00:00Big news last night that I think came from our friend Mark Zuckerman.
00:04Maybe it was just the team announced it, but I saw it first from Zuck,
00:07that the Nats are calling up Dylan Cruz.
00:11And it's really interesting in that, you know,
00:16Cruz was the number two overall pick a couple years back.
00:20And for most of that run-up to the MLB draft,
00:26it seemed like the Pirates were going to take Cruz
00:29and then the Nats would get Skeens.
00:32And then in the last three days before the draft,
00:34I remember kind of seeing the odds flip that the Pirates were going to take Skeens.
00:38And that meant the Nats got Cruz.
00:40And it was treated like, wow, they got the best player in the draft at number two.
00:47Obviously, he just hasn't hit.
00:49And sometimes these things take time.
00:52Sometimes for some of these kids that come up, they hit right away.
00:56There does seem to be this intentional talking point surrounding the organization
01:05of recalibrating expectations for Dylan Cruz.
01:10Okay.
01:10That like, hey, he's a great fielder.
01:12He's a great clubhouse guy.
01:13We just need him to hit at a certain level,
01:16and we're not trying to chase outfield power.
01:20Like, we don't see this dude as like maybe an all-star,
01:22but we see him as a good player that helps our ball club.
01:26Do you think fans can recalibrate those expectations?
01:30When a dude comes in, they're selling his T-shirts right away.
01:33You know what I mean?
01:33Like, he came in with such hype and promise.
01:36I think that LSU team won the natty.
01:39People pay more attention to college baseball.
01:41Like, he came in with expectations so high.
01:46He now, this year, had to break camp in the minors.
01:49Like, he didn't come to the bigs.
01:52How do you think we can reframe this?
01:55Should it be reframed?
01:57I don't know.
01:58It's an interesting one.
01:58I think some fans are better at recalibrating their expectations than others.
02:04The media in general, though, is always going to sort of comp him off of what the hype was,
02:10what the expectation was.
02:11Because, basically, you know, it's like, you never want to be wrong.
02:16So, the media collectively hates it when they're wrong.
02:18Like, this guy's going to be great, and then he's not so great.
02:21You're just going to always hope that he's going to be as good as you thought he would be.
02:25But they say that the last couple weeks down at Rochester, he was having high exit velos.
02:30Always good.
02:31He's always had that, though.
02:33He hits the ball hard.
02:34Yeah, less chase, more in-zone contact.
02:37And so, he's been on an uptick.
02:39And now he's going to get a chance to prove it against Major League Hitting.
02:42So, let's hope that it kicks in here.
02:44Now, the flip side of calling somebody up is sending somebody down.
02:47Yeah, the house thing is interesting.
02:49I read Grant's long tweet about the hows and the whys of it with the metrics and all the different
02:56stuff.
02:57And I was like, okay, I guess I can kind of get it.
02:59I'm going to assume that the organization knows a lot more than I would as just Joe Phan.
03:05Sure.
03:05As to what are you doing, man?
03:07I think it's got to be strikeout driven, right?
03:09Probably.
03:10He's got 50 Ks in 44 games.
03:12That hurts, yes.
03:14And this crew is all about analytics and contact and exit below and all these numbers.
03:21And like 50 Ks in 44 games is pretty significant.
03:24And what that does when you're just trying to get base runners, you know what I mean?
03:28Like, all roads lead back to the money ball theory.
03:31Just get on base.
03:32Right.
03:32Take more pitches.
03:33Get deeper into the bullpen.
03:35Stan, I'll let you weigh in on both moves.
03:37Let's start with House getting sent down because that was another one of these prospects that seemed like he was
03:42finally coming along.
03:43He had a good first couple weeks and then it kind of cooled off.
03:45Yeah, it kind of cooled off a little bit as of recent.
03:47I think it's kind of more so of like a mental reset for him because right now he's tied for
03:53the major league lead in errors made with eight.
03:55And he's tied with CJ Abrams, in fact.
03:58But we've kind of known that CJ is just not really a long-term shortstop.
04:02Like, he's just not great defensively there.
04:04And that's okay.
04:04Where do they move CJ eventually?
04:06Trade him.
04:07That could be it.
04:08Maybe second base.
04:09Maybe an outfield.
04:10We don't really know.
04:11But Brady House is someone who is a stud defender and was last year.
04:16He showed a lot of flashes of being a good defender.
04:18And this year, he's regressed tremendously.
04:21Like, he just hasn't been there.
04:23And so I think there's kind of like a mental reset that they want to take on with him.
04:27But also with the offensive side of things for him, I think that like his approach at times just kind
04:33of lacks.
04:34Like, you want him to be a right-handed power bat.
04:36And he has been that at times, but he just hasn't really been that consistent.
04:41So I think that's something that they can kind of work with down in the minors.
04:44But it is also something you have to consider with this.
04:49Paul Timoney did not draft Dylan Cruz or Brady House.
04:53Right.
04:53So, like, we don't really know what they think of these guys.
04:57Like, Timoney may love them.
04:59Ani Kolombi may love these guys.
05:01Like, we don't really know at this point.
05:02And I think it's pretty fair to say that they think very highly of House and Cruz.
05:06But also, it's not one of their guys.
05:09So think of that.
05:12So with Cruz, do we think this is a result of Jacob Young getting drilled?
05:17I mean, Jacob Young goes back-to-back games with home runs and then gets drilled.
05:21No, no.
05:21I think, like, in the reporting of it, like, that move was going to be coming regardless for today.
05:27And so when Jacob Young got drilled, I mean, he's not going to the I.L.
05:31Joey Weimer's not going to the I.L.
05:33The roster move is that Brady House is being sent down.
05:36So, obviously, that's something that they were probably thinking about heading into yesterday's game.
05:41Maybe see how things work out.
05:43But I think that they wanted to have Brady House kind of get a reset down to the minors
05:48and then see what Dylan Cruz can do up in the majors.
05:51Because he has been hitting the ball well.
05:53He has a better, more refined approach.
05:56He seems more confident.
05:57And you have seen a better product of Dylan Cruz.
06:00So I think there's just a multiple kind of equation here that you kind of have to figure out.
06:05It's crazy how baseball can swing, kind of.
06:09Because yesterday, we talked a little Nats coming off of the series win over the Orioles on Saturday evening.
06:17They were .500 for the first time this late in the season.
06:21How's the vibe of that proxy rivalry?
06:26That proxy?
06:27I'd like to know, is it still?
06:30How is it?
06:31They sold out both games.
06:33They sold out both weekend games, I believe.
06:34Oh, understandably.
06:36Yeah.
06:36I just wonder if it's still.
06:37Was it ever something that had real friction and spark?
06:40I do think there was real friction for a while.
06:43I think if either team was good again, there's friction again.
06:48Okay.
06:48I think D.C.
06:51Baltimore is a real rivalry.
06:53When the Commanders play the Ravens, the people, the fans, in general, if I go up to Baltimore for the
07:03night, I have a nice time and it's fine.
07:05And I think if Baltimore people come down here for a concert or something, it's fine.
07:08But when the two sports teams are involved, it does bring out kind of that homerism where you just root
07:14against the other team.
07:15Yeah, yeah.
07:16I don't think in general, Nats fans, like if the O's got into the playoffs and were in the AL
07:24division series, I don't think Nats fans are actively rooting against them.
07:28I would think it's the same for the Orioles.
07:29Do you think city to city there's a rivalry?
07:31Yeah.
07:32You really?
07:33Yeah, you don't.
07:33Because as a Washingtonian, I'm like, you're Baltimore.
07:37Know your role.
07:38That's exactly the rivalry.
07:40Oh, it is?
07:40Okay.
07:41Not our rival.
07:42They resent that.
07:44Well, good.
07:45They can keep resenting it.
07:46Maybe rivalry's wrong, but animosity between the two.
07:49I guess so, yeah.
07:50I mean, you're clearly look down your nose at them.
07:54Well, don't look down.
07:55I just say, know your role.
07:57You're Baltimore.
07:57Right.
07:58And then they, Jeff went to Bowie State, which is right in the middle.
08:01Jeff, Baltimore versus Washington.
08:04Maybe it's the Baltimore.
08:05It will always be a thing.
08:06Yeah, it's a thing.
08:07Okay.
08:07Those are our cousins from up the road.
08:10Okay.
08:10You know, they say, Baltimore's better than that.
08:14But the thing is, when the football teams play, it doesn't matter if it's the preseason
08:18game or the regular season.
08:20Yeah, that I can definitely see.
08:24I love the fact that Nats are the number one scoring team in baseball as we approach Memorial
08:30Day weekend.
08:30Also, giving up the most runs.
08:31Listen, I know that.
08:34But the fact that they have 262 runs, full 12 more than the Braves, 14 more than the
08:41Mighty Dodgers, is fun as hell.
08:44Totally.
08:45And they've got such a young team.
08:47I saw a stat that said that not a single at-bat has been taken by a national over the
08:53age
08:53of 28.
08:54I went to research it, and AI says, no, they have older veterans.
08:59Now I'm looking at the roster.
09:00The only guys I see really over 28 are pitchers.
09:04And that would be, Miles Michaelis is 37.
09:07He's like the oldest guy on the roster.
09:09Foster Griffin is 30.
09:12Love Lady is 30.
09:14But all the position guys, they're under 28.
09:17So I think that stat's actually real.
09:20You think it's real, Ryan?
09:22Did you see the same stat that I saw?
09:24Yeah, no.
09:24It is real.
09:25So this is a case where AI has incorrectly tried to correct a correct stat.
09:33I think...
09:33F'n AI.
09:35Yeah, dude.
09:36So yeah, that's pretty amazing.
09:38Just look at the roster, right?
09:38I mean, you just...
09:39Like, I'm a pro football reference guy.
09:43Like, that is my number one database I go to.
09:46But they have baseball.
09:47They have basketball.
09:48So I go to all of theirs.
09:49And if you just look at the roster, it has all the ages on there.
09:52Yeah, I'm looking at it right now.
09:52Everybody with a hit.
09:53On the ESPN.com.
09:54The only thing that's so weird to me about baseball is they lose a game last night
09:59that's all over the place, right?
10:01And it's the Mets who...
10:03I think people don't like the Mets and the Phillies way more than the Orioles.
10:07Right.
10:08Probably by, like, a significant margin.
10:11And then I think...
10:13It's just crazy.
10:14The rollercoaster of emotions.
10:17Okay, house gets sent down.
10:18Cruise is coming up.
10:19There's the lingering...
10:21They're probably going to trade CJ at some point notion, right?
10:26Mm-hmm.
10:26But it's...
10:27This...
10:27That season is far more fun than the last couple years.
10:30This is way more fun so far right now.
10:33This is way more interesting.
10:35It's just something that's different.
10:36I know.
10:36And so you combine this interesting season where all of a sudden there's something fizzing
10:41in the cup that they're making down there on Half Street and the potential for the Wizards.
10:48Yeah.
10:48We could have some real fizzing going on.
10:51Let's hope that JD5 stays healthy this year.
10:54Fizzination.
10:55Fizzination.
10:55Totally.
10:56I mean, dude, I was in Studio Channel 4 yesterday and we did Commanders, Nats, and Mystics.
11:02The Mystics had a hell of a win Friday night.
11:04Now, I think the Mystics had kind of a dud of a loss last night in Dallas.
11:08But, I mean, this town is so burgundy and gold driven, right?
11:15Every NFL city is.
11:16And then everything else is like, all right, well, who's good?
11:19Let's talk about it.
11:20Who's exciting, at least?
11:21Let's talk about it.
11:22And right now, the Nats, the Wiz, I mean, arguably the biggest story in town, and we've
11:28kind of all just accepted it, is still what's going to happen with Ovi.
11:31I think at this point, we all think he's coming back.
11:33But, like, it's not official.
11:35There's no new contract.
11:36We haven't heard from anybody over there.
11:38But that's down our list because a ton of excitement around the number one pick with the Wiz.
11:43And the Nats are playing scrappy, good-hitting baseball.
11:47Yeah.
11:47So, I feel we're in a better spot going into Memorial Day weekend, which is usually a dud
11:53of a sports weekend, than I think D.C. sports have been in some time.
11:57And I think there's a lot of reasons for it.
11:59I think there's a lot of reasons for it.
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