Rays Closing, Biscuits Rising & a "Clean Slate" - RaysUp

315 BaseballBiz RaysUp - Biscuits Rising

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to Baseball Biz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett, and with me of course, is the Mr. Mat Germain. How you doing Mat ? 

[00:00:12] Mat Germain: I'm surviving Mark, like the rest of Rays fans. I'm surviving. 

[00:00:17] Mark Corbett: It has been a year. I mean, we're getting here. It's called the stretch. We're past the stretch. , The, , postseason, spotlights are slowly dimming, and, , the reality of, , the janitors there ready to come in and sweep off the stage, and, uh.

[00:00:34] Wait for the next next, uh, matinee. So we'll see how it all plays out. But my gosh, Mat , it's been interesting year for the Rays. , And there's a lot we can talk about.

[00:00:46] The postseason and MLB standings, new ownership, what's happening with some of the people in the front office. Mm-hmm. Who's coming? Who's going? Going, and as you pointed out to me earlier today, um. Let's see a [00:01:00] new guy who's gonna be heading up the Perth Heat and Mr.

[00:01:03] Perry Roth will chat maybe a little bit about him as well. Uh, let's see. I've got the, the Yandy Diaz, my gosh, we, he's just been great. . Montgomery Biscuits, what's happening with them? I. The prospects that you picked earlier this year that seem to be performing very well with that team, and there's a whole lot more I got on here, but those are the, the main pieces that I was thinking.

[00:01:24] So, you know, man, if we're, if we're looking at postseason, I was kidding about the dimming of the lights, but right now. Uh, it's, it's closing Boys and girls. I mean, there's how there's that one team. I believe only one team is clinched thus far, and that's the National League East with the Phillies. They've got a 91 to 61, uh, record, and the Mets are right behind 'em, 12 and a half games back.

[00:01:50] So with only nine games left in the season, it ain't gonna happen. That's done NL Central. Brewers. Brewers are [00:02:00] 92 and 59, and the Cubs are four and a half games back, the NL west. That's gonna be interesting. Mat , uh, looking at the Dodgers and also the Padres. There's only a couple of games between them right now at the Dodgers leading that off.

[00:02:14] And the Diamondbacks are seven and a half games back. If we come into our own backyard, the A East Jays are 89 and 62. Yankees are five games back, and we are 16 games back to win the division, 

[00:02:29] Mat Germain: win the, I'm looking at it from a glass half full point of view Mark , and what I'm looking at is the Rays of improved their draft position substantially over the last week.

[00:02:42] , So when you're looking at the, uh, the bottom of the American League, it's, it's pretty, , evident that , the Rays, you know, were in the hunt probably up to. 10, 14 days ago, uh, for the last playoff spot and, and as a wildcard team. But right now, when you're looking at it, there are [00:03:00] only two wins, uh, uh, two losses away from being among the worst four in the American League.

[00:03:07] Um, and, and then when you're looking at it from the combined point of view, you know, it's the bottom eight. So I think we've seen before the guardians, correct me if I'm wrong, but have jumped from that position up to. Having the top pick overall. So they're in that range now where they can actually start dreaming about being in the top three, top four, top five, , drafting teams, which the Rays, historically.

[00:03:32] Some hit miss in that range. Like Brendan McKay was a great grab at number four, but he, you know, so I'm looking at it from my glass half full to get the opportunity to try to improve, on, on that front. , Because we know , that basically the playoffs are out right now in terms of, , a potential, something to play for this year.

[00:03:52] But like we mentioned before in the past, this last month has been more about getting. Experience [00:04:00] for the players and getting some of them playing under pressure, and I think that's going to, you know, pay dividends for them later on. 

[00:04:06] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I mean we, we'd all love to see Aranda out there doing his business, but by him and some of the other guys who are on the IL right now has given us the opportunity to see some of that, uh, those young guys come up in some really great performances.

[00:04:21] And I'm gonna deviate here for just a bit because I wanna talk about. Something you put up at the very beginning of the season, and that was looking at the top prospects. And one of the things you had on that list, it was, it was always interesting to me as the season continued to see names coming up through the, uh, single, you know, single a double AAA into the Rays.

[00:04:41] And I said, oh yeah, Mat , Mat was talking about them, you know, yesterday. Uh, we, what the, uh. Montgomery Biscuits play the first game in their playoff season. And I'm seeing names like Homer Bush Ledbetter and some other ones that are, I said, these names are familiar to me. I said, oh yeah, that's right. These are the guys Mat 's been talking about all [00:05:00] along and, uh, I guess of ours on here recently, you know, Mr.

[00:05:04] Kevin Boles of the manager. And, and it was interesting to talk about,, building that team. But I'm so excited to see them doing so well. And then today is Wednesday, so. Thursday, they're playing the second game in that championship series in Biloxi. 

[00:05:20] Mat Germain: That's right. , And they're playing against, to be clear, they're playing against a formidable, , brewer's, , affiliate, the Shuckers, , who have, like, if you look at the OnBase percentage of, of the, the core of their lineup , and the talents that they have aboard, like, they're a very, very, very talented team.

[00:05:38] Um, they've got a, a, a shortstop called, uh, I'm sure I'm gonna mess up the name and how it's pronounced, but it's 

[00:05:45] Jesús Made is how you would actually. Read it. Um, it might be Jesús Made, it might be, you know, a different way of saying the last name. But, but he's a, an 18-year-old kid playing in AA and anchoring their lineup in the, in the two [00:06:00] spot.

[00:06:00] And, and he's a guy that's a, that's sporting a, a 3, 3 79, uh, on base percentage his first year as an 18-year-old na. So it tells you a lot about the, the talent that he has and brings to the table. Um, and the fact that they would trust him and give him that experience. But this is my. You know, caveat with you, like I've, I've mentioned before where the Rays and how they develop their hitters, and then you look at the 

[00:06:23] Brewers and what they're doing with their young, talented hitters, right?

[00:06:26] Yeah. The Rays had a, um. Very, very talented. Brendan Summerhill begin in a ball, even though he has four years of college experience. And here's this 18-year-old kid anchoring the double A lineup for the Brewers. There's a, a clear difference in confidence between the two in how they bring their players, up.

[00:06:47] So what you can look through the entire Shuckers lineup, and it's very, very, very talented. So. What Brody Hopkins did yesterday was very impressive because it's, you know, he was able to shut out that lineup. We only [00:07:00] allowed three hits and two walks struck out seven, uh, he looked dominant all the way through, looked well composed, never really got out of sorts.

[00:07:07] Um, and he got some help from Will Simpson. I don't know if anybody remembers who Will Simpson is, uh, but he was part of that, Jacob Lopez and Jeffrey Springs deal that the Rays made with the ace. Uh, and so he was one of the pieces that. Came back with, uh, Joe Boyle. Uh, and so he's, you know, he's had a up and down season, not really.

[00:07:29] Exactly what the Rays expected, but it's great to see him come through in a playoff game like this. He went three for four of the home run. Um, so really, you know, provided the majority of the thump for the Rays and Homer Bush we mentioned before. You know, he is just that spark plug at the top of the lineup.

[00:07:45] Hitting this two spot for the Biscuits. And, he went two for five with, , two RBI as well. So overall, just enough offense to get them across the line at 72, 7 to two win. And like I mentioned on, uh, blue Sky as well, TJ [00:08:00] Nichols gets the ball for them the next. Time out and he is excellent. He, you know, he's, he's like one of the two other guys that you would want on the mound for them.

[00:08:08] Ty Johnson was the other one, but I think he's in AAA now. So who knows if they'll send him back down to make one of those starts. And that's possible. They've done that in the past. 

[00:08:19] Mark Corbett: Well, uh, thanks again for, you know, giving us a breakdown of what's happening with the Biscuits and also giving us a heads up so early in the season, my friend, I mean, giving you, uh, folks, go back and look at that top 50 that he had.

[00:08:31] I, I think maybe I'll post it again on Blue Sky. The, uh, the whole. Piece there, but I know for a long time you had it listed as, uh, the top of your, uh, postings. But you know, it's, it is interesting. We'll see how that plays out. And, , looking across. Where we're getting a lot of this talent. You pointed out to me earlier today that certain things are going on with the Perth Heat, a team with the Australian Baseball League and that particular [00:09:00] team is where we have gotten a lot of folks.

[00:09:02] So where we've sent a lot of folks, you know, during the off season to to fine tune their skills. I think Junior Caminero has been one of the people that were, was part of that. 

[00:09:12] Mat Germain: Yeah. So was Mike Brosseau, Mike Brosseau, uh, went down there and, and, and did very well. Garrett Whitley, a whole bunch of guys that had gone down there.

[00:09:20] Kevin Kiermaier probably set the stage for all of them really. He originally went to the Bri to Brisbane, I think. Brisbane 

[00:09:27] Mark Corbett: Bandits. 

[00:09:28] Mat Germain: Yeah. So, so he, uh, he got his feet wet there to, to try to amp up his bat. And you know what I would credit. The A BL for helping him get his bat to the bare minimum where it could be tolerated along with his outstanding defense, right?

[00:09:45] So sometimes it's just that little bit extra that you can get to have the consistency you need to get the team confident enough to put you in a lineup. So essentially that's how I see the A BL is, is. It's a place, and we've talked about this before, an [00:10:00] opportunity for Latin American players who don't have the playing time that they wish they could have had in rookie ball or in eight ball.

[00:10:06] Um, but a lot of times it also serves as a springboard for guys that had injuries and, and need more playing time as a result. So Mike Brosseau case and a couple of other ones, that was essentially the, the reason that they accepted the, opportunity to go down there and play some extra ball.

[00:10:24] Now, the guy that they, they hired is called Perry Roth and he actually spent the majority of his coaching career in, uh, the University of Alabama Birmingham. So he is, he's an American coach that they've hired to, to do this work with them. So it'll be interesting to see, you know, uh, the Rays have such a close relationship with, Perth heat that it's actually mentioned in the article that the Rays, are expected to send three to four of their top prospects to Perth this year. So that's what we can expect. It's not gonna be, um, the [00:11:00] seven maximum, which they've sent in the past. , It's gonna be interesting to see, you know, who they decide to send because now that we know Braden Taylor and a bunch of other guys are going over to the, uh, Arizona Fall League, um, it's gonna be interesting to see who grabs onto that opportunity to go down to the A BL.

[00:11:21] Uh, I always enjoy watching those games. I think it's a refreshing change in middle of, of, uh. Late fall and winter to, to watch the guys down there and see, uh, see how they're grabbing onto that opportunity down there. 

[00:11:35] Mark Corbett: It is interesting to see. I'm glad I know. Looking through that and I think of the other ones as well.

[00:11:39] Uh, the Dominican Republic, they have their league there, the Mexican does as well. And seeing where a lot of our players may wind up or who we may see in the future from there, I can, what was the guy, I've know, I've done this on there. I always forget his name on the show. Who was the speedster we had about five years ago?

[00:11:56] Uh, Malik. Mallick Smith. Malik Smith. You remember Mallick Smith? [00:12:00] 

[00:12:00] Mat Germain: Yep. 

[00:12:00] Mark Corbett: Yeah. And if I remember, he came from a Mexican league and I don't, he was not in MLB at the time, but, , I think of him now and then. , Wow. So, yeah. Perry Roth, as you're pointing out, I mean, he's had a bit of a history already with a Rays organization.

[00:12:16] Mm-hmm. I didn't realize he'd already been with the river dogs and the hot rods as well, amazing.

[00:12:23] Getting back to the Tampa Bay Rays, I gotta tell you, brother. Karen and I went to the first game at George Steinbrenner this week, and that was a life experience. It, it was good. There wasn't, uh, there wasn't much going on as far as, oh, there wasn't really a rain.

[00:12:42] I mean, it was cool, um, about cool, I mean 82 degrees and there was a breeze coming along and. It wasn't bad. Uh, we, we took seats behind the, uh, third base and we're behind the dugout, and then of course that means we're sitting right in the. We ran a bunch of Blue [00:13:00] Jays fans and it was, it was Puerto Rican night.

[00:13:05] There was a lot of people partying, dancing, and singing. And it was a fun night for all. Uh, I forgot how much fun it was to be in the midst of the game. And, uh, got to see our old friend, kk you mentioned earlier, Old Blue Eyes himself was hanging out there in the dugout. I forget what Advisory role he has with the Blue Jays now, but it was, it was quite an evening.

[00:13:28] Mat Germain: Yeah. You know what? I forgot that he would be there during this series. That's a, that's a, uh, a good call on on spotting him in there. 

[00:13:38] Mark Corbett: Well, Karen saw him. I saw folks wearing Kiermaier. Yeah. I saw folks wearing Kiermaier shirts and then suddenly looking down a little further says, oh, you mean the guy himself? He's right down there.

[00:13:50] Mat Germain: He spotted his eyes across the, 

[00:13:53] Mark Corbett: that's it, man. That that perfect profile, those blue a is. Oh gosh. [00:14:00] I remember when I used to work at the, , Tropicana in as a fan host, and you would see all these silver-haired women with Kiermaier jerseys on. Remind me of, what was it, the, um, 80 for Brady. It was, had that kind of feel for it for, I dunno what, what you would say for Kibar, but it was something like that.

[00:14:18] It was a neat in uh, time. I gotta tell you that. We just drove right up there. We got about there, what, an hour and a half before the game paid 30 bucks for parking at one place . And it was right by where they have an overpass going over the main road. And do it empties out into right field R so you, as soon as you get across the bridge, there you are, they're ready for your ticket to go ahead and, and take care of business.

[00:14:45] It was a, a delightful experience, man. It was, it was a lot of fun. I'm really glad we did it. 

[00:14:50] Mat Germain: Oh, I'm glad you did it too. 'cause apparently I'm reading this, uh, article from Rob Manfred on the, uh, the stadium hunt and, and apparently [00:15:00] he's expecting a Rays to have a clean slate as soon as the, the team is sold and that, uh, basically all wrongdoings of, uh, of the past and grievances against Stu Sternberg.

[00:15:12] Should be forgotten. And, uh, and they should be, uh, able to, to look anywhere for anything that they so choose. So it'll be interesting to see what they come up with and, and where they lean towards first. 

[00:15:27] Mark Corbett: Well, I'm excited to hear that from Rob. You know, I'm, I've, I know there's been friction back and forth.

[00:15:32] There's been support from, , the commissioner and then it's been withdrawn. I think initially he kinda liked the idea of having a team split between Montreal and Tampa, and then he backed away from it very seriously. That fell out. Um. But I, I hope that's the case. I'm looking forward to this new ownership.

[00:15:50] Everything I hear from the sidelines is, uh, nothing but good things. So we'll see how that plays out. But some key players are already in movement, [00:16:00] and that is the, the co-presidency, if you will, that's in the Rays organization. We have two presidents, Mat Silverman and Brian Auld. That's what we need as another president.

[00:16:10] But both, both these guys, they, they both are, are stepping, not leaving a, my understanding gonna be like in some kind of advisory role for a while. You know, there's usually a transition. I mean, just, just like in a real presidency, you have a transition team who helps one team leave and another, I love to see another one of those in DC right now, but we'll wait for that.

[00:16:31] Whoops. Mm-hmm. Um huh. Coming back to that. So Mat Silverman and Brian Al have basically said, Hey, we realize this is coming to an end. I was looking in comments sections on different places where they're talking about this. Mat , and not surprisingly Neander name came up, Eric Neander. I still think he's a magician.

[00:16:51] And some people can never be happy enough. They, there's a few trades. They say, oh my gosh, he's terrible. We can, we need to get rid, they need to get rid of Neander right away. This is [00:17:00] terrifying. I said, come on dude. Slow down. You know, it's, if you look at where the Rays have been for like, the last five years, I'm sorry.

[00:17:11] Mat Germain: Yeah, so the, the, the Great GMs American, or great presidents as well. 'cause in a lot of cases it's the presidents making the call. The, the great ones are the ones that dare. Yeah. The ones that dare to make moves that dare to go for it, that dare to put themselves out there, hang their reputation on the line, and actually, you know, ask Dave Dombrowski how many mistakes he's made in order to get to where he is.

[00:17:36] Right? And he'll list them off. He'll tell you, I probably might have done this, this, this, this, this, this. But. It's not gonna change. You know, he, he won't regret any of them because he is learned something along the way from every single move that he's made. Alex Anthopoulos spoke about the same thing. He knows that he wasn't perfect in Toronto and he is not perfect in Atlanta, but he is won the World Series.

[00:17:55] Yeah. And, and it's part of the process of actually. You know, [00:18:00] um, going for it and learning from it and trying to piece together something that is extremely hard to do. And like you mentioned, it's salaries wise. I mean, what he's done with the Rays. Yeah. You can nitpick and I did today I listed, you know, because it's the end of the year, you're ref.

[00:18:14] Reflecting on the season, you're looking at the what could have been. And so when you look, you spoke about the Phillies earlier, you know they're led by Christopher Sanchez. Yeah. Who the Rays dealt for Curtis Mead and they don't have Curtis Mead and they don't have really anything to show for Curtis Meade very much at all.

[00:18:31] Adrian Houser's here for another game or two, and that's it. That's all they'll have to have shown for Christopher Sanchez, Joe or Ryan. There's nothing to show for Joe or Ryan either. Mm-hmm. And they're both leading their, their pitching staffs. Right. You're gonna make those kinds of deals that make you uncomfortable, but you need to learn from them.

[00:18:47] That's essentially, you know, and why did you have to make them? To me, that's what the post was about today, was the Rays were forced, they forced themselves to have to make those uncomfortable trades. Yeah. Because of how they [00:19:00] develop hitters and their deficiency in doing so. So they were forced to go out there in order to quote unquote go for it.

[00:19:07] And so you have to appreciate that, especially with the financial constraints that they have, realistically, they were trying to bring aboard a, a top 10 hitter in Major League baseball. When they dealt Joe Ryan, they were trying to bring in an impact hitter that they viewed as somebody that could be part of the core of their lineup when they got Curtis Mead.

[00:19:27] You have to applaud that you do, because if you don't, then you never find a Junior Caminero. If you don't make that move, you never get to those special players that do work out and that do take you to that next level or Yandy Diaz. And I can point to others that they've brought aboard as well. But yeah, anybody that complains about Eric Neander, send them my way and I'll, I'll sort them out.

[00:19:50] Mark. 

[00:19:52] Mark Corbett: I'm glad to hear that, Mat , because you know, to me, anybody who doesn't realize what that man has done has just walked into the room [00:20:00] and they have no idea of the history and the achievements of what he's done with, with the budget that he had been given. And I am, he's outstanding. I salute you, Eric, right here and we'll, we'll have you on someday, , and you can share some of your thoughts about, the decisions you make.

[00:20:18] Mat Germain: I, and as long as I, I'll just put this addition on there, Mark. As long as the new ownership doesn't drastically change the way operations are done with the Rays, I predict Eric Neander will bring the First World Series to Tampa. Mm-hmm. Like I believe he'll be there the first time they win the World Series.

[00:20:37] Mark Corbett: Pardon me. I, I would hope that they recognize the talent that he is. I can't imagine that they would. Um, I'm sure they have some things and ideas that they want, but Neander success cannot be what You have to acknowledge it. You just have to acknowledge it. So I think that they will. I like the idea though, Mat .

[00:20:57] I'm, I'm gonna stick with that. I'm gonna hold you to it, brother, [00:21:00] that our First World Series will be won with Eric at the helm as the gm. That's fantastic, 

[00:21:05] Mat Germain: isn't it? 

[00:21:07] Mark Corbett: You know, there's 

[00:21:08] Mat Germain: President slash gm, whatever you want. There 

[00:21:10] Mark Corbett: you go. President slash gm slash master of the Rays Universe, 

[00:21:17] Mat Germain: part owner, uh, you know, concessions, uh, dealer, whatever, whatever role he wants to add to his name.

[00:21:25] Mark Corbett: Whatever it does, whatever it takes to keep him. Dude. Whatever it takes to keep him. Yeah. You know, I was talking to you about, uh. What our experience was like at the ball game the other night. Mm-hmm. And , I don't know if it's a different experience than the ball game, but I was looking at the folks hustling the first base, and I did not see the hustle from some people.

[00:21:48] I thought I'd see more though. You know, even there was one time when I saw Chandler Simpson, he was kind of looking back behind him to see what was going on as he's going to first and it's like. But the one thing that really [00:22:00] shined above and beyond everything else was Yandy Diaz. That man, he was at it, I think at the game we went to at five at bats, he had I think three hits and two walks.

[00:22:12] It's like Yandy. Yes. Yes. This is, this is the guy. 

[00:22:19] Mat Germain: Right. But it, it, it does complicate things though, in the off season Mark, because you're looking at Trey Morgan and aaa, you're saying, okay, he's the first baseman, you know, if you're putting him in the outfield, you're sort of. Hindering yourself in, in some other ways.

[00:22:34] Um, Jonathan, Aranda and Yandy Diaz plus Trey Morgan starts to complicate the, the situation in terms of how you're gonna play guys and where you're gonna play them, especially when then you add the options that they have at second base. And the fact that Brandon Lau may clog up. Uh, the DH role, so the Rays up some decisions to make in a roster makeup this off season.

[00:22:57] I, I don't know that both of them [00:23:00] survived the winter that's possible. Uh, they can definitely afford it. That's not a question, like there's no financial reason to get rid of either one of them. Um, so, but it's just makes for intriguing, , options that they have to work with. So I, I do think that the, this off season is going to be.

[00:23:20] Markedly different than past, off seasons. And, if you look at last off season as an example, Ha-Seong Kim was the best shortstop available. The Rays brought him in, right? The Danny Jansen was supposed to be the best catcher available. They brought 'em in and they paid them both handily, you know, for coming in.

[00:23:40] So they tried to address those two key spots. But I, I think now that they have new ownership coming in and, and a more. Matured prospect group that they're trying to add to in order to polish off certain spots. I think what you're gonna see them go after [00:24:00] is controllable players that can be there long term and, and not necessarily dip into the free agent pool because the free agent pool is so flawed and it's so rare that you hit a gold mine in in free agency and you see it all over major League baseball.

[00:24:14] It's not just the Rays. There's so many underperformers that have guys that were signed. Um, I hope that the Rays learn from the guys that do shine. Like if you go to Hin, Suarez as an example, right? He's not the type of bat the Rays will ever sign in free agency. They'll never go for that guy because they see him as a DH only.

[00:24:35] They won't even play him on the field because they're like, oh, it's too embarrassing to have a guy play that way defensively. So they, they won't even, entertain the signing of a guy like that. Even though he's very solid defensively. He's just not elite defensively, like they demand from certain positions and, and so they're, they're locking themselves out of the Market of certain players.

[00:24:54] Kyle Schwarber's another guy that's like that. Sure he's embarrassing in the outfield. Sure. He is [00:25:00] embarrassing at all positions that he plays, but he hits the snot out of the ball Mark and he terrorizes pitchers when he first, you know, leads off. So at some point, the Rays have to reexamine that strategy and, and, and how they can actually add the thump and the.

[00:25:18] Uh, they put some fear into the other team's pitchers, essentially like Junior Caminero is doing. Right? That's awesome. I think Brendan Lowe generally does that and so does Yandy Diaz. So, but you gotta find that, you know that for the rest of the bottom of the lineup, maybe Carson Williams figures it out at some point and becomes another one of those pieces.

[00:25:36] , But they need to add that in outfield in my opinion.

[00:25:40] Mark Corbett: One of the things I did see the other night, that, man, it was just kinda sad, Mat , and that was Ryan Pepiot. Like, geez, what an outing. And he just, I think Kevin just said he just couldn't seem to get the control of the ball and it's man's a great talent and he's done so well with Rays [00:26:00] overall.

[00:26:00] It's just that one night, it wasn't there. 

[00:26:03] Mat Germain: Yeah, Ryan's been, you know, I think if, if you look back at Chris Archer when he was with the Rays, right, he had those. Two, three seasons of up and coming, Chris and everybody kept waiting for the, the lights out, Chris and he polished Chris to come out and eventually it did.

[00:26:23] And I think Ryan has that in him to get to that level right. Of where he can actually start hunting for a, um. A Cy Young award at some point, but it, it takes time. And, and a lot of that right now, this time of year is the touch and feel late in the season when your arm is dead tired and it starts feeling like a wet noodle.

[00:26:44] Like that's, uh, that's one of those things that you learn as a veteran, right? To pace yourself a little bit more. So that when you get to this moment, like this end of season, if you were in a playoff spot, obviously, uh, then you still have that gas and that, you know, touching. Feel that [00:27:00] you're able to, to perform with what you need to actually be elite.

[00:27:04] But all I looked at Mark, honestly after that start was how was the velocity? And I went and I looked at the velocity. It was fine. I was like, okay, all right. I don't have to worry. Um, although sometimes the feel is the first thing that goes and not the velo, uh, some guys will tell you, but um. Yeah, I, I'm hoping that he goes into the off season healthy and he comes out the off season healthy.

[00:27:31] That's essentially where Ryan is. I think he's had plenty of development this year. He's learned a lot. He's gotten a lot of innings under his belt. Now. He will be able to take that next step forward next year and, and lead the staff quite honestly, next year. Uh, expect him and Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen, you know, health, willing to be the, the three top guys for that, rotation.

[00:27:53] Mark Corbett: I can't wait to see that brother. You know, it's gonna be an interesting kind of a divergence here. We've got a couple of new guests [00:28:00] coming on over the next few weeks. Pardon me. We're gonna have, uh, Lou Schiff on here and he's gonna be able to talk a bit about lawyers in baseball, but the other one's gonna be coming up.

[00:28:10] I'm also interested in around the first part of October, and that's gonna be Jane Leavy and she's got a book, I think it's called Make Me Commissioner. And I love it 'cause you and I have talked about being commissioner, what changes we'd make and Jane's been, she's been involved with the game for some time and I look forward to having her on here because, but uh, we are in the midst of change, brother.

[00:28:35] Mat Germain: I think the CBA coming up, , sneaking up on us, , shortly and surely, uh, we, we can have a lot of conversations about that and how the last process went and how she sees the, , that leaking into the next one. With the landscape changing, like lightning fast basically, in terms of the.

[00:28:55] The financial structure of the game and how it compares to other games [00:29:00] and yada, yada yada. There, there's so many avenues we can go down with her, but she's got so much experience monitoring the games and having her finger on the pulse of it that it's going to be a lot of fun to, to ask her some questions about, uh, where she see sees things headed.

[00:29:16] Mark Corbett: I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to Lou because you know, he moved from New York to here. Mm-hmm. And so he was a Mets fan before he came, and now he is a Marlins fan. And I don't think, unfortunately, Lou ha, I know you don't have much to celebrate this year, but. That slide. Oh my gosh.

[00:29:35] That slide. It was at least eight games without a win. And I'm thinking, my gosh, Mr. Met, do you and Mrs. Met, are you, are you on the rocks? What's going on? And, uh, it is, it's over. You know? I mean, there's, so how many, let's take a look here. What did I say? How many games back were they? They are, they're 12 and a half games back of the Phillies.

[00:29:58] Mat Germain: I don't know how many. [00:30:00] They're back of the, the playoff spot though. 

[00:30:02] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. 12 and a half games back. Man, that's just ugly. So, you know, I feel for the Mets fans, I mean, 'cause things were, you know, they were looking okay for a while. I mean, they were, but that's what happens sometimes with the baseball team.

[00:30:16] Mat Germain: But to me that's, that's uh, more proof on you can't buy a playoff spot. Yeah, you can try, but you know, there's a lot of guys underperforming on that team. There's a lot of guys that got hurt and ultimately that ends up ruining your season. The, the one thing I wanted to mention, um, tonight as well is you remember the Blake Snell trade, right?

[00:30:39] Mm-hmm. Uh, and we thought, ah, we might not get anything out of it because everybody was shipped off, didn't make it, et cetera. Well, the Rays added, coal Wilcox, the 40 man roster. Today. So, um, that's the first, you know, guy since Louis Petino that, uh, that ends up [00:31:00] coming up and, and having an impact with the Rays.

[00:31:02] I assume that he's gonna get in the game at some point. Uh, but he's somebody that revived his career as a, as a reliever. So for anybody that doesn't know, the Rays acquired him in 2020. So he's been with them now for, what, five years. Yep. Uh, and he's made his way trudged all the way up through the ranks, , tried his best to make it as a starter, but somewhere around, uh, 2024, the whispers started coming out.

[00:31:26] Well, maybe he should be a reliever. Um, and sure enough, 2025 came and he. Went into that relief role. Well, he is put in 51 innings in AAA this year. Uh, maintained a 1.37 whip and a 3.71 ERA. Now, I will say that he's gotten much better as the season's gone on. It's not just, um, um, it's not just. Mediocre looking stats, if you were to read them just on, uh, the way they are.

[00:31:58] I think he's grown to be [00:32:00] comfortable in the relief role, and I could see him being one of those guys that ends up being a really, really solid option in, in the pen. Uh, I'm just not sure exactly how much work and how much room they'll be with the Rays, um, long term. But it's nice to see them have another piece from that trade, you know, make it to the team and, and get a shot to prove what he, what he can do.

[00:32:23] Mark Corbett: Well, folks, keep that in mind. The next time you wanna say something critical about Eric Neander that Well, it's, it's the case. I mean, time again, you, you, so even looking at the Biscuits, some of the folks that are coming up 

[00:32:34] Mat Germain: Yep. And I also wanted to point out, uh, I as a he, Isaiah Isiah Kiner-Falefa . Right. The Rays are playing him right now with the Jays, but his journey to get to where he is right now is ridiculous.

[00:32:48] , I, I think people forget about it sometimes. , When he went from the Rangers to the Twins and then he ended up going to the Yankees and the Mitch Garver deal, he got traded to the Yankees with Josh Donaldson [00:33:00] and Ben Feld, who the Raysd. Rays fans in the well, right? So everybody remembers the Yankee days right after that.

[00:33:07] He went to the Blue Jays and he spent some time with them and he ended up, you know, not lasting there very long. Ended up going to the Pirates instead. So everybody forgets about him at that point because he's with the Pirates for a few years. Well, lo and behold, he gets released from, from the Pirates and the Jays pick him back up and here he is now with Beau Bichette on IL for the rest of the season.

[00:33:33] Anchoring that position for the Blue Jays. 

[00:33:37] Mark Corbett: I love it. The, the career in baseball, my friend. I mean, up down around where you're gonna wind up the same team at KF you know, when I, during spring training. I went out to Lakeland to see the flying, the Flying Tigers is the, it was the Detroit tiger. So, you know, AJ Hinch is out there with his boys and then I see the pirate and I see the back of a [00:34:00] uniform and there it is.

[00:34:01] Kiner-Falefa . I thought, no. Isn't he still? No. Oh, really? Okay. There's not another one out there. I know that. So yeah, there he is. Spring training with the Pirates, uh, out there facing the, the tigers. 

[00:34:16] Mat Germain: Mark, I've gotta stop you. If you have a moment, go back and watch the Chandler Simpson grab over the wall to Rob Alejandro Kirk of a home run.

[00:34:27] Mark Corbett: Oh, I love that. I absolutely love that. You know, take a break. 

[00:34:31] Mat Germain: I'll, I'll wait for you to take a look if you have the opportunity, but no, uh, when you get a chance, definitely go and, and watch it. Folks. That was a good one. That's, that's one that you wanna watch a few times. Wow. Wow, wow, 

[00:34:46] Mark Corbett: wow. No, that's uh, geez.

[00:34:49] My knees. Oh, well, last night. All right, I'm talking about Tuesday night now. Was there enough [00:35:00] strangeness going on as far as home runs in the crowd, and a little bit of fan interference? Did, did you see that? I began to wonder, you know, what, uh, was it, did Brandon have like a three run home run, but a fan reached?

[00:35:13] I don't think he reached over, but he, he got the ball. Uh, I don't think he was in, in the zone outside of that, but they wound up ruling fan interference, but still gave the runs. And then the Blue Jays, I think the next half inning, whatever, they came up and it was a similar play, but right up there and with, 

[00:35:36] Mat Germain: I'm actually surprised it doesn't happen more often than it does Mark like, uh, nowadays, especially where people are so daring and want to be in the, in the news for something it seems, um, you know, that's.

[00:35:49] That's one of those that it's kind of fun to watch everybody's reactions. Some of them will be blatant like, oh yeah, I wanted to do it. And then some other ones will be like, and totally embarrassed about it, and they'll be like, I can't [00:36:00] believe I forgot. 

[00:36:01] Mark Corbett: Well, I am definitely gonna go back and watch Chandler, but I, I, I'm gonna tell you also when we were there Monday night.

[00:36:08] Watching him field out there and see the, his speed, not just running the bases, but his speed to get to a ball and catch it, slide across the grass and keep it, and it's like, damn, you're, there's some damn good defense there, Chandler. Keep it up. But 

[00:36:24] Mat Germain: yeah, and I, I don't think people give his bat enough credit, like he's hitting at higher batting average than Yandy Diaz.

[00:36:30] As a rookie and, and that isn't easy to do in today's game, right? No. And, and he hit another double tonight. So he is got his 12th double in a short period of time, you could, you can see him chipping in 30 to 40 doubles as he matures, uh, in a season. And then, ah, sorry. 

[00:36:49] Mark Corbett: Yeah, they were just showing it again.

[00:36:51] Mat Germain: Chandler is, has just got that, that moxie in that feel. I, I think I have a feeling it's gonna be part of the Rays for a long time. Um, unless [00:37:00] I mentioned today on Blue Sky. Uh, Mark, I don't know if you saw, but the Rays actually finalized, um, their trade with the Yankees that sent Jose Caballero over.

[00:37:09] To New York. And, uh, they ended up acquiring Marshall Toole, who's 22 years old in a-ball. Um, I re, I listed off his rankings in the, , the Florida State League. And, , he was first in average, first in triples, first in, um, or, sorry, second in o OnBase percentage, second in OPS, third in isolated power, and second in WRC plus in that league with 1 48.

[00:37:36] So when you're looking at Marshall Tool, who can play all three outfield spots and you pair him with Brayer Guerrero, who's a phenom that's being sent over to the A FL (Arizona Fall League) because he has some health issues and he keeps getting hurt, and then you add Theo Gillen, who's the first round, round draft pick that the Razor are also sending up the A plus next year.

[00:37:56] And the other high ranked pick that I mentioned before today, [00:38:00] Brenda Summerhill, they're all going to be part of the same outfield next year in a plus. Geez. So, you know, that's an, that's starting to piece together quite a few intriguing, uh, outfield options. And we mentioned Homer Bus Jr. And a couple of other ones before, uh, Colton Ledbetter is.

[00:38:17] Another one that's, , five tools ish. So the Rays finalized that deal and, and have added Everson Pereira, which we have benefit of having. Right now and we get to see what he can do. And also they have a backup option, , down in a plus probably to start next year. So it's nice to see adding some competition to the mix.

[00:38:37] Mark Corbett: It's great. Again, it shows the system, it shows that Neander and company have known what they've been doing, and I'm looking forward to seeing as these guys come up hmm. With Neander still being there, it's also interesting looking, like I said, what's, who's gonna be the architect saw this, what's, what's happening?

[00:38:53] Some other changes. And part of that comes down to the field itself. Now the good news is recently I've been [00:39:00] tracking on Tampa Bay Times, uh, the progress on the Trop roof getting fixed, and it looks like they'll have it done here soon. But then they'll have to still start working on replacing the turf and everything after that.

[00:39:14] So we're looking at the being ready for spring training. Yeah, spring training time and certainly for the regular season. So I'm excited about that. 'cause I've had some people say, well Mark, they're not doing anything over there yet. Well, they are. So things are being done over the roof is getting put on and.

[00:39:34] Thank you St. Pete for standing up and getting that part done and supporting the Rays, even though it was slowly exiting away to the other side of the bay. But, you know, the, the wildness of this, I mean, thinking of, uh, Mat , thinking of George Steinbrenner field, I would never have thought of the Rays playing a regular season there.

[00:39:56] I would never think of a baseball field being [00:40:00] built in the middle, middle of, uh, Raymond James football stadium where the Bucs play. . Banana time. Banana time. But so the bananas did that because, I dunno if you remember that they were supposed to play two games at the Trop and that's what precipitated the whole thing about getting the Raymond James stadium and building a field there.

[00:40:20] Well, Raymond James just can't get enough 'cause they're making yet another change to the stadium. There's gonna be, NHL will be visiting because they're gonna have an outdoor ice rink, I guess. So the, the lightning will be playing there. So there is plenty of confusion when you think of what a stadium looks like for your team in the Tampa Bay area.

[00:40:49] Mat Germain: Yeah, I mean the NHL is pushing the limits on, uh, engineering in that one. Uh, but, but I think it's, uh, it's an interesting concept. You know what, the, the [00:41:00] fog coming off the ice alone might be enough. I don't know if you've, you've seen video of this, but the NHL had games once in, um. In England, and I think it, I can't remember which arena it was, but they, they essentially had, uh, so much fog that you couldn't see where the guys were passing to.

[00:41:19] And, and it was, you know, a little bit dangerous. Yeah. Didn't know where, where things are. And it's a pretty physical game. Geez p So, yeah, I don't know Then. The, the whole stadium thing, and I've said this before, somebody needs to write a book about it because all the twists and turns and ups and downs, and, I mean, just think of it this way, Mark, and, and start from there.

[00:41:44] Like when Stu Sternberg bought the team. In early two thousands, did anybody think that 20 years later you could sell it for 1.7 billion? Like, that wouldn't have even been, been fathomable at that time, [00:42:00] right? No. So, so without a stadium, they, they don't have a home to speak of. You know, after 2028 and he still was able to, to get at 1.7 billion out of it.

[00:42:11] So the whole stadium thing, like the, the, the fact of the Mat er that all options are still on the table. They could end up staying in St. Pete. They could end up staying in the Trop. They could end up in Orlando. They could end up in, uh, I don't know, Fort Lauderdale. Anything is possible at this point. It is.

[00:42:34] Go ahead. 

[00:42:35] Mark Corbett: No, I, I, I, you're, you're right. There's nothing is, is everything's is possible when it comes to this. It's, it's insane. I, I mentioned last week, I think the guy who's working with the Orlando Dreamers is also gonna be part of this new organization of ownership. So he. I don't think we're gonna see a move there.

[00:42:52] I wanted to share with you though, and that's why I'm not sharing my screen with you, because I have a survey from [00:43:00] 2007 and they were asking people in Hillsborough County where, which is in Tampa. Uh, it says, I'll read, it says here, it says From Channel eight recently, 307 Major League baseball fans in Hillsborough County participated in a survey conducted for News Channel eight.

[00:43:15] And here are the results. Again, this is 2007. Would you go to more Devil Raid games if a stadium was built in downtown Tampa? Okay, so throw out for more games, throw out a number. What do you think percentage of folks said they'd go to to more games? If it was in downtown Tampa, and this is Hillsborough County people.

[00:43:35] Mat Germain: Uh, I'll say 45% 

[00:43:39] Mark Corbett: higher than that. I was a little surprised too. 56%, oh, uh, 7% fewer games and 31%. 31%. No difference in 6%. No. Sure. All right. Second question. Where would you prefer to see a stadium built? Here's the locations they gave downtown Tampa near Raymond James [00:44:00] Stadium. I four and I 75 other and not sure.

[00:44:04] So what, where would you prefer to see a stadium built, do you think? What do you think they were saying? In 2007, 

[00:44:10] Mat Germain: Raymond James. 

[00:44:12] Mark Corbett: That's, you're right. That's 36%. They got the big one there. Uh, I four and 75 got 27%. Other is like, you know, downtown Tampa was 17%. 

[00:44:22] Mat Germain: Yeah. Okay. Because nobody lives downtown. But you know that that's the simple fact.

[00:44:27] Mark Corbett: It's true, it's true. Uh, you know, 'cause we've also talked about having it, uh, at the fairgrounds around here, there's a place called, uh, what is it? Toy Town and other ones. I mean, oh, the old what? Old Greyhound Raystrack or something. Who knows? But let's see. If a new stadium were built, do you think it should be paid for?

[00:44:49] With, and this is again, 2007, all public money. Private money, both or not? Sure. So where do you think just between [00:45:00] public money and private money, what do you think? Or both? 

[00:45:04] Mat Germain: I think private money, one 

[00:45:06] Mark Corbett: private money is 47%. Both is 50%. So, yeah. Wow. Okay. I was, I was surprised. I, I, I don't know that you would have both of that kind of number today.

[00:45:19] All right. Let's see. Do you consider the devil Raysd Tampa baseball team? What do you mean? Do you consider the Devil Rays? Tampa. Oh, do you consider the Devil Rays Tampa's baseball team? Yeah. I 

[00:45:33] Mat Germain: opposed to St. Petersburg, right? 

[00:45:35] Mark Corbett: Yeah. So 

[00:45:37] Mat Germain: it's funny they left out Bay.

[00:45:42] Mark Corbett: So how many would consider Tampa's baseball team of the folks that answer that question? What do you who, what do you think the percentage is? Throw one in there. 

[00:45:51] Mat Germain: I think, oh, that one's a, that one's probably the trickiest question. To be honest. I'll say 40% considerate Ta Tampa's team. [00:46:00] 

[00:46:00] Mark Corbett: 82%. 

[00:46:03] Mat Germain: Oh yeah. They claimed ownership even though they don't go well, Mark, that is interesting.

[00:46:12] Go ahead. I I don't think you're, you're allowed to make that kind of statement if you don't go to the games. 

[00:46:18] Mark Corbett: Amen. Okay. Absolutely. So, 'cause the qualification here just says MLB fans in Hillsborough County. So you can know, I mean, how many of us. Just watch 'em on TV all the time. 

[00:46:30] Mat Germain: Yeah, right. 

[00:46:31] Mark Corbett: Uh, last question.

[00:46:32] What kind of stadium would you prefer asking these folks back in 2007? One open air, two retractable roof, and three not sure.

[00:46:42] Mat Germain: Retractable roof. 

[00:46:44] Mark Corbett: Correct. 69%. What's retractable roof? I think most people, the 25% probably just aren't thinking fairly. And if, if it, if we had that one today, if you ask that question today, I don't think open air would would be getting.

[00:46:57] Under. Over 7% of that. [00:47:00] But, uh, anyway, especially 

[00:47:01] Mat Germain: with the, the temperature warming up all the time, that's just a little bit crazy. But the retractable is the costliest, like you're seeing it, the benefits of it with the jays, they renovated the inside, they fully revamped it, they decided to keep the shell because it is so expensive to rebuild that kind of 

[00:47:18] Mark Corbett: yeah.

[00:47:18] System. 

[00:47:19] Mat Germain: But I, I, I honestly am shocked that under the Stu Sternberg. Proposals. They never once went to a retractable roof. It was always a fixed roof. Right? Um, so I'm hoping, you know what, there might be options on the table that are gonna be considered now, that are maybe a little bit more modern or maybe a little bit more attractive that that will also be retractable in terms of a roof.

[00:47:46] Mark Corbett: I'll share some more of this with you another time. There's just so much coming on from that. But, um. Geez, my knees, man. It's, it's just been nuts. Uh, I haven't really got much more to share outside that I'm really happy about this [00:48:00] Rays season. Overall, it's just a tough time right now, and it's tough on the players when you, you don't have a positive streak going on.

[00:48:07] You know, you lose two or three series in a row and just hurts. But, uh, tonight, what's the score right now, Mat ? It's, uh, one, 

[00:48:16] Mat Germain: one, so it's a tie game, but they're, they're getting another strong pitching performance. From Ian Seymour, uh, he didn't give up any ERT runs. It was on an error, uh, oddly enough from Carson Williams who's supposed to be nails.

[00:48:28] Um, so you know, the Rays pitching, uh, if you're looking at, at Ian Seymour as part of, uh, fearsome Foursome and Joe Boyle pitched very well the other day. Um, you know, the Rays pitching is not what I'm afraid of at all for 2026. In fact, I think. It's the one that gives you hope that things are gonna change extremely quickly.

[00:48:50] And with Nick Fortes behind the plate, who I think is an also, uh, is also a big addition. You know, there, there's Junior Ro, there's Jonathan [00:49:00] Aranda we mentioned before, there's a lot of positives for the Rays to lean on and to go into the off season and not really be hanging their heads down, um, at all.

[00:49:09] Like, you're getting a new owner, you're getting fresh blood, you've loaded the system as best you can and, and now. You know, we'll get to see what kind of direction changes. Did new ownership make 

[00:49:22] Mark Corbett: exciting times, Mat ? Pardon me? I am looking forward, like I said, to are to our future guests here. If y'all got any recommendations, please let Mat and I know we'll make sure we get 'em on the show.

[00:49:33] Um, I was trying to get Bill and Ted on here, but I found out they're busy on Broadway. They've got a, a new production of waiting for Godot. Gato. I always say Godot, but it's evidently it's gato. So yeah. 

[00:49:46] Mat Germain: I heard Jimmy Kimmel's available. Is he. Yeah, apparently they canceled this show now because of, uh, what was said, um, about somebody's passing away.

[00:49:57] And so they, they weren't happy with it. So now he's, [00:50:00] uh, he's available to come on the show. Oh, I can get a hold of his agent and maybe, uh, put some feelers out and see if he wants to talk some ball. 

[00:50:07] Mark Corbett: Well, it's, it's in he brush. He brought that up. 'cause I know some changing in, in host, uh, 'cause I, I had a call from the Vice President's office saying he looks for.

[00:50:15] Some other new podcasts he'd like to do too. And it's curious if, you know, I'd like to step down and he could, he could be here, but I don't know. Well, I'd have to get a flight on Air, air Force two to do that. So anyway, right now we may we'll get Jimmy Kimmel here next. And till then, wanna thank you guys for joining, Mat and I here today.

[00:50:32] I hope you're enjoying baseball as much as we do, and until the next time we talk with you, we send you a big happy Rays up. All right, river like us, love us, share us head. We'll talk to you soon.

[00:50:50] I.