00:00And Steven Matz, that's one of the names, among many, that I forget the second someone says it to me.
00:05Yep.
00:06Steven Matz for Blaze Jordan, which is a name I do remember, but Blaze Jordan,
00:13they were going to get rid of him after the year anyway, weren't they?
00:15You know why you're, I just said this to Murray, you know why you remember the name Blaze Jordan?
00:19Because of Blaze.
00:20No, because I have told you multiple times over the last several months
00:24that this is precisely the kind of guy they should trade.
00:27So this is the kind of guy that they need to move.
00:29There was no space for him here.
00:31He didn't factor in.
00:32He never really lived up to what they thought it was going to be.
00:35He was never part of it.
00:36He was never really part of the plan.
00:37He was their 20th ranked prospect.
00:39But again, was I reading he was going to be like one of those guys eligible for Rule 5
00:43because he was out of service time or whatever, blah, blah, blah.
00:46He was out anyway.
00:47Correct.
00:48Gone.
00:48See you later.
00:49And so now again, Steven Matz, like it's just your run-of-the-mill lefty bullpen pickup.
00:55That's all it is.
00:56Your run-of-the-mill lefty bullpen guy.
00:58He can get lefties out, righties, beat him over the head like he's a baby seal.
01:02It's not really what they need.
01:03It's not enough.
01:04I know that at the very least.
01:05You still need a number two starter.
01:07You could use a bat.
01:07I mean, he helps theoretically.
01:09He gives you some depth in the bullpen.
01:10But was that like a major need?
01:11No.
01:12No.
01:12Again, that's one of those, Murray, that I always chalk up to, you know, you can't have
01:19enough lefties, so you might as well just walk down to the local bar and see if anyone
01:23can throw a bottle against the wall 100 miles an hour.
01:25And if he can, sign him up and bring him in because what the hell, we need another lefty.
01:30Who doesn't need another lefty?
01:32But is he some sort of major piece that alters their fate?
01:37No.
01:38It isn't.
01:39They haven't done that yet, at least.
01:41Four hours to go.
01:43My hope is that if there is a big deal to be made, it's one of those that gets made at
01:47the last minute.
01:49But with some of the names that are coming off the board today, how could you be confident
01:53that there's something coming?
01:55Well, because Joe Ryan's still out there.
01:56I mean, there at least seems to be some online buzz from Jared Karabas and a few others that
02:01maybe the Red Sox are still in.
02:02But you're right.
02:02I mean, the clock's ticking.
02:04You got less than four hours here.
02:05There's still a lot of Devers bucks left over and theoretical fake one Soto money, too,
02:10if you want to, you know, because they were in on one Soto in the offseason.
02:13So they got a bunch of prospects as well.
02:14So do something.
02:15Overpay.
02:16Everyone else is overpaying.
02:17Seattle's overpaying.
02:19Yeah, go ahead.
02:20Go.
02:20The Seattle thing to me is like Exhibit A and the argument against them.
02:26They tried that they being the Red Sox tried to make a deal with the Mariners over the
02:32winter for pitching and giving them offense because everyone knows that the Mariners need
02:36offense.
02:37Everyone.
02:39The Mariners wouldn't do it with the Red Sox during the offseason.
02:43They wouldn't do it.
02:44They didn't like what they were getting or they didn't want to give up one of their starting
02:47pitchers.
02:48And basically, the message there is we would rather wait.
02:52We think something's better is coming along.
02:56In the last week, they've added a small bullpen piece, too.
02:59But the real changes there have come on offense, which, again, is what they were talking to
03:03the Red Sox about.
03:05So in the last week or so, they have added Josh Naylor and now Eugenio Suarez from the
03:14Diamondbacks, who's one of the home run leaders in Major League Baseball this year.
03:17They've added one left-handed hitter who can impact the game and a right-handed hitter who
03:23can impact the game.
03:24And I don't think they've given up any of the pitching that the Red Sox were talking
03:28to them about trying to get for Tristan Casas.
03:31So you tell me, who looks like the smarter team?
03:35The Mariners or the Red Sox?
03:36Seattle called their bluff, was able to help their lineup without giving up their starters,
03:42and the Red Sox are still holding their Louisville Slugger in their hands, trying to figure out
03:46which way is up.
03:48So they spit on your talent, said, good luck with Tristan Casas.
03:52We don't want him.
03:54Now Casas is out for the year.
03:56To me, the Mariners have nailed it.
03:59Have nailed it.
04:00And the Red Sox, again, standing there with their thumbs in their ears.
04:03Where are the Mariners in the standings?
04:05Basically right next to the Red Sox.
04:06Yeah, they're tied for the third wild card right now.
04:09Yeah, they are a primary contender or competitor for one of those wild cards.
04:15Chief competition.
04:16Yep, absolutely, 100%.
04:18And to this point, in the process, they are running circles around you, basically.
04:22Correct.
04:23They have outmaneuvered you, and really, starting in the offseason.
04:28I mean, they turned down what you offered them, because they looked at it and said,
04:31that's not good enough for us to give up a starter.
04:34We can get something close or better for less.
04:38And they were right.
04:39They were right.
04:40They have absolutely executed what they wanted to execute, and you're still standing there.
04:46Thoughts on where the Red Sox are with less than four hours to go until the MLB trade deadline.
04:52Three hours, 51 minutes, and change until the deadline.
04:57Chris can tell us at your number, 617-779-0985.
05:01Lines are open.
05:02Chris Cattello of MassLive has been tweeting, live tweeting all day.
05:07He wrote this.
05:08Boston has $9 to $10 million to go before catching up against the CBT threshold, the tax threshold, of $261 million.
05:15That would seem to be hard to get to.
05:18And that means $9 to $10 million of prorated salary.
05:21Correct.
05:21In other words, you could sign a $20 million a year player and still be below the tax because of what they have left that year, this year.
05:28So $9 to $10 million to go before catching up to the tax.
05:31That would seem to be hard to get to.
05:34But one executive who has had talks with the Red Sox has said money is a factor in their negotiations.
05:41There's always a possibility of a John Henry-imposed budget, which in this case would be higher than the ones he has installed in previous seasons.
05:50But that money is a factor in their negotiations with the Red Sox.
05:54Your thoughts?
05:54I mean, what other thought could you have?
05:57What a horrible look.
05:58Are you kidding me?
06:00So wait a minute.
06:01You trade Raphael Devers.
06:02You shave.
06:03Let's just make it simple.
06:04You save $15 million off the books right out of the gate because you paid half his salary.
06:09You tell people or your chief baseball officer says that you do have some money to play with and that this may be something that can facilitate a deal for you at the deadline.
06:22And then the deadline comes and other teams are out there saying, well, they're money conscious.
06:27What happened to all the money you freed up from Devers?
06:30Is that the – if that's accurate, and I'm not telling you it is or it isn't, I'm just telling you if that's accurate, boy, did they look bad.
06:37Boy, did they look bad.
06:39And would it really be shocking to any of us if that were the case?
06:42Of course not.
06:43Please.
06:44Don't you believe it to be the case unless they prove to us otherwise?
06:46Absolutely.
06:47You hear it from too many guys, too many people, really tapped in, national guys, Jeff Passan, local guys, Chris Cotillo, former executives, J.P. Ricciardi.
06:58They're all saying roughly the same thing.
07:01The budgetary constraints put upon the baseball people by ownership.
07:06So we're back to where we started from.
07:09And Raphael Devers simply being to save the money.
07:13We just have MLB Network up here.
07:17Did they just – Yandy Diaz just got pinch hit for?
07:21Oh, he did?
07:21In the game we were playing this afternoon.
07:22Did I just see that, Jimmy Stewart?
07:24I believe he got hit in the hand while playing today.
07:27Okay, so that's another thing there, too.
07:28Yes, he did.
07:29So he got pinch hit for.
07:31But he also took a pitch off – it looks like the inside of the elbow, maybe, if this game is live and we're just seeing that in real time.
07:38So there's stuff happening by the moment.
07:41You guys got your Twitter decks up, right?
07:44Yeah.
07:44Like, you're following this.
07:45I can't even – I can't even get onto it.
07:47So one day, I guess I do wish I was on.
07:49No, you don't.
07:50You're right.
07:52But so you have –
07:53Diaz is undergoing x-rays.
07:54That's why he left the game.
07:55Okay.
07:56So various tweets, rumors, et cetera.
07:59Just keep them firing as you read them and as you see them.
08:03Just break in and say what's being tweeted.
08:05Please keep me up on that.
08:07But to me, the whole backdrop of today, the whole backdrop of the season is the Rafi Devers trade.
08:18You traded your best hitter and you did it at a time into a team that I think is obvious and the other owner confirmed it,
08:29that you did it just because they took on the salary.
08:33That's why you did it.
08:34That's when you did it.
08:35That's the team you did it with.
08:37And again, it was just confirmed by the Giants owner himself because they took the contract.
08:43So you sold your best hitter for money.
08:47What are you going to do with the money?
08:48And what are you going to do the rest of the year?
08:50That's the context of the team and the season and that's it.
08:53That's not a talk radio narrative.
08:54Those are the stakes.
08:57When you do that, everything gets judged against that trade.
09:02And today's going to be judged against that trade.
09:05He saved you a bunch of money.
09:06The Rafi Devers trade saved you a bunch of money.
09:09They were over the tax before the trade, correct?
09:11I think that is right.
09:13That trade put them below the tax.
09:14Are you going to stay there or are you going to go back into the tax?
09:17Are you going to use that money?
09:18Are you going to use those resources?
09:20Are you still going to try and be as good as you can be this year?
09:23Are you going to prioritize winning this year?
09:26Because that's what you said when you traded Rafi Devers.
09:28This was not waving the flag on the season.
09:30So are you going to wave the flag on the season?
09:33And is the season going to go down the toilet as a result of it?
09:36That's the backdrop of the season.
09:39So let's see what they do.
09:41They have to spend that money as far as I'm concerned.
09:44They have to make that investment, whether it's cash, prospect capital.
09:47They have to reinvest in the team or else they lose whatever moral high ground
09:52they might have been able to claim with the Rafi Devers trade.
09:54And that's the context today.
09:56How can you ask your fans to believe when you don't believe?
10:01How can you ask your fans to believe in the product,
10:05believe that you are trying to win when you don't necessarily show it?
10:09And not even necessarily.
10:10When you don't show it.
10:12So that's, to me, again, the words are always,
10:16you can always say whatever you want.
10:19At the end of the day, it's about what you do.
10:22That's what it is.
10:22It's about what you do.
10:24You trade away your best player and you don't really reallocate that money?
10:29Well, then what do you expect your fans to believe?
10:31You trade away your best player and you don't even know what you do.
