Where are we at in society today? Come after me. I'm a man, I'm forty. Go ahead, make my day every single week. I put my freaking heart and soul into this. I don't go out there and laugh. It's not funny. Nothing's funny to me. I don't wanna go out there and get embarrassed on Monday night football for everybody, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. So I ain't nothing changed from yesterday. Still the same person I was yesterday, and I got the same thing
for you that I had yesterday. You know why I'm here. You play to win the game. You don't play to just play it. That's a great thing about sports. You play to win. I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. You start telling me it doesn't matter to retire. Get out for the matters. Damn right, it does. It matters out Thursday two. It matters every day, doesn't at term? Right now? Welcome everybody, Clade, you're with us on
this Thursday edition of X's m Brose. Matt Shepard Ben is our producer. We welcome your thoughts on the Meyer Hotline eight six six eight three, eight forty eight, forty three. You can also text the program. All you gotta do to textas is send Sports Radio to twenty one thousand. There is plenty to discuss. The Tigers lose yesterday in the series wrap up to the
Guardians in Cleveland in ten innings five to four. Andrew Chaffin gives up the ninth innings solo homer to David Who to David Frye that tied the game, and then Brian Rochio singles in the winning run in the tenth off Alex Lang. This was one of those situations. Remember how I said not too long ago, if you were listening, that sometimes managers will be hesitant to use a player out of the bullpen in one inning and then start them in the
next inning as kind of an up down situation. You remember that, Yeah, I'm sure you do, okay. Well, in the past, anyway, Alex Lang has been designated in that category. Well, he came in and he got Loriano to strike out in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied, and then started the tenth A lot of times, at least from what I can recall, that was not done because of certain situations, certain reasons that aj Hinch just didn't want to do that with Alex Klin.
Well, yesterday might be an example of why he hasn't done it in the past. He takes the L Tigers, take the L back to a game above five hundred, and it's another one run loss for Detroit. How much those matter? How much the one run losses or one run wins matter? I don't know. What does it show to you that you can get it done then you've got to go bullpen? Maybe there's quite a few things. I know this. The Tigers a year ago were a game above five hundred
in one run games. It mattered for Baltimore because Baltimore had more wins, more one run wins than anybody else in baseball. They were thirty and sixteen last year in one run games. Thirty of their one hundred and one wins were by one run, So thirty percent of your wins in those types of situations pretty damn important. On the other hand, it's not always the most
important thing. Dodgers were just sixteen and fifteen in one run games, So I'm not trying to make too much of it, but I'm not trying to make light of it. I just want you to know the situations from a year ago. This year, the Tigers have played more one run games than anybody else in baseball. Long way to go, but still fifteen games and they're seven and eight. Yankees have played twelve, they're nine to three. Phillies have played ten. They're eight and two, and the Phillies are have
the most wins in baseball right now. They're playing as well as anybody. They've established. They lost yesterday, but they won eight of their last ten. They had that six game win streak and there they lose to Toronto five to three. But they've got the most wins in baseball right now with twenty six. So there you go. I mean, that's kind of the situation that Detroit's dealing with right now. They're off today and they open up a
nice six game homestand this weekend starting tomorrow with three against Houston. The question, I suppose for many will have to be what you did in the tenth inning? See in the tenth inning When you're the road team. The belief from aj Hinch and his staff is that you go for a big inning. And when I say big inning, I mean more than one run. I don't know how you feel about the baseball rule. You put a guy at second base in the tenth inning, but a guy in scoring position. Personally,
I've always hated it. People have warmed to it who originally didn't like it. I do not like it. Not to start the game or not to start the extra inning. I would like to see you in the tenth inning. Try to get your own traffic on the base pass. If it doesn't work in the eleventh inning, start a guy on first base. That doesn't work in the twelfth inning, then start a guy on second base, and then it ends there. One man's opinion, But the rules are what
they are. You start a guy on second base. The Tigers did just that. The out, the last out from the previous inning starts at second base. So Detroit has a runner at second base, Hovey or Bias. Wait for the inserted joke here. It comes good. One ground ball, and what does Baiaz do? Bias breaks for second. It's up the middle. The shortstop is there, and Bias gets thrown out. I don't know
what he's doing. I don't know why he's doing it. It's believed that he is a smart bass runner and guys are gonna make mistakes, understood, not those types of mistakes. Just can't do it. Say it like it is. It's a stupid baseball play, and it takes your team right out of it. No, not the wind out of the sales, bull crap. I'm talking about taking your team out of it. You go from one out and a man on second base to one out a man on first base
because it's a fielder's choice. Green strikes out, and then a bid news the grounds out to third foebishly, weakly, horrid Cleveland gets the chance, and what do they do. Loriano's at second base. They sacrifice him, lay down the bunt, fun mentals execution. He gets to third, and then Rokio singles to center. Even if he didn't singles center, excuse me. If he gets to get the ball in the air to the outfield, in all likelihood he's scoring. There's your walk off. It's flipping ridiculous.
Man. Games like this, we don't think a lot of times they matter because it's early May bull roar it does. Eventually they're going to matter. And now look at your situation. We're creeping up every day, I tell you this, we are creeping up thirty seven games deep almost at the quarter pole. Myyer hotline eighty sixty six eight three eight forty eight forty three the text line sports Radio to twenty one thousand, Just getting started on a Thursday
morning on X's and Bros. Across the great state of Michigan. Stay with us, Bill Simon, sit here for my good friend Josh Garvey. Now he's a managing shareholder at Dorn Mayhew's Grand Rapids office. Their world headquarters are in Troy, Michigan, on the east side of the state, and they have locations all around the world. They have over five hundred and fifty motivated accounting professionals ninety years in business, and I mentioned the ten offices worldwide.
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They're one of Americas and the worlds top CPA accounting and business firms. They're Dorn Mayhew. We're teeing off our tenth year at the Meyer LPGA Classic for simply give. Get ready for the best who are yet to help neighbors in need while enjoying golf, food and family fun. Join us June thirteenth through the sixteenth at Blakefield Country Club for fabulous food, discoveryland for kids, and of course, elite women golfers from around the world competing to help feed our
neighbors. Get your tickets now at Meyer LPGA Classic dot com. All right, welcome back, Exces and pros Monday through Friday six until not. Throughout our state, we are on in Traverse City WKAD ninety three point seven FM the Ticket. We are on in Potoski and Charlotte board to MMBN one oh four point seven The Ticket. Northern Michigan in Grayley and Galor wgr Y one o one point one FM, up North Sports Radio, the MIT in the middle of the state, Midland Sagment on basity w lu N one hundred point
nine. We're on a Cadillac WKAD The Ticket ninety three point seven FM. Our friends in Flint, hear us on WTRX Sports Extra thirteen thirty am, and in Grand Rapids on the Powerful ninety six point one FM. The Game. Ben is our producer. Please give him a call sometimes he gets a little lonely. Meer. Hotline eight sixty six eight three eight forty eight forty three Tech Sports Radio to twenty one thousand to jump in on the conversation as well. Jason Beck will join us. MLB dot Com will join us at
eight thirty five. Really looking forward to that to talk a little baseball, and specifically Tigers, who lost yesterday in ten innings five to four to Cleveland. I said just before the break, this is getting We're getting close. We're getting close to that quarter pole. So many things can change in baseball. It can be a challenging topic to talk baseball in sports radio because so many things are different. Game to game. First game of the series didn't
score any runs. We were on these airwaves complaining about it. Game two, Detroit opens up a can and scores eleven times. We were slightly concerned with kent to my ETA. Let me take that back. More than slightly concerned, very concerned in seven starts, but they won. This morning, we're talking about a loss and the mental part of the game where guys are just not doing what they're supposed to be doing. So again, don't want
to be super negative. Hate it. You're driving to work, you've had a busy night the night before, Perhaps you get a lot of stuff going on in your life. You really need somebody bitching and moaning about a baseball game. Probably not. I'm just bringing up things that matter down the stretch. At least I'm trying to. And I think if you watched, listened, or read about you understand that those types of games, especially in the
Division, though it's just thirty seven games deep, do matter. Doesn't mean they can't turn it around. But when you have baseball on a night tonight basis, you're going to break it down once in a while. Okay, So thoughts on the Tigers and the frustration a little bit from last night or yesterday is there on the Meyer hotline for eight six six eight three eight forty eight forty three. I liken it to this, It's a little like guarding
the inbound play in basketball. Do you guard the inbound play on the final play Duke Kentucky way back in the day when Christian Lightner made his famous shot. Well, I called Michigan basketball. Do you guard Ben Brust who launched from mid court for Wisconsin and beat Michigan on a prayer? It's a philosophy, Okay, do you believe in it? I don't know. It's the same thing in extra innings? Do you believe in bunting the guy over?
So many people love that. This is kind of a kind of a cliche, but so many people love what they love small ball in certain situations. I don't think you marry one philosophy. I don't think you just say, you know what, let's just we're gonna play small ball. That's what we're gonna do every chance we get. I think it depends on the situation and this situation, and he has been very consistent with it. A. J. Hinch doesn't believe you do that. When you're the road team, you
try to dictate what the other team is going to have to do. And I'm sure depending on the person in the box and the person on the base pass, but for the most part, if he's the road team, he's not playing for the one run, he's going to play for a bigger inning. It's hard to argue with that. He really is a He's a fascinating, borderline brilliant baseball guy. And I mean that. I mean, if
you sit down, you get a chance to talk to him. I've been fortunate enough sit down talk to him, not just in his office but in other settings, just about his philosophy in baseball, what makes certain situations more important than others, how far ahead he's looking in games, all those things. I'm sure you guys know this, but you know when offensive coordinators are in a game, they're not looking at Okay, here's it's third down and three, this is what I'm going to do. They've already got it done.
They've already decided because they have thought so many plays ahead. It's the same thing in baseball. You're not managing inning by inning. You're looking ahead constantly. It really is like a game of chess. You're trying your best to set up the opposition. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But I liken it to that. I think it's very similar basketball. There's a lot of people who swear by it. You've got to guard the inbound pass,
make them have it difficult. Guyle on the baseline. Guile on the sideline doesn't matter. Make it difficult for the guy doing the inbounding. Some people truly believe in that. Others are like, no, give yourself a chance to have an extra defender out there. Well, in baseball, some people will play for that one run when they're at home, and some people will want to play for the beginning. It's a strategy. You may not always agree with it. That's fine, you're not. I can agree with
a lot of stuff. You don't agree with a lot of managers when they bring in a reliever, how long they leave a starter in, why a guy may be batting in a certain spot in the lineup. Totally get it. How do you feel about this philosophy? Meyer hotline eight sixty six eight three eight forty eight forty three. What you like, what you don't like?
Okay, there you go. That's what's going on. And by the way, if you're Cleveland and you're a top the division at twenty four thirteen and you're second in the division in run differential, I think that's a really important statistic. Kansas City is number one, believe it or not, Kansas City is a plus forty six in run differential this year. Last year they
were a minus one eighty three. Let me say that again. This year Kansas City is number one in the AL Central, not the best division in baseball, but still they are number one in the AL Central in run differential at a plus forty six. Last year they were a minus one eighty three. Talk about a turnaround. Amazing so far, so far. That wasn't worse in the division. By the way, Chicago is even worse than that. Full number is eight six six eight three, eight forty eight forty three.
That's the my hot line. Jason Beck joins us a couple of hours from now here on EXAs and Bros, we're back your thoughts. You can text us as well. We'll get to some NBA and NHL as well when we return right after this throughout the great state of Michigan. Huge here for
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You saw the mistakes, you know, too many mistakes, you know, pick a side of the ball, and and we didn't do enough to win the game. So yeah, this one got away because I think we put ourselves in a really tough spot to win the game. It's more about the eighth inning cheap run. You know, we gave them, you know, a full trip around the basis, so that counts the the lack of attack on I mean we did. We made many mistakes. That's that's the
point. A J. Hinch following the game yesterday in a five to four loss in ten innings, his frustration mounting in For good reason. He's referring to the eighth inning. Joey Wentz on the mound for Detroit, Brian Rochio singles to center On a strikeout. Rochio is still second. Jake Rogers throws one into center field, first throwing era of the year for Rogers. Rochio moves to third, and then a ground out to second allows Rochio to score
that gets him to within four to three. And then in the ninth it's the home run by Fry, and then in the tenth it's their ability to move the runner from second to third and then get him home with a single to win it. You're up four to two. And then that in a three inning stretch, eighth, ninth, tenth, ruins your day, ruins your series, and to a certain extent, may ruin the road trip.
So Detroit barely above five hundred. Pitching for the most part there, right, I would agree, pitching for the most part there, riees Oulsen was really good, really good. And then this just ridiculous margin for error. How many teams have that? What's the margin for error for certain teams? For a team like Detroit, the margin for error is thinner than a margin
for air. For Baltimore, it's thinner than a margin for air. For then it would be against a team like Philadelphia or Atlanta, or the Dodgers or apparently Cleveland. You can say what you want about Cleveland, here's what you cannot deny. Traditionally, under Terry Francona, and now it sure seems like under Stephen Vote they are a team that is fundamentally sound. What's the cliche, you don't beat yourself. The Tigers have a tendency to do that.
They beat themselves throwing air, misplaced pitch. It was outer half, allowing a player to extend his arms, home run down the right field line, base running air, the home run happens. Pitchers are gonna give up home runs, and Craig Kimbrel is it now but was considered it is prime the best reliever in baseball. One could argue he's a Hall of Famer, and then he's one of the best closers of all time. Not the best, but one of the best. Okay, last two times out he's given
up big bombs. He did yesterday against Washington, So those are going to happen. I think you and I get that. I mean, that's what baseball is, smashing home runs left and right. I mean, all you got to do is watch some clips of games around the league. Go to quick Pitch on MLB Network and you'll see home run after home run after home run. I mean, yesterday, to Askar Hernandez, a couple of them for the Dodgers. But the margin for error for Detroit is is not very
big. It's tough for it's tough for this team to overcome deficits, large deficits because of their inconsistent offense. I've told you this for a while now. It's not a team that is spectacular defensively. They don't have anybody like Hapier Bias makes a spectacular play or two or three, and he really does, but I don't. He's not a gold glove shortstop. They don't have a gold glove out player on this team. Find me one. So their offense is a little bit of a you know, up and down. Not
even their offense is challenged. Their defenses, okay, doesn't jump out of It doesn't make you want to jump out of your seat and go, yeah, okay, we got you now headed to anybody, No, that's not how you feel about this team. I guess what I'm saying is this outside of pitching, and pitching is going to come and go sometimes. I know offense will do the same, but I mean from a pitching standpoint what I mean by coming go Sometimes you can't expect Terrek Skouble to make thirty two starts
and be fantastic all thirty two. It's just not it's not realistic. It's it's just not gonna happen. I expect, you know, Kent Tamaida to be better than he's been so far. But overall, would you say you're good with their pitching? Okay? Good? I would hope so hard to deny what what resourceon did yesterday? Look even the greatest seasons of all time was Steve Carlton's nineteen seventy two season. Are you aware then? You're a young guy. I know that, But are you aware of that situation?
Carlton? Okay, no, okay, let me just give you a quick thing. Philadelphia Phillies won fifty nine games in nineteen seventy two. Fifty nine. They were horrible. Steve Carlton won twenty seven of those games. One guy earned the win in twenty seven of their fifty nine games. How do you like that? Twenty seven forty six percent of the wins went to one man. He was the cy Young Award winner that year. He led the
league in wins. The cy Young Award winner came from a team that won fifty nine games, led the league in wins, He led the league in era. He led the league and starts with forty one You don't see that anymore. He led the league in complete games with thirty. You'll never see that anymore. That was a career high for him. By the way, he led the league in innings pitched he threw for He threw three hundred and forty six innings. Ben, That doesn't happen anymore. I know a lot
of people don't like quote end quote old guy. But sometimes old guy is right. Sometimes old guy goes, you know what back in my day. Sometimes old guy says, all I want is this something similar to this? Last year, Logan Webb led the majors in innings pitched. Ben, guess how many innings pitched Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants threw led the league. Take a gander. I have no idea two hundred and sixteen, Holy cow, Okay, all right, Steve Carlton three hundred and forty six.
Yeah, that's a crazy difference. So he led the league in that category. He also led the league in strikeouts. That's incredible stuff, absolutely incredible. But he lost ten games. It's gonna happen. Can't expect him to be perfect in forty one games. He still lost ten or forty one starts, they should say. So he still lost a quart of his games, maybe not all his fault, but you can't expect You cannot expect a pitcher to be great every start. It's just not realistic. So Steve Carlton,
you know I use that example obviously. I'll give you an example of that season. Even though he was the best in base play, he still gave up four and runs in its fourth start that year. You gave up fore and runs in his ninth and tenth starts as well. Fell apart June ninth against the Mets. Complete game, gotta win, but gave up four and runs and six walks. They actually, back then, they actually used to
let pitchers throw through it get out of it on their own. So I would say, the pitching you'd be pleased with, and you feel like you can use that to contend in a game. But the offense, the defense, the base running all right now doesn't mean it can't change right now less than is that a fair assessment from what I've gathered? Yes. Now, Remember I'm the same person who said I expect this team to win the division.
That's the expectation I have. I believe this team should be good enough to win it all the division, not the World Series, and not the American Leegupennant, but they should win the division. NBA news yesterday, did you watch this? New York beats Indiana one thirty to one, twenty one? Really good game. Jaylen Brunson was hurt, missed the entire second quarter,
still scored twenty nine points in thirty two minutes. Og Ananobi had a career playoff eight, missed most of the fourth quarter, and yet New York still won. Not a big Knicks fan, but damn they're fun to watch. Jalen Brunson just you're going, holy crap, how are you making some of these shots? It's an entertaining It really is an entertaining series so far. And I know it's only two games, but a ton of credit for a team to lose really important players not once but twice in the game and
get it done now. Rick Carlisle's not happy, and I understand why he's telling people, we just want a fair shot the referees. But New York right now, right now, being led by a second round pick Jalen Brunson and a guy taking twenty third overall og Onanobi out of Indiana late in the first round. Pretty cool story. Same draft as Donovan Mitchell. By the way, dude's really athletic, which also means what yes, same draft as Lukenart Nikola Jokic wins the MVP. I think it was. I don't know
if it was yesterday or two days ago. I thought Doncis was gonna win it because people get so enamored with scoring. I'm really glad Jokic won it. I would have liked to have seen Shay Gilgess Alexander, quite honestly, because yeah, you're looking for some fresh blood. But if a guy earns it, he earns it, it's interesting. He's the MVP. Who do you think the best player in the game is? Do you think it's one and the same. How do you deny that right? I think you can
make some arguments. Love watching Anthony Edwards play Shay Gildas Alexander is really fun to watch too, and both those guys actually play defense, as does Jokic. In fairness, he garnered seventy nine first place votes, shake Gildess Alexander garnered fifteen. That's how much people thought of it. Doncis finished third. Janis Ante Tecompo, who went healthy still might be the best player in the world. He's fourth, Brunson fifth. Jokic is the first center in sixty
years to win an MVP Award three times in a four year span. He's also, you know, the last one to do it was Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He's also the ninth player to ever win at least three MVPs. Right now, if you're driving around Flint, Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Grayland, Gaylord, Midland, Saginaw Bay City, Pataski, Charlevoid, Trevors City, wherever is your mind scramble a little bit, a little bit, and you're saying some names out loud. Yeah, that's what I'd be doing too.
So you know Jabbar because he's got more than anybody. He's got six Mikey, Bill Russell, Lebron, James Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, who's the last one. This might be the tougher one, Moses Malone. Those are the other eight players that Nikola Jokic joined. When you're in that category, when you're with those names, that's when people I hate when we in the media put the proverbial cart before the horse, way too early,
right, the NFL Draft just finishes up. Let's look at next year's NFL draft. Well, can we just enjoy this one first? You know, national champion is crowned the next day, who's the odds on favorite to win it next year? Can we just enjoy what this previous team just did. I get the twenty four hour news cycle and the twenty four hour sports cycle, but can't you let it rest for a little bit anyway, I'm gonna I'm gonna do that right here when you're in that realm, Dude,
that is that's Hall of Fame stuff. Long way for him to retire, let alone get in the Hall of Fame. But you gotta be at least willing to acknowledge he's in amongst Hall of Fame players. When you're doing that, that's impressive, really impressive. He finished top five in points, rebounds, and assists in multiple years. That's see, he doesn't he doesn't fit
the narrative. He looks looks now because we're not playing against him. He looks kind of awkward playing it, doesn't he I was going to say gumpy, and that's not fair. He's he's an amazing player. But when you finish top five in total points. He was fifth this year top five and rebounds that's third this year top five and a This is second in multiple seasons. The only other player to do that more than once is elgim Baylor again
Hall of Famer. Really good stuff. Meyer hotline is eighty six to six, eight three eight forty eight forty three. The texta line Sports Radio to twenty one thousand. Jason Beck's going to join us at eight thirty five. We will talk about Cleveland's walk off win yesterday, his concerns, and perhaps what he likes most about the Tigers so far and Major League Baseball in general. He'll join us at eight thirty five when we come back boy A Donnybrook
taking place in Florida last night. We'll talk a little bit about the NHL playoffs when X'es and Bros. Continues after this On a Thursday morning, across the great state of Michigan, we're teaming off our tenth year at the Meyer LPGA Classic. Simply gives get ready for the best who are yet to help
neighbors in need while enjoying golf, food and family fun. Join us June thirteenth through the sixteenth at Blakefield Country Club for fabulous food, discoveryland for kids, and of course, elite women golfers from around the world competing to help feed our neighbors. Get your tickets now at Meyer LPGA Classics dot com. Huge here for the Michigan High School Athletic Association. You can stay up to date on the latest from Lansing twenty four to seven at MHSAA dot com,
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