Is CB MLB’s worst ump? Mets melt, Brewers EAT, Cubs promote Caissie - podcast episode cover

Is CB MLB’s worst ump? Mets melt, Brewers EAT, Cubs promote Caissie

Aug 14, 202550 min
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Episode description

Shoutout to a group of radio trolls at the top of the show. And then let's talk BALL.

(4:52) The Mets COLLAPSED and the Phillies helped the Reds creep closer in the NL Wild Card race. WTF is happening?

Get 20% off your first Slab Pack or card purchase by going to https://ArenaClub.com/FOUL and use code FOUL

(14:31) We answer a fan question about evaluating Juan Soto.

(16:16) AJ hangs out with the GOAT.

Go to https://surfshark.com/foul or use code FOUL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

(18:56) Umpire CB Bucknor had 7 missed calls in the 1st inning last night! Many broadcasters had comments about the zone and so do we. How could ABS affect games like this? Do umps get eye checks?

Get up to 10 FREE meals and a free item for life at https://www.HelloFresh.com/FT10FM. One item per box with active subscription. Free meals applied as a discount on the first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan.

(36:02) The Cubs are calling up Owen Caissie and Baseball America's JJ Cooper delivers a scouting report. Where will he play?

(38:33) The Brewers win 12 straight and George Webb gets to give away free burgers. 

(43:30) Trivia time: What was the starting lineup for the Padres the last time they had sole possession of the NL West?

Hosts: AJ, SB, EK

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Intro / Opening

Speaker 1

Hey, it's Roun and Kratz, but eventually it will be AJ as well. You should join us. Pretty shortly into the show, apparently he's having drinks with Tom Brady or something close to that. Yeah, I wish I was joking. I think that's actually what's happening right now. He's just doing like a cocktail in the afternoon with Tom Brady. So we'll get to AJ in a moment, probably ten to fifteen minutes in the show. We got a good one for you today, and we used to do something

different off the top krats. I don't like to give attention to warm trash, but I'm going to give it a little bit of run. So I remember when we talked to Rowdy the other day and he was perturbed by a radio interview where they just attacked him with fat jokes and he's like, I don't even know you, and this is weird. We're not best friends. So I asked him if he thought that we were in a spot where sometimes shows are just trying to ask things to try and get viral and get some attention when

they need it, and that show didn't like that. I asked that question, didn't name names. I legitimately don't know any names on that show. I still don't, but at least one of our trustemen behind the scenes sent me a clip of them personally attacking me. Twerp stick is stry comedy, I don't know, all kinds of fun, right attacking And then of course there's a producer on there who's like, he actually does guest spots on some of our shows, sometimes obviously for free, so he's kind of

a nice guy. It was just super awkward and just reminded me of like what some shows try to do and fail so so badly with is you're in your fifties, you're trying hard to be the next Howard Stern, mad dog, whatever you want to call it, and it's really cringe content.

That's what it is. Okay, I didn't go time too deep into it at the time, but it's a really tough look when someone came and ask a question and you're like, oh, is this guy he's a twerp and it's a bad accent and it's like this tough guy mentality. I'm sorry that you don't know much about sports and you have to try and take personal shots so the show can stay alive. And get attention. But that's what it sounded like to me. So it was on one oh five to three the Fan if you'd like to

tune in giving them some love. I'm sure there's a lot of great people that work there, but there were a couple guys that just decided to take some shots. They want to bring me on the radio show. I've been on there before and we had a nice cordial conversation, and I'm allowed to ask an athlete if he feels like he was being trolled into answering questions a certain way. Okay, free country, so get off my back.

Speaker 2

Did they say anything about your chains? No?

Speaker 1

No chains. Attack twerp is an interesting choice, though, I mean not that one I've never received before. We probably haven't met in person. If I'm being called a twerp.

Speaker 3

I would go, I would I'm gonna actually, before you even say any of that, I would say twarp would never twerp, small guy, ugly, all words I would never use to describe Scott Brown because he's not a twerp. Sneaky tall, sneaky tall guy, incredibly jacked, lots of muscles on muscles, So just saying just just don't don't go there you can, and don't make fun of my friend Scott.

Speaker 2

Okay, somebody make fun of.

Speaker 1

Me one more so so they said see me, like as if I'm trying to get attention drawn to me now as somebody that's on the show all the time. I actually have very specific rules for interviews. I try and be the guy who asks the fewest questions when we post stuff on social media. I don't like when I am on it too often. So see me is basically my anti religion.

Speaker 3

It's not and I can back that up. I can back it up. There's plenty of times that we're asked who's next on a question. Scott routinely says I have things, but they don't want to hear from me, or this is all you guys. So Scott is the While he is the incredible host and incredible muscles, he does not want to be seen.

Speaker 2

I know.

Speaker 3

It's it's anti what everybody thinks, like somebody that's on a show, somebody that's been on TV. It's not Scott. So you really you missed the mark. You took a swing, Sorry it didn't happen.

Speaker 1

Appreciate you. Yeah, just trying to play point guard. But anyway, get our few minute shots back in there. I'm sure we'll hear from them again, but that's the only time I'm going to bring it up. Case closed, Let's talk ball,

The Mets COLLAPSED and the Phillies helped the Reds creep closer in the NL Wild Card race. WTF is happening?

talk about oh krats. Of course, the one time that aj it's going to be a few minutes late. It's just you and me, Jersey born Scott, a lot of family members who are die hard Mets fans and Pennsylvania born aircrats, who is Philly, thick and thin and in Philly. Right now, these are actually these are actually their favorite losses, right the Philly's actually lost yesterday, they got blown out by the reds Ate nothing, but it's their favorite lost because they're losing to a team that has a chance

to catch the Mets for the wild card standings. The Mets blew a brutal game yesterday versus Atlanta. They cannot maintain leads right now. David Peterson here in the fourth inning nursing a six run lead, is part of a Mets pitching staff that ends up allowing nine runs off four hits, five walks. Michael Harris had a grand Slam in this one. He's been one of the best hitters in the second half of the season after being one of the worst hitters in the first half of the season.

Starters are not giving length. There was some offense here early on, they scored enough to win the ballgame, but the pitching staff is crumbling in mid August. This happens to teams. But what the heck is going on with the Mets. Are they going to be able to recover from this? Or are the Braves and others going to have fun playing spoiler for the next six weeks and knock this team out of the playoffs?

Speaker 2

Man?

Speaker 3

I mean to say that the Mets aren't going to make the playoffs is as bold for even me. Beginning of the season, I got roasted by Mets fans for saying they're going to finish third. That didn't mean I didn't like the Mets. It also didn't mean that I thought the Mets were the best team in the National

League East. It just means that I didn't think they were built to withstand one hundred and sixty two games to be the best team in the East, let alone in the National League, which I think that's what they want to be. And everything is going wrong right now. The team forgot to hit with runners in scoring position, and when they did, you can't over You can't overcome five straight starters not getting into the fifth inning. You

can't overcome that. There is just especially in July and August, because the bullpen's just going to be so exhausted and granted. Beginning of the season when the Mets were hot and even Jan Soda wasn't hitting during that time or to Juan Soto levels, the team was winning because this bullpen was ridiculous. It was just a cavalcade of dudes who were just having career years. Some have been sent down to Triple A, and now this bullpen is getting tired.

You need your starters to go longer. This team wasn't built for starters to go longer. One of their free agent signings, I'm not called in Sean Manyah free agent signing because I was a great signing, you know, brought them back comfortable where he's at. Didn't work out, and you can't miss if you don't have a lot of signings that are going to give you length.

Speaker 2

And they're not getting any length right now.

Speaker 3

I don't know what's going wrong except and they're throwing some absolute meatballs up there because they're behind in the count. To me, it just looks like the pitching staff does not trust they can get outs in the zone.

Speaker 1

Hey, we love ripping slab packs on Arena Club. I just ripped one in a Ruby pack. Those are fancy schmancy kip and I pulled a matt Shaw twenty twenty three Bowman Draft Aqua Lunar Creater Refractor card and I guess what. Guess what? I got a little offer. You get the instant offer right away. Okay, so they're offering me one hundred and twenty one bucks, sell it back and then I can get a new slab pack. What do I do?

Speaker 4

I want to see this thing? Hold on, look at that. That's a beautiful card.

Speaker 2

You know what.

Speaker 4

I think that's a safe bet. I think it's gonna make you a little bit of money. I think the more more big league time he gets, I'd almost take the deal, though, I'm in it for the chase. I like opening more packs. I think that one hundred and twenty one can buy you a couple more slabs to open, and uh, I think you keep chasing until you get someone you really like.

Speaker 2

But that's the best part about it for me. That's right.

Speaker 1

You can sell it back one hundred and twenty one bucks and then open up another slab pack use the code foul to receive twenty percent off your first slab packer card purchase at arenaclub dot com slash foul. So David Peterson was the bright spot here, right, all star giving this team length, we can show that Anthony Dicomo tweet two covers the Mets on a daily basis, and you said they have received five hundred and ninety four

and a third innings from their starters this season. That is twenty seventh in baseball since June thirteenth, a spent of exactly two months. They are dead last in that category. He said, they simply cannot keep doing this and expect to win consistently. I will point some other parts out. When you do lottery ticket signings of free agent starters, it's not going to be as perfect as it was last year. Every time. Example, a Frankie montas we mentioned

him yesterday, he got demoted to the bullpen. That's a seventeen million dollar a year starter, right, That was a similar rate that you were paying for Luis Sevorino last year. Or a Sean Mania who broke out with the team last year. You're not going to hit on all those. I'll give you another example, Kratz. Clay Holmes was on fire to start the season for the Mets. Didn't give up a home run in his first seven starts. It's got good stuff. But guess what, He's never done this before.

He's never done a full season as a starter. Look back at last year Raynaldo Lopez takes the league by storm. Eventually later in the season, Fades gets hurt and has missed most of this season as well. Not saying it's going to be the exact same fate, but relying on Clay to be as good as he was in the beginning of the season was false hope. His expected RA

was much higher. He was giving up some hard contacts, so there was some batted ball luck, and that is actually reversed now is expected DRA is actually much lower than his RA in the second half of the season. But point being, it's all falling apart at the same time. And when we do send out a little warning at the beginning of the season that we like this team, but we're feeling a little bit uneasy about the starting rotation, it doesn't mean that in April. It means now here

we are. Oh, let's try and get past this. They've lost nine to eleven games so far in August. Do we think that they will bounce back because I think that the offense will continue to turn things around. I know Lindor has been slower since that injury, and Soto's been really consistently good all year. If you're pointing to Soto and thinking that he's the problem with around a one to fifty ops plus, look up his career stats.

His career stats are one fifty something ops plus. He's doing exactly what he does exactly his brand of baseball. It is what it is. He's close to thirty homers, he gets on base. He is one Soto right now. So I think he takes zero blame for this.

Speaker 3

Except except if you're going to say we could have taken some of that money and invested in a pitcher. Don't say Juan Soto socks. He's not hitting with runnings the scoring position. Besides, last year, Jan Soto is not this like one hundred and thirty RBI guy. He is going to be in the ilk of somebody who doesn't chase out of the zone that Joey Vado type. Plus

he's hitting a ton of homers. I think it is twenty ninth homer, So he's gonna have thirty five to forty homers this year, which is great, But his RBIs aren't going to be in one hundred and thirty a season because he doesn't chase. And with runners of scoring position, pitchers try to get you to chase, and he just won't do it just to like, just to drive one run in. It's just not his mo And that's okay,

it's not his fault. It is this offense will turn around, and I actually think this offense has shown their turning around to me. They need to figure out how to try to get outs in the zone when you have a six run lead like last night, you cannot walk five batters. You can't walk five batters in the game when you have six run lead, because one solo home run never gets you back in the game. A grand slam when two of those guys were walked does get

the other team back in the game. You can't walk back. And to me, this is on the pitchers, This is on Jeremy Hefner, this is on the catching court. They have to get these guys back in the zone. And it starts tonight because they don't have a day off. It starts tonight with Senga.

Speaker 1

Yeah, they don't have many days off for a while. They have the eighteenth on Monday. That's it for the rest of the month. So it is what it is. If they could look back and make a trade for a starter at the trade deadline, they would, but it's too late. That's why the trade deadline is done at the end of July, and it is what it is. They're one game ahead of the Reds right now. It's almost a fresh season here, right We're going to be head to head against the Reds, who are one game

off of the wild card spot. Right now, you have the Dodgers and the Cubs ahead of them. And for the Mets, after one more against Atlanta tonight, it doesn't get easier. They are at home, but they take on a roaring Seattle Mariners team that can really pitch and they can swing the bats, so it gets a little lighter after that. They have three against the Nats. That's probably one of the best teams to face right now. That team is not in good shape. But then it's

more Braves than the Phillies. Four against the Marlins. You take on division opponents who have seen your pitching a lot, and then the last month of the season, they do have three against the Reds, they have four against the Phillies, three against the Tigers. They've got some padres in there, some cubs in there. This is not going to be easy, so to be continued. But they need to figure this out fast, and the answer might be that they have some good pitching prospects that could be ready to go.

One of them, Nolan MacLean, who's going to pitch on the weekend. A lot of pressure on them, but Kate Horton's doing it for the Cubs. We'll see if they get the same kind of production here from there. Guys,

We answer a fan question about evaluating Juan Soto.

let's answer one fan question on this topic or statement BM in the chat said, Soto's an exact replica of what he was on the twenty three padres individual, mercenary, badfield or overhyped? What happened to Realistically evaluating this guy? What am I missing here? Looks like the same guy on defense, looks like the same guy on offense. I can't speak to how he is inside the clubhouse. Most of the Mets guys are speaking nicely of him, so and you can never accuse Juan Soto of being like

a clubhouse camp or something like that. He does not have that rep if you don't think he's the one leading the charge in a meeting or something like that. Okay, the Metals have guys like that. Lindor is one of them, Pete Alonzo to an extent, Right, there's other guys there that figure out ways to kind of lead ball clubs. And also, let's just drop it with the chemistry stuff right now. Is this a chemistry issue with the Mets or is it a lack of pitchers going deep into games.

Speaker 3

I'm only going to hit on the Wan Soto part because we just hit on all the other stuff. Wan Soto for his entire career has been exactly what he is now. Last year was he won seventy nine ops plus? Sure, okay, I'm sorry, I didn't get the ops one seventy eight, one seventy eight ops plus. Every other year it's one fifty eight, one fifty eight. His MVP year was the short strike shortens, I mean, the COVID season. But this is what you're getting. And oh, by the way, he's

got eighteen bags. So if you think this guy's not coming out to like win games and all this stuff, he doesn't have to accumulate stats anymore. He's doing exactly what you should have thought he was gonna do. And it ain't his fault until something comes out where he's like choking somebody out in the clubhouse. He's not a bad clubhouse guy. Don't put that on him.

AJ hangs out with the GOAT.

Speaker 1

For those of you complaining about C. B. Buckner, oh don't you worry. We have a whole segment on him coming up in a minute. AJ. Good to see you. How's our buddy Tom Brady doing.

Speaker 5

He's good.

Speaker 6

I'd never met Tom until twenty five minutes ago. We're actually a little bit forty five minutes ago. Yeah, it was nice. I asked him to come on the show. He said he would possibly down the road talk baseball. Yeah, he's good. He's he's Tom Brady. I mean, there you go. I mean, what do you want me to say, tom Brady? It's Tom Brady.

Speaker 2

Have him stand behind you. It makes you look short.

Speaker 1

And you're not tall.

Speaker 3

He's too much short though, Yeah, but just have him stand behind you, like he knows how to take a picture like like, look at how much bigger I looked at you? Because I'm up. Yeah, me and Scott are way bigger than ay Jan. That's not the case. Like he knows, he's he's aware. Next time, you know, maybe get a picture like from the side, like biceps, he's looking.

Speaker 5

He is skinny.

Speaker 6

Should I put the one leg up like everyone does, like where they go like put the one leg up?

Speaker 2

No, that's I don't know.

Speaker 5

Oh that's what. He didn't know who I was, though I'm proud he didn't know who I was.

Speaker 6

You know, this is really kind of funny. You know why he knew who I was because I played for the Giants and he's a Giants fan. He's like, oh, you played for the Giants and I was like I did. He's like how many What year was that? And I was like two thousand and four and he's like, oh, that was Barry's good year. And then Brad Zieger that one of the heads of Fox Sports. Cause yeah, he's the one that hit behind him. That's why you walk so much. Mike Lovey two zigger.

Speaker 1

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Speaker 3

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Speaker 2

That's good. That's really good.

Speaker 1

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Umpire CB Bucknor had 7 missed calls in the 1st inning last night! Many broadcasters had comments about the zone and so do we. How could ABS affect games like this? Do umps get eye checks?

Speaker 2

See right.

Speaker 1

Ump Show is back. The new Angel Hernandez has a name. It's CB Buckner. He's been in the league for a long period of time. It's time first inning Dodgers Angels seven misses. It's embarrassing at this point. It's a really tough watch, guys, if you're watching this live, it doesn't feel like a big league game is being called, and this is pretty frequent. We'll show you how he did in last night's game. We'll show you the UMP, auditor score,

the whole deal. You know, it's bad when most broadcasters are told to take it a little bit easy on umps. If you're an MLB or a team broadcaster, and everyone's like, yeah, we can't fake this. This is even too much for anybody else to deal with. So our buddy Steven Nelson's watching this, like, yeah, right, so that one. Both of those are called strikes. If you're looking at the screen right now, If you're listening to us podcast wise later on, I highly advise that you at least tune in for

this segment. What am I looking at right now?

Speaker 5

Listen?

Speaker 6

Cebe is a nice guy and Kratzl he's a nice guy when you talk to him, but there's always.

Speaker 5

Been a thing about him in the league.

Speaker 6

When you see him on the list, you're like, boys, be careful today because it might not go exactly correct, and just don't get run. So he'd have good games. He had bad games. Everyone has a bad day. Seebe's a nice guy, but he has been known to have a bad game or two, and last night was not a good game, first inning included, but it went to the It went all the way to the ninth inning. It wasn't like he got better. He just stayed the same. And everyone just gets used to it.

Speaker 3

You do, and that is something that back not to be a back in the day guy, but you get used to it. I heard an umpire once say when I first tim McClellan, when I first got into the big leagues, he's like, if I call his own bigger early, guys start swinging. And then he said, by the fifth, sixth inning, I shrink it. Guys are already aggressive. They're not just taking every borderline pitch. We're not in that

day and age anymore. I don't think CB was trying to do this, but it's really concerning to me because Kendrick was out there like, he doesn't throw one hundred miles an hour. It's not like one of the pitches of the seven that he missed in the first inning was from show, Hey, who's throwing a hundred? Hey, you know what, maybe it's too fast for you. Our boy was out there throwing eighty eight eighty nine, sinking it,

cutting it, change ups and he wasn't seeing it. It was a bad first inning, but it's tougher when it's somebody that's constant, routinely, year in and year out, not been good.

Speaker 1

We have a little clip we can run of Stephen Nelson, Dodgers broadcaster, having fun with the scenario, and you know, it's what life's about. You got to make fun of the tough times.

Speaker 3

Two point to two e er all excuse me, strike one.

Speaker 1

They were like, yeah, you're gonna They basically said on the broadcast after that, you're gonna have to wait to make your call longer as the broadcaster, even for the obvious ones, because he might get that wrong. They literally spoke about that on the broadcast. And then later on in that inning he said ball four for the strikeout when Freeland was up and took one well off the plate to end the top of the first.

Speaker 6

Listen, I'm telling you it wasn't just the first inning. Watch the seventh, eighth, and ninth inning. It was the same thing. There were balls in the dock, you know, they light up on their strikes. There was especially at the top of the zone, and I was watching the Angels broadcast. I was watching Wayne Rendezo and Mark Uz

and they made the same comments. There was a pitch that was clearly a strike and they showed the box and I don't know if it was Wayne or Gooby that said, well, that ball is all the way in the box, not even just touching an edge, and we don't know where it missed.

Speaker 5

So it was.

Speaker 6

It wasn't like it was just the first inning. I don't know if we have the scorecard, but it was the whole nine innings. It was all nine innings of this.

Speaker 3

That's that's Christmas tree. That's light up Christmas tree. There just green red balls called strikes, strikes called balls.

Speaker 2

It's not good.

Speaker 3

I mean, hey, Logan O Hoppies out there getting he's getting big time credits going as arbitration a game like that where he has a plus plus what was it say, plus one oh two run save for run run advantage for for his receiving numbers.

Speaker 2

Like oh, they love that. That's huge.

Speaker 3

Reality is he just wasn't very good last night. He wasn't very good. And that is It's tough. I mean, that's gonna be There's gonna be a lot of this next year if you're gonna have a game like that.

Speaker 6

Hey, So can I say something about this though, because I want to. I want to ask you about Crowtzy and Scott about this. So you're talking about the ABS next year, right and this tapping. So I've been when I go to the stadiums a lot of times I talk to umpires. I go in the umpire room and I talk to the umpires and just to say, because I know I still a lot of the umpires, so I go in there and say hi, and you know,

how's it going guys? Or I see him in the tunnel and talk to him, and you know, umpires have been telling me that, especially guys that have been in the ABS down in the Triple A's, that catchers and this is gonna sound funny to do crats, but this

is something that I never thought about. Catchers were like, say, it's the first pitch of the game and they just box it, but they box it on purpose, right, so it's right down the middle, and they go and they clank it or they move it away out of the strike zone, and then the hitter's like, damn, do I need to challenge that? And the mPire still has to call it a strike, right, and then the guy goes like this, and then they lose their challenge.

Speaker 5

Like, come, you ever thought about that?

Speaker 2

That?

Speaker 6

Like the catchers early in games box balls on purpose that are that they know are strikes, but they're kind of borderline.

Speaker 5

They're like oh oh man, oh right.

Speaker 6

And then they get and they lose their challenges and people people are saying that down in the in the Triple A and stuff, that the catchers are starting to do this. That's smart as hell if you think about it.

Speaker 3

Wow, I never thought about that, what I what I mean gaming gaming, The gamers like that, Hey, we're gonna see it. We're gonna see it, so I'm interested in to see. But that is that is something I've never heard.

Speaker 6

I'd never thought about it, never heard it. But I like the initiative by the catchers, right, Scott. I mean, you gotta game the game, right, So if it's a deep like you know, you know, if I have fastball is coming, you're the catcher and you're setup away and you know it's a strike, and you kind of just oh, like you know you could do that, and then the hitters like out of his mind. He's like, man, was that really a strike? And they drop the challenge, they

lose it. And you do that a couple of times, they're out in the second third inning later on, it saves you good gamesmanship.

Speaker 1

That's good deep Hey, if you got someone to fall for that, just like we see deeps in the field. Sometimes that look silly, but occasionally they work and you're like, hey.

Speaker 5

But he's good.

Speaker 6

Here's the thing though, from the dugout, everyone's god, that's not a strike.

Speaker 5

Look how he caught it? No, no, no, But.

Speaker 6

In reality, if you're good enough to do it, then people see it and they're like, oh, challenge, challenge, you know, Kratz.

Speaker 5

I know it's crazy, but it could work.

Speaker 3

You're you're you're off so kind of playing you're playing the you know, it's almost like a coin flip game, like that's it may or may not work. But to me, like all the receiving not even to me, the whole receiving number is do you get that fifty to fifty ball because over here you miss it. Okay, whatever, that's more points, but it's a pitch that's missed a lot less. It's that fifty to fifty ball right down the middle. If you can accumulate the most fifty to fifty balls

being called strikes. That's where the value is not getting this pitch is this far off the plate called a strike, or this pitch is this far on the plate called a ball. You know it's it's those borderline pitches. So ultimately it's gonna be about the borderline pitches. But it'll be interesting to see. I've never thought about that, and I'm excited to see some dude just first pitch of the game, just just oh man, I can't believe I missed that one.

Speaker 1

Framing is still in play. I just want to make that clear because of the fact that you can only challenge. It'll only be two or three times in a game. So let's say you use one early and you're wrong, right, and then you have one left, say for the rest of the game, okay, or even if you had two left. But it's the middle of a game and a catcher is just a framing monster and it's close. You can't take that risk. Can't take that risk when in the ninth inning your best hitter might be up, so the

framing is still going to be in play. I love the gamesmanship component of this. This is where ft takes center stage. We got two catchers on the show every day, and it's going to be the top story in baseball next year.

Speaker 6

Here's the thing. Here's also something else to think about. And a lot of these guys that I've talked to have said this, It wears on an umpire. I know, umpires do the best they can. Listen, most umpires are really good at their job, and ninety nine percent of the games we don't talk about, right, but this new ABS system. Mentally, think about it if in the first two winnings there's like five of these and they're wrong, and then they're like, oh my gosh, what is wrong

with me? And then it starts becoming a mental thing. Like hitting you go for twenty you're like, oh, never gonna get in a hit again. Right, these umpires in the middle of a game, they miss four or five in boom boom, boom boom, let's let's check it, and they're all wrong. To the umpire man, it's got to get in their head a little bit too. So, I mean, there's things that I never thought about that they're starting to come up.

Speaker 5

And it's it's gonna be fascinating when this hits.

Speaker 1

It's gonna be a long.

Speaker 3

I think it'll be I think it'll be good though, because a game like last night, CEB has that many. He has three wrong in the first inning. Unless you are just completely zoned out and could care less about your job, which I don't think these guys do at all. He's gonna lock in and it's gonna You're just gonna automatically get better.

Speaker 1

We have a little breaking news on Hello Fresh. We've talked about him for a long time, but this summer they have their biggest menu upgrade yet. Ready for this, Todd Father, and talk to me. They have doubled their menu doubled. Now you can choose from one hundred options each week, including new seasonal dishes and recipes from around the world. One hundred options.

Speaker 5

That's incredible.

Speaker 7

But to start out, what they had before was absolutely perfect. Now to add even more to your go guys like me, I got baseball in the morning, I got baseball afternoon all day every day. I need something to get going, I need something to eat, and it's absolutely delicious.

Speaker 1

Scott, that's right, Todd Father. The best way to cook just got better. Go to HelloFresh dot com slash FT ten FM right now to get ten free meals plus a free item for life. One per box with active subscription. Free meals applied to discount on a first box new subscribers only. Varies by plan. That is Hello Fresh dot Com slash FT one zero FM to get ten free meals plus a free item for life. Seven wrong in

the first nineteen wrong in the game. So I was gonna say, it's not usually going to extend any time. But if there's nineteen wrong and let's say a team challenges twelve or thirteen of those, I mean it's going to be a fun watch, okay, because you're not going to get that very often where there's twelve or thirteen going against the yump. That's just crazy in a game like that where you can't challenge every single pitch, But

it's going to be fun. A couple questions, as we've been talking about this bird on the YouTube chats that are umps required to get eyesight tests? Stupid question, but curious. I mean they go beyond an eyesight test. No, I mean they're actually going through an umpire program and umpiring in the minor leagues and getting called up. I do understand.

Once you're up, you're up right, So I don't think they're getting anything retested, but they do give them report cards after every game of how they did, and that helps to decide who's doing what assignments. But an no crafts a my off on that.

Speaker 3

No, oh, what assignments you mean like World series and stuff like that.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it's a post It doesn't work exactly like this, but they have their grading system. It even includes how you're dealing with people like the you know, how many times you're getting into it with managers and players and all of that. We talked about this, right because we've done World Series postgame shows and we're like, why is this on behind home plate right now? This guy's got an eighty seven percent clip and the best one in the league's ninety two. Why is the ninety two not there?

But I'm saying there is supposed to be some type of incentivization that if you're doing a good job by whatever grading system they're using, you will get, you know, maybe an All Star game or postseason World series. You disagree, crats, It's it's it's what's supposed to exist behind the scenes.

Speaker 3

There's no accountability, Come on, stop, Like ninety two percent right. That means you're allowed to miss sixteen total pitches if you have a if you get a two hundred pitch game, that's a lot of pitches because not all pitches are called, you know, so there's ball put in play. But just to give you an idea, if there's a two hundred pitch game, that's a lot of pitches. That'd be sixteen sixteen pitches they can miss. They can miss. The accountability

is and you're never losing your job. And we've seen the guys who are actually in the big leagues, I mean in the playoffs, and they're not always the best umpires. If it was the umpires, I think you would get more there's more accountability, you would get better games called. But some of these bad umpires go to the playoffs and have some of their best scores all season.

Speaker 1

You're supposed to get rewarded. But I got what you're saying. And there were one hundred eighty seven decisions to make in the game that we're picking on with C. B. Buckner. One hundred eighty seven decisions. So you do impact the game quite a bit if you're an umpire. This is going to at least help things one more real quick on this moral are problem childs who we have fun with sometimes. In the YouTube chat said how much time does the hitter have to challenge? One second? Question mark?

Or hitters going to be looking into the dugout immediately after a borderline pitch to see if they should challenge. The whole name of the game here is that you have to immediately make a decision. So I don't know if they said it's one second, but it is essentially one second.

Speaker 3

So what I what I was told, and I'd have to I'd have to ask a triple a umpire right now or an umpire that's been doing it.

Speaker 2

If if you.

Speaker 3

View even if it's in one second, and you look over that, if you're getting any kind of help from a coach from the dugout, they can.

Speaker 2

Be like nope, no, no, no, no, no, no, you can't.

Speaker 3

Now if you if you see it and you're like, oh wait wait, I want to challenge, then it might have actually taken longer to do that. But if they deem that you were getting help from somebody else, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.

Speaker 1

Okay, AJ, you're hearing the same thing now I'm thinking about a runner at second base who immediately sees the pitch and does one of those yankee jumping Jackson says, hey, challenge this.

Speaker 5

Yeah, yeah, I don't.

Speaker 6

I don't know. I don't know. It's gonna be This is gonna be fascinating. I'm all for. It's gonna be fascinating. It's gonna be so amazing. How many times early it goes like this, How many guys waste them? Who gets to use them when they use them? The gamesmanship, the umpire ship, Oh, it's gonna be awesome.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and for those that night.

Speaker 6

But that's why I don't want full roboms either. I want there to be some more more stuff going on.

Speaker 1

You're going to get that last night would go ultraviral for how many times you're going to see teams challenge and win those challenges to correct someone like this. So if you've been waiting for that moment, this will penalize an umpire because you're going to have a frigging five hour game if you're challenging every pitch that they get.

On question from Ricky in the chat said Kratz and aj doms get mental health days if they just aren't at the right frame at times, like in the right frame of mind, they are human.

Speaker 5

Not that I know.

Speaker 6

If they get vacation though, you know what their mental health days are, and they get to go to New York for a week and sit in the room for three hours and maybe get one call in three hours, that's their mental health days. And they get vacations though, a lot of these guys get like two weeks off. I think in their week two week stints, I think where they get to go off, go home and hang out with their families and all that which everyone needs.

So players don't even get that. So I think it's I think it's good, but they don't get mental health days. I don't think it's I don't think it's two weeks.

Speaker 2

I think they go. I think they go in a six week rotation.

Speaker 3

I think it's six weeks and then they skip a series, and then they go six weeks and they skip a series. Want one guy, so your crew kind of stays together, but then they're intermingling or dispersing the triple A guys who are getting called up to fill in. I think that's how I think that's how it is now, but I can't I can confirm that. But yes, they get time off, not mental health days that I know, but I'm sure that kind of stuff's I mean their employees,

so they know and they do get health checks. Somebody asked me for about the I checks. I know the trainer who's in charge of all of the umpires, and they do the exact same checks that we do in spring training at the beginning of the year.

Speaker 2

So they're checking all that stuff.

Speaker 3

Doesn't mean there's like a standard you have to have twenty twenty vision or something.

The Cubs are calling up Owen Caissie and Baseball America's JJ Cooper delivers a scouting report. Where will he play?

Speaker 8

A lot of times when a player is called up to the majors, the first question is is he ready for the big leagues. Well, with Owen Casey, who's getting called up by the Cubs, if he's not ready now, I don't know when he'll be ready. He has almost one thousand Triple A plate appearances, he has almost fifteen hundred Double A and Triple A plate appearances. He's been in Triple A for quite a while. He's been performing. He's ready, So what can you expect from him if

he gets regular at bats. The crazy part of this is is that I would know that Triple a's not as challenging as the big leagues, obviously, but if you say, what has he done in Triple A this year? It's been really be almost a perfect analog for what Bryce Harper is doing in the big leagues. Bryce Harper striking out a little bit less, walking about the same rate as ow In Casey is in Triple A.

Speaker 2

In Triple a's.

Speaker 8

Easier, But when you talk about how hard they hit the ball, it's basically identical average EV max EV barrel rate, hard hit rate, all these things are very similar. And I would say that if you're looking for Casey to mash against right handers, I think that that's very much what he's ready to do. The one question will be is if you want him to play against lefties. That's a little bit more of a question. He's really more of an opposite field hitter who's just trying to survive

against lefties. You don't see the same power against lefties that he has against right handers. But Owen Casey has been ready for a while now, and if he gets some runway here, it'll be interesting to see what he can do for the Cubs.

Speaker 1

Tweet it out, Michael JJ Cooper said, Owen Casey is Bryce Harper. Good stuff from JJ. Make sure you check him out on Baseball America Hotchie, baseball america dot com. But this is a twenty three year old. He's getting called up, he's Canadian. He's getting called up for the Cup series against the Blue Jays, finishing that one up with a getaway day game. But hey, aj, I know the question mark is where is he going to play?

The question mark also, but they held on to him, and I think they could have dealt him for a starter at the deadline, so there is some extra pressure on him.

Speaker 5

Where's he play? Scott? Where's he played? That's all I want to know? Left field? Who's left field? Ian Ha? Who's centerfield? Pca? Who's right field? Kyle Tucker? We're zooki DH Yeah, where do you play him?

Speaker 6

Where's he going to get playing time? It's cool story. Happy for you, Ow and Casey. We interviewed in spring training at the Clutchhouse. You're awesome, Alana, and I sat down with you for a long time.

Speaker 5

You were great.

Speaker 6

But if he doesn't get regular bats, then what's the point. I don't know, unless someone's hurt that we don't know about. We're missing something here, crowds, Am I wrong?

The Brewers win 12 straight and George Webb gets to give away free burgers.

Speaker 1

The Brewers cannot lose a game. Now they're playing the Pirates at the moment, one of the worst teams in baseball. But still the Brewers cannot lose a game, right now? Make it twelve in a row for Milwaukee. Hey, they at least made it a little sweaty mid game. Brian Reynolds put on a show. He was a one man wrecking crew. I think it was back to back innings when he had a two run homer and a three run homer. But then eventually kratzyr Old boys pulled away again.

Speaker 2

And they do it all.

Speaker 3

They do it all, and everyone's like, ah, no way they can continue this.

Speaker 2

How can they do that?

Speaker 3

They don't hit enough home runs, but the name of the game is scoring runs. The Great Or as they call him now, they had a T shirt King Vaughan. Andrew Vaughn had a squeeze bunt to put the team up five to one instead of four to one. I think it was first and third and he squeezed against Andrew Heeney, so he had the advantage left right and he still was able to just what get an RBI drive the run in. They're winning ball games and it's

twelve in a row. It's it's Uker magic. As all the signs, as all the signs in the stadium are saying.

Speaker 1

Company that gives away the Burgers agents getting the George Webb it's called. I don't know a lot about all that.

Speaker 6

Maybe I don't like the Canadian place because the Canadian what's the Tim Hortons. George Webb's like Tim Hortons of Milwaukee.

Speaker 3

No, I don't think that's what's called. I don't wanted to fame the I don't want to fame the Burger company.

Speaker 2

Find it for me, Scott, because we were all type George Webin.

Speaker 1

There's articles everywhere Milwaukee George Webburger giveaway. What you need to know, when, where, and how to get a free George Webberger. George Webb sets the time and date for free burger giveaway. Again, like I'm not plugged into every local giveaway scene. We just watched the Brewers every night and now a lot of the postgame chats were about how the Brewer is gonna get fans free burgers. Yeah, it's a it's a restaurant thought I thought it was

when he was playing for Milwaukee. No, it's a restaurant chain in Milwaukee. They announced on August fourteenth, or well that's today. They announced where fans can get the burgers. I'm trying to see when they initially came up with this thing. I don't know if I will, but anyway, I guess the promotion that they have is Okay.

Speaker 5

Here it is the George Web Local Train in Milwaukee.

Speaker 1

Our founder made the bold prediction of twelve games in a row back in the nineteen forties. It's only been realized three times in company history. And so that's the thing that they run where they'll give out free burgers. They said that in twenty eighteen when it happened, they gave away ninety thousand free burgers plus one hundred thousand redeemable vouchers. Wow. So whatever it is, I don't care if Lord burgers.

Speaker 5

Oh my god, we don't know.

Speaker 6

People aren't just people aren't just going to Buddy Web. What's it called, George Webb.

Speaker 5

George Web. It's a funny name. I have a friend named Buddy Web. That's why I kicked it.

Speaker 1

It's like an accountant, but George Web.

Speaker 5

Yeh. But everyone goes. They're not just gonna go and get a burger.

Speaker 6

They're gonna get a shake and some fries and something else, maybe a piece of pie, and then someone else has to get something. So it's a great It's like Mattress Mac in Houston, Right, he gets all this attention, but I mean he doesn't really lose money when he does all that. I mean he hedges his bets and all that, so I mean he's smart.

Speaker 5

It's good marketing, good for the people in Milwaukee.

Speaker 6

And you know what, go get your free burger people in Milwaukee, because you deserve it.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it was there at eighteen. I mean I was there at eighteen. I just didn't remember it was called George Webb, but I remember Counts was talking about it and he was like, he's like, yeah, if we win, because if we had beaten the Rockies the last game of the third game in LDS, that would have been our twelfth win or maybe it was the first game of Dodgers whatever it was. That's when we got in twelve in a row. Is at the end of the season.

There was so much chatter about it. It's funny that I forget the name of the of the place, but there was so much chatter about it, like the city. The city was obviously on its head because of the fact that, you know, we were moving on to the NLCS, but the fact that they were getting burgers and all the locations.

Speaker 2

I just didn't remember that was the name of the place.

Speaker 1

That's a tough name. I would call Webby's or something. I mean, no offense, and maybe I'm going to get smashed for that, but it sounds like, Oh, I'm going to get my taxes done with George Webb.

Speaker 5

But anyway, by the way, you guys swept the Rockies that year.

Speaker 6

Because I flew to Colorado and I had to stop in Houston because we didn't have that game. So I was on the plane and I was texting my producer and I said, do I really have to go? Because it was like four nothing to was earned slam range in Colorado right when they closed the doors, and I couldn't get off the plane. In Orlando anymore, someone hit a grand slam and it was eight nothing, and I was like, Oh, luckily I had to stop in Houston.

Trivia time: What was the starting lineup for the Padres the last time they had sole possession of the NL West?

Speaker 1

Let's slap and we'll play a trivia game. I like this. The Padres starting lineup the last time that they were in sole possession of first place in the NLS. This late in the season. If you are, if you saw it already, then I don't want you to play. But if you haven't, I'll give you the date. September twenty five, twenty ten against the Reds. So you guys were both Big League in it. Maybe you remember, I mean.

Speaker 3

That was that was That was one of the first teams I played against. So yeah, I can you want the starting lineup or you want pitchers?

Speaker 1

No, I want starting lineup. I want the batters. I want the position.

Speaker 3

Because I was thinking Green team. Who Khalil Green on the team? I don't think he was on that team. They had like Will Vennable, they had Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Headley was playing third.

Speaker 2

Was Nick Huntley on that team?

Speaker 1

Yep? Catching second base? David Eckstein, it's x Stein, x Stein oops shortstop Miguel Tejada.

Speaker 2

What I wouldn't have gotten one.

Speaker 1

I would not have gotten that one. Either you said Ludwick or no Scott?

Speaker 2

Who was who was? Oh? Ryan Ludwig was playing left field? Who was the Scot?

Speaker 1

Nobody quit because it was the National League. I'm old enough to know. I'm old enough to remember when the National League didn't have a DH and that caused Shoeo Tani to sign with the Angels and not the Dodgers.

Speaker 3

True story that bullpen was ridiculous. Heath Bell, Trevor Hoffman, Tim Staffer.

Speaker 5

In Milwaukee.

Speaker 2

Then, uh, yes, you're because I played both of them.

Speaker 3

I played both of them my my first like two of three series or something in the big leagues.

Speaker 2

He was Milwaukee, Gregson was out there.

Speaker 6

They had Stammond Craig was his name is Stanmon Craig Stamon, the guy who didn't the guy who didn't build bend his leg?

Speaker 5

Remember him?

Speaker 1

I thought it was yeah, Stammon and Stammon. I don't know if they were on the same team. But there's the lineup for you, the starting nine, Oscar Salazar in fields. But otherwise you guys did a good job there, Krafts. We got thirty seconds too. So let's get a card guard quick on the way out, hard guard on Garland, your boy.

Speaker 2

This is one of my gifts.

Speaker 3

The other one of my gifts that one of my best friends in all of ft A J.

Speaker 2

Prazinski got me. Wow, I'll start game. I really like it.

Speaker 5

I do too, I like them.

Speaker 3

I gotta be careful though. There's there's there's dots. You can't see it. There's like the small holes in the back. Now with this head, Now with this head, you gonna put some Sundale Locean on.

Speaker 2

But that's okay. It's a nice hat. It's so light. I love it.

Speaker 3

I hope I get one from every team. Players and weekend hats coming up maybe differently.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I'm good. I didn't know, did we? Oh now we're intern Okay, cool?

Speaker 5

Are they different the new air? Do players weekend?

Speaker 2

Oh they're allowed to be to me, just allow them to players?

Speaker 1

Weekend is this weekend or next weekend?

Speaker 5

So they just have their numbers on the side. I guess.

Speaker 2

It started.

Speaker 5

No, they're but they they're selling them already.

Speaker 6

So like New York has a ninety nine Judge hat, stuff like that in all different scripts.

Speaker 2

Do they have Do they have a thirty eight hat?

Speaker 5

I don't know. Judge is the first one that pops up.

Speaker 2

And then so obviously.

Speaker 6

Lacuna, Freed, Matt Olson, Bragman, Yamamoto, Alonso.

Speaker 3

So not everybody gets the players, but hey, you get nicknames on the back. You get to customize your tweets. Oh wait, everybody does that anyway.

Speaker 5

Oh, they're going back to nicknames on the back this year.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that's the way happening. That's that's what Players we Can is all about. Remember last year they couldn't do it because of the C three uniforms.

Speaker 6

But by the way, today's speaking of nicknames. Happy birthday j Want Pierre beist Mode. He was the one that originally came up with beast Mode, not Marshawn Lynch. I'm sorry, but yes, Happy birthday JP Gogeaters, big LSU fan.

Speaker 3

Happy birthday Giovanni Gegos too. Not many know who that is, but yeah, Clay Buckle, it's a good name.

Speaker 1

Today, I'll give you the guest list for tomorrow. Ken Rosenthal Kenny Ball game back first time in a minute, right, he's back from a little break and he did Fair Territory today if you want to catch that later. Noah Cinderguard tomorrow.

Speaker 5

He's still pitching.

Speaker 1

He signed with the.

Speaker 5

With the White Sox. But I thought they got I thought they released them. But I don't know that answer.

Speaker 1

We'll look it up between now and then. Excited to talk to Thor and Miles. Michael is back on the show. Like it's been a minute. Miles is one of the better guests in the sport coming off a really nice outing. I watched some of it the other day for the Cardinals. That was the win they had against the Rockies. The next couple games did not go as well for them. But anyway, good show.

Speaker 3

Today, Thanks Scott, A great show you too.

Speaker 1

Yeah ajmss my rant at the top.

Speaker 2

You twerporp.

Speaker 1

I haven't heard that word since nineteen ninety four. Get in on the excitement at BETMGM. In any sport, no sweat token could be there for you to get your steak back in bonus bets. If you don't win your wager, you get that steak back. Look at the terms, the conditions, the rules, the whole deal. BETAMGM app or betmgm dot com gambling problem more concern, Call one eight hundred gambler

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