RaysUp, IWBC, All-Star Hitting Derby, WPBL

366 BaseballBiz RaysUp, Women In Baseball & All-Star Game & Hitting Derby

[00:00:00] 

Mark Corbett: welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I'm Mark Corbett, your host, and with me, of course, is Mr. Mat Germain. How are you doing today, my dear friend? 

Mat Germain: I'm great, and my hand is not in a tub of ice like Junior's might be. Oh. So I, I'm feeling really good.

Mark Corbett: My gosh. I mean, you don't have to be a Rays fan to be watching something like that All-Star game, and you see a player go down the way he did when, which looked so much anguish and pain, and you thought, "Oh, my gosh, is this a c- is this gonna rule him out for the year? Is this gonna be a career ender?" And just look it can hurt a lot evidently, because they, I think they said the scans came back where it's not too bad.

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. Well, the, the funny part is, Mark, he was hit on the hand by an ex-Rays prospect. 

Mark Corbett: Hmm. 

Mat Germain: And, and so Riley O'Brien had spent a long time in the Rays, , system. And, the immediate thought went through my head, "Did they play together?" But no, he was there way before [00:01:00] Junior ever s- ever showed up. Um, but, but it's one of those where you're like, well, does he have a vendetta against the Rays then because they traded him away?

No, there was nothing intentional. Apparently Riley O'Brien and Junior spoke afterwards, and Junior was very gracious. He was like, "No, I, I get that it wasn't done on purpose." Obviously. It's an All-Star game. It's an exhibition. It's not even, you know, a meaningful game. So I think everybody knew that.

Sometimes one just gets away, and, and it happens, so . , 

Mark Corbett: Well you know, Mat, that, that's true, but it goes back to something you and I have talked about time and again about these exhibition games, the All-Star game and all that, and saying, well- Is it worth putting that great talent into a place of jeopardy, potential jeopardy?

And, you know, I'm saying, well, I, Vladdy, Vladdy said that he was politely and respectfully declined being involved as the first baseman this year in the, , American League, and I re- I respected that. You know, he's, he's having some back issues. [00:02:00] And be, to be quite honest with you, I, I, I'm not, I don't care if he does or doesn't have back issues.

If he just doesn't feel comfortable being there, I think that's, that's his call. So to see Junior take that hit and go down on the ground, it's like, oh, it just reaffirmed everything I was thinking about, yes. Uh- Yeah ... I, I, I love the game, but I don't know if it's worth it. I think there was some really fun parts to that game.

You think of all that action for the American League in the, the first inning of the game, and then I guess go get a beer or a six-pack and come back later, and you can watch the end and see another Ray wrap up the game. And- Yeah. Go ahead. 

Mat Germain: No, it, it's one of those things where I th- I think you, you never expect to have much,, in an All-Star game, but the, the Rays showed up, and then put it out there and, and, and made the game fun I, I think in a lot of different ways, so, um, yeah.

I, I... You know what, [00:03:00] when we talk about the All-Star Game though, Mark, the thing that gets on my mind is, is I go back to the Pro Bowl, like in- Yeah ... the NFL, and I always think if you had the All-Star Game after the World Series ends, and you have it in Vegas every year- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: right? Everybody can fly. They can plan it ahead of time.

They know it's always there. Um, they're gonna build a brand-new stadium that's gonna be very nice. From what I hear, they're spending a lot of money on it. Um, I, I just think that they want to play more games. The, the, the stopping time, the stop and go in the Midsummer Classic is, is actually not really beneficial 'cause it takes all, everybody out of rhythm- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah

Mat Germain: right? It, you get into a rhythm, you get into a routine, and all of a sudden there's that extra space, and what we find a lot of times is that pitchers have two seasons, before the All-Star Game and after, because a lot of them never really get back their touch and feel for pitches. 

Mark Corbett: Ooh. 

Mat Germain: [00:04:00] So it, it's one of those things where I don't think, I don't think we have the best setup right now, and I'm curious to see how MLB changes it over time 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, I mean, th- that could be good.

I mean, post World Series, if, uh, a couple weeks later. And, uh, th- that, that would make sense, like I said, for injuries, for, for keeping it full. But, but the human body takes it so much toll, Matt, so are you gonna give me another day a week off during the regular season for these young men?

Mat Germain: Well, let, let's be fair, like these aren't teachers, Mark. Like, they're already getting, what, like two months off, like, after the season ends. Um, and they, they would have had all the time off for th- those that aren't in the playoffs, you know, or that get out early in the playoffs. 

Mark Corbett: Right. 

Mat Germain: They would have that extra time already leading up to the game.

And like we said, it's an exhibition, so you're, you're playing an inning. You're playing two innings. You know? Even increase the size of [00:05:00] the rosters if you wanna protect guys for the All-Star- Yeah ... Game. You're showing off the best players. And what I like most about it, Mark, is that it would re- represent the entire season, not just the first half, right?

'Cause you get the players that have a hot start. Um, you could collect votes all the way through the year instead of just in the first half of the year. And, and like we've said before, I'd even like it to be including the Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the same time. 

Mark Corbett: Ah. 

Mat Germain: Make it a huge weekend. That's right.

You could have GM meetings there. You can have everything synchronized to that point where you're making November, - way before Christmas- Right ... you're making it an event where all the players, GMs, executives, greats of all time are all in the same place at the same time, including the Prospects Game, and you're like, "These are the mecca of baseball."

It would be like that kind of core event. And I don't think, like, we- the Super Bowl [00:06:00] is that for football. The, the whatever. Like, the more ingredients you mix into an event like that, the more it draws the world's attention, you know, all at once. And to me, baseball needs more of that. Like, the Field of Dreams game is the last time I can remember the world literally going, "Oh my God," like, "That is really interesting."

Like, "I wanna watch that game." Because it's sort of bringing to life, you know, a very, um, uh, like a movie that people connected very much with- 

Mark Corbett: Right ... 

Mat Germain: and, and bringing it to life. So it, it was quite the event. And I feel ... Sorry about that. 

Mark Corbett: No worries. 

Mat Germain: Um, I feel that baseball needs more, more connections. Like, it, the

I don't know if I, if I'm right with this because to be honest, I don't get out to a lot of baseball stadiums and to a lot of games- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: right, across the country. So I don't know what [00:07:00] emotional ties MLB is able to create with players. Um, but there's a feel, like a, I don't wanna call it a cheapness, but almost like a, a targeting of, of fans, whether it's the, the prices of concessions- Mm

whether it's the prices of parking, whether it's the prices of tickets, how you get your tickets, um, the, the gambling ads, the this, that. Where- ... you start feeling like a little bit of a piece of meat, right? Yeah. That's just there to give them money and yadda, yadda, yadda. So I think baseball has, has, has to make some changes where they make closer connections with fans and, and the more events aimed that way, and the All-Star Game was supposed to be that.

I didn't get the feel of that in this All-Star Game. 

Mark Corbett: Okay. 

Mat Germain: I got the feeling that it was very cold and just going through the motions, right? Like, very, yeah. 

Mark Corbett: I, I- It's just- ... I gotta tell you, to me, they should never do it again in [00:08:00] Philly. I'm just gonna tell you that right now. They should never, ever do it again in Philly.

First off, looking at the Home Run Derby I, um, I don't ... I mean, why do we have comedians and all prior to all this out there with their little combine saying stuff that's frivolous and seem like, "Oh, have you ever seen a ball game?" ... I had that kind of feel for that. Then while it's going on, and this isn't on Philly, this is whoever, Fox or whoever's putting it on, while the guys are hitting, and there seems like there's this image of a blue ball going up in the air through some of the hits.

And I'm like, "What's with this?" There's, there's weirdness about it all the way. They, they put... Oh, gosh, I, I don't know if he's a Philadelphia legend or not,- the announcer for the, uh, WWE was out there, you know, ready to rumble, introducing all the different players that'll be out there.

Yeah. I do gotta say I did love- 

Mat Germain: Yeah ... 

Mark Corbett: when Bryce Harper jumped up there on the edge of that little makeshift, uh, [00:09:00] wrestling piece like he was going to go to the crowd, and, and I, I did love that moment. Mm. But so much of the rest of it... But reason I don't want to see it in Philly again is because you didn't have a complete representation of all MLB fans there.

You had Philly fans, and you had Philly fans, and you had Philly fans. And there may have been some others peppered around there, you know, families of the players. But it was insane because as they called the names of these players, and certainly in the National League- Oh, you need to- ... they were booed unless they were a Philly.

Yeah. And, and when any player from the, in the Home Run Derby came up who was not a Philly, if they hit a dinger, they were booed. I think there may have even been applause, you know, when, when they actually missed one. And it was like, "Come on, City of Brotherly Love, what's going on here?"

And s- you know me, I'm picky anyway, but it's like if that ... I, I would, I, [00:10:00] I, I would like to see where MLB, I guess, incorporated more fans from across the country at this. I'm sure there's a way that they, they'll be able to afford that and they, they're- That- 

Mat Germain: That's why I like Vegas, because flying into Vegas is the cheapest option in all the United States from every single other location.

Mark Corbett: There you go. 

Mat Germain: Hotels are cheap. They're abundant, uh, especially if you're gonna keep it this time of year. Who wants to go to Vegas in the middle of the summer and sweat like crazy? So, you know, like, there- there's just... Everything kind of works in its favor with the current scheduling, the, the way it is now.

And, and like you said, it would bring in fans from everywhere that cheer for all of the players, that are there for the entertainment of it all, not for the rivalries that exist and, you know. And it's fine to have some rivalries, but, like, that's what I found really. They weren't really into it. Even the Home Run Derby, like you said, like, there weren't...

They weren't, uh, exuberant in terms of their enthusiasm- No ... for it. 

Mark Corbett: No. 

Mat Germain: And, and to be honest, [00:11:00] to be fair though, Mark, it's time to introduce some other skills than just home runs, right? Like, honestly, why don't we have throwing accuracy as an example, right? You gotta hit, uh, I don't know. You can have, like, you know, like, beer pong?

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: You can have, like, you need to throw the ball into a certain number of, uh, barrels, and you need to hit them from a certain distance. Do something like that. Like, come up with something that actually brings in more players than just the ones who hit homers. Yeah. But- Make it an event that people are more interested 

Mark Corbett: in.

And, and if they missed, like beer pong, do they have to, you know- ... take, take, take a, take a deep drink? 

Mat Germain: They have to run down into the dugout to do that. Go, 

Mark Corbett: go down the dugout, squash a beer, and then come back out and do the next one. Yeah, that, I like that. You know, I do wanna give MLB credit for something that they did recently though, Matt, and that was the drive-in theater.

Mm. Uh, they three- three of them across the country. They actually played, uh, [00:12:00] what was the sandlot. And, uh, I thought that was so cool that- 

Mat Germain: Yeah ... 

Mark Corbett: that was a special event at three theaters across the country. Not theaters, excuse me. Three drive-ins across the country, and I thought what a great way of taking something that's part of family life, if you will, or local culture- And making that work.

So there's, there's so many other things that they can do. Uh, I j- I just hope that they continue to open themselves up to that. You and I both have talked about Ken Babby as one of the owners of the Rays, and having his background with his, his father, I think general counsel with, with the Orioles. But then Ken also as owner with the, uh, let's see, with Jacksonville Shrimp, Jumbo Shrimp, and, uh, who's the Ducks?

Whichever the... I can't even remember. The Rubber Ducks. 

Mat Germain: Um- The, uh, they're in C- uh, Ohio. Uh, is it 

Mark Corbett: Cleveland? Akron. Akron. 

Mat Germain: Akron 

Mark Corbett: Ru- Rubber Ducks. [00:13:00] That , he has a, a mentality of, of how to reach to the, these people. Unfortunately, Ken's hardest job right now is spending more time trying to convince p- people to vote to, uh, have the stadium here and put a few dollars into it.

But I'm really excited about what they're doing with this. I, I expect great things from this, still from this n- new ownership group, as I do from MLB. And it really is important for all those teams to understand their fans and to reach out to them in a broader scope than they are right now. But, uh, it's little things like that, uh, that little drive-in piece over and over and over again that can make a difference.

Mat Germain: How did you enjoy the Longo weekend? 

Mark Corbett: Oh man, I tell you what, it was just so great, you know, to, to honor a man who is the closest thing to a franchise player that was, yeah, ever with the club, and who is, he is so respected. I was talking with some of the people who, who knew Longo today, as a matter of fact, and, [00:14:00] and saying the, the way everybody else was around him, you know, as far as you could get that vibe that he is still respected by his peers as well who were there.

I, I think that was a great achievement. I just, you know, it's long overdue. But, um, yeah, well, he, his career has really just kind of come to a close, so I guess, as a player, so I guess maybe this was probably the best time for it. Uh- 

Mat Germain: It, there was, well, what I saw in the attendance numbers, there was a little bit less people on the, on the first night than there was on the second, uh, you know, on the Sunday.

But it seemed like they got over 23,000 on the Sunday, , when they opened up the upper deck. So- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: I think it was a good sendoff for him in that front, like in, in terms of getting enough fans. It was similar numbers to what they do when they pull in the Yankees on a weekend, right? Yeah. So, um, that's a good ode to him.

I, I'm curious now what his next step is. Like, does he wanna get into [00:15:00] managing? Does he wanna get into a whole bunch of, of different things? Uh, because I could see him, like even if he's not a manager, I could see him as a bench coach. I could see him as, you know, somebody that wants to be a part of the game, uh, long term.

Uh, but I'm glad that they gave him that sendoff. Like, I think that's very classy. Yeah. It was needed. It needs to set a precedent. And now the thought is, like, who's next? 

Mark Corbett: Lou 

Mat Germain: Piniella. I mean, is KK, is KK next Lou Piniella? There's options, right? Yeah. Like, there's, there's other ones out there. And, and the Rays just drafted another one who might end up being, , getting that treatment, , later on.

Mark Corbett: Do tell. Do tell. Gee, could this be somebody you spoke about, uh, last week? 

Mat Germain: Yeah. Gr- Grady Emerson is a name that, , the Rays fans might not, , even understand the talent, , that this kid holds. And, and I say that with all due respect to Evan Longoria because he was a phenom of all phenoms- Mm-hmm

when he first... [00:16:00] You know, I don't know if people re- remember how he was signed before he ever played a game in Major League Baseball to that extension, and that was unheard of at that point. Yeah. Like, you're gonna give this kid money when he hasn't even played on the field? And, and, and so- Grady Emerson is the type of player you build a franchise around.

Like, Junior Caminero, I give him all the respect in the world, but defensively he's lacking a couple of things. He has things that he needs to learn. Uh, there's aspects to his game where, you know, you talk about the ground outs and double play, things like that, that he's still working through and towards.

Plate discipline-wise, he's come leaps and bounds, et cetera. But Grady Emerson is going to be more than likely that good or better. 

Mark Corbett: Wow. 

Mat Germain: Right? A- and that's what the, the caliber, when you're talking about a third baseman versus a shortstop, it's just you're imp- implicated in way more plays as a shortstop than you would be as a third baseman.

So, you have more opportunities to impact the game and be [00:17:00] a benefit to your pitching, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. , I've heard, and Mark, I've been doing this for, oh my goodness, way too long. But I have all the Baseball America books, right? And I've read what they say. I understand what they, what, how they speak, their lingo, you know, the praise that they throw around when they really like someone.

And, and other times, like Clayton Kershaw is one. I can remember Jim Callis talking to ad- nauseam about this, that, and the other thing, and how he's walking on water. He didn't understand why he wasn't top of the board, et cetera. , So when I hear them talk about Grady Emerson and saying just there's nothing about his game that you can pick on, like he's just that well-rounded a player at a young age, and the makeup is off the charts.

Yeah. Like, it's just way above and beyond what you would ever even expect from a player. So, when you talk about a Rays style of [00:18:00] player, he is the mecca of what they would want. He's a shortstop. He's very, very, very solid defensively. So, it's as if you merged, uh, you know, Evan Longoria and Taylor Walls.

Mark Corbett: Mm. 

Mat Germain: Like, i- in terms of, like, offensive capabilities and defensive capabilities, and you put them at shortstop, or Kevin Kiermaier even. Jeez. Like, you're, you're just making that kind of player and starting to, to visualize it. So, when I think of the Rays franchise with Grady Emerson and Junior Caminero- Back to back?

Yeah ... like, you're, you're starting to, to look at the franchise completely different, 'cause you're, the f- next thought that goes in your mind is can other teams match that? So can the Blue Jays match that? Can the Yankees match that? Can the... You know? Like, Aaron Judge is gonna be 36 next year. Like- 

Mark Corbett: Geez ... 

Mat Germain: ooh.

So it, it, it starts to, to, to say, where are the Rays really going with all of this? Um, and, and I think they, they b- picked [00:19:00] another shortstop, Taj Marchand, right behind him, who's supposed to be just, uh, uh, as, you know, not as impactful, but he is a very, very, very solid player that has a very high ceiling as well.

So , the Rays did a really good job with the draft, Mark. A very interesting power point, so I'll just add in here, they only drafted four position players. The rest of them were all pitchers, and they were very heavy on the high school side. So that tells me that they're very happy with their system.

They want it to slow grow behind, so they, they backloaded a lot of the, um, of the talents that they brought in, which adds a little bit more risk, but it also gets them to groom them right from the beginning to, to the style that they want. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So yeah, I think there's a lot of, of positives out of this draft.

Now, having said that, they still have to sign them, and they still have to decide what that contract'll look like. Mm-hmm. Thankfully, Roch Cholowsky, uh, already signed with the White Sox. Yeah. 10 [00:20:00] million, broke the record. So it sets, you know, boundaries to what, , Grady Emerson can probably ask for. , So the Rays should get that locked in pretty quickly.

Mark Corbett: Well, I'm glad that the White Sox did not pick up, you know, Grady because- Yeah ... uh, I, I know you were talking about the other day, are we gonna get Cholowski or are we gonna get, you know, Emerson? And I'm glad it worked out the way it did. Let's just hope that enough money's gonna be spent there to keep somebody, a talent like that, and keep waiting for the extension of Caminero.

One of the national, let's see, I think it was MLB, somebody was asking Junior if he wanted to stay in Tampa Bay, and I think it was D. Rose or whatever and, and they, he said, yes. Yes, he wants to stay there. I... He indicated, like, for, he didn't say forever necessarily, but he was excited about being there.

You know, they- Mm-hmm ... they asked him, "What's, what makes this team g- great?" And he says, "It's the people together." You know? Mm-hmm. And, and then he was mentioning also McClanahan and Marti- you know, [00:21:00] Martinez. He's, he was going down the list, and that kind of energy and what he's bringing to the game needs to be rewarded and it needs to be locked down now.

I, I, I probably sounds, like, so repetitive each week with that, but 

Mat Germain: Well, that, that, to be honest, Mark, and I'm gonna give him a lot of credit here, this all comes down to Stu Sternberg. Stu Sternberg built the standard through the people that he hired- that instilled this program where they draft, bring in, and, and keep good people.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: If, if you're ruffling feathers and you're not somebody that, you know ... A good example, there was a whole bunch of people that didn't wanna wear certain pride style things. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: It didn't take more than three months before all of them were gone. Right? There, there, there's a certain decorum that, that the Rays bring in and build around.

And when I interviewed enough of the Rays prospects, every single one of them said gushing things about the [00:22:00] franchise and the coaching. And we've interviewed the double A manager, same thing. Like, he just, they firmly believe in that, in that process that they've put in place, and it all started with how they set the standard.

Well, I say Stu Sternberg, but Stu Sternberg hired the people who groomed Eric Neander and the rest of them into being and setting that standard, right? 

Mark Corbett: Right. Right. 

Mat Germain: Anyways, I, I think the Rays, when you look at, at it from, from an outside point of view, there's a lot of players that want to play for the Rays and, and, and would love to play for the Rays.

Stadium-wise, maybe not so much. So that's the last ingredient, right? If ever they can get that stadium locked in in Tampa, I'm telling you, Marc, it would be a destination for free agents. A lot of people winter in Florida and have winter homes there. They, they know spring training is there. It would make their family lives easier.

Tampa Bay would become a very, very, very popular destination, a lot like what San [00:23:00] Diego is on the West Coast, where people just gravitate to there because they want to, uh, raise their families and stay there for the long term. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. Well, I, I could tell you now having worked a little bit more locally with like Tampa Baseball Museum and some of the other organizations, there are a lot of former baseball players here, and I'm not talking about necessarily just Rays or people that grew up here.

There's, there are definitely that, and there's many of them who come here and visit for a portion of the year, you know, like during spring training. Uh, been fortunate enough, Joe Maddon's ... I know I'll pro- we'll probably see him again this year. He's, he's here during that time. So there's several others. Th- there is a call to this kind of weather, hopefully it stays decent, and, and to the history of baseball in Florida , that draws people to it.

And, uh, you know, we'll, we'll see how it goes, but I feel good about Junior and, um, really just I think they're smart enough to do what needs to be done to keep him. So- [00:24:00] Yeah ... we'll see. 

Mat Germain: I 

Mark Corbett: agree. We'll see with that. Let's see, brother. I ... Some of the things I wanted to talk about is we've got this, we have the midsummer break, if you will, but once it's over, it is over.

There is no break. We've got s- 11 straight games on the road for 10 days. I mean ... And two of those are with the division, uh, teams as well. Let's see what we got. The, um, we'll be going with the Red Sox in Boston, then, uh, let's see, the Blue Jays, and then we wrap it up in Cleveland. So that starts off on Friday, uh, July 17th, and then, , 10 days later they'll have finished all that up and they'll be back here, so after 10 days.

But man, 10-day road trip and you're talking about coming back after being not necessarily out of sync per se, but- Still trying to find your feet and [00:25:00] not being able to be home for those first 11 games. 

Mat Germain: Yep. And then, uh, the, the question is how aggressive are they going to be at the trade deadline? 

Mark Corbett: Ah. 

Mat Germain: And there's rumors, Mark.

There's rumors. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, come on, come on. What... Is there, is there something more substantial than what we've heard in the past? What, what's- 

Mat Germain: Uh, my clue would be rawr.

The, the Tigers are apparently, have had talks with the Rays, I guess- Yeah ... this is the rumor, about Tarik Skubal. Mm-hmm. And, and the n- the interesting part of this is, when you look at the, the Tigers roster altogether, right? They've got some pieces that they can build around.

They've got Cole Keith. They got McGonagal. I call him Witchcraft. Uh, you know, there's, there's a lot of pieces that they can build around, but , they need some outfield help. They need a, an extra couple of pieces. , They need [00:26:00] more depth in terms of the, the breadth of quality of their pitching. So , they've got , some issues to, to fix, and they know that they can't re-sign Tarik Skubal or they would have done it by now, from, from all indications, right?

A- and to be quite honest, they might take way more than what the Rays would be willing to pay for Tarik Skubal. Having said that, their commitments for next year are just 12 million. So they have a full breadth of options on their plate- Yeah ... if they did wanna extend Tarik Skubal. You know, if you're telling me that Grady Emerson's gonna arrive, Junior Caminero's still gonna be on the Rays, and they have Tarik Skubal longterm, that's a that's an interesting group of guys to, to have on your franchise when you open a new stadium, Mark.

, So I don't know how much truth there is to it. All I can say is that if you offered them Jacob Melton, , Brody Hopkins, a couple of more pitchers, , and some other really high-end prospects, like Xavier Isaac comes [00:27:00] to mind. , There, there's a lot of, of high-end quality that the Rays can afford , to move on from, and I do think that they can build a package that the Tigers would be very interested in in order to get this done. Yeah. And because it's only for half a season for Tarik Skubal's salary, then he's not really gonna cost them a heck of a lot. He's making 32 million this year, so the Rays are not gonna pay that crazy amount.

But- Yeah ... if you tell them that they c- they only need to cover 60% of what's remaining, so let's assume it's 16 million that, for, for argument's sake that's remaining for the rest of the year. Well, less than that, because it's less than half left. So let's say- Yeah ... it's 12 million right now. Let's say they pick up 10 million out of that.

They can afford that, and it keeps them under 10 million. Uh, under 100 million overall. So, so all I'm saying is that the, the finances should be workable. And, uh, and even if there's a r- player that heads to Detroit that's actually on the roster, that helps to even it out as [00:28:00] well. , But the point is what does it do to the Rays' rotation?

So I like it, Mark, because he's somebody you want on the mound in the playoffs. If you're telling me that Shane McClanahan, Tarik Skubal, and Drew Rasmussen are your one, two, three pitchers in a playoff series- Mm-hmm ... I'm telling you we win that series. Yeah. Like, I, I don't see why we wouldn't, unless there's implosions in the pen and the offense doesn't show up, yada, yada, yada.

But it would be a, a statement for the Rays to do this, to say, "2026, we're going for it. We're gonna amp things up." And, and consider that, that the Rays are gonna welcome back Manuel Rodriguez as well this, you know, over the next few months. And, and he's a, a closing option, right? He's that high of a quality pitcher.

He had surgery in July of last year or early l- August last year. He's supposed to be coming back. He's throwing live sessions again, uh, started doing that at the end of June. So Manuel Rodriguez would [00:29:00] really amp up the pen. So now you add Rodriguez, you add Skubal. The last piece to, in my opinion, is to amp up the catching position with somebody who can slug, maybe Hunter Goodman, somebody like that.

Hmm. Now, all of a sudden, you've got a really - intriguing case for a team that's already supposedly, based on the record, the best in the American League. 

Mark Corbett: So Hunter Goodman, you get him out of Seattle, right? And, uh- Uh, 

Mat Germain: Colorado. 

Mark Corbett: Colorado, Colorado. That's right. I keep... Okay. Right part of the country, different elevation. Yeah, anyway. But oh, wow, man. Yeah, that would be something. So Skubal, wow. Yeah, I mean, I know it's been interesting going down here to Lakeland to be able to see him and some of the other ones of the Tigers. And it's interesting to see how some of those names change from spring training to the end of the regular season as well.

Mm-hmm. So I don't know. We'll, I'm excited about that. It's, uh, that, like that possibility. 

Mat Germain: The other thing I like about it, Mark, he doesn't go to the Dodgers, and he doesn't go to the [00:30:00] Yankees. Right? So if you're gonna go in the playoffs, it's almost like you've got to take the best piece off the board that they- Yeah

can't go after. So then they're stuck going for lesser options. Like, because I would say if you're looking at the starting pitchers in Major League Baseball right now, he's in the top five to six, right? Like- Yeah ... I think most people would agree with that. 

Mark Corbett: \ Well, so yeah, I wanna talk a little bit about w- women in baseball 'cause there's so much going on right now. There's, there's a lot of history. As you know, Matt, I've been working on a lot of researching a, a young woman by the name of Senaida Shoo - Shoo Wirth and all the history that woman has here in Tampa, uh, all these different sports she's played.

And it's, it's interesting when you get in Tampa sports how everything's connected. And I, I'm finding, like, even this young woman, when she was playing, uh, she was born, uh, 100 years ago, and that when she was playing, I'm also finding her later on on teams with Margaret Piniella, Lou's mother. You know? You, [00:31:00] you see all these families one way or another circling through.

But the history of the game for women in baseball, a lot of what she and others did with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, A League of Their Own, has been , basically a, a leaping board into the activities going on today. Now, they're, they weren't the only one. There was a lot of women and there was s- there were semi-pro and pro baseball leagues way back even then.

But today, there is also what you're going to find with women's baseball- Across all of these other nations. And women's teams come together for the World Baseball Classic, or the World Baseball World Cup actually, and it's been held in Thunder Bay the last few times around up here in Canada. It was just too long a hike for me.

Uh, this year I, I probably could have made it. It's starting here in, in about a week, and it's gonna be in Rockford, Illinois. Now, what happens is this year they have what's [00:32:00] called the group stage. There are two different parts of the world that we're gonna be entertaining young women's baseball teams for a competition, and those who go through this right now in those two different locations will qualify to be in the World Women's Cup next year, which will be the world stage, not the groups.

They'll come together and then that's when the actual cup, competition will happen. But if you want to see some great teams now, you can certainly go to Rockford, and that's gonna be going on, let's see here. Uh, da, da, da, da. Oh, the Women's Baseball World Cup is gonna be going on from July 22nd through July 26th. And which if you go there the first day, you're gonna see Canada playing Hong Kong, you're gonna see Australia playing Mexico, and then USA playing a- against Korea.

And the following nights after that is kind of a Ro- a round robin, so each of these teams will [00:33:00] play one another over the next few days from July 22nd through July 26th. And I hope you get your tickets 'cause it's being played at a historic field where the Rockford Peaches used to play in Rockford, Illinois.

Uh, and I, my kudos to all the good people that have really worked to put this together. I know ta- I've talked with Ryan Woodward in the past and Kat Williams and Leslie Heaphy, and they're some of the people who helped bring this together. And simultaneously, uh, or really it's around the same time, maybe earlier in that week, they have the All American Girls Professional Baseball League reunion.

So people who support those women belong to the group, including myself, and as well as some of the women who are still with us, thank, uh, thank you, God, uh, who, who will be there. Uh, it's gonna be interesting, too, for those who come to attend. You're going to, be able to see some of the stars from A League of Their Own are gonna be there as well.

So I would recommend if you wanna find more about that, you can certainly go to the [00:34:00] site, and let me give that to you here real quick. Uh-

Uh, let me see. I think it's iwbc.org. Let's confirm that. Yeah, iwbc.org, and that would help you get to any of that information and, you know, purchase tickets as well. So a lot's going on for women in baseball over the next few weeks, and then th- then not a month later, we're going to have the Women's Pro Baseball League starting up.

And Mat, we'll talk more about that on a future show because they've recently n- they just had team names by cities, but this last y- week, they actually unveiled names for the, those teams. And there's a history behind each one of those names, which I like. It's not just like, "Hey, let's call us the Lions."

No, the Lions are nice, but no, they've, they've got ... The names actually have something associated with a person or an action, and they, they'll, they take more depth than what I'm gonna be able to give [00:35:00] them here today too. So kudos to them for getting all that together. So that is a quick rundown of some of the things going on with, uh, women's baseball, and there's even the Baseball For All tournaments going on in Rockford as well right now.

So busy time. 

Mat Germain: Right. Right. The ones that I'd heard about was the, the New York Heights, uh, Los Angeles Queens. They had the, um, oh, my goodness, I can't remember the other ones. The Hunters- 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm ... 

Mat Germain: and the, I can't remember what the other one was. Anyways, they, they have, um, sites set up that people can start following them, so I would recommend they do that.

Like, for instance, there's a Facebook site for the Women's Professional Baseball League with 75,000 followers. You know, it doesn't take, cost any money to follow them, see what it's all about. You'll see it in your feed afterwards. Uh, they'll, they'll, you'll see the highlights as they're playing games, as they come [00:36:00] up.

, So I recommend people start, adopting some of those things. Also, if you're on YouTube, you can subscribe to the certain channels, , that have, , their highlights , and you'll see the feeds more. But there's so many stars that are gonna come out of this event that's going on right now.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And, and I've always said highlights sell sports, right? Like, I, I remember- It's true ... you, you probably ... The Old Sports Center was exactly that. You know, you ... As a sports fan, it was a must. It was like a religious experience. Every morning, you get up, you look at SportsCenter, and you see the highlights of the games- Yep

and you're like, "Oh." Now you pick up the names, you pick up the players, you pick up the, ... And they become part of your habitual, um, routine. And so I, I think that really, Mark, they're, they're gonna have no problems because I know the talent is there to attract a lot of attention and, and get themselves established.

Mark Corbett: Well, I'm excited about it. Uh, and you were mentioning the teams' names. I mean, get to... Uh, actually I'll, I'll go into more in this in another show, but the, uh, Boston [00:37:00] Hunters, let's see, is inspired by Harriet K. Hunt, the f- first woman to apply to Harvard Medical School and establish a medical practice in the US.

Los Angeles Queens, inspired by Lizzie Murphy, the queen of the diamond and the first woman to play baseball against major leaguers.

The New York Heights, inspired by Dorothy Irene Height, a pioneer s- civil rights and women's rights leader.

And the San Francisco Fire Belles, which I love that name, inspired by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, also I think nicknamed Fire Belle, who championed San Francisco f- volunteer firefighters.

And you know, I love firefighters, period, and, and what they do, and there's... You know, we've talked time and again about how many of these women professional baseball players have been and are f- firefighters, so. 

Mat Germain: I, I think of the emotional attachment to everything you just said, it is almost completely opposite from everything baseball.

The only one I can think of that has some sort of attachment like that is the recent change to Guardians for Cleveland, right? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Uh, that has some sort of connection like that. [00:38:00] Every other one is sort of, you know, "Well, what's a Blue Jay?" Like, yeah sure, we have blue jays in Canada, but is there an emotional attachment to birds?

No, I don't think there is. Uh, it's funny. Like, I think that's something that they're setting up that's different, you know, in terms of focus for that league, uh, than Major League Baseball has done. The other thing, interesting thing though, Mark, is that MLB.com writers are writing about the WPBL. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: A- and so you can find articles on their site.

So there is MLB support in promoting that. And so eventually, I don't know if they, I don't wanna call it merging, but you know, they're, they could become in sync, uh, basically, uh, across the board. So it'll be interesting to see if ever you see one of their teams playing in the same stadium as MLB teams, and just making sure the schedules jive.

Mark Corbett: Well, that's gonna... Yeah, I mean, they've worked with a lot of teams too, even with some of these, uh, FanFest events. You know, they- Mm-hmm ... some of them, whether it actually be at a Major League [00:39:00] field with a, a team that's associated with MLB, or sometimes they'll do it at, like, a spring training, uh, down at wheth- whether it be down at Fort Myers.

Who was that with? Uh, Boston, I guess. There's different ones- Mm ... that they, they do that with. And it, to me, it's exciting to see that. , This has been a long time coming. And an- another thing I wanna mention, it's like, I guess it's been about two days ago, a friend of mine by the sa- name of Sue Zipay passed away about a year ago on that day.

Other people were honoring her on, on, uh, different social media and as well they should. She's been kinda critical about, I mean, critical to making sure this started. So before there was a Women's Pro Baseball League, Sue was already starting American Girls Baseball. Mm. And that was a couple years ago that she did it in Sarasota a couple years and they did it in Durham about a year ago.

And now, you know, others have picked up the torch and are, are, are doing this with the Women's Pro B- Baseball League. But [00:40:00] I do wanna say thank you to Sue. She did a great job and, you know, we were fortunate enough to, I was fortunate enough to meet her and I consider her a friend. And, um, you know, she was a guest on the show, but, uh, I, I would reach out to her 'cause I'd try to help out with some of the things she was doing with, with developing that with the American Girls Baseball.

Good woman, great woman.

Well, coming back from that, I'm w- I'm looking forward to, uh, to the return to regular baseball. I'm not looking forward to 11 days before we see our, our boys come back, uh,

Mat Germain: I'll tell you, I'll tell you what though, Mark, I think we were completely off-base w- with the predictions we had for the Rays record this year.

Oh, 

Mark Corbett: Lord. 

Mat Germain: Uh, I'm gonna keep shaming us all year round because- Well- ... we really didn't see this coming, right? So. 

Mark Corbett: We, we gotta bring Josh back on. Mm-hmm. 'Cause Jo- Josh rubs my nose in it all the time, says, "Hey, how you and Matt doing with predictions? Do you remember what I said to you guys about how they're gonna do?"

[00:41:00] Yeah, yeah, yeah, Josh. Okay. W- we'll g- We'll, we'll let him come in s- you know, put, put our nose in the stink on some of that because, yes, that's ... You're right. You weren't alone on that. We both said that. And- I've 

Mat Germain: never been happier to be wrong, Mark . 

Mark Corbett: Oh, brother, ain't that the truth? Yeah. Well, let's just hope they continue to make us even more wrong than we were, than even a, a further, uh, gap on what our initial, uh, take was.

'Cause the team's just been amazing. The energy's there. The fans are there. I, I love it when they had to open up the 300 section for Longo the other night. It's just great. 

Mat Germain: . No, it's all good, Josh. Like you said, uh, the feels are good. They just need a stadium, and they get the stadium locked in.

Yeah, man. Stop messing around. Come up with something that makes sense. Make the fans happy. Make the league happy. 'Cause then they can move on to expansion. Like that's something- Amen ... that needs to get addressed as well, right? So yeah, get on with it. 

Mark Corbett: It's just, whoo. I'm with you, brother. I am with you, Mr.

Mat. You're on it. [00:42:00] Well, brother, you got any other goodies we should cover today? 

Mat Germain: Uh, yeah. , Don't spend all your money on baseball, but do enjoy enough. That's all I got for you. 

Mark Corbett: I'm with it. I am absolutely with it. Okay, my friend. Well, I want to thank you all. Uh, Mat and I want to say appreciate you all coming to visit with us here today.

Remember to like us, love us. Go ahead and make sure you leave some comments. You know, if they're healthy and happy, we like that. If you've critical, we welcome those as well. So look forward to talking with you guys again real soon. 

Mat Germain: Bong.