0:01

From the Berkshars to the sound from

0:04

wherever you live in MLB America.

0:06

This is inside the Parker.

0:08

You give us twenty two minutes and we'll give

0:10

you the scoop on Major League Baseball.

0:13

Now here's Baseball Hall of

0:15

Fame voter number seventy, Rob

0:18

Parker.

0:20

Welcome into the podcast.

0:21

I'm your host, Rob Parker, and oh

0:23

what the podcast we have for you.

0:25

Today.

0:26

We'll talk with the Athletics Tyler

0:29

Kempe who covers Major League Baseball

0:32

as we come down to the wire in about

0:34

twenty games left in the Major League Baseball

0:36

season. We'll also do foul

0:39

or Fair and why

0:41

baseball is better than the NBA.

0:44

In the NFL, let's.

0:46

Go better

0:49

to lead off, it's getting.

0:51

Robbed and keep them out.

0:52

Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories

0:55

in Major League Baseball. Number

0:58

One news.

0:59

Came down on Wednesday that

1:02

veteran right hander Max shurs

1:04

Er that's right, the Texas

1:06

Rangers starting pitcher will

1:09

likely miss the remainder of the regular

1:11

season and is unlikely

1:14

for the postseason as well, due

1:16

to a low grade strain in

1:18

his right upper arm.

1:21

And it's a bummer for fans. Obviously,

1:24

they made a big trade at the trade deadline,

1:26

got him from the Mets, figuring

1:28

that they could boaster their rotation, and

1:31

obviously they lost Jacob to garam

1:33

earlier this year. And this

1:35

has happened to Shers are now more

1:38

than not it happened to

1:40

Tigers. He had a dead arm, It

1:43

didn't pitch that well for the Mets last

1:45

year when they were in the postseason, and

1:47

now he's out for the rest of the season, which

1:49

is a bummer for

1:52

Max who's had an unbelievable career, Hall

1:54

of Fame type career. But the injuries

1:57

as you get older seem to keep piling up

2:00

on the right hander. So

2:02

I'm bummed out that we will not nt

2:06

be seeing mac sure as a pitch down

2:08

the final three weeks of the season and

2:10

again unlikely for the postseason

2:13

for the Rangers.

2:14

Number two.

2:16

I don't know about you, but it sounds like the Angels

2:18

are hoping and wishing that Mike

2:20

Trout wants a new change of scenery and

2:22

wants to move on because it was

2:25

leaked out. Bob Nightingale from USA

2:27

Today, one of the best baseball riders in the country.

2:30

He reported that if he were to ask

2:32

for a trade, the Angels would say,

2:35

Okay, let us work it out. They

2:37

still owe him like two hundred and forty million

2:39

dollars on that big contract

2:41

that they signed him a number of years ago, and

2:44

obviously that the Angels have made the postseason

2:46

one time with Trout

2:49

on the roster. Would

2:51

I trade Mike Trout if

2:53

I'm the Angels. Absolutely.

2:57

At some point you need to start

3:00

with some different things. It might be time to

3:02

just strip it all the way down, get

3:05

some kids from the minor leagues. And the biggest

3:07

thing the Angels have to develop first. Before

3:10

they really get the hitting and all the other stuff,

3:13

they got to get pitching. They got to develop

3:15

two or three of their own pictures and

3:17

then you know, then you could go out and get a free

3:19

agent or add to the rotation. But

3:21

without pitching, the Angels this is why they're in

3:23

a situation that they're in. They've

3:26

had great teams, they had Otani

3:29

with Trout, They've had a

3:31

number of players. Injuries of course,

3:33

have hurt them, but also the lack

3:35

of pitching. You know, they

3:37

just haven't been able to acquire

3:40

and develop their own pitching.

3:42

And unless you do that, it's gonna

3:44

be a rough road. And so if I'm the Angels,

3:47

I'm ready to move on from Trout

3:49

and especially if Otani's not coming

3:51

back, which I don't believe he is, it.

3:53

Makes total sense.

3:55

Number Three, the Atlanta

3:57

Braves are red.

4:01

Forget about I'm not talking about their record and

4:03

what they've done this season. How

4:06

in the world could

4:08

you let Freddie Freeman,

4:11

an All star first baseman with unbelievable

4:14

numbers, go get

4:17

his replacement from the lowly Oakland

4:19

A's and guess what his

4:22

replacement is

4:24

even better?

4:26

That just doesn't happen.

4:27

When you lose a player of a Freddie Freeman's

4:29

caliber, you're scuffling to replace

4:32

that guy at first base, and

4:35

instead, Matt

4:37

Olsen on Tuesday

4:40

night, tied Atlanta's

4:42

franchise record by hitting his fifty

4:44

first home run of the season.

4:47

Hello, is this on? He

4:49

said?

4:49

Fifty one home We still got twenty games

4:51

ago. Can he get to sixty? I

4:54

mean, really, he's had an unbelievable

4:57

year. You would have never believed

5:00

that he could replace Freddie

5:02

Freeman and be And Freddie Freeman is having an.

5:04

Unbelievable year for the Dodgers, tremendous.

5:06

He's in an.

5:08

MVP race and category

5:11

with a few players.

5:14

But Matt Olsen, what a year he's had,

5:16

and what a pickup for the

5:18

Braves. And you know they're signing all the

5:21

young players, they're doing everything right. And

5:23

when they go get a veteran player, the

5:25

guy works out. It's not scufflin,

5:28

not struggling. Came from

5:30

the A's over to the Braves and the

5:32

dude is just raaking unbelievable.

5:37

Run here by the Atlanta Braves. They

5:39

are unbelievable.

5:42

It's time for the pocket protector centro.

5:45

The analytic numbers. You need to know, Well,

5:49

maybe.

5:49

Anthony Masterson is his name,

5:52

BS analytics is his game.

5:54

What do you got for me, Anthony?

5:56

With the analytical focus baseball has taken

5:58

over the last decade, it seems more value was put

6:00

on rate stats like ops or cumulative

6:03

stats like war while counting numbers have

6:05

taken a back seat. It's not as cool

6:07

to reach one hundred RBI as it was thirty years

6:09

ago, or win twenty games, and I get it

6:11

for various reasons, but some counting

6:13

numbers still get even the staunchest numbers

6:15

guy, All Tingley. With Julio Rodriguez

6:18

reaching the thirty homer mark earlier this week. That

6:20

makes two players to reach thirty homers and thirty

6:22

steals in a season so far, joining Ronald

6:25

Lecunya Junior. Of course, Acunya

6:27

has a very real shot to become the fifth forty

6:29

to forty player in history, and the first is two

6:31

thousand and six. Hell, he's got an outside

6:33

shot at forty eighty. But it's

6:35

not just guys getting thirty thirty, it's

6:37

how many guys have a chance to reach that milestone

6:40

this year. It's the first time since twenty

6:42

nineteen that multiple players reach thirty thirty,

6:44

but there hasn't been more than that since twenty eleven,

6:47

when MLB tied a single season record with

6:49

four players to reach it this year,

6:51

Besides Acunya and Julio, there are six

6:53

other players who already have at least twenty

6:55

four homers and twenty five stolen bases

6:58

through the games of September twelfth. Corbyn

7:00

Carroll could be the second rookie ever with thirty thirty,

7:03

well, also joined by guys like Bobby Witt

7:05

Junior, Kyle Tucker, Trey Turner, Francisco

7:08

Lindor, and Fernando Tatist junior

7:10

who are all within striking distance of the milestone

7:12

with two plus weeks left in the year. Basses

7:15

are being stolen at an MLB record eighty

7:17

percent success rate, and we could have

7:19

a number of players making history because of

7:21

it.

7:23

That it was a big

7:26

week in the big leagues? Who's

7:28

a believe? Is

7:32

it foul? Or is it fair? And

7:35

now from mlbanbro

7:38

dot com, here's Jrgamball.

7:42

Tommy Fan had a big, go ahead

7:44

home run in the eighth inning in

7:46

Arizona's four to three victory

7:48

over the Mets Monday night, as he

7:50

faced his former team for the first time.

7:53

The win keeps Arizona locked

7:56

in the third and the final NL wildcard

7:58

spot. Is

8:00

it foul or fair to

8:03

say that FAM has been the best trade

8:05

deadline acquisition in MLB

8:08

this season?

8:09

Fair? It's a fair ball.

8:11

Arizona's fighting tooth and nail to

8:13

hold off Miami and San Francisco

8:16

and Cincinnati, who's still lurking,

8:19

all three teams two or less games behind

8:21

Arizona for that final National

8:23

League playoff spot. Every

8:26

at bat and every win counts.

8:28

With less than twenty games to play for

8:30

most teams in the regular season, at

8:33

mlbbro dot Com. We've covered

8:35

how Fams, veteran back in

8:37

the heart of that Arizona lineup, has

8:39

given the Diamondbacks new life and

8:41

an offensive boost that.

8:43

They sorely needed down the stretch.

8:46

Fam was a bright spot early in the season

8:48

for the Mets, hitting two sixty eight with

8:50

ten homers in seventy nine games,

8:52

but he's been a firecracker since coming

8:55

to Arizona at the trade deadline, hitting

8:57

six home runs with twenty five RBI

9:00

and seven steals in just thirty

9:02

four games, and all of those

9:04

homers and hits seem

9:07

to be big ones. Yes, Max

9:09

Shrzy was a brilliant pickup for the Texas

9:11

Rangers, who are surging towards the

9:14

playoffs and on the astros heels

9:16

after recovering from a late slump. Sursey

9:19

has a three point six to three ERA one,

9:22

twenty two ERA plus and a three

9:24

point sixty four strikeout to walk ratio,

9:26

So he's the goods. Justin

9:28

Verlander has been everything the Astros

9:31

needed and were lacking. His return

9:33

has brought a one to twenty five ERA plus

9:36

in seven starts. And we have to go

9:38

to Miami and talk about Josh Bell since

9:40

coming from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade

9:42

deadline. He's been impactful in that

9:45

order, but fam has been the

9:47

heart and soul of the lineup

9:49

in Arizona, and he's changed the offense

9:52

and got them in a position where they should

9:54

make the playoffs. He is the

9:56

best trade deadline acquisition, earned

10:00

money.

10:00

Into more money. Now it's time for betting

10:03

on the basis with Dave Gascot.

10:05

Love that money, Love that money.

10:07

Rob middle portsch of September now, playoffs

10:09

right around the corner. Handful of teams

10:12

will not be a part of it. Pittsburgh Pirates,

10:14

New York Yankees amongst those squads.

10:16

New York, though, will be on the row with Garrett Cole thirteen

10:18

and four this season with an Era at two

10:21

seventy nine, I will take him Friday

10:23

Night for the New York Yankees. Meanwhile,

10:26

Astros and Royals from Kansas City,

10:28

this is a Friday Night affairs. Zach Granky the

10:30

season guys one in

10:33

fifteen, Yeah, one

10:35

in fifteen. With an Era at five forty

10:37

seven, I'm gonna take the Astros on the

10:39

road to defeat Granky. He'll get a

10:41

sixteenth.

10:42

Loss of the year.

10:44

Meanwhile, looking at what's going on in the

10:46

Desert Diamondbacks and the Chicago

10:49

Cubs. Chicago has been a bright spot

10:51

in the Nation League Central Division. Hard

10:53

to believe too at this club they're searching

10:55

for a playoff spot in the National League.

10:58

I'm gonna take Friday night in Chicago Cubs. He's

11:00

on the road against Arizona Diamondbacks, who

11:02

had a blistering start to the year, and they've

11:04

tapered off. They're double digit games behind

11:06

the Dodgers in the National League West.

11:08

So that's what we got over the weekend.

11:09

Rob Gluctia.

11:11

When Rob was a newspaper columnist,

11:13

he lived by this motto, if

11:15

I'm writing, I'm riffing. Let's

11:18

bring in a writer or broadcaster, old

11:20

or new.

11:21

All right, now, let's welcome into the podcast.

11:23

Tyler Kepner, one of the best baseball

11:25

writers in the country. He's

11:28

a writer for The Athletic formerly The

11:30

New York Times. Tyler always a pleasure.

11:32

How are you good, Rob?

11:33

How you been?

11:35

Man? All good?

11:36

You know, enjoying this down

11:38

to the wire baseball season, like I'm sure

11:40

you are.

11:43

Yeah, some good races, you know.

11:44

It's I think we know who some of the best teams

11:46

are, but some of those wildcard

11:49

teams are yet to be determined, and

11:51

that's always kind of fun when you have three four

11:53

teams jockey.

11:54

For one spot, no doubt.

11:56

Let's go here though, before we get into some

11:58

of the other teams and guys playing well.

12:00

The Mets have a new president, David Stearns,

12:03

who comes over from the Milwaukee

12:05

Brewers. Tell us about him and

12:08

should Mets fans be excited?

12:11

I think so yeah.

12:12

I mean more UH, more brain

12:14

power, more smart people in UH

12:17

in top positions, the better I think.

12:19

I mean, you know, I think Billy I very

12:21

highly of Billy Epter, and I think very highly of

12:24

of Stern. Stearns has done

12:26

a great job with the Milwaukee Brewers, a

12:29

team that you know does not have

12:31

the financial resources it's safe to say

12:33

of Steve Cohen.

12:35

So it's the old.

12:35

Idea of, you know, bringing in a

12:37

guy who's had success with

12:40

a small market and then giving him an even bigger

12:43

budget to UH to work with. And

12:45

I think that's what they'll have for David

12:47

Stearns. He's shown a

12:49

really good ability to find value

12:52

in trades and to make players

12:54

better, you know, better than

12:56

they they seemed when you got them, which is always

12:59

cruse, you know, building

13:02

a system for you

13:04

know, an infrastructure. He's he's done really well

13:06

in the pitching song and

13:10

have a lot of talent over

13:12

his time there.

13:14

Let's talk about the Los Angeles Dodgers

13:17

and they're pitching situation going

13:19

into the playoffs. But let's first talk about

13:21

Julio Jurias and his situation

13:24

with the Dodgers and what's happened

13:26

there. What are you hearing for

13:29

major League Baseball and just his situation

13:32

with the assault on his girlfriend

13:35

and you know, not being a part

13:37

of the Dodgers as we speak.

13:39

You know, this is one of those cases where he

13:41

had an incident the first time

13:44

in twenty nineteen, and there was you know,

13:46

he served a shorter suspension and

13:49

people kind of forgave him or

13:51

were willing to just figure that it wasn't

13:54

couldn't have been that bad, and then when you

13:57

know, when another incident surfaces

14:00

four years later, I

14:02

think there's no there can be

14:04

no gray area at this point, Like

14:07

I would be shocked if he ever pitches

14:09

for the Dodgers again. I haven't

14:11

heard the details, and obviously

14:14

everybody's innocent until proven guilty. But

14:16

just the fact that he has one instance

14:19

of this before, and the fact that

14:21

the Dodgers are already you know, showed

14:23

when they released Trevor Bauer that there's

14:26

kind of a zero tolerance policy out

14:28

there for this.

14:30

It'd be surprising if if he ever pitched for them again.

14:34

You just mentioned Trevor Bauer and that was the

14:36

case. I mean, the Dodgers needed pitching. That

14:38

guy was a former cy Young Award winner,

14:41

and they still eight to twenty some million

14:43

dollars, you know, rather than bring the guy back.

14:46

So it does look like Urrea's you

14:48

know, and and and and talk

14:50

about this Tyler. I mean, this was his free

14:52

agency year. This is a guy won twenty

14:55

games in the big leagues before. I mean,

14:57

it probably cost him a ton of money

15:00

along with the headaches of you know, the legal.

15:02

System absolutely, you

15:05

know, and and every every case is different. I

15:07

mean, you know, for Bauer, a lot

15:09

of it is you know, I think teams didn't

15:11

want to take on a personality.

15:13

You can be abrasive at times,

15:16

whereas Ureus really doesn't have much of

15:18

a of a personality from every

15:21

in terms of you know, one

15:23

way or the other.

15:24

He's pretty quiet guy. Keeps to himself as far

15:26

as what I what I gather.

15:28

But the

15:30

offenses are out there, and

15:33

that's going to be a big, big deal. I

15:35

don't know, it's going to be

15:37

fascinating in a weird way because will will

15:39

he get signed at all, or

15:41

will he sort of go

15:44

into an independent league or or

15:46

a foreign league or something like that. There's

15:49

much much less tolerance

15:53

for these issues than there were many

15:56

years ago. I mean you think about a

15:59

certain guy, Luis Poloh, yeah, right, he had an

16:01

incident with an underage

16:03

girl and he was in the line up the next day

16:06

as legal process played out. That's thirty

16:08

five years ago now almost. But things

16:11

have changed and fans

16:14

just don't have and organizations just don't

16:16

have time for that, don't pay patience

16:18

for that anymore.

16:19

They don't want to be associated with that sort of problem.

16:22

Our guest is Tyler Kimner from The Athletic,

16:25

of course, one of the best baseball writers

16:27

out there. Let's go to the Philly's

16:29

Trey Turner twenty seven

16:31

coming into Wednesday twenty seven, for twenty

16:33

seven stolen bases. We've already

16:35

seen what Ronald Lacuna has done, and

16:38

now Tyler am I little, um

16:41

my, little old fashioned to buy

16:43

into these stolen bases with the big pizza

16:46

boxes that they're sliding into

16:48

at second base. I mean, I kind

16:51

of I understand what guys are doing,

16:53

but I think it's a little tainted a

16:56

little bit.

16:57

But it's also just

17:00

way the game evolves, right, I mean, you

17:02

know, Ricky Anderson stall one hundred

17:04

and thirty bases to set a record back then

17:06

when there were unlimited pickoffs

17:08

and smaller bases, So that's

17:11

certainly, you know, more impressive. But yeah,

17:14

pitchers are quicker to the played even with a

17:17

pitch. You know, it limits to the pickoff

17:20

moves and the bigger bases, And we haven't

17:22

seen anybody really go

17:24

nuts in terms of like a hunt.

17:26

I mean, like I.

17:28

Would, I would agree with

17:30

you a little just unreal

17:33

crazy explosion and steals. Now,

17:36

I think we're just sort of getting back to where it was

17:39

maybe in the early two thousands, you

17:41

know, before the analytics

17:44

h started to downplay the risk

17:47

of a stolen base. So I

17:49

still think, I mean, yeah, it's a little

17:51

bit easier, but if it was easier, if

17:53

it was that much easier, teams would be doing it a lot and

17:55

we still don't see it in crazy numbers.

17:58

So I'm still really impressed by Acon

18:01

and what he's what he's done, the power speed

18:04

combo is ridiculous, Like you said,

18:07

perfect for those Cels. He's

18:09

he's turned around his season there and

18:12

just the love affair that the Phillies fans

18:15

have had with him, even even when he's struggling,

18:17

it's been.

18:18

That's been a really cool second half.

18:21

No doubt he was bad in the first half

18:23

sun that big contract, probably put too much

18:25

pressure on himself, but man, as

18:27

he turned it around.

18:28

Tell us about the Blue Jays, David.

18:30

Schneider and uh

18:33

and and what this guy's done first

18:35

twenty five games one

18:37

point three one five old ps,

18:39

please like incredible.

18:43

Yeah, yeah, And it's amazing that the Blue Jays

18:45

are still uh you know, still haven't

18:47

really jumped fully into that playoff

18:49

spot and not look back. They they're

18:52

a tough team to figure. I feel like if they get

18:54

in, you know, with guys like Schneider and other

18:56

guys getting really hot, they're gonna be super

18:59

dangerous in the postseason because they've

19:01

got so much talent and they'll have to be hot

19:04

in order to get in. So whether it's Schneier,

19:06

whether it's if Guerrero can pick it up

19:09

some of those offensive pieces. Because the pitching

19:11

has been pretty good. Even without Alex Menoa,

19:15

their pitching has been excellent. They can catch

19:17

the ball. I'm still high

19:19

on the Blue Jays, but they still do have to

19:21

make it in so they'll they'll take attributions

19:23

from everybody.

19:24

Yeah, it's incredible, it really

19:26

is. I'm with you. Uh, they could be definitely

19:29

a dangerous team.

19:30

Last thing, just the Atlanta Braves

19:33

and just how good it's been. I mean,

19:35

there's they've been so good. Not only d I

19:37

mean Michael Harris is your NL Rookie

19:39

of the Year. Batting night they lose

19:41

Freddie Freeman, they go out and they get

19:44

Matt Olsen.

19:44

I mean you start to look and go.

19:46

Like everything they touch, everything

19:48

they do has is a winner.

19:51

I mean the team is unbelievable. How

19:53

good are they? And are they going to win the World

19:55

Series?

19:56

Oh, you're absolutely right, Rob.

19:57

I mean, you know you're going to a post

20:00

and there's there's twelve teams now, and

20:02

every team has a shot because the postseason

20:04

is such a small sample and

20:06

and things can happen in a baseball game.

20:09

But I would be really surprised

20:11

if any team other than the Braves what in the World Series.

20:13

They're so much better than everyone else. I

20:16

saw them in Philly the other day. They split

20:18

a doubleheader, but even then,

20:20

you know, Matt Olsen, it's two home runs in the

20:22

nightcap to get to fifty, and he's gone beyond

20:25

that. Now They've they've got

20:27

some of their pitchers back. I mean, they're

20:29

they're just so deep in every area

20:32

of the game, and they're so well positioned

20:34

to be good for a long time because

20:36

of the work that Alex Anthopolis and

20:38

his staff have done down there

20:41

in locking guys up, in being really

20:45

uh, you know, emotionless

20:48

in a way, and not making decisions that

20:50

we're going to hurt the organization, like they

20:52

let go of Dancey Swanson then Freddie

20:54

Freeman, I mean two two franchised

20:58

Cornerstone type guys, and

21:00

yet they've filled with guys

21:02

who make it seem like

21:04

a seamless transition. So they

21:06

won the series in twenty one. Phileas

21:09

knocked him out last year. But yeah,

21:11

they're the heavy favorites for me to

21:13

win it this year, and maybe even more beyond.

21:17

His name is Tyler kemp than one of the best

21:19

for the Athletic covers Major League Baseball.

21:22

Get a subscription to the Athletic

21:25

check out his work. Tyler always a pleasure,

21:27

my man. I'll see you in the yard down the road,

21:29

buddy.

21:30

Yes, sir, Rob, I've always a pleasure to talk to you too.

21:33

Now bring in the closer. Here's

21:38

why MLB is better than the NFL

21:40

or NBA, and it isn't even

21:42

close.

21:45

Reason number five hundred and fifty five

21:47

why Major League Baseball is better than the

21:49

NBA and better than the NFL.

21:53

Perfect example.

21:54

We just saw in the NFL season Monday

21:57

Night Football, right, the Jets

21:59

had all their eggs in the basket with Aaron

22:01

Rodgers, and unfortunately

22:03

he was hurt four plays into the season.

22:06

Guess what the Jets season

22:08

is over.

22:09

One player has that kind of an impact

22:12

in the NFL, Whereas in

22:14

Major League Baseball, if you really

22:16

think about.

22:17

It, it's

22:19

not the case. You can lose

22:21

people and still go on.

22:23

The Rangers this season lost Jacob

22:25

de Gram and still were able

22:27

to stay into the playoff hunt. Now

22:31

on Wednesday, we find out that Max

22:33

Scherzer is lost for at

22:35

least the rest of the regular season and

22:38

is unlikely for the postseason. But

22:40

it doesn't mean the Rangers season is over.

22:43

It's an opportunity for somebody else to

22:45

step up. I mean, does it damage this season,

22:48

sure, but this season is not over.

22:50

They can outslug people, they could get

22:52

pitching from other places, they could get

22:54

good bullpen help. There's

22:56

all kinds of other things that you can do to make

22:59

shift to get through a baseball season. It's

23:01

just not the same when you lose a

23:03

big time player in the NFL on

23:06

offense or defense. In

23:14

the words of New York TV legend the

23:16

late Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for

23:18

your time this time until next time.

23:21

Rob Parker out d can't

23:23

Davin. This could be an inside of Parker.

23:25

See you next week, same bat time from

23:28

same Batt's station.