00:00Kevin Franson now joining us from Nationals TV. He's in Chicago, maybe already even at Wrigley Field.
00:06Franny, how you doing, buddy? Thanks for joining us.
00:09Thanks, boys. Yeah, just walking into Wrigley.
00:12Kind of forgot that 10.30, your time, is a little different than 10.30, our time.
00:18There's an 800 number calling me, and I'm like, why the hell is this calling me?
00:23I kept pushing the disconnect, and I was like, I see Dan, and I'm like, damn, why is this 8?
00:28And I'm like, oh, my God, right when I said, you're supposed to go on with something, aren't you?
00:32And I said, yes. So, here I am.
00:35Oh, yeah, man. Appreciate it.
00:37We're not very good with time zones as a show.
00:41We booked a guest for later in the show that I could not figure out what time to tell this
00:44person to join us.
00:45So, don't worry about it. Time zones give me trouble all the time.
00:48See, JP's trying to act like he's French. I don't know about that we.
00:51He don't know how to tell time. I know how to tell time.
00:55Yeah, no.
00:56Dude, so, I mean, you played in the majors for a long time, and we were just talking about what
01:02it's like going to Wrigley as a fan.
01:05What's it like? I don't know if you're ever there for opening day, but playing in Wrigley and then being
01:10there today to broadcast opening day, what does that feel like?
01:14I mean, that's significant.
01:16Yeah, it's pretty special. Number one, because it's not freezing here, which is fantastic, just for the time being.
01:25But I will say, like, as a player, this is it. This is everything.
01:33You could say Fenway for some people. For me, it was Chicago.
01:36Being able to play here, play here with Barnes, right?
01:39Like, when I play with Barry, I mean, you're coming to a place that, you know, people just came to
01:45watch him and do his thing.
01:50Yeah, let's throw Franny on hold real quick, Jeff, and see if you can get a connection there.
01:56Yeah.
01:57Wrigley's like 100 years old, so if he's down in the lower levels of Wrigley, like I'm guessing, that might
02:02be.
02:02That's like being in a dungeon.
02:03That's not built for self-service, right?
02:04No, no, not at all.
02:06So, today, Nats Cubs, it's a 2-20 start our time. It's 1-20 for them.
02:12Starting pitchers, Cade Cavalli and Boyd going for the Cubs.
02:19Cade Cavalli, Vegas set, an over-under of three and a half strikeouts.
02:24Kind of curious about that. Boyd for the Cubs, five and a half strikeouts.
02:28What would you go in for Cade?
02:31Is he a strikeout guy, Stallion?
02:33I mean, typically he is. Last year, his strikeout numbers weren't that great, but I do think this year,
02:39you're going to see kind of a different Cade Cavalli. You're going to see more of a curveball in there.
02:43And I think, honestly, at this point, I would project him to have more strikeouts than innings pitched this year.
02:49So, I actually kind of like that line, going over three and a half on the Ks.
02:52I kind of do, too, dude. That caught my eye. The Cubs are heavy favorites in this thing.
02:58The Cubs, if you bet the Cubs money line, minus 225.
03:02Damn.
03:03I mean, I'm tempted to bet the Nats. You're almost getting, I mean, hell, if you shop it around,
03:09you might be able to get plus 200. It's like plus 190, plus 185.
03:15I mean, get 2-1 on opening day where nobody knows anything about these teams yet.
03:20I recognize the Nats maybe aren't expected to be world beaters, but it's one game in March.
03:26You know, like, who the hell knows?
03:29How do we feel about it?
03:32I don't know.
03:33I think we're working to get Kevin Franson to join us again.
03:38What time does our coverage start?
03:40Like, 145-ish?
03:42When we go to Charlie and Dave in Wrigley?
03:45150. It'll be the pregame that starts for Charlie and Dave.
03:49And, yeah, you'll hear the live pre- and post-game here right in 106.7 The Fan.
03:54But I'm excited, man.
03:55This will be a fun time today.
03:57Is the dude Boyd, I mean, to have five-and-a-half strikeouts, is he really good,
04:02or is that reflective of the Nats lineup?
04:04No, I think Matthew Boyd's really good.
04:06Like, he's kind of been this late bloomer in his career.
04:10He's mid-30s.
04:11I think he's, like, 35 years old.
04:12He's a really good, talented left-handed pitcher.
04:15But I think that right now, kind of where the Nationals are today,
04:19there's, like, an unknown with this lineup.
04:21Do we know, like, what the lineup will be yet?
04:24I know there was some talk we don't know who the first baseman is.
04:27I mean, it feels like it's going to be Luis Garcia, right?
04:29Yes, but then again, there's a left-handed pitcher going today.
04:32And so I think that's kind of, like, the big question.
04:34Right now, if I were to be making this lineup,
04:37I think you probably have Nassim Nunez starting at second base,
04:40and then you have Andres Chaparro starting over at first base
04:42because that's that right-handed bat there.
04:45And, again, you kind of need some power in this lineup,
04:46especially from the right side of the plate.
04:49I just don't really know exactly how they're going to have this lineup in 2026.
04:54All right, I think we've got Kevin back now.
04:57Franny, if you're there, I hope you can hear us.
04:59I'm here. I'm here.
05:00Okay, all good, man.
05:01I'm here.
05:02We were just talking about trying to kind of figure out
05:04what this lineup's going to look like today.
05:06Do you have any insight on that?
05:08Not yet.
05:09We're just getting to the ballpark.
05:11I'm sure they'll have a lineup up soon.
05:15Look, I think the first 24 guys you're going to know, right,
05:22with Wood, Abrams, Salem, Lyle, and then a host of –
05:26I mean, maybe a host of others around that 3-4.
05:29So with the lefty on the mound, it's tough, though,
05:31to put all the left-hand hitters at the top.
05:33We saw C.J. before we got rained out, what was that, a week ago?
05:38Is that the Marlins?
05:39C.J. was going to hit the pitch.
05:41So I'm interested to see how it's going to, you know, pan out in this whole time.
05:47Yeah, it will be an interesting season.
05:50What are – like, for you going in, and you're going to call 160 of these things,
05:54right, what are, like, signs of progress you want to see from this roster
05:59and for the organization?
06:02Well, I think that's the best question of it all
06:04because I think that's the defining thing.
06:07I think there's been a lot of BS the last several years about, you know,
06:12who we are and what we are instead of, like, the truth.
06:15And truth is that there's going to be struggles at times.
06:18We know that.
06:20But we know the true being for the national organization is what?
06:26Gross.
06:27And we've got to see a bunch of guys.
06:29Like, I'm interested to see how many guys in the minor leagues make a name
06:32for themselves this year, right?
06:34Like, that's a big deal.
06:36And I don't know if we can sit there and say, you know, it's X number of guys.
06:42That's how you know it was a great year.
06:45But, man, if it's a minimum of five, okay.
06:48But it's got to be more than five that establish themselves, I feel like,
06:51this year as either top, top prospects
06:56or really solid major leaguers as we move forward.
07:01Do you think they try to have a lot of different lineups this year
07:05to figure out what they have moving forward?
07:08Well, I think, number one, that.
07:10And, number two, just a different way of thinking, like, the analytic world
07:14and trying, you know, the highest run value you can possibly get
07:17and create for matchups.
07:19I think that's going to be different for people to watch.
07:23It's not the norm, right?
07:24I think that's the part that, you know, people don't like different.
07:27So this is going to be different for people.
07:30And I'm looking at, you know, we could see 152 different lineups.
07:35Who knows?
07:36Wow.
07:36You know, is that wrong?
07:38You and Coco are going to be busy.
07:41No, really, I mean, like, you know,
07:42I mean, that's how most major league baseball, you know, is going now.
07:46Right?
07:46You don't have, like, the Phillies or, let's say, the Dodgers
07:52where, you know, they have a lot of pieces, right,
07:55that they need to know what's going to be where.
07:58That's how the case is.
08:00So there's a lot.
08:01There's a lot of good, I think, in 162 different lineups.
08:05Hey, Franny, enjoy opening day in Wrigley.
08:08It's pretty damn cool.
08:09Dan Colco gets to make his debut as kind of the everyday broadcaster there alongside with you.
08:16Really excited to see you, Dan, and Alexa all season.
08:19Alexa's going to be great.
08:20I think Nats fans are going to be really excited about that.
08:23Well, what I think for you guys is how am I going to break a man?
08:25Like, that's what I want to know.
08:26Like, what are you going to have to do, you know, for a rookie status still?
08:30You got to haze him.
08:31He thinks he's a solid vet right now.
08:33You got to haze him, dog.
08:34He's a rookie year.
08:35He got to carry some bags or something.
08:39He's beers on the bus all day long.
08:40I know that.
08:41Have a great call, dude.
08:42All right, man.
08:43Take care.
08:44All right, guys.
08:45Appreciate you.
08:45Kevin France in there.
08:46You can watch him, Nationals TV, a little later on this afternoon.
08:50Give him a follow, at Kevin France.
08:52Let's see.
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