RaysUp - Fall at Citrus Series with Marlins, Rise against Astros & MLB Rivalry Week

RaysUp 294 BaseballBiz On Deck

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett.

[00:00:02] And Mr. Mat Germain is here and we are here to entertain you on all the little vicissitudes of the game called Baseball with major leagues and beyond that too. But mostly we're here to have fun, so we hope you are too. Hey Matt. How you doing brother? 

[00:00:18] Mat Germain: I'm great. I had the, a dream about who was gonna win the World Series and then, uh, by the time I woke up to put the bed in and, and lock it in in Vegas, uh, it just escaped me who the actual winning team was gonna be.

[00:00:30] So I'm still in limbo. Unfortunately, I can't see the crystal ball anymore and I we're gonna have to kind of try to resolve it and, you know, just by rubbing brain cells together, mark. Gosh, 

[00:00:41] Mark Corbett: bro, that just sounds like so much work. I like the dream part better. You know, I mean, if Caesars gets, uh, access to it, we can go ahead and make bets while we dream.

[00:00:52] It'd be great. But 

[00:00:53] Mat Germain: here's the question. If you do that once and it works, do you do it again?[00:01:00] 

[00:01:00] Mark Corbett: Oh, you know where I am seriously on gambling is no. On the end of it. I'll put down a $2 bet on the Derby each year, and that's about it. But, uh, wow. No, man. It's, it's gonna be an interesting year here. We are, we are about 25% of the way, a quarter of the way into the season, and everything has been set.

[00:01:20] Matt's dreams are gonna come true. We're gonna, we're gonna, hopefully, we'll find out what that is. There'll be some, uh, get rid of the cognitive dissonance that we have every day and see if that can rise again. Mm-hmm. Man. Oh man, Matt. Uh, it has been interesting and this is a Rays up edition of Boys and Girls, but, uh, I, first I'd like to thank four of the, uh, baseball players who joined me yesterday because there, some of 'em are coaches and even ones a manager with the, and one coaches with the A's, Athletics these days too.

[00:01:51] So they were with me yesterday and. We talked a lot about bullying and how, uh, with young players and specifically [00:02:00] young girls and women, how this is affecting them and steps, hopefully, that folks can take to, to make better, uh. Better decisions and support these young girls. So, we'll, we'll see.

[00:02:12] We'll put that up in a couple of days after that. But, so that was, that was quite a great experience to be able to spend the time with them and, and here because they work with a lot of these young girls through MLB develops and some of the different programs and camps where they have 'em for a few days.

[00:02:28] So it was very enlightening. 

[00:02:31] Mat Germain: Nice. No, that's great to get, uh, you know, you wanna look at the game from every perspective and that definitely touches on something that I think we've all seen or experienced or, it's an important part of talking about it because just saying, oh, we dealt with it as a coach or as whatever.

[00:02:48] It's not enough because people have to be cognizant of the fact that they're going to be. Impacting others if they decide to indulge in a little bullying here and there, or let their kids [00:03:00] allow them to actually bully a little bit and say, oh, they're just kids being kids, like, oh gosh, yeah, you hear that so much and it's, , they think of it such from such an innocent point of view, instead of thinking of it from the impact of that child, of that child's teammates or that.

[00:03:15] Child's parents. Yeah, everybody that's kind of around it. So I always tell my, my daughters, I encourage them to speak up when they see stuff like that. And I think that's the best way to, to address it. It gets it out in the open. The person usually ends up embarrassed, like they don't even realize sometimes, you know, the impact that they're having by doing what they're doing.

[00:03:35] So sometimes they do. But you know, you address that another way. 

[00:03:39] Mark Corbett: Well, we can, we can all address what we see in front of us and if we all do more of that, if, if we all help support our kids and give them guidance on how they should behave around others, I think that's a good start. We just need to do more of it, I think wanna look across, uh, 'cause one of the things I was hearing from these women is that there appears to be more of it [00:04:00] happening and they're hearing more of it than they did, you know, maybe even like five years ago, so.

[00:04:05] Mm-hmm. But, um. You know, it's coming back to the Tampa Bay Rays. It has been an interesting week. Uh, you know, I, I, I don't know, I, I take it as a given, if we're going down to Miami, that we're gonna win this series. Okay? We're gonna win at least 2 out of 3. And I, how, I know, I'm, I'm texting with our buddy Lou Schiff, you know, down there during the games, and, uh.

[00:04:34] It, it didn't turn out that way this week, Matt. 

[00:04:39] Mat Germain: No, the, the Rays have a knack for, for bringing you through series, and you feel like by the end of it, you feel like Super Dave, remember Super Dave is all like, torn apart and, and in a, in a heap in the corner, uh, you know, your emotions are all a wreck. You don't understand why this is happening and why they couldn't do that earlier and why this happened later.[00:05:00] 

[00:05:00] So the, the Marlin series and, and the Astros series have just been. Examples of the rollercoaster ride of what the Rays are are going through right now, early in 25? 

[00:05:12] Mark Corbett: It's like a lot of times being a fan of the game and being a fan of your team and sometimes just being a, uh, a fan of the game, you can find moments that are just really at outstanding.

[00:05:22] And I enjoyed watching Max Meyer pitch for the Marlins. He was just, he was, he was good. He was amazing to watch. And then I. The first immaculate inning of, of the year. The, I think there's only 118 that have been, uh, written down in MLB history, but you don't wanna be the subject of the recipient of that.

[00:05:47] But we were, but to watch Cow Contra, uh, Quantrill, , had that Immaculate inning. I mean, that was something I, that's one of those things I was telling to you earlier. I go back and watch that inning over and over something that's really interesting to [00:06:00] me. 

[00:06:01] Mat Germain: A good old Canadian kid, Cal Quantrill. His father Paul, uh, pitched for the Blue Jays for a long time and, uh, , everybody had always hoped that he would end up in Toronto at some point so that he could wear that, , that jersey as well.

[00:06:14] Um, but, you know, good for him, like to have that, you know, they're like the little notches on your belt, right? Like, you talk about the cycle for hitters. Well, I think an immaculate inning is above that. Like it's a little harder even, you know, to, to achieve that. So it, it means a lot to them, I'm sure. And, and it's one that I'm sure he'll be replaying with his dad next to him and, and they'll be enjoying it together with a couple of beers because it's, uh, it's special.

[00:06:41] Mark Corbett: Nine pitches, man. I mean, just to see that one batter up, bang, bang, bang, whoops. Next one up, bang, bang, bang. Third one up, bang, bang, bang. I'm sorry if that was an inning. I thought maybe just that was at one at bat and Aranda would've been there, you know, he'd, he or Yandy had taken him into to nine pitches.

[00:06:56] But no, I'm sorry, I stepped outta the, stepped outta the room to get a coke. [00:07:00] Too bad. 

[00:07:03] Mat Germain: Exactly. I think they should have another name for, for an Immaculate Inning. That would be the Pedro Martinez style one where you hit somebody with a pitch somewhere in along that 10 pitch stretch. So nine strikes, but one hit batter.

[00:07:17] That's a Pedro Martinez special right there. 

[00:07:22] Mark Corbett: Oh. Gosh, no, it was, it was fun to watch, like I said, and see some of those pitchers doing what they were doing and some of our guys had a little more difficulty, even when our pitchers are on spot, or I should say spot on, , that the offense just hasn't been able to completely come through.

[00:07:39] Matt, and it's sad, I haven't looked at the numbers, but you know, runners in scoring position left on base, those numbers. They can't be appealing right now. I, I mean, even when I'm watching today with the, the win we had today against the Astros, I kept looking, how many guys did we live on? Leave on freaking base.

[00:07:57] It was nuts. 

[00:07:58] Mat Germain: , I think I. [00:08:00] You can blame a lot of times the young players, but what's happened early this year, like in April especially, the young players were the ones that were knocking in the runs and making the best of it. And the the veterans were just having a heck of a time, you know, joining the party sort of thing.

[00:08:14] But today, finally we saw Yandy Diaz kind of step in and, and we saw Brandon Lowe step in and have some success. And, uh, I know. The left on base one is a controversial, you know, stat. I think you'll get people that actually support looking at it and, and say, oh, um, you know, if you have a high left on base one, it it, it means that you're not doing your job.

[00:08:36] Then you're like, okay, but the guys are getting on base. So it, it's just a matter of timing those hits, you know, and so you can have a really bad game. Through your lineup, but end up having guys on base at the right time, maybe a couple of walks, and then the guy gets a hit and then all of a sudden you look like, like you were a better team than you were the ne day before, but the day before you had 15 guys left on base.[00:09:00] 

[00:09:00] So, you know, it's just timing and, and un luckiness, and you could see it in Kevin Cash's face sometimes the frustration of. You know, I just want the guys to come through in those moments. 'cause it energizes and it's self feeding and the guys start believing that they're, it's going to happen. Which I think in baseball is very important.

[00:09:19] If you don't believe that it's going to happen, you're almost going after the plate to feed it. 

[00:09:26] Mark Corbett: Yeah. The confidence factor plays. Big into it and you know, it's, it's timing on whoever's coming up to bat. You've got two guys on base and suddenly you realize, and I don't mean this against this ballot, but I guess because I think about him so much, he always seems one that has to come up and that was poor Taylor Walls.

[00:09:45] I see him timing again, and we got two people, you know, on base. There's already two outs and I, I think the weight of carrying that is any, any batter is, is a challenge and. Uh, Taylor was out [00:10:00] today, and I gotta tell you that today, by the way, is Wednesday, may t uh, 21st and he was out for, I think, agro a groin, uh, strain.

[00:10:08] Something along those lines. And who was it? Was it Carson? Um, who, who do we have in there today? The Australian player. Curtis Mead, Curtis Mead. I keep wanting to say Carson Mead. I know that's not it. Curtis Mead. Sorry. Carson. But, uh, Curtis Mead. And I'm looking before the game and I'm looking at batting average to say he's had a tough year.

[00:10:29] He's, he's got like an under one batting average. I think he's 0.98 or something of that nature. But he didn't let that stop him today. He was, he was on it. What was it like? Uh, two out of three? I think he had bats. He, he did something with today. 

[00:10:44] Mat Germain: Right. He had a home run off of, uh, brown as well, which isn't, you know, easy to do.

[00:10:49] I think he, you know, he was a catalyst for, for the offense, and he got, , you're talking about leaving guys on base. Well, he was one of the ones that actually got them going and Yep. Uh, Chandler [00:11:00] joined in. Aranda joined in. Everybody like when you look at the lineup from today's game, the encouraging part is seven out of nine players hit safely.

[00:11:08] Now I do want to point out. That Ben Rortvedts's, OPS is 280, like that, that means that there's four hitters in a Rays lineup that have a higher batting average than Ben Rove's OPS. I, I really hope that they find a way to improve because. You can have somebody that's, you know, that's like that when you're having a productive day like this, right?

[00:11:32] Eight guys get, or seven guys getting hits. Three of them had multiple hits. That's great. You know, you're, you're being productive as a lineup and, and you got the runs to show. But I. You know, you can't have somebody that just produces nothing. Like is literally flat line, um, in your lineup, consistently. I mean, there's a reason they took the National league out and they made it full d um, [00:12:00] so I don't know when the raids make a change, but I foresee one coming at the catcher position for sure for Taylor.

[00:12:06] He's had stints where he is shown the, the actual, you know. Uh, tenacity and the energy and versatility with the buns and the speed a little bit here and there, and a little bit of power here and there. So I get it. I, I, it gets encouraging to see. Glimpses of it. Uh, the consistency would be great to have, you know, at it.

[00:12:29] But, but what's encouraging about these last two wins against the Astros mark is that you're seeing them at a time when we're getting closer and closer to Ha-Seong Kim coming back. 

[00:12:38] Mm-hmm. And 

[00:12:38] Mat Germain: when Ha-Seong Kim comes back, that whole chemistry thing and, and how much playing time everybody gets. Changes. Uh, there's a possibility Curtis me goes down to the minors.

[00:12:50] So now you have an extra, you know, at bat in the lineup. That is a lot harder on the picture on the opposing side, theoretically. Right. Assuming Ha-Seong Kim has a lot of [00:13:00] success with the Rays. Um. Yeah, if, if the Rays can figure out the, I think Danny Jansen has kind of stepped up his game a little bit. If they can figure out that second catcher and just get more consistency so that they can actually get guys off the bench and they can play a little bit more matchup, you know, with late in the games.

[00:13:18] And I think you're seeing Kevin Cash sit on his hands a lot of times and not making many switches because he's handcuffed with the lineup he has right now in terms of what he can call on. 

[00:13:29] Mark Corbett: Yeah. You know, pardon me. Today's game with the Astros had so many elements that I just, if you haven't watched any game yet this season, watch this one because there's so many different elements to it.

[00:13:43] I mean, having as many players as we did put having a hit, uh, get on base, then having. Having the two low boys, Josh gets up there first, first, uh, pitch, bam, home [00:14:00] run, you know, right there. And then the other Lowe so low and Lowe Brandon comes up there first pitch. Bam. Home run, two home runs back to back. I mean, that's, that's part of the magic and excitement of a game.

[00:14:12] And I mean, and to me that was just one part of it. Uh, the other, one of the pieces too, you mentioned Kevin, to today's game, Kevin, you know, sometimes you you see a bit of a, uh, not frown on his face a little bit of on a call or, and maybe he will contest something, but I have, I don't remember him seeing him as intense today as I ever have on contesting something with an umpire.

[00:14:40] And folks, if you haven't seen it, go back and watch it. The astro player is up there. As we pitch the ball to him, the ball hits the base of the, the knob of the bat, and then I think comes up and skins across his, uh, his hand. However, if you look at the first base umpire, he [00:15:00] calls, he calls it as, you know, a strike and being out, well, after, uh, probably about 20 seconds.

[00:15:10] Then he, um, the Astros wanna call it into question. And I think that's the part that tick Kevin off more than anything is, is a length of time it took for them to do this.

[00:15:19] Mat Germain: He's absolutely right.

[00:15:21] Mark Corbett: So just as that, after them talking with the, the Astros manager for a little bit, the, you see the Ump over there and press the mic and get ready to say something and he doesn't get a word outta his mouth before you see him turn to his left and here comes Kevin Cash walking right up to him.

[00:15:38] It's like, we gotta talk bud. He goes out there and after a, a few seconds, you see Rodney Linares, he's, he's in the picture over beside Kevin. 'cause you know, he's has this sense that it's, this is a, this is a very sensitive moment for Kevin. He's got a lot of energy behind this. And he goes on and on, and [00:16:00] we didn't need JomBoy to give us what was being said, but there the back and forth is going and going, and I don't know what he finally said, but at one point the umpire says, you're outta here.

[00:16:14] And. Kevin had been doing some gesticulating, you know, and point, and then he then enter. He is been outta there, his fingers being pointed and practically into the face of the umpire and trying to still give him some correction on, Hey, didn't you see your guy called him out? Well, all that continues and to the point where Rodney is actually wrapped his arms around Kevin and trying to restrain him from continuing to pursue the umpire.

[00:16:40] He pulls him back. And, and, and Kevin gets the sense that, okay, okay, so you see him step away and he is three or four or five steps in the dugout and it just must have glitched inside his head that this is not right. And he turned around, walked outta the dugout, and came out and had more to say, [00:17:00] 

[00:17:00] Mat Germain: I was waiting for him to go Tommy Lasorda and start kicking sand on him.

[00:17:03] That's, you know, I don't know where the rules stand on that anymore, but, uh, yeah. He was lit up. He was lit up, and he was completely right. Like, you can't, you can't bend the rules, you know, whenever you want, just because and, and say, oh, well, you know, so I think that was, that's what irritated Kevin more and, and the fact that he's had it happen to him so often where, oh, you've waited too long, it's too bad.

[00:17:30] You, you're gonna have to live with it now. And you know, you have it happen to you so many times. All of a sudden it. It doesn't happen to the other team. Like, well, why is there a double standard? That's, yeah, that's frustrating. Luckily for us, it didn't end up in a loss. 

[00:17:46] Mark Corbett: Well, you know, there's a bit of a theory about when managers get excited and upset and get thrown out, and if there was a theory too that it actually energizes a team that could have been proven today, I [00:18:00] guess, because that was right at the end, end of the top of the, uh, eighth inning and at the bottom when we took, took, took the our be at bets.

[00:18:10] We scored three runs, brought up another three runs in the bottom of the eighth, so I don't know if they were ultra incentivized from Kevin's performance or not, but it, it helped seal the win. 

[00:18:24] Mat Germain: It's, uh, and it was a needed win. Like the, the Rays have lost so many different series , in tight games.

[00:18:32] And that's, I think that's what irritates us all with the left on base thing that you're talking about is that there's so many of those opportunities all the way through the game. You know, like at some point they had the cash in one of these guys and, and burst through and, and. I haven't done the research yet to see how many games the Rays have lost by two runs or less, but I have a feeling it's a lot like, it feels like it's happened quite a bit so far this year.

[00:18:56] So, uh, at least people would say they're in the [00:19:00] games. Right. And that shows, you know, that they're pitching is, is holding 'em in there. And that's what I wanted to talk about for today's game as well, is Taj Bradley had a very mature game, right? And, and he didn't have many. You know, lapses in judgment. Yes.

[00:19:15] He's still giving up the, the home runs and, and had had the couple of issues, but I think , the tightness of his pitches around the strike zone and not getting himself into trouble and not, , giving into, in pitcher, in hitters counts, uh. Was great today. And then I think that's what you want to see.

[00:19:33] You want him to, you wanted to see him go six. He did so in just 85 pitches, which I mean that's, you know, that's a very solid outing for a young guy building on his stuff. And I think what I saw a lot was that all of his pitches were. Close to what was being asked for by the catcher, if that makes sense.

[00:19:54] So there was nothing outlandish, nothing like, you know, sometimes I think Danny Jansen got, almost [00:20:00] got decapitated once because he had the, uh, you know, a cross up with the pitcher like so. There was none of that nonsense. Everything seems smooth and, and professional. And so you're starting to see them get into a rhythm and rowing pepe's kind of on that same track as well.

[00:20:15] Um, so I think those two are, are starting to show glimpses of being in a really good place for this year. 

[00:20:24] Wow. 

[00:20:26] Pardon me. 

[00:20:27] I've had the same thing. Mark, I've been fighting a little tickle in the throat that's been, uh, popping in and out whenever it wants. 

[00:20:34] Mark Corbett: Yeah, so 

[00:20:35] Mat Germain: I get it.

[00:20:35] I don't know if it's covid or what it is, but, 

[00:20:38] Mark Corbett: oh, don't say that word. Don't say that word. Gosh. Here, here in Florida, especially they'll arrest you if you say that word. 

[00:20:45] Mat Germain: Yeah. 

[00:20:46] Mark Corbett: You should wear a shirt that just says Covid on it. I have seen some, like get a black shirt with big, long Yeah. Big tall letters. Covid, uh, anyway.

[00:20:57] No, I was just say with, with Taj. [00:21:00] Yeah. He had a, a. Rough start, you know, the first couple of batters. But he did, he tied it down after that. And that's encouraging to see, you know, him achieving that as a, as a pitcher. And I'm looking forward to seeing that day when Shane McClanahan actually comes and takes the mound again.

[00:21:18] But you were talking about Ha-Seong Kim and I definitely wanna see him there. There's gonna be a new face of the Rays. I mean, because it seems like we had people with injuries and we got all these young kids coming up, and then Shane being somebody was, you know, and this year Rasmussen come back up.

[00:21:35] Mat Germain: Well, I think the one, one of the considerations. Of who, 'cause I've been asked when Ha-Seong Kim comes up, who gets sent down. So to me the automatic is Curtis Mead, just because you can use Taylor Walls in all the positions that Curtis Mead plays, and you're much more comfortable using Curtis, or sorry, tight Taylor Walls off the bench as a pinch runner.

[00:21:57] Uh, Laden games as a defensive replacement, [00:22:00] shifting him over. The, the guy that it impacts once that happens is, uh, Jose Caballero, who doesn't play as much in the infield at that point. So then it begs the question, okay, Jose Caballero plays more outfield. He's a right-handed bat. He's versatile enough to come in and play shortstop.

[00:22:16] Third base, second base. He unseats Johnny DeLuca as that Ben, as that depth outfield piece who's a super utility basically. So the question is, will there be room for Johnny DeLuca when he returns? I have no idea what the timeline is on his injury. I know there's wide ranges of, you know, oh, he may not come back this year to, it's coming up in the next two weeks.

[00:22:42] I've heard everything in between. So as soon as this, I see his name in the FCL, uh. Uh, thing, I'll let you know, but a guy that is in the FCL right now doing his rehab is Jake Mangum. 

[00:22:53] Oh. So 

[00:22:54] Mat Germain: what happens with him? Uh, you know, he could, I think it's tomorrow he could end up being, [00:23:00] uh, in Durham. So, and then you're, you're looking at, okay, well, how long does he spend in Durham?

[00:23:04] He, I, I know he has options, so, you know, he could end up, you know, remaining there for a little bit of time. But you also have Andrew Stevenson there. You have a lot of guys. Getting playing time in Durham as well. So, and then also in the FCL, getting a rehab in just as extra information is Kevin Kelly. So he's also somebody that's gonna come in and try to help the pen out as well.

[00:23:27] So there's a few, there's like, you're talking three guys right there mentioned Jake Mangum, Kevin Kelly and Ha-Seong Kim. There's reinforcements coming to give the Rays more options. But the more that that happens, the more the roster crunch starts happening. 'cause you have guys in AA that are starting to beg for promotions.

[00:23:46] You have a very full AAA roster already. You've got all these rehab guys coming back in. At some point something's gonna give mark and mm-hmm. And the Rays are gonna have to start making some moves. The healthier they get, 

[00:23:59] Mark Corbett: there's, there's [00:24:00] no doubt about that. I mean, it's a great problem to have, but at the same time, you see these players and, and you wanna see them have the opportunity as soon as possible.

[00:24:08] I'll hate to see it when I. When some of them go away, God knows. I felt like that with, uh, Isaac Paredes 

[00:24:16] Mat Germain: He had a funny, you know, uh, home run against the Rays and kinda, I don't know why he was smiling so much, but I, I think I can guess. 

[00:24:26] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Uh, I think, I think in the series he may have had two home runs against us, but he, uh.

[00:24:32] Ah, gosh. No. I love watching him play. This goes back to seeing, wow. Yes, we love the Rays. It is good to be able to respect the talent of other players and you gotta wonder when they're playing their old team, if it's nice. Just kinda, eh, twist the dirk into the bod there. Looks a little bit, you know, but it's, uh, it was good to watch him as well.

[00:24:53] We were talking before the show about attendance. I've got some numbers on on this rivalry weekend, but I know you were doing [00:25:00] a little bit di deeper dig with baseball reference overall with what's going on with the year. It is. It is always, people are saying, oh, nobody likes baseball anymore.

[00:25:09] Nobody's attending, nobody's watching, but you've got some numbers there that actually give a little sunshine. 

[00:25:15] Mat Germain: Yeah. So just to start with the basics. This is all comparing 2025 to 2024, so the year over year increase. Yep. Um, what you have just in the very basic way to start is 16 teams that have an increase.

[00:25:32] Uh, on a game to game basis compared to what they had in 2024. So that's a good thing. Uh, more than half the, the teams are, are good to go. Uh, when you look at the top three, uh, that have, uh, the biggest increase, the Mets spent a crazy amount of money over the off season and they're seeing the benefits of that.

[00:25:51] So right now, their year over year difference is, uh, an increase of 289,000 fans. 

[00:25:57] Hmm. 

[00:25:57] Mat Germain: Um, which is significant when you talk [00:26:00] about a price of a ticket. You know, if you, I don't know what you want to average it out at, um, but, you know, you could easily say that they, they've added millions to their coffers and, and it'll keep growing for the rest of the year, more than likely.

[00:26:16] Um, especially as with the success that they're having. Uh, after that, you've got the Detroit Tigers that are 150,000 and you've got the Dodgers that have added a hundred thousand. Just below them. I'll just mention as well, which is very interesting, is the athletics, which have added 97,000 to what they had managed at in the Oakland stadium.

[00:26:37] Now we have to remember there was kind of a boycott last year of, of them and, and they were only averaging 5,900 fans in 2024. So what they've done this year is basically doubled that. So they're at 10,176 per game. Uh, so that's why they're seeing the big increase. But overall it's added, uh, [00:27:00] 372,000 fans.

[00:27:02] Uh, so we're what now? May 21st. So from end of March, April, may. That's not a very long period of time. No. You know, to add, you know. A third of a million fans in the stands. Uh, and you have to think, you know, okay, well that's fans in the stands. What, what are their ratings going to be like when they start announcing those and what are they gonna, you know?

[00:27:26] 'cause that's where a lot of the money gets tied into. Um, for, for the baseball teams, uh, how many of those fans are gambling your favorite activity? Um, and I think, you know. Any, any team that's going to be asked to in invest more money in their stadiums and their players and their, anything that has to do with baseball to see those increases just encourages more activity and more commitment to your, your team.

[00:27:53] And that's the other thing I was gonna mention. Is within those teams, you know, in the top 10 you have [00:28:00] the D-Backs who have spent a little bit of money. You have the Royals who have spent a little bit of money. Um, you still have the angels. Like the Angels have added 88,000 fans between the beginning of the year and now.

[00:28:12] So it's, you know. It's teams that are making, you know, good investments and they're, they're, they're showing the fans that they actually, um, care about the outcomes of the games and, uh, and the fans are appreciating it. So 

[00:28:27] Mark Corbett: it's 

[00:28:27] Mat Germain: great to see. 

[00:28:29] Mark Corbett: I believe recently the Angels won a series against the Dodgers.

[00:28:33] Yes. And I said, yeah. Okay. I mean, if I was a fan, I'd say, yeah, I'll buy a ticket. And I'm, I'm sure they, they feel the impact. Of them spending the money for on the team. So that's really good to hear. I was curious too, because like you said, the A's Athletics are in a whole different location right now and last year between boycotts and everything else to boot and I hope everything works out for them real well.

[00:28:57] I know between, with what they're doing with [00:29:00] Vegas, um, I, I think they've actually put a shovel in the earth. I don't think they've done much more than that, but there's, they're still trying to get the, uh. Verification I think from local government with what all is going to be there. So they've, they haven't said, oh yes, we're gonna go ahead and build the stadium completely, but they're not slowing down because of it either.

[00:29:20] Mat Germain: Well, it's a good point though, uh, mark, because let's just put it this way. So when the Rays finally build a new stadium somewhere in a wide world of sports, any a's sort out their issues, right? Do you know how many fans that ads I. To like, let's just say bare minimum, they reach 20,000 per, per game average.

[00:29:44] Okay. Let's just say like it's like two thirds full stadium based on what they're going to build. Um, then you're adding 3.24 million fans to MLBs attendance. That's a lot of fans. Mark. Yeah, that's a [00:30:00] lot of money and it's a lot of merchandise. It's a lot of concessions. It's a lot of parking spots. It's a lot of, yeah, it's a lot.

[00:30:07] A lot of. 

[00:30:09] Mark Corbett: Well, yeah, my mind went straight to merchandise when you said that too. Um, just kind of a real quick, sad bar. I dunno if you saw Boston's, uh, new City Connect uniform. 

[00:30:20] Mat Germain: No, I haven't. I 

[00:30:21] Mark Corbett: missed it. It's green. It's supposed to reflect that whole idea of the, of the monster and. They, they had the, the yellow one, which was, I think, supporting of like the Boston Marathon.

[00:30:34] But this one is all about the monster that they just came out with, so 

[00:30:38] Mat Germain: that's kind of crazy. I gotta look it up now that we're talking about it. 

[00:30:41] Mark Corbett: Yeah. When I, I first, when I first, uh, heard that when was looking for more than just a green shirt, I was, I was looking for some kind of. Image of what the monster might look like, but I think it's just mostly just reflecting the, the color of the monster.

[00:30:55] And, but that's, uh, that's pretty cool. 

[00:30:57] Mat Germain: That's not that, that is a [00:31:00] pleasant green. I thought you were gonna say it was like highlighter yellow green like that, but yeah. I like it. That's that's pretty, you know, that, that says I'm Irish. I am, I'm a Red Sox fan and yeah. No, it's all good. Uh, I think that, you know, those sell a lot of those for sure.

[00:31:17] Oh yeah. Yeah. 

[00:31:19] Mark Corbett: Whoever came with the idea of City Connect really, uh, really had something going. 

[00:31:23] Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:24] Mark Corbett: Should have been called Wallet Connect. Well, that's what all those new fans need to buy, but one of 'em to go out there and get the, get this, get the original and get the city connect. Uh, and I, I gotta say I love ours.

[00:31:37] The Tampa Bay Rays City Connect shirts have gotta be the coolest thing out there. I mean, the whole grit and glow. Uh, theme is just amazing. You know, we incorporate something with the, the, the devil Rays on there, the, uh, the skateboard for the St. Pete type area, and some of that, it may not make as much sense in a couple years, but right now it's, it's really cool.

[00:31:58] I. Two things about [00:32:00] that. When they 

[00:32:00] Mat Germain: build a new stadium, it has to have grit and glow lighting capabilities. Ooh. So that when they have the nights, when they're wearing the grit and glow, like I'm talking, light it up like black lighting and everything else, like make it cool. And number two, they need to build a stadium with the ability to host X Games every year and just make it part of their identity and part of their attraction.

[00:32:24] Like saying, when you want the X Games, you want skateboarding, you want this, have some ramps, you know, outside that kids can hang out at. And, um, I think if you're gonna go that route, you need to wear it with, you know, all of the, the guts and glory of it. 

[00:32:40] Mark Corbett: I love that brother. That, that, geez, I can't wait to see that in our new stadium, wherever it may be, but Oh gosh.

[00:32:52] Uh, we were talking about the, you were talking about the numbers overall for the season thus far. And I was looking a little bit here [00:33:00] from Rivalry Weekend, what we had. Before we get into numbers, then I wanna say I absolutely adored watching Juan Soto as a Met, playing against the Yankees. And when he went out there in the outfield, pardon me, I didn't see anybody throwing anything, anything at him, but I loved it that all these fans in their Yankees jerseys turned their back away from the field.

[00:33:26] So when Soto was there, it's like, and you know, it wasn't with. Hate or anger. It was more of like with fun, I'm hoping anyway. And that's, to me is again, part of baseball that makes it enjoyable. It's not always going on with what's performing on the field, and sometimes it's something what the fans are doing as well, whether it's a beer snake or just turning your back on Juan Soto.

[00:33:50] Mat Germain: Yeah, I think fans tend to, to. Wanna speak to players in a certain way and, and they have their ways of doing [00:34:00] it. And, and I'd much rather that than the cursing and swearing and, you know, the kids hearing, all that kind of stuff. So, um, yeah, if they want to turn their backs on 'em, that's great.

[00:34:10] I think that there's, uh, there's a lot of other timings that I would've wanted to do that as a fan too. 

[00:34:15] Mark Corbett: Yep, 

[00:34:16] Mat Germain: yep. There really are. 

[00:34:18] Mark Corbett: I, I love it. I, I got a tickle out and say, okay. I'm curious to see how many of those fans, when they turned around on their backs, how many of 'em had 99 on the back? You know, if, if there was any with Soto's number, that would've been interesting.

[00:34:30] But no, I was looking to see how many had Judge. But going back to rivalry week, uh, it was interesting looking at viewership. Let's see. This is from MLB, the New York Mets versus Yankee Subway series averaged. 2.539 million viewers on ESPN making it the most watched Sunday night baseball game in seven years.

[00:34:53] Last one was in 2018, the game registered an increase of 69%, I [00:35:00] should say, of plus 69% compared to last year's Sunday night baseball average. Wow. 

[00:35:07] Mat Germain: That's a lot. 

[00:35:08] Mark Corbett: Yeah, it is. And, and if you talk about actual attendance. See with a total attendance of 1,608,475 and average attendance of 35,744, I guess per game.

[00:35:23] Rivalry weekend was MLB's Best attended weekend prior to Memorial Day, since 2012, on both measures. 

[00:35:32] Wow. 

[00:35:34] Mark Corbett: Now streaming. Streaming is still relatively new. I mean, it's not decades upon decades, but let's see. The Saturday May 17th of rivalry weekend marked the second most watched day ever on MLB TV, trailing only 2023's opening day.

[00:35:54] Wow, 

[00:35:54] Mat Germain: that's your rivaling opening day. That's, that's a big event, right? 

[00:35:58] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and [00:36:00] not surprisingly, the subway series was a big part of this too. Let see the re the return of Mets All-star, Juan Soto, to the Bronx resulted in the subway series registering as the third May 17th and fourth May 16th.

[00:36:13] Most watch games ever. Lemme say that again. Most watch games ever on MLB tv. Wow. Wow. Third and fourth, uh, merchandise sales increase 45% during rivalry weekend across the fanatics network of sites, including all clubs on m lb uh, shop.com. So any way you look at this, Matt, it's just nuts. I mean, social engagement on, uh, see media, social media platforms was up 37% compared to last year.

[00:36:45] It's, uh, it was very. Profitable. We, we can, I guess you could say, not merely just in sales, but getting people involved with the game. 

[00:36:55] Mat Germain: Yeah, I agree. No, it's great to see. And you always wanna highlight the [00:37:00] positives. I know we're quick to jump on the negatives , on occasion. Um, so this is one of those days when you wanna highlight the good and, uh, the fact that we have that to lean on is great.

[00:37:11] And talking about more good. Um, the, the Rays are gonna be putting Evan Longoria into the Rays Hall of Fame, which, you know, I, I, I don't know, I would guess maybe 75% of Rays fans you would ask, you know, when you're at a game, you would say, have you heard about the Rays Hall of fame? And they may or may not know about it, but.

[00:37:35] For those of us that, uh, do, uh, you can kind of list them, uh, for us. Mark, in terms of who is already in there and who Evan will be joining. 

[00:37:43] Mark Corbett: Well, I had two of 'em. I Wade Boggs. I definitely knew that I. I knew Fred McGriff, both of those fellas. Now, the other two I didn't think of. And you, you prodded me a bit and I say, oh yeah, that's right.

[00:37:57] And that is of course the gentleman who I'm absolutely [00:38:00] so glad to hear he is in there. And that's Mr. Dave Wills. He's a legend and he has meant so much to Rays over all time and to him and his family. I wanna say thanks for having him there. And the next guy, the next guy, the dance partner of, uh, Pedro Martinez.

[00:38:16] But seriously, a man who made a big difference with the Rays organization and baseball overall. And that's Mr. Don Zimmer. And, uh, wow. But I'm, yeah, I'm glad to see Evans getting into this, uh, a lot of these places. I wonder how tight they are as far as saying, well, we're gonna put anybody in there. They have to be.

[00:38:36] So high up that we're, we're not gonna just put somebody in every year necessarily, and they have it. 

[00:38:42] Mat Germain: Right. So I have questions. Um, so if you were to pick one executive, one manager, and one player to add after Evan goes in, who would it be in each case? [00:39:00] 

[00:39:00] Mark Corbett: Well, it's, it's easy to think of the guys that are there right now and.

[00:39:05] But I think Neander would have to be in there. And as managers, I'm, I'm hard pressed because I, I love Cash, but Joe Maddon was the, was the impetus of actually turning things around. And if it hadn't been for Joe, I don't know what Kevin would've had to walk into. I. 

[00:39:25] Mat Germain: Now I, I want to throw this out there because how he left, right?

[00:39:32] Does that play into it? Oh, you know, you have the team being where it was, it was a very competitive team, and then he gets an offer from the Cubs and he's just like, what? You know, but I've gotta go win a World Series, uh, in Chicago and change history. Um, you know, does that change anything at all? I don't think it's, 

[00:39:54] Mark Corbett: it shouldn't, but you know, I mean, there's, it being from Kentucky, we've talked about this before, basketball's [00:40:00] everything.

[00:40:00] And occasionally you see there's been a coach going from U UK to U of L. And that the particular coach, I'm thinking, I'm not gonna say his name 'cause I don't wanna give him any credit for anything as, as an, as a human being, but I could not hold him. Uh, I would not badmouth him from going from one team to the other.

[00:40:19] But several people saw it as a betrayal when he left the University of Kentucky to go to U of L people who were his friends, air quotes. Um. Stepped away, they were not gonna have anything to do with him. It was, he was a betrayal as far as they were concerned. So, no, with, with Joe, it's, it's anything like, it's, it's a business decision.

[00:40:41] It's like, okay, I have talent. I can develop talent and this looks like the best place I can do it for and really make a difference for, and a quick, quick way of doing it. So I salute Joe and yes, he would be the manager I would have on there. 

[00:40:54] Mat Germain: Now what about Andrew Friedman as an executive? 

[00:40:59] Mark Corbett: I [00:41:00] see that goes back to with my, my history of the game is not deep enough.

[00:41:05] Freeman is one I is very strongly considered, but Neander is just one I know that I felt like has done a lot and I. 

[00:41:15] Mat Germain: Uh, so I think the difference between the two would be like Erik has stuck it out and he got offers from everybody. Yeah. From Yankees, from Boston, from, from what I heard. Anyway, I don't know facts, but I know he was in high demand, right?

[00:41:30] And he said, no, thank you. I'm happy where I am. I've got with the team that I want to. Help continue to develop down here, and he signed long term. I have no idea what his financial situation is with his contract, with the Rays, what he gets paid, but I think that's the difference. I think like Joe and Andrew both, you know, decided that they wanted to go to greener pasture.

[00:41:52] Yeah. So I, I don't know, like. With all these guys. Don Zimmer was not with the Rays for a huge amount of time. Right. [00:42:00] Wade Boggs, same thing. So you're kind of fighting this whole, you know, how long do they have to be, how significant does it have to be, yada, yada. Uh, so I. You know, if we go just off of feelings, I mean, you could make an argument for Randy Rosana slapping the plate, right?

[00:42:17] Yep. You can make a, an argument for Brett Phillips dancing his way into the outfield, and there's a lot of cases that you could bring up, but I think there's, you know, there's moments in each franchise's history that have to be highlighted and I think. The intent is more aimed towards that. I, I think as a, the, you know, somebody that lives in Canada, Jose Batista is, is one that's with the Blue Jays.

[00:42:41] And, and I mean, that bat flip is gonna be historic forever. And regardless of whether or not it led to a World Series win, I mean, you didn't have to. Um, so I'm happy for Evan. I'm glad that he's going into the Rays Hall of Fame. It exists for anybody that didn't know and, uh. I don't know who will be next, but I, I think it's [00:43:00] nice for the Rays to highlight that kind of thing.

[00:43:02] And hopefully once they build a new stadium, they have an area where they can actually have them all notable and, and get fans familiar with what it is they did for the franchise and, and why they were important. 

[00:43:15] Mark Corbett: Well, I, I look forward to seeing them do that as well, going up here. I love it. He's gonna be going to the Hall of Fame.

[00:43:21] He's gonna sign on for a day, retire a day. All this is gonna be going on, I think it is the weekend of June 6th, seventh, eighth. So that should be a lot of fun. I'm gonna be outta town then, but it should be a lot of fun. Or I would be there and history is burning man. It's, it's, I'm curious to see where we wind up.

[00:43:41] This year, it's, you know, it's not necessarily the mentality like the, uh, Yankees if you gotta win the World Series every year, but you've gotta be working into a POS position where that's actually something that you want to, you would like to think we could achieve. I mean, so where we are, again, 49 games, this far 23 wins.

[00:43:58] 20, uh, [00:44:00] 26 losses. 

[00:44:01] Mat Germain: Three games. Three games out of a wild card spot. 

[00:44:04] Mark Corbett: Yeah. So, 

[00:44:04] Mat Germain: I mean, when the, with like, let's just say. For argument's sake, the house on Kim and Shay McClannahan come back healthy and just forget everybody else and just say, okay, those two guys come back. Where, how much, how many wins does that add to the Rays?

[00:44:21] You know, overall, I would say six. So at that point they are, you know, over the course of a full season, they are in a playoff. Contention spot. Right? So, and then in that case you're looking at, okay, who are the three starters you're gonna have in a short series? Who are, you know, you start playing that game.

[00:44:41] Mm-hmm. What does it look like at that point? Which prospects come in? What do the Rays have to deal at the deadline? Who could they target to bring in? Can they afford that person? Yada, yada, yada y. The game starts to get very interesting. Thing at that point, and you kind of say that's, this is why I'm a proponent of the wild card and I [00:45:00] love it because I can clearly remember this time of year when I was an Expos fan, you already knew who was in and out and who was gonna win the division, like you might.

[00:45:12] I've had a Rays between two teams in each division. But that was it. Yeah. There was no, there was no excitement. Everybody turned a game off at some point and just said, ah, do I really care whether they win or lose? No, there's still 10 games out of the first, so, and, and that was it. You, you turned every, every your attention to the next year.

[00:45:32] So, um, yeah. I'm glad I, I think the Rays are in a weird spot because they are. Further away than we're used to over the recent past. Right. And I think that's what you're hearing from a lot of Rays fans where they want the Rays to just dominate all the time and they're just not ready to dominate yet. But you can see the exciting talent that they have to kind of start to rummage through [00:46:00] and, and get them headed in the right direction.

[00:46:02] I just wish that they. I ho I, I, I wanna say it this way. I hope that they are more aggressive early in the season if they think they have a fighting chance. That's, that's what I'm gonna say, because they have so much talent coming up that they're gonna have to make room for that you don't wanna end up in a spotlight with The Orioles are in now.

[00:46:23] Oh Lord, where you trade away so much talent that it depletes your ability to compete. You know, I, I feel so bad for them because they waited for so long to have that kind of dominance and they just kind of threw it, you know, threw caution to the wind. And if they, if their ownership knew they were gonna let Corbin Burnes walk, they shouldn't have made the moves that they made.

[00:46:47] Yeah. And it, it's sad to say, but that, that's what I'm hoping with the Rays that they commit at some point. That it's aggressive if it has to be aggressive and that if not, if they want to continue building like they did last year in Midseason, that's fine. [00:47:00] Just pick one or the other. Uh, because if you're sitting somewhere in the middle, you're just gonna hurt yourself and the fans, 'cause they're gonna watch guys walk away.

[00:47:08] Uh, I saw the Jays do that with Jose Bautista and Ned Wing Encarcion and get nothing for them. And, and so that does nothing for your franchise. It just sets you back for years. So. Pick a lane 

[00:47:22] Mark Corbett: ready. Oh, no, no. I agree man. I tell you it is, it is exciting to watch these, but you brought up the Orioles and I was like, geez, Pete.

[00:47:32] I, I think there is a situation where front office need to take a little bit more responsibility instead of just firing the manager. Yes. And Brandon Hyde is, I just felt like sometimes you can only do so much with the tools that you have, and if the front office isn't giving you those tools. Guess what, you know, it's time to walk.

[00:47:50] But they didn't allow that happen. They just let, they fired him. They didn't give him time. 

[00:47:55] Mat Germain: Uh, 

[00:47:56] so there 

[00:47:56] are franchises out there that will trip over the [00:48:00] phone to pick him up and bring him in. I know that for a fact, and I, I don't know how many offers he has already. How many people have made that call to make the initial contact and to kind of start.

[00:48:11] The process because it is a long process. It's not something you do overnight. Um, and I'm sure he has a lot of things to consider as well with his family, with everything else. So, but no doubt in my mind, he will be back in the manager's seat at some point, and then he's too good at what he does and he showed too much promise doing what he did with the Orioles to, to not have it earn him another shot.

[00:48:35] Mark Corbett: Well, I wish that team well, and I hope they get a little introspection in their front office to be able to build a future with that as well. But I, I really feel great about the, the, the Rays. You know, there's, there's always gonna be something to be critical about. What fun is it otherwise? But, uh, my gosh, I just, that's when you asked about Friedman and, and Neander, I said, I know more about Neander 'cause of my history here [00:49:00] and.

[00:49:01] The, I think the longevity of what he has done has proven time and time again to work. And a lot of times when many of us are quick to judge and say, are you kidding me? You made that trade. And you know, of course two years later, the guys he made the trades with are saying, are you kidding me? Did, did I make that trade with Erik?

[00:49:25] Mat Germain: Funny you say that. Mention one. Like last year or two years ago, you would've said, oh, the Rays traded Matthew Libator for, uh, a Randy Arozarena. Oh, it turned out great for the Rays, right? Yep. And then now you're looking at Mat throwing and you're like, oh, where's Randy? Oh, year to year. You never know where you're gonna end up.

[00:49:48] The Rays make a lot of trades. I think that's the, the catchall too. They put themselves out there a lot. Yeah. So, 

[00:49:55] Mark Corbett: yeah, he's done a good job. In, in a, in a great farm system. You know, that's, that's [00:50:00] it, you know that better than anybody. So, yeah, that sounds like a lot going on, brother. I, I'm excited. This, uh, the game today kind of recharged me.

[00:50:07] 'cause sometimes I get like, oh, come on guys, make me feel better about this team. Let me feel better about this season. And they certain did that today. So thank you. All of you out there that are playing the game, and I'm not a Fairweather fan, but sometimes it just hurts.

[00:50:24] Mat Germain: Pick up in your step after they win?

[00:50:26] That's, that's just for sure. If not, you're not a real fan at that point. 

[00:50:31] Mark Corbett: As long as I'm not the guy saying, you know, we won, they lost. No. It's always we or it's always they. And I prefer to say we all the time, even though I have nothing to do with the results of that game. So

[00:50:45] Mat Germain: I used to think that 

[00:50:45] I did, like if I did X, Y, Z and somebody hit a home run, I had to do X, Y, Z.

[00:50:51] Right? No. I wish I had that kind of power. Angels in outfield. Was that what it was about? Where he thought Yes. See, [00:51:00] 

[00:51:00] Mark Corbett: that's it brother. That's it is still working. Alright, well let's hope the Rays keep making plenty of magic and we're gonna keep watching him and sharing that with you, plus a lot of other things and uh, we could go on and on, but you know.

[00:51:13] It's getting, it's getting late. I agree. All right. All right, man. Well, thanks again, brother for another fun night, and, uh, all of you folks out there, thanks again for joining us here on BaseballBiz. It's always a blast, and we'll talk with you again real soon. Thanks, Mat. 

[00:51:31] Mat Germain: No problem. Yeah.