Blue Jays & Orioles travel to Canada for World Series games 6 & 7 plus WPBL

321 World Series – Blue Jays  & Dodgers plus Manager Moves & WPBL Transcript

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett. And with me is my good friend Mr. Mat Germain. How you doing buddy? 

[00:00:15] Mat Germain: I'm a little, , worn out from all the late nights that, uh, the World Series are dragging me through. But, uh, other than that, Mark, I'm, I'm really enjoying myself. Okay. Long 

[00:00:26] Mark Corbett: nights. Come on, dude.

[00:00:27] Mm-hmm. They can't do this to owe people like me. You're a young, you're a young strapping fella, but you know, I see Craig Calcaterra even complaining about trying to stay up and watch it. Game three of the World Series. Uh, it didn't break a record, but it sure met one for the longest game. 

[00:00:45] Mat Germain: Yeah. I, I think, , if you probably take all the commercials and all the times, I mean, I don't know, like in terms of.

[00:00:52] You know, the, the length of time, I think there's one that had a longer period of time, which was seven hours, [00:01:00] 20 minutes. This one was six hours, 39 minutes. Um, so you know, it's one of those rarities regardless of how you spin it, and, uh, and definitely through a lot of people for a loop, because we knew the Rob Manfred rule of having somebody on second wouldn't be in the.

[00:01:18] In the playoffs, but with two high powered offenses the way they have, and the pens being questionable on both sides, I think most people who know baseball thought, well, one of these teams is gonna score at some point within, you know, a couple of innings. Not, uh, not in an entire second game. 

[00:01:37] Mark Corbett: Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.

[00:01:39] I thought, oh, are we just gonna count this as game three and four? I mean, coming back the next morning after that, what the, see, what the stats meant was between both teams, there was a total of 19 pitchers. Mm-hmm. So. You know, that's just completely insane and you wanna talk about going deep into your bullpen.

[00:01:59] I think [00:02:00] they even had a catcher, you know, take the mound. At one point in there, it sounded familiar from some of the days when the rays were getting a real tough game. 

[00:02:08] Mat Germain: Yeah. The other question I have, mark, and nobody talks about this, but did they reopen the bars and serve beer again? Like at, at some point, you know, when you're in the third, fourth, fifth inning, past the ninth, you're thinking, you know, there's money to be made here.

[00:02:23] People are thirsty. Are we, are we reopening the taps? What's going on? 

[00:02:28] Mark Corbett: Thank you. Thank you. That, that's one of the first things Karen and I said the next morning, it's like. Uh, you know, there's really good opportunities for people who actually wanna stay and watch the entire game, and you're, you're no longer feeding 'em alcohol after seventh.

[00:02:42] Okay? I get some of that, but surely there's other beverages and food and concessions, and I haven't seen anything saying that. They did keep that open, but my gosh, man, people needed something. I mean, there should have probably been some more Mountain Dew and some, uh, other, uh, energetic drinks at least offered to the crowd.[00:03:00] 

[00:03:01] Mat Germain: Get some coffee going, get people to, to be able to be hyper and at least, uh, you know, up, up to the task of staying, , hypervigilant during the game. But it was a lot of fun. The, the whole, you know, thing turned out on the opposite side of what we had had hoped for, I think, on that game.

[00:03:18] But. The, the more interesting story, I think was, despite all that, I mean, you go to 18 innings, toe to toe with the Dodgers, you lose a heartbreaker. And in the same day that you lost that heartbreaker of a game, you're playing them again. And Shohei Ohtani is on the mound. I mean, the story of Ohtani, the transition from that game and what he accomplished during that.

[00:03:45] And then getting on the mound and pitching and still continuing to dh. I don't, I don't think if you had told anybody 15 years ago that that would take place, that a [00:04:00] single soul on the planet would've believed you. 

[00:04:03] Mark Corbett: No, uh, e exactly, and I mean, I could think of how much that was actually asking of Ohtani. I mean, because the night before he had what, like nine at bats and, uh, with four or five intentional walks, but the man was on base, I think one way or another.

[00:04:17] So you think of the physical, uh, wear and tear, if you will, on him and staying up there like this. This is a guy who, who treasures his sleep. It's very critical to part of his training and. But nonetheless, if I'm my blue jay and I'm thinking I have to face Ohtani on the mound tomorrow. Oh, good lord. Really?

[00:04:38] I mean, that's, that just had to be frustrating. But he, uh, it was, it was a good game by both teams. They, they really put it out there. It's, it's been interesting though, because I gotta tell you, Mat, listening. At the beginning of this series and I was hearing some of the announcers saying, yeah, you know, there's this Blue Jays team.

[00:04:59] A lot of [00:05:00] people really don't know much about them. I thought there's only 30 teams in the fricking MLB guys and this team has been doing, you know, killing it. And you're, you're acting like somebody hasn't heard of the blue Jays before this, uh, that really gets my Iron Man that gets me going, but. They actually proved what they could do facing the number one multi-talented player in the league, uh, you know, last night.

[00:05:26] So it was great to be able to watch, uh, was it Bo Bichette and Guerrero Jr. Both were, were tearing it, well, tearing it up. Both made some scores off of Ohtani. That was just exciting as could be. 

[00:05:38] Mat Germain: Yeah, especially the Guerrero Jr. One because it was at a moment in time when the Jays really could have, broken down.

[00:05:46] They, they were down one, nothing after that loss the night before. Uh, things didn't seem to be chugging at all. They were kind of stale, right? They felt like they weren't really getting any kind of momentum and, [00:06:00] and everybody, you know, a lot of the stories that I'd heard, uh, MLB, uh, XM Radio and a couple of other places.

[00:06:06] The, the stories seem to be, well, Ohtani showed up, but where's Vladdy Guerrero? You know, and, and. I think he knew that. He knew he needed to step up. He knew that the roster was a bit short without Springer in there. And when he hit that two run bomb off of, uh, shhe Otani, it changed everything. It changed the game.

[00:06:29] It changed the series. It changed the momentum of the Blue Jays all this sudden. That spark went off and you saw it in their faces and in their attitude and how they walked up to the plate and on the field, they knew they could win that game. And, and that's always been the case that they wanted to bring the series back to Canada, right?

[00:06:49] That that was, yeah. One of the major focuses, you're going to LA yes, you lost one at home, but you need to bring that series back to Canada to force the issue with the Dodgers and [00:07:00] give yourself a chance. So. I think that that home run from Vladdy Guerrero Jr. Even though it wasn't, \ a late innings won, it wasn't a walk off, it wasn't a momentous, like, you don't get as excited about a, a fourth or fifth inning, home run as you would, , in the eighth or ninth.

[00:07:20] You know, when, when things are a little bit more amped up. But in this case, I would rank it with, you know, as if the Jays were to go ahead and win the World Series, unless there's something major that happens between now and then. It would have to be one of the top three to four Jays home runs ever, because it just meant so much.

[00:07:41] Further mindset in the series and, and being able to move forward knowing, yeah, we lost a hard breaker, but we got ahead and we followed through with earning a win the day that, the same day that we lost that game. 

[00:07:56] Mark Corbett: Well, and I think it was kind of critical too, Mat, because, you [00:08:00] know, they just lost George Springer and I mean, he brings an energy, he brings a power at the bat, and if he's not there, it's really gonna be incumbent on, on, on.

[00:08:10] Uh. Vladdy Jr. To, to make something happen. I mean, not that obviously others as well, but my gosh, I could see where some players would maybe get down the dump spot saying, oh my gosh, Springer's not gonna be able to play. 

[00:08:23] Mat Germain: It's kind of weird. 'cause in this case it it, it was kind of a musical chair situation because you have Springer who is clogging up the DH role, who now Bichette can slide into the DH role and allow, , Kiner-Falefa to slide in that second Yeah.

[00:08:41] And then put Lucas over the outfield. So in a way, the, the Jays got more athletic and healthy. At second base and in right field, while still including a bat in Bo Bichette that you could argue is above and beyond what George [00:09:00] Springer provides. So yes, there's a drop off in the lineup. I'm not saying that, you know, obviously with Kiner-Falefa, Phila being in there instead of Springer, but what I'm saying is it wasn't a.

[00:09:13] Such a, a steep drop off that the Jays can't win or can't produce, runs or have a productive lineup. Right? So, so I think that's important. , For them moving forward and so far, I don't think we've heard anything about Springer being out for the entire World Series. , And they do get a break between LA and Toronto games, so it'll be interesting to see if he can pop back into the lineup.

[00:09:36] But the other interesting thing that happened yesterday, , was Ty France getting in that at bat, you know, so, so that was an important one to know that he's an option off the bench and that they will use him. That's a signal to LA who now have to make certain moves knowing that Ty France, who's a very capable bat, can come in at any point in the game and be of impact.

[00:09:58] So, [00:10:00] um, yeah, it is such an interesting series and, and I wanna tip my hat also to . Chris Basseit , who's been asked to do a a completely different role change his entire routine. And he is just living the, you know, he's looking so dominant as a reliever 'cause he is got the whole bag of tricks and he is just amping up the velocity a little bit.

[00:10:19] And, um, I think, you know, if ever he wants to make that transition to a, a relief picture and do it long term, he definitely looks the part mark. 

[00:10:30] Mark Corbett: Well, I was impressed too. I, I saw his name come up. I thought, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He, he's a starter. What, what, what do you mean putting him in now and then?

[00:10:38] Yes. I seeing him take the mound and deliver the goods. Uh, I, I, there was no sense of. pride or prestige as a starter or his regular pitcher that slowed him down with what he was able to do for the team the other day. And I thought, man, and, and they used him, uh, a couple of days. I mean, I think in a row, didn't they?

[00:10:56] They used him. I know they did on game three, and I think they did on game four as well. [00:11:00] 

[00:11:00] Mat Germain: Right. So the, the next question I'll ask you, mark, is, um, Trey Yesavage and Blake Snell are going tonight, but we'll get to them in a little bit in terms of who do you think will do better, but beyond that, the, the J'S are more likely going to use Kevin Gausman.

[00:11:16] But who do you think the Dodgers go to after Blake? 

[00:11:21] Mark Corbett: I mean, do they just follow the same lineup they had last time? Do they, they pull Yamamoto in there or do they, they pull Glasnow? I'm not sure. Uh, I would think they would. I think it becomes critical. I think they'll pull Yamamoto in there. I really do.

[00:11:36] Mat Germain: I think so too, but it'll be interesting to see all four of those guys, right. Snell Yesavage Yamamoto and Gausman to see which ones are most resilient in terms of, of still tricking guys after they've been seen just a few days before. So I'm really curious with Treatus Savage tonight to see if he can actually [00:12:00] change things up enough to keep, um.

[00:12:04] The Dodgers from running up the score against them, , the first time through is a little bit easier 'cause the first time they're getting used to things. But you saw him being under pressure quite a bit in the last start. Having said that, how many of the spots was he missing because he was so stressed out about, the, the emotion, the event being in Toronto open the first, , game of the series, et cetera.

[00:12:26] So it'll be interesting to see, , can Blake. Settle in, can he actually be more efficient in his pitches or are the Jays now, you know, saying to themselves, we have the playbook. We know how he's, he operates and we're going to be even more patient this time and get him out in the fourth. So, um, so many good storylines in this series, uh, still to come.

[00:12:50] Mark Corbett: I think Trey Yesavage had to feel a little more comfortable after watching Snell. Had the difficulties that he did on the mound. I think one inning [00:13:00] he had, I think it was many as 29 pitches in that game. And it's like you see the mortal, the feet of clay of this two times s Cy Young winner and it's like, wow, that's right.

[00:13:12] And it is two times he got, yeah. Yep. 

[00:13:15] Mat Germain: It is. Yeah. And, and you know, what does it say to the about the rays pulling him with the way that it went down in that start? Right. It's pretty much how the rays envisioned that it would've gone down with Blake in the way that it did go down with Blake this time around.

[00:13:31] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I, I can only imagine Kevin Cash that night sitting on the couch and looking at the TV and take his hand and pointing toward the TV and say, see, see, that's why, that's why, that's why I did that.

[00:13:42] Mat Germain: Exactly.

[00:13:46] Mark Corbett: Oh, gosh, no. I, I, I am just so thankful we've got to see a lot of these guys come through, whether it be Glasnow or Snell, , and then even by what the other night, Banda, you know, pitching , and seeing him get up there, I, I almost [00:14:00] forgotten about him.

[00:14:01] Mat Germain: Yep. Yeah, it's an ex-Rays ex extravaganza. 

[00:14:06] Mark Corbett: Oh goodness. So tonight we've got the same two guys as we had in game one. And I think these, I think these teams probably got enough, you know, they haven't had an extra day to catch a breath after that long, long, long game, but you know, they've, they're definitely gonna be better than, they should be More rested than they were for Yes.

[00:14:26] Or last night's game, you know. 

[00:14:29] Mat Germain: Right. I don't know if you looked at the lineups for tonight, but the, the Jays did something interesting and they're putting, , Schneider up , in the top spot. So, they're playing some different guys or they're using a different approach. Um, but I do like the fact that they have Varsho and Clement in the middle of their lineup, and I think that's where, that's the point.

[00:14:49] Blake seemed to really struggle to go through. Is that core of the lineup between Kirk and Barger and, and it was just that, you know, Kirk wore him down. [00:15:00] Barger wore him down, Clement wore him down, Barger wore him down, and it just seemed to really. Um, get to 'em for some reason because of the types of at bats that they were putting up.

[00:15:09] , So it'll be interesting to see, you know, which one of those guys can get quick outs. Which one of them gets better support on the field? I mean, Will Smith caught what, 18 innings? Yeah. And, you know, two games ago and he, and then he had to catch again last night. So how worn is he right now? Geez. And he's hitting in the two hole for, for the Dodgers.

[00:15:30] So, I mean. They're asking quite a bit. I know a guy can have horse legs all he wants, but at some point they start feeling like jello and, uh, uh, I don't know. I, I'm, I'm hoping that it, it is gonna continue to be an interesting series and that, uh, continuing to be a seesaw battle, uh, because I do think that that makes for the best playoffs,

[00:15:53] There has been a lot of excitement thus far. And I'm curious too. I was looking also what, so they're bumping up [00:16:00] Smith to the number two spot and place of, how do you say his name? Is it Pa Paes? It looks like pages, but I know it's not that. 

[00:16:08] Ah, Hayes isn't playing tonight 'cause I think he's, he's been having a bit of a hard time, , at the plate.

[00:16:14] And, , and so they, they put in a, , a guy that I don't know if a lot of people know about him, but it's Alex Call is his name. . , He's a lot different in terms of a player. I don't know, , that he's gonna have a much of an impact. He's sitting in a nine spots, so who knows, you know, how many at bats they expect him to get.

[00:16:31] But he's a non base percentage guy. So if you're looking for a guy that will actually, be able to wear down the opponent's lineup, or sorry, pitcher, , then, , he's that type of guy that'll actually be able to chip in a little bit there. 

[00:16:45] Mark Corbett: Were there any special moments in the games that you, you know, something that amused you?

[00:16:50] Uh, not something necessarily that was the greatest baseball in the world, but something said, huh? Isn't that neat? Um. 

[00:16:58] Mat Germain: I don't know. I think it's [00:17:00] the, the, the way that players look around, right? Uh, to me that's, that's, so we often think of like, especially when you're a young fan or whatever you think of, of these guys as icons and, and you see it a lot too when they go in the All Star game and they look the way they look around and talk to each other and how they feel and look and, and just act as if they're just as much in awe of things as everybody else's.

[00:17:25] But the Blue Jays players, when they're looking around and they're just talking, chatting, they, they're look in their eyes, there's this kind of sense of, I, they pinch me. I can't believe that we're here. Sort of, and, and to me, the, it brings them back down to that kid level where you see that joy of. , Just being able to reach some of your dreams that you had set out for yourself when you were playing Little League and, throwing the ball with your dad in the backyard, or your mom in the backyard.

[00:17:56] It's one of those things that, that's special about the World Series is the [00:18:00] moment is bigger than yourself, and so it comes out and how the game is played, so. The other thing that I'll mention is, is all the little plays that normally you think are very simple, all of a sudden become, become huge events.

[00:18:14] Like, yes, I caught the ball. Yes, I threw it the first. Well, yes, I didn't bounce it five times on the way there. You know, like it's so when they people do things quote unquote perfectly, it stands out even more because people will tell you afterwards, like, I think. Addison Barger was asked like, what do you remember about the at bat when you hit the home run?

[00:18:35] You know, you hit a four run, uh, or a grand slam. He said, I don't remember anything. It was an out of body experience where it just sort of, you know, I, I knew what I had to do. I had to move, I had to run towards first base, but I didn't feel any of it. It was just out of body experience. I can't believe this is taking place.

[00:18:56] Did that really just happen? And, and so. [00:19:00] I don't know. Those are the moments and the things that I really, really gravitate to because they show the human, when people talk about the human side of baseball, that is the human side of baseball that I enjoy. 

[00:19:14] Mark Corbett: . I respect that too. And I, and sometimes I look for.

[00:19:18] I mean, I did like that, especially about, will Smith, he's just, uh, he's a superb player, he's an old Louisville, Kentucky boy as well. So went to University of Louisville and is a great player there. So it's really interesting. Matt, I think you and I both talked about this. Four, if we don't have a team in there that we're hometown team.

[00:19:37] We look across at all these players who we watch either play for the Rays or have some kind of connection with them the past and can enjoy whatever moment they're experiencing right then and there. Even though in my heart of hearts at this, I want the j's to win. There's, there's certainly moments with the Dodgers I, I've enjoyed watching.

[00:19:54] , One of 'em though was kind of, there's a couple of interesting ones for me. One, I can't even remember who the guy was at bat, [00:20:00] but. It was, it was with the, uh, the Blue Jays and, let's see, who was it? Bichette, Bo Bichette was on first, and then it looks like it's a walk. The last pitch was out way outta line. So, uh, Bichette just kinda standing between first and second, and they get the ball over and they tag him and he's out, and it's like.

[00:20:24] Everybody in the, everybody there, all the announcers. Anybody else thought that it was going to be called a ball. And the umpire called it so late because the batter had actually walked away about 10 or 12 feet before it seems like the call was actually given. And it's the weird moments like that in the game sometimes, you know, they grabbed me.

[00:20:44] Uh, another one I'll tell you is Steve Varland when he was pitching and. You know, I sometimes I'm watch the game outta, caught my eyes. I said, oh, oh, well, he, he balked there. Oh, wait a minute. He, he balked again. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, those [00:21:00] are three intentional balls. He wants to get Max Muncey off a second base.

[00:21:05] He's behind him so he's not watching how he's setting up for his next pitch. And it's those little strange things like that happen in the game sometimes that make it as amusing or fun as anything else for me in the game. 

[00:21:19] Mat Germain: Absolutely. No, those are good points. Mark. 

[00:21:22] Mark Corbett: , Did you wanna talk more about the Rays and some other things at this point? 

[00:21:26] Mat Germain: , I think the managerial, carousel is starting to settle in. So the first hire or the first big one I think just happened and, , Derek Shelton is going to be the manager of the Minnesota Twins.

[00:21:39] So I think we had talked about, , how we didn't think he was gonna be on the market long. Uh, he just has, , he was handed a very, uh, what would you call it? . Maybe an extreme situation with the Pirates in terms of, of the, you know, the resources he was provided. So I don't think anybody ever [00:22:00] marked his record, uh, against him when it came to, you know, what kind of jobs he was gonna get next.

[00:22:06] . So at the same time, while he's, you know, gonna settle in into Minnesota, and I think they're getting a great person who's going to have a lot of fun with that roster as compared to what he had with the Pirates. It's still not a large market team per se, but at least they do spend and they do keep their stars around.

[00:22:23] The other one that I've heard is Rocco Baldelli, who left the Minnesota Twins, , might be, uh, heading over to the Nationals. So that one's not official yet. And then, and there he's kind of like one of the last, you know, uh. Trio of player of people that are, they're looking at, uh, rumored to be looking at, but I think he would be a great fit there because more than anything, they need somebody who can relate to the young guys, but also settle 'em down and actually, you know, put enough rules in place that they're not running around.

[00:22:54] Uh uh. A little bit rampant. So it's [00:23:00] gonna be, you know, it's gonna be interesting to see how the rest of the guys that are available settle in. Uh, I know there's still a lot of, uh, managerial vacancies, but, uh, the last one that I wanna mention is, um, is the new, uh, um, I guess the, the, the latest, um. Rays X-Rays manager that's going to be the Orioles manager.

[00:23:24] Um, and like, , Matt Quatraro who's in the Royals. , Craig Albernaz was, you know, a longtime Rays minor league player. , He got to coach with the Rays, , system for a few years, and then now he's been hired by the Orioles to. To manage their team. I, I think that's a really, really great under the radar snag by , the Orioles.

[00:23:48] Um, Craig is a very, very intelligent person. He, he kind of in, uh, takes everything in around him. The way people talk about him is more like, um, [00:24:00] uh, like the managerial version of what Kyle Snyder is to the Rays. Like he, he's just. Seems to fit in well with everybody can tone down situations when they're high stressed, um, can talk both analytics and the old school kind of managing.

[00:24:17] So I think he's going to be a very, very, very, tough , manager to face for everybody that's in the AL East right now. So I, I think that was a really solid add by the Orioles. 

[00:24:29] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I was really glad to see it. It's always interesting to see the whole Rays dynamic, you know, whether it be Montoya or some of the other ones who've left the Rays and become managers and see the penetration they have throughout the entire league.

[00:24:44] But, uh, that was pretty cool. See, uh, Texas Rangers hire Skip Schumaker. 

[00:24:50] Mat Germain: No, 

[00:24:51] Mark Corbett: they can't be it. 

[00:24:53] Mat Germain: I didn't see that one. 

[00:24:54] Mark Corbett: Yeah, it's, uh, on Yahoo Sports. I had to do a little depth on that. I'll take this out [00:25:00] if it's not accurate, but there's always so much going on. You know, what I forgot to do is we're, we got a World Series commercial we were supposed to put in, and it's Ronald Reagan.

[00:25:09] So, we'll, we'll take a break right here and, uh, here's a special message from a former president about baseball as if, uh, we hadn't heard more about baseball and Ronald Reagan recently. Here's one more.

[00:25:24] Ronald Reagan Baseball Diaper Diamond

[00:00:00] President Ronald Reagan: He said he'd been having dinner over at the home of a young ball player with the Dodgers. The young wife was bustling about getting the dinner ready. They were talking sports and the baby started to cry and over her shoulder, his busy wife said to the ball player, change the baby and he was a young fellow and he was embarrassed in front of Danny.

[00:00:19] And he said, what do you mean change the baby? I'm a ball player. That's not my line of work.

[00:00:25] And she turned around, put her hands on her hips, and she communicated. She said, look, Buster, you lay the diaper out like a diamond. You put second base on home plate, you put the baby's bottom on the pitcher's mound.

[00:00:39] You hook up first and third slide home underneath. And if it starts to rain, the game ain't called you start all over.

[00:25:33] Oh, good gravy. Well, I'm glad we're getting some, you know, presidential guidance here in the United States. And, , even if it is from the past and there's a few diapers I think that still need to be changed, but I'll leave that uh, we'll get back here to baseball.

[00:25:46] So, Mr. Mat, now that we've. I've taken a look at, , the World Series and we've also taken a look at some of the movement with the managers. , There's still a lot going on. I know with, with, uh, some of the [00:26:00] assessments you've been doing with the Rays and what the expectations might be for the next year.

[00:26:05] Mat Germain: Right. I, I've been hearing a lot of, uh, players being pushed you know, what about this guy? What about that guy? , Money, being an issue for a lot of teams , and not so much for others. So anybody that knows what's going on with St. Louis. , Knows that Chaim Bloom is probably going to be or is reportedly going to entertain moving.

[00:26:29] Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado. And the other one that I find very intriguing for the Rays is Brendan Donovan. So Brendan Donovan is the kind of player that Rays love. He's, he's sort of like a Joey Wendle ish kind of player, , but with a little bit more power and, , a little bit. Higher average and on base bat.

[00:26:51] So you know, it's an upgrade. Basically. He can play second, third, uh, shortstop, third and in the outfield. So in terms of helping, [00:27:00] looking at the ray and how they can improve things, let's say for whatever reason they wanna hang on to Brandon Lowe, they wanna hang on to Yandy Diaz. Yeah. Idea. Well, they need players of impact that can chip in at shortstop and in the outfield to, to kind of amp up, um, the breadth of the lineup basically, and, and make sure that, you know, they're still getting strong play defensively.

[00:27:24] But, but what it would do is essentially. Push the Rays into a more experienced bench situation, which I think would be a really, really good help for them. Uh, for next year. It would help 'em to move a couple of guys that they can't protect into rule five, which is always a concern when you're getting towards November.

[00:27:45] And he's affordable, so he's gonna be arbitration eligible this year. He, he's still controllable next year, and I think he becomes a free agent in 2028. So they get two years out of him. Uh, the two years means that he, the cost will be high, but [00:28:00] not insanely high, , in terms of acquiring him. And the rays have a lot of, of moving pieces.

[00:28:07] So what I threw out out tonight was it was an example of, you know, if they can find a third team that that is looking for a reliever and they can offer up Pete Fairbanks as one of the major pieces in the three-way trade, then they can offset the rest of it with, a prospect or whatever and they're still bringing into player that's gonna be of immediate impact.

[00:28:29] And, and at the same time, they're finding Pete at home where he's, he can be competitive with a team that actually wants to have him. Uh, I've heard some people talk, you know, oh, what if they, what if they just declined? Pete Fairbanks is 11 or $12 million option. And, and I, I think anybody that knows the Rays knows that they're gonna wanna get something back if they are going to lose.

[00:28:52] Pete Fairbanks, , for 2026. So I, I think, Pete Fairbanks and, and Brandon Lowe's options will both get grabbed. [00:29:00] It's just a matter of whether or not they keep either one. A board and, and if they do dangle one, which one it'll be, , to be able to get somebody like Brendan Donovan. I threw out my Matt Wallner before from the Minnesota Twins.

[00:29:13] I think he'd be a great grab. And Ryan O'Hearn as a free agent is another guy that I think would fit well with the roster. , But the fact that Chaim Bloom is gonna be, the guy on the other line of the, of the phone with, with Erik Neander tells me that, . There's a good chance that a deal could get made between these two teams, this off season, 

[00:29:32] Mark Corbett: Network that, that, uh, we look at from the Rays, it's always amazes me.

[00:29:39] Mm-hmm. And I mean, if you told me what air, uh, Neander was gonna be able to do, you know, when he first came here, I would, I would, I'm surprised. I thought, oh, here's another stock guy, another guy who's come in from working mergers and figuring other things out with Stu, just somebody who doesn't necessarily know much about the game.

[00:29:57] Maybe, maybe he's done some fantasy baseball or [00:30:00] something, and boy was I wrong. I mean, I, I was so grossly wrong and under underestimating, you know, what he was able to do with his team and then what he was able to do with nurturing the talent beneath him. You know, and, and how valuable they became to more teams across the league.

[00:30:17] He has just made such an impact on the game far beyond, you know, the rays in the American League east. 

[00:30:27] Mat Germain: Yeah. And I think when, when you look back at Chaim Bloom's time with, with um, uh. W with the Red Sox, he did make trades with the, with the rays when he was there. And, and I mean, I think at the time the rays hadn't really been making moves often, , with AL East teams.

[00:30:47] but they did make a few together, like when he did join the Red Sox. So I, I really, I would be really shocked if, , if something didn't happen between the two. Now. Everything that we're reading [00:31:00] online says that it's going to be bold moves that he's, , he's going to be making with the, uh, with the Cardinals.

[00:31:07] Now bold is relative. It depends on what your version of bold is, but, but the one thing I do know. Is that he, he values prospects very highly compared to what John Mozeliak , would've done with the Cards, right? Uh, and I'm, what I mean by that is other people's prospects not his own. So the Cardinals historically have always been like, you know, the.

[00:31:33] The scene and, uh, finding Nemo when, when, uh, the seagulls are going, mine, mine, mine, mine. That's essentially what the cards are with their prospects, right? They, they don't like to ship 'em out if they can help it. Um, the one caveat with that is outfielders, they always seem to be able to produce outfielders like crazy, so they do ship those out a little bit.

[00:31:55] Um, but the, uh. The, the way [00:32:00] forward for the Cardinals is definitely a youth movement and I think anybody that's making money right now will be offset and then they'll reload with a few free agents that are in key positions and, and help them move ahead. 

[00:32:13] Mark Corbett: You know, Chaim Bloom trying to judge him from some of his first moves was difficult.

[00:32:18] Mm-hmm. I mean, you take the guy, John Henry brings him in with the Red Sox and the next thing you know. They're getting rid of one of the most beloved Red Sox players. That of time, you know, that's Mookie Betts. It's like, my gosh. What happens with your career from there?

[00:32:35] You know, you're not beloved by the fans after a move like that, and some would question the, the, uh. Wisdom of that move, but it was in following what the ownership wanted. So I'm wondering now with Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals and bold moves, is that something that the ownership's saying, let's make bold moves, Chaim.

[00:32:56] I, I, I just think 

[00:32:57] Mat Germain: like if you're looking to change the [00:33:00] culture and direction of a team towards the positive, things have to change. Right? Like, and, and I think now that people have had a chance to digest what he did in Boston, , and he was able to bring guys in like Marcelo Meyer, Kyle Teal, Roman, Anthony.

[00:33:16] All these core players that, that, , are going to be important parts of teams, , moving forward , and they're able to look, take a longer look at the draft picks that he he brought into the organization and also. , The focus of the team in terms of how, which free agents they were gonna go, how aggressive they're gonna be internationally, , going to the Japanese market, going to, , there's a whole bunch of things that, that he was able to do, including, , an extension for Rafael Devers.

[00:33:47] Now they stepped away from the Rafael Devers, you know, situation eventually. But nonetheless, there's a lot of things that happened that, um. That that kind of put him in better light than he otherwise would've [00:34:00] been. , So I think. He's going to the cards with a clean slate. He has a little bit of experience with them now and a lot more confidence because like you said, if you, if you're treating Mookie Betts, any deal after that is going to be easier to do.

[00:34:14] Alex Anthopoulis first trade with the, the Blue Jays was Roy Halladay. So you know when you're able to make those big significant moves afterwards, every other one beyond that is, is. You know, somewhat easier and more tolerable for from your point of view. So it's a good thing because it opens up all of the possibilities.

[00:34:34] He's not gonna be hampered by saying, well, that can't happen because this name is just not movable. That will never be the case for Chaim Bloom. So I think he's a, he's going to do a really good job in St. Louis. I just don't know how, how significant or the number of moves that he wants to make that aren't the obvious ones right away.

[00:34:56] Like if he has his eye on certain players. That [00:35:00] other people may have overlooked, then it might be a lot of moves that he makes. But for guys that we may look at initially and go, oh, well that's not really that significant. And then three years later you're looking at it going, whoa, what? When did he get that guy?

[00:35:13] So it's gonna be really fun to watch. I, I owe, that's my favorite part of the, of. You know, the, the systems and the teams is to watch how they revamp and reload and, and how they, they gear up their teams. So, um, Chaim Bloom is definitely Rays centric, um, but I don't think he's ever also been given a fair chance to do the full gamut of what it is he wants to do.

[00:35:39] So hopefully he gets that with the Cardinals. 

[00:35:43] Mark Corbett: Well, I hope so as well. I, I think that, like I said, I think he had kind of a raw deal in the very beginning, but he has proven himself and that's showing up, I don't think they would've brought him in if they, they didn't see the value of what he's already achieved beyond that.

[00:35:55] But, uh, there was kind of a, a rough start beginning, but glad to see [00:36:00] he's moving along with that. Let's see my friend. What else is going on?

[00:36:04] I

[00:36:04] Mat Germain: have a question for you, mark. Please go ahead. Do you, 

[00:36:06] do you know anything about the WPBL draft and where it's gonna be taking place? Is it gonna be televised? Um, and have they named the teams yet?

[00:36:18] Mark Corbett: Yeah, there. No.

[00:36:21] Mat Germain: Yeah, the answer is no.

[00:36:23] Mark Corbett: Yeah. No. The, the answer is no. I mean, that there's, there are the teams they, they put together initially there was, I was hearing that there was gonna be six, but you know, they're actually wound up with, with starting out with four, and it's probably just more manageable.

[00:36:35] Uh, the, the teams, the last thing I heard is there, there's the New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Now, you know, maybe they'll be like the Washington football team and they might be there for a year or two. But I, I have yet to hear that. Surely there's gonna be some sponsors. I'm taking a quick look at their page right now.

[00:36:53] I don't see anything new as far as naming, , who's gonna be what. You know, a lot of what they did as far as [00:37:00] picking these teams. I'm trying to think back to the days when there was all the American Girls Professional Baseball League and they tried to balance out those teams. So I'm not sure who's gonna be making all those decisions, be quite honest with you.

[00:37:14] And I do wanna reach out to, Stein and, I'm gonna reach out to the folks in the organization and we'll get, find out more about him. 'cause. It's a, it's a humming man. It's something we talked about. It's gonna be coming for a long time. See how 

[00:37:27] it comes.

[00:37:28] Mat Germain: 'Cause I know it's within the next month that they want to do the draft.

[00:37:32] So I, I'm just trying to think, okay, if I'm starting this new league and I want to have, you know, the attention of everybody, it makes sense that you wanna announce all that after the World Series ends, right? So that makes. Perfect sense. I, I, I think that there's an opportunity there in terms of, uh, where you have the draft, right?

[00:37:53] So I would almost have a lot more fun with the draft portion just to get [00:38:00] everybody's interest out. Like, I don't know exactly how you do it, but I know there's 15 players per team, right? So you're looking at, uh, 60 players getting drafted. So where could you hold it? Where you would have everybody's attention, like, you know, and you're calling it out, you get the announcer that does the boxing, you know, announcing or whatever you want to do.

[00:38:23] You, you have fun with it just to kind of, uh, you know, uh. Almost line them up right then and there and say, these are your teams, these are the uniforms, these are the, you know, the looks that we're going for in terms of the, the teams and, and set them all up there on the stage somewhere or in the room, uh, just to, to kind of set the stage for, for what the season's gonna be like and grab everybody's attention.

[00:38:49] Mark Corbett: I definitely wanna find out more about it and have some of those folks on the show because it is a great story to tell. And like you, if there's something about the draft, it's always, I, I, it's [00:39:00] invigorating to see what's gonna come, especially with a new, uh, a new league like this. It's gonna be crazy. I know there's, I've seen, initially I saw names like, you know, even Kelsie Whitmore on there.

[00:39:11] I don't know if Kelsie's gonna be doing that or not.

[00:39:13] Mat Germain: Amido as well. Yeah, I think that's Or Sato? Sdo. Yeah. Uh, from Japan. Um, you know, there's, there's a lot of names there that I think, first of all, sometimes you may not care right away, right? Like you're, you're somebody tuning into that draft and all of a sudden they named somebody that's.

[00:39:31] From, you know, a town that's nearby or even just from your state or your city or whatever, and all of a sudden you care and you're like, Hey, that person. Then you monitor them when you're, when they're playing on that team. Um, also, it's a great time. The draft for me. To learn about the players, like, and especially you'll watch the MLB draft and you'll be like, oh, I don't know this name.

[00:39:54] And then all of a sudden they'll go through, oh, he played here, he did this, he did that, blah, blah, blah. And they explain the story. [00:40:00] Well, that storytelling portion is a huge part of why you want to have the draft be public as possible and, and have it aired on, on networks somewhere so that uh, everybody can learn about these names and get to know these players as quick as possible.

[00:40:19] And there's a great deal of 'em, uh, from up north. Let's see, there's even from St. John's in Newfoundland up there in your area. , Got some for British Columbia. Who's that? That is Juliet, K Ko and St. John's. It's Jada Lee. Um. My gosh. I mean, forget you mentioned Japan. Uh, Suzu. Naroski. She's in there and forgive me folks, if

[00:40:43] I think they should also give them nicknames, mark, like, 

[00:40:47] honestly, like I hear the, the, you know, the.

[00:40:51] The Negro Leagues talk, and, and, and they, they always mention all these great nicknames, like Satchel Page, et cetera. Like just give me nicknames [00:41:00] and that'll get the catchiness going, right? Give, uh, all these different, you know, attributes that these players have. Give them nicknames, make them famous. Um, what is it Billy, the kid that said that I'll make you famous and, you know.

[00:41:15] But, , I'm looking forward to it, is all I'm saying. I'm hoping that they have a few, you know. Interesting ways of grabbing people's attention that we haven't thought of yet. And that's all I'm trying to do here is trying to get my mind around, if I was doing this, would I just keep it clean and simple and like all the other leagues did it so that I don't stand out?

[00:41:36] Or do I go a little bit more Savannah Bananas and kind of grab everybody's attention. So I don't know, I, it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. Okay. 

[00:41:47] Oh, it's great times my friend. Exciting times for them. Like I said, we gotta get 'em on here anyway, um, I haven't really got much else, Matt.

[00:41:57] Um, 

[00:41:57] the last thing I want to [00:42:00] mention is that we have a World Series game, five tonight. 

[00:42:05] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:42:06] Mat Germain: We know for a fact, no matter what, the World Series will be won in Canada, right? So does that mean that that the US can put a tariff on that piece of metal as it gets across the border? Huh? Or, or does the tariff go into place when it goes back to the United States?

[00:42:29] And you know, whenever that happens. 

[00:42:33] Mark Corbett: That's what I wanna know. Oh, you know, we were joking about this last week about who would invite who, and right now there's. There's no love between, uh, the US President and a lot of people were him with, with a lot of people. So I 

[00:42:48] Mat Germain: Did you hear what he said about that though?

[00:42:50] Mark Corbett: Yeah. That, that, that was wrong though. I, I know I saw that and I think I found elsewhere. Check, check that one. If you're, you're talking about if he said that I was scared to [00:43:00] death, so the first thing I did was start trying to find if that was accurate and don't believe it is

[00:43:04] Mat Germain: i, I think it's great that the two teams that are playing respect each other. I believe the majority of both countries respect each other the same way. And, and I think that, you know, eventually way down the road, we'll all look back on this nonsense and, and kind of, uh, uh, have learned a lot of good lessons from it.

[00:43:25] But for this World Series, I think it's very interesting that, you know. The political side of things likes to paint it a certain way just because it fits their motif. And um, and I think I'm glad that the players haven't fallen into that trap or been asked the questions to kind of fall into traps. And they've kept it all about baseball for the most part.

[00:43:47] And, um, and so that's nice to see as well. So I wanted to mention that for the series. 

[00:43:52] Mark Corbett: Well, I'm looking forward to it my friend. So tonight again we've got Mr. Blake Snell, uh, with the Dodgers and Trey YeSavage [00:44:00] and I am really curious to see how much different or how much similar it looks like to that first one And one thing's for sure that Young Man YeSavage is got, definitely gonna have a better comfort level, I'm sure than that first night out in the World Series.

[00:44:14] Mat Germain: Yep. I Do you have a prediction for us, mark? 

[00:44:17] Mark Corbett: Yes I do. I say that tonight. Um. I believe that we will see the Dodgers come back. I think they'll win by two, and the game would be something like seven to five. And then I think when, um, after that we'll see the, uh, we'll see the Blue Jays come home and win the next two.

[00:44:39] Mat Germain: I'm gonna go the opposite. I'm gonna say the Blue Jays get to the Dodgers pen again and, and are able to pull off a win. , And, but the Dodgers win the first game back in Toronto and it goes to the game seven. Wow. And I'm not ready to make a, a prediction yet on game seven. 

[00:44:58] Mark Corbett: Well, that's what makes it all [00:45:00] so fun, my friend.

[00:45:01] Mat Germain: Yeah, it's gonna be an interesting go. And, and if, if they do go to a game seven Mark, I'm telling you right now, that place is going to be insane. Um, they're gonna have to, you know, tap some oxygen into that Roger Center or whatever they call it now, TD Bank Center or whatever. Uh, because the, the, the fans are really into it.

[00:45:25] The, the emotions are gonna be high and, uh. Uh, I'm curious to see also how much the tickets sell for if it does go to game seven. So we'll see how that goes. 

[00:45:35] Mark Corbett: Indeed, indeed. All right, my friend. Well, I'm getting to get ready here to close the door so I can go watch the game. It's, uh, coming up here in just a couple minutes.

[00:45:44] Wanna thank you all again for joining. Matt and I here today on Baseball Biz On Deck. We're gonna do a lot more, I'm gonna do a lot more homework on, uh, what, what is happening with the Women's Professional Baseball League. But I do wanna stop and thank all of you all who've, uh, sent your prayers to me. I haven't made it [00:46:00] broadly aware to everyone, but I was being treated for, uh, prostate cancer and after.

[00:46:07] Having radiation treatment and other things, and lo and behold, I hit all the benchmarks to say I'm doing much, much better. And looks like, you know, for now everything looks good. So I wanna thank all y'all for your prayers and I wanna remind you too, I, I really appreciate all that the, the people in medical do.

[00:46:25] They did so much, you know, getting me through this. And a big part too is because having. Insurance, having Medicare or whatever else that, that we need to make sure that people who are in need have the ability to have access in healthcare. I know in Canada it's, it's a little more progressive about that, and I think that we should take a look at that model, but right now, at this moment in time, I'm gonna urge every one of y'all to pick up the phone, contact your representative and say, guess what?

[00:46:55] guys? Do you wanna close the government, down? You gotta take care of this [00:47:00] first. You didn't do that. And that's, this is the sticking point. It's the sticking point of taking care of people. And if you're not gonna step up and say, yes, I'm gonna continue with subsidies. I'm going to be, you know, I'm, instead you're gonna be looking at people on the street, people who are, are not able to get care, then I have no use for you.

[00:47:17] I mean, we're also talking about the SNAP subsidies, , with food stamps. And my gosh, be a human. That's all I gotta say to all those politicians. Be a human. 

[00:47:29] Mat Germain: I am right there with you, mark, and I'm really ecstatic that you got through it and that you had, uh, the tremendous support you had. Uh, definitely, uh, glad that you're able to get back through things.

[00:47:41] And, and I just want to just add that healthcare is a right. healthcare should be non-profit a hundred percent of the time. Um, and, and the fact that they're able to make money off of people being sick. Sickening. So, uh, hopefully everybody can get to that point where, uh, [00:48:00] where healthcare is affordable and, you know, essentially free for everyone so that they can live long happy lives.

[00:48:07] Mark Corbett: Thank you. I appreciate that very much. So once again, thank you all and,, I just felt the need to say that and look forward to talking to y'all next week and talk about who's won the World Series, right. So should be a lot of fun.