00:00then you've got the Wizards.
00:02A.J. DeBatsa last night versus the Kings
00:04in his second summer league game.
00:0723 points, seven boards, three steals,
00:10two blocks, two assists.
00:12Very active hands defensively.
00:14And people try to knock him for his defense.
00:16I haven't seen it.
00:18Well, remember, it's his second preseason game.
00:21Let's be real now.
00:22100%.
00:22I don't want to get too excited.
00:23There were points in that game where I think
00:25he got a little bit too me, me, me, one-on-one.
00:29I agree.
00:29The way he had turnovers and all kinds of stuff
00:31for Donald Strickland in the second half.
00:32I thought Drew and Chris did a good job
00:34of kind of calling that out.
00:35I enjoyed the broadcast last night.
00:36Will Riley last night had 32.
00:39Oh, he's taking a step.
00:41He was a plus 21 in plus minus.
00:43He's taking a hell of a step.
00:44He started to show you stuff last year.
00:47But right now, watching him,
00:49he is polished as hell right now.
00:51Dude, his development,
00:53like it's all about buying into what the Wiz are developing, right?
00:57And Riley is like the forefront example of it.
01:01So here's my question.
01:03Are you more mad about the Nats' bullpen situation?
01:07Which, to me, is a direct corollary to spending money.
01:11Mm-hmm.
01:12Or are you more excited about the Wizards?
01:14You can...
01:15I'll be honest with you.
01:16It's kind of hard for me to be mad at the Nats
01:21when at the beginning of this season,
01:23no one expected them to do anything.
01:26Like the hitting, that's a surprise as well.
01:30So we already expected them to be subpar.
01:33And they happened to get to five.
01:34See, I wasn't into all the celebrating
01:37that they got to over 500.
01:39I think that's whack.
01:40So now that they're playing better baseball offensively,
01:44we go, oh, look at the pitching.
01:46The pitching, we knew this from the beginning.
01:48The surprise is that they were playing above 500.
01:52So it's kind of hard for me to be mad at them.
01:54I'm kind of happy that they're showing me
01:56how good they can be offensively.
01:58You know?
01:59But I'm excited about to watch
02:01the Wizards' possibilities this year.
02:03Let's start with our guy Juan in Fairfax.
02:05Juan, more excited about the Wiz
02:07or mad about the Nats?
02:09I'm excited about the Wizards.
02:11And I like my stake meeting well.
02:14And do I get it with Lobster?
02:15Because I'm telling you,
02:16we're going to win 60 games.
02:18Man, we got a young squad.
02:19B, you weren't here for this.
02:20I'm talking about Will, Riley, AJ.
02:21Man, we got a...
02:22Man.
02:23Hold on.
02:24How many games are you going to win, Juan?
02:27I said we're going to win 60.
02:30I'll take that bet with you.
02:31I told Juan.
02:32It's not even a bet.
02:34If they win 60 games,
02:35I will take Juan out for a stake.
02:37Okay.
02:38And I like my lobster.
02:41Do I get it with Lobster?
02:42Do I get it with Lobster?
02:44You asked for steak.
02:45You're getting steak.
02:46You're going to be adding nothing on to it now.
02:50We'll give you a look at your steak
02:51and an eight crawfish.
02:53That's a little lobster.
02:57We got a young squad.
02:59And then we're going to mix it with the veterans
03:01we already have on the team.
03:02Come on, man.
03:03If everybody stays healthy,
03:06it's the sky.
03:07See, when you start saying,
03:08if everybody stays healthy,
03:09you're starting to question yourself right there.
03:11I keep telling people this.
03:12Yes, they are talented as hell.
03:15But you got to learn how to win in this league.
03:18It ain't just because you can't lose.
03:20Just because they look talented,
03:21they're going to win automatically.
03:25But guess what?
03:26They're making changes.
03:27They're making changes.
03:28And that's what the Nats have a problem with right now.
03:30The Wizards have made changes.
03:31And the Washington Reds.
03:33The Washington Wizards made changes.
03:34And the Washington Commanders had made changes.
03:37The Nats are still just being faithful.
03:38You got to make changes.
03:41All right, brother.
03:42Appreciate you, Juan.
03:44Let's go to Chico's in Baltimore.
03:47What's up, Chico?
03:49Hey, how you doing, B-Mix?
03:51How you doing, B-Mix?
03:52What's up, brother?
03:53Hey, I'm more mad about the Nats.
03:56You know, they can beat the Orioles,
03:58but here it is.
03:58They couldn't beat all these other teams.
04:01I see you.
04:02Didn't they sweep the Yankees?
04:06What?
04:06Hello?
04:07Nah.
04:07They swept the Yankees, right?
04:10But to me,
04:11to me,
04:12the Yankees swept the Nats, dude.
04:13Yeah.
04:14Oh, yeah.
04:15The Yankees swept the Nats, yeah.
04:16But see,
04:17here it is.
04:18They get swept by the Yankees.
04:20Here it is.
04:21Their bullpen is doing horrible.
04:22I mean,
04:22the Wizards have a long way to go to me.
04:25But,
04:26you know,
04:26the Nats got to go through the draft.
04:28Don't you feel that they got to go through the draft
04:30to get these young prospects
04:32and get some of these young prospects
04:33to come on the floor?
04:33But see,
04:33the thing about that,
04:34drafting in baseball,
04:35they get drafted and they sit in minors
04:38for two,
04:38three years,
04:38sometimes four or five.
04:40They don't come immediately up.
04:42Like,
04:42bullpen,
04:43it's,
04:44building a bullpen is difficult.
04:46I'm aware of that.
04:48Bullpen pitchers tend to be very volatile
04:49year over year.
04:51Like,
04:51if you've read Moneyball,
04:52Billy Bean very famously
04:53would always trade away closers
04:55at the top of their value
04:56because he just thought you,
04:57it's largely
04:59a,
05:01a byproduct of
05:02baseball's hard
05:03so you get the three outs.
05:04Like,
05:04it's,
05:05it's rare to have a truly
05:06great closer,
05:08right?
05:08Mariano Rivera,
05:09John Smoltz,
05:09whatever.
05:10But you can have a good one
05:11and they don't.
05:12And,
05:13their addiction
05:14to the analytics,
05:16their addiction
05:16to matchup-based
05:19determinations
05:19out of the bullpen
05:20has not always worked.
05:22So,
05:22I think it's reasonable
05:24to be frustrated
05:24with the Nats bullpen situation.
05:26Taking your calls,
05:27800-636-1067.
05:29Jupe is in the DMWV.
05:31What up,
05:31Jupe?
05:33What's going on,
05:34fellas?
05:34How y'all feeling?
05:35We're good,
05:35buddy.
05:35How are you?
05:37I'm good.
05:38I'm good.
05:38Hey,
05:39listen,
05:40I'm going to use this analogy.
05:42Three Six Mafia
05:43came out with an album
05:44a couple years ago
05:45called
05:45The Most Known Unknowns.
05:48We know
05:49the Nats
05:50ain't going to spend money.
05:51We know
05:52they got back,
05:54but the pitching
05:55was questionable.
05:56With the Wizards,
05:58we had questions
05:59on who
06:00we're going to pick.
06:01We got AJ.
06:02There was questions
06:02on him.
06:03So far,
06:04he's been lighting it up.
06:05My man looking like
06:06he could be a triple-double
06:07machine.
06:08And Trey Johnson
06:09that first game,
06:10whoo!
06:11I'm nicknaming him
06:12Quick Draw Johnson
06:13because he's got to have
06:14the quickest release
06:15in the league.
06:16Now,
06:16you combine
06:18Trey Young,
06:19A.D.,
06:20I don't care.
06:21I'm seeing a championship
06:22with that squad.
06:23But with the Nats,
06:25until the ownership
06:26is willing to spend money,
06:28we're always going to be
06:29in a situation
06:30which we all know about.
06:31So therefore,
06:32I'm more excited
06:33about the Wizards
06:34than I am pissed off
06:36at the Nats.
06:37That's all I got
06:37for you, fellas.
06:38Thank you, buddy.
06:40I think you kind of
06:41nailed it to me
06:42that the Nats' success
06:43was so unexpected
06:44that it is hard
06:46to be that pissed off
06:47when they're blowing games.
06:49I've sat here
06:50and I've looked at
06:50people's posts
06:52and stuff
06:52and I'm like,
06:53come on, man.
06:54You didn't expect
06:54this at the beginning
06:55of the year.
06:56And now that they,
06:58the bats are so good,
06:59tell me you wouldn't
07:00question in the pitching.
07:01I don't think anybody
07:02expected them to be this bad,
07:04but no one expected
07:04them to be good.
07:06You know what I mean?
07:07Like,
07:08if at the beginning
07:09of the season
07:10I had offered you,
07:13hey,
07:13the Nats could be
07:14one game under .500
07:15at the All-Star break.
07:16You'd be like,
07:17hell yeah.
07:17I'd be like,
07:17hell yeah.
07:18I'd take that.
07:18Right.
07:19Yeah.
07:20It's how
07:21to finish this way
07:23before five days off
07:24is just disheartening.
07:26Yeah.
07:27Let's go to Shane
07:27in Fairfax.
07:28What's up, Shane?
07:30What's up,
07:30all ears?
07:31B, Mitch.
07:31How y'all doing today?
07:32We good, brother.
07:34Hey, look,
07:35here's the thing.
07:35You can't be mad
07:36at the Nats.
07:37We're playing a fool's gold
07:38right now.
07:38We're not even supposed
07:39to be doing
07:39what we're doing
07:40right now.
07:41And plus,
07:41we got the worst ownership
07:42in baseball,
07:43the learners.
07:43Call it what it is.
07:44They're tied
07:45under the banjo string.
07:46But you got to be excited
07:47about the Wizards
07:48right now.
07:49You got to be excited.
07:50Look at this young talent
07:52right now
07:54and the potential
07:56that this team has
07:57right now
07:57for the first time ever
07:58since I've been
07:59a Bullets fan.
08:00This team has got
08:02some potential
08:03and could up winning
08:04like 50 games next year.
08:05So, you got to be excited
08:06about the Wizards.
08:08We just got to trade AD
08:09and get AD out of here.
08:10That's the biggest concern
08:11is getting him out of here
08:13and figuring what we can do.
08:14I think he's here, dude.
08:15Go here with you.
08:16Seeing him in Vegas,
08:17thanks for the call, Shane.
08:18Appreciate you.
08:19B, am I crazy
08:20that him being in Vegas
08:21for the summer league games
08:22matters to me?
08:23I think it does.
08:24There's some level of buy-in.
08:27Every player on this squad
08:29was there together.
08:31They've had some level
08:32of conversation.
08:33And maybe he's trying
08:34to just see how he had to go.
08:36You know what I'm saying?
08:37At least right now,
08:38I get more from him now
08:40than I did previously.
08:42And before,
08:43he didn't say nothing.
08:44He stayed in the back.
08:45Right.
08:46Now he's showing up
08:47with other guys.
08:48So, maybe Trey Young
08:49is getting to him.
08:50Yeah.
08:51I mean, maybe enough conversations
08:53with ownership
08:53and management.
08:54I mean, there's a lot
08:56of reasons to be excited.
08:57I mean,
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