00:00And today, they're going to have another game here in St. Louis.
00:03Bale is on the mound for Boston, going up against Pallante,
00:06the right-handed pitcher for St. Louis.
00:08If we take a look at the side itself, overnight, Craig, minus 120s,
00:12still in the minus 120s.
00:13Total of this game, listed at 8.5, struggling Boston in town versus St. Louis.
00:18What are we looking at today from your side?
00:20Yeah, bizarre start for the Red Sox.
00:22Any team can start off 8-6, you know?
00:25So I'm not all that bullish on St. Louis.
00:27And if I had to guess, the front office is kind of probably looking at this
00:31going, wait a second here.
00:32I mean, this is not what we, you know, this is a down year for us.
00:35We don't need to be winning this many games.
00:37But look, good for the Cardinals fans.
00:39They're always very passionate.
00:40I think the best fan base or one of the best fan bases in the country.
00:43What has gone right for the Cardinals?
00:46Listen, the common theme on this show is, I mean, I know Baio hasn't pitched well,
00:49but the common theme is everybody's pitching well at the start of the season in April.
00:52And this is going to go the other way eventually.
00:54But, Donnie, this is a great lesson for all in baseball.
00:58Sometimes you have a prospect that just takes a little while to get it.
01:03And, I mean, I don't know if he's gotten it or not,
01:06but Jordan Walker is leading the major leagues in home runs.
01:10And that was supposed to happen three years ago and two years ago and last year.
01:14And then it was like, oh, give up.
01:16He's done.
01:16It's not going to happen.
01:17And now, all of a sudden, he's the most dangerous hitter going right now.
01:21So, he'll be in the lineup today.
01:23You see his prop numbers in terms of odds shooting down in terms of length.
01:28Like, I mean, he's one of those that's predicted to hit a home run now almost every single day.
01:33You know, Boston not playing great baseball, but I do think eventually they will get it going.
01:38And, look, it just shows you there's Jared Kelenic, you know, on one side who just never had it.
01:44And you waited and you waited and you waited and it just never happened.
01:47But it could – look, another example of a guy like that, Donnie, is this the season of Mickey Moniak?
01:53Remember Mickey Moniak, of course?
01:54Yes.
01:55Yeah, okay.
01:55I didn't mean to steal it from you there.
01:57But, like, I almost picked him.
02:00They had a home run today and are propped it.
02:02And I looked at him like, ah, I don't know if they're this –
02:04but sometimes it just takes time for these guys.
02:06We give up so soon.
02:08Credit to Jordan Walker for whatever adjustments he's making.
02:11Dangerous hitter going right now for the Cardinals.
02:13Yeah, Mickey Moniak right out of high school here.
02:15And it's so funny.
02:16Like, some teams tank and your organization isn't good.
02:18You get Strasburg.
02:19You get Bryce Harper.
02:19And it's like, man, that's exactly what you want.
02:21Like, we got Moniak in Philadelphia.
02:22So, the expectations were high, even though the scouts were telling you he's not really a number one.
02:27It's just it fit into that slot there.
02:28There's not too many – by the way, you look at that top 10, top 20.
02:32There wasn't a lot of superstar studs in that draft either.
02:34But Moniak looks like he's finally getting it.
02:36And he's still relatively young in Major League Baseball years.
02:38We'll see if that goes.
02:39So, when you take a look at this game itself, Craig,
02:41we talked about so many situations where, like, what are the weather conditions going to do?
02:45Is it rainy?
02:46Is it cold?
02:46Craig, we had 78-degree temperatures today in St. Louis
02:49and sustained winds at 17 miles per hour blowing out to left.
02:54So, you take a look at Bagel on the mound.
02:56Last year, he was very good.
02:57As you pointed out, not so good to start this season.
03:0045 batters he's faced.
03:01An ISO against, which is 189, slightly elevated.
03:03But that weighted-on-base percentage, 425 is K-rate, only 15%.
03:08Burleson, Walker, Gorman in the middle of that lineup.
03:10And by the way, the first six guys in that lineup against right-handed pitching,
03:14we're talking about the Cardinals.
03:15Everybody's above average there with weighted-on-base percentages.
03:18And if we flip it over to Palante, he struggled at times last year,
03:21but very good with his power numbers to start the season.
03:24However, Craig, low K-rate, high-walk percentage.
03:28I actually think, hey, we might get runs today in St. Louis.
03:32We could.
03:32We could, definitely.
03:33I think Boston's got to get it going offensively here a little bit.
03:36I do think, like, concern level when you look at 5-9,
03:41I think Roman Anthony will be fine.
03:42He really hasn't done much.
03:43But I think, you know, the concern for me, Donnie, is, you know,
03:47some of the other guys in life, Trevor Story in particular,
03:49like batting 130 on the season.
03:52And I remember in spring training, it's like, wow,
03:53he looks like he's all the way back.
03:55He had a good opening day.
03:56And all of these expectations certainly changed for him.
03:58But Trevor Story, you know, he ain't 25 years old anymore.
04:01So, I don't know, is Boston's roster construction correct?
04:04I think so.
04:06I think they do get it going.
04:07But you can lose a season in April.
04:10And if Boston is going to start off 5-16 or something,
04:14I don't think they will.
04:15But look, they're 5-9, 6-16, 6-15.
04:18Can't have that.
04:19So, this is a series that they were supposed to win.
04:22So, I don't know.
04:23It just hasn't been a great start for them.
04:25So, it just hasn't been a great start for them.
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