¶ Intro / Opening
Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the Thursday episode of A Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal. Do not adjust your screens. Ken Rosenthal is finally taking a few days off to reflect on his life choices. I am your host for the day, Alana Rizzo, joined by Robert Murray, MLB insider for Fan Sided. Obviously great to have Robert with us. Thank you for being here, Thank you for doing this
for us. Looking forward to a good day. Because there's a lot to talk about, Robert, Let's get right to it and start with the lead.
Yeah. So, the Roman Anthony extension here with the Boston Red Sox sent shockwaves throughout baseball because it was not something that anybody really anticipated. There were some conversations early on in the off season, but as soon as the trade deadline ended up getting done, the Boston Red Sox were very aggressive in trying to get Roman Anthony extended. And from what I gather from start to finish it
may have taken about forty eight hours. And by keeping Roman Anthony in Boston long term, this was a huge move for the Red Sox and for Roman Anthony as well. And for the Red Sox it gets Anthony, who's one of the top young players in Boston long term one hundred and thirty million, which could end up being a huge steal in the long run. And for Anthony, it gets him in Boston for at least eight seasons, perhaps nine with a club option for all sides. It's a
good move. I know there's some controversy and some people who think it maybe wasn't like the best move for Anthony, but you can't fault the gap for taking one hundred and thirty million.
Oh, absolutely not. I also want to welcome our new friends watching on NBC Sports in Philadelphia, the Bay Area as well as California and Robert. You bring up a really good point. Now. Some folks are saying, why would Roman Anthony do this. He's just twenty one years old, He's leaving money on the table. He is expected to be one of the big superstars of the game. But you know what he said, yes, and I guarantee you
it wasn't just him making this decision. I know, having been at Fenway this week and listening to what everything was going on with Roman Anthony. He talked about it with his family, he talked about it with his agents and this is a place that he made clear he wanted to play for a long time. What do you make of what he was saying in his press conference.
No, it's by taking this deal. It's very clear that he wanted to be in Boston if he if he had waited, he may have gotten three, four, maybe even five hundred million dollars. And that's that's a projection for sure. But it's also a good projection considering just how good and talented he is and how highly tauted he was
coming through the miners. But figure, you're twenty one years old, you have one hundred and thirty million dollars thrown at you, You're in the town that you want to play in, and I mean, that's just a situation that's too good to pass up, if you're Anthony, or if you're any player. We even saw Jackson Merril do it, we saw Corman Carroll do it. There's been other players who have done it. Anthony,
I mean, I can't blame him at all. I know there's some people in the background and around baseball where questioning why he took it, But he took it for all the right reasons, because he wanted to be in Boston, and I can never fault the guy for that, all.
Right, So let me ask you this. Do you think the age is a factor in this, Robert, Because he's only twenty one years old, and when he does end this contract, even if the club picks up the option, he's still entering a free agent period at around thirty years old. It's not as if he's going to be thirty six when he's able to go to another team. I mean, that has to play a factor into it as well. I would imagine.
Oh, it totally does, and as it should. I mean, from his age twenty one to the thirty seasons, he's going to make a hundred the thirty million obviously it bought out some free agent years, and maybe that could cost him some money then, but he's still going to be in a position where he can land a maybe ten plus year contract, could end up getting three four
hundred million dollars. So by the time it's all said and done, he could be in a position to really maximize his value and get maybe five hundred plus million throughout his entire career. So even though he may have left some money on the table now, he's going to be able to make it up in the future for sure. So for him, for his family, they're in a very
good spot to be set for life. I mean, shoot, is even his great great great grandkids could end up being several life But no, it's a great deal and it sets them up for future success in earnings as well.
Yeah, Roman Anthony is gonna get paid and make no mistake about that. Okay, Robert, switching our focus now to
¶ The Brewers are baseball's first 70-win team. Are they peaking too early?
the Milwaukee Brewers. I'm not certain entering the twenty twenty five season if either one of us would have thought that the brew Crew would be the first team to reach seventy wins on the season. Are you buying what they're selling?
Oh? I'm totally buying, And how could you not? With Pat Murphy, I mean, Murphy is he is such a common presence. He's intimidating for sure, Like if you're around him, like you can you can sense he's like a grizzly bear, but he's also a teddy bear at the same time, And he cares about his guys so much and he has them believing and that ross feels like exactly like what Pat Murphy is. He's hard nosed, he's aggressive, and
he just he plays the game. That entire team plays the game the right way, and we even saw throughout this entire wind streak and throughout this entire stretch they've been by far the best team in baseball. They're putting up runs, they're pitching really well, they're playing great defense as well. Throughout the stretch. Their last win streak here, they haven't had any errors on defense, so they're just
playing really good, fundamental baseball. I think they're here to stay, and to me, they may not have the payroll of the Dodgers or the trade deadline of the Padres, but there's still a really freaking good baseball team. So I'm absolutely buying everything that's that's going on with the Brewers right now, and I would not be surprised by the time it's all said and done if they actually represent the National League in the World Series.
Wow, the whole thing, HU, Why do you have so much confidence in Milwaukee being the pennant winner in the National League.
That you look at their pitching. Their pitching has been their foundation throughout, I mean to shoot, the last five ten years, and now they have offense as well. They have Jackson Curio, Christian Yelich, Isaac Collins South Freelick is there. They have, I mean, so many young pieces on that team who were just emerging and playing really good, like
as I said, fundamental baseball. And their bullpen is very good as well, even after trading Devin Williams, even after trading Josh Hater a couple of years ago, and they added Shelby Miller at the trade DeLine, and that was one that actually I was able to drop about twenty five or so minutes after the trade deadline, and they only gave up a player to be named later cash in the deal, and it just it felt like a
classic Brewers move. Well, actually maybe not classic Brewers move because they added Salary and Jeordan Montgomery, but a under the radar arm even when that wasn't the most pressing need for him. He's going to be debuting in the next couple of days. I think it was a great move by Milwaukee and it strengthened what was already a really good unit for them. So I think they have all the ingredients, especially them on defense as well, to just be a force in the postseason.
Yeah, going back and forth with the Chicago Cubs and then NL Central, changing our focus now to the AL
¶ The Mariners deadline acquisitions are fitting in well. The hosts debate if they have enough offense to stay in the AL Wild Card picture.
West and the Seattle Mariners. Everybody arguing perhaps that the Mariners did the best job at the deadline, getting not only a U HENNYO Suarez, but also getting Josh Naylor, and Naylor seems to like playing there because he's raking. What do you make of what Seattle did at the deadline and are they for real in the AL West perhaps to win that division against the Astros.
I think they're also I'm on the on the hype train this morning, but I'm also thinking they're legit. They added Josh Naylorano Suarez and they all they almost got Joean Duran and there was at one point that morning that he was traded that I thought he was going to be in Seattle, but they ended up getting the two sluggers, and both of them have been very good since coming to Seattle, and Naylor has provided it with power, but he's also doing it with stolen bases as well.
From the from the I'm spotting the lineup, so everything that they could have hoped for so far has been reality with both of those players. But I don't think anybody necessarily expected Naylor to go ten for ten and stolen basis since going to Seattle. It's a stroke of genius by Jerry Depoto, and it's something that I've said repeatedly.
I've said it on Fall Territory a bunch that the Mariners, they have such a talented team that it only made sense for them to go all in at the deadline or even in the off season because I wanted to design Pete Alonzo. Obviously that didn't happen, but I got to give them credit where credits due. They actually went all in, didn't sacrifice the future as well, and their chances of advancing into the World Series this year are about as good as they've ever been.
Do you think they have enough offense to hold off the likes of the New York Yankees, who I am very well aware or struggling right now, but the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Guardians who are still in the mix, the Texas Rangers that are still a part of the conversation. Do the Ems have enough?
I think they do. I just need to see him actually do it in order to believe it, because it's it's one thing to do it in the regular season, but doing it in the postseason is a whole other beast And they haven't proven that they've They've been able to do that in recent years, but this year it feels like it's they're set up to be different and adding Suarez and adding Naylor provides veteran leadership, and they're they're talking about Naylor being a being one of the
better leaders that they've seen in the clubhouse, even since Corey Seger. There was a Mariners reporter who ended up mentioning that yesterday. I thought it was a really astute point by them. But to me, they're they're in very good shape. I'm not rolling out Texas by any means, because they got better at the deadline. They added Merrill Kelly. Obviously, they have de Gram, But the most underrated pitcher in baseball who is not getting enough national recognition is Nathan Yavaldi.
He has been phenomenal for them this year. He's got an era I believe in the ones and he's just been been remarkable for them. So the Rangers feel like the scary team. The Yankees are still scary for sure, but this latest stretch for them has been wondering how far exactly they get to the postseason, if they even make it at all.
Yeah, I had that question. Yesterday over on Nissan on Unobstructed Views, we were talking about how many teams in the American League East actually make the postseason. So let me ask you this, do you think well, I'll ask you how many teams in the AL East make the postseason and how many teams in the AL West make it into the playoffs.
So it's a great question, and I'm pulling up the standings right now, so I'll make sure I don't forget anybody. The Blue Jays to me, I think they absolutely make it for sure. The Red Sox to me, they're in a position to make it as well. And the vibes are in Boston are just very good, especially after extending Roman Anthony. The vibes before that were good, but now that they got Anthony in town and signed long term, the vibes there are great. I'm going I'm gonna leave
it at that as of this point. Maybe it's an overreaction to their latest stretch, but I don't think that the Yankees are gonna end up making the postseason. That's kind of my hot take for right now. So if I'm wrong, people can clip this and expose me, which I would deserve. That for sure. But going to the Ale West, I have the Astros making it, I have the Maritors making it, and I somehow have the Rangers
squeaking in even after their early season struggles. So I think we see more teams out of the Al West than we do the Ale East.
Wow, Okay, I do agree with you. On the Al East. I think it's the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox. I don't think the Yankees make it, and I think there's two also in the Al West, the Astros and the M's all right. Much more to come with Robert Murray here on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal. We're going to get those questions in. We're doing grilling Robert today, so get those questions in. We'll be back right after this.
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¶ Alanna and Robert take your live Grillin' Robert questions, including next season's manager candidates, if the Yankees struggles are Aaron Boone fault, if Pat Murphy is slam dunk NL Manager of the Year and how the Brewers will approach first base when Rhys Hoskins returns.
This is great. I love the frunt end with Grill and Robert. Of course we're talking with Robert Murray, MLB insider of Fan Sided. Robert, we have a couple of questions before we get to our folks on the YouTube chat. I want to ask you what this is like. I mean, being an MLB insider is not an easy job. It's not for the week. So tell me a bit about your trade deadline recovery program. How you feeling?
You know, if you would have asked me that question about three days ago, I could barely speak. I was I was mentally exhausted. I was in Chicago and usually you're out doing different things, and I was in bed by about seven o'clock, So that was. That was pretty pathetic of me. But now I'm starting to feel a lot better. The recovery has just been trying to stay off my phone as much as possible because my social
battery was at about a zero. Because my days throughout the trade deadline typically start around four am and got done around eleven or twelve pm, so long days for sure, but staying off my phone, trying to cuddle with my dog, Cooper, who is showing behind me right now. I mean, you got to give Cooper a shout on the show, but that was He's been an absolute hero throughout this entire stretch.
Yes, Cooper, my guy. Love dogs, Love Cooper. Okay, let me ask you this. This is a question from our chat on YouTube. Thanks for being here, you guys always appreciate. Daniel Rothenberg wants to know question for you and I do you think any interim managers will stay on for next year? If not? Who were the top manager candidates Who's going to get rewarded?
Yeah?
I don't know if there's any interim managers who end up staying in place this year, maybe in Washington, but I'm gonna I'm going to try to branch out a little bit here. The obvious one is Skip Schumacher, and he is going to be the top candidate for so many different teams throughout the league. And when he left Miami he was asked about plenty like behind the scenes with me, people were wondering where he could end up going or what his future may end up looking like.
He's in Texas now. I don't expect it to be a very long stay in Texas unless he ends up replacing Bruce Bochie down the line. But he stands out to me almost immediately. I'm going to go under the radar candidate here, and this is going back to my ties with the Milwaukee Brewers, but I would go with Walker mckinvin. He's the current bench coach of the Chicago White Socks. He is as respected of a coach or just a baseball person as I've been around in Milwaukee.
And he's smart, he's analytical, former player in college. He's somebody who I'm I'm definitely keeping an eye on for sure. And the last one would be would be Walt Weiss. I could see him being a candidate in Atlanta should Brian Snicker end up retiring at the end of the year as expected. So those are the three names that I'm keeping an eye on both now.
In long term. Yeah. Well, Weiss has had managerial experience obviously with the Colorado Rockies, longtime baseball man. All right, our focus is now on the New York Yankees. We cannot make it through a show without talking about the pin Stripers. They are struggling. Zach Ge wants to know from you, Robert, do the Yankees have an Aaron Boone problem or a player problem? Devin Williams was chosen to pitch Game one and two in Texas and handed the
win to the Rangers both games. That is zach GE's opinion. Is it a managerial issue or is it a player issue.
It's a good question, Zach Gie, and I wonder if it could end up actually being like an organizational issue, because you see just the overall mistakes that they make. They I talked before about the Brewers and just how fundamental they are on the baseball field and just how well they play the Yankees make so many mistakes on the on the on the field that it just makes you wonder what exactly that they're being taught in the
minors or or just in general. So I can see it being an organizational issue, but I also think it's also a managerial issue issue as well, and clearly something is not going right in New York. I don't think they're going to end up making a change anytime sooner, like during the season. Year. If they make a change, you would probably be after the season. But I don't they They're about as patient of an organization as there
possibly is. But something has to change there, like whether it's the way they're teaching the players, the message to the players, or just whatever they have to do. Something needs to change. And that absolutely stems with with Aaron Boone because Brian Cashman's handed him very good roster.
Sticking along the lines, the topic of managers is Pat Murphy the man to beat as far as n EL manager of the year. If it's not Pat and his pancakes, who is it?
I mean, how can you turn on a pancake man for this? Absolutely it's Pat Murphy. The job that he's done in Milwaukee is remarkable, and they they were written off going into the year after losing William Damas, after losing Devin Williams. It felt like how we were talking about them in previous years after they traded away some of their best players, and yet time and time again they've been able to just prove people wrong. And this
year has been their finst performance. And to me, Pat Murphy is absolutely the favorite to win Manager of the Year. He's deserving of it going back to back, and I mean he's got competition in Miami because what the Marlins are doing in Clayton McCollough. The job that he's done there has been tremendous, but it's got to go to Pat Murphy. I mean, who expected this deep into the regular season for the Brewers to have the best record in baseball? Not me, even though I did have them
winning the division at least I think. I think that's something that I that I have, but no, it's just incredibly impressive the job that he's done.
Yeah, Pat Murphy's a lot of fun to be around too, and as you mentioned, he's very stern, but he also has a very fun and playful side about him as well. Obviously, the guys like playing for him. He's probably the front runner as far as that category is concerned. All right, Max, what's up. Great to have you with us. What do you think the plan is for Reese Hoskins upon return from the IL, given King Vaughan's emergence for the Brewers.
Yeah, it's a great question, Max, And for the Brewers, they got to figure that out. And something that I found out during the trade deadline is is they were looking for infielders and they were looking at Ryan O'Hearn. They were looking at Ehano Suarez. They were interested in both players and tried acquiring either one. Obviously didn't get either. So I'm wondering what exactly it could end up meaning
for Hoskins. It's future in Milwaukee this year. I mean, I don't know how you end up keeping a gully Andrew Vaughn out of the lot. The job that he's done is just incredible. Hoskins is obviously a very talented player, but if I'm Milwaukee, you got to ride the hot hand and you got to keep Vaughn in there, and that could end up meeting a lesser role for a Galy Hoskins, or even moving them to a DH spot or something along those lines. But you have to end up keeping Vaughn in the lineup for sure.
And by the way, make sure you guys tune into Foul Territory today. Scott Braun of course as the host with the other guys, but Andrew Vaughan of the Brewers is going to be one of their guests on Foul Today. All right, much more with Robert Murray coming up here on Fair Territory, we're going to talk about Dude and Dork of the Week right after this.
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¶ The hosts crown their Dudes and Dorks of the week.
Dude, dude, dude.
All right, Robert, this is where you and I get to give props, give our flowers, give praise to a person, a person's an organization that is doing something good. Who is your dude of the week.
I mean, how could it not be a J. Prazinski and of being Hall of pretty good? I believe that's what he's what he got elected to. I mean, does it get absolutely better than that? To me, that's better than being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Ah good, you gotta make AJ feel pretty good on this show. But the that along with his speech that he ended up having, I mean, that's as good as it gets.
So major props to AJ. If you haven't had a chance go watch a speech which I believe is on the Fall Territory Twitter account, So props to him.
But what about you, Yeah, Aj Pierzinsky, we love you. Congratulations on being in the Hall of pretty good. You got you gotta love it, my dude, to the week is an organization, it's actually both sides of the equation, Robert. I'm going to give props to Craig Breslo, the Boston Red Sox front office team, their ownership group, and Roman Anthony and his team for coming together on what was a very tight lipped but very quick deal to extend the Roman Empire for the foreseeable future at Fenway and
with the Boston Red Sox. This is a kid, obviously that is going to likely be a superstar, right He just assigned an eight year extension. I believe one hundred and thirty million could have waited, could have forced it into you know, arbitration, free agency, all those types of things,
but knew he wanted to be in Boston. And good for Craig Breslo and the Red Sox for realizing that they needed to lock up one of their young stars and maybe atone for the sins if you will of letting the likes of the Mookie Bets type go, you know, getting rid of devors, which I understand that whole thing, but maybe they're turning a page with how they're handling young stars. Now, the next order of business is to sign Alex Bregman to a long term deal. I live
in the Boston area. Vibes are high. You mentioned that people are feeling good. Let's get Briggie locked up. Congratulations to Roman Anthony. Those guys are my dude of the week.
All right.
Time now for our dork of the week, Robert. This is when we're like, what are these people doing? Who's your dork of the week.
We talked about how high the vibes were in Boston, but you also you got to look at the New York Yankees and their struggles end up being contributing to the high vibes in Boston. So I'm going with Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone as the dark of the weeks or dorks of the week. Cashman acquired three different bullpen arms at the trade deadline, and Jake Byrd, after a couple outings, was immediately demoted to triple A. The rest of the relievers David Bednar struggled right away. Camillo d'vall
has struggled. So all three of the guys that they targeted to have this Super bowlpen have struggled almost immediately. So I absolutely have to have them as Dork the Week because it just it feels right. I expect them to bounce back at some point, but the struggles right now with the Yankees are too much to ignore. So Cashman and Boone, I'm sorry, but you are indeed the dorks of the Week.
Yeah, they are struggling, but at least they're not the Colorado Rockies. Robert, I tell you why the Rockies have a run deferential. Listen to this, and I'm this is not a misspeak. They have a run differential of minus three sixteen for the season. They're one hundred and fourteen games, are the fewest to reach a minus three hundred run differential since nineteen hundred, surpassing the nineteen eleven Boston Braves Boston Rustlers. Rather with the one hundred and eighteen games.
The last team to reach the mark and fewer games was the eighteen ninety nine You weren't breaking news back then, Cleveland Spiders. In seventy three games. The Colorado Rockies, I believe, gave up sixty three runs over the course of their most recent series sixty three runs the Colorado Rockies. The Monforts are my dorks of the week. Something with that organization absolutely needs to change. It is unbelievably embarrassing. They're not even a big league team. I do not fault
the players. This is not from a lack of effort for the players at all. I know that they want to win. It obviously wasn't Bud Black's fault because they're still not winning with their interim manager. It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing, and I'm sorry for the fans, and I'm sorry for the players. All Right, that is my dork of the week. Much more here. If you're watching on TV, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next time.
We have a couple more minutes with the YouTube fam right after this.
¶ Alanna and Robert discuss Kyle Schwarber's standout season.
Hey. An easy way to support the show and wear super comfy clothing is by heading to foul Territoryshop dot com. Yes, foul Territoryshop dot com is loaded with foul territory gear and lots of fair territory gear. If you want to give some love to Ken and Alana. Go check out a hat, a T shirt, and a lot more coffee in the morning. Foul territoryshop dot com is the.
Spot, all right, we appreciate that Scotti Bee don't forget fair territory or foul territory follows us. Right after this, let's talk about Kyle Schwarber right now leading the league in terms of the National League in home runs. This guy's so much fun. I love this team. I love Kyle Schwarber. How much fun is it to watch what he's been able to do. We know he's a banger, but he's easy to root for.
Oh, he totally is. And in my eyes, besides Shoe Otani, he's my favorite player in ball and schworbombs are absolutely electrics. He's thrived in Philadelphia, He's thrived in Boston, He's thrived almost everywhere that he's been. I mean, he did so in Chicago, but not to this level. And we're at the point now where he absolutely belongs in the MVP conversation.
Do I expect him to win it? Like no, but his name should absolutely be mentioned within like the top five or even top three candidates for sure, And It is setting up for what should be the one of the most interesting free agencies of this entire offseason, and Schwarber is going to have a huge market with I would expect Philly to be involved. Boston makes a lot
of sense as well. And for a guy who was once non tendered by the Chicago Cubs, he's probably going to have five hundred home runs throughout his entire career. Is a very strong candidate for the Hall of Fame, especially the Hall of pretty Good. He's better than pretty good, but he is absolutely the most one of the more underrated players in ball and he should be rewarded for this offseason.
All right, less than a minute to go in the show, does Kyle Schwarber win the home run race in the National League? And if so, who is it? If he's not it? And what about the American League?
Yeah, I think it'll end up being Shorber in the National League. I'm not going to bet against Kyle Schwarber, especially leading the National League in home runs going into a free agent year, that to me is a pretty special deal. In the American League, I'm gonna I'm gonna bet on cal Rawley. I think he ends up doing it. I know what Judge is as a Fears competitor, but I'm gonna go with cal.
Yeah.
I think that's a pretty safe bet in the American lead. Robert, thanks so much for pinch hitting today for me, and thanks for letting us pick your brain a little bit. Ken Rosenthal will be back next week. I think I'm with you guys on Monday as well. Don't forget Foul Territory is next. Scott Ron, Cameron Mab and Kevin Palar. Welcoming Andrew Vaughn and Jack Harris. I'm also hosting Dodger's Territory today. Jill Pinter Lopez joins me and again special
thanks to you, Robert Murray. Check out his work on fansided dot com. We'll see you next time.
Thank you so much, appreciate you.
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