00:00But let's start in the NL East.
00:02The Atlanta Braves right now, the best team in that division, it feels like, by a wide margin.
00:07Marlins, Nationals, Mets, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
00:10We expected this, Craig, to be a three-team race at least for the remaining parts of the summer when
00:15we started out in early April.
00:17Yeah, Mets are good.
00:17Yeah, Phillies are good.
00:18Braves will be hanging around.
00:19It's the Braves right now sitting as the class of that division.
00:23And take a look at that odds price, Craig.
00:25A minus $2.50 price on those Atlanta Braves to win the NL East now.
00:31Oh, boy.
00:32I just don't have a lot to add here.
00:35Like, Donnie, I can't certainly make the case to invest in anybody except for I do believe the Marlins are
00:42going to hang around here and have a goal in mind.
00:45But I don't know which direction.
00:47And the Washington's not going to make it.
00:49So, I mean, to invest in any of these, I guess my shot would be on your Phillies a little
00:54bit.
00:54That they get it going.
00:56Because, you know, Dave Dombrowski is on the back nine of his GM career, I would assume.
01:02Like, I mean, the guy is, I don't think he's going to go anywhere after Philadelphia.
01:06And he's always in the position to win.
01:09So, maybe the Phillies even push harder and say, hey, we got to add more.
01:13It's possible for me.
01:14The Mets, to me, I don't know.
01:16I just think that they're completely flawed offensively.
01:18And a good lesson, I think, for other teams around the league, if you're going to completely change your team
01:24in the offseason, you have to expect some bumps in the road the next season.
01:27And I think that's what the Mets are going through right now.
01:29So, maybe Philadelphia here for me.
01:31But I don't have a lot to add here.
01:33I have a lot more on the other divisions.
01:34But, no, I think Atlanta's going to win this.
01:37It does.
01:37And, again, we're not talking about, Craig, like, okay, two and a half, three games back.
01:40Phillies aren't playing well.
01:41They're injured.
01:42They'll get healthy.
01:42Like, you're talking about almost a double-digit deficit to a good major baseball team.
01:45And most people that understand the game are like, well, there's a long way to go, but there really isn't.
01:50Like, how many teams make up a 10-game?
01:51I don't care when it is against a quality team.
01:54And, also, if you are looking at the predictive markets right now and you want to buy into the Philadelphia
01:58Phillies, they're currently only trading at a 16% to the yes contract that they would be the NLE's champion.
02:04A $100 investment will pay back $417.
02:07And even me being the optimist.
02:09And the fun thing about the predictive markets, Craig, you don't actually have to win the division.
02:12You just need the Phillies to get closer where that contract goes from $0.16 to $0.18 to $0
02:17.22 to $0.30.
02:18And they say, okay, they're five games back in September.
02:20I'll still cash out with a profit.
02:22But me, as a Phillies fan, look at this team like, well, what gets better?
02:25Like, Harper's already good.
02:26Is Stott and Bone just going to wake up when it gets warmer out here?
02:29Is Christopher Sanchez, oh, I had so many innings last year.
02:31I'm just not going to be able to make it.
02:33There's a lot of things to look at in the NLE's.
02:35But I think Craig and I can agree right now.
02:36You're looking at the Braves saying, like, you know what?
02:38They're playing good baseball.
02:39And if they stay playing good baseball, they're probably going to win this division here.
02:43The NL Central, Craig, taking a look at it now where it sits.
02:46How about this?
02:47The Reds, over $500.
02:48The Cubs, over $500.
02:50The Pirates, over $500.
02:52The Cardinals, over $500.
02:53And the Brewers, $500.
02:55Who would have thought that this might be the best division in baseball here today, Craig?
02:59Yeah, not me.
03:00But I still do think that you're running out of time on the Reds' value here, by the way, at
03:05plus $340, which I believe last week or the week before when we were looking at fives and sixes.
03:10But there is still, to me, that's the investment to be made.
03:13Because, Donnie, as you mentioned, with the predictive markets, you don't have to win the division.
03:18You just have to get better pricing, just like the stock market here.
03:21So, I would say that the Reds will battle the Cubs all the way down to the end.
03:26St. Louis' price, to me, still about what it should be because I don't think they have a shot.
03:31Any of these four teams can still win the division for me, but I'm in on the Reds this year.
03:35So, plus $340, I would say this will be very close with Chicago as we move forward.
03:40And it'll be a great series coming up between these two teams, too.
03:43It'll be fun, too, to watch it play out because the Cubs right now are currently trading at $0.49
03:46as a guest contract.
03:47So, a $100 investment would actually pay back $191.
03:50But also understand this in the predictive markets.
03:52Like, you can take anybody but the Cubs, which basically is just the Cubs' no contract at $0.60.
03:57A $100 investment pays back $158 if anybody but the Cubs wins it, which means you get the Brewers, Pirates,
04:03Reds, and the Cardinals.
04:04Hard for me because I do think that the Cubs are the best team in this division.
04:07But it's not as if it's like, okay, well, this team's out.
04:10Now, you expect the Cardinals to drop off.
04:11They're currently trading at 2%.
04:12They're not going to win that division.
04:13They don't have the talent.
04:14But I'm very interested in what I get out of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
04:17And also, if it's one of those years, Craig, which we don't all of a sudden see for Pittsburgh, but
04:21if you're in it, like they're really not, do they make a push in their division to add a bat
04:26or a pitcher here, Craig?
04:28Do you think if the Pirates really feel that they can do something this year?
04:32Maybe on an expiring contract of some kind.
04:35But, again, I don't see with this new potential CBA looming that they take on a big contract of any
04:41time.
04:41So it would be measured, I would say, by the Pirates.
04:43But it's a fair question, Donnie, to your point.
04:46I think that fans would be asking for them to do that also.
04:49So, let's see.
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