Ready rock, greeting societations, everyone at Rituel's and walk in a Fantasy Baseball Live.

Today is the fourteenth of September, about four fifteen in the afternoon here, and I got the Great Tema Cloud he is somewhere?

Do they call that to me?

The great Great White North because you got a terrible internet connection.

But it doesn't matter.

People just want to hear you.

Yeah, I'm I'm in North Bay, spending some time at the lake with my brother, and I want to dedicate today's show to an old high school friend of mine, John and his lovely wife Manigue.

We met for lunch today and rekindled, as we do, periodicy and old friendship and it was nice to get back together.

It really was all right.

So what did the great Tim McCloud have for lunch?

That's what everybody wants to know.

Well, we ate with Jimmy today.

Jimmy buffet.

Buffet.

It was.

It was a buffet, Okay, so you don't.

Restaurant.

Yeah, yeah.

I had a wonderful cheese and bacon omelet, some beef brisket, some pancakes lash round, some bacon.

I ate.

What didn't.

Anything that wasn't kneeled down at my name.

Today that risk it on Omelet pancakes.

Lord, I feel a nap in my future, my friend.

At some point in time, I think it could be lights out for at least five to ten, Okay, but no, it was.

It was.

It was a wonderful meal and wonderful company.

And that's great.

That's great.

Yeah, it is great.

I haven't been getting home as much as I'd liked you over the past three four years, and this was a trip that I had to make.

We buried my uncle on Friday, and he was he was my godfather, and it was just it's something that had had to be done.

He was the last of the I'm not peers, but he was the last of the group of ants and uncles above me, dude to pass, and it was just important to get together with family and say goodbye in the right way.

And we did.

Yeah, that's it.

That's great, Timmy, and we're happy.

Before you were happy that you're back.

You brought up the word godfather again.

I'm just gonna let it go.

We've covered that one extensively, my friend.

It's been two weeks since Tim and I talked.

I remember had a long discussed about the Godfather.

I don't remember what it was, but I'm like, oh my god, I don't want to talk about that again.

No, no, we don't need to go there.

How was Paris?

Thank you for the picture.

I'm assuming I was at your hotel room the hours.

Not We just uh was right around the corner from us.

We had a more of a city of the view of the city.

It was.

It was spectacular, Tim.

I mean, did you you went there when you were a kid?

Right on that trip, I was, I was in London, but we never made it to the mainland.

Yeah.

It was just it was just wonderful.

People asked what the best part of it and the sound, you know, ridiculous.

It was spending my spending time with my wife.

I mean, that was It was just great because I've been to Paris a bunch of times and to see the beautiful city through her eyes was really great.

It was it's really neat to see that and we ate too much and sat in a lot of cafes and you know, watched the watch the world go by and saw some artwork and it's just there's museums galore there.

Yeah, and you know what you're in here there Rich pretty well sums up very eloquently why you've been together forty years and why you'll be together hopefully for another forty years.

Congratulations.

Yeah, thank you, thank you appreciate that.

So we had a great time.

We did have a little trauma though on the on the trip, we got a call from the pet hotel on Friday, so we left, We got there on the We left Monday, got there on Tuesday, so we were most halfway through our trip at least, and it was beans was our little eleven pound your keupot was demonstrating some problems.

It looked like his stomach was extended, so they felt like he needed to get seen right away.

Turned out he had a tumor on his spleen.

So twenty less than twenty four hours later, twelve hours later, he actually had a spleen removed.

And my only question to the money, question to the vet is like, dogs don't need a spleen, Like, because you have any questions, I was like, well doesn't he need that?

He goes no, you know, because apparently.

He just.

Exactly so, so uh, I guess now, because you know, they don't have a really long life expectancy anyway, you know, fifteen twenty years tops, you know, he'll be fine.

So then then we sat on you know, So that happened on Saturday.

He was fine.

They took great care of him, and then we got back and the biopsy came back which was negative, so it was benign, so it was not cancerous.

So that was the great news.

And he's he's got the ConA.

He's got the ConA shame one, so he can't he can't look hisself.

So it's hopefully by the end of this week, the con of shame will be off and he's been me He acts like there's nothing wrong with him.

It is remarkable.

So but I appreciate all you that way.

Why why am Why am I wearing that plastic con around my head?

Looks sort of.

Yeah, exactly, we're at that stage.

But so hopefully I think we take a picture of an incision and send it over.

I think he gets it off and maybe in three or four days, so that'll be good.

One PSA for everybody, and I mean this the deepest dog owners, If you love your dogs, you need to get pet insurance.

Pet insurance is critical.

We got it back in January for both dogs.

Because we have a niece who is a event and she said, you really need to get pet insurance because surgeries are expensive.

Timmy thirteen thousand dollars for the surgery all in, and so I live a second.

I'm gigging out my night right now.

So I mean, I fortunately got you know, eighty percent twenty percent things, so we only have to pay twenty percent of that.

But can you imagine, I mean, it's that Yeah, that was bad, right, I mean, thirteen thousand dollars and then if it would have been chemotherapy or anything like that would have been even more.

So.

Fortunately, you know it's going to be just a minor hiccup with his wife probably going to the Arizona Fall League.

It got taken up by beans.

Well, yeah, and I was gonna say if I had a dog was in that situation, Rich, we immediately go into celery and wage discussions exactly exactly.

But you know, you're talking to the doctor and he goes, he goes.

If you decide not to do it, then it's hospice because he's going he's not going to make it more than a few few weeks.

His his spleen will explode and he will die and it's like okay, well all right, and then there was no question we were going to get it done anyway.

But I'm like we hung up the phone and after, you know, we looked at each other.

It's like, where he goes, Thank god we got the top bed insurance.

I'm like yeah, and it was like, it is it is paid up, isn't.

It so as everybody screeched and checking mills and everything else, Yeah, ok, it is, it is.

But we had a great time.

Beans is fine.

So life is all good and Tim, so tell us what what have you been doing from a baseball standpoint.

I looked at Labor and tout Wars are struggling there, I know, but I know you're doing well in other leagues.

Tell us how you're doing.

Yeah, it's Labor.

I got up into second and then my pitching, Hey, I had some injuries I dealt with.

I managed to get up as high as second, and then my pitching just totally collapsed with the injury to Josh Hater And yeah, yeah, yeah, tow Wars injuries all year.

You know.

When I look at Labor, I'm very happy with the results.

My first two picks were Mookie Betts, and Jackson Merrill.

Okay, and the combined total of the two of them does not equal one first round pick, not one good one.

But the XFL, I'm sitting in third and I should finish in third and rotal Masters.

I'm looking at a victory with and White.

The two of us are leading.

We're in a good position right now and probably a third in UH in d L one two, three, four, five, five.

So it's been a good year, a lot of my Hey, when you start looking this year, I was drafting at the back of the first round, and the back of the first round had Mookie Bets, it had your Danne Alvarez.

There were a lot of options in the back end that looked very good in March, but by May they weren't looking quite so good.

And I'm happy with the results.

You know, some some years are better than others.

But overall, I've got no complaints done whatsoever.

Yeah, my only redraft league was my NF Sea League, and i think I'm gonna finish eighth in that seventh eighth and I've actually got I got Vodnik goings, I've got some saves my friends zone.

So that was yeah, So that good value.

That worked out okay, but my pitching just fell apart.

And you know, when I lost Chris Sale, that was pretty much any chance to crawl back into into contention.

But I had a bunch of Kurt's going Nick Kurtz, I had Chandler Simpson, so I nailed some of the you know, thirty five plus round picks on that.

So I felt really good about that, But it just I didn't the pitching.

Just I was going for a while not being able to field at a full team.

So everybody got hurt.

Well, and you know what, if you picked the right pitchers out of the mid tier rounds this year, you did very well.

But again there were a lot of injuries and a lot of problems that had to be dealt with.

And it'll be interesting to see as I started assembling my rankings for next year how things look from a starting pitching perspective.

But I do know one thing, They're not going to look anything like they did last year.

There's going to be there's gonna be a lot of change, and uh it's that's gonna be a full that's gonna be a full time job.

My friend, assembling that in a manner that I think offers the best opportunities for victory in twenty six.

Yeah, it is fascinating because we had a lot of Tommy John surgeries coming into this year.

And now like you got the Biebers and Uri Perezz who have Uri Prez has looked good and then he's looked awful.

Bieber's looked really good.

So the pitching might be a little bit more plentiful going into next season because you've got a lot of these top pitchers coming back from Tommy John.

Yeah, and then you get into bullpens and it's gonna be oh yeah, it's going to be a mess.

You know.

We saw in twenty twenty four, we saw a year was relatively stable from a relief pitching perspective, and then came this year and with a combination of the injuries add to it the just a change because of bad performance, and then at the Tree Dead all these closers got moved into seven rules.

So it's yeah, the relief pitching world of relief pitchers is I think after one year of stability, heading back into grab a dart, grab a dart board, and there's going to be a lot of toss and darts.

I think as we approach the mid tier and ladder tier in the closing position.

So it's going to be another year where I think it's going to be a handful in.

Two thoughts on that, And the first is, you know, I did give up on David Bedner and he got dropped a bunch of leagues, and I picked them up.

I just I thought the stuff was too good.

I knew the pirates loved him, and he got the job and he got back and then I held my breath when he got traded to the Yankees, and that's turned out to be a godsend.

I mean, I'm so glad I didn't drop I'm glad I picked them up when other people dropped them.

So that was one thing that worked out.

And the second thing, and I give it all to you because I had no I did who this guy was.

But Jose Ferrera has been a godsend.

Yes, yeah, he really, he really has what he yeah to now eight nine saves.

And the thing that I like all of them, all of.

Them since the trade deadline.

That's what's amazing.

Well you look at you look at Washington, okay, and you look at that Steve Washington is not going to go out at this stage, I don't believe and pay a gazillion dollars for Ryan Helsley, okay as a free agent.

So the odds of Frere holding that position into next year, at least a start of next year, are fairly good.

So you're reaping what he's done in the second half, but looking forward to twenty six, you could be very happy with the results you know, from him next year.

So that's a bonus situation for us playing the game.

Oh yeah, I mean so that's why I'm thanking you, because you know, it's funny because that was the time when people were putting bids on everybody and I said, I mean, I don't know who this Jose Ferrara is.

I said, Tim better be right.

So I put on in the four or five leagues and I got him and every one of them.

And I had no idea what to expect because he had pitched very little, and it's just been a godsence And thank you very much for that.

I will say that this a little odd podcast because we're not having our traditional who to pick up.

Tim hopefully will give that to us at the end here, but I've asked our Patreon members that give us a bunch of questions and I'm going to be sprinking those in as we go through it.

The first one is from our buddy Tim Webber, and I think it goes to what are we doing over the last two weeks of the season.

His question is what are you doing with these last couple of fat period?

Super ferry your team for next year?

Timmy, So people in keeper leagues and dynasty leagues, not what you're doing, you know, for the next two weeks, because everybody knows you're just scrambling as fast as you can.

And if Trey Turner goes down, you got to pick up a backup.

You gotta look at two start pitchers and Trey you savage.

Tim is going to talk about him at the end of the show.

He's getting caught up.

So everybody knows what to do.

But what are you doing in dynasty leagues and keeper leagues and preparation for next season?

Well, what I'm the one thing that I've been focusing on over the past couple of weeks and I'm continuing to focus on, is in dynasty leagues is looking at that looking at the closer position.

Okay, when you look at the bats, most of the Bats out there their roster.

Okay, you're going all the way down to De Paulo.

Okay, for the Dodgers, You're not going to find those guys for the most part.

But what you can do is you can try and do some speculating on closers.

And the one guy that I picked up in virtually every dynasty league that I'm in is Tony Santaloon of the Reds.

All the Reds my got.

She's still out there.

I've been writing about him for ten years, literally ten years.

Well, you know, he's now up to I believe seven or eight saves he was, He's top three in holds in the league.

And Amelia Pigon is Amelia Pigon.

Okay, he has never finished, started or finished a full year in the closer role.

And it looks like right now he is in a platoon situation with Tony Sandion and next year he's a free agent.

Now are the Reds gonna invest in a big closer or are they going to promote somebody that they've already allowed into situations where he's converted seven or eight saves this year.

He's a guy that is a huge target of mine over the last couple of weeks, and I would recommend you give him a look in a keeper dynasty format because somebody's gonna save games in Cincinnati and they like promoting from within for the most part, I don't see them spending the money on Amelia pig On.

So hey, there's a player that I would be targeting, and I'd be looking at Ferrera if he's not rostered.

Look at all of the teams and look at who's nick.

Who's a Votnick two, Lomnick two.

Yep, he's been a guy.

He's he's been a consent for me too.

I had him, yeah, for most of the season, sitting on my minor league roster because he was still minor league eligible.

And he's gotten the saves.

Here at the end of the season.

Oh look, I know the Colorado Rocky is already good, but I've gotten five or six saves from the guy.

Well, you get twenty saves out of him next year at the cost of five dollars or ten dollars worth of worth of fab Yeah, you're in a good situation.

The other thing I'd like to like to very quickly mention is it's the end of the year.

Okay, we we've been on Tony's santi on in Dal five I think a couple of weeks back.

Okay, and we just threw five six bucks out there.

Somebody else threw four bucks out there.

Okay.

There's all sorts of teams that have got one hundred and fifty, two hundred and five and whatever fab they've got.

Don't be nickel diving and then nickel and diming on fab at this time of the year.

You don't get a rebate.

You're not getting that money back.

Okay.

If you think a guy has a good chance of providing value for your team next year, don't Nickel and Diamond been one hundred bucks on somebody.

What's the worst it's gonna happen?

Absolutely nothing.

So if you if you're gonna lose a bid, lose it big.

Don't lose it by a buck that hurts, that leaves a mark.

Yeah, well, good advice.

I mean, let's take a break, come back, let's take a look at some of these standings here, because we're getting down to the last two weeks.

Believe or not, we've got two weeks left of the season.

You believe that, m Yeah, only because I look at the calendar on my phone.

It tells me we got two weeks left.

Yeah, let's take a quick break.

Yeah, I got another question, and then we're gonna look at the standings.

This is the question about oh Hoppy ask Yes, Yes, I find my and I really appreciated this question because I think he's flat out spottling on this.

I find my interest level go through natural ups and downs during the season, but no matter what happens in season, I always seem come to come back with renewed vigor preseason, when prospect lists are published and drafts start again.

Do you have the same experience and have you ever had thoughts about gas giving up fantasy baseball?

What is your thought?

And then I'll share mine.

Ah, I'm sixty seven years old, rich going on sixty eight.

I've now been playing.

This is my thirty six year playing fantasy bass.

Oh my word, yes, And at this point in time in my life, I look forward and relish putting together the prospect list that I put together every year.

I love it.

Okay, it is still a passion of mine and until it ceases to be that level.

You know that passion and I have that every spring?

Yeah, you Spring training is a week and a half away, and you start smiling a little bit a little more in the morning when you have your coffee.

Until I get to the stage where I don't feel that way.

Yeah, I love it and I'm looking forward again next year.

You never have ups and downs during the season where you just feel like, I'm done with this.

Yay.

I curse.

I curse my team on a regular basis, just like everybody else does.

But in the big scheme of things, it hasn't got to the stage where I'm done.

And you know what, when it gets to the stage where I'm done, it will be I'm done, you know what I mean.

And I'm not anywhere near that level.

The pain hasn't afflicted me to the point where I've considered that that approach.

I love the game.

I love the people that I interact with on the Discord site.

You know it's I just love the game.

And until I ceased to every spring I look forward to.

I loved doing the rankings.

And you know, it's been what sixteen years now the two of us have carried on with this podcast, and I love every minute of it.

We laugh, we enjoy the game, we have fun, we share information with our listening audio.

It's it's cool that it really is.

I will say.

For me, the trade deadline took it out of me, And not only took it out of me because I was up for three straight nights writing up trades, but it took it out of me trying to figure out what the heck to do, particularly with the closer situation.

To me, that was a low point this season.

I mean, we were talking about Freer.

I got that one, but I got a ton of other ones wrong.

And it's like, and I spent money on guys that didn't stick and I wound up dropping them.

And it's like I just blew two hundred of my thousand dollars bid on somebody that I kept for a week and didn't provide any value to me.

So that was really, really frustrating.

I felt like this season and that was probably the low point of my fantasy baseball life right around the deadline.

Okay, you know, and I can see that because so much happened at the trade deadline.

A lot of people benefited, a lot of people hurt.

There was a lot of change, and yeah, you can go from a high to a low to a high at that block of time.

Very very easily moving forward.

I think one of the keys is and I did it this year, I've done it numerous times in the past.

You got to speculate on what you believe could partly happened, and fully realizing that, Hey, if you're right on two or three out of ten, yeah, that would be considered successful.

But you know what, if you can nail two or the three out of ten, that's that's great, that's a bonus.

The others that you don't nail, well, hey, the team's the team's obviously made a mistake that weren't listening to you, Rich, That's on them, that's not on you, right.

Yeah, I mean I think I think for Tim and I, I mean, we did this for a living.

I mean fantasy baseball and the baseball stuff in general.

But for me, fantasy baseball is still a game and something that I play for fun.

The baseball stuff is more my job that I do.

But to me, it's I think people still need to consider it like fun.

Right, So winning and all that is great, but you know, like maybe not making that priority number one.

I think that has a tendency to allow you to kind of keep the momentum going and I think having at least one or two dynasty leagues that you play in, to me, is critical because then it gives you that opportunity all year long.

You're thinking all year long about your team, and it's just more and more of an immersive experience for you as a as a fantasy baseball player.

That's that's what I like about it.

So you know, when we answer Tim's question at the beginning of the broadcast, it was like Tim and I, Tim mcleoud and I and everybody else in our dying we've been thinking for in twenty twenty six, twenty seven, and twenty eight all year long, and I think that's not fun.

Yeah, And you know what, even in my redraft leagues, I'm still thinking the next year.

This is how I want to see what's going on.

I'm going to pick up some players and see how things shake down.

And again, I strive to play the game right through the year.

I know football season changes a lot of people's perspective, and hey, if that's how you wish to play the game, good, good for you.

You're happy with it.

Each to their own.

But for me at baseball is three hundred and sixty five days of the year, yep.

And hoppy in others.

If you if you have days that you just want to give it up, that's a totally normal I mean I have you know, you look down after the evening games.

You look down, You've got three earrays that are over one hundred from pictures.

That's that's frustrating.

It's like, you know, you curse, you close your computer, your phone, and you forget about it for a few hours.

So it's nothing you can do.

No.

I had Josh Hater in ten of my eleven leagues, okay, or eleven of my ten leagues, and you see he goes down, okay, and right away it's you know, you go to each league and you look and it's damn, damn, And yeah, it's not a good feeling, but hey, it happens.

You move on.

You can do the best you can and hopefully it all works out in the end.

I think when you play as many leagues as you and I do, you've got to have a portfolio approach.

You cannot overweight one one player because that just that that means you're chasing every in every league, and that becomes really really tough.

Yeah, it was working fine until he got himself hurt.

Yeah, but that's just you know, I mean, if you've got hater in eleven out of ten leagues, that means you're literally scrambling in every one of those leagues, and that's what wears you down.

Well, yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

Injuries and when you're playing multiple leagues injuries, Hey, it's not good.

Okay, Because as hard as you try to diversify, there are players you like.

Okay, I ranked the players every year, there's players I like.

If if it doesn't work out, generally as a rule, I got problems.

But at the same point in time, over the years that I've been playing the game, I have found that, and I don't want this to sound egotistical prayer, I've hit on a lot more than I've missed.

And as a result of that, you have to you sort of prepare yourself for those moments when it doesn't work, realizing that the next year it could very well and all is forgotten, all is good.

As much as I like to win, and I truly believe this, I think Tim believes it as well.

When we give wrong advice, when I talk about a prospect that's coming up, and it's like, I'm really excited and he wets the bed.

That's the thing that bums me out.

It's like, oh, where did I miss on this guy?

Like what happened?

Yeah, for the for the longest period of time when I first started writing, going back fifteen twenty years ago, that was my biggest fear is being wrong and again, because you don't want to provide advice to the.

Last you don't want to leave people stress.

Yeah, well exactly, So I used a lot of babies and a lot of I sat on the fence a lot.

You still knew, my friend, WHOA, that's only.

Because I got extra padding.

Now that I'm six years old, I could myself.

But no, it's it is tough because you want to make that right decision.

But knowing hey, Hall of Fame BA Baseball player is one that hits over three hundred okay, and I I think I'm still over three hundred okay.

So wow, Wow, Tim Tim stepping up, Big Tim stepping up?

Big Hey, Let's let's step up big.

Let's take a look at these standings, because you know, it's it's kind of crazy what's going on here.

All of a sudden, the Seattle Mariners have have caught the Houston Astros there went won eight games in a row, and also the Texas Rangers Timmy with a seventy nine and seventy record, are only two games out of the Wildcard.

The Cleveland Guardians are three games out and all sudden the Kansas City Royals have have hit a tail spin.

So can the first of all, do they do the Mariners win the Al West?

I would hope so yes.

I think they've got the best I think they've got they got, They've got a strong bulment.

I think they've got the starting pitching.

If they deliver again, I think you look at it on paper, they're in a good situation.

And the offense, with the moves made at the trade deadline, is is stronger.

Okay, then then it was prior to the dead They've they've done everything they could.

If it, if it, if it's not in the cards, it doesn't work, I'll be surprised.

It's a dangerous team going into the playoff.

I will say that nobody, nobody wants to play the Seattle Mariners.

Well, no, because you've got some big bats and you've got some arms that can you know, if everything comes together, can go six, seven, eight innings.

Of very very good baseball.

So that leaves so that would be that the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Mariners.

According to Tim winning the American League divisions, that leaves the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros is the wild card.

Do the Rangers or Cleveland Guardians get in?

Or do the Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros make it into the playoffs?

I'm going I Cleveland did absolutely nothing to set themselves up for a playoff run, So I have a hard time rooting for them simply based on that premise they took.

They moved Bieber, they could have held on to Bieber had that extra arm again, if they get in, I'll be I gotta be honest, I'll be a little disappointed because they sort of backed their way in and did nothing to really the.

Lost Louis Martiz, Yeah, and to the guys that were that were mainstays in the first half.

Yeah, I you know, it's yeah.

I can't find myself rooting for a team that didn't do anything to prepare themselves for what could potentially be a playoff spot.

Right, Well, if I could take can I take a contrarian view of that?

No, I'm the Guardian's front of this, I'm saying, McLeod, Well, we didn't have to make any moves because we've been making the moves over the last five years and now we've set ourselves up.

We brought up c J.

Kafis, We made a move to bring in Nolan Jones in the in the beginning of the season.

I know hasn't been great.

Brandon Rochio is a great defender, and when we lost our shorts off, we brought him and it's worked out.

And of course Gavin Williams has had a big season, his breakout season.

We brought up Parker Messick.

So we've we've been preparing over the last five years, McLeod, and now we're reaping the rewards of that and didn't need to go out and make a bunch of trades.

Okay, And when you finish one game short of a playoff spot, are you going to wonder what happened to mister Bieber?

That would be my reply, right.

Yeah, I think that's the other art game in on top of that.

So yeah, I mean, it's it is amazing that team that they're getting it done with Jose Ramirez and everybody else.

Yeah, that's it.

Yeah, that's it.

It's it's amazing.

So let's go to the National League here, and we've got the Brewers, Phillies, and Dodgers, I think comfortably in first place.

The the Mets have just fallen fallen flat, one to nine over their last ten and Nolan McClain pitched a great game today and then all a sudden the Rangers scored two to tie up two to two.

I'm that's where it is now.

But you got the you got the Cubs, Padres, and Mets in the wildcar position with the Giants.

Tommy, the Giants a half game out, the Red's a game and a half out, and believe it or not, with a below five hundred record, the Arizona Diamondbacks, you're only two games out.

How does it the wild card figure out?

Yeah?

Yeah?

The Diamondbacks have no bullpen, do they?

Can you name me the setup guy in Arizona?

Please?

Can you give me that?

I cannot.

I can.

I can tell you the second basement and high a into the Cleveland or Cleveland Guardians, but I can't tell you to set up man in the Arizona Diamondbacker.

Yeah, and I think that's a problem in Arizona.

They have no bullpen.

I.

Hey, they've had a tough year.

They're preparing for next year, I think already, and I think they're gonna be They're going to be a very good club into twenty six.

But I don't see it this year.

I you know, tell me something.

What's happened to Alie de la Cruz?

Well?

The last time that was That's one of the questions we have, we have coming up later.

Yeah, I don't know.

Let's let's talk about it now.

What has happened to Ali de la Cruz?

Well, the last time he had a home run, I had a full head of hair.

Okay, it's been a while.

I don't know, and he hasn't.

All the tools are there, but we're not seeing them translated into home runs and stolen bases.

You know, he's ran a bit more in the past week or so, but he's a fifty plus stolen base type player who's not going to attain anywhere close to that, is he?

No, No, he's not.

Let's see.

Let's see what Eli dealer Cruz.

Let's see if we can break it down here.

So overall, he has got nineteen hour runs, a thirty five stolen bases.

It looks great.

That looks great.

I mean, that's that's close to our first round value.

But let's take a look what he has done over the last the last month.

He's last month since September first, he said he won seventy eight with no home runs.

Since August August first, he's hitting two eleven with no home runs and six stolen bases.

It's been awful, Tim, I'm assuming he's.

Earned that's again, that's that's what I would have to think as well.

When you see a player is capable of production at level A and he's somewhere around level C that, no, there's got to be something going on there either the team is it a geen thing and they're not running.

I have to look, Noelvi Martes running, So why isn't why isn't he sprint?

His sprint speed is still in the ninetieth percentile, So that's it's not that his average exit of velossity sixty seven percentile, bat speed eighty first percentile.

I'm assuming he's hurt, yes, but again, you got a guy that's now, that's you got a guy that's twenty three years old.

What you would worry about is his contact skills and things like that You're not worried about his speed yet, in his his exit velocity, his power yet and that's just off, and particularly his his exit velocity is down from eighty eighth percentile to sixty seven.

So I think that's probably an injury that's lurking in there.

Okay, yeah, more than you know.

Who I do like moving forward for the Reds is Juelovi Marte.

Yeah, He's going to be a huge target for me next year, pending, of course where he fits into the big scheme of things relative to his position.

But I like, especially after that first month of his return, I like what I've seen this year.

I'm impressed.

So I have a number going back to the standards, have a number of Mets fans, and if you know a Mets fan, they're usually all in and it's usually the glass is half empty.

So they've all written off the Mets.

They're not going to make the playoffs.

They suck.

So what you have to kind of I mean, they really really struggled.

Do they make it to me or do the Giants get in or the Reds get in.

I'm gonna I'm going to go with Logan Webb and the Giants they're peaking at the right time.

They're on a roll.

They're hot.

The Mets are one and nine in their past ten.

Can they turn it around?

You know?

Do they get Cody Sanga bet back up?

You know?

And I mean.

Right now?

Yeah?

So yeah, but I have to go with the hot hand and go with the giants right now they're on a roll or playing well.

If they play five hundred, oh, that's a pretty good that's a pretty good position.

They'll be income the end of September, won't it.

Yeah.

And the Mets did win today after blowing the game for uh for Nolan McLain so, which was a bummer because I could have used that win in several leagues that I have them then, but they did wound up scoring three in the bottom of the tenth.

Then he must have been a home run.

See who hit the home run too?

To bring it home?

Here, let's see, uh, yep Alonzo with a thirty first thirty fourth home run tenth ann off of Cavello.

So yeah, he had a three run home run, so huh.

Well again, I think the Mets have the talent if they can sort out their pitching in a hurry, and I think they gotta get saying saying it back up.

You know, they gave Tong a shot, okay, and it hasn't been pretty the last couple odings.

Has it No so last outing this week and he'll be in my notes for a Patreon members.

I broke it down.

It was two thirds of an ending six runs that'll make you want to give up fantasy baseball.

Going back to Hoppies question, I mean, that's that's that that'll leave a mark.

But Sprout's been really good and Nolan mcclean's been great.

But look, Tong has he had a run of a really good control, but it's he's not a complete picture yet.

He doesn't have a breaking pitch and he doesn't always start strikes because he's got a really tough delivery that's hard to repeat.

I think he's going to be find long term, but if you've got him in a fantasy league, I think it's really tough to start in the last two weeks.

I think it is too And you know, looking at the last two outings, yeah, yeah, he's doing some damage and you don't need that damage at this time of the year.

No, definitely, I.

Think I think the I would be shocked if we didn't see Senga take his next turn in the rotation or something along, you know what I mean.

Getting Sanga back up I think for the last two weeks is going to be important.

But hey, look at that offense.

They can score some runs.

Yeah, yeah, they can.

I've also been really impressed with Brandon Sprout.

He came up, He's had two really good starts, and the data looks really good on that guy.

So the Mets have got a lot of young pitching talent coming up.

And can they squeeze it out this year?

I don't know.

So where did you wind up here?

Do they they hold off the the Reds and the Giants or you've got the Giants making it in.

I got the Giants on that late charge.

They're playing good baseball and we're down to two weeks.

Basically, Hey, if they can, if they can go one game over five hundred for two weeks in a row, that's gonna put a lot of pressure on the Mets.

And that's starting pitching, and I just don't know if it's gonna hold up for those last two weeks.

Again, I think they gotta get Singa back up there.

But hey, at this time of the year.

When you're down to two weeks, how do you not go with the hot hand.

Granted, the hot hand can turn cool just as quick as it turned hot.

But they're on a roll right now.

So yeah, I gotta go with them.

And before we take a quick break, you got to give it up for Wan Soto, who had a thirty thirty season on one Soto.

I mean I did well.

I had maybe sixty zero, but not thirty three.

I mean was probably thirty thirty ten thirty three.

I don't know.

I have thirty home runs.

It wasn't in a forty home run, I mean forty home runs stole, but one of them.

I think he's close to the number forty.

I think he just got his thirty stolen base.

So I don't know.

Okay, I don't think it's.

Yeah, it must be home runs that you're thinking about.

So let me let me you don't have your super fast computer with you.

I'm assuming well, I'm sitting out on a deck right now on a nice sunny day, working off a rotor that is hooked into a dialog system.

I'm not looking any windows.

I'll be gone like the wind.

Wow.

So let's see one Soto has forty home runs and thirty two stolen bases.

Yeah, yeah, that shouldn't that be MPP discussion material.

I mean he's got a three ninety eight base percentage, I mean one hundred and thirteen runs, only ninety seven RBIs.

But that's been more because the guys around him are pretty good.

So except so the five twenty ninth slug, I mean, he's been great.

Yeah.

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Mets fans have no reason to complain about one.

So yep, none soever.

For sure to me, take a break, get back, and we got a lot of other stuff to discuss.

Everybody stick come back with us.

Let's go back to a couple of more listener questions.

Collins asked two questions, all about the Dodgers.

Here, should the Dodgers let Otani just come in as a relief pitcher in the playoffs and be shut and be a shutdown back in bullpen arm that's what you've always said.

Yeah, I got Tanner Scott okay, and one of my keeper leagues.

I can protect him next year at six dollars.

I wouldn't protect him right now at sixty, okay, I I guaranteed.

Yeah, A Moto is not sending him a Christmas card.

Okay, the Dodgers' bullpen is a bit of a mess.

Why wouldn't Why wouldn't the Dodgers take Otwni okay and use him out of the out of the eighth ninth inning, okay, to get people out?

Okay.

The bitch mix is such and and he's hitting triple digits.

You know, if you can't get your bullpen to work, Otwani would get that done, wouldn't he.

Yeah, for sure.

And I think I think it's the right move.

Yep, yeah, yeah.

Blake training hasn't hasn't stepped up.

Tanner Scott has been absolutely brutal.

So yeah, I think Bessie is the last I looked.

I think Bessie, it might be hurting right now.

Yeah, Hey, you gotta have somebody in the eighth ninth inning they can shut him down.

And I think Otani, I think he can do it, and I think he'd be up for it.

I think he'd revel in the opportunity to be the guy that gets the last out in Game seven.

Uh.

He proved it in the WBC, didn't he He did?

True?

True or false?

The Dodgers win the World Series.

True if Otani's working the ninth inning, false iphy isn't.

I don't think they.

I don't think they come out of the National League.

Okay, that's what I think.

Well, you know right now, when you look at what the Milwaukee Brewers are doing, there can be tough to beat.

They're playing good, smart baseball, they're not making mistakes.

The rotation is solid.

Who had Quinn Priester for the season he's having on their Bengal card not too many and freddie beralta a great year.

Yeah, it's gonna be tough to beat the Brewers, but the Dodgers there's a lot of talent on that too.

So if I could put my Tim McCleod braghat on, can I do that?

You can most certainly do that.

Go back to my post when the when the Brewers required priest, I said, you know, I looked at the date.

I said, there could be sneaky value here everyone, and I didn't expect him to do what he's done.

But I still like the guy.

So it's I'm not shocked that he's had the success he sat.

I'm a little surprised at the tremendous success he've had.

Does that make something some level of sense?

Yeah, it makes it.

It makes total sense.

Yeah, you believe there was upside and potential there, but not to what we've seen this year.

And hey, kudos to him, kudos to the Brewers.

That's that's that was a huge acquisition, absolutely huge.

Agreed.

Uh, let's see Collins also as Roki Sasaki was the consensus top pick.

This is a great question, by the way, this one coming up first year player drafts.

Roki was consistent top pick last season.

Of course I took him.

The next two picks a year ago were Condon and Bassano.

How's that working out?

Not great so far?

With so many top picks performing in the top round last year, how did a lot of us miss this?

Just bad luck or what thinking of k Kurtz, Burns, cam Caags, et cetera.

So so the top what he's saying are the top three guys, everybody grabbed them, and it's been the guys who went four through fifteen that have done really, really well.

What you're thinking, I've got some opinions after you give your views.

Well, how many people passed on Mike Trote in fantasy drafts?

Going back in a number of years ago.

He went what twenty third, twenty fourth.

Yeah, something like that.

Yep, Yeah, Mike Piatza was drafted somewhere around twelve hundred I think when he was drafted a Hall of Fame catcher.

You know what, we sit there and we put together and we analyze, okay, all of the data, and hey, major League Baseball does the same obviously the same thing, and they look and they make their picks based on what they believe is best.

But all one has to do is go back over the past twenty years and look at the first round of major league drafts, and I would be shocked if much more than, if anything more than twenty five to thirty percent of those players actually pan out the way they were drafted at that time.

It's it's a risky procedure.

A lot happens, there are injuries, you name it.

It's not an easy task making that decision.

And hey, there was a reason that rookie was a consensus top pick.

You look at his numbers out of Japan, the upside potential, the age at Yadida, but that doesn't guarantantee him a long, lengthy, successful major league career.

I think it's way too early to start drawing conclusions about the twenty twenty four draft season.

And look, rookie Sasaki if to be held today, that draft obviously would and take him number when he'd take Nick Kurtz, maybe, Conda Griffin maybe kind of Griffin won Nick Kurtz two the rookies, Zaki would be top five guy.

I mean he got hurt.

Guys get hurt.

He throws one hundred miles an hour and he's twenty four years old.

They get hurt, and I think he's gonna have Tommy John surgery.

Just everybody book, But that's what we said, our good buddy, going back to Tim Webers warned everybody and we shared his thoughts with everybody that rookie Sasaki had some already had some elbow issues that were probably gonna manifest themselves into some issues.

And it's turned out to be that way.

But he still throws one hundred miles an hour with a nasty splittery and that you can't buy that.

That's that's very, very difficult to do.

Travis Bizana I told everybody he was a fifteen to fifteen guy that could hit.

He's a fifteen to fifteen guy who can't hit.

So I'm not sure why can't hit.

But his first season was pretty tough, you know, in the first full season in the minor leagues.

I think he's going to be fine, though, Let's see where he is.

Well, you look what he what has he done in the past couple of weeks.

We're seeing the Bazanna that we thought we would see back in April May.

He got hurt, he came back, he struggled a bit, but right now he's doing exactly what we thought.

And Bizanna could be a fifteen to fifteen twenty twenty player a year from now and all is forgotten.

Right I think he'll be a fifteen to fifteen player that's not going to be as great of a hitter as at least I thought, and how he was in college, you know, and look when the Guardians took him, it's a Guardian kind of player.

They like guys that could hit.

They thought he could hit.

My guess is they still think you can.

He walks it on, so there's going to be a ton of one base percentage there.

But he's just adjusting.

And it's it's unfortunate that, you know, not everybody comes out like Nick Kurtz did, hitting thirty two whole runs or whatever.

I mean, he's been amazing.

Not everybody does.

But Bizanna's going to be the guy.

Is Chase Burns is great, He's going to be really he's gonna get hurt.

Connor Griffin went ninth in the draft and probably went about like that in first year player dress.

He's been the surprise.

I mean, he's he's probably gonna turn out to be the best player in this draft because he is already the number one prospect in the game and we very easily could see him next season.

Speed, power, looks like he can hit.

We knew about the speed and power, we didn't think he could hit.

Guess what he can hit.

And he looks like the guy that's gonna gonna be like the you know, you look back and go, wow, what a player.

But it's a steep, deep draft.

I mean, JJ Weather Halt's going to be really good.

Kim Smith, the last I looked is only eight eight, so got to be careful, right, I mean, he made this, made the UH roster out of spring training and he's been eight eight.

That's it.

But you look at if you look at Bizanna, okay, and you say, just for the purposes of an easy comp here, he's going to be Stevie Kwant.

Okay, If you can get five to ten years of Stevie Kwan type production out of Travis Bozana, that makes a pretty good ballplayer, doesn't it.

You know, he's not gonna be Stephen Kuan, you think so, unless unless he can cut down at a strikeout rate a whole lot.

I mean, there's been some some pretty wild swings, so I don't know.

I mean, his end zone contact has been really bad.

That's what's been really shocking.

It's just it seems like a swing got long.

So I'm not sure what's going on there.

I think he's going to be just fine.

I would be surprised if becomes Stephen Kuwan, but that's just me, okay, But I mean it's strong.

I mean, look, Carson Binge nineteenth is going to be a top ten player out of this draft.

And sometimes it just works out.

I think all of these guys.

Hagen Smith might be the exception.

He was a number five pick, left handed pitcher with the Whites.

He can't throw strikes.

Maybe he's heard he can't throw strikes, but Charlie Connon's gonna hit forty home runs, He's gonna hit two thirty.

That's what we're afraid of when he was you know, if you go back and read my drafted you that's what the fear was.

Is who he would be.

Travis Zana fifteen to fifty guy can hit.

Nick's Nick Kurtz maybe thirty to forty home run guy can hit.

That's who he's become.

So you know, Jack kaglean O.

Yeah, the different difference, different difference with Kurts and right now Condon is Kurts is supporting all my power with a bit of a batting average, like quite a bit of a batting average.

And do we project that moving forward?

That I am a little hesitant to do, not at the level we've seen this year, But I don't have any problems with Amberys.

Is Nick Kurtz is gonna hit thirty five forty home runs next year?

Okay, fine, but it's probably gonna come with a two sixty batting average or something like.

That's probably more where he is if we looked at it, expected batting average's probably where it is.

But so far, I mean, such a good player, it's a good place, you know.

And it's funny because you know, sometimes where you take these guys is not as important as reading the capsules that tell you what their strengths and weaknesses are because besides a couple of exceptions, Hagen Smith being one, uh it's not a little bit, he's not he's not hit as well as everybody else is pretty much doing what they thought they we thought they were going to do.

And you just have to decide you're gonna wait longer, take a Connor Griffin and a sever King and excuse me, receiver King, or do you want the instant guy like Cam Smith who might not be as good as some of these other guys, but you take him early.

It's just up to you how you want to play it.

Hey, you know went five years from now, we'll look back and there will be one or two players, okay, in the third, fourth, fifth round that are better than any of the players we've mentioned, or have the potent to be as good as, if not better than, some of the players we've already mentioned.

Yeah, I'll give you a couple not that far away, but thirty first pick Ryan Waldschmidt.

That guy can play.

It's with Arizona.

I mean, he's going to be up next season.

Speed and power can really I mean, that's a guy that's that's Tommy White with the with the athletics from LSU.

Nice little player.

He's going to be your starting third baseman there.

Eventually.

Luke Dickerson had a really nice start to this season.

I got Peyton Totley, remember him to me, he was the fiftieth pick over he's already shoved it.

Yeah, he's yeah, he's already in the bigs producing.

Yeah.

Ryan Sloan picked to the fifty fifth pick middle of the second round with the Seattle Mariners.

He's one of the best nineteen year old pitchers in the minor leagues.

I mean, so, as Tim was saying, there's some guys that went later that have turned out to be really really interesting picks as well.

Yeah, it's it's fascinating when you look at those younger players.

The only thing that as you look at that group as a whole, I think last year was a great group.

I outstanding group, probably quite possibly one of the best we've seen in the past ten years.

I think twenty twenty three was better, but that's just me.

Last year's group was different because there was so many college hitters that came out, and you get what you know what you know the person who asked the question, I forgot his name already, have to go back and look.

It was Collins.

Oh, Collins.

Collins asked the questions.

Yeah, you get all these guys that are immediately coming up, like this past season, the twenty twenty five draft, You're gonna have to wait a walk because it was so many eighteen year old high school kids.

So you're not going to know how they're going to all turn out for three or four years.

But you're getting instant gratification, good or bad from the twenty twenty four draft.

Yeah.

And the way I played the game at sixty seven, waiting five six years, Okay, it's not my preferred modus operende.

Okay, I'm strong on the college bats, college arms because I want to see something within a couple of years.

I don't want to wait five years.

And that's just the way I play the game, Okay, and each other own it'll work either way.

Yeah, And it's it's funny you get you get freaks like Connor Griffin, who just, I mean just made a mockery of the minor leagues.

I mean, he has no business being in Double A, nor does Hazus Moday.

And they both look great.

I mean, these guys are nineteen years old and they look like Mike Trout.

Walcott, Okay, Walcott played the full season in Double A even know he wasn't elites.

And how old is he nineteen?

I think he just turned nineteen, So yeah, I mean it's it's so yeah.

So you get and then sometimes you get a guy that you know you's a young kid and takes them four or five years to come up, and then they turn out to be really good.

It's just everybody develops on their own schedule, and you can't be too high or too low.

Want twelve months, fifteen months after a draft, you just can't.

You got it.

Rookie Sasaki is going to be fine.

Is he going to get hurt?

Yes, But five years that guy's going to be really good.

Yeah.

I agree to me to take another break.

It's take our final break.

It back and let's truck to wrap this up because I've got to go to dinner.

And I have to.

When you get a note from my from my lovely wife to says you want to meet me for an early dinner at Roots.

Roots is the steakhouse.

The answer is yes, no hesitation, my friend, the new hesitation there.

I said, I'll be done the podcast in thirty minutes.

Let's let's see here.

We'll get to some of these other questions.

On Friday.

We'll talk about there is on a fall league.

I'll be back Friday to do that.

Go through the regular Friday and the regular Sunday.

My traveling.

I'm heading home on Tuesday, so I will be back Friday, right nearly.

One thing I do want to talk about before we ask who you're picking up this weekend is Jason Dimingez has lost playing time.

Now Anthony Volpi has lost playing time.

Why do we think about going into next season with both Dimingas and Volpi?

Who are you more confident about drafting Diminga's revolt?

Because I've seen some posts and maybe their fan posts that the Yankees might cut ties with Volpi, they might try to trade him on the off season, which seems crazy to me.

Well, he's so young, Okay, now he's had he's had problems with the deed this year, Okay, Yeah, and you know, when you start looking, the Yankees were counting on Anthony Goolby for a ten to fifteen year career.

Okay, they obviously believed in the whole player, the back.

It's the speed, the power, and the defense.

This year hasn't worked out.

But to me, it seems relatively crazy to want to cut ties with a player who's what twenty three years old, who's in his what second third full season because this year didn't work out.

Now again it is brought to the four.

There are some issues, there are some things that have to be worked on and dealt with.

But I would be shocked if the Yankees part company with either one of these two kids, because there is so much potential still sitting there.

That's my thoughts.

So who would you rather roster Volpi or Domingo's going into next season if you had a draft right now, Wolpy, I looked at the day of Volpey.

It still looks very very good to me.

It still looks great to me.

So, yeah, well, can't Jason Amigos can't hit lefties?

So I mean he's a little guy at the moment.

Yeah, Well, you look at you look at the two cases and you analyze them, and the fact that Domingus can't hit lefties.

That makes for me anyways, if I'm looking at the two of them, that makes it a fairly easy decision because it's Jason Deminga's ever going to be able to hit lefties.

I don't know, you know, it's.

Self fulfilling prophecy, isn't it.

You can't hits play for a good team you don't play against lefties, which is exactly what's happening to Diminga's and then you get stuck being a platoon player.

Yeah, forever and ever and everyone.

Stanton still has fourteen years left on his contract or something like that, which makes makes the Rice Stan It makes that whole thing a bit of a mess.

Yeah.

I mean, I take a look at volpi again, twenty four years old, average ex of velocity and stuff.

I mean it went up from last season from eighty seven to eighty nine, so you see he's starting to get his man strength together.

His strikeout rate went up a little bit.

He needs to be a little bit better at working walks, but I mean there's still a lot of still a lot of core that's there, and maybe maybe he needs to move off of defense.

His range is two percentile in fielding, his arm strength is thirty four.

Maybe needs to move to second base.

Yeah, maybe that's the answer.

Yeah, maybe maybe that is the answer.

I just can't see the Yankees giving up on Anthony Volby at this stage.

If they if they do, they're gonna get a ton of return for them, because I mean, this is not a guy that this is still a really really talented guy.

That's that's just my view.

But Diminga's worries me more.

And I do have him in a couple of dinasty leagues.

I'm a little bit I think one dynasty league.

I'm a little bit what's going on there?

So but but Volpi, I would not be giving up one.

No, No, I agree totally.

All right, Timmy, anybody to pick up pitters or pitchers?

Well, I think he's as Bellisteros is.

Oh yeah, he's performing very well for the Cubs right now.

And hey, the Cubs need everything they can must rate about now.

Hey, when you start looking at the Jay's Treya Savage.

Okay, they're calling him up.

They're not calling him up to start.

He is a starting pitcher and he will be a key component of that Jay's rotation moving forward.

But they want a guy that they can put in the eighth ninth inning right now and throw the ball past people.

Okay, and he's qualified.

He can do that, Candy, he can.

Another guy, another guy who was drafted a year ago in July.

I mean, it's another kid that in a first round draft picked last year that wasn't one of the talked about guys already going to make his major league debut.

Yeah, he started the year, didn't he had Low w A.

Yes, he did.

From Low Way to the bigs in one season.

That's that's rather That's rather impressive, isn't it.

Yeah, he kept I wrote about him a ton again.

He come, uh a, what is that?

Uh, Patreon memory.

I don't even know what I'm talking about, Patreon memory.

Yeah, he started off it's a seven games in Low Way, four games in High A, eight games and Double A, and now six starts, eight games, four starts in Triple A, and he's up.

Yep, and the Jays are hoping that he can help take some of the pressure off at the back end of that rotation.

And if he can, it bodes well for the jays chances over the last couple of weeks.

Yeah, it's simple as that.

I would I would be grabbing Brandon Sprout.

Okay, because I again I I Tong has got a great arm.

I you know, but the last two outings, I mean that the Mets are fighting for their lives.

And I don't think they're going to mess around with Oh, let's give him another outing.

We don't want to hurt his confidence.

It's not none of that.

And it's going to be your in or out.

Well, yeah, and I think they're gonna you know, hey, if you take a look and see if Cody Sengo was drafting it was dropped in re draft leagues because he's down at triple A.

I think he'll be back.

Okay, So again there's there's a veteran player that you can take a look at.

Hey, looking at closers for next year, Jose Ferre, take a look, see see it, Tony Santalon because sent you on and in Cincinnati, I'm very very bullish on the kid.

Take a look at teams that have their current closer heading into free agency or it's getting a little bit long in the tooth.

Take take a look at those situations and uh and keeper dynasty formats.

Toss a couple of darts.

What's the worst it's gonna happen.

Comes spring training, you cut them loose, they go back into the free agent pool.

But you're increasing your odds of success by tossing a few darts in the direction of bullpens.

In dynasty leagues, Yeah, if you're out of it in a dinys, those are the kind of moves you should be making.

I mean, you know, if you've got fast left, they might as well be speculating and times right.

If you get the spring training then they're no good, or they they're not going to be the closer, or they're back in the minor leagues.

You can cut them well.

And you know what, if you sit with them all last year and they become average to above average type closers, your team might not be ready to compete next year.

But we all know the last.

As a rule, the last position you fill in a league.

In a dynasty league is your closer position.

Because of the volatility, you can take a guy like that and move them at your league's trade deadline next year to a team who is three saves behind first place in the overall and get yourself a real nice haul next summer that might improve your chances for two years down the road.

So no, if you're if you're in the bottom half of the league, rebuilding whatever, you got to go after guys like that because they can be gold to you.

They really can't.

I'd move some before our trading deadlines.

I moved some of my more established closures, and there's leagues where I was really struggling in and because I had the Ferreras and some of these new guys that came up, I'm like, Okay, I'll move that for some other pieces, but I'm not going to move Ferira because I got for nothing and I I'd rather build with that.

If he doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

But I felt much better about moving older closers and keeping the younger guys.

So well, yeah, there's a big difference between Jose Ferrara not working out and Ryan Helsley, yeah not working out.

Was going to trade you much for Ferrera and they're going to trade you a ton for for Helsley?

Yeah, And if if, yeah, if you could, if you can move a guy like Ellesley at the deadline this year, if you're not competing, whatever you get is your coldness.

As you'll look to twenty twenty six and twenty twenty seven.

Tell me what you think is going to happen to class Who Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of.

Worried.

Yeah, I've got them, I've got them in one, and I have to declare my roster in this one before I know, before a decision is going to be reached and in all likelihood I'm going to be releasing them.

Yeah, it just does.

No.

I mean, I appreciate Baseball taking their time to go through it, but it's like it's almost like the more time it takes, the worse you start to feel about the situation.

Well, yeah, it doesn't.

It's not going to get any better, is it.

And the longer it takes, the more hey, it just increases.

Well, if it's taking major League Baseball four months, five months to reach a decision, no, that that doesn't lead to me feeling better about the situation.

I'd rather than make a decision in two weeks and you know, and get it done.

But I realized a full investigation has to occur.

Major League Baseball is not quick at these decisions, like you said, and I disagreed with It's the longer, the worse, it seems.

Odds are will come over with an outcome that we're looking for.

And the amateurs loose that are out there who said that, you know, they concluded that they were like the first pitch was a ball or a strike, So that's what they were apparently throwing, throwing the you know, that's what class was accused of.

And then they nailed it to how many first first thrown balls were balls?

I mean and really like in the dirt kind of ball, not even close, and it didn't really make a difference.

And I guess that's if that's what they find, you know, that's that's gonna be tough.

He's going to be gone gone well.

And what is it going to do to the rest of the existing major league relief pitching component, you know, is, yeah, guy has a bad game, he throws three consecutive balls.

Is he going to be under investigation?

Yep.

And we've said it too many times that baseball made their bed.

Now they're going to lie in it.

And it's and all sports have that.

I mean, it's not just baseball, it's every everybody who's gotten in bed with the gamblers.

I mean, this is what you get, you know, it's they're trying to find an edge and the money is too big and you get some of these marginal guys.

Not to say that Class A is a margin guy, but Lewis Ortiz is a marginal guy.

I mean they can make a lot of money that they can, so to me, that is a wrap, my friend.

Have a great rest of your trip.

We will see everybody back.

We'll be back with our regular show on Friday.

I go, I got a deadist appointment tomorrow, so the fun contents for me.

So yeah, yes, I hope.

I hope you have a benefit planning.

If you don't use, yeah, you use use your puppies.

That is true.

That is true.

Okay, everybody have a good week and push your fantasy teams here these last two weeks.

Good luck everybody, except if you're competing against me, then I hope all your guys get hurt.

So you saved me.

Well, great catching up, rich and again, as Richie mentioned, I'll reiterate good luck to everybody down the stretch.

I hope you see much success

Right by now.