RaysUp - Tampa Bay Rays - 2 Sweeps & then lost to Pirates - & stadium fracas continues

RaysUp - Tampa Bay Rays - BaseballBiz On Deck 351

Mark Corbett: [00:00:00] Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. Mr. Mat Germain is leading the crew here today and I'm just here for fun. I'm Mark Corbett and we're gonna have a good time with BaseballBiz On Deck. . I'm hoping So. It is Sunday afternoon and what better way to spend it than looking at what's going on in Pittsburgh with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Hey Matt, what is going on? I walk outta the room and I thought they were showing footage from , Caminero from the other night. 'Cause the Rays hadn't been looking great, but wow. He just, he just punched one, didn't he? 

Mat Germain: Yeah,, it's been a lot of what he's been doing this year, really. It's all or nothing. He's, , he hit one, I think it was 103 miles an hour off the bat.

And, uh, it was off Wilbur Dotel, uh, really nice, uh, down low pitch that he, he knocked out. So it's nice to see. But the Rays are down to door last out right now, and I don't think they're gonna come back for the three runs that they're still down. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, come on man. We got Diaz up there. He, he hits. Oh no. [00:01:00] Oh no.

It's just a little grabler on the ground and it's right over the first and he is out. Come on, we're dad. The last out, boys and girls. This, this was the rubber match. I really wanted to come home with. What, this would be the third series in a row of, of wins we would have. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. Well, you can't be too mad after two sweeps in a row.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. To 

Mat Germain: lose a series, uh, to a really good team. Like I, uh, I've been really encouraged by what we've seen from , the Pirates . When you put a whole bunch of new players together , on a team. Mm-hmm. Sometimes there's a time period where they don't seem to gel that much. They seem like they've jelled, they've brought in the right kind of people that are either really hungry to prove themselves.

Like Spencer Horowitz is a good example, and I think he was there last year as well. Right. He's got some power man. , That bat is legit. , Same thing with Brandon Lowe and Marcell Ozuna. I've been hearing more and more good things about, even though he was caught with the cheating things, et cetera, , now he's, , he's making a name for himself in other ways in [00:02:00] Pittsburgh, but more than anything, mark, that's stadium.

I just, I watched the Rays there and, and we don't get to watch it often during the year, obviously. I just love that stadium. I was beautiful. It's a great stadium. 

Mark Corbett: I mean, and you view the what? The, the bridges over there, the three rivers, and it is, the setting is fantastic. Well, it looks like the Pirates have won it.

I'm very happy, I guess, for Brandon Lowe and Mr. Mangum. And it's, it's always heartbreaking when you're playing X-Rays, , and you look out there and you see those guys and you wish 'em well, but not well enough. Uh, alright, let's, let's take a kind of a look at this series. And, , one, we are visiting some old friends.

Mm-hmm. And I'm trying to think, well, the last two games we, we had, uh, Drew Rasmussen yesterday on Saturday. Today we had Shane and was it Martinez on Friday? 

Mat Germain: Yep. That's right. Yeah. And, uh. And man, he's [00:03:00] fun to watch. Mm-hmm. He gets some energy going when, when he's on the mound. And, uh, when the guys make nice plays behind him, he's their biggest cheerleader.

He is just like really pumped and, and he lets them know it. So I, I love that kind of energy. The Rays they need that kind of enthusiasm sometimes to kind of take out the blandness. 

Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. 

Mat Germain: So, uh, so it's good to see. 

Mark Corbett: And, and he had the best performance of all. If you looked as far as, uh, allowing runs.

I, I think both Shane and Drew gave up at least four runs each. And it is like, that's very uncharacteristic of both of those guys. 

Mat Germain: One thing that I noted with them, both of them, is once they allowed the walks to happen, it's like something switched in their heads. Yeah. And they were so angry at themselves that they couldn't let it go.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And there's something about that competitiveness and that demanding excellence from themselves , that's taking away from their performance on the mound. Some of the best pitchers that I know of all time, Pedro Martinez, Roger [00:04:00] Clemens and others, they were able to just brush that off. Like, like water off a duck's back.

Right? Like they weren't, um, haunted by the walk that just happened or the misplay or whatever it might be. So there's a maturity aspect there that I hope Kyle Schneider kind of. I, I don't wanna say, you know, really maturity is a bad word. It, it's more of, um. A recognition. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: In that moment you need to just let it go.

Just let it go and fo focus on the next pitch. Right. 

Mark Corbett: Well, and and a lot of 'em will say, next pitch. Next pitch, next pitch. But it's damn difficult to do, man. I mean I, my baseball career lasted all the way up till I was eight years old. But, uh, I, I remember, but when I did bowling later on, and I could, if I had bowled up something poorly, I would just kick myself.

I would be angry, you know, I even walked outta the bowling alley and the expectation [00:05:00] is that you as a pitcher, you can't walk off the field. I'm sorry. And you've got to, you've gotta drop whatever it was that you just experienced and start fresh, like the world just began. 

Mat Germain: That's a great analogy, mark.

That bowling one, it just hits the spot because you can tell when, like, really good bowlers, right? They'll go to the bowling alley and, and they'll be like four or five frames perfect. Yeah. And then that one moment where something goes astray and then boom, everything switches and they start, you know, getting angry at themselves and it's hard for them to, to continue on.

But bowling was not my sport, Mark. I waster. I'm a, I am a terrible bowler. Uh, I took a girl once on a date in Virginia actually, to,, a bowling alley , and it was hilarious. I had to make fun of myself the entire time, not my thing. 

Mark Corbett: What were you lacrosse? 

Mat Germain: Rugby actually. 

Mark Corbett: Ooh, 

Mat Germain: I'm a, uh, yeah, I had to get some, some energy and some, you know, [00:06:00] frustrations out on, on the field and, and kinda let some of them of, uh, the fierce competitiveness in me, you know, go to that extent.

But I love rugby because it was, , rough and tumble. And it was also one of those sports where , you can only pass backwards. So if you're not working as a team and you're not driving each other, to get over that line, , you're not gonna score. So I think we were the first team in Montreal that, , made it to the finals, , at the championship in Montreal.

Mm-hmm. And normally it was always the, the private schools that play with the same team from the fifth grade onwards, right at the, the run of the mills. So we were pretty proud of that, uh, of that, , team. And, and a couple of the guys ended up going and playing, uh, college football also like, uh, Texas a and m and Wow.

A couple of other ones. So we had some really serious athletes on that team. 

Mark Corbett: It makes a difference. And if you enjoy it even better. But I, I always liked at the scrum you'd see these, this whole, all these massive people coming together. And I had a good friend of mine. Well, he [00:07:00] was, he was pretty, he was, everybody's good friend.

He's a real good fellow. And he was, he was a big man too. His name, he was a nickname, was Bear. That's the kinda guy you want in there. Oh my gosh. We, I could talk about Bear Noltemeyer and all that for back. Whoa, whoa. I wanna bring us back to some of those pitchers. Who, who have difficulty having the mindset to continue on fresh with each pitch.

And I, what was it? Uh, I mean I think it was when we had Glasnow years ago. Didn't he have like a zen coach to kind of help him get through some of that? 

Mat Germain: It's a good point though. The Rays were one of the first teams to look at the mental health aspect of our mental focus. Mm-hmm. Or I don't remember what they called it originally, but there was like a, um, a handful of teams that did it in, in similar timeframe.

But, uh, sports performance, I think is how they term it in the, , in the front office. Um, and, you know, I, I know [00:08:00] that you can stub your toe walking around the house and get like, way more angry than you should. Right. So, so it doesn't take much for, for humans to react in, in certain ways. So it, it's, it's one of those force of habits that you have to make where it becomes habitual and it becomes one of those things that you don't really remember.

Uh, what was the movie with Kevin Costner where he is pitching the Perfect Game? Is it called Perfect Game? 

Mark Corbett: Oh, I, that sounds right. I, I, I have to plead ignorance again. 

Mat Germain: It's almost like you have to distract your mind to be able to be emotionless like in a way. You're kind of, 

Mark Corbett: your universe is from once you pick that ball up in your hand to when it goes across that plate and then that universe ends and then you start again.

Man, it's a fresh new universe. But I, I can't think of any many people who could do that. I know I'm not it, but it is just amazing. I mean, watching those three guys, uh, and [00:09:00] one of the pitchers who we didn't see this, this series obviously was, was Matz and he's looking pretty good too. Yeah. I was, I was really concerned with Drew and with McClanahan during the series and partially 'cause I don't want either one of 'em pitching too much.

I think Shane may got up all the way up to 90 pitches or maybe even a little bit more today. And I, I, you know, say one, any good pitcher wants to continue to pitch and pitch and pitch and pitch, but there has to be this balance. And when you've already given up four runs, you can't be surprised when the manager comes and pull you, pulls you with 90 plus pitches.

Mat Germain: Right. And, and I think it's important for the Rays right now when you're looking at aaa. Mm-hmm. So at the beginning of the season, we thought we had all these people that were, were gonna be, you know, I don't wanna say dominant, but we're gonna be, you know, performing to the level where you're like, okay, if we need to call up, uh, a couple of guys, we've got some spares.

Right? [00:10:00] 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: But now I'm looking at Durham and, and I've been watching some of their games. And I don't think the same way anymore. 

Mark Corbett: Do tell, 

Mat Germain: and, and I'm thinking the, the Rays need their starters to keep starting right now and to stay healthy because it, it, the, the level of, uh, the drop off from what they would've had to, what they will have if they need to call somebody up is pretty steep.

Uh, there's some guys that are working out some technical issues, NN thankfully none of them seem to be velocity related. Um, they more seem like, um. Mechanical problems that they have to go through, timing, mechanisms, et cetera, just to kind of hit their spots and be as aggressive , as they should be.

, But like Hopkins in in particular, uh, just looks like he's gonna need, , a good half season before he's ready. , And so Joe Boyle, it was another one that we've seen on occasion and he's good. Um, but there's, there's some guys down there that are, are really struggling. [00:11:00] So the more the Rays can stay healthy, and that's always gonna be the case anyway, the better off they are.

But especially now where they're kind of near the, you know, I don't wanna say in the hunt because we're what, 20 games in 21, 22 in. But, but you're, you're doing better than expected, so you always then get encouraged. So where we might have looked at Matz and, and Martinez as potential trade pieces at the 

deadline, 

now we're looking at them as, , valuable assets if we're gonna be competing.

So it's, it's one of those things where. All in all, when you're looking at the season, I think today was they allowed six runs. So it means that for, I know, 5, 6, 7, so seven games out of the last 16 or whatever, they ended up allowing more than four runs. Hmm. So the ra, the Rays have done the opposite where they've actually scored five or more runs nine times.

Mark Corbett: Wow. 

Mat Germain: [00:12:00] It's just kind of nice, you know, for an offense I wasn't supposed to produce. And I sent out a tweet today about that, where I was like, our tweet, I said a tweet. Oh. Don't say that. It's terrible. Oh, I, I sent out some information this morning. I was looking at, uh. 

Mark Corbett: Do you, did you sky it? I'm sorry, go ahead.

Mat Germain: I don't know how you say it. 

Mark Corbett: I don't either. 

Mat Germain: You slap it, you slap it. Um, but it's on, it's on BlueSky and, and it had to do with, , where the Rays are being suc successful. And a lot of it relates back to Chandler Simpson as an example. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Where he just recognizes who he is and he ma he's making the most out of his assets.

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: So he's one of the top people in Major League baseball in terms of the lowest strikeout percentage. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: He's making the most, uh, some of the most contact. Uh, he's improved defensively significantly. Out of all the Rays, he's improved the most and he's the only one on the top 30 list for the defensive rating that FanGraphs uses.

, That's [00:13:00] across Major League baseball. And, and there's a few catches that he came so close to making, which would've propelled him even higher. So you're, you're seeing that, and Corey Dickerson working with him is probably a huge benefit and factor to that and the work ethic that he's said to have and be applying to it is, is off the charts is what I've been told.

So, that is. , Significant. And then there's also the, bunting, the small ball, the willingness to, to look at the moment and say, we need to drive this run across the plate. Yes. How do we do it? And that used to be non-existent in the Rays. They've, they've altered their lineup. They've got junior in a two spot now like we were calling for in the beginning of the season.

They've got a Aranda behind them, Diaz behind them. And that's starting to get them regularly putting the right amount of pressure on opposing pitchers. So the point to where when they get to Diaz, they're just like, oh, alright, what did I do with this guy? Now know, it's great to see. 

Mark Corbett: It is, it's, it's been interesting to [00:14:00] watch this series.

I'm, I'm giving a little grief to the two gu, two guys, two pitchers. I absolutely love and adore that both of 'em had two tough games, or each of 'em had a tough game this weekend in Pittsburgh. Uh, both, , drew and, uh, Shane, but man, oh man, oh man. The second game, the second game of this series, the Rays, win, Rays, win, Rays, win.

And it is, it has to be one of the most grueling type of games there are. Uh, let's see, man, what did we, did? We get all the way to five innings and then there's a rain delay. 

Mat Germain: It was, it might have been the fourth. I can't remember. It was so long. I don't know if you remember, but the, the, the, the game was advanced to begin with.

'cause they knew this was coming around, right. So they advanced the game time. They start the game. They, they hope to get through it and not have, but the, I think it came even faster than even they anticipated. But yeah, like you're saying, you could see it on the, on cameras or on the footage, like the, the rain was just coming [00:15:00] down in a pretty steady sheet.

Yeah, sometimes. And they were continuing to play. So I, I, there was a moment where I thought they were gonna call and just end the game. And then, uh, I think, you know, some of the guys on on Blue Sky were saying, you know, this game should be called blah, blah. I'm like, Hey, some guys are just hitting home runs.

Just, just let them go, please. They're having fun. Uh, it's a little bit like when you're a kid and your parents are calling you to come home for supper, and you're like, no, no, no. We're, we're just at the, at the key moment where we're gonna end up winning it. So. 

Mark Corbett: Gosh. It, it, it was fun watching. You're right.

I think it was the fourth inning because at that point, I can't remember if we had one run and they had four at that point. Mm-hmm. But it wasn't looking good at all. And, you know, giving up those four runs and it's like, geez, my knees, and now we're gonna have to go to bullpen. And boy did we have to go to bullpen for a while, for a while, [00:16:00] for another nine innings.

Once that couple of hour rain delay ended and. That was come back to the rain. It was amazing. One I give credit to any one of those Pittsburgh fans I saw there at the end of the 13th inning. And I'm saying, hoo-ray, for you, but you know, I am so fan. You are a fan. You are a fan. True. No doubt. You've got the gold and the black and you deserve whatever comes with that when you do win.

But man, I was glad we won that one 

Mat Germain: because that's not a warm rain, right? Like that's not a, a Florida big, uh, old rain drop. No, this is a, a get down into your bone and chill 

Mark Corbett: Geez. 

Mat Germain: Kinda rain in April, so yeah. But the Rays will, will get some rest only after the next series too. So the, the pen's gonna be worn a little bit.

I, I expect a couple of transactions here to kind of help ease that. But the Rays don't have many guys with options, so it'll be interesting to see if, uh, [00:17:00] if some ghost injuries pop up. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, we, we never know about those. Do Hmm. Yeah, well you think about it. I mean, after all of that,, there was a very trying physically, the conditions on Saturday and you know, Sunday not so much, but you've used your entire pen and coming into this, and that's for both teams.

I'm not making any excuses with that day. But now you don't have a day off. You gotta fly back to Tampa and tomorrow at the Trop you gotta be ready to perform. Who is it? Is it the Reds? 

Mat Germain: It's the Reds. 

Mark Corbett: Oh boy. 

Mat Germain: It's Francona that are coming in. So you know, Kevin Cash is gonna be distracted. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Got his own co got his old coach there.

You know, it's something else. And, uh, used to always. Do 

Mat Germain: you think, do you think Terry Francona goes to Kevin Cash's house for dinner when they come down? Do they share barbs or, or do they wait till the series is over and then had break bread? 

Mark Corbett: I don't know. 'cause he, he [00:18:00] pokes at Francona every time he's here.

Whether he's, you know, stealing his little scooter or, or god knows what else. And, yeah, I, I, I don't know. I, I hope so. Now, they both were catchers too, weren't they? 

Mat Germain: I want footage mark. I want footage of the mm-hmm. At a steakhouse or something, you know, like TMZ style. 

Mark Corbett: Mm. 

Mat Germain: And somebody's listening in on the conversation, and then they're hassling each other.

And then we'll just make like a fake controversy about it. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. I'm, I'm not working tomorrow. Maybe I should hang out outside the stadium and see about, you know, tracking some of these people down. Of course, that's probably illegal, but anyway. Uh, 

Mat Germain: yeah. They don't want you to get arrested for stalking. 

Mark Corbett: No, no, no, no, no.

Oh, gosh, no. That I, I love it. I love the, I love the, all the relationships in baseball and as much as I hate trades, it's interesting to see players who've either gone up through the minor leagues facing one another in the majors, or maybe like this week, you know, seeing players face one another who were [00:19:00] just on the team last year.

It, uh, one more thing about yesterday's game in the Rays, win. There were couple of questionable things that went on about whether or not, uh, a catcher who had asked for, uh, a review about tapping his hat and whether or not the umpire saw it and was, or he just ignored it and think that was the one where Kevin got upset enough.

And Kyle Snyder got very upset and were taken to the field. And I thought, oh, come on guys. It's been a long game. It was probably the eighth inning, I believe, maybe at that point. And it was just, come on please. But everybody was torn and frayed at that point. So I, I get the intensity of that and I, I, I gotta say that Rays team that played y yesterday, again, it's one of those, you know, get it to a tip of the hat, just the 13 innings.

And the same for the, the parts for sticking it out. With that, um, [00:20:00] I would like to ask you, Matt, watching today, actually this whole series. Cedric Mullins. Now, he came on offensively better than I had hoped, but today there were a couple of, of plays where I thought he should have got a ball in the, in the center field, and it just didn't happen.

And I, I don't know what to think. It's said the part where I expected the most strength. I was seeing less and I didn't expect to see him be doing as well as he has been with offense. 

Mat Germain: I've been watching Jacob Melton in Durham, and there is no doubt in my mind that will be the center fielder by June. 

Mark Corbett: Wow.

Mat Germain: There's, it's terrible what the reads that Cedric Mullins is that he's getting off the bats and inside field right now. I mean, Johnny DeLuca is a great center fielder as well. So, so like there, there's another road that they could go with right away. And I would say that the work that Chandler Simpson is putting in, yeah, he could be equal to what c Cedric Mullins has been showing so far this year, [00:21:00] but I, I firmly believe that c Mullins would be better served by being what the kind of role that Manuel Margot used to serve at the race, being in right field, and then just, , being a, a platoon guy basically.

, He's there and he's sharing time with, uh, Ryan Vilade, who's looked really good. Um, and, and so. I, I think it's coming, but again, Jacob Melton has to get the back wing, which has happened recently. He's had some better games. I don't think it's far behind. And I, I touched on the outfield depth that the Rays have, uh, in, in the system right now.

And it's impressive. Like there's, there's a glut of guys, , down in a plus and below, which you can see coming. Mm-hmm. Including, uh, Taitn Gray is one that's, he's playing first base right now, but he was a catching prospect before. And, and he has the arm to play the outfield and the athleticism to play the outfield.

And I really think that's probably his, his landing spot when all said and done. But that team is so loaded, outfielders that right now they have 'em playing [00:22:00] at first base, so, 

Mark Corbett: wow. 

Mat Germain: All that to say that his power, like he's hitting balls 110 miles an hour. He is 18 years old in, in a ball. And, and that guy, I think the, the average exit velocity that he's managed so far is in mid nineties and above.

Uh, like he's just tearing the label and he has a great approach at the plate. Great eye. Uh, his OnBase percentage is off the charts. He should be right now in a plus. Like he's, he's really showing the maturity that I expected from Brent, Brendan Summerhill, who's also on that team playing center field right now.

And, , I'm surprised coming outta four years of college that he's struggling as much as he is down in, in a ball. Uh, but he'll get, he will figure it out. He will come around. Um, and then they've got Theo Gillen as well in a plus who's really doing a great job there. So. You can kind of see that you combine those guys with Jacob Melton and, uh, and a few others that I haven't mentioned yet.

Like the one Austin Nover that they brought over from the Orioles. , A [00:23:00] lot of speed that can cover a lot. But when you look at the glut of what they have accumulated from all of those either top draft picks or from trades, they're all left-handed. They're all six foot one to six foot two and above. And, and they all, well, I say left-handed, the Taitn gray is actually a switch hitter.

Okay. So, but they all can hit left-handed. And so it's, it's an interesting mix that they've brought in that I've been crying for, for a long time, is to find the ability to succeed at above average levels against right-handers. If you can do that as an MLB team consistently, you're set, you don't really care what happens against left-handers.

There's 20% of the league. So that's the encouraging part. So when I look at Cedric Mullins, I definitely believe he's a, he's. Got the ability to help the Rays. 

. 

Mat Germain: I don't think his role is long term. He's one of those pieces that even if they are competing, I could see them moving him in a, [00:24:00] in the right deal to get something else in return that they are looking for at that moment, because then they can bring Jacob Melton in and do some other things, , while still improving.

Mark Corbett: . I'm glad to hear there's options out there. I just was kinda sad because I, I know this, you know, that Cedric's a little bit on the back end of his career at this point, but I thought the, the, uh, the offense that he's been delivering was good, but this, yeah, there was a couple of things out there today you thought, well, a player of your stature should be able to to get those and if not, then yes.

Something needs to be made and glad to hear there's somebody like Melton. 

Mat Germain: Do you remember Carlos Gomez? Yeah. That used swing out of his cleats. Right. 

Mark Corbett: Go, go. Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Cedric Mullins is like halfway between him and, and Chandler Simpson. Yeah. And I wish he were closer to Chandler Simpson because he has the speed to get a lot more infield hits to get a lot more contact.

Yeah. And one of the things that I measure with Chandler [00:25:00] Simpson recently is that he has like one of the five shortest swings in the league. Mm-hmm. When you're talking about the, the bat, , statistics that they have. , So if Cedric Mullins were to shorten his swing and not aim for the home runs, like Chandler is as much as he does, I firmly believe he'd hit 300 and above every single year.

'cause he has the hand eye coordination. You can tell. Like there's just, it's just that taking too long of a swing, trying to be the home run hitter. He is, he isn't right. Be satisfied with 10 home runs instead of 18, and then get a higher average. Get on base more, do more damage with your legs like you should.

Right. 

Mark Corbett: It is interesting, as you're pointing out earlier, the Rays are playing a bit more small ball. 

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

Mark Corbett: And it is paying off, you know, go ahead and get that pop flyer, whatever, and get the fella over the third, whatever it's gonna take there. There seems to be more, more strategy involved than just trying to hit home, run after home, run after home [00:26:00] run.

And as a fan, I find that more entertaining. Anyway, I, I, what anybody gonna say, I don't like home runs. I think maybe it was the Yankees today, or maybe yesterday's home run after home run, after home run. And I was like, is are home runs boring? I don't know. After a while, do, do, would I still celebrate the, the sixth or seventh home run that day as much as I did the first 

Mat Germain: one?

It depends on when the home run happens. If you have a, a walk, a hit, a double, you know, and then you're, you're adding on, you're already excited, you're already amped up, and then boom, somebody hits a three run home run, you're. You're gonna get excited, but you're right. If it's a one run home run, a one run home run or one run home, you're just like, okay, this is nice, but what's going on?

This exciting practice. 

Mark Corbett: Geez. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, 

Mark Corbett: it is. I, I, I meant to say something a moment ago where you were talking about Melton two and your sense of what's going on with the, the minor leagues. It's funny [00:27:00] because some of the time I'm able to see what people have been, you know, listening to on our show and some shows they go back to, well, I saw one this morning.

From when you and I had a show, November, 2021. 

Mat Germain: Whoa. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. I think it was one of the first ones. Isn't that 

Mat Germain: long, mark, 

Mark Corbett: I'm telling you. I know. I kind of thought that too. And I think it was one of our first ones, and I was introducing you about like being the king of prospects, what you are, and the, the sense of the depth of the, the Rays system.

And I'm so glad that you, you know, that is, uh, something that you've really become, uh, adept at. And because it does give the rest of us who love our team an understanding of what the future holds. 

Mat Germain: Right. 

Mark Corbett: One of the things you and I have talked about in the past though, is catching, and we haven't really haven't seen that as part of the farm system development right now.

I wa I was worried, you know, I've been worried since d'Arnaud [00:28:00] left. Okay. And, but. I'm not disappointed. What I've seen in Fiducia and Fortis, they both have seemed like they're, they're doing pretty well, you know, and they're, they're getting on base. Good Lord, thank you for that. 'cause how many times do you have a catcher?

You might as well have a pitcher up here. Batting sometimes. And some of the catchers we've had, because the, the talent hasn't been there. So I, I know at least once I saw Fiducia get on base today, and it's like, yes. Yes. Anyway. Um, do you feel good about those two guys? Do you feel better than 'em that you did at the beginning of the year?

Mat Germain: I do. And, and Nick Fortes especially, like, he, he's really taken a leadership role with the Tandem and with, with the staff and with the on field. I don't want to say he's become the captain. Like, you don't want to go that far. 

Mark Corbett: Right. 

Mat Germain: I don't know what happens in the, in the clubhouse and I don't know, you know, the ins and outs of, of the relationships that are on the team.

Mm-hmm. But it seems to me like he's way more confident about his performance and his. [00:29:00] And his abilities, and especially in hitting at the plate. I don't know what he worked on or in the off season, but he's really making, like, he's able to fight off more pitches when he lays off a pitch. He's confident about where he feels it was supposed to be in, in his zone.

And he's animated about it. And to me, that tells me a couple of things. It tells me, first of all, he's invested in every pitch. He's focused, he's really competitive, and he, he's done the homework to the point where he, his confidence level is like yandy. If you see Yandy when there's a missed call, he'll look at the umpire and like.

Come on, man. Like really? And Nick does the same thing now. Right. And he didn't do that last year as much, so I'm like, this is good. Like, so he could be a long-term option with whoever to Rays. Hunter Fiducia gives you the opposite feeling. He gives you the, the feeling like he's still searching for that kind of level of confidence.

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: Now, having said that, he's still got the potential. He is still okay. Like I'm not [00:30:00] raising any alarm bells, but, but he's still trying to find certain things to make him as comfortable as he should be. Right. And possibly he gets that this season, but beyond them behind, it's really interesting, like you were mentioning what's coming up.

Um, the Rays made some major investments. The first one that everybody knows about by now, I think they've seen him around is Dom Keegan, right? 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: A lot of people have said that he'll wind up at first base, doesn't really have the arm to. So far, which I don't know if the arm is something you can necessarily fix, and I don't know if a lot of teams are investing so much in it because of all the gerrymandering that's going on with the base stealing, right?

So are you really gonna invest heavily in something that that league is actively trying to increase, uh, with rule changes and, and base size changes, et cetera? Like I don't know. So what I do know is [00:31:00] that this spring we saw Dom Keegan's bat and it was really impressive. And the bat definitely shows the kind of potential you would see in somebody you want in a major league lineup.

At first base, it's getting to be pretty competitive when you're looking at Xavier, Isaac, Trey Morgan, Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda. So the road for him to get on the roster is fairly steep. So what I'm saying is we've got some time to build a catcher, right? 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: Because of what strength we have. Uh, and, and Nick Fortes and, and Hunter Fiducia.

So we're not in Alarm Bell mode. So I don't know if Dom Keegan gets that shot with the Rays or ends up somewhere else. Or if, , if Hunter Fiducia really doesn't show what they want, maybe they try Dom Keegan, they say, you know what? We don't care about the arm. We'll take the bat and, and then whatever else you can give us, , along the way.

So that's one change I could see in season is Dom Keegan taking over from Hunter Fiducia. Um. Having said that, the, the Nathan ing and, uh, Caden Bodine, [00:32:00] they're the two guys that right now they're, they're just, they're having fun. Mark. Like, you don't see these kinds of, of statistics from catchers very often.

Um, and it's really fun to see. Uh, so for anybody that doesn't know Nathan Fluellen was a, a draft pick of the Rays, whereas Caden Bodine was part of the Shane b uh, trade that, so a return that we got from the Orioles. But Caden Bodine, I mean, I, I look at this guy and I've, I've watched two games so far and both times he was catching and he just, the at bats that he's putting up are amazing.

It, it's one of those things where you see, you know, the. The frustration in the pitchers that are going up against them because they just can't get 'em out. , So he's hitting 380 with a 4 46 on base percentage and a six slug, right? Yeah. Yeah. But just start right there. He's a catcher. He's extremely young in A ball, and he's doing that.

So all right off the bat, you're like, okay, this guy is, is, is [00:33:00] feeling it at the plate. And then you have Nathan Fluellen right above him in a plus, and he's hitting 316 with a 381 on base and a 711 slug. So. Like two guys right there that when you're thinking about the Rays and the turmoil and the constant battle, they find a catcher with impact.

And you see those two guys coming up the ranks and, and I know that they want to promote and they're sitting there going it like, it's like youre handling something extremely fragile that you really don't want to jeopardize. Right? Right. And you're like, okay, maybe, maybe Midseason. Anyways, I wanted to highlight those guys because we're seeing consistent performances from both of them.

And so maybe at the end of May look back at, at this performance that they put on and say, okay, did it stay consistent or how much did it drop off? Because obviously they're not gonna do that the entire season. 

Mark Corbett: No, no. We don't expect Amazing. Yeah. No, but over 400 on base per se. Yeah, please. All day [00:34:00] long. I, I apologize if I was distracted.

There's sound overhead. Lakeland is right down the road and they've got. Fun, the sun going on. And what that is, it is basically a Sky circus, uh, you know, blue Angels, um, trail. Yeah. All these guys, Thunderbirds. I flew 

Mat Germain: the Blue Angels. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. You flew with them? 

Mat Germain: Yeah. With Mayport, uh, in Mayport. Well, I say I flew with them.

Our aircraft was at the same air show that they were at. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Wow. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Geez. No, it, it's, uh, it once a year here in Lakeland's, just right down the road from where I am in, in Plant City, Florida. And it is amazing. For a couple of days I can just go out and sit on the back porch. I got a great little lake to look out at, but in the sky, you know, I see these formations of these fast jets going back good gravy or, you know, a little prop or something or other who's going across from World War ii, world War I, uh, you know, it's a propeller plane.

There they go. There they go. But it is, it is so neat, you know, [00:35:00] that they do this once a year and bring all these different planes out and, and share that. So I apologize if I got distracted a couple times. It's like, woo. That's so cool. That's all good. Yeah, but coming back to the game and the, the catchers too, and I'm glad to hear there's, uh, some real talent there.

Uh, some good who got some good results. Now, when I think of a ball baseball team, Matt, I think, okay, you've got your manager. He's pretty much taken care of. You got your bench coach, you've got your hitting coach, and you've got your pitching coach. Now, what I'm thinking of as far as should there be a coach who focuses solely on catching, who would 

Mat Germain: the, the Rays brought somebody in this year for that.

Mark Corbett: Tell me. 

Mat Germain: I I think the, um, well, I say that because I think we're not alone, um, in thinking that, uh, that the Rays have had a, a rough time when it comes to, uh, [00:36:00] to figuring out a way to, uh, improve the outcomes of, of all their catching investments, right? Mm-hmm. Um, so when they brought back,, Ozzy Timmons there, there was a kind of a, a same kind of influx, I guess, of a review of, of all the

coaching positions that they have. And so there's 14 people I think that they have on the staff in, in total, 11 of them were returning. Um, and they have all kinds of roles for them, but one of them is a assistant bullpen catcher called Misha Dworken and a bullpen catcher, uh, called Charlie Valerio. And they're supposed to be, uh, in to actually help review how work with the catchers is focused through the system and on the team itself.

, And so it's one of those positions where you're not really sure, , [00:37:00] how deep it goes or how many times they actually go through the system or, or talk to others. But I do know when, when you're talking about a team that has as many issues finding, catching help, uh, as the Rays have had. It's a welcome thing to actually increase the number of people that are focusing on that position.

, They also, if you look down at the, the, the coaches or the coaching staff that as you go down through their system, there always seems to be that one that was a catcher. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: And, and among the staff. And it's whether or not it's a first base coach, a third base coach, a bench coach, et cetera, there's one on each team that is, you know, primarily, um, has 

Mark Corbett: had that perspective.

I mean, that's 

Mat Germain: right. 

Mark Corbett: That's the thing. 'cause if nobody in the room has, has lived that experience, you gotta wonder how that can be communicated. I mean, uh, it's like if you got a brain surgeon coming in, but the idea is basically all you have to do is set a bone or vice versa. You know, you gotta have the right [00:38:00] doctor for that.

So if, if you've got just doctors in general, it's fine. But you need a doctor for a catcher. So I'm gl and somebody who's had the experience and it sounds like, I'm glad to hear that there is at least me, one per particular person on the coaching staff that, that has that. I, I love it, brother. Look at who all we got there.

I love seeing Corey Dickerson back. I love seeing Ozzy, you know, uh, back as well. And it's, you know, it's, I feel like an old home day or something. Some of these guys coming back to the Rays and coaching as well. 

Mat Germain: Yep. I did wanna talk a little bit about the, the Reds that are coming in though, and that, uh.

That division. Have you looked at their records yet? In, in, in the entire division and the, and L Central? 

Mark Corbett: No, let me go back to that. Not, not recently, 

Mat Germain: to be honest. So, so the Reds are 13 and eight, I think they're gonna lose today, so they'll end up being 13 and nine. But every single team in that division has double digit wins.

So the Cubs are at the bottom right now and they're 11 and nine. Just to give you an example of, of [00:39:00] like people are calling them the new AL East, right? I don't think, I think you have to do it longer before you can call yourself that, but uh, it is becoming one of those divisions that is extremely competitive and they've been so down and out and kind of forgotten.

You know, we talk a lot about the Dodgers, we talk a lot about the Mets. We talk a lot about all the East coasts or West Coast teams. Too often we forget about the central teams, and I find like the NL Central is. Finally grabbing the attention of the, of the league, and I'm hearing more chatter, seeing more highlights, more, uh, of the players that people are following are from those teams.

Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

Mat Germain: it's really encouraging because I find the league is healthiest, uh, in terms of spirit. And, um, overall coverage when you have the central team, uh, divisions being of impact, right? And I mean that as a whole, not [00:40:00] one team, not two teams, like the whole division, right? So, so it's great to see, and I think that it's gonna lead to a lot of interesting, um, trade deadline maneuvering by all those teams.

Because think about it, their GMs are not used to that. Their GMs are used to, certain teams being at the top, certain teams being at the bottom, and it's pretty much sorted out by mid-June. Whereas now they're all gonna be in the hot seat. They're gonna be competitive, it seems like, anyway. And they're gonna be trying to push themselves above the other ones.

So I'm seeing this for this reason, , the Rays who are, prone to., Taking advantage of those kinds of situations a lot of times are probably going to be very interested in what these teams have to offer, should they ever fall off and, and end up a little bit behind the, the eight ball when it comes to the trade deadline.

But, um, the, the more we get, uh, near that trade deadline, which mark, we're a ways away. I'm not, I'm not making any [00:41:00] alarm bells, but, but I'm just putting it out there because, uh, again, we're gonna welcome the Reds. There's gonna be even more chatter. And when you're looking at how competitive Pittsburgh was against the Rays 

Mark Corbett: Yeah.

Mat Germain: And we get the claw for the one win, and then you're gonna see the Reds, you know, being just as competitive. It gets to be a lot of fun and you can't just look at the schedule now and say, oh, it's an NL Central team. Well, we should win the series. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. I mean, we both have, I mean, in the past we look at central teams like, oh yeah, that's nice.

Expecting wins. And I'm looking right down here and we are, it's Sunday and it's almost five o'clock, so I'm not sure what games have participate completed yet, but we're looking at NL Central Reds. We've got their 13 and eight brewers, 12 and eight Cardinals, 12 and eight Pirates, 13 and nine, and Cubs 11 and nine.

And it is like, yeah, yeah, man, you know, you got four of the five teams with 12 or 13 wins. I mean, and 

Mat Germain: look at their run [00:42:00] differential as well. Like they're really healthy. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: For, for three of the five, right. 

Mark Corbett: Exactly. Exactly. And uh, they're last 10, you know, you kind of mix six and 4, 4, 6, 5, and five, seven and three.

You know, they're, they're not like any one, 'em just completely knocking all the rest out. Uh, but when I do look across. Uh, nation League one team that looks like it's in a lot of pain. And that's the Mets. They're oh and 10 baby of the last 10 games. I mean, they are seven and 14, a 3 33 average. And I, I, I was talking with the Mets fan yesterday and they just wanted to bow their head and cry you.

I says that New York, uh, Yankees hat, no, that's me. Oh, I'm sorry. I saw the NYI read it wrong. What can, 

Mat Germain: I really don't know how to, you know, I think the Bo Bichette move this off season was the only one that I supported where I was able, yeah, now you're making yourself better, but. [00:43:00] I, I think they have a, a clubhouse issue or a leadership issue on that team that they still haven't resolved.

I don't think trading away Brendan Nimmo was going to, you know, change that, uh, Marcus Simeon was on the back. I mean, all the divi, uh, the decisions that they made, we can go over and say, yeah, that was it. That was it. That was it. And like, we're just casual fans. Right. And I'm sure ex- GMs or actual GMs have a stronger opinion on it.

Um, but it, you know how when you look at the Cardinals right? And you're like, okay, the St. Louis Cardinals were supposed to go through what everybody was determining was gonna be a long complete makeover. And what did you just say? The record was? Yeah, you 

Mark Corbett: see the Mets? I have the last, 

Mat Germain: oh no, the Cardinals.

Mark Corbett: Oh, hang on the Cardinals. Let's go back there. So 

Mat Germain: we're like 12 and nine or something like that. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, they, they're 12 and eight. They're 12 and eight. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. So they're supposed to be in a complete makeover. They traded away Brendan Donovan. Why aren't they down in the dumps? Because they [00:44:00] build a cohesive team.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: From the bottom up all the way through the organization. The Mets plug and play free agents. It doesn't work. That, that, that is the ma mantra of a losing franchise. That's one that can't produce enough talents. Right? It, it's not. It's not sustainable long-term. You can get lucky. You. You know, the reason the Pittsburgh Pirates didn't invest heavily in the roster until this year is because they hadn't produced that kind of system yet.

Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

Mat Germain: and Ben Sherrington's been working really hard to produce that influx of talent so that they all are in sync to the point where when you make that investment, it has the impact that's desired with very few additions making a huge impact. The Mets just have never gotten that for whatever reason. I wish I could be their gm.

Mark, just gimme the job. I'll send my resume to, to Steve and, and he can just let me know how much I'm making and, and I'll [00:45:00] do it all remotely from Yarmouth. And, uh, he doesn't even have to give me an office. , I'll send him, uh,, the moves and, and he can just stamp of approval of them and, and we'll make it so, especially if he's paying in American dollars market.

Pretty 

Mark Corbett: geez. Oh my gosh. You know. Okay. Well, we'll have you as the GM there and the best case we'll bring in Jane Leavy in as the commissioner and everything will be great. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I do wanna bring up your favorite subject, though. Oh God, no. Reading. I've been reading about it. Go ahead. 

Mark Corbett: Go ahead. 

Mat Germain: What is the torture chamber going on in Tampa right now?

Geez, I, I, everything I'm reading is like, oh, not again. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. There's a reason I don't talk about it that much, Matt. I mean, it, it absolutely enthralls me, but at the same time, it's like watching a train [00:46:00] wreck and watching it in, in a loop and you can't do anything about it. And it's like that, uh, railroad track has not been fixed yet and it's not gonna be fixed yet.

And I dunno what's gonna happen. I, I feel sorry for Commissioner Ken Hagan because he's out there. He has a sense of positivity. He wants to make this thing happen. And when the Rays, say some of the things, you guys read it in papers to say some of the things they've said as far as like, you know, almost indicating they'll go elsewhere if they don't get the, the money that they want from the city and county that, um.

Mat Germain: Can I read the one quote though, please? I think it is important to, to have out there. So this is from Ken Babby, it's not mm-hmm. From Stu Sternberg. Right. This is Ken Babby. Right. This is the, the guy that's supposed to be the more optimistic, easy to work with person. So he said, should this commitment ultimately not be achievable, we would have no choice but to evaluate, uh, [00:47:00] alternatives.

However, that is not our desired outcomes. I'm sorry, but it is if you double what was previously requested. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And expect it to go through quickly. Yes. That is what you wanted. Okay. So let's just stop there for a second, but then I'll continue the quote. He says, time and action are of the essence going into Thursday's workshop.

Oh. And then eventually it goes through. There will be no shortage of potential options for a new home with the benefit of getting an up and running organization and team. So. You already have the seeds of exactly what we were talking about before with Orlando. Mm-hmm. Where it was just like, we already know where we're going.

So when you look at the, the amount of money that Orlando has set up is 1 billion, right? Yeah. Why do you think they asked Tampa for 1.15 billion? Because if I'm gonna, if I'm gonna change my deal, it has to be better than what I already have. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Right. That's the difference. So really this is a Orlando [00:48:00] versus Tampa battle, and I'm surprised I'm not reading it like that way in the media in Tampa, somebody has to grab that and run with it because it'll send alarm bells in the region.

I imagine where it's a, holy crap, we're Trump, we're getting robbed by Orlando. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Instead of, you know, this whole thing about the, the public versus private money, who cares? You're getting robbed by another city in Florida that is what, a two hour drive? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: That's essentially what it's 

Mark Corbett: that. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Oh gosh.

It's, it is just, I don't know. I mean, I said it before, was that The Who song, you know, here's the old new boss. Same as the old boss. Yeah. And, uh, "Won't Get Fooled Again". I, I'm, I'm just, you know, I don't know where to go. Now, it may not be out in the media all that much about what you just said, but. It was funny 'cause there was a small paper here to Trilingual [00:49:00] newspaper in this area called La Gaceta and they Yeah, that is the first place I saw what Ken Babby had said.

I thought, holy crap. Are we just building a nice little happy place here around Babby and the rest of the Rays organization that we're not going to point out that the king Yeah. Is not wearing any clothes. Oh, come on. Well it goes, there's other places that happens too. But coming back to it, yeah, it's not being analyzed as much as one might think and when you figure out it and the people, you can't have these expectations of the media who cover the Rays, whether it be on the games of the radio or tv.

'cause they are basically employees of the, the baseball organization. So don't expect anything there. And I would imagine it's even difficult for, uh, for, for the Tampa Bay Times to be able to say everything they want. Right. 

Mat Germain: Because if you think about it from the ownership point of view, they don't want to alienate the [00:50:00] fans that they're gonna want to watch it on TV or travel to Orlando.

They wanna maintain that fan base so that it can feed whatever they do end up building in Orlando. And more than likely because of that, they'll keep the name, they'll call them the Orlando Rays or whatever. I know they call them the Dreamers in terms of the organization. 

Mark Corbett: There was an Orlando Rays once upon a time long ago.

We'll, 

Mat Germain: exactly. So there'll be that, that connection. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: But, but I feel like, you know, everything that we're reading and seeing is pointing towards a really hard time now. I'm not wishing that on anyone. I think, uh, I've lived the, the whole having a team pryed away from you in a city when I was in Montreal.

Yeah. And it sucks. It's terrible. You look at the sport completely different after that, especially if it happens in a bad way, the league. Basically gives up on your franchise, uh, or ownership does, or whatever, you know, you wanna blame. So I think , the amount of pressure that is on [00:51:00] those city counselors is just not really fair either.. Because suddenly, like Sure, you delve back and forth. I mean, I, I, I want to say the, the St. Petersburg old mayor, what was his name? Rick? Uh, 

Mark Corbett: Kreisman. 

Mat Germain: Kreisman. He must be laughing. He must be laughing somewhere, chuckling to himself saying, ha, I don't have to deal with these guys anymore. And he's watching these guys squirm as, as the Rays are putting their pressure on, on, you know, that group.

'cause they're ultimately the ones that are gonna wear it. Yeah. You know, if the Rays leave, everybody's gonna blame them. Why couldn't you find a, a way, a mechanism or whatever to keep 'em around? Um. 

Mark Corbett: Well, you know, I, I love the Rays, but I, I will not be blackmailed. I will not be blackmailed and I mean, and there has to be some kind of sense about how much money you wanna give to billionaires, and that's just me.

It's, uh, I want them here. I really do, but I also want some kind of sensibility and about what, how that's going to happen. 

Mat Germain: If I was a counselor, [00:52:00] mark, this is the solution. Okay. This is the way that I would do it with, with them. It probably wouldn't work, but this is how I would sell it so that we come out of it.

Winners. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: The, the city gets the naming rights money until the loan is paid back, and then it goes to the team. 

Mark Corbett: I think you know what? That we should get megaphones everywhere and shout that because somebody needs to hear it. I think that is a great, a combination of way to to, to take care of that whole deal, to find some kind of common ground and say, yes, we are making an investment with you, but we are expecting something back from it over time.

And I think that's reasonable, but 

Mat Germain: there's no real, like nobody can argue against that. No, because you're, you're, you're investing in the team, you're getting all the construction jobs, all the this, all that. You're keeping the team, you're paying back the thing, right. That you lent them. And then once it's paid back, the team inherits that back as they should.

And then you're good to go. Maybe you keep a maintenance thing or [00:53:00] one to. To that, to pay for the infrastructure or the transportation, whatever, whatever that portion is that you need to maintain, you keep that as part of the naming rights, but the rest of it goes to the team and they get that as profit going forward.

Like to me, that's the working together angle. But nobody is going to propose that because there's not a real negotiation going on. The, the decisions have already been made before. The vote happens, right? 

Mark Corbett: This, this is shadow theater. This is shadow Theater, man. And it's like, why? I don't wanna be invited to a party or a play, I don't wanna say this, I don't wanna be invited to someplace where I already know there's a foregone conclusion.

If I knew when I walked into a ball game that somebody had already determined who was gonna win this, then why would I even be there? And that's how it feels sometimes going through with what the Rays are proposing and the expectations. It's like you're staging this, you're staging this to, to work the other one, and, and it just, it isn't right.

[00:54:00] It isn't fair to the fans. And we're not all ignorant. There's, there's a lot of things going on in this country right now where people have maybe turned their head to one side and didn't see things, but it's, it's funny, some people who you're not really wanting to acknowledge those things about, they grab your head and pull it right back to it anyways.

Oh, you really are saying that crap. Well, that's sometimes how I feel about. What's going on with the Rays? Oh, you're really saying that crap. You know, you really do love me though, don't you? But, uh, yeah. Well let's find a more positive way to absolutely end this show. Hmm. 

Mat Germain: Yes, yes, absolutely. 

Mark Corbett: Okay, let's one, uh, yesterday I was helping out with the Tampa Baseball Museum and we were at, what was it, forest Park or Orange Grove.

Anyway, it was a little league and they were having a home run derby and Yeah. After. Yeah. So these kids are having a home run derby. After that they had a kickball tournament between parents and kids. Yeah. 15 and under 15 and [00:55:00] whatever that was, uh, it was fun. But here's the thing. I've done one of these before.

It was in Palma Ceia with the little league in the museum, and you see the history of great baseball where it starts. 'cause in Palma Ceia, I would also have to acknowledge that is the little league where Wade Boggs came. Mm. Now the other day where I was, you look up there and it's where Kyle Tucker came from. And so to me, seeing the fun that those kids are out there playing and having, and not travel ball, you know, community ball and seeing them, having that kind of fun with a home run derby, to me that's what baseball is all about.

And you and I have talked time and again, go see your high school, go see your college, go see your minor leagues and folks, you can forget about all the billionaires and all of that. You just go out there and see some fun. Some kids who enjoy the game and hopefully some parents and other people, family members are supporting, supporting them as well.

So [00:56:00] I want to, that's what I wanna say. Kudos. Thank you guys for inviting us out to those little league events and it's, it's what warms my heart. Well, other thing, you know, we had Josh Weaver on here and he was saying above 500, you and I we're very, very pessimistic about even, I mean, it is only 20 games now, but think of that, what's that one eighth of the entire season?

So it's a bigger chunk than I would, you might think, and is it can be about 500. We'll, see, 

Mat Germain: I have to admit Mark, like whenever, like I historically have been the optimist, like, but I've been able to nail down the issues that might weigh the Rays down. Yeah. So in 2018, 2019, 2020, like I was very on the ball in terms of figuring out what was going to, uh, help them and kind of hinder their progress.

And then, you know, 2020 happened. I called the World Series, I called the world, the, the playoffs [00:57:00] again, 20, 21, 22. I just got the feeling like there was a. Uh, the league had figured the Rays out. Mm-hmm. Now, I don't think most of us or the league thought that they would embrace the small ball aspects as much as they have.

Yeah. Because that does change things. Right? It it, it, it kind of took me by surprise the amount that they were willing to take what they were given. And that hasn't been historically Kevin Cash's strong point, like he's been very stubborn in letting the guys do what they want to do. And I feel like now there might be a little bit more controlled or the team is coming together and deciding that is the case, whichever one, it doesn't really matter.

So the product on the field changes because teams are so much more hard to play against if they're doing that, it's actually antagonizing to them. 'cause they're trying to stop it. They're doing their best, but it makes, it forces errors. It makes them look foolish. They get frustrated. Like we were just [00:58:00] saying with Drew Rasmussen and Shay McClanahan, you make a mistake and suddenly your brain switch turns, you know? So like Josh was onto something in terms of the Rays, figuring something out, I think, and, and being like a bit more of the optimist. So I'm glad that he took us there and more than likely he will end up being the one that's right at the end of the year.

Mark Corbett: I certainly hope so. Yeah. Well I keep finding some positivity folks. It's out there. Sometimes it's, uh, you gotta quit looking at the front office because most of them, most of 'em will not make you happy. And I, I could, I could bring up an example with virtually any team you want, but Matt, we are gonna make you the GM of the Mets.

Say we are gonna get Jane Leavy back in as the commissioner and the world will change it, be in a better place. So thank you all again for joining. Matt and I here today. Is there any other parting words, Matt? 

Mat Germain: No, I do not want that job. I would be abused way too much. We saw what they did to an agent and [00:59:00] they definitely wouldn't embrace a fan.

That's 

Mark Corbett: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Good call. 

Mat Germain: I'll stay home. Thanks. 

Mark Corbett: Well, enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Matt. And I hope you guys had a wonderful time here with us today. We look forward to talking with you all again real soon. 

Mat Germain: Bong. 

Mark Corbett: There it is.

Mat Germain: One of these days I'll get a real bong mark. I have to. 

Mark Corbett: Alright, brother. Oh, let me this, let's see. Um, I have.