00:00How can you not be romantic about being right next to the Pittsburgh Pirates?
00:06Oof.
00:07It is Diamond Cavs here on Sean and RJ at 105.
00:11Three of the fan, the Athletic, came out with their ranking of the lineups in Major League Baseball.
00:16And I was just, you know, I'd see for how far down they were going to go.
00:19And at 21 is the Pittsburgh Pirates.
00:21Just ahead of them is the Texas Rangers with the key additions of Nimmo and Jansen and Andrew McCutcheon.
00:27And the loss is obviously of Adolis and Marcus Simeon.
00:31Man.
00:32I know.
00:33I like, you know, I like the Andrew McCutcheon story.
00:37I do.
00:37Andrew McCutcheon had a really nice career.
00:40But if we're talking about Andrew McCutcheon as an offseason addition, you're in trouble.
00:45I'm sorry.
00:46You are.
00:47I'm not trying to poo-poo a nice story.
00:49Any other serious baseball market is not sitting here celebrating Andrew McCutcheon.
00:54I'm just being real.
00:56Come on now.
00:56All right, look.
00:57Is he 37?
00:59Yeah.
01:00Three years ago.
01:01He's 39.
01:03Come on, man.
01:05That's not cool, guys.
01:06Look, Andrew probably last had a really good year, I would say.
01:17I can't even say that.
01:182021?
01:19Yeah, 21.
01:21I mean, OPS.
01:22That was his highest OPS since.
01:25When he had 20 home runs in 2024.
01:27It's not his fault.
01:29No, he's getting older.
01:30Yeah.
01:31He's getting older.
01:31If you're sitting there and talking about it as a key addition or you're counting on
01:34something major from Andrew McCutcheon, you're in a lot of trouble.
01:37Yeah, it's, you know, since COVID, he's had, like you said, like 2021 was decent, 2024 was okay, but it
01:45also wasn't Prime McCutcheon.
01:47Prime Andrew McCutcheon is an MVP candidate or an MVP.
01:50Literally, he was an MVP, and he was top five in MVP for four straight years.
01:56Do you know how hard that is to do with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to be top five in the MVP
01:59for four straight years?
02:01Askeens.
02:01Yeah.
02:02So he was a guy that was like, okay, I could see him making the Hall of Fame at one
02:08point in his career.
02:08That's not who he is now.
02:10Now he's a clubhouse guy.
02:12Now he's a role guy.
02:13He'll get you one war.
02:16You know, if you get one war, one full war out of him, I think you're happy with that for
02:22the season.
02:23But that's the reality of where he is.
02:25But, you know, they talk about the offense being one of the biggest disappointments.
02:29Simeon and Garcia slumping.
02:31They move on.
02:32The free agent pickups did not work.
02:35Obviously, Seager and Lankford, they pick it up Nimmo and his 28 home runs.
02:38And they're hoping that a healthy Evan Carter can develop into an all-star caliber player.
02:44And the one thing, and I keep forgetting about this because he wasn't up with the big league club last
02:49year,
02:49but the Walcott Tommy John is going to keep him out basically all year.
02:54It is a setback for his development.
02:56And it would have been nice to see him maybe as a September call-up.
03:00Or maybe to see him really dominate in spring and force the team to keep him on the active roster,
03:07on the big league club as we get into the regular season, which starts this week, Thursday, right here on
03:15105.
03:16And we're going to have the coaches show.
03:18We're going to have Eric Nadel on weekly on the other shows.
03:22We're going to have Chris Young, G-Bag Nation.
03:24That's who you get for being the flagship, in case you did not know, for your favorite baseball team.
03:29And you hear the greatness of Nadel, Hicks, and Sandler for all 162 and hopefully more.
03:34But Vegas is saying you are not getting more.
03:37No.
03:37Because I got the updated win totals.
03:39All right, let's do it.
03:40What do you think it is?
03:42Pei-Pei, the Texas Rangers last year, I believe, had 81 victories.
03:48I'm going to go 79 and a half.
03:51Oh, wow.
03:52Oh.
03:53Four game drop.
03:55I think.
03:55Do you know what it is?
03:5683 and a half.
03:58Good job cheating.
04:00Because I know you have the Seattle win total or whatever.
04:03But, yeah, you're all right on the money.
04:04In January, it was 83 and a half.
04:07And today, it is 83 and a half.
04:10So, absolutely zero change in Vegas' opinion from January to today.
04:17Now, we go through the American League West.
04:20I have Seattle, this is from BetOnline, at 90 and a half wins.
04:25Okay.
04:26The Armpit at 85 and a half wins.
04:30The Rangers at 83 and a half.
04:33The Athletics at 75 and a half.
04:36So, a good distance away in fourth.
04:38And then the Angels at 70 and a half with the over-under of what you want to take.
04:43So, the Texas Rangers, two games better than last year and finishing in third again.
04:47All right.
04:47So, in Vegas also, the bettors do not believe in this team.
04:55They believe in the Seattle Mariners.
04:57This is the largest gap of any division.
05:01Oh.
05:0397.9% of the money has been bet on Seattle to win the West.
05:1397.9%.
05:14Wow.
05:16So, should Houston, with my Vegas standings, be farther away?
05:21If one's 90 and a half and the other's 85 and a half?
05:24Or no?
05:24Would you expect Seattle to have a higher win total?
05:27Or Houston to have a little bit less?
05:28Or no, that's fine being...
05:29Compared to what the amount of money is, it would make sense that Seattle would either have more or Houston
05:36would have less.
05:37The gap is bigger than five.
05:38Yeah, that would make sense.
05:40So, 97.9%.
05:42No other division.
05:43Like, for example, that's the money.
05:45The Dodgers, the two-time defending champion Dodgers, who also got better this offseason.
05:51Right?
05:51They got better this offseason.
05:53They're not even close.
05:55They're not even close.
05:56I have them at 103 and a half for the win total.
06:00For the win total.
06:00They only have 30% of the money bet on them to win the West.
06:04Wow.
06:0530%.
06:06Now, the Dodgers don't care about the division.
06:08They may not play their guys.
06:09Go home, Dodgers.
06:10They may not play their guys 150 games if they don't have to.
06:14With the most heavily bet division in the sport on one team is the Mariners, and it's not close.
06:20The next highest is the Mets with 70% and the Royals with 50.
06:24Nobody else, no other team has more than 50% of the money other than those three.
06:29And, by the way, outside the Dodgers, the Mariners are the only team in the sport that you have to
06:35have minus money to win.
06:36So, like, for example, minus 105 to win the division.
06:39Nobody else has that.
06:41The Rangers are 3.5 to 1, and 15% of the AL West bets are placed on them, but
06:47less than 1% of the money.
06:48So, Vegas and the bettors don't believe in them.
06:51Highest win total in the sport, Dodgers, 103.5.
06:55Mets and the Yankees, 90.5.
06:59Seattle throw them in there at 90.5.
07:01And then Philadelphia, who we will see on Thursday right here on this station, 89.5 wins.
07:07Teams with the biggest jumps from the 2026 opening win totals in January.
07:13The White Sox, the Dodgers, the Mets, and the Pirates expected to jump by four wins.
07:19Teams with the biggest drops.
07:21The Nats by five.
07:22Marlins, Blue Jays, Cardinals by four.
07:25Reds, Brewers, Yankees, Phillies minus three.
07:28CBS has their predictions to win the division.
07:32All five of their experts picked the Seattle Mariners.
07:35You agreeing with this, by the way?
07:36Any challenge from Houston?
07:38Any real challenge?
07:39I don't think so.
07:40Or a Rangers surprise?
07:41I think the surprise would come from Oakland or the Rangers.
07:45I think the Astros are on a downward trend, and I don't see that being fixed.
07:51I do think Seattle is clearly the favorite in the division.
07:55CBS has three of their five saying the A's are the second-best team.
07:58The other two say the Rangers.
08:00Nobody has the Astros finishing better than third.
08:02One of the things they say about the Rangers, they say, A,
08:05the best player liable to miss months with injuries.
08:09Another one saying, Maybe I'm giving the Rangers too much credit for keeping their guys healthy,
08:13but what if Wyatt Lankford is actually an absolute superstar?
08:18And the Rangers have a nicely balanced roster with upside,
08:21but there are heavy health-permitting caveats throughout.
08:25I don't know that it's a balanced roster.
08:27It's a heavily pitching-favored roster.
08:31Their power lies in the rotation.
08:34One guy says the Rangers are a fringe playoff contender.
08:38Margins are tiny for the American League wildcard.
08:41In fact, only two of the five picked the Rangers to actually make the wildcard at all.
08:48Did you say someone said that there was a site that said the Astros would finish no better than third?
08:55Yeah, CBS.
08:56Nobody had them finish in second.
08:58Who would they have finishing second?
08:59Either the Rangers or the A's.
09:01Wow.
09:02A lot of people are picking the A's.
09:04Now, their lineup is fantastic.
09:07People love their lineup.
09:09It's really a fun, young lineup.
09:13But it has to progress.
09:16They're banking on a progression.
09:18People are putting...
09:21I love watching these TikTok videos of these guys saying,
09:24you know, give me the future Hall of Famer on each team.
09:29And they get to Oakland and they said, Nick Kurtz.
09:33Okay, great.
09:34Nick Kurtz.
09:34Nick Kurtz played in, what, 100 games last year?
09:37It's not right.
09:38140?
09:39That's it?
09:40That was his first year?
09:41Now, granted, he had an awesome year.
09:45Right?
09:45I mean, he did things that you were like, oh my God, this is going to be so awesome.
09:48This guy's got 50 home run potential.
09:51Did you not put him in the Hall of Fame yet?
09:53Like, we don't...
09:53Just say they don't have one.
09:54Well, it's the drill.
09:55Yeah, just say they don't have one.
09:56Just say they don't have one.
09:57They don't have one yet.
09:58It's too soon to tell.
09:59Yeah.
10:00You can't call...
10:01You can't call the race that early.
10:04It's too soon to tell.
10:06So there you go.
10:06That's the Rangers finish in second or third in that one.
10:11I did love this.
10:13This is from SI.
10:17What is a manager's job?
10:20By the way, Brett Boone, tomorrow and all season long, the former Rangers hitting coach
10:26at 9 o'clock here on 105.3 The Fan.
10:29Why is he not back with the team?
10:31And give us all the stuff you could not say while working for the Rangers.
10:35Brett Boone, tomorrow at 9, and he'll be on The Fan Cam, YouTube, and Twitch.
10:40So what is a manager's job in baseball?
10:44Chris Young responded to this article.
10:47He was one of the people that they talked to.
10:48They talked to him, the Braves GM.
10:50And he said, and this is a quote,
10:54in-game decision-making constitutes only about 10% to 15% of a manager's job.
11:01And that number is on the decline.
11:04Universal DH, the Ghostrunner on second.
11:06I hate to call it a Ghostrunner, but it is.
11:07The limit on mound engagements reduced the number of choices that you have.
11:14It's more like, they even say it's more checkers than chess.
11:19Oh, yeah.
11:21Imagine that.
11:21I've never heard that saying put in reverse.
11:23The Braves GM says the least important part of a manager's job is from 7 to 10 p.m.
11:32Man.
11:33Imagine saying that in the NFL.
11:36Ooh.
11:37Could you imagine saying that Brian Schottenheimer, only 10 to 15% of his job, is Sunday at 3.30?
11:47Now, on the best teams, right, the all-time teams, they'll be like Phil Jackson with the Bulls or Jimmy.
11:52They're like, oh, the game was the easy part.
11:54Yeah.
11:55Sure.
11:55But we would still freak out, and they're still making really important decisions on game day.
12:00But, like, if you were just going on a general football team, what would you say the percentage of game
12:06is in terms of the importance of your job?
12:09Like, I would say maybe 60% is the preparation.
12:12That's what I was thinking.
12:1360% or, right, 60% you're prepared, you're well coached, and then 40% is the game.
12:18Maybe it's reversed.
12:19I don't know.
12:20Maybe it is reversed.
12:21And maybe I'm off base here, but that's where the sport is right now.
12:24Well, what do you think?
12:25What do you think are the important in-game decisions for a manager in today's game?
12:31Absolutely the bullpen.
12:32Bullpen.
12:32I don't think there's any question about it.
12:34It is the bullpen.
12:36Are we still getting the lineup handed to the manager from the GM like everyone accused JD of doing?
12:44Is that happening in L.A.?
12:47Oh, with the Dodgers?
12:49I would think so.
12:50I don't think they're getting handed it to him.
12:52I think it's now a group effort.
12:54Okay.
12:55I think they sit down at 3 o'clock, and the analytics team comes in, the GM comes in, they
13:00sit down, they have a convo, and they say, okay, this, this, and this.
13:03We're going to do this.
13:03Maybe it's not 3 o'clock.
13:06Now, I will say this.
13:07One thing, this is going to give you some PTSD from the Cowboys.
13:15Chris Young said that one of the things that he was told, one of the best pieces of advice that
13:21he got when he first took the job, and when he was embarking on a managerial search, this one, he
13:28said, find someone you like being around to be your manager.
13:33Doesn't that sound like Jerry?
13:35That's 1 billion percent Jerry.
13:37I hate that.
13:39Find a coach.
13:40I truly believe that he...
13:42Wade Campo.
13:43Yeah.
13:44He hated...
13:45Again.
13:47Hated.
13:47He didn't hate Bill.
13:49He didn't have fun.
13:50Yeah.
13:51He didn't have fun working with Bill.
13:53Too bad.
13:53Because Bill wasn't a fun guy.
13:55Bill was about football.
13:56All right?
13:57That's great.
13:57And Bill wasn't going to kiss his ass.
13:59He wasn't going to kiss his ass.
14:00You know, he wants somebody that he can put his arm around, have a beer with him.
14:02If Robert Kraft likes Bill Belichick, would he ever want to go have a glass of Caymus with Bill Belichick?
14:09Hell no.
14:09If he saw Bill at Orchids of Asia, he would walk out.
14:12I don't like hearing that about...
14:14See why I said that?
14:15Yeah.
14:15I don't like hearing that at all.
14:18Now, yeah, you want an enjoyable environment, but I assume that Bochy was cool.
14:23Yeah.
14:23And fine.
14:24Yeah, and he had a relationship with him.
14:25I don't know that they fought to keep Bochy here.
14:28I don't think they did.
14:29I think they're like, all right, Bruce is getting older.
14:31And maybe it wore out its welcome.
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