Opening Week - Taking a bite on the First Baseball Fruits of the Season

348 BaseballBiz MLB Opening Week

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Mark Corbett: Okay. All right. Let's get started. Welcome to Baseball Biz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett and with me today, as always is the Mr. Mat Geremain, the wise man from the North, and we're glad that he's here and he and I have a very special guest who was recently on Florida baseball biz. And that is Mr. Josh Weaver, accomplished author and curator of the Tampa Baseball Museum.

Welcome Josh. 

Josh Weaver: Thank you guys for having me. 

Mark Corbett: It is an absolute freaking pleasure, dude. I, I had the good pleasure working with Josh from now and then, then, and I gotta tell you his knowledge of the game much like yours, Matt, is just immense. I'm a piker, I, I, I have a little bit of information out there, but these guys know their stuff, so I'm glad they're both here today and there is so much to talk about.

I mean, geez, man, these opening day, week, month, whatever it has started, those first six, [00:01:00] maybe even seven games, uh, have, have happened. So maybe we're looking at, uh, 4% of the season has already happened. What's next? Boys and girls. 

Mat Germain: What, what's next? There's a lot of highlights. I think, you know, like, I, I don't know, like back in the day, I know I used to, I, I'm gonna age myself a little bit here, but I used to look at the box scores and read everything and, and, and the papers, et cetera.

But now it's always all about the highlights. You start seeing those highlights and, you know, on all the sports shows and everything else that you're, you're going across or. As you're watching a game, more of them come flowing in and you start to fall in love again in with the game, because every year you go through this lull through the winter where you're starved for highlights, and then suddenly spring comes and whew, there's a flood of, things that you always think that you've always been amazed to the maximum level, that you can be amazed about things that [00:02:00] happen in the game, and then all of a sudden it clicks back onto another season and boom, there's a miracle here that played there that you've never seen before.

Something happens. And so it's fun to get back into it. There's youth, you know, we've got the Mc McGonigal's, you know, I don't know if anybody's named nicknamed them witchcraft yet or not. Uh, you've got the Lau, you know, you've got, it sounds like a used car salesman, but it's all, fun so far.

There's no big controversies. There's no CBA. I'm loving the way the, the season's beginning overall. 

Mark Corbett: That's right. Well, I just wanna say, Matt, you talked about positivity and brother, what a great way to start the show. You put it there, nothing but fun for the rest of the show, boys and girls. 

Josh Weaver: No, I think you guys are right.

To me it was a, it's been a fun start. And , we talked about, , on, on your other show, , the fact that opening day we had at the museum, we had Joe Madden there and some other folks, and just the energy, you think every year it's like, wow, [00:03:00] especially with, being the curator of the Tampa Baseball Museum. You talk baseball all year round and you'd think I'd get tired of talking about baseball, but I'm, I'm ready. I'm ready guys. Uh, 

Mark Corbett: I go, I gotta go back to what you said to Matt about highlights. A couple years ago I was so glad to see MLB put up condensed games because I can't watch 15 games all at once.

And it was just so cool to be able the next morning, sit down there and watch a 10 minute game. 10 minute game, 10 minute game, probably that's what Craig Calcaterra does with when he is writing his column. But it's, it's neat with that, you see them pop it up more and more with the little Shorts on YouTube and also on, um, Facebook, Instagram.

So there's ways they can reach folks out with that. But there are moments, there has been, there have been moments in this past week, and , I'm gonna share a couple and , I wanna hear what you all saw. I'm not gonna go deep into ABS just yet, but it is interesting to see some of the things that happened.

One of them, which I absolutely [00:04:00] loved, was the Brewers and the Green card. Are you either one of y'all familiar with that? Okay. What, what it was is with the ABS system, there's only three people who can question a call. The pitcher, the batter, and of course the catcher. Now, with the brewers, what they were doing one of the coaches over there in the dugout just kinda rested his arms up there, you know, in the edge of the dugout, had a little green card, and when that green card appeared, that was a note to the catcher, whoever, to tap the TA and say, yeah, make a call.

So they, that's been banned and outlawed. Now, you, you. Every time there's something new comes out, there's reasons or things that found out. Was it Scherzer, or when we first had the pitch clock, I think there were some things he was doing that they got cut. So I, I enjoyed that. In another nugget with ABS was the [00:05:00] other day, Randy Arozarena, he contested a call and before the ABS is even saying what it is, he's walking down the first he's dropped it.

And that's how confident Randy was. That's system will know. And, and it's, it's the little silly moments that, that, uh, got me. Do you all have any special moments this past week that you've seen that, uh, you found fun? 

Mat Germain: I think that the one that I, that drew my attention, , is very recent, but I, I didn't realize so.

We know countless amount of times you've had consecutive, uh, games started by Americans. You would think by now with the number of pitchers that have come through that you would've had three consecutive starts for one team made by a Japanese pitcher. 

. 

Mat Germain: But it was the first time that it's ever happened with, with the Dodgers.

They had Roki Sasaki, they had Yamamoto and Ohtani Allstar games [00:06:00] back to back to back and, and so it's an interesting spin on the growth of the game internationally. Right. It's also. A y So they, they're geographically located on the West coast. They're closer to the Japan. It makes a lot of sense on that front.

And, and, but it begs the question, how did it not happen with the Mariners before that? I know they probably got close a few times, but they never actually made it there. Right. So I, I like the international aspects of the game and when I look around the rosters right now, I'm very happy that unlike a lot of people who may and myself included, who may have questioned, you know, the, the level of international commitments that would be made this year based on things that are going on around the world, et cetera, that all we've seen so far is a continued, evolution towards the positive sides of, of having a very.

Complex international game, which is what you want ultimately. 'cause you want the best, playing against the best and you want the [00:07:00] game promoted worldwide. So when I saw that, it was sort of this moment where, okay, well now that's normal 'cause it's happened, so what's next? And so that you get to that point where you're like, okay, well who's gonna be the first team with four Japanese pitchers to go back to back to back to back, right.

It's kind of fun. 

Mark Corbett: I know one game a couple years ago, the Rays had, and it was all Latin Hispanic players and I don't know if it was like Roberto Clemente Day, but they said that wasn't actually planned for that, but I, it was so cool to see that on that day and realize, uh, that they even had that many players who had, uh.

That kinda heritage. 

Josh Weaver: Yeah, you're right, mark. 'cause it was the Rays and from what all accounts that Kevin Cash just put the lineup he wanted to put together. And he says it just happened to have been that way. You know, I, and I can kind of see what Kevin, him just doing that [00:08:00] he like, these are my guys. And that's the, the group he assembled.

Yeah. And I think you're right. It's pretty amazing that, and it was Roberto Clemente Day, so especially on Roberto Clemente Day, just, just everything fell into place. And you talk about a great moment in baseball history. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, that's, well, I, I was moved by that and I, I think the sad thing was, I, I don't know, I mean, in some ways I'm glad I didn't realize there were that many Latin players on there.

'cause that means I'm looking at them as a distinction perhaps beyond the talent that's on the field. But at the other part is recognizing everybody res most everybody respects and loves their own heritage. And to be able to, to, for them to enjoy that together. I thought that was very special. Now Josh, what is your moment or moments in this first week of the 2026 season that you have seen that's captured your attention?

Josh Weaver: Well, it's. [00:09:00] It is fun. And I, I know this is getting on the bandwagon, but it is fun to watch the Dodgers, to be the Dodgers. , Granted, , , if they have a five man rotation or,, they got two thirds of the guys from the Rays, , it's kind of fun to watch our former guys over there.

So, a little bit, but, , watching, , this the new system with the tapping of the hat and, the helmets , and the fact that most teams, what I think is so funny is they're like, even though the pitchers can almost universally, they've been directed, do not do that. Let your catcher handle this.

And I just think that's great. , Stick with what you know, because to them it's gonna, , it's gonna, every, it's gonna look like so many more strikes than it's actually happened. But it seems like the catchers are doing fairly well. And, and I know I was, I know it was the Rays game. I was watching that, the timing is also important and , we didn't get one of the calls because.

They said, I guess time had taken, it, it moved too fast. But you know, to me it's almost like, I don't know what the umpires have to do with ball calls,, because I think, you know, our catcher was surprised that,, it was a ball and then by the time he got [00:10:00] ready they said it was too late.

So I, I, I don't know if there needed to be a little more vocal with all ball calls. 'cause you know, back in the day some of the guys never said anything. 

Mark Corbett: Most of 'em are very definitive when they call a strike and maybe the ball just kinda like, eh, ball, you know, mu muttered or whatever.

But that, it's, that is a a point. I'm gonna share something with you. I heard today, by the way, if you all haven't seen, what is that to the, uh, foul talk? No, the show. Anyway I'll figure it out later and I'll put it in the notes. But, uh, they were, a couple of these guys were ball players and they were interviewing Joe West and his thoughts.

On this, and he's not totally against it, but there is one thing he brought up, and I don't think I'd realize the box, that little square that's being used as far as determining, whether it's a ball or a strike, it is not three dimensional. And what I mean by that, this, it is literally [00:11:00] sits over the middle of the plate.

So when the ball is coming in, it's not looking at where it is when it first comes by the plate. You know, what Joe was saying is it should be a whole box that it goes through. Mm. So whether or not it was a strike, and I thought that that's pretty good. 'cause I like the idea, yes. If they're only gonna do a rectangle that the middle of the plate, yes, that's good.

But why not have the whole box three dimensional? What, what do you think about that?

Josh Weaver: I totally agree. I think that. Especially if you have a lot of movement on a ball. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Josh Weaver: It might not drop, it might not drop until the back corner of the plate. And that's, I mean, I think that's what you, you're getting at and what Joe West Point was, I, I hadn't really thought about that, but you gotta look at the entire range.

And if you got a guy that, that's where, that may be half of his pitches he's gonna [00:12:00] lose a lot of calls if it's truly in the middle of the plate or, yeah. I never thought about that. That's interesting. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. So it's basically a cube is what you mean, right? Yes. So like. A three dimensional cube, which I don't think I've ever seen a graphic on TV or anywhere that shows that cube with like the part of the ball that would be hitting it.

But you would need some sort of laser style coverage, I think, to get that kind of right, I think. Right. Yeah. 

Josh Weaver: Well, I think you, you're onto something guys, because you know, if you're a star track person, you have the Borg and the Cube and you have their, their eyesights in one eye.

So I think that's what we need to move toward, Matt. 

Mark Corbett: Well, and and you think about, I, there's something I enjoyed about each umpire having their own strike area. Okay. And you would have, sometimes you'd have to learn that the first inning of the game. So you could play. Now, [00:13:00] obviously with this new one, it's set and I get that.

That's not a bad thing, but. Also if I was an umpire and I was deciding in that box, in that cube, in that what? You know, if that's, if I had different times where I was making that decision, that little rectangle is not gonna do the same as a cube as far as my perception as the umpire. 

Mat Germain: You know what I like most about it though?

And I think everybody kind of overlooks this, is that the umpires are being trained. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: We've seen CB Bucknor lose his mind because he's actually, being told outright that he's been just one of the worst of the bunch. Yeah. And he doesn't like it, but he's being trained. It's like, uh, a way to get them to really focus at, in a game that's be honest where you can, after pitch, after pitch after pitch, you can get into some sort of rhythm that can throw you off in certain key moments.

And you don't even realize sometimes how key the [00:14:00] moment is. Think about umpires that lose counts. That happened the other day in the Rays game where nobody even knew what the count actually was. The player had to clarify it for them. Right? 

. 

Mat Germain: And , we have systems for this. Look at the scoreboard.

Mark Corbett: The, the thing, I mean, Chuck. Man. I mean, it blew my mind because it was Caminero and he actually stepped outta the box, was like, come on guys. Really? And it took five umpires gathering together to uh, say what the freaking count was. I'm. 

Mat Germain: Think about what that means for the person calling balls and strikes.

Like you're just you see so many pitches at such a high velocity with so much movement. No human being can be expected to evaluate every single one. Think of it like a, like a teacher, right? You're, you're grading all these tests. You're going to , do something wrong at some point and maybe make one that was wrong, right?

Or right? Wrong. Just because you got so much into some sort of rhythm that you, you missed one, right? And it's gonna [00:15:00] happen, but. The point is that the more you get trained with what that strike zone looks like. Yeah. Now what's gonna happen is that unlike the old days where you'd say, well, this umpire has a strike zone that's over here.

This umpire has a strike zone that's over there, which can play against the strengths or weaknesses of a pitcher. Now they're all going to be consistent. And that's all I've been begging for decades, and I am so happy that we're finally getting there to the point where a veteran and a rookie pitcher will be evaluated based on the same, strike zone.

Yeah. Which is amazing that it took this long. 

Josh Weaver: You know what though? That's interesting that you were talking about when the umpires get into a groove. I wonder to follow that logic, Matt, what it's gonna be like this year for no hitters. Because, sometimes you would get in, you know, the, the umpire would get in a groove with the pitcher and the catcher and , whether it be right or wrong, that would happen.

, They, they would start getting [00:16:00] to a flow that, you know, that's their strike zone. To your point, it's gonna be interesting to see if we're gonna have less no hitters. I mean, it did. I mean, it's hard to qualify 'cause there's, they're so rare anyway, but that's gonna be interesting. 

Mat Germain: I think you're gonna see more complete games and you're gonna see pitchers go deeper into games because they're going to be getting the recognition they deserve.

Which I've, from what I've seen overall, it's about 54 to 55% where the players are getting it. You know, you're, you're talking about an adjustment that the umpires are going to have to make to try to bring that down to 30 to 25%, which is probably where they want it to be. They probably don't want it to be, to the point where it's half and half because it makes them look bad in those moments. It says basically that, on the closed calls, they're wrong half the time. Well, if you're thinking about it from like, let's say you're driving a car and half the time there's a key situation where you're gonna [00:17:00] get to an intersection and you have to just make the decision on whether or not to go through, you get it wrong half the time.

Well, that's pretty significant, right? That's, I dunno. So I think the umpires are going to have like a major learning curve, but every single umpire in the Minors is getting trained on this. 

. 

Mat Germain: They're going to be MLB ready when they get up here and they're gonna be so much better for it. 

Mark Corbett: But Matt, couple of things here.

One, you're right about the minor league umpires, but in the past some of these guys, they just. Don't retire or die. So you only have maybe four or five new umpires coming up and the other part is those seasoned umpires. When we started this season, I don't think they were in, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they, I don't think that they were all in the spring training games.

'cause I've seen minor league umpires, you know, who've been calling some of those games. . While players may have already seen some of this in spring [00:18:00] training, it may be the first time that some of these umpires are actually seeing the a b. S. 

Mat Germain: Yes. And another point that I'd like to make is I love the calls on the field where the, the umpires are explaining the decisions and it, it takes us to that NFL kind of thing, right?

Yes. Where they've been doing it for years and it draws the fans in. 'cause it gets them looking away from their phones and looking at, oh, what happened? Oh, that. And then it gets them talking about the moment, right? Where they're actually involved in the game at that point. And it's not just noises in the background as they're staring at their screens.

That is, is actually, I find a really strong interaction as aspect between what's going on in the field and what the crowd wants to hear. I 

Josh Weaver: totally agree. And not only that, you also have the fact that you don't have the dude that's got a stroll out there with a, with a headset on now, it's all about tiny.

And here, 

Mark Corbett: here's the Mitel, sir. We got the little Mitel right here. Okay. Can you Yes. Okay. I got it on my back. [00:19:00] Yeah, go dialing in. Yes, I'm sorry. But you're right. It's, it's nuts when, when you the, what it used to take and it's mere seconds. Mere seconds. And I think I told you, Matt, on a previous show, I was there watching the Tigers play during spring training and something came up on the screen and at first I thought they were gonna be doing what the little games with the cups moving around and Oh, which one has the ball or the pizza beneath it?

No, you know, it was, that was the ABS system coming up. It's like, wow. It's a first. But it's interesting, I, I brought up this list to see as far as who's really using this now, Bucknor, when he got slammed, wasn't that what the Yankees. I'm not sure. 

Mat Germain: I can't remember who was playing. Honestly. I, I just, I was watching the game and, and I was doing other things at the same time, but I kept seeing him getting the wrong 

Mark Corbett: call.

Oh yeah. 

Mat Germain: Every time it was on, he was, he. Yeah. Anyways. 

Mark Corbett: Was it [00:20:00] you Josh, he was saying if, if we had this Angel Hernandez, he would've already retired. That's if he knew this was coming. Is that 

Josh Weaver: No, but I, but I agree with that. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, I can't remember who said that to me today, but yeah, it's like, Ooh, makes sense.

But if we look at these stats here from, uh, baseball savant, it is interesting to see, you know, how the different teams have been proactive with it. And the Yankees definitely had the most challenges and we're looking there and they had, at least from when this came out, to think the last day or so, 10 challenges, and they won.

80% of them, if we took a look, uh, those who won a hundred percent did a lot less challenges where Dodgers did two and they won two. The Cubs did two, they got two, and the Royals did one over their games and they, all of those were won. If we, if I look over here to the, uh, national League, [00:21:00] the White Sox have questioned as many as the, uh, Yankees and see the Marlins, which I think we'll talk about here in a minute, should be a, a lot of fun.

They, they did with nine Dodgers, eight, and as far as percentage one, it was the Tigers with four challenges. The Yankees, that, that can't be right. 

Josh Weaver: Yeah. One's bat, one side is batting and the other 

Mark Corbett: side is fielding. 

Josh Weaver: Yeah, 

Mark Corbett: I was saying National and American League. That's the difference. Okay. Well check it out on baseball Savant.

There is quite interesting to see how much the Yankees did challenge and, uh, they've done, they, there's articles out there too you'll find as far as them, they have decided to be very aggressive with ABS. So I don't know, we'll watch it throughout the year. 

Mat Germain: I'm curious, I'd be curious to find out the policies that each team is using in terms of how much leeway they're giving their players to actually use it.

'cause we know some [00:22:00] teams are a little bit more, control freaks in terms of what they allow players to do on the field. Other ones are more liberal. So 

Josh Weaver: Yeah, you're, you guys are right. I totally agree it, that to me is fascinating. Especially like you said with the Yankees. That's eight and two on the batting side.

80% and they're a hundred percent on the other. That's. Is, it's interesting and, and to your point too about just the guys, and it's like, how much freedom do these guys get? And, and I, I was joking about it earlier, but you know, the pitchers, I think most of the time they're let you guys just, you guys just pitch and let, let the catchers do their work.

Mat Germain: Now, fast forward to when the playoff races are on, right? So we're in August. Teams are fighting for a playoff spot. How much pressure is going? Is there going to be on these players, some of them being rookies, coming through, et cetera, or being very young and being in the playoff race for the first time, and then they make the wrong call at the wrong moment.

[00:23:00] There's going to be a lot of controversy about who does what, when, what, get, what the outcome is and it's not gonna be fair, but it's gonna be pretty entertaining because the reactions when that person goes back into the dugout or what you, yeah. You're, you're going to have some sort of interaction sometimes where I know it's going to happen, where somebody's gonna give somebody a look that's gonna be like, you dummy that's gonna get highlighted by that, by that team or the b broadcasting that's going on at the time, and it's gonna make it look like a bad thing.

But, uh, I also think that the more drama you have like that, like we were talking before about the kicking sand on umpires, et cetera, that's going to be the modern day version of that kind of drama, right? Where it draws people in for different things and, and it still makes the game a little bit more entertaining than it otherwise would be.

Josh Weaver: Oh, and you're right about the, about the rookies. Oh, boy. I didn't even think about [00:24:00] that part, Matt. I mean, the pressure, these kids in these late se, these late September call ups are gonna have, as far as, you know, they're gonna be petrified. Granted they've done it all season in the minor leagues, but getting up to the show and having the veterans be like, dude.

What were you thinking? 

Mat Germain: You know, somebody hitting in front of Bryce Harper gets the call wrong. Look out. 

Mark Corbett: Oh man. Wouldn't wanna be there. No, no, no, no, no. Gosh no. It is interesting to see the ABS system. , And I talked about the brewers and one of the managers, or I should say one of the coaches in there, in the dugout, giving a signal with a green card of when they should tap their helmet or hat.

But I heard something else, and Matt, you all may have to confirm this for me, is that the, uh, pitching coach, and I think it may be a bit for the Marlins, has he makes every call. In other words, [00:25:00] he signals the catcher. Every pitch, read this, what I should say, for every pitch, he is given a signal. He's, there's no thought process that's independent of him on what's being supposed to be pitched next.

Mat Germain: I honestly, I have to say if, if that's the case I'm not sure that I agree with it at all. I think it's a, it's a little bit too micromanaged in that case, I get like, you know how the, each team goes to , the video guy, they don't use their own eyes from the dugout. They go to the video guy.

They get confirmation if they want to challenge something. So it kind of makes sense in that way though. Just, just if you're 

Mark Corbett: in college, 

Mat Germain: I just think that the person making a call has such a close, , look at it. That in theory, they should be, but like, again, if you're talking about Yandy Diaz, he knows the strike zone really well, but he got a call wrong the other day.

[00:26:00] Right. So, so it, it depends on the moment, the angle, the view that, and like you were saying before about the cube, right? It, it's where that drop was. Hitters have a tendency to miss that drop or when, especially if a, a pitch starts really far outside and then hits the . Corners 

As it's crossing the plate.

They tend to really miss that because they've, they're already given up on the pitch way back when, and then it comes zooming in and they don't believe that it could cross the plate from where it was. I remember watching some mad brash pitches last year to year before where it was just ridiculous. Like the, it was like a Frisbee going, through the strike zone from way outside and then boom, it, it still crossed the plate.

So, uh, I, I sympathize with the hitters that are gonna be making the wrong calls, but I think, like I said, if we get more calls right, regardless of if the call the person challenging is right [00:27:00] or wrong, it, the call is right. So everybody moves on. I haven't seen I know internally the umpires might get frustrated and I know sometimes that the players still probably stubbornly believe they were right and that the call should have gone in their favor.

But I, I think. Altogether when everybody kind of steps back and looks at the outcomes it lowers the temperature. It, it gets everybody kind of feeling like we're okay. We can go through things. And then when you run out of chances because you've spoiled them, nobody's really getting angry about it.

They're kind of like, well, we were stuck. We couldn't challenge, and they're okay with the call being bad. It's weird. Wow. But they say, we've had our chances and we birthed them. So, you know, that temperature goes down too. 

Josh Weaver: I have a weird question for you guys, and I don't know the answer. How do you think this might affect a particular player and how their contracts are designed as far as if it's strike three?

And will they look [00:28:00] at their own contracts and their own incentives or more than they will that, that particular moment for the team? Do you see where I'm getting at? 

Mat Germain: Yeah, like will they, will they be as gutsy to make certain challenges if they think it might hinder their, the outcome to the point where it impacts their contract?

Again, we're back to that playoff thing, especially in the playoffs. If you're in the playoffs and game one and you make the wrong call and it throws the whole series outta whack, what does that do for your free agency after that? Right. That's a big one. I would argue that. There are probably a million decisions that players make before that, that probably impact it way more.

You know, unless you're talking about something like Chuck Knoblauch where you start throwing the ball, , at the third base when you're trying to get it to first that's definitely gonna ruin your contract opportunities. But otherwise, , your season should have spoken [00:29:00] for itself before you get to the playoffs, I would hope.

Josh Weaver: But even, I'm just thinking , even in their contracts, that they're already set, , okay, I'm gonna, if, if this is, you know, if it's borderline and I'm gonna maybe it looked better than it, than it did, I'm gonna try to keep up the bat so I can keep my. Whatever clause in their contracts.

Mat Germain: You know what I just thought? I can't wait to see the first player that says, uh, in my contract if I get, uh, 60% or better of the challenges, right? I get an extra 50,000. 

Josh Weaver: Hey, , I didn't think about it that way, but that, that could be next. Matt. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, Josh, you should have been here last week. 'cause Matt had come up with this whole thing probably a couple weeks ago about incentivizing by a certain task, you know, whether or not a pitcher, a batter or whoever would move ahead.

And so yeah, this, take this the same place, Matt, that, geez. 

Mat Germain: But I, I wanted MLB to pay for that, right? Yes. So for, in my opinion, you're improving the game because you want more doubles, more [00:30:00] triples, more stolen bases. If you want to incentivize it, you need to pay people. And so every stolen base should be whatever amount of money you wanna make it.

Every double should be that. And I, I went with 2000 do dollars for a double, $3,000 for a triple and yada, yada. And it comes out of the luxury tax money that teams pay in. So I think that, to me would improve the game a significant amount, and it would actually allows some teams to consider that as an option when they're structuring their contracts.

So let's say a player wants a, um. A trade you know, hindrance. Uh, they can say, yeah, okay, I, I don't wanna get traded. Any team, the team could go, okay, you can have that, we're going to take your salary down by this much, and, but we'll give you the incentives. If you hit 40 doubles, we'll give you this.

If you hit this, if you hit that, you, you make as many of those as you want, or, I personally think it should be for every single one of them. 

, 

Mat Germain: Not for locked numbers or getting [00:31:00] to a certain goal. It should be for every single one. Because if you only do, like, if you get injured right after April, then you should still get recognition for those.

Doubles and triples and home runs that you hit in that month. So it goes both ways. Right. But I just think that, like I was telling Mark about the angels and the overpaying of players and so many players having a hard time managing in their heads the size of the contracts they just signed, and putting way too much pressure on themselves to achieve certain things.

I think it would make it more fun to achieve things for them if they were incentivized instead of just paid outright for something they did in the past. So I think that whole psyche of it would be better for baseball players, better for fans, better for the league. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. I'm, I'm looking to see forward to seeing how, oh, that plays, pardon me.

I would love to see that incentive program in [00:32:00] place. And I like the idea of coming outta the luxury tax too. I did wanna, like I said, I looked and saw some notes from you, Matt, about the Marlins. Talk to me what's going on there, brother? 

Mat Germain: So it's because I'm frustrated with the Raysd pen and, and because I'm Canadian, right?

Yeah. So, there, there's a whole Owen Caissie angle to it, and I don't know if you've seen him with his red hair and, uh, and the colors of the Marlins uniforms. It's just he's in living color. He's just, a superstar in the making. I think he's a lot of fun to watch. I was really stoked for him when he left the Cubs, because I never thought he was gonna get the playing time he deserves up there.

I would've thought after they let go of Kyle Tucker that they would make room for him. But obviously they were more interested in not paying pitchers. So they wanted to angle that instead of, of, uh, of going with Owen, but he's lighting it up for the Marlins, and he hit a, a pinch, hit the home run the other day, [00:33:00] a walk off and it was just awesome to watch.

But overall the feeling I get with the Marlins is that they know who they are. They build confidence. Last year they systematically built a lineup and a pitching staff that are finally taking off at the same time. They're overlooked still. They kept the leadership of Sandy Alcantara, like we were.

Mm-hmm. We were 

talking 

Mat Germain: about Bichette before about, , not investing so much in a roster. And I was telling Lou at the time, the first time we talked to him, mark, uh, that there were enough young folk coming through that I knew if they made the right moves, and they gave those guys the playing time.

They had just made Orioles moves there for Kaist Flowers and the, and Connor Norby and a bunch of other guys. So those core pieces have allowed them to actually, lengthen the lineup to the point where they're productive. They're pesky. And they, they have now as sort of. Loose [00:34:00] goosey playing attitude, which is really fun to watch , and I'm enjoying it.

And, but again, Pete Fairbanks went to right and so far he's looked stellar and he is shut down every time he is been up there. He is got his two saves, I think three innings, five strikeouts. He's looking like Pete should look right. Yeah. When he is healthy. So when you see what's happening with Griffin Jax with the rays and you see the implosions of the pen in general and that they're still trying to find their groove overall as a group.

Yeah, probably we would have one extra win ex, at least so far that I think Pete would've been in for possibly two. So you're seeing the impact on the Rays of not being willing to just pick up an option? They didn't have to trade for 'em, they didn't have to sign them at a, as a free agent. They just needed to pick up an option and it's costing them wins.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. And, and God bless the Marlins because they're leading the National League East [00:35:00] right now with five wins and one loss. Anyway, go ahead. Uh, Josh, what were you gonna say? 

Josh Weaver: I was just gonna say, I, you know, I liked watching Pete. I know, , sometimes he could be a little, not controversial, that's too strong of a word last year during the season.

But I know some, some, some fans got a little hard on Pete and I don't think it was warranted. I think he's a good player and I would've liked to seen, honestly, the Rays keep him.. 

Mark Corbett: I caught him the assassin because those eyes of his man, , that pitcher looked focused when he was on the mound, and that completely contradicts the person that you would meet off the field because of what all he did.

He was, he was the Clemente nominee for the Rays last year and he does a lot, for community and for some special causes too. So, but yeah, man, I tell you what, losing Pete, what a pain. Oh gosh. I, I couldn't believe it. Yeah. Okay, so he had some difficulty pitching in the cold. You know what, that's fine, then you don't use him [00:36:00] as much and when you go to those cold areas and such because wow, when he is on fire, he is there.

Mat Germain: Let's just review. Right. Okay. Let's say the rays are going back into the Trop. Is there a more controlled environment than the Trop, really? And then your, your main opponents for playoffs spot are the Texas Rangers, , the Toronto Blue Jays, the Houston Astro, all indoor facilities. , , There's an argument to be made that there would be no better team for him to be on than the Rays, just based on the fact that so many of the opponents in the American League are in an indoor environments and there's fewer of those on the National League side, I believe.

So it's one of those things where I think that the Rays just basically, and the fact that it's not just that, it's also the fact that they have the room just to get back to the same amount of salary that they spent last year. That's what it would've taken for them to really keep Pete. Now I do think his performance last year.

[00:37:00] Priced him out of what they were willing to pay. Right. They just had never paid a reliever that much before. And it was going to be so much that they were like, well, we don't want to be stuck with that bill. Maybe we can do better elsewhere. And it's possible that Griffin Jax figures it out and others figure it out.

We're extremely early in the season and it's not like , this is the, the way it's gonna be all season long. There could be implosions and everything else. I just think, like you were mentioning, the leadership, the steadiness, the knowing. He's like a, a Kyle Snyder, pupil. He can lead a pen to have the confidence overall just by his presence.

So I think the Rays right now, the pen is missing that. Oh yeah. Like they're trying to reestablish it and it'll take some time. Probably they will figure it out and they'll be one of the best pens, you know, by the time the All Star game comes around. But like I said, they're already costing themselves wins That's the interesting part.

Yeah. And when you're in the AL East. Those are pretty freaking valuable. 

Mark Corbett: Amen. [00:38:00] Well, we're we're not actually at the bottom though, are we? Right now, let's see, as far as the Al East, the Red Sox are one in five. We're two in four, 

Mat Germain: right? I do wanna say the lineup has been stellar. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: , In terms of run production overall, you can't argue with the way the lineup is behaving.

They're hitting well, . There's a lot to highlight there. From Ben Williamson to . Nick Fortes has been awesome. , He is, had really great moments. There, there's some encouraging things going on with the lineup. So we see this with a lot of baseball teams. It's the synchronization of the pitching staff and the lineup.

And you're like, all right, you're all out of synch toing. Get together, like, what's going on? 

Mark Corbett: And, you know, you mentioned Fortes. 'cause I think. I thought I, I am really, really impressed with what he's doing. I, my mind keeps going back to Wilson Ramos and maybe, because he was very productive too, at the plate.

And of course, uh, who is it? The gentleman who was the guy that plays with Charlie Morton, uh, , uh, little D, little [00:39:00] d what's his name? .

Mat Germain: Travis d'Arnaud 

Mark Corbett: Travis d'Arnaud. Thank you. Duh. Anyway, and, but he and Wilson Ramos had seen those guys play for the rays and ba we talked about this before. I really haven't seen catchers come up through the Rays system that have been, good.

Certainly not great. I'm looking forward to see, , the rest of the season with Fortes. 

Mat Germain: mention that's coming up. That might be that guy eventually. 

Mark Corbett: Say again, please. 

Mat Germain: Nathan Fluellen . 

Mark Corbett: Nathan Fluellen. That's. Remember that day. Listen to these names, Josh. This guy's calling.

I find out, you know, years later after he's seeing the stuff of the minors. Matt's called stuff and he's like, oh, there he is. It's coming up. Oh my gosh, Matt. Here it is, Josh. As far as a Rays fan, and I hate to admit this 'cause I'm very negative about this upcoming season, and I, I granted them 72 wins.[00:40:00] 

Matt was a bit more generous. What do you see as the number of wins for the Rays this year? 

Josh Weaver: Oh, that's a good question. Especially since we haven't played back at home yet. 

, I think it'll be interesting to see with them going back to Tropicana, is it home like it was? Or, , some of the guys gonna miss being at Steinbrenner Field, you know, even just going home and it's gonna be different.

I've talked to some of my friends that work out there and, , today and tomorrow they're doing , the, the fan host Rays university, as they call it, the RaysU. So, and I know that they're still putting the stadium and parts back together. Are they gonna be used to being there?

Is it gonna feel like home? , Even the home schedule, it's gonna be interesting to see. I was I should be more optimistic, but I, I think they're a 500 team. 

Mat Germain: Like 500 is, is the most optimistic that I've heard so far from any fans.

So that's, that's good. Good on you. I would say , on the Trop re [00:41:00] refurbish thing, I think they should have renamed the Trop. They should have renamed it like the Tropicana Cabana, something like that. Like, to make it more fun and draw more people in. But from what I've heard, like some of the things they've put in is like the Dex Home Plate Club baseline premier, the home plate box.

There's a lot of sections or portions of the stadium that have been remade, but they're all aimed at the higher end seat holders or, , the executive suites. Yeah. Et cetera. For the most part, outside of the sound system, which I think everybody's kind of gonna, 

Mark Corbett: uh, you, I just would go back to one thing you were saying earlier.

Since you brought the sound system is I do like that MLB is more like the NFL as far as when there is a call on the field that used to drive me crazy as a kid and I'd hope I have a transistor radio to my ear to hear what's going on. Because if the game's not being called [00:42:00] and they're not saying anything, it's like, what the hell?

But yes, the sound system with the ray should be fantastic. I'm looking, I'm looking forward to going there. 

Josh Weaver: Especially on the second deck, it will be nice to, if it's actually spread around properly. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Josh Weaver: Because, , I'll be honest with you, , sometimes I'm like, when I was working there as a fan host or just as a fan, I'm like.

I don't know what they're saying, and, and , of course one, , two years ago I spent half, when I came back I spent the whole half the season at Gate one, so I never knew what was going on. So, and, and some days that's not a bad thing. 

Mat Germain: Sounds a bit like Charlie Brown's teacher.

Wah wa wa 

Mark Corbett: Unfortunately, yes. My gosh. Wow. Well guys, we're getting kind of late here and I'm an old man, so any other points you'd like to make sure we cover? 

Mat Germain: I would just say the, uh, the season is young. Don't jump, jump off any bridges. This, the minor league season did start earlier last week with the [00:43:00] triple A side starting up, but tomorrow we're getting low a and then the day after that, we're getting everybody on board in terms of minor league teams.

So get out there, enjoy some minor, minor league ball. Uh, there's plenty of of baseball to be had, not just the rays and, and major league baseball. Don't eat too many hot dogs though they, or carcinogen stay on the, uh, I'm not saying you've got to eat nothing but veggies and, and fruit, you don't, you don't have to go out there and kill yourselves just because you're cheering on your team.

So, , have fun. Eat some popcorn get some sun in you and, uh, make sure you're wearing sunscreen.

Mark Corbett: You picked the right state for that. Just, uh, not necessarily during a game in the Trop. Oh Lord. Josh, any final words about, uh, baseball, museum, anything? 

Josh Weaver: I'm, I'm looking forward to opening day. I'll be there for opening day and we'll see what the stadium looks like. It's kind of a, it'll be neat to see new ownership, , [00:44:00] a revamped stadium.

I'm actually, , like I said, , I didn't realize I was overly optimistic at 500, but , I'll take it and maybe we'll get our first win on opening day. I think, it's kind of exciting, you know, opening day even at, it'll be my fourth opening day. Second one, I worked at the tr and this one I'll actually be there as a fan.

So looking forward to see what they did with the old ballpark, and just seeing a game again. 

Mark Corbett: All righty. Joshua, thank you for joining Matt and I here today. It was a fun, fun time. I love all the discussions and, and, and Matt, this was a positive, uh, show. We had a little fun talking about a, b, s and what's working, what's not, and uh, and I like looking at it and seeing what, what the, I am still happy as can be to see the Marlins are five and one right now.

I know we're only looking at three or 4% of the season, but that it's encouraging. Let's just say that. And I'm sure Lou Schiff has got a big smile on his face right now. So thank you guys both. 

Josh Weaver: Hey, mark, may Hey, mark. Maybe it's a world baseball classic hangover that they're experiencing down [00:45:00] there. 

Mark Corbett: That could be.

Wow. Well, that was some fun. Alright, , again, folks, thanks again for joining. Matt, Josh and I on this wonderful day, and we're gonna get going. We're looking for the second week of the opening week oh baseball. So thanks again for joining us and we look forward to talking with you all again, real soon. 

Mat Germain: Bong.

I did the double bong this time. It's the second week, right? 

Mark Corbett: That's right. Oh my guys, that was fantastic.