Rays vs Yankees 2025 ALDS — Pitching Matchups & Playoff Energy at the Trop,

BaseballBiz On Deck: Rays vs Yankees 2025 ALDS — Playoff Energy, Pitching Matchups & New Stadium Debate

Hosts: Mark Corbett & Mat Germain
Duration: ~31 minutes
Category: MLB Baseball, Tampa Bay Rays, Playoff Analysis

Mark Corbett: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the show, Mr. Matt. How you doing, buddy? Oh. 

Mat Germain: I'm having a, I don't know, it's one of those odd days at work. I, uh, I need a break, so I figured, ah, I'll have a lunch break with Mark. 

Mark Corbett: Well, thank you brother. Thank you. Hey, everybody, we're here today on BaseballBiz On Deck, and my gosh, we're getting a little early this show, but, uh, there's just been too much fun going on, Mr.

Matt. Oh, gosh. Brother, this has been some of the most exciting Rays baseball since I've been watching this team. I don't know about you, brother, but it has just been beyond my imagination. And the enthusiasm in Tampa, I have never felt it like I have before. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, speak more to that. Like, the crowd, I, I wanna say that it was just as epic in previous years, but you would know more than I do 'cause you've been in the area and you've seen it and heard it.

So [00:01:00] what I gather from the sportscasters that are covering this series is that it's been extra loud this year. Is that a fact? 

Mark Corbett: That's what it seemed to hear from some of the players even as well. But I mean, know some of them are fairly new and hadn't had a playoff season, but yeah, that's what I'm hearing.

I think they had to buy extra insurance for the rafters, uh, from all the excitement coming out there, said, "I'm sorry, we're taking measurements here of the reverberations and you're going to need more insurance." Yeah, but those, those rings were a-shaking, man, inside the top of the Trop. Uh, but yes, I believe the, the ch...

The immensity, and being a TV observer, 'cause I wasn't there, uh, looking up and seeing all that 300 section full all the way up to the top. And then the other thing about this, Matt, what was so loud was I didn't hear as many Yankees fans- And 

Mat Germain: or they were quieted by- Oh ... the [00:02:00] Rays. One or the other. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. I, I, I know cameramen to, and women take a pan sometimes of the local audience.

I expect that. But then they would occasionally go by, and if you could look in the crowd, and those who were screaming and shouting, they pretty much everybody had a Rays outfit on. And those who were sitting with arms crossed and head bowed, uh, those were usually the, the Yankees fans that were out there.

S- so they weren't as immediately visible as the Rays. But it was loud, and I believe that truly because I think it was more of a Rays crowd at a Rays event. And this is not to slight the past. This is to be encouraged by the now and the future of what's going on with the Rays. 

Mat Germain: I have an immediate question for you though, Mark, that is very pressing because we're putting shovels in the ground right now.

Amen. We're, we're, we're literally... So we saw 40,200 some odd fans at the Trop. The new stadium is reportedly going to be somewhere around 30. So you're gonna kick out 10,000 [00:03:00] fans- ... by building a $2.3 billion stadium. I, I don't know that that makes much sense, Mark. No. So would you, if in the future, do you have playoff games played at the Trop?

Mark Corbett: Well, you know, why not? I mean, c- just keep it fun. I mean, the Banana, the Savannah Bananas, they go to football fields and tear them up for their games, you know. It's, I don't know. You know, it's, it, it is raising a good question. I, I came up with a thought the other day. I thought, well, you could just make it sure that none of the visitors came into the r- to the Trop.

You just, they would have to have outside seating with a screen, uh, in the parking lot. 

Mat Germain: I get that. But in my opinion, if you're looking at a professional sports league, right? So you're, you're MLB, you're competing with MLS, other organizations. You want to be as lucrative as possible. And, and we see the major markets that they're in.

I think MLB should make it a stipulation that you need to have a minimum [00:04:00] attendance capacity to be an MLB team, and that would set up for, remember we were talking about before potentially adding a new level where you would earn your way into the top level. That would set that up essentially to say, okay, you wanna be an MLB franchise, you want to build a new stadium, the minimum standard is 34,000.

The minimum standard is whatever they come up with, right? But to me, those 40,000 fans would tell you from last night's game, they wanted to be there- Oh, yeah ... and it would've been a loss to them if they hadn't been, right? I went to the Olympic Stadium for games where you could fit 50,000 plus, and we did fill it on opening day and, and in certain other circumstances.

But it's, it makes a difference when you're that big of a crowd. It just gets the amperage up and, and I think you can have offsite things like what you're talking about and like, you know, watch parties here, watch parties there. But correct me if I'm wrong, Mark, but they're not as lucrative as getting people in the seats, eating your concessions, and, and paying for parking at the rates that you would offer.

Mark Corbett: No, [00:05:00] and I was being sarcastic more than anything. I know. No. But yeah. No, I, I, you know, it, it is a good point though, Matt, and because what are you doing? Are you saying no to that? You're saying the only place you're gonna be able to watch us is through TV 'cause you can't make it here, and then you better be able to have a provider if you're, if you already cut your cable.

Um, that's, I, I don't know. I, it's, it's, it's a good problem to have, and I would like to say that I knew that there were gonna be 40,000 at every game throughout the entire season, that the Rays were able to sell out all their season tickets, and they were f- chock-full for every game. But, uh, I don't, I, I'm, I don't wanna be a negative Nelly 'cause I'm so excited about that crowd right now.

Mat Germain: Look to the Padres. What was the Padres' attendance like before Petco? 

Mark Corbett: Mm. 

Mat Germain: Right? And, and what is it now? Like now it's, it's an outing, it's a thing to do. It's just, it's packed constantly. So I would model the Rays after what the Padres did in a lot of [00:06:00] different ways, including attendance. Like, I would build it for 40,000 fans.

I don't care what kind of modifications they have to do architecturally and yadi, yadi, yada. Like, a, a baseball stadium, the way the diamond is shaped and with the, with the amount of seating you can put in the outfield, you can make it work, right? Part of it could be temporary. It could be that you take it down at certain instances for certain events.

Like, there's ways to modify fields. I think the, the, the extreme version, in Japan they have an indoor stadium, and I can't remember which team it is, where it literally is on a platform, and it opens up and allows a soccer field to come up, and then the other one goes down underneath, so that you can have it soccer or baseball.

Mark Corbett: Like it's- Oh. You're talking about- That- ... your multipurpose field. Yeah. It's a multipurpose stadium with fields. Oh my gosh. That's, that's, that's insane. I love it, though. I'd- I wouldn't invest- We gotta find some footage for that. Yeah. No, no, no, no. [00:07:00] Well, well, let's celebrate though, brother. I mean, as much as I wanna talk about growing the stadium and seeing that new stadium and this crowd, which is amazing, I wanna talk about what we've been able to see.

You know, projections were early on, saying, "Yeah, you know, we know Razz is gonna be the guy pitching game one." And was it gonna be an Martinez in game two? I think early on you were saying Peralta and- Yes ... you were, you called it right, too. And- Yeah ... you and Cash have got this thing cooking, brother, because- I w- what was it?

Okay, and here's the other thing. Now, a friend of mine here where I live is walking and he said, "Hey, Mark." Pulled me over, he says, "Now, you know," he said, "I like what Cash did the other day in that first game." I said, "Really? What was that?" He said, "He did nothing." I said , "What do you mean?" He said, "He wasn't out there switching out batters with pitchers."

And I said, "You're absolutely right." Of course, Gerrit Cole was the pitcher for, you know, most, for part of the game. But I mean, the thing of it was he kept his lineup, [00:08:00] uh, pretty much s- solid, and he has a solid lineup. I n- am always amazed, one through nine, those people coming up to the plate, how good they are.

We always look to those first three or four and expect a lot, but then in the middle of the lineup, you'll see these other guys come up. They'll get on base. You know, you're not generally gonna be looking for a home run from them, but people like Johnny Deluca always surprise us. Oh, oh, okay. I, I gotta stop and step back for just a moment.

Last night's game, oh my gosh, brother. I, when, when we were playing up against Shindler, Schl- Shindler, pardon me. Anyway, when we were playing that against that Yankees pitcher, I kept thinking about to the last time we played them, and they pretty well shut him down in three innings, and it was pretty much the same thing last night.

But I was thinking, going back to De Luca, that hit he had last night, oh my gosh, I thought it was a home run. It went all the way up to those yellow bars, punked, plucked right back down onto the field. [00:09:00] But the enthusiasm, the energy that came from that, I mean, it was almost as much or more energy you'd expect from the home run itself from, from the players and the crowd.

But player... Going back to, I keep circling back, to that lineup, everybody in that lineup is performing. Everybody in that lineup is giving enthusiasm and intenergy, energy to get to that win 

Mat Germain: Right. And, and like, you could just see also from Victor Mesa's catch in the outfield when it hit those rings. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah.

Mat Germain: Like, he didn't give up on that play. A lot of guys started pointing, like, "Oh, it's just traveling up there and it's gonna stay up there. Oh, look at that." And Victor Mesa was still looking for it frantically. He was like, "I've gotta get involved. I gotta get this done." He was in the middle of center field.

Yeah. Like, he didn't belong there. So I, I think you can see the extra effort, the extra attention to detail, and the poise also of the Rays as compared to the Yankees. The Yankees look like the team that [00:10:00] knows they're vulnerable and they know they're deficient in a lot of ways and they're pressing to try to fix some of those things, uh, because they feel like they need to be perfect to beat the Rays.

And they're not wrong. No. Like, you do have to play a very clean sheet of baseball to beat the Rays. Uh, but they feel like without Aaron Judge, they're kind of stuck with Ben Rice, which I kind of pointed out was gonna get the Barry Bonds treatment at some point in time, 'cause he just- His, his bat finds the ball wherever it's thrown.

Yeah. It's crazy how much, uh, that power that guy generates. But the Rays' energy just feels confident, like oozes confidence. We know what we're about. We know what our, our identity is. We know what we're capable of and we're gonna go out there and compete. I, I don't get that same feeling from the Yankees and they- No

and the excuses coming out of Aaron Boone after the game were just, uh, deflating is what I would say. Like, you're not going in onto the plane going back to New York if you're a Yankee thinking, "Oh, we've got the right [00:11:00] leadership in place." You're thinking, "He just threw us under the bus." 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. It's, uh... W- well, remind me his remarks.

I, I fell asleep 

Mat Germain: during them So basically, he, he, like both him and Jericho really pointed out the defense, right? Pointed out the fact that the rings were an issue, pointed out the fact that, um, the Rays are a good team, et cetera. But, but, but, but. Like, there was always- ... buts, buts, buts, right? So I find like the, the accountability part is really important, especially when you're picturing like Nick Martinez is gonna go into New York well used to being in that environment.

Yeah. He's not going to wilt under the pressure of New York. He's gonna let it fly, and he's gonna trust his defense behind him, and s- he probably will allow one or two home runs, et cetera, but it's one of those things where he's going to compete and he'll be fine. On the other side, you have the, the, the Yankees who are gonna throw up two lefties, Max Fried, who the Rays have been able to hit on- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah

Mat Germain: uh, a couple of [00:12:00] times, and they also have Carlos Rodón. So the road for the Rays is not gonna be easy, the, level-wise, and you're gonna see very right-handed bat heavy lineups. But I just go from the mental state of mind, so if you're Max Fried and you're Carlos Rodón and your manager just rightfully pointed out that the defense was just atrocious and, and there wasn't really much else that they, they could do, then you're kind of sitting there going, "Okay, well, I've gotta be perfect.

I've gotta hit those spots perfectly all the time." And that's not the way that a pitcher wants to go into it. That's exactly what Freddy Peralta was doing wrong in New York, and that Kyle Snyder told him to stop doing. Just aim for the general area and let it fly, and that's basically what he's done since, and he's had a lot of success.

So I don't know, Mark. What, what are your feelings on the New York side of, uh, series? 

Mark Corbett: Well, let's start by I was checking on YouTube this morning, and there's AI of Judge saying, [00:13:00] "Well, it's over." You know, if you saw how bad those guys were last night, oh, we should've just gone home halfway through the game.

You know that there's... I, I, I think it's gonna be hard for that team to find the team energy that the Rays has, and I'm curious to see once they step out onto the field there in New York w- what the support of the fans is gonna be because they gotta be pissed right now. They're, they're upset. They're Yankees fans, and as soon as somebody gets a hit there, they'll come back and enjoy with it.

But I don't know that they have the team energy that the Rays have, and they... I don't know that New York is gonna d- you know, s- jump s- start that with them. So I, I really don't see it necessarily being an advantage, but man, as much as I would love to see them win it here, go ahead and take it tonight with the Martinez.

Mat Germain: Yeah. And he, you know, the, [00:14:00] I will say that Aaron Boone is sort of in a bad place right now because, I mean, theoretically he could sit Jazz Chisholm down and say, "You know what? We're gonna play Jose Caballero. We're gonna do this. We're gonna do that." But you can't take a three-and-a-half war player out just because he's having a rough series defensively and he's too energized and trying to do too much.

I think the difference between Aaron Boone and Kevin Cash is that Aaron Boone has an antagonistic personality, whereas Kevin Cash has a calming personality. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: So Kevin Cash would sort of sit down with Jazz and go over things and say, "You know what? Like, we need to get this right, so this is the, these are the steps you can take to go through things."

Whereas I, I think Aaron Boone would be more of like, "You need to smarten up. You need to- Oh, gosh ... you need to do what you need to do," and put more pressure on him in the process, which doesn't help things, right? That's the feeling I get on that side. But to be quite, like, fair to Jazz, it wasn't just him.

There was Wining Man, there was this, there was that. It was just [00:15:00] endless, right? And, uh. 

Mark Corbett: What would we have? They have four or five errors within the first two or three innings? Yeah. It's like, good gravy. Oh, that had to hurt. You know, each one of those players, it had to hurt, and then as a team it had to hurt them.

Mm-hmm. And I, they, you know, they're, they have to find their mojo if they're gonna have any opportunity to do this if they're even to do, win one in New York, meaning the Yankees. Right. Because, oh gosh, yeah, the, uh, oh, and then all right. Let, let's go back to game one since we haven't had a chance to talk about that too.

Mm. My gosh, Drew, where did you come from? We know where he's been. He's been there all along. Some of these, uh, prognosticators inter- nationally are like, "Well, yeah, he, he's been around. He's done okay." No, he's been fantastic. And a lot of them want to talk about the three time iner- injuries. They don't want to talk about the actual performance on that field.

He was outstanding. A couple weeks ago, uh, Cash let Razz up there, I think it was 114 [00:16:00] pitches, and I said to you, I said, "Matt, Matt, what the heck's he doing?" And you said, "Mark, Mark, he's, he's getting him ready. He's getting him ready- That's right ... for the postseason." And I said, "Okay." Yeah. And man, did it prove true last, uh, the first game of this.

Mat Germain: He was like a man possessed out there. Like I, the last time I remember somebody that amped up and like looking zoned in in the playoff start that, that I kind of watched the entire thing was Roy Halladay when he was play, when he did his first start for the Phillies. Like it was that kind of- Yeah

dominant performance where he just, he wanted to finish it, and then I think he probably could have. But, uh, uh, I mean, it wasn't much the... When you're in that kind of situation and you're lined up like the Yankees, each inning, each out that goes by, you're, the, you're holding the bat tighter and tighter and tighter because you recognize that the pitcher is just zoned in and he's not gonna be, um- Mm-hmm

making many mistakes that you can jump on, right? Yeah. So [00:17:00] yeah, ha- hats off to Drew, and, and I think the Rays had envisioned Shane McClanahan being there to have that same kind of impact- Oh, man ... uh, alongside him the next start. So that, you know, Drew did awesome. Brian Baker was awesome after him. Uh, the Rays did eh Enough to score that one run and, and that was great.

Uh, but the, uh, that's the other point I would make, Mark, is that the Yankees still haven't had a lead in this series ever. 

Mark Corbett: No. 

Mat Germain: So it, that speaks to the Rays, you know, doing what they need to do to keep them off the board 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, they are. Uh, one, there's a couple of moments I want to reflect on that first game though, too.

I mean, it was a heroic game. Both pitchers are doing very well and certainly, you know, Raz is just doing amazing. But then when you see that one hit coming in, was it eight and two-thirds innings or whatever? No, seven, whatever it was at that point. And lo and behold, my... [00:18:00] I would not pull for a Yankee, but the guy wanted to go for a triple.

You know, he wanted to get out there all the way to third base. And in my heart, I couldn't encourage him to do it, but part of me's like, "Hell right. Hell yeah, man." You know? And, but I was so thankful for that strong arm. Mesa Junior getting that ball in there, and he got it so far in there that Caminero probably had a yard before, before that Yankee was able to, to come to third base and get him out.

Mat Germain: Well, I, I put it up next to the video of Kevin Kiermaier and Willy Adames in 2019 when they had that throw from the out- Yeah ... from the center field wall all the way into Willy Adames, and he just basically turned as the pitch was coming into him and threw it right down to home plate and they got José Altuve out.

That scenario played out exactly the same with Victor Mesa Junior and Taylor Walls playing the two parts. And Taylor Walls' relay was just as important as Victor [00:19:00] Mesa's throw in because, yes, Victor Mesa had a great throw in, but it needed to contin- like, continue that momentum and be spot on to an area where the tag can be applied, right?

So the, this is the kind of thing that we're talking about when we talk about the Rays, the finer details. They practice this stuff. Oh, yeah. They know and they value those tools. Like Victor Mesa Junior, I think we, we went through a half dozen other options in right field that the Rays could target, could've brought in at the deadline, could've done this, could've done that.

The Rays knew what they had in Victor Mesa Junior being able to make those kinds of plays. So, um, I think the Yankees need to review how they value players. They really do. Like, I'm 100% honest in this. Like, Trent Grisham Junior was the one guy that I think they've brought in, uh, recently that's been, like, completely defensive focused.

With some power, yes. He, uh, he can get the ball out. But, [00:20:00] like, his profile speaks more to his defensive abilities than anything else. All the other guys they've chased around have been more offensive, you know, centric, including some of the prospects they've brought up. Um, you can't tell me Anthony Volpe is, is a stellar defender at that shortstop.

He just isn't, right? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Um, so Austin Wells may be, uh... He, he has the balance of both. It just so happens that he's able to do both very, very well, so I mean, that's, that's one out that I'll give them. But overall, like, they, they they don't focus on those defensive details and practice them, I feel like, as, uh, well as other teams.

Like we were talking about the Red Sox as well having those kinds of issues, right, uh, earlier. Maybe the Rays and the Brewers who are showing really strong defensive things in the playoffs will get people to kind of revisit those things and decide, you know what? Like I think the White Sox are doing a great job defensively overall as well.[00:21:00] 

So you're seeing that, that kind of, uh, how, how that can lift the floor of your team because you're elevating your pitching anytime your defense is up to par, right? 

Mark Corbett: Well, my gosh, I, yeah, there, there's... I think there's some really good instruction for the Yankees from you on that, Mat. But I gotta say one more thing, I was mentioning this, game one, like a heroic game, like some odyssey being, uh, you know, c- dictated when you're looking at the different players and the moments that happened, whether it be Aranda scoring that home run, whether it be Wells trying to come all the way to third, and the arms when, coming all the way in.

You know, and I, I loved your comparison, too, about the Kiermaier and Adames. It is amazing with all that., Part of me is, , wondering if there was this moment kept looking toward what was going on in the dugout.

And I, I see the one fella. I see that one fella, and I know he can't come in here. His name's Judge, Aaron Judge. But then there's that other fella, that strong upper [00:22:00] body fella, that veteran, Giancarlo Stanton. And alls I can think, Matt, is, "Oh my gosh, he could be the forebearer of bad news for the Rays in this game.

He could be the guy who, who completely changes the whole complexion of what could be the fantastic first game for the Rays." And I see him step out of that dugout, and my heart sinks. But at the same time I'm thinking, "This is one of those baseball moments." Oof. I'm glad it wasn't. 

Mat Germain: Right. Let's just call a spade a spade.

They have $72 million- ... on the bench between Judge and Stanton. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: That's how much they're paying them, Mark. That's an entire Rays budget pretty much- ... for the entire 40-man roster, and both of them aren't playing. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I, I, if I'm a Yankees fan and I'm trying to evaluate this team and what it's doing and where it stands, like, I [00:23:00] understand this is, or next year is the last year that, that they'll have to carry Giancarlo Stanton's, uh, money.

But Judge still is gonna be owed 42 and a half million for the next two years, and then, you know, it goes down a little bit from there. But when you're looking around the league at dead money, like, they are prime examples as to how much that hurts. Um, I'd, I'd also link it over to, uh, I, I, I don't wanna go off tangent a little bit here, but I watched also the Guardians game, uh, against the White Sox, and Joe Adell had a n- a really, you know, important hit for, for the Guardians.

, And all I could think of was Mike Trout sitting at home, like, not, seeing that happen- ... and seeing his old buddy Joe get, you know, playing in the playoffs, and he's still in LA. So I think, you know, when you're doing player evaluations, veteran evaluations, who you're taking, you know, who you're bringing in, like Joe Adell's playing, and he was coming off of whatever team.

But [00:24:00] more than anything, you want guys that are gonna be able to play- Yeah ... and then that are gonna carry the load and be team guys and actually put themselves out there. I feel like the Yankees and the Red Sox really- Had, had some issues there that they didn't really... Like, the, the Red Sox in their case, it was having to get rid of Rafael Devers, having g- having to carry guys that, that they otherwise might not carry, having to deal Mookie Betts way back when.

And you can go all the way back. How much better would they be with Mookie Betts at shortstop as compared to Trevor Story as an example? So the Rays are in a strong place even though they, if you're looking at it that way, had to do without Wander Franco, who they had his issues, and had to do with budgets, you know, forcing their hand at t- at trading away players instead of bringing them in.

So it's a really interesting kind of dynamic between the Yankees and the Rays because they're completely differently built. They're completely different mentality in terms of how they see each [00:25:00] asset. , But you're right, it does speak to, , when you have, look at the bench, what options do you have?

Mm-hmm. Giancarlo Stanton is theoretically available to the Yankees, but you didn't see him come out last night. You didn't, you know, two games in a row wasn't gonna happen for some reason. 

Mark Corbett: Well,, the lunch break's about over here, folks, but I do wanna tell you, Matt and I had to catch you a little earlier than r- when we normally do the show.

We'll have our regular show on as well, but it is just such an exciting time for the Rays. Two years without being in the playoffs. Being in this year with this team, with this energy, with this talent,, with this stick-to-it-iveness to, to make sure that this is going to happen. Uh, the passion, you know, uh, y- the passion not only of the players and, but of the crowd, and the conviction you see in the man- in the manager's eyes and the coaches' eyes.

This is the season, boys and girls. For those of you who look back on 2020, put that one in your back pocket and forget about it because [00:26:00] this is the season. This is the new Rays and th- for the whole environment for Tampa and I'll, I will add one last thing to that. I wonder if we're getting some of the Buccaneers fans spending their money at the Trop since they're 0 and 4 now, but.

Mat Germain: You don't know. You never know. I don't 

Mark Corbett: know. That could 

Mat Germain: be. Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: But the good news is, is Matt- is, Matt, is that this is it. This is the season. Excitement's here, the talent's here, like I was saying before. I just want to see us in New York tomorrow night, Wednesday night.

And I want to see the Yankees on their knees. And, geez, I don't want much for Christmas early, but hey. 

Mat Germain: You're sounding like a mercenary there, uh, Mark. I 

Mark Corbett: know. Heartless, heartless. 

Mat Germain: I'll say something that I think is gonna, is gonna help you go into that game with a very positive mindset, okay? So pay attention to the [00:27:00] statistics I'm gonna say here.

So Max Fried and Nick Martinez, this is the comparison between the two, uh, this year, okay? So Nick Martinez has a 3.1 ERA and, and Max Fried has a 2.80 ERA, okay? Now, if you look at that on the front of it, you're like, "Oh, well, the Yankees have an advantage." Well, do they? Okay, let's see. So Nick Martinez has 109 strikeouts, Max Fried has 104.

Uh, n- uh, Nick Martinez has 26 walks and Max Fried has 33. On both counts, Nick Martinez has the advantage. But when you're looking at the overall whip, with hits included, uh, Nick Martinez has 1.09, Max Fried has 0.99. Now, here's the kicker. Nick Martinez has 15 wins. Max Fried has five. 

Mark Corbett: Oh. 

Mat Germain: So what does that tell you about the kind of support that Max [00:28:00] Fried gets as compared to Nick Martinez?

And do you know what hurts him the most? Unearned runs. 

Mark Corbett: Oh. 

Mat Germain: And we just saw the biggest ones, a g- great example yesterday. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So I have a feeling that Max Fried, if you're talking about somebody in the mindset, like the guy's outperformed Nick Martinez. He's got 10 fewer wins than him. If there's somebody that's feeling that I've-got-to-be-perfect kind of mindset, it's Max.

And I think that's just setting him up for disaster. , So I th- I have a feeling the Rays will be able to get to him early and get the pitch count up and get to that pen early, and that can only be good things for the Rays. , Whose right-handed lineup, when they go up against lefties, has potential to be really potent.

Mark Corbett: Well, there you have it, boys and girls. That's what to look forward to on Wednesday night. And with a veteran like Martinez and his mindset and the, and the leadership that he's given this team, I don't see anything but [00:29:00] positivity and a win. So Matt, uh, thanks for joining me for lunch here today, brother.

And one, I, I don't know about you, but I will definitely be glued to that set. 

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. Yep. It's gonna be a great game. And then honestly, Mark, overall, all of the series have been a lot of fun to watch. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I don't know if you've watched many of the other ones. I'm loving the Brewers series. That's a, a nail-biter, fun, you know, edge-of-your-seat kind of series.

The Guardians and, and White Sox has been as well. So I, I think it's been a great playoff overall. Enjoy it. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, I have not been able, been able to stream the Brewers stuff, but it's interesting from a quick Tampa perspective, you know, working at the baseball museum, Al Lopez, Al Lopez took two teams to the World Series that he managed, the White Sox and the Indians/Garden- Guardians.

Okay? So if Al was still alive today, it would be a most interesting postseason for him, I'm sure. But anyway, thank all of [00:30:00] you all today for joining, Matt and I, and enjoy every one of these games. And while we love watching the Rays and wa- watching, uh, how they're handling the Yankees thus far, there are so many other great teams out there, and we haven't talked about them so much because this is our Rays Up lunch, but there is plenty there for you to watch.

Matt, any last words? 

Mat Germain: , Yeah, just, relish the moment because the Rays are about to make their way up probably to the ALCS, and they're gonna have a lot of fun, , in New York. And they're gonna need some mental support, so send those positive vibes through whatever airwaves that you believe can send those vibes over, and be like that little angel in the outfield kind of, uh, personality that, that believes he can change the course of things just by wishing, watching, using a superstition of any kind.

Throw them out there. We need them- ... and we'll take them, and we'll compile them all into one massive, hex on the Yankees. 

Mark Corbett: There you [00:31:00] go. , thank you all again for joining Matt and I today here on BaseballBiz On Deck! with our special matinee division, and we'll be talking with you again real soon.

Mat Germain: Playoff ball

Mark Corbett: Oh.