00:00So speaking of which, let's get to the American League East
00:02where the Yankees are favored, but I don't know why.
00:07I mean, maybe I'm just a prisoner of this stupid moment, Jack.
00:11You know, I went to St. Pete this weekend or this past weekend
00:16and I saw the Rays play and I came out of there
00:20absolutely convinced that this team is going deep into the postseason.
00:24Now, I know the counter to that is that they blow the bullpen out every year
00:27and then you just don't know who's going to be pitching for them in the end.
00:30We've seen that a little bit in the past.
00:32Nell and Glass now and some of the other guys that they've gone with.
00:35But Jack, I mean, look, I know the Dodgers are going to be really tough
00:39and the Yankees will be really tough.
00:41I get it.
00:41They'll be good teams and Atlanta,
00:44but I'm as impressed with the Rays as any team that I've seen in person.
00:47I was stunned to watch that team play all weekend long
00:51and in person Friday and Saturday.
00:53They are incredible to watch in person.
00:55And for lack of a better phrase, they tick you off
00:58when your favorite team plays them because they are annoying
01:01and they get a board via the bunts single
01:03and then they have a sacrifice bunts
01:05and then they have a sacrifice fly
01:07or they have a timely single on a ground ball
01:09that squeaks through the left side
01:11and they pitch and they beat you two to one
01:14and they beat you three to two.
01:15There are so many elements of Rays baseball
01:17that are really, really fun to watch right now
01:19and that's why they are the best team in the American League
01:21at this moment per record.
01:23Now, I'm going to offer the counter,
01:26but then I'm going to counter my own counter at the tail end.
01:29Okay.
01:29The counter to, yeah.
01:31So, I mean, the counter to them going deep into the playoffs
01:34is they have three starting pitchers that they are relying on
01:38that will enter uncharted territory by August or September.
01:42Shane McClanahan has missed the last several seasons.
01:45McClanahan is probably going to be capped at 130, 140 innings.
01:50Drew Rasmussen was capped at 150 innings last year.
01:53If Rasmussen is going like this, he may be capped at 175.
01:57He's had three UCL surgeries in his career.
02:00And then Nick Martinez is a guy that is turning back the clock.
02:03How long can he do that for?
02:05You also need the big swing and you need the superstar swinging the bat
02:10to win in October.
02:11Dave Roberts said it best a couple of years ago.
02:13He said, you win in October with stars.
02:15You win with star power.
02:16And I guess the counter to my counter there is they might have that
02:22in Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda.
02:25Like, they can get that big swing.
02:27Caminero is the premier homer threat in that lineup,
02:30but Yandy can do it as well and Aranda can do it as well.
02:33I just don't know if they have the thump to match the Yankees
02:36over the course of 162.
02:37But this is a scintillating brand of baseball that they're playing right now,
02:42and I can't take my eyes off of it.
02:43Yeah, no, it was honestly crazy to watch.
02:47All right, but we can't do raise all segment here.
02:50So let's get to another team here,
02:52and we'll talk about the Chicago White Sox,
02:55whose win total has jumped as high or higher than any team in baseball.
02:59If you remember before the season, this was a lock-in 100-loss team.
03:04That's not the case.
03:05Murakami has been great.
03:07Davis Martin has been great.
03:08Montgomery has been great.
03:09And right now their total sits at 76 1⁄2.
03:13And look at this, to make the playoffs, plus 260,
03:17you could have got at least 10-1 on that before the season began.
03:20So unchartered territory in recent years for the White Sox.
03:24Can they keep it going?
03:25I would like to think so.
03:27There are a couple of guys where I don't know if they can keep it going.
03:30The book is coming out on Murakami, but he has been defying that.
03:35He's been swinging and missing a lot,
03:37but he's been clipping enough home runs to provide ample value.
03:41And I guarantee you there are a lot of Major League Baseball teams
03:44that are kicking themselves for not giving Murakami a two-year deal
03:46or a three-year deal.
03:47He signed, what, two for 34 with the White Sox this offseason?
03:51That looks like an incredible bargain.
03:52But I'm just looking around that roster,
03:54and I'm seeing so many people that baseball fans and baseball experts were doubting.
04:01Colson Montgomery, can he stick at shortstop?
04:03Is he going to be a third baseman?
04:05Not only is he sticking at short,
04:06he's looking like a premier power-hitting shortstop in Major League Baseball.
04:09Miguel Vargas, was he a lost cause when the Dodgers traded him to the White Sox?
04:13Clearly not.
04:14Miguel Vargas looks fantastic for them.
04:16You mentioned a couple other guys.
04:18I mean, how about Davis Martin and his 1-6 ERA?
04:20He's the longest-tenured Chicago White Sox.
04:23I think it was 21 or 2022.
04:25But Davis Martin has been throwing to a 1-6.
04:27So is all of this sustainable at the rate that they are playing at right now?
04:32I'm not necessarily sure.
04:33But are they all good players?
04:36Yeah, honestly.
04:37I think we're learning that over the course of the first two months of the season.
04:39So why can't this team sneak in?
04:42Do I think they're going to win the division?
04:43Probably not.
04:44Do I think they could sneak into an AL wildcard spot
04:46when the American League is just flat-out not that good right now?
04:49Yeah, I totally think so.
04:51Makes sense.
04:52All right, so back in April, we were asking the question
04:55that we've asked the last several years about the National League Central was,
04:59is this finally the season with Yelich being heard and no pitching
05:03and Chorio on the IL?
05:05This is it.
05:06This is the season that the Brewers just simply may not have it.
05:09Oh, I guess we're all wrong on that one
05:13because here they are again in first place, 29-18.
05:17Pat Murphy, I mean, every year this guy is a candidate to win manager of the year
05:22just simply because it happens.
05:23And let's just call it what it is.
05:24The Brewers are as well-running organization as any team in baseball.
05:28They've beaten up on the Cubs.
05:30It looks like they're in it from beginning to end.
05:32But again, the same concern that you would have with the Brewers
05:35is probably the one that you would have with Tampa Bay.
05:37What will they do with the deadline?
05:39Will they add some pieces?
05:40Can they hang on to some of this pitching, which is all very young,
05:43including the Miz at this point.
05:45But very impressive.
05:46Once again, I think we've got another big regular season coming for Milwaukee.
05:50And to your point about Pat Murphy,
05:52it does feel like the National League MVP is the Shohei Ohtani Invitational at this point,
05:56and it's Ohtani until proven otherwise.
05:58I think you could make that argument about the National League Manager of the Year.
06:01I think the AO Manager of the Year is a little bit more open.
06:04It has been Steven Vogt over the last couple.
06:07But Pat Murphy, with the way that they rinse and repeat,
06:09with a different-looking roster seemingly every year,
06:12I think Pat Murphy should always be the frontrunner for National League Manager of the Year.
06:17And yeah, they don't have Freddie Peralta anymore.
06:19They don't have Devin Williams or Hayter or Corbin Burns.
06:21But they have Kyle Harrison.
06:23They have Mizorowski, to your point.
06:25It's rinse and repeat.
06:27Priester was their breakout last year.
06:29He's been on the IL.
06:30They grabbed Sprout in the Peralta deal.
06:32Sprout's going to be good for them over the course of the next half-decade or so.
06:35So they are, it seems like, to your point, Craig,
06:38the class of prospect identification, player development,
06:42and cashing in when the assets are at peak value.
06:45They are a model organization of Major League Baseball right now.
06:49And they've got to deal with the big, bad Cubs over 162, surely.
06:52But with all the pitching injuries,
06:54and I saw Cabrera left his start last night with the blister issue again.
06:57With the injury issues on the pitching front for Chicago,
07:00why can't Milwaukee win this division yet again?
07:03Yeah, they probably could.
07:05All right, real quick, let's look at the Cy Young.
07:06This is as bunched up odds as anything right now in baseball,
07:10just because Christopher Sanchez is pitching out of his mind,
07:13and Skeens is always going to be among the favorites.
07:15But Mizorowski, we know Otani wants a Cy Young.
07:18I mean, that's why all this stuff, I think,
07:20is going on this season with him not batting.
07:22I mean, he probably told them at the beginning of the year,
07:24I want to win the Cy Young, figure it out.
07:27And that's what the Dodgers are doing.
07:28And Chris Sale was just so boring last night, right?
07:30Like, we thought it was like, strikeout, strikeout, pop-up, pop-up.
07:34I mean, gosh, the guy is just so good.
07:35So I think those are the guys maybe with Burns on the outside.
07:39Yeah, it seems like it.
07:40I love watching Christopher Sanchez.
07:42He is beautifully boring, just like Sale.
07:43You know you're going to get six or seven innings,
07:45one run or two run baseball.
07:47And Otani, it's been amazing.
07:49I just don't know if he's going to throw enough innings,
07:51to be totally honest with you.
07:52But you know what?
07:53If he sets his mind to it, by all means.
07:55Could be.
07:56All right, Jack, see you at the park later.
07:57Thanks again.
07:59All right, Craig.
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