- 6 weeks ago
Marlins radio voice Jack McMullen joins the show to discuss how the Marlins became the hottest team in baseball and why luck has nothing to do with it.
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00:00At the beginning of today's show, someone had put on the chat,
00:03hey, I hope they have enough hats for all the fans.
00:06You have to have a special ticket.
00:08So they will have enough hats for you if you buy the special ticket.
00:11If you show up Sunday at Lone Depot Park and think it's the first 15,000 fans
00:17who walk in and get a Top Gun hat, you're going to be disappointed.
00:20This is a super cool hat.
00:23I, once again, am going to lean into Jack McMullen to have him steal me
00:27one of the Marlins promo items for a game that I can't be at.
00:31So it's funny enough you say that, man.
00:33I have a bit of a grab bag here, and I want to do show and tell
00:36because I've got to swing by the studio.
00:37I need you guys to tell me what you want, and I'll bring it by.
00:40Oh, that'd be great.
00:43So I could give you this reversible bucket, right?
00:46You've got the teal Marlins deal here.
00:48You've got the reversible to the light blue Marlins look here.
00:53What are these bags called?
00:55Is it like a coach bag?
00:56Is it a handbag?
00:58Yeah, but it's not a fanny pack.
00:59I guess you can, like, wrap it around your chest.
01:01That's called a purse.
01:03Yeah, so do you want a purse?
01:05I'll take a purse.
01:07I call it a murse if I'm using it.
01:10It's a man's purse.
01:11Here's the fun one for you guys.
01:13Let me know which bobblehead you want because I've got, like,
01:15this little grab bag sitting right under me in the booth here.
01:18I've got the Xavier Edwards psycho bobblehead that we gave away last year.
01:22Crowder.
01:22If one of you guys wants this, that's me.
01:24That's usually for you.
01:26Yeah, that's me.
01:27How about a Jack McKeon bobblehead?
01:29You guys want one of these?
01:30Oh, Captain Jack.
01:32Let me tell you something before we get into it.
01:34Jack McKeon would not have pulled anyone pitching a perfect game in the seventh inning.
01:38Jack McKeon would have let someone pitch 800 pitches.
01:42Just as an aside, Jack.
01:44How about a Luis Castillo or Jim Leland bobblehead?
01:47You guys want either of these?
01:48Oh, I mean, Jim Leland smoking heaters in the dugout?
01:52I mean, that was an era.
01:54I'm just saying, they're all up for grabs.
01:56If you guys want any of these, just shoot me a note, and I'll swing them by the studio for
02:00you.
02:00Marlins are, no joke, doing some of the best giveaways in all of professional sports.
02:05They really are.
02:05This Marlins yacht rock captain's hat that I'm rocking.
02:08I'm telling you, the Marlins, but this Top Gun hat that they're doing on Sunday,
02:12I haven't seen if that's something that's going across the nation at different ballparks,
02:17but man, it is a badass looking hat.
02:20Yeah, I don't think it is.
02:22And what's fun is our read was, Marlins fans, do you feel the need?
02:26The need for baseball?
02:28Baseball.
02:29Yeah, I heard that.
02:29The need for baseball, and it was good.
02:32Yeah, it was excellent.
02:32By the way, let me bring on Jack McMullen here.
02:34Officially, Jack McMullen, voice of the Miami Marlins right here on WQAM,
02:39is on the Toyota of Hollywood hotline.
02:42Marlins play again tonight.
02:44Final three games before the break.
02:45They are the hottest team in the league.
02:49They are fun.
02:51This is shocking, Jack.
02:52They were almost 10 games under .500 in May.
02:57They go on this tear in June.
02:59It's continuing in July.
03:03What's going on?
03:04Like, I don't under, this doesn't happen.
03:07It doesn't happen.
03:09And, you know, sometimes you look around the league, like last year, Cleveland,
03:13the way that Cleveland made their way back in the AL Central.
03:16And the year before that, everybody wanted to talk about bullpen chaos in Detroit
03:20and the gritty Tigers and the way that they came back in 2024.
03:24There's always one national story about a team that maybe starts slow
03:28and then picks it up in the summertime and kind of runs through the tape.
03:31And you really hope that it's the Miami Marlins this year.
03:34I think the biggest thing that I would tell you is it's very rare for all four facets of a
03:40team
03:40to be clicking at the same exact time.
03:42And when all four facets do click, you're in the business of something very, very special.
03:48And you have the opportunity to make this a really special couple of weeks.
03:53And chances are you've got the lineup, the bench bats, the rotation, and the bullpen,
03:58like all kind of lining up and clicking at the same time for a week or two
04:02over the course of a six-month season, 162 games.
04:06It's been happening for like five weeks now.
04:08It's just amazing to watch everything in concert.
04:11And it's like, okay, say the offense doesn't put up eight runs in Sacramento.
04:15It doesn't hit the ball to the ballpark five times.
04:18Well, you know that Sandy's going to give you a really good start.
04:20Or you know that Tyler Phillips is going to give you five scoreless
04:23and he's going to pass the baton to the bullpen that goes four darn near perfectly.
04:27It's just amazing every single night there's a different cast of characters
04:32that have their fingerprints all over a Marlins win.
04:35And Jack, like you say, like Hawk said, we're hot.
04:39They're a hot team.
04:40But it's like they're almost like they're clicking at the right time.
04:43But just talent, X and Otto in the middle, you know, the starting lineup doing their thing.
04:48Joe Mack goes back there and now he's tied for the most throwouts in the major leagues.
04:53Like this roster is impressive, correct?
04:56Like we're not just getting lucky.
04:58We're playing great baseball.
05:00A hundred percent.
05:01And at some point over the course of a baseball season, hot becomes good.
05:05And I think Otto Lopez, like it took two and a half months.
05:09But at some point in June, Otto Lopez went from the hottest hitter in baseball
05:14to one of the best hitters in baseball this year.
05:17And Xavier Edwards went from one of the hottest bat-to-ball guys in Major League Baseball
05:22to one of the better bat-to-ball guys in Major League Baseball.
05:25And Liam Hicks went from one of the hotter RBI guys in baseball
05:29to one of the better RBI guys in baseball this year.
05:31Like the transition from hot to legit good is something that like happens at different times.
05:37I feel like for different guys, just based on kind of capital that they've built, right?
05:42Bryce Harper needs a week.
05:43And if Harper's good for a week, it's like, oh yeah, that's Harper doing Harper things.
05:47But a guy like Otto, who has been DFA'd twice, has bounced around a couple of different organizations
05:53and is having his breakout year this year.
05:55So many people around the country can look at Otto from afar and say,
05:58I need to see him do it for longer than a month.
06:00Well, we're going on four months right now of Otto Lopez.
06:03So at this point, he's just a really good star player.
06:06We're always talking about building around certain guys, right?
06:10Like finding your pillars and then being able to build around them.
06:15I would imagine Otto Lopez is now in that category.
06:18I could have made the argument Kyle Stowers was going to be one of the pillars
06:22that the Marlins were going to build around coming into this year.
06:25Who are the pillars right now?
06:27Because it feels like it's Yuri.
06:28It feels like it's Sandy.
06:30It feels like it's Otto Lopez.
06:32But when we hear people say the Marlins are going to be buyers
06:35at the deadline, who are the pillars that fans should be excited about
06:41that they're going to build around?
06:42Solana, I think you just named a lot of them.
06:44I'm going to throw you one more name, and it's Mack.
06:46I think Joe Mack is absolutely a pillar right now of the franchise.
06:50What this guy has done in terms of team identity since his Major League debut
06:55is turn them from a team that it was very easy to run against
06:58into one of the best teams in baseball in terms of stopping the running game
07:03and one of the better defensive teams in Major League Baseball.
07:07And oh, by the way, he's hitting at a clip that's above Major League average.
07:10So you have an above-league average hitter that may be the best defensive catcher
07:14in the sport already, and that is a pillar that you build around.
07:18That's someone that you build around.
07:20So you mentioned Otto.
07:21You mentioned Sandy.
07:22You mentioned Yuri.
07:23I would throw X in there.
07:24I would throw Stowers in there.
07:26There are so many building blocks for this team,
07:28and it's so exciting to watch them go to work every day.
07:30Are you surprised they've been able to do this without Davis and De Los Santos?
07:35A little bit.
07:36You know, Davis and Mervis, I'm just thinking.
07:39Now, could they be 32-0 over their last 30 if those guys were on the roster?
07:44No, but we've talked about Joe Mack for a while now,
07:48but certainly this week, like a lot, he's really on people's radar
07:52because it doesn't seem like a flash in the pan.
07:54Again, was he expected to be this?
07:56I don't know the whole story of Joe Mack.
07:59I don't know where he came from and how he's in the organization.
08:01All I know is that dude is lights out.
08:06First-round pick a couple of years ago, so they had high expectations.
08:10He was a guy that I think everybody knew could be a very, very good defensive catcher
08:16in Major League Baseball.
08:17Now, I think there's a big difference between being a borderline top-five catcher defensively
08:23in baseball and being probably the best.
08:26Like, what we're seeing from Joe Mack in terms of catching would-be base stealers,
08:30he's catching like 40% of guys trying to steal on him,
08:33which is the best mark in baseball.
08:35Mack has like a month and a half less of baseball under his belt
08:39than the other league leaders in caught stealing,
08:41but he is at the top of Major League Baseball in caught stealing.
08:45And if you pay attention to the league around the country,
08:47you know, William Contreras in Milwaukee is really good.
08:49You know, Shea Langeleers in Sacramento is really good.
08:52And you know, Pat Bailey, who is in San Francisco, he's in Cleveland now, is really good.
08:57Mack is already in that conversation,
08:59and he has a month and a half less of Major League time this year
09:02because he was in AAA.
09:04The bat was always going to kind of be the big thing.
09:06Like, was he going to make enough contact to stick?
09:10And early returns are, heck yeah, he will.
09:12And he's going to hit the ball to the ballpark too.
09:14And when you have this offense going along with the defense that is as delivered,
09:19it's a really special player that I think is doing what a lot of people hoped he would do
09:24three years down the line right now.
09:27And Stromi was talking about Joe Mack as well.
09:29Are we talking about Rio Muto?
09:31We're talking about Pudge.
09:33Like, is he on that level?
09:34Like, we're talking about Johnny Bench.
09:36Like, we're talking about that guy, Jack.
09:39You know, we always do this.
09:41And like, I made the joke last year.
09:43Nolan McClain was like if Doc Gooden and Tom Seaver had a baby.
09:47And Nolan McClain popped out last year based on his first eight starts with the New York Mets.
09:51So like, you know, we do this for a lot of rookies.
09:54But defensively, I'm going to say defensively right now.
09:58Yes.
09:59Like, what he has shown on a game-by-game basis.
10:02We talk about pound-for-pound boxers, right?
10:04Like, if Tyson and Pacquiao got in the ring, I know who's winning.
10:08But like, they're pretty equivalent boxers, right?
10:12Like, Floyd's the best boxer ever.
10:14And Floyd is not beating Tyson because Tyson has 100 pounds on him.
10:17So like, it's a different conversation because Mack's been doing it for two months.
10:23And Rio Muto has been doing it for 12 years.
10:26But Mack, on a game-by-game basis, is impacting the game defensively in a way very similar to Rio
10:32Muto and to Pudge and to guys like that.
10:35Hey, do you think the All-Star break's coming at the wrong time?
10:37Because they're so hot.
10:39There's this thought that I have in the back of my head.
10:42Like, three more games and then all of a sudden a week off.
10:45And who knows what's going to happen when they come back.
10:48Steven made that joke last night as we were wrapping up postgame.
10:50He was like, I don't want to take four days off.
10:52I was like, I don't think I do either.
10:54I think for everybody's mental well-being, it's going to be good to take four days off.
10:57But yeah, man, I mean, you hope it doesn't kind of stymie the hot stretch right now.
11:03And it's a tough test in Cleveland coming in, too.
11:05Like, baseball is unique because you ride this high.
11:09And it's been going for six weeks right now for the Marlins.
11:13But at the end of the day, you got another ball game tonight.
11:15Right. And you got a lefty with a really good change up.
11:18And Cleveland is a pesky team.
11:19Like, you take it day by day.
11:22It's every single day you show up in the day's brand new.
11:25So keeping that daily perspective is good.
11:28I wish I could say, like, yeah, you know what?
11:30Let's just let's put a pin in the all-star break and, like, push it a month and a half
11:34down the line.
11:35Right. If they voted in the clubhouse, if they voted in the Marlins clubhouse, they would vote to delay it
11:40a month.
11:41We are opting out of the all-star break.
11:43Like, we're playing whoever shows up at the LD.
11:48Yes.
11:51Anyway, what a fun ride this has been.
11:54The clubhouse, I'm guessing the guys are enjoying this.
11:57It's just like I'm curious what it's like being around them during this five, six week span.
12:05It's cool because these guys are all, like, kind of so rooted in their daily work where, you know, they'll
12:11smile and say, yeah, life is good.
12:13But nobody concretely feels like they're on top of the world right now, I don't think.
12:17Like, everybody's just so rooted in this is awesome.
12:21Let's keep this thing going.
12:23But, you know, Griffin Conine told Stephen yesterday on our postgame interview, he's like, you know, I played college ball.
12:28I played minor league baseball, major league baseball.
12:30This is far and away the hottest team that that he's ever been on.
12:33And he's 29 years old.
12:34He's played a whole bunch of baseball in his life.
12:37And at any level, it's happening at the major league level right now for him and for them.
12:42So, yeah, I mean, I think that they are certainly, like, kind of riding this high and they're really happy
12:47and they're excited to show up to the ballpark every single day.
12:49But it's not like they're in there hooting and hollering and saying, like, oh, you know what?
12:52We're just going to roll the ball out and play.
12:54They're still doing their work.
12:55And they believe that, like, the six hours leading up to the game every single night is what has gotten
13:01them to this point.
13:02I'll tell you, too, just watching it on TV, a midweek series against Seattle.
13:09I thought there was a decent crowd there every night.
13:12Maybe not great on Tuesday, but and I know this weekend, because it's the weekend, it's going to be, I
13:19think, a huge, huge attendance.
13:21But I thought that midweek against Seattle, a team that's not, I mean, you know, it's not like there's a
13:27rivalry built in.
13:28I thought there was good energy at Lone Depot Park.
13:31A hundred percent, man.
13:32And I'll tell you what, all the fans that are here, they've been bringing the juice and it's fun.
13:37And it's great to see this fan base kind of rallying around this group of guys, because frankly, like this
13:41group of guys deserves it.
13:43They play their butts off every single night.
13:45It's constant energy and they radiate positivity, too.
13:50It's a joy.
13:51And yeah, I'm with you.
13:52Good crowds.
13:52Hoping for three more good crowds over the weekend.
13:54And Marlins dot com slash tickets.
13:56That's your plug right there.
13:57Get your tickets and get the Sunday ticket with the Top Gun hat.
14:01Yeah, absolutely.
14:03And Jack, with McCullough was getting in, we've been talking about it, criticized for pulling Urie, potential perfect game and
14:09all that.
14:09But what part has he had in this run going from 10 games under 500 to 10 games over 400
14:16as a manager?
14:17Yeah, steadying presence in the clubhouse.
14:20This is a guy that is relentlessly positive and relentlessly kind of steady where the highs are never too high
14:28and the lows are never too low.
14:30So you probably don't want your manager riding the roller coaster, right?
14:33Like you want your manager to be the guy where it's like, let's keep this in check here.
14:37Let's make sure we're getting our work done and making sure everything's happening.
14:40So that's kind of like the vibe curation that Clayton McCullough has been doing right now is just making sure
14:45there's a steadiness, but also a constant positivity.
14:48But in terms of in-game decision making, he's pushing all the right buttons.
14:52I mean, we've watched six weeks of him deploying Michael Peterson at the right time with the bases loaded in
14:58the sixth and then nobody coming in when he comes on with nobody gone.
15:01So it just seems like he is pushing every single right button.
15:05How many times have we seen Burt just annihilate a baseball in a pinch hit plate appearance?
15:10It's like he is he's moving the chess pieces around the board in a way that very few managers in
15:16Major League Baseball can do.
15:18And Alex Cora got a lot of credit for doing that in Boston for a while.
15:21There are very few managers that get legit credit for moving the chess pieces on the board in the right
15:26way over the course of a game.
15:28I think Clayton is proving that he's a really good in-game manager.
15:31Except for the Uri performance.
15:34Agree to disagree on that.
15:36I was throwing you at you, Brock.
15:37But they did have an 8-0 lead, end up winning like 9-8 or whatever.
15:42So you can't say it went flawlessly.
15:44You can't say that that decision went flawlessly.
15:46The context of the hammy matters.
15:50And I take issue with Crowder saying a potential perfect game.
15:54Uri had a perfect game.
15:56He was going to finish with a perfect game.
15:58And I believe he would have finished with a perfect game on 98 pitches.
16:01How about that?
16:02I think it was going to be three pitches in the 8th and 9th.
16:05Six more the rest of the way.
16:07Anyway, it's like the number of how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pie.
16:12I guess we'll never know.
16:13One, two, three.
16:16Three.
16:17Three.
16:19Heriberto Hernandez, your favorite athlete, Heriberto of all time?
16:23Yeah, I think so.
16:24Us too.
16:25At some point, you're going to get this right.
16:26Heriberto.
16:27Whatever.
16:27We'll get it.
16:28Yeah, just say it five times fast.
16:30What do you call him?
16:31Heriberto.
16:33Heriberto.
16:35What's the spicy marinara in arrabbiata?
16:38Like, that's kind of what that sounded like.
16:40Right.
16:41That's right.
16:41I mean, they should put a dish down there.
16:42The concession stands for him.
16:45Arrabbiata Hernandez pasta.
16:47Have a good broadcast tonight, Jack.
16:50Appreciate you guys.
16:51Have a good broadcast.
16:51Bye.
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