RaysUp – Tampa Bay Rays prepping for Trade Deadline

298 BaseballBiz No Kings

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: . Welcome to BaseballBiz on Deck, and here today you are with Mr. Mat Germain and myself, mark Corbett. We're here to entertain you and share our love of the game. And of course we'll talk about the Rays this week, everything that's happening with baseball and how we're going to save the world.

[00:00:17] How you doing, Mat? 

[00:00:19] Mat Germain: Trying to save everybody one person at a time, right? One thought at a time, because that's what I think it's gonna take. To get through this time. 

[00:00:28] Mark Corbett: I, I'd have to agree with you, and it is been terrifying watching the fires in Canada, my friend. It's, yeah, 

[00:00:35] Mat Germain: we're, we're having a rough time.

[00:00:37] They've even sent firefighters from Australia. I understand there's some from Idaho, some from, uh, a bunch of states up, uh, in Northern United States that have come up and helped. So it's nice to see that that quid pro quo when it comes to that kind of stuff. You know, Canada and the US. Still helping each other out.

[00:00:55] And, , the fire is significant. Like, to be honest, I monitor these things pretty closely just because, [00:01:00] uh, as a Air Force person I was in charge of, of providing a lot of the navigation through OR or around those systems. So, uh, that, that's one thing I keep an eye on through the apps that I have and, and just the, the sheer.

[00:01:15] Size of it, like, to give you some scope of how large the, the total surface area that's burning in Manitoba is, it's about half the state of California. Oh my gosh. Yeah, so it's, it's massive. 

[00:01:29] Mark Corbett: And I, the impact can be seen beyond that. I mean, I just, the smoke the haze, and even if you look to the sky, you would see, I guess the moon probably looks different color right now because of, but the, but the lives that are, that it is impacting is just monumental.

[00:01:46] Not to mention the surrounding nature as well. 

[00:01:49] Mat Germain: Sure. And what's scariest about that too is that, uh, like as you know, most of the population of Canada is around the border, where with the United States, so in the southern portions, right? So right now it's burning [00:02:00] about two thirds of the way up of Manitoba, which is part of why it's hard to put it out because there's no, not many resources there to fight against it either.

[00:02:09] Um. Also, there's two main lakes in Manitoba and in between them is a lot just forest, basically. There's barely anything in between. And on the outsides as well as just forest, there's a few towns, dolphin and a couple of other ones. But there's , two national parks that are on either side. And so those would be in the play if it came south and, and then it could lead to feeding it some more.

[00:02:34] Right. So you're hoping for some solid rain and, and the most, uh. Interesting thing about that Mark is that , the northern areas of Manitoba is where I did my survival courses. So they, the, they're swampy areas. I remember building a fire on a little thing like in, and you're in swampy lands and you, you know, you're up to your knees and mud and, uh, and so it's a moist area.

[00:02:59] It's kind [00:03:00] of weird that it, uh, that it would dry up that much. It's not normal, basically. 

[00:03:05] Mark Corbett: I, again, I salute all the people,

[00:03:08] all the good firefighters out there and rescue people doing what they can. You know, I, I, I think of course, as you well know, I talk a lot with the, some of the women in baseball.

[00:03:17] Mm-hmm. And how many of 'em on the USA team who've been with, uh, firefighting and I think in Canada, I think Alli Schroder @allischroder, uh, she's a fire, a wildland firefighter. So this would probably be what she's doing right now. And. I know that I can't speak specifically about her, but I know people who are doing the kinda work she does, it takes a toll on their body.

[00:03:41] And I'm not just talking about physically moving up and down hills, et cetera, but you know, they, they're constantly breathing in that hot air, smoky air, and, uh, that is a, that's a sacrifice. That's a lot to ask for a person. So I really appreciate all they're doing. So to Alli and all the [00:04:00] other.

[00:04:00] Firefighters out there. Thank you so much for trying to make this better. Absolutely, man. Oh man, I tell you what, it's been interesting here in Tampa, this, uh, past week, haven't seen any fires or anything, but you know, hurricane season started. And had to, somebody needed to educate the new FEMA director. He didn't realize there was actually such a thing as hurricane season.

[00:04:27] I think he thought they were kidding him. So, yeah. You know, I, I gotta admit, I didn't know much about hurricane season till about, I moved down here 20 some odd years ago, but I wasn't had a FEMA either. So, uh, but he said it was a joke. It was a joke. I know, I, I know what the, I know what hurricanes are. I know they got a season.

[00:04:44] Oh. Uh, on a more positive note, I know we had, uh, a sports organization and they had some awards and they gave Mr. Evan Longoria at [00:05:00] one of the wards they had also Dick Vitale and others that they were going to acknowledge. I thought that was a pretty cool dinner. I, I, man, this past weekend I went up to Louisville to see my lovely granddaughter and I miss going to this event with Longoria.

[00:05:12] I went to, to a, a good friend of mine, Rick Vaughn. I, I miss going to an event where he was honored and where Lou Pinella is Grant, giving him an award in the name of Lou Pinella. And I was like, dude, dude, you know, the fan boy in me was crying, but I gotta tell you, when I'm holding that little baby in my arms.

[00:05:31] You know, nothing even comes close to that. 

[00:05:35] Mat Germain: No, you made the right choice, mark. A hundred percent. 

[00:05:38] Mark Corbett: Oh gosh. Yeah. She is an absolute sweetheart. She's four months old and it's funny, and we'll talk about baseball in a minute, but I, I do wanna share it. It was funny. She's just four months old and I saw her get down on her.

[00:05:52] She was on her belly and she was doing a soldier crawl. She was moving herself forward and, and in that way, and she just was putting all the oomph into [00:06:00] it in the world. So as much I'm, since I'm a big proponent of women's, um, baseball even before she came here, it's, it's probably been u up to a couple of notches since then too.

[00:06:09] There you go. 

[00:06:11] Mat Germain: So you're, you're looking long term, like you're gonna be throwing the ball to her as soon as she can catch, and, um, you know, getting her on the, on the path to loving baseball, I imagine. 

[00:06:22] Mark Corbett: Oh, absolutely. You know, it's. So getting to baseball, it has been an interesting time for the Rays. It's a good time.

[00:06:32] I was just looking at, uh, during the show here at the show, the game here tonight was Zach Littell pitching against Walker Bueller. It's like, wow, that's, that is a heck of a matchup of pitchers to be able to see. And right now, let's see, it's, uh, Boston three, Tampa one, and it's the bottom of the fourth. Yeah, yeah, 

[00:06:54] Mat Germain: yeah.

[00:06:55] Well, I, when I, when I saw Mueller's name coming up, I knew it was going to be, you know, if the razor gonna [00:07:00] pull it off, it'll be against the pen. It, it's not gonna be against, uh, Walker, because they tend to struggle against. Uh, guys that are more, um, high up in the zone effective, I guess is the best way to put it.

[00:07:13] Where, you know, he's gotten a couple of guys out tonight already with, you know, high and inside and the guys just can't lay off of it. So, uh, yeah, it is gonna be a long night, but hopefully they get to the pen early enough. 

[00:07:25] Mark Corbett: Well, I hope so too, but it is ingenious to watch that, man, I should say. It's, it's amazing to watch that man, because when he is pitching and you look at the UE of the, of the different pitches he has, I mean he has like seven or eight pitch.

[00:07:41] I don't know if there's that many pitches. You can, I know he had at least six or seven pitches that he could deliver, and I thought, you don't know what's gonna be coming if Walker, if Walker biller's up here pitching to you from the mound. 

[00:07:52] Mat Germain: He's a lot like Chris Bassett. That way the whole bag of tricks, which is something the rays don't really have, like they don't have that guy that [00:08:00] carries a full toolbox.

[00:08:02] Um, so it'll be interesting to see if sometime they can develop that and, and have somebody that's a little bit more toolsy than stuff wise. Right. 

[00:08:10] Mark Corbett: Yeah, it, the, on top of watching this, these great games, and I wanna share some numbers too. I saw Brian Anderson earlier put up since May 20th. The rays have been at the top of runs.

[00:08:25] They're number one with an average of 5.8 runs per game. They're second with home runs with 30 home runs. Mm-hmm. They are first in stills with 35 stills since May 20th and second in, um, runners in scoring position averages. Yeah. 3.10. So, wow. 

[00:08:46] Mat Germain: Yeah, and I wanna point out two other things as well. I think I did it this morning as well where I looked at the last 30 days, so it's a little bit longer.

[00:08:54] And uh, we were fourth in WRC Plus. So way it runs created. Um, [00:09:00] and I. You know, when you're looking at the league in general, the rays are rarely in the top five when it comes to run scoring, run production, you know, offensive makeup. And, and it speaks to the maturity of their lineup. Like they're just, you know, they're older rookies, they're, they're more, uh.

[00:09:17] Lefty heavy, which is what I've said they've needed to do for a long time. And the righties they do have, are able to handle guys on both sides of the plate. Like I'm talking about, more about Junior ERO and Yandy Diaz. So it's helping their lineup, uh, significantly. And also, um, I. The what impressed me most, mark through all that, is looking at the opponents.

[00:09:38] Because the opponents they've had over that stretch, I mean, they're winning series or they're sweeping teams, they, they've done a lot of good against some really tough matchups. So, um, that, that's also impressive to see. And, and it seems like they've gotten a little bit more comfortable. Now it's time.

[00:09:54] Brener Field. 

[00:09:56] Mark Corbett: It does feel good and I, I think there's been an [00:10:00] advantage to being at Steinbrenner Field. I mean, if we look at these, uh, games with the Red Sox, the fir, the first game with the rain, I think that they were probably more adept to being able to play with it. 'cause they've had to do that some at Steinbrenner, if they've been doing it constantly with no rain.

[00:10:14] They may have had a little more difficulty to do that the first game in this series. Oh gosh. Who, what? Boston had it, their, a new guy up, I think it was 20 years old, Roman Anthony. And he had a, a air out there and it was, some of that I think had to be attributed just when he was trying to scoop up a ball and it was, uh.

[00:10:33] Rain was just the, had the moisture to the ground or whatever was so damp to being able to kind of judge where that ball was coming up. He had some difficulty with it, but yeah, I think that they are better suited because of their experience at George Steinbrenner with the rain. 

[00:10:52] Mat Germain: So on         e of the things I wanted to ask you about, and, and this is kind of something that I, I caught in the side of news reading [00:11:00] up on Rays News, and they said that, um, when they were asked, or when somebody asked if the Rays made the playoffs where playoff games would be played.

[00:11:11] Mm-hmm. So where the home playoff games will be played, nobody could give 'em a clear answer. Oh. They can. And so there's no official decision. 'cause I think the, the agreement they have with the Yankees is, is only for regular season. It's not for postseason. So I. It'd be interesting to see, um, first of all, what impact hurricane season has on, you know, the efforts to repair tr can a field.

[00:11:39] Mm-hmm. Uh, and number two, what it also does to, you know, Steinberger field as well, because there's some things that could happen and, and you know, you never know basically what could happen in the region. That's true. But, uh. But if they do make the playoffs, you know, where are they gonna wanna play those games?

[00:11:54] Are they gonna be satisfied with 10,000 fans or are they gonna look to put temporary [00:12:00] seeding up? Are they going to seek out another stadium, let's say in Orlando or somewhere else? Like what are the options that they're going to present? And then there's two other pieces of news that were on the same realm basically.

[00:12:14] But the other one was that, um. Tampa Bay Times put out that the first step of keeping the Rays in Tampa was to extend the lease at the tr. Mm-hmm. And I kept thinking, what, like, how does, how does that make any sense? I, why doesn't anybody else vocalize the fact that they should keep Steinbrenner Field?

[00:12:33] That's my thought. And then the other one is Jane Castor supporting the rays move to Tampa now and like being more vocal about it. And that was about 12 days ago that that came out. Um. And so I thought that was an interesting one because it was right when that, you know, you're talking about the rays doing well and, and starting to pick up steam right in the middle of that, that's when she came out with that, you know, possibility of keeping 'em in [00:13:00] Tampa permanently.

[00:13:01] So, uh, I, I thought those were the three little bits of news that I caught where I was like, Hmm, I wonder what this all really means. 

[00:13:08] Mark Corbett: I don't like that, man. I'm glad you saw that, especially about Mayor Castor. I have to send her a thank you card or something. Oh, seriously, man. You know, it's, we appreciate it to see people in the community stand up for the team and, and see those possibilities, but I, I'm not unlike you, it seems very clear to me that why can't we get that dag on George Steinbrenner field?

[00:13:31] Yeah. Okay. Then, and then plan for another year where we add a second tier of seats up there and. Block out some of the wind, but increase the, uh, the seating area capacity. But I, you know, we don't need a 56,000 seats. Heck, by the way, you know, the, um. Jumping off the train here. The bananas were here in town and they had, what was it like, 68,000 at [00:14:00] Raymond James, which is right across from George Steinbrenner.

[00:14:03] They had 82,000 at, uh, at another ball field. It was a college, uh, football field the other day. So they're up to 82,000. That's a heck of a road game. But coming back it's, yep. Coming back to Mayor Jane. Thank you Mayor Jane Castor. We appreciate that and all of true fans of the Rays do so. We're we'll, we'll back you and hopefully we can find some people who will back the whole idea of the George Steinbrenner field as being a permanent new home for the rays, you know, and get some modifications done there.

[00:14:38] Yes, sir. Talking modifications. Mm. Saw some news today, brother.

[00:14:46] Looking at Rod Rodriguez and him going through some difficulties now, may be up on IL for 15 days and perhaps even as as discouraging, if not more so as Shane.

[00:14:57] Shane McClanahan today news broke [00:15:00] that he's gonna be seeing a nerve doctor and I. There's a, the worst thing about that means that there's a reason he has to go see a nerve doctor. So I wish him well. And as fans we wor, you know, we w worry about his health first, but, uh, as people who enjoy the game, we hope to see him out there on the mound again soon.

[00:15:20] So I don't know what's gonna happen with all that. .

[00:15:23] Yeah, , but look at it, Shane. I hope he's getting well soon. Challenges on IO are big. The, what we expect change, we expect this to happen. We, we, not necessarily him, but we expect injuries and. One big, beautiful day. I tell you what, man, I'm looking Matt, and I'm saying 50 days. People have been looking a lot at a hundred days recently, but I'm looking at 50 days.

[00:15:48] We've got 50 days till the trade deadline comes. 

[00:15:51] Mat Germain: Yep. 

[00:15:51] Mark Corbett: And injuries happen. So that can really facilitate what kind of decisions are being made in front offices, you know, all [00:16:00] across MLB. I don't know. I mean, we've got, I look at what we have. We have a strong, strong, strong farm system. Mm-hmm. We've got guys down at Triple-A, even at AA who look good, who could come up.

[00:16:14] But if you were shopping for the front office today for the Tampa Bay Rays, what would you be looking for? 

[00:16:22] Mat Germain: Probably a closer. Yep. Just because I, I don't trust what Pete Fairbanks offers, especially in cold weather. Uh, I also believe that Mason Montgomery isn't actually ready to assume that role. And although you have other intriguing pieces that may fit in there over time, because, you know, I, I look at Shane Baz and I've said this before, where his innings pitch total after his next start is going to be almost to the maximum that he's done in MLB.

[00:16:54] The exact amount. So, you know, four or five starts later, maybe you can go as many as eight starts later. [00:17:00] He's at his quote unquote max that most teams like to use, which is about 40 innings over your previous maximum. Um, I think if you include some minor league time, he's like actually able to go above that.

[00:17:13] But the long story short is that by the time he gets to 160, 180 innings, he's not gonna be that, um. Viable for the playoffs in terms of, of, you know. Stamina. 

[00:17:26] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:17:26] Mat Germain: Uh, effectiveness. So do you really want to push him to that limit? Right. Um, so the, there's some questions there. So, so all that to say that, you know, a lot of the starters arrays have, are doing good work.

[00:17:39] They have bridge guys that can fit in, in between that are, that are effective and doing good work. What they need more than anything, and the Dodgers know this, they. They've done it year after year after year, is to just solidify the backend. Um, go and get somebody. And it doesn't have to be necessarily somebody that's in a closing role right now.

[00:17:59] 'cause the rays [00:18:00] have a knack for improving. You know, relievers to the point where you can see them as closers at, uh, you, Saida was a good example, right? Mm-hmm. Where last year he started becoming more of that, you know, secured. Uh, and, and it's good because the rays are changing. Something in that reliever to the point where teams don't, haven't adjusted yet, and it throws 'em off balance, and it doesn't cost them an arm and a leg either.

[00:18:23] So all that to say that there are guys like David Bednar from the Pirates is the obvious choice, but there's gonna be so many suitors, there's going to, the cost is going to be significant. Can they come to an agreement with the Pirates on that? For sure. They can. Uh, will they? I think they, they go the more unconventional route the majority of the time.

[00:18:43] So I'm expecting something that we haven't No noted yet. Or, or something we're not expecting to happen. Um. And I, and I think, you know, you read the tea leaves, you look at teams like the Reds who've already dealt Alexis Diaz to uh, to the [00:19:00] Dodgers. Maybe there's a fit there that we're not aware of with the Reds.

[00:19:03] Maybe there's somebody with Atlanta who all of a sudden is struggling and they, I think they lost seven or eight straight. Um, and, and they just don't seem to be gelling at all. They just had a, one of their starters go get, uh, Tommy John as well. Um, so, so there's teams out there with, you know, usually.

[00:19:21] High-end talent that would be fitting in in the pen and the rays have some internal options they can use too. And that includes shifting a starter to a relieving role, especially when it comes to the playoffs. But I think if I was to spend money, it would be there. And if not at the closing role, then improving the the right handed hitter in the outfield.

[00:19:43] Mm-hmm. So if Chris Morrell isn't cutting it. Go and get that right-handed bat. And then I've mentioned some, some other, some names out there, or even if they can afford it, going for somebody like no, Oneil Cruz, uh, or Tyler Soderstrom from, um, from the A's, uh, [00:20:00] two guys that I like a lot, or Taylor Ward was one that I threw out there that I know is available with the Angels.

[00:20:06] , And he's still affordable for the Rays. Like he would be a more of a rental buy, but he, he's one of those tenacious, you know, gritty players. That I think would fit in well with the Rays and, and, you know, be okay as having it off the bench if needed, uh, but would improve their performances against left-handed pitching.

[00:20:25] Mark Corbett: Wow. You know, you remember, you think on a previous show you'd mentioned too, you, you about the Reds and, uh, Terry Fona. Having a good relationship. Of course, he and Kevin Cash having worked together. It would be interesting to see somebody like that. Who was it? Sid? Uh, who was the other guy? Cruz the O'Neill.

[00:20:45] Cruz. Oneil Cruz. My gosh. I was watching a little him the other day. Mm-hmm. Oh gosh. Yeah. I love to have him on our team. 

[00:20:51] Mat Germain: Right. 

[00:20:52] Mark Corbett: So the rays 

[00:20:53] Mat Germain: have some, some prospects like Homer Bush Jr. Who we spoke about with, uh, with Kevin, where I think he would be somebody like [00:21:00] the Pirates would, would like to have that as a return because O'Neill Cruz doesn't really give you the, uh, average that you're looking for in a, an elite player.

[00:21:08] You're going to pay over multiple years. Right. And I don't know that they wanna hand anybody a contract. Like they'd have to go well above and beyond what they gave Brian Reynolds and they kind of hummed and hawed and almost never got that one done. So if they're not gonna do that with Brian Reynolds, then it might be better for them to consolidate and get like three or four guys, um, instead of having to lean on O'Neill Cruz only.

[00:21:32] And in that case, then it can shift the money and try to assign Paul Skenes, which is more important to them anyway. 

[00:21:39] Mark Corbett: Well, what did you think of Mr. Ian Seymour this week? 

[00:21:44] Mat Germain: What a, the la the last time I remember the release bringing somebody into a high pressure situation that was higher than that was Shane McClanahan when they actually brought him in in the playoffs.

[00:21:54] Right. And, and, and that was insane. And it was again, against the Red Sox. So it's kind of, [00:22:00] you know, weird the way that it, it turned out. But, ian Seymour for the story book, right? It's almost like a Mike Brosseau moment where everything just kind of mixed together to make that perfect moment for him.

[00:22:11] He's, he's almost, you know, what do you say, a 20 minute drive is where he grew up from, from Fenway Park. Um, he gets the call up, doesn't think he's gonna get in the game, and it just happens to get extended to the point where he has to get into the game. 

[00:22:23] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:22:23] Mat Germain: So I, I think, I thought he pitched really well.

[00:22:26] He, he looked composed, but he's always had great mound presence, and I've always noted that. And every time I wrote about him, like he just has the moxie that says I belong. I, I, I'm ruling this mound. It's my mound. I. And, uh, I know what I'm doing up here. So it was great to see what it leads to. I have no idea.

[00:22:45] I'm like, do they keep starting him in AAA or do they shift to the relief role now? Like, do you know, because he looked so good at, so we're talking about closers and needing the bridge guys and a few injuries coming up. Like he could fit in that role for sure. And then you [00:23:00] still have Kyle Gibson and Joe Boyle giving you two really good options in AAA for, for starters if another one happens to fall off.

[00:23:08] Wow. But, uh. That's my thoughts on Ian. I thought he did great. 

[00:23:13] Mark Corbett: It was fun watching him. I tell you what, I'm the youth on this team. You, it still just gets me. Mm-hmm. I guess there's two guys. I'm always looking for excitement on the Tampa Bay Rays. Well, actually it's more than just two. It could be either one of the Lowe brothers.

[00:23:29] Yeah, we know they're not brothers. Low lau, uh, it, but then I look and I see Jonathan Aranda, who's just solid. He is. He is a continuously a good performance. He gets on base, but then that, to me, one of the most entertaining, of course is Junior Caminero. Mm-hmm. Wow. I mean, whether it's hitting the home runs or you see him picking up that ball and getting it over to first, it is just exciting to watch him 

[00:23:55] Mat Germain: and play.

[00:23:58] He's, he's one of those guys, you [00:24:00] see, he is coming into his own, his defense has, has improved all year long. Uh, he's making more of the solid plays. He's, he's, he's getting involved even in moments where you say, oh, he could have let the ball go to the shortstop. He's like, Nope, I've got this. And he's making those solid plays.

[00:24:16] He's made a few really nice ones, um, that, that were, you know, good highlights. Um, I have to ask though, did you see Denzel Clark's catch in the out outfield for the A's? No, what, what? I missed that. Oh my goodness. So he climbed the, the center field wall and stole a home run that probably reached five feet above the wall.

[00:24:39] By the time, oh my gosh. He, he had climbed it and he had to twist his body around and twist the arm to scoop it out and make sure it didn't drop out after he was done. Look it up. Go online, look up the Denzel Clark, uh, and, and he's made two other ones this year that were highlight reels as well. But my goodness that he's gonna play for Team Canada and he's going to be a [00:25:00] lot of fun to watch.

[00:25:01] Wow. So just a little short story on that. Um, he actually was helped by the Naylor brothers and their family in terms of getting involved with baseball. They're the ones that got him hooked on it, basically, and, and kind of facilitated a lot of the learning that he went through in Canada. So, uh, it's kind of unique situation to see.

[00:25:19] See, you know, three guys from a similar area all bonded together, and he spoke really highly of both, uh, Bob or Bo and, um, and Josh Nailer. So it, it, it's one of those cool situations, but the catches are just outstanding. Uh, so I had to note that just because, uh, you know. It's someone, one of those unique things that you usually see, you know, at the end of the year when they do all the highlights and you're like, oh, I missed that one.

[00:25:47] I didn't see that one, but this one's worthwhile going to see 

[00:25:50] Mark Corbett: I have to find that and snag it and uh, put it up online. 'Cause that sounds, that sounds amazing. Oh, brother. Wow. You know, [00:26:00] I'm looking here to see tonight we are. Right now the game's four to three, Boston's leading bottom of the fifth, two outs.

[00:26:08] And we'll see what happens from here. But I feel good about this. I think we will probably walk away with the series, so we'll see what goes. Yep. This is the rubber match, right? Yes, it is. Yeah. Oh, right. 

[00:26:20] Mat Germain: You 

[00:26:20] Mark Corbett: know, 

[00:26:21] Mat Germain: another note that ha-seong kim uh, has a, a hit again today. He's playing, uh, second base, so he is not DH'ing, which is nice to see.

[00:26:30] And, , and so he's nearing, I think the next week and a half to two weeks is what he has in terms of, . Playing time before he, he would've to come off Iil. And they also sent Richie Palacios to , for a rehab assignment down in the FCL. So he's on his way back now as well. Um, and that both those returns are gonna put some pressure on the Rays.

[00:26:51] You're talking about trades. I think there was one significant trade earlier this week that I, that I noticed that, I can't remember exactly what it was. But, uh, you're [00:27:00] starting to see teams starting to make those moves, and it's going to be interesting to see how much the rays believe in their position right now and, and what they're willing to invest.

[00:27:10] Mark Corbett: . Things are weird here in Florida, as you might imagine. Weird segue. Uh, yeah, but just looking across, I was talking about the event we had earlier this week and plus also the Lou Piniella Award being handed out a legacy to Rick Vaughan, which is fantastic. Uh, but what's some of the other things going on? I was surprised to see, you know, we got all these theme parks around here.

[00:27:33] One of 'em is Busch Gardens and they've got Hallow Scream each October. Yeah, I know, but they're actually, I guess they say I've got this stuff in storage. We've got nothing to do with it. Oh, and Friday the 13th is coming up, so there's, they've got something called strangle wood estates, open house strangle wood, and that about it.

[00:27:58] Yeah. They have it as, it's a [00:28:00] listed property for 666, 660 6,000, whatever dollars. And , the realty company. Evermore, you know, with the, with the, the raven. Yeah. Yeah. Evermore. Evermore.

[00:28:15] So that's going on this week and it, other news, but actually what associated some with the Rays? I saw that, uh, Mr. Wander Franco, uh, found one more, they've found one more thing to get him with. Evidently he is gun possession charge, which he's not supposed to be able to have. He got that hit the other day and his trial.

[00:28:36] So it's going to be resuming June 17th. So I guess that means he'll be off the 14th so he can watch, uh, DJ t's holiday celebration with the March of the tin soldiers on, uh, yeah, president Trump's birthday. So. 

[00:28:54] Mat Germain: We're watching the Rays right now. Mark. I'm, I'm sorry. Seeing, you know Yeah, they're, they're [00:29:00] well above 500 right now, despite all the hurdles they've had to clear and Shane McClanahan not being there, et cetera, but where would this team be if Wander Franco was at shortstop?

[00:29:12] Mark Corbett: Wow. You know, I, I, I'm looking though with what we have with Ha Sound, Kim. I mean, I look at if Cam Monero was shortstop, you know, I, I would feel good I think about that. Do you think, I mean, that's, would you have put, would you put him 

[00:29:30] Mat Germain: there? I. Caminero? No, I, I think he could handle it, but I not think ray's, the ray's like extra range at short stop and he just doesn't cover as much ground as some of the other guys do.

[00:29:43] Like you're talking about going into the outfield and, and into center field sometimes and, and over to second base. I don't think Junior has that kind of range. Which is why they, they like him at their base. He has the arm for it. Yeah. And I think he can, you know, whatever balls he gets to, he would field cleanly.

[00:29:58] That's not, it's not a [00:30:00] hands issue or a glove issue. It's more of a range issue. And that's why when you look down the line and you look at, uh, Carson Williams, Gregory Barrios, Adrian Santana, all of their shortstop across the board are elite defenders. And, and that's what they, they've, I don't think they'll leverage stray from that, to be honest.

[00:30:18] Um, it doesn't matter like. That, that's why they put so much value in tailored walls, you know, compared to other teams because that's, that's to them, the way they keep their pitchers off the field as, as quickly as they can is by having that keystone shortstop defensively. So, um. The one, you know, eventually down the line.

[00:30:40] Could they do that with somebody like, like Junior Camineron, or, or a similar style for sure. Um, I think the only way I could see it happen, mark, and this is what Al Throw is that caveat is, is let's say they develop a stud third basement who really can't move off short, off third, right. [00:31:00] I don't know. Let's say Braden Taylor, uh, really starts lighting up AA and AAA after his funk, you know, to start the season.

[00:31:07] And, and he pushes the envelope to the point where. The only place we can really fit him because of the bra makeup we have to shift Junior Camineron narrow to, to shortstop. Maybe they, they revisit that and they say, can he do it? They had Joey Wendell do it for a short amount of time. Right. And so maybe, but I, I still feel like Carson Williams will grab a hold of the bad job and he won't let it go anyway.

[00:31:32] Mark Corbett: Well, so Carson Williams, you see him? Mm-hmm. What, where are we gonna put Hot 

[00:31:37] Mat Germain: Sun Kim, when he comes out? I think ultimately the, the rays will end up trading him if he's healthy at all. And I said this on, on, uh, blue Sky. Uh, the Rays gave, uh, uh, Nate Valdi a two year deal when he was rehabbing. And they, they gave, they, they loaded up the, the second year, big time.

[00:31:58] Sure enough, [00:32:00] you know, he got healthy, proved he was healthy in the majors a couple of times. Boom. He was dealt, uh, they, they did the same thing with Wilson Ramos. They back loaded the contract, brought him in two years. Dealt him as soon as he was healthy. They didn't stick around with him too long. So I think it'll be the run up to the trade deadline, uh, for him to prove that he's healthy and he's ready to go.

[00:32:24] I can't see the Rays paying him 16 million next year. The only way it makes sense and that they do that is if they don't intend to keep Brandon Lauer around and they'll trade him, and then that money converts over to Kim. And then maybe he becomes the know, the quote unquote leader slash because he does have ver versatility.

[00:32:43] So Hassam Kim can move around even if he's, you know, not playing as much as, as he would on other teams. Um, you know, you, you can move him around the field enough to get him to playing time, even if it's late in the game. And, um. I [00:33:00] think again, it comes down to the Rays, having to make decisions. Do they want to pay a player of house on Kim's caliber, 16 million in 2026 with a stadium of 10,000 people?

[00:33:12] You know? 'cause I don't see them in the Trop for some reason. 

[00:33:15] Mark Corbett: No, no, no. I, I don't either. And, and it, yeah, he sounds much more like a trading chip than anything else. Mm-hmm. So we'll see what happens there. But, eh, 

[00:33:25] Mat Germain: I, I don't know. The good news is Carson Williams has brought up his, his offensive game over the last.

[00:33:31] Uh, two weeks, I think he's up to a, a, an average over 300 over that span. He said three home runs, three doubles, stole a base. He's, he's doing a lot better at the plate than he had been early on. And, um, he's still only 21 mark. Like, I think people forget that. Like he's not even, you know, it's the same thing with somebody called me out on Blue Sky today about Adrian Santana.

[00:33:55] I'm like, he's the second youngest. Hit her in that league and, and, and he's leading off [00:34:00] for the bowling green hot rods, and he's got the second lowest swinging strike percentage. Like you've gotta look at the details before you rip somebody up because they're batting average isn't high, right? Um, like there's a lot more to it than that.

[00:34:12] And they're learning things and they're learning to handle certain things, and they're more focused a lot of times on defensive. Things or, you know, maybe they're trying to get their at bats up against left-handed hi, uh, pitchers when they normally wouldn't see a left-handed pitcher, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:34:27] You can go through a long list of things that guys go through in the minors, but you have to watch the games to know whether or not a player is good. Like, that's my thing is that, you know, looking at the stats is great. You can, you know, some things will jump out at you right away and be obvious, but watch the games and watch their at bats.

[00:34:44] What are the, how many are they fouling off? What are they getting beat by? Uh, where are they getting beat? High low? Is it possible that they, you know, they get past that and are able to adjust. Uh, you know, like Brandon Lau, he's never gonna adjust to the low and away pitches. We know this, [00:35:00] it's permanent.

[00:35:02] He's never gonna have a high batting average because they know how to attack him that way. So he's learned to be better about it, you know, to to have success and bursts how it works for him. And that's fine. That's a, you know, made baseball is a lot of failure. Yeah. Uh, you have to be lenient on guys. 

[00:35:19] Mark Corbett: Well, and the two words come together in my mind.

[00:35:22] It's player development. Yeah. I mean, and you, you're looking at, especially in these youngsters in the, you know, aa, aa, we're looking at, that's happening. We expect certain things to fail. We expect to see It's part of the learning experience to make them a better payer player, to be able to move up to the show.

[00:35:41] So yeah. I'm glad you pointed that out to somebody who was being a little overly critical. Yeah. I don't know brother. I'll tell you what else. What else, what else, eh? Yeah, that's pretty much it for me this week. I don't really have much else to talk about.

[00:35:58] Mat Germain: You don't want to talk about [00:36:00] California?

[00:36:00] Mark Corbett: I. Geez.

[00:36:01] Yeah, let's talk about California. You know, it's funny you mentioned that I was watching the Padres game earlier today and they're having their second Mexican heritage day today. Yeah, I I, I love that. You know, alls I can see in my mind without even actually watching the game and seeing people in the stands, waving Mexican flags and then waiting to see some, some individual, you know, walk them out the door.

[00:36:28] For, for it. It's, it's just the fires out. Yeah. That's another kind of fires. Um. The, the federal government coming into situations like this is just ridiculous. There's so many conservatives who talk about state rights, state rights, state rights, and that's fine until you're going into a blue state, and then well, you know, toss it to the side.

[00:36:50] , I don't think, , there's a reason for the National Guard, there's a reason for the Marines, and I don't think what's happening right now is a reason to have those folks there. [00:37:00] I want. People to be safe. I want law enforcement officers to be safe and be treated with respect. But , this heavy handedness from the executive branch is just unyielding.

[00:37:13] And then today, alls I can think is I see that DJT is going to allow the, um, all this, all of the different. Spaces that have been renamed, he's gonna have them go back to the original name and the, it's, it's even more insulting because while he's going back to the original name, well, it's not gonna be that person.

[00:37:37] It's gonna be another private we found in World War I, and we're actually gonna name it after them. They just happen to share the same name as that Confederate General that it was named after originally. And it's like, good Lord, just, you know what life, if you wanna be a. Be the beast that you are. Be the beast and own up to it, and don't act like you're gonna sugarcoat this crap.

[00:37:58] And the 

[00:37:58] Mat Germain: Klu Klu, the Ku Klux [00:38:00] Klan wore hoods, right? Because they were ashamed of their actions and, and they were not, uh, able to be. The people that they wanted to be out in the open and do these atrocious things. So they wore hoods. What are ice wear wearing? They don't even have uniforms. Yeah, they're, they're wearing, you know, hoods over their faces because they're ashamed of what they're doing.

[00:38:22] They know what's wrong. Um, and that's the whole feeling I get about the entire, you know, thing. But I rewatch a, a, a show or a movie with Robert Deval that was called Colors. Do you remember that? Uh, movie. Yes. Yes. About the police officers in Los Angeles, so it's very applicable to that. And, and you, what was the war about in Los Angeles at the time?

[00:38:43] You know, it was blue versus red, exactly what you just said. And, and it's happening at a national level in this whole de definitiveness of, of making, using politics as a weapon. Yeah. To get what you want. That needs to go away. And when you've turned [00:39:00] the Supreme Court into one of those colors. There is no law at that point.

[00:39:07] Yeah, 

[00:39:07] yeah. 

[00:39:07] You know, and that's the, the sad truth of it all, because the, the quote unquote more docile side is what I would call, is still trying to use the courts, which are always, always, always gonna ramp things up to the Supreme Court, who they know is one-sided. So how are you supposed to get any justice at that point?

[00:39:30] Any, any ethical? Justice. Right. You can't. So that's the sad truth of it all. And I don't know how you get out of it. I really don't. 

[00:39:39] Mark Corbett: You have to continue to just replace every Dagone Congress person who's not working toward a solution. Mm-hmm. And that's what it's gonna take. And it's real easy for me to point it all red for that.

[00:39:51] But there's some blue too that just haven't got off their dagone Keter to do anything about it. And they, they need to be evaluated and judged to, [00:40:00] and have somebody in who's got some, Hmm, who's got the fortitude. I'll go with that. 

[00:40:09] Mat Germain: I just hope it doesn't leach into, um, a, a worse situation where people start because there's a lot of trigger happy people out there and, and, and, you know, some of them are not exactly well educated about the impacts of their actions.

[00:40:24] Yeah. Um, and, and I hope it doesn't go too far too quickly. 'cause once the. Ignition goes, you don't know where things are gonna lead from that point onwards. You can't put the genie back in the box as easily once you've gone beyond a certain step. So, um, I, I wish everybody all the best. I hope that cooler heads prevail and I hope it doesn't lead into, you know, the vast majority of, of people's lives and that, uh, some way somehow.

[00:40:54] You know, cooler heads prevail overall. 

[00:40:56] Mark Corbett: Well, I, I, I hope you're right there. But I gotta tell you, I was [00:41:00] concerned when the president said, you know, he was basically going to give a pardon to Pete Rose, and then Manfred did that. So I see my concern goes here that I look at Cleveland and I'm thinking, will the president be speaking to the commissioner and saying, you know, how about them Indians?

[00:41:21] Or, or better yet, or better yet, uh,

[00:41:25] Mat Germain: bring back the Washington Bullets.

[00:41:26] Mark Corbett: That's right. Good lord. You know, uh, uh, yeah. D-E-I-D-E-I or our worst yet. What, what's the field called? Where they play in, in, uh, Cleveland. Progressive field. Progressive, yeah. I'm sorry. We can't have any progressives in baseball, so we need to re rename the field, man.

[00:41:44] No, don't bring 

[00:41:45] back to Washington Redskins. Don't. 

[00:41:50] Yeah, I don't know, but I'm with you, brother. I want to, you know, try to find a peaceful way to continue to protest folks. Make sure that when time comes to vote, you see those [00:42:00] people who've done nothing or who, who've given a lot of lip service and put 'em out, kick 'em out.

[00:42:05] You know, vote 'em out. And it's, uh, it's the one legal thing we can do, even when those within the, uh, administration are breaking every law they can. And we just gotta stand up and speak and be out there all the time with this. So there's all those, uh, no kings rallies going on. I think there's even some in Tampa this weekend.

[00:42:26] Find out where yours are. Make your voice known. That's all I can say. 

[00:42:31] Mat Germain: Yep. There's a lot of, um. Of good, uh, tools out there in terms of, uh, organization online now that you can get awareness on. So just, I, I would encourage people to educate themselves on what is actually going on, not using their normal outlets.

[00:42:48] Just go around and, and, you know, look at what is actually being reported by a wide variety of sources. 

[00:42:57] Mark Corbett: Yes. So 

[00:42:57] Mat Germain: that you get the most, uh. [00:43:00] You know, wide range of options to pick from and, and decide for yourself what, um, what is actually taking place and what's being hyper bold into some sort of. Emergency, which doesn't exist, 

[00:43:13] Mark Corbett: don't get caught in an echo chamber.

[00:43:15] It's easy to do, so. All right, well boys and girls, I think we're gonna wrap it up here today and I wish everybody out there a great weekend. Hope you enjoy the your game. Let's see right now, what's the score? Still four to three, Boston leading, and we'll see what happens. Buelher's still pitching 83 pitches into it, top of the seventh.

[00:43:39] Mat Germain: He's getting some tough calls too. 

[00:43:41] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Oh man. Another time we'll talk about the beginning of that game and, and uh, DE's calling himself his own walk right there at the beginning. Anyway, thanks a lot man. It's good to seeing you buddy. 

[00:43:55] Mat Germain: Good to see you too. And uh, yeah, have a good weekend. Alrighty.