stadium, there are multiple signs saying, hey, if you get hit, you bought the ticket, there's things coming at you at 110 baseballs and bats.
[00:43:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:36] Speaker C: So when they inevitably win that, or when they just give the person a couple of $1,000, be like, all right, maybe shut up.
[00:43:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:42] Speaker C: I say get our World Series MVP back and resign our NLCS MVP. Let's go on a run. Let's start a dynasty.
[00:43:49] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:43:49] Speaker C: If you're allowed to have hope, I can.
[00:43:52] Speaker B: I have things to be happy about.
You did not have to do that.
Okay. Well, Luke, have the Yankees been busy with their player options? Any news on that?
[00:44:04] Speaker A: Uh, I think IKF. There's, like, a list I can pull up, actually, a bunch of guys that are going to hit free agency. Now.
[00:44:12] Speaker C: Is Agashioka still on the team?
[00:44:14] Speaker A: He is.
[00:44:15] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:44:15] Speaker A: I like him.
[00:44:15] Speaker C: Is he just injured?
[00:44:17] Speaker A: No, he just doesn't play. Actually, he does. Him and Trevino went back and forth.
[00:44:24] Speaker C: Are they both Gold Glove winners?
[00:44:26] Speaker A: They are.
[00:44:30] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:44:31] Speaker A: Sorry. Bear with me.
[00:44:32] Speaker B: Hurry up.
[00:44:33] Speaker A: Bear with me.
[00:44:34] Speaker B: Hurry.
[00:44:45] Speaker C: Potential.
[00:44:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:44:47] Speaker C: Okay, that was enough.
[00:44:49] Speaker A: I'm struggling here.
[00:44:50] Speaker B: Yeah, we can tell.
Come on.
[00:44:53] Speaker C: So clearly, the Yankees are still struggling, everybody.
[00:44:56] Speaker A: Oh, well, in other news for the Yankees, they're strongly considering Tigers assistant hitting coach James Rosen for their Tigers hitting coach job. Wow. Great decision.
[00:45:05] Speaker C: They're going to go from a 231 team batting average.
[00:45:08] Speaker A: We also didn't talk about the Mets hiring Mendoza.
[00:45:13] Speaker B: I mean, has that been announced?
[00:45:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Carlos Mendoza is the next manager of the New York Mets. He's been our bench coach for like, 15 years.
[00:45:21] Speaker C: There you have it, Luke.
[00:45:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:45:27] Speaker B: All right, well, then I guess because we don't have Luke Anderson here, who's probably listening right now. I mean, what are you guys'thoughts on the Mets hiring?
Okay, there we go.
[00:45:37] Speaker A: Yankees have outrighted six players, including Domingo Hermann, Matt Bowman, Franci Cordero, Jimmy Cordero, Billy McKinney, Ryan Weber. They can all now elect free agency. And then IKF, and I believe, was it Ben Rovert, our third string, our third catcher, are going to be unrestricted free agents.
[00:46:02] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:46:02] Speaker A: IKF was a good utility guy. He actually had a decent year this year. But we need changes much bigger than utility.
[00:46:09] Speaker C: Mean, that's really the only name that I recognize other than Domingo Herman. But he's famous for three different things. This, that only one good one.
[00:46:18] Speaker A: Yeah, that's for a different one good one.
[00:46:20] Speaker C: But no, I think IKF is a good utility player. I think he's like a worse house song. Kim for the Padres can play pretty much where you need him. Didn't he play, like, backup catcher when.
[00:46:30] Speaker A: He was on the Rangers? He did. Not for us, ever.
[00:46:32] Speaker C: Okay, well, still, I mean, that's still utility you can still use.
Think. I think it'd be a good pickup for a team who, if you're lacking in one of the guy, like the.
[00:46:43] Speaker A: Phillies, maybe could use him. Because you need guys that can play infield, that can play outfield, that can run.
[00:46:50] Speaker C: Well, they've got to figure out what Reese Hoskins is going to do because earlier announced today, Harper. Yeah, Harper may be playing first base strictly, like, indefinitely, which either puts Hoskins out of a job or he's going to have to transition to whatever they may need.
[00:47:06] Speaker B: Oh, he's out of a, like, come on. He's out.
[00:47:11] Speaker C: Man, that. That's terrible. That hurts. Lose the World Series, tear an ACL, lose your job to Bryce Harper, get off the team in a two year span.
I can't say I feel too bad, but I feel bad for him. Maybe not the team.
[00:47:25] Speaker B: All right, well, on that wonderful note, I feel like that's a good place to end off the show. So next week, of course, we'll have start awards. I believe the nominations are coming out next week.
[00:47:36] Speaker C: If I'm correct, everything will be announced except for the MVP. But we know who's winning it.
[00:47:40] Speaker B: Yeah. Thanks, Jeff Passen. We'll talk about that next week and more so again while the offseason is here. We're still here every Wednesday night talking to you guys about baseball and the happenings goings on. But until then, stay safe and we'll see you next week. Weekend.
