Alex and Bobby assess the 2023 playoff field and which teams have the most compelling narrative cases to win the World Series. Plus, they assign two teams, respectively, as the hero and villain of this year’s October.
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Songs featured in this episode:
Olivia Rodrigo — “bad idea right?” • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”
Transcript
Tell us a little bit about what you saw and—and—and being able to relay that message to Cora when you watch Kimbrel pitching and kind of help out, so he wasn’t Tipping his Pitches. So Tipping Pitches, we hear about it all the time. People are home on the stand, what Tipping Pitches it’s all about? That’s amazing! That’s remarkable.
BOBBY: Alex, because this is Tipping Pitches, and I don’t know any other way to be, instead of starting this playoff preview podcast by talking about the matchups we’re most excited for, or who you should place a wager on to win this year’s World Series, make yourself some money. I’m going to start the show instead by talking about the price I paid to park a car at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Why don’t you— speaking of gambling, why don’t you— why don’t we borrow a game from— from the gamblers over-under?
ALEX: All right. Well, I think you have to set the line—
BOBBY: Well, that’s— that’s—
ALEX: —for me to pick over under, right?
BOBBY: That’s gonna give it away. I hate gambling. Let’s not do that, anyway. Scratch that, producer. Remember—
ALEX: Okay. I’ll just— I’ll just guess. We’ll do it again—
BOBBY: Remember that—
ALEX: —before gambling.
BOBBY: Remember scratch that— scratch that, producer? one episode where I was just like, “Cut that out.”
ALEX: “Cut that out.”
BOBBY: Talking to future me.
ALEX: It was a good bit.
BOBBY: Yeah. Take a guess. What do you think?
ALEX: $40.
BOBBY: I wish.
ALEX: What?
BOBBY: Keep going.
ALEX: You— you parked one car. I just want to be clear, this is for one car that was being parked.
BOBBY: No, I parked five cars.
ALEX: Well—
BOBBY: Five cars. No, one car.
ALEX: 65.
BOBBY: Keep going.
ALEX: What?
BOBBY: Keep going.
ALEX: 85.
BOBBY: No, 70. $70. And you know what? Not—
ALEX: To— to park your car?
BOBBY: To park the car, yeah, in a parking garage, with a lot of other people who are parking their car. I don’t know how many people park their car there. Definitely tens of thousands of dollars’ worth.
ALEX: Clearly.
BOBBY: And you know what? John Stanton still can’t afford to sign extra players in the offseason. Just can’t put that payroll above 125 million, or whatever it actually is. Probably like 180, but still—
ALEX: You’re on your— your Cal Raleigh type beat right now?
BOBBY: Yeah, I am. Lovely trip to Seattle. I was there at the J.P. Crawford two-run double walk-off game. A very boring game until the ninth inning when Aroldis Chapman came in and made things exciting, and the Mariners won. It turned out to not matter at all. Although it did kind of—
ALEX: J.P. Crawford did his damn best to put the team on his back.
BOBBY: Yeah, he did. It did kind of—
ALEX: Over the last weekend.
BOBBY: It did kind of end up mattering for the Rangers, but we’ll—
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: —talk about that more later in this episode. Do you think that I effectively scared off all of the non-Tipping Pitches listeners by talking about parking prices? $70.
ALEX: Yeah, but you may have attracted a whole other audience that we hadn’t even broken into yet.
BOBBY: What audience is that, that we haven’t broken into yet?
ALEX: Fans of urban concrete. I— I don’t know. Inefficient use of public space.
BOBBY: All things considered, I will say it— it is pretty easy to get on a public transit, apparently, but just not from where we happen to be staying in Seattle. So we ended up driving the rental car there. So maybe it’s a good thing that it costs so much to park. Maybe they— Seattle Mariners are anti-car. Horseshoe— that’s horseshoe theory right there.
ALEX: That is horseshoe theory right there. So did you— did you enjoy your experience there? I know this was your first trip to T-Mobile Park. What were your like— what were your thoughts? What were your feels?
BOBBY: I did enjoy my experience. I— it was my first time being in a park that is, like, partially covered, like it has a roof.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: But it is open air also.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: That was interesting to me. It was a nice way to, like, still feel the— the fresh Pacific Northwest air even though it was kind of raining, so they had to have the roof up. I had a great time. Thought the crowd was phenomenal, really engaged. I did not— I did not see any Tipping Pitches merch. So Mariners fans, unfortunately, you do need to do better. And I saw a great game. I saw a walk-off, walk-off double for J.P. Crawford, a fan favorite. I gotta tell you, the Mariners fans absolutely love J.P. Crawford.
ALEX: And why not? I mean, if you don’t pay attention to most of, like, his stat line over the last three of four years.
BOBBY: No. Oh, no, he’s good. He’s had a great year.
ALEX: No, he’s a— he’s been— he’s had a really good year. He’s a really— really fun player. And I— I— I remember him coming over there a few years ago as this top prospect, right? The guy who was going to kind of take the reins, and he’s just turned into kind of a sparkplug of a player on a team that has a lot of spark plugs.
BOBBY: Yeah. Speaking of spark plugs, seeing the crowd just filled with electricity when they realized that Julio was coming up to plate— up to— up to the plate, was a really electrifying experience. It— it’s the first time I think I’ve seen him in person.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Home or otherwise, obviously, in Seattle. It’s my first time there. But he’s just— I hate this phrase because it’s been co-opted by, like, the internet and, like, highlight pages, but he is different. He is really just— regrettably, I must inform you, Alex, he is different.
ALEX: We need more— we need more lingo to kind of push past this— the delusion of overuse that we’ve seen in the last four— like— like is he the same? Like, oh, that kid is the same right there.
BOBBY: The— that would be—
ALEX: If everyone’s different.
BOBBY: Wow. If everyone’s super, no one is. A little Incredibles quote for you.
ALEX: Deep. I love that.
BOBBY: I had some fried oysters, and some French fries.
ALEX: Wow. At the game?
BOBBY: That was delicious. At the— no, just outside on the street.
ALEX: Well, I don’t— I don’t—
BOBBY: Yeah, at the game.
ALEX: Oysters at a baseball game are not— that’s not my first choice. I mean, it’s not my last choice either, because I’m allergic to shellfish, so— but—
BOBBY: Dude—
ALEX: It’s just out— I feel like out of your comfort zone a little bit, as far as baseball fare goes.
BOBBY: No, I love fried oysters. I like seafood.
ALEX: All right. Fair.
BOBBY: I don’t like raw oysters. I mean, I don’t hate them, but I don’t seek them out like some people— some people are real raw oyster fiends.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Like a friend of the podcast, Jake Mintz, that’s a man who can throw back some raw oysters. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes many times.
ALEX: It’s just a horrifying phrase. Throw back raw oysters.
BOBBY: Do you want to list off your other allergies just for the listeners at home, just so they could keep a little tab in case they are at the doctor with you or anything?
ALEX: You know, all of— all of my— my friends like know this at this point. And we— we actually went over to a— my partner’s co-worker’s house this weekend for a— for a little dinner party and she was like [7:13] about that—
BOBBY: Sorry, who’s— who’s your partner? You mean co— your co-host for life.
ALEX: My— sorry, man, my co— my co-host for life.
BOBBY: The people at home are not going to know what you’re talking about.
ALEX: No, they won’t. And she was prepared. She was like, “No shellfish, right? I avoided seafood for you.” I was like, “How did— how did you have this— was— did we send a sheet over ahead of time? Did we talk to the waiter?”
BOBBY: The Alex Bazeley— the Alex Bazeley one sheet.
ALEX: Yeah, exactly.
BOBBY: Allergic— allergic to shellfish. Sometimes slow to respond to text messages. Lapsed A’s fan. What else?
ALEX: That’s kind of— no, that’s it. That’s it right there.
BOBBY: Nailed it. Nailed it. Also, just great at what he does in all facets, you know? Great podcaster, great friend. Great co-host for life. Okay.
ALEX: What— what I— what I thought you were gonna say— what I thought you were gonna open this podcast with was—
BOBBY: The David Stearns press conference? Ton of thoughts. Ton— ton of thoughts.
ALEX: No, no, I’ve— that didn’t even cross my mind, if I’m being honest. I thought you
were gonna open with Jimmy Butler’s—
BOBBY: I hope everyone enjoys— oh, Jimmy Butler’s emo hair.
ALEX: His— his Instagram stories featuring Mayday Parade, The Front Bottoms, and my boy, Hot Mulligan?
BOBBY: Is Jimmy Butler a real one?
ALEX: Like, I— I’m— I’m so, so curious about the thought process that went into, like, these three songs that he chose. Like there was— he searched emo on Spotify. These were the first ones that came up, or does he have some, like, institutional knowledge about The Waves?
BOBBY: Yeah, does he care about—
ALEX: Because I lean towards the latter.
BOBBY: Does he, like, have strong opinions on what you can call Midwest emo?
ALEX: Right. Exactly. He’s like— if we’re being honest, American football really just kind of co-opted, was coming out of the D.C. scene. I don’t know. I don’t know the guy. I wouldn’t if we’re [8:53]
BOBBY: If we’re being honest, if it was produced for a major label, it can’t be called emo. I think— he seems like hobby guy, you know? Like, you know, people that you meet and you’re just like, “How do you have time for all these hobbies?”
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Like, I have time for about two hobbies, and you’re listening to one of them right now. But he has his own coffee company.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: You know, he pulls his own espresso, which I guess if that qualifies as a hobby. That’s one of my hobbies as well. It’s this podcast and coffee. But, you know, well-versed in emo music. He was definitely a hot topic guy, just judging off how he looked at the— at media day today.
ALEX: Clearly— I mean, because like when you’re— when someone says emo and your mind goes to something, I think that says a lot about sort of the era of emo that you’re gravitating towards, right? And he was clearly nodding to the sort of, like, mall emo era—
BOBBY: Mall emo, yeah.
ALEX: —of, like, early 2000s, right? Like MCR, and Panic! At The Disco, and Fall Out Boy, if you want to count them among those. Like—
BOBBY: But there are people listening to this podcast who’d be like none of those bands that you just named are emo bands.
ALEX: Right.
BOBBY: Speaking of emo bands—
ALEX: Looks like— looks like— it is— it’s probably true, but—
BOBBY: I’ve asked you this about seven times, but have you bought tickets to the— to The Front Bottoms concert yet? Are you gonna do that? When are you gonna do that? I’m just gonna ask you now on the podcast while I have you as a captive audience.
ALEX: I know. You’re gonna— you’re gonna force me to purchase the tickets right here in front of everyone.
BOBBY: If I don’t see it happen, I’m not sure that you’re gonna do it. Would you want to share some thoughts about the Damian Lillard trade? Oakland’s very own.
ALEX: Yup. Well, he’s still Oakland’s own.
BOBBY: What do you think about replacing him— replacing drew Holliday with him?
ALEX: It’s definitely like— it— I— I’m of two minds on this, right?
BOBBY: Oh.
ALEX: It could go one of two directions. It’s like— it—
BOBBY: Oh, yeah.
ALEX: Like, I think that he could do really well in that spot, but also there’s a lot up in the air and it may not work out.
BOBBY: How do you feel about Chris Paul being on your team now?
ALEX: I don’t, like, watch the NBA to actually care enough about, like, kind of the goings on. So like my— my familiarity with Chris Paul is like— I mean, I’m— I’m obviously familiar with his— his basketball prowess and then, like, his career as a State Farm representative. And so when— when the news broke, I was like— I texted my family. I was like, “Chris Paul.” And everyone was so, so mad. So just flaming me.
BOBBY: Were— were you supposed to be mad about it, because he’s like a rival who come to the Warriors? Is that what they were mad about?
ALEX: Yeah, I think it’s an— it’s just kind of like— he’s like— it was a bit of— like, he’s soft, you know?
BOBBY: Oh, he’s soft?
ALEX: Like, he’s like—
BOBBY: Wow. Listen, I want to hear more about that, but I think people did actually maybe come to this podcast to hear about the Major League Baseball playoffs.
ALEX: Well—
BOBBY: So we’re gonna— we’re gonna talk about that. We’re gonna— some of you will remember that last year, we ran through all of the playoff teams and talked about why you should maybe root for them, or what would be a compelling reason to want to root for them, to help people kind of guide their fandom in October if their team has not made it. We’re gonna do a similar thing this year, maybe not quite as explicitly. We don’t— we— we did just go through all 30 teams in the podcast a couple months ago and talked about their candidacy for fandom. So maybe we don’t need to do it as structured as that, but we’re going to talk a little bit about the playoffs in that context. But before we do that, I am Bobby Wagner.
ALEX: I’m Alex Bazeley.
BOBBY: And you are listening to Tipping Pitches.
[theme]
BOBBY: Okay, Alex. Let’s do it. The playoffs are set. Before we start talking about the playoffs, is there anything from this past week that happened that rises to the occasion of bringing up before we get into our playoff preview? You want— you want to get some strong takes off about the Mets rain delay policies? Would you like to talk about the absolute disaster class that is the Texas Rangers last five days? Would you like to talk about David Stearns some more?
ALEX: I really don’t. I really— I’m— I’m just turned out.
BOBBY: I’m just— I’m just saying everybody enjoyed this last October without the Mets being the— the main attraction, because Stearns is here, the Stearns era. I’m in. Let’s go.
ALEX: I did think— regarding the kind of last weekend of baseball, it— it was kind of interesting because it felt— and maybe this is just my perspective, especially as someone who— who’s— the primary team has been out of the running for a little while, right? But I think with the— with the loss of the 163rd game, what’s your—
BOBBY: So you admit that your primary team is not the Phillies? So you admit—
ALEX: I think—
BOBBY: —that this is just a— a little fling that you have right now, that you’re not committed?
ALEX: We’re— we’re on a break. Okay?
BOBBY: You’re on— it’s October. You’re on a break now? They made the playoffs.
ALEX: Oh, I’m— I was thinking about the A’s, where I’m on a— I’m on a break with the A’s.
BOBBY: Oh. Oh. So the Phillies are your mistress?
ALEX: Exactly. I thought it was like slightly anticlimactic, but—
BOBBY: Oh, it was more than slightly anticlimactic. It was very anticlimactic.
ALEX: So— and I don’t know if that had more to do with the fact that— again, like there wasn’t this potential tiebreaker that was waiting in the wings like we’ve had in years past, that really made the last day of the season so exhilarating. Or if it was the kind of— the teams involved, the fringe teams. Some of the teams like the Mariners who I think were really exciting and many fans would have liked to have seen make that final push over the last weekend.
BOBBY: Yeah.
ALEX: And then— and then, you know, teams like your— your Miami Marlins of whom I know you are a huge fan, who eats their way in— into the playoffs this season as well. I don’t know. It just— it felt like, “All right. Well, there it is. I guess the playoffs are tomorrow, huh?”
BOBBY: I think the main problem was that four of the six divisions were completely locked—
ALEX: Or wrapped, yeah.
BOBBY: —for the last month more or less. And the other two divisions being the NL East and the AL West were basically just fighting over which three teams would make the playoffs from that division. And it didn’t turn out that the— that the Mariners actually were the third team to make it from the AL West. Unlike the NL East, which did— it— which is sending three teams to the playoffs. But it felt so concentrated. It didn’t feel like there were a lot more permutations that could have played out. And when there are so many playoff spots now in the 12-team format, you get— you’re going to have years like this. I mean, you’re going to have years like last year where teams like the Phillies can see a Wildcard spot like in the middle distance, and they go for it. But then you’re also going to have years like this year, where— well, I guess it’s kind of every year that this happens, but no one wants to win the AL Central. No one really cares about fighting for the NL Central spot, because if they don’t win the division, they’re probably not going to win the Wildcard spot because they’re boxed out by three teams making it from one division. So, I agree with your assessment that it felt a little bit anticlimactic. I also think that a— maybe a large part of that was because a bunch of teams that we expected to be good underperformed this season, that should have probably been filling in some of those spots. And it left a vacuum for sort of medium to good teams to step in there, and kind of just in a blase way, nominate themselves for the final playoff spots. Now, I’m not— I— my feelings on the Marlins are— are well-known at this point. I’m not saying that their last month wasn’t exciting for their fans and— and wasn’t worthy of making the playoffs, because I— I think that they had a lot of really good moments in this last month of the season. But on the whole, I mean, this is a team that is 100— 100 runs below. -100 run differential for the year, it’s like, “Okay.” Could they— I mean, could they get hot in— in October? Of course, they could. They could make some noise. They could eliminate your Philadelphia Phillies. I wouldn’t be super mad at that, where I’m going to talk about that in a second, actually, because that bottom right corner of this bracket is a nightmare for me, but I’m gonna process my feelings out loud. So, I— I agree with your assessment, but having sorted all of that out now, I’m pretty excited for these playoffs.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: I think that there is just enough— there are just enough new faces— new teams, new faces, new stars on these new teams that— this— this story feels a little bit like a new chapter than it did from the last four or five years of it largely being dominated by, like, the Astros who were just going to eliminate their— eliminate the Yankees on their way to another World Series. Or the Rays, if it happened to be them that year. And on the other side, it was just going to be, will the Dodgers disappoint after winning 105 games again, or will they make the World Series again? So this year feels a little bit different. Obviously, the Astros are still in the mix. The Orioles finished the season with the best record in the AL, which I don’t think many people would have necessarily predicted. Of course, a lot of people were expecting them to break out a little bit this year. But them being the bonafide, like, best team in the NFL, I think is intriguing now in a playoff context, because they’re like babies. Everyone on the team is a baby. None of them have playoff experience, so I’m excited to watch that. Before we go team by team, would you like to nominate like a people’s hero and a people’s villain for this season? Like who was the team that you think is— would be the most fairy tale storyline to win it and who is the team that you think Satan, the Prince of Darkness is pulling for?
ALEX: I mean, I think that the Twins are probably going to surprise some people in these playoffs. They’re not— they have an incredible pitching staff and a serviceable enough lineup, and they do feel like the ones who come into this as the— the underdogs the most, right? They’ve lost 18 consecutive playoff games going back to 2004, right? So, like, I’m rooting for them to get on the board this— this October. You know, I think my— my love affair with individual Twins players here and there has been documented. My— my enjoyment of Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray. They— I don’t know if they’re like the sexy underdog pic necessarily, but they do feel the one— the ones who are— who are—
BOBBY: I— I do know. They’re not the sexy pic. I’m just gonna confirm that.
ALEX: I— no, they’re not the sexy pic at all. But they— in terms of the ones who are like— like, you know, have, let’s say, less of a shot. These playoffs— like they feel the ones that are positioned the best to do well. The Dbacks are the other ones who I gravitate towards, who like have that young core, very similar to the Orioles, and could also make a splash this— this October. So in terms of, like, AL and NL Cinderella picks, I think those are the two that I’d go with. In terms of villains, it’s hard to— you know, your mind immediately goes to the Astros, but like the Astros are fine. Like— like they’re— they’re a good baseball team, but they don’t— they’re not the team to beat, right? I mean, that’s kind of, obviously, Atlanta. You know, from— kind of from here on out until further notice. We already know that’s the one that devil roots for. I don’t— like I— they’re kind of rising pretty quickly to the top of my— my power ranking of undesirables.
BOBBY: Well, I— you know that they’ve been at the top of my power ranking of undesirables for years now.
ALEX: Yes. Yeah, I do. You were ahead of the curve.
BOBBY: And, actually, maybe that is a good occasion to talk about that bottom right corner of this bracket—
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: —which involves your Philadelphia Phillies playing against the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card round. And then the winner of that series is going on to play against the Atlanta Braves. On the one hand, I’m on the record as not wanting to see the Marlins advance, because they don’t want to see some of the more, like, cheap corner cutting be rewarded in the playoffs context. On the other hand, I don’t want to see the Phillies win. I don’t want you to experience October happiness as a Philadelphia Phillies fan. This is where the meanness comes out. This is where the barb has come out.
ALEX: Right. Yeah.
BOBBY: Because once the Phillies get going, you know, it’s hard to stop them as we saw last October. But then on the other hand, the winner of that series needs to eliminate the Braves. So, I either want the Marlins to go all the way to the NLCS with their nonsense team, or I want to once again risk the Phillies making the World Series. So, what do I do?
ALEX: I think that’s— I think we’re here to answer that question, right?
BOBBY: I just can’t have the Braves win. I just can’t. I can’t watch another NLCS where I’m like, “It’s life or death, we must eliminate the Atlanta Braves.”
ALEX: I also— like I— when October rolls around, I— I very quickly flip into kind of the chaos fan, you know? Like what is going to ruffle the most feathers? What’s going to, like, upset the— the— the most fan bases? What is going to make Twitter the most insufferable the next day? And so if that’s the Phillies beating the Braves, I’ll take it.
BOBBY: I fear that the Phillies might be the only thing that can stop the Braves.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Because they just— they’re just like— I mean this in the most loving way possible, they’re just too dumb to know that they’re supposed to lose to them.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: They just don’t—
ALEX: They are the— they are the immovable force, right? Like—
BOBBY: They just don’t know that they’re supposed to not be the better team, you know? So they come into the series and they’re like, “Ah, whatever. We’ll just— they’re just the Braves. Forget about it. Spencer Strider, we’re gonna score 8 runs off of him in one inning. Like, it doesn’t even matter.” Of course, the Braves will be seeking retribution for last season’s loss to the Phillies, should the Phillies actually advanced. And I guess that is also my question, as a Phillies fan, do you feel confident that they will dispatch the Marlins? Are you willing— are you— are you fearing embarrassment in this moment?
ALEX: Well, I— I got blamed for the— the Phillies good and bad fortune ever since I announced my fandom. So I’m a little— I’m a little worried to claim—
BOBBY: Blamed by who?
ALEX: —put anything onto the record right now. By the members of our— of our loyal Slack.
BOBBY: I mean, I think they’re doing fine since you became a fan of them. I know you were blamed for not choosing teams as well.
ALEX: Yes, that is— yeah.
BOBBY: You are blamed for not choosing the Twins, because they went on a little bit of a skit after that.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: Not that the Twins were ever really like contenders. I think that they were just one of the early teams and you’re being too nice.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: And you weren’t willing to— to cut the cord with them, but they were never really in the running.
ALEX: No. And yet, here both of those teams are in the playoffs.
BOBBY: Yeah. So everything turned out fine. At this point, your magic has run out. You are no longer— you are no longer dictating the outcome of any of these teams. That was, like, months ago.
ALEX: Right. I had the first few games.
BOBBY: Let some other— let some other guy who chooses to be a Phillies fan be the reason that they win or lose this October.
ALEX: I feel decently confident about the Phillies beating the Marlins, but I also didn’t think that the Marlins would end up here, right? So, I don’t know that I can look at the Marlins necessarily and point to a part of their team, and— and see it as being better than the Phillies, or really any other team in this field right now. I do think, like, the— the case for the Marlins kind of rests on Kim Ng and wanting to see her have success at the Major League level in hopes that it inspires other teams to realize that, “Hey, women— like women can do this job, too.” And she’s— and she’s been in the league for so long and— and put her dues— like the— I think that she has earned the spot here, right? October is obviously a crapshoot, and so that for me is the— is the case to enjoying their success.
BOBBY: Kim Ng who still does not have a contract for the 2024 season?
ALEX: Right. Uh-hmm. The one and only.
BOBBY: Regret— regrettably, I do think the Marlins kind of have good vibes. As much as I hate to admit it, the team itself has good vibes. It’s not the players’ and the team’s fault that the— that I personally dislike the Marlins organization. They didn’t do anything wrong. By the way, I said that they had a -100 run differential, it’s only -56 just slightly—
ALEX: Right. Well—
BOBBY: —slightly overstating things.
ALEX: I appreciate the— the real-time fact check, though.
BOBBY: Oh, yeah, I’m committed to accuracy and truth on this podcast.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: You— you remember last week when we committed to the New York Times Journalists— Journalistic Ethic?
ALEX: That’s true. So what you’re saying is—
BOBBY: X formerly Twitter.
ALEX: Yeah. So do we have to start putting disclaimers at— at like— at like the top, like editor’s note.
BOBBY: Some opinions were shabby [26:27]
ALEX: Bobby misstates—
BOBBY: No, I think— actually, if what we’re gonna do is commit to the New York Times ethics, then we have to stop talking about baseball and start talking about Kevin McCarthy and how he saved America, personally.
ALEX: That’s true. Yeah.
BOBBY: Any hot budget takes that you want to get out of here before we keep going down the list of these teams?
ALEX: Jesus. You want to talk about the Senate dress code right now?
BOBBY: Dude.
ALEX: Okay. Yeah, you do.
BOBBY: I’m just saying, like we need to bring decorum back to the chambers, the halls of the Senate. How are we going to know that the people in power have our best interests at heart? If they’re not even dressing— dressing to impress— that phrase doesn’t work when you— when you put it in the act of present tense. If they’re not dressed to impress— you’re dressed to impress—
ALEX: You know—
BOBBY: —right now. You came from work. Look at you, you got buttons.
ALEX: That’s true. I got buttons on my shirt.
BOBBY: You usually don’t have buttons when we do this podcast.
ALEX: I never have buttons. I— I will say, you know what would solve this— this problem is making them wear uniforms.
BOBBY: Like school kids.
ALEX: Like— like— well, no, I meant more like jerseys, like—
BOBBY: Oh.
ALEX: —you know? Can you imagine John Fetterman walking— a John Fetterman baseball jersey would sell like hotcakes, if I’m being honest.
BOBBY: We have a merch store. We can make one. Would you like to go on the record about the life and legacy of Dianne Feinstein or do you want to just keep it moving?
ALEX: Oh, Jesus.
[laughter]
ALEX: What are your thoughts on the Dbacks?
BOBBY: We have not talked much— much about any of the teams that have a buy yet, except for the Atlanta Braves who— last year when we did this exercise, we just pretended that they didn’t exist.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: And it worked out swimmingly for us because they lost their first series. And then by the next time we did another podcast, they were gone. The Astros, the Dodgers, familiar faces, and the Baltimore Orioles. What’s the case on your mind for the Dodgers to win the World Series? I’ll let you go first on this, because I feel pretty strongly about them being the team that I would like to— to win the World Series, but—
ALEX: I mean, overall, like you’d be—
BOBBY: I don’t want to overstep with my Dodgers fandom.
ALEX: Of course, yes. I know. You have a bias here. I mean, you’d never have to hear the words Mickey Mouse World Series again.
BOBBY: Compelling.
ALEX: I— it— I— it almost feels like they’ve hung around so long— I mean, they really— they really have earned this, like, arguably more than most of the other teams. Like if— if the playoffs are a crapshoot, like they’ve done their darndest to make sure like their— their luck comes out, you know? And it worked in 2020 to the extent that you want to consider that a ring equal to all the others.
BOBBY: Stop giving that whole argument credence by, like, saying, “Oh, both sides”— you really are New York Times-ing it. You really both sides-ing the Mickey Mouse ring argument.
ALEX: Someone has to do it. Someone has to do it.
BOBBY: And now, we go to a quote from a Rays fan. Or now we go to—
ALEX: Mikie— Mikie Barb is in here to mediate.
BOBBY: I guess you wouldn’t— you wouldn’t want to get a quote from a Rays fan as like the flyover— the flyover voice to this Mickey Mouse ring storyline, because they also made the World Series that year.
ALEX: Yes, they did.
BOBBY: So you’d want to get a quote from a Yankees fan?
ALEX: Uh-huh. Flyover states.
BOBBY: I’m talking about the— the— the other side of this argument, you know, for both sides-ing.
ALEX: Right. The metaphorical flowers.
BOBBY: Yeah, the metaphorical guy in a diner who’s just asking questions. That’s the baseball fan— the baseball fan version of that for the— for the Dodgers Mickey Mouse ring.
ALEX: The— the New York Yankees fan?
BOBBY: As the Yankees fan, honestly, yes, because they’re like, “Yeah, we got 27 real ones.” You know?
ALEX: Yeah. I think like— again, like the Dodgers are— you kind of can’t doubt their greatness. Like, this is one of the great runs of a team that— I mean, certain— maybe the best run of a team that I’ve seen in my lifetime, and one of the great of the last, like, 50 years or so, right? 11 straight appearances in the postseason. There are also the never-ending questions about Clayton Kershaw and his— his plans for retirement, and I think many Dodgers fans would enjoy seeing him get a ring as well. So I think that like—
BOBBY: Crazy about Kershaw is he’s like actually old now.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: It used to be that like— which means we’re kind of getting old, by the way. It used to be that like— you’d be like, “Oh, Kershaw, how much longer is he going to do it?” And you’d look, and he’d be, like, 31.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Because he’s just been here, and so good for so long that you think he’s much older. But now he’s, like— next year is age 36 season. That’s pretty old. People hang it up around that. I mean, I know that Scherzer is still going at 40, and Verlander is still going at 40, and Jamie Moiya went to 47 or whatever. But a lot of people just kind of hang it up around their late 30s [31:30]
ALEX: [31:30] had his— had his injuries.
BOBBY: Yeah, exactly.
ALEX: So I don’t— there’s— there’s a compendium of reasons. I think that you could find rooting for the Dodgers to be very fun. They’re just an exceptionally fun team to watch. Do you want to watch the— like, one of the best teams, like insane chemistry?
BOBBY: 246 ERA this year. 131 innings, 246 his ERA was.
ALEX: Sure.
BOBBY: 2-4-6. Last year, 228.
ALEX: Uh-hmm. He’s like— he’s like— he’s like, “Yeah, I’m done.”
BOBBY: He’s just actually the best pitcher ever. Yeah.
ALEX: He’s like, “Yeah, I don’t got any more in the tank.”
BOBBY: “I don’t— I don’t want to post the season with an ERA above 250 ever, so I’m done. I’m hanging it up.”
ALEX: What is your— what is your biased perspective on why the Dodgers are the team to pull for this October?
BOBBY: I do think Kershaw— another Kershaw ring would be really cool. I’d love to see— I— maybe this is— maybe this is a straw, man, but I feel like he is one of the— the most forgotten greatest players of all time. Or like the least talked about greatest players of all time. I think a large part of that is because he’s had, like, a lot of half seasons over the last five years or so, where he’s just his normal great self for 100 to 140 innings. And he misses two months at a time, and that’s kind of what it is, unfortunately. But I think seeing him— and he’s not healthy right now, either. He’s having shoulder problems, his velocity is down. There are questions about whether he should be pitching through this or whether he should be— should have been rested for longer. And, you know, to their— for their part, the Dodgers and Kershaw have both come out and said like, “Yeah, I’m not— you know, I’m not at my full powers, but there’s nothing that resting more is really going to do to help me.” So I would love to see him in a big spot come through, because I— I’m a sucker for storylines like that. Like guys who I think that have gotten sort of an unfair rap in October. And it’s not really unfair, because he has performed worse than he’s led us to expect throughout his career in October. But I think a lot of that is just bad luck, or a juiced ball, or facing really good teams who are hot at the right moment. And he is truly one of the, like, most satisfying and unique pitchers to watch that we’ve had in our time watching the sport. So that’s— that’s one that you already named. I think number two is just— it’s really fun to watch Mookie Betts in October, that he’s proven time and time again. And he always finds a way to make himself known in really big spots, whether that’s like with one of the greatest defensive highlights I’ve ever seen. A throw from right field to nab someone at third in the 2020 World Series. Whether it’s big home run in a big spot. He’s having—
ALEX: Whether it’s stealing a base, stealing a taco.
BOBBY: Right. Stealing a base, stealing a taco, very important.
ALEX: Twice, I believe.
BOBBY: He’s having— I would say he’s having arguably his best season ever, but he also had like an 11 worst season when he went MVP. So he’s having like a second-best season ever. Well, it’s just a close second to his 11 worst season in 2018. And he’s just— he’s tremendous. I feel like his season kind of got wrapped up in the vortex of, “Oh, should he win MVP versus Acuña?” And I think Acuña will still probably win it, but I think it’s nice when you get to October, and all of that stuff sort of washes away, and you can actually just like appreciate the player for the moment, rather than trying to place them in the context of awards races, or narratives, or anything like that. And then the final thing for me, budding Dodgers fan that I am, is it just feels like— you know, we’ve been doing this podcast since 2017, it feels like the Dodgers should have more than one World Series ring in that time.
ALEX: Yeah. Uh-huh.
BOBBY: Like, they’re always great. They’re always there, they’re always winning 100, or around 100, or more than 100 games. It doesn’t feel like after all this time coming out of this era that have been largely characterized by the success of the Astros in the AL, and the Dodgers in the NL, and the different trickle down effects that the way that they’ve built their teams and thought about roster construction and player development. It doesn’t feel like after all that, the Astros should be the one coming away with all the spoils, you know? And so if it looks a little bit more even after this season, I think that that is more fair. And I think that it will do a lot more to sort of punctuate this mini era of the success of those two franchises. Now, I mean, it’s not like— it’s not like a moral judgment on whether or not the Dodgers should have as many World Series rings as the cheating Astros or anything like that. It’s just that I feel like after everything that Dodgers have accomplished over the last 10 years or so, rebuilding this team from— from what it was, which was a largely ineffective team that the owner went bankrupt, and kind of left their fans out in the lurch for a little while there. After all of that, it’s just like to only have the— the one shortened season World Series ring to show for it, where the fans couldn’t even really be there in Dodger Stadium to support them. That seems like a bummer, right? I feel like we can be objective about that. You don’t have to call me a Dodgers shill for that take.
ALEX: No, no. I mean, there’s something about wanting to see the great teams actually, like, realize that success. Even if you are not necessarily a fan of that team, it does feel a little incomplete to look at everything that the— that the Dodgers have accomplished. And to have one ring come out of it that some people are gonna hand wave away anyways. It just— it feels very— it does them a— a vast disservice to just how much of a juggernaut they’ve been over the last, like, decade.
BOBBY: How about the Astros? Do you want to make the case for them? Or do you want to just move straight on to the Orioles? I feel like Astros is the same old, same old.
ALEX: Astros, they’re kind of same old, same old.
BOBBY: I can’t believe that they pulled an AL West crown out of their hat this year after everything— after how slow they started, after all of the injuries, after how good the Rangers looked all year, after the Mariners coming on strong.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: A week ago, I was like, “Ooh, if the Mariners stay hot, what if they sweep the Rangers and the Astros lose— lose two of three?” And then suddenly the Astros are out and the Mariners are in. And then none of that happened and then the Astros won the AL West.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Same story, different day.
ALEX: Yeah. What is the case for the Astros? I— you’ve— you’ve— just like consistency, you don’t like change?
BOBBY: You’re from Houston.
ALEX: You’re from Houston? Yeah.
BOBBY: And the Orioles, your number two?
ALEX: Much easier team to make a— to make a case for. I don’t know. I mean, like— I think they are probably going to be the sort of default bandwagon team for a lot of fans this postseason for very obvious reasons. They really burst on this— they really burst onto the scene with a vengeance this year, with their young core of legitimately good stars, in guys like Adley, and Gunnar, and Heston. They’re a team who it’s really easy to look at and think, “Hey, we could be seeing them here a lot more often over the next few years.” Now, you have to do more than just put together a core of, you know, underpaid players, and so I think that’s going to be the biggest question mark coming out of this for the Orioles, is how do you actually build off of this momentum rather than just hoping your— the guys you’ve drafted can— can carry you through? But, like I would have no ill will towards the Orioles winning, or seeing like a Phillies-Orioles World Series. I’m in. I’m sold.
BOBBY: You’re making me root for the Orioles to win the World Series.
ALEX: Yeah. Uh-hmm. I— honestly, I know that I’ve played the role of Orioles hater all year. Really, I was playing the role of like, “Can we slow this down a little bit?” Like, can— the love fest is going a little bit— a little bit too far in one direction for me. I was just trying to be—
ALEX: You— you just like when people enjoy things, yeah.
BOBBY: I was trying to— exactly. I was trying to be a centrist, you know? I was trying— trying to try to find the other side, trying to find the other opinion. Just like our— just like the great lady taught us. I think that the case for the Orioles is that— the case for the Orioles is this, their—
ALEX: They’re rooting for schools— more schools in Baltimore.
BOBBY: You’re just rooting for John Angelos, the guy, you know?
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Everything he stands for, everything that he could do in the future. And if the Orioles win, no one else will see the reward except him, and that’s a good thing.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: No. The case is that their fans would be feral if they won the World Series.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: They already kind of are. And the— and the team really feeds off of that, with the— with— everything that they’ve done this year, they have like a very— they— not only are they young, but they have sort of like a youthful, blissful love of the success that they’re experiencing. It’s like they don’t know that it could go wrong. They’re just like, “This is great. I’m— I’m— I’m a rookie. I’m in my second year, and everything is going swimmingly. We’re winning 103 games, or whatever. And this is phenomenal. And the fans are meeting us with that level of excitement and craziness to boot.” And I think that watching that, see the wave of orange in October would be really satisfying. Both from like an aesthetic perspective on the broadcast, I think that seeing that ballpark and seeing that fan base just go delirious in October, late in October would be really cool to watch. But then also just seeing a— you know, a once great and proud franchise finally get back to— to that level of success, not just the sort of overperforming Buck Showalter mid-2010s vibe, but really just like building a juggernaut, and giving a really great fan base the opportunity to support it at the level that they have for decades and decades, would be really cool. Now, it’s interesting, because though they won the AL East, and got the bye, and secured the best record in the American League. Obviously, that affords them the chance to automatically advance into the divisional series round, but I’m not writing off the Rangers necessarily, even though they were kind of skidding over the last month or so, it changes in the playoffs, especially when you have a lineup like the Rangers have that can just go yard at will. It’s just an incredibly tough matchup to draw the Rays in the second round if they do. And so— I mean, we’ve spent enough time talking about the Rays. I don’t know if you want to make the case for the Rangers, but—
ALEX: Not really.
BOBBY: —after all of the— I mean, this is the thing about the baseball playoffs is that after all this success and after all of this bursting onto the scene that the Orioles have experienced to then maybe get eliminated by the, you know, stalwart playoff presence that is the Rays. One round later is— it’s a daunting proposition.
ALEX: Yeah. I mean, there’s no worse way to see that the air kind of be let out of your season in that regard, especially one that has been so magical to be bounced by, like, the fucking Rays.
BOBBY: For what it’s worth, I think Ray— I think the Orioles are better than the Rays. I mean, I know it’s like—
ALEX: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
BOBBY: —the Rays are very much— like the reputation of the Rays is that they are built for this, built for the playoffs, built for October, the optionality, the different arms, the different— the depth of the organization, like all of these different things that are very Rays qualities.
ALEX: [43:35] that’s— does— does all that fit on a banner?
BOBBY: Yeah, they’re running out of— they’re running out of banners to hang, you know? Remember— I really hope they wrote— they run this— this graphic back for a third or maybe fourth straight year.
ALEX: Yeah. Uh-huh.
BOBBY: The— the— the Rays arm slot on a clock—
ALEX: Yup. Yup.
BOBBY: —graphic. Some people at home are gonna have no idea what we’re talking about, and some people are gonna be like, “Oh, my God, yes. I forgot about that.” Just the different deliveries of the relievers from different arm slots. Fox loves that. They love that.
ALEX: They— they love that shit.
BOBBY: They love that graphic. All right. Make the case for the Rangers. There’s two teams left that we haven’t really touched on at all. I mean, I guess you only mentioned the Diamondbacks in passing, so maybe we should give them a little bit more shine, too. But the Rangers, the Blue Jays, and the Diamondbacks are the three teams that we haven’t really discussed in-depth and— and made the case for. Would you— would you like to make the case for one of those teams? And I can step up on the others.
ALEX: I mean, as I mentioned earlier, I think the— the case for the Dbacks is like very similar to the case for the Orioles, which is a little bit of, “Hey, no one really thought that we would be here in this position right now. And a lot of it is due to the fact that our young guys really, like, step the fuck up.” Like the case is Corbin Carroll, and Zac Gallen, and Christian Walker— and Christian Walker. They’re— they’re like a— a fast team. I— I think this is like— this is something we haven’t really talked about, right? Is like kind of how some of the rule changes might manifest them— themselves in the postseason, and the Dbacks feel primed to— I mean, they have been really efficient on the base pass all year, and it’s the kind of thing that I would— I would hope translates to the playoffs when those— those, like, margins on— on runs that you’re trying to— to push across are so razor thin and every— every decimal point of a run counts. I’m gonna be honest, I kind of forget about the Dbacks some— sometimes.
BOBBY: Wow.
ALEX: Often— oftentimes, but—
BOBBY: East Coast, baby.
ALEX: It is the East— well, it’s like they’re tucked down in there, in, like, the— on— on the West Coast with all the California teams. And then there’s just like the— the Dbacks a couple of states and—
BOBBY: We’re just doing geography now?
ALEX: I don’t know. I just— we’re just doing geo— right. So California runs along the—
BOBBY: The— the West Coast.
ALEX: If you’re looking at a map, it’s the— right.
BOBBY: On the— on the—
ALEX: It’s like the left side. So hold your hands up.
BOBBY: Yeah. Left coast.
ALEX: But— I mean, I don’t know much about like the— the vibes. Maybe you can clue me in. I don’t know. Maybe— maybe they have stellar vibes, but they seem to be more just like a team that is, like, kind of built on fundamentals.
BOBBY: They have chaotic neutral vibes to me, honestly.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Like they don’t feel— I mean, obviously, when we talked about the Diamondbacks for your— for the purposes of you choosing a new team for— for the long-term. We basically DQ’d them because of the owner. We DQ’d them because of Ken Kendrick who is like—
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: —truly a ghoulish person who does not enjoy spending money on his baseball team. It’s like, “That’s tough— that’s tough to sign up for—”
ALEX: yeah.
BOBBY: “—if you don’t have to.” But in terms of the team itself, I— I really admire the— the rebuild, the willingness to call up the players and let them actually start the rebuild. Even though they weren’t certain that this was the year, the window, necessarily. I— I admire that from a team building perspective. I— the players themselves are— are extremely fun to watch. Chief among them, Corbin Carroll, who’s going to win NL rookie of the year who— I mean, plenty of— enough words have been spilled about why he’s great and— and what he has done in places smarter than us, on podcasts, or on fangraphs.com, or wherever you enjoy reading player analysis. He has everything that he was cracked up to be, both— the contact, the power, the speed, the defense, everything in a— in a— in a frame that you don’t typically see on a baseball field. He is a very small guy, and he is extremely fun to watch. I mean, you mentioned— you mentioned Gallen whom I think people are relatively familiar with. He was the player who went back in the Jazz Chisholm trade, who has pitched extremely well for them. This year, probably his best and most complete season. He’ll probably finish in the top three for Cy Young. The reason I say they have chaotic neutral vibes is because they are very— they are very grained as a team, and they’re not very like— the roster is not very deep. They have like a lot of young players who have come up and performed really well. They have a lot of guys who are kind of like Reclamation Project-ey. You know, like— like Merrill Kelly was in the KBO for a while, and then they brought him over, and they’ve been able to turn him into a very effective Major League pitcher. Miguel Castro, Austin Adams in the bullpen. Like guys who have bounced around a little bit who have, like, maybe good stuff, but like glaring issues to them, like control issues. Austin Adams became kind of like notorious in the baseball world, because he kept hitting batters. Like, he hit more batters in one season than anybody ever has last year. And so because of that, like they are— there were times throughout the year where it was like, “Oh, this team is actually not good.” Like long stretches—
ALEX: Right. You were like just— you gave Evan Longoria, how many at-bats? Like—
BOBBY: Exactly. So, I— they are kind of like chaotic neutral because they could have that Phillies-esque run where they don’t know that they’re not supposed to be better than the team that they’re playing, because they’re just a bunch of young guys who are— or a bunch of guys who like had nothing to lose in their career, and so they came to the Diamondbacks, and retooled their approach, and are now having good seasons. Or they could just be like not that great of a team, you know? Like, ultimately, they— they did not like blow everybody away to make it into the playoffs. They were, like, sputtering a little bit to make it into the Wild Card. But them and— I— I want to fold Texas into this too, into this sort of— as a new neutral fan, why would you want one of these two teams to win? Texas specially. They, like, hyper rebuilt, basically, in a way that teams don’t do anymore. They were just like, “Well, we’ll go sign great players. We’ll— we expect to have some young players coming up, but like, we want the core of this team to be good players that we’ve identified, that we’re going to sign in free agency.” And so, you know, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jacob deGrom, who obviously is not part of this year’s team. But these huge high price free agents signed— being signed, one to three years in advance with the intention to then compete. And for it to work out the way that it has with Texas having such a great first two-thirds of the season, and then kind of falling back down to Earth, and not winning the division. It is, at least, admirable from a desire to compete standpoint. So I mean, I don’t feel that strongly about Texas, obviously. I don’t— I’m on the record as being a Texas hater, having multiple former Mets on the team. But I think that baseball is such a— like Major League Baseball is such a copycat league that— to then see Texas go do that, like to build a good team, a contender by going out and paying like mark— paying market rate for free agents who are— who are good, who, in previous years, like would not have been signed to what they were signed to, could have like a positive effect down the road on your favorite team. Seeing a pass back to contention, when it didn’t seem like there was much of one, four or five years ago.
ALEX: This is the thing that I hate about teams spending money, because I then feel somewhat compelled to root for their success, because I want it to then become a blueprint for how the rest of the league acts. And so I’m sitting here gritting my teeth, being like, “Goddammit, I hope the Rangers work out.” Because as you rightly point out, it can very easily turn into a cautionary tale, right? And you have fans recounting the Corey Seager contract or the Jacob deGrom contract for years and years to come.
BOBBY: Well, the Corey Seager contract, no one is going to second-guess that one, because he—
ALEX: No.
BOBBY: —is having— he basically had, like, a full year—
ALEX: He’s like [52:26]
BOBBY: —four years’ worth of production in, like, just over half a year.
ALEX: Uh-hmm. Sure.
BOBBY: Unbelievable. Imagine if he was on the Dodgers.
ALEX: Yeah, I don’t know. If I’m being honest, I don’t find a lot positive to— to root for in the Rangers, either on the fields or organizationally.
BOBBY: Yeah.
ALEX: Like— like, the vibes are not great there. You know, I was trying to end it on a positive note, and I couldn’t— I couldn’t come up with one. So, you know, let’s— let’s hope they—
BOBBY: Do their part and eliminate the Rays?
ALEX: Rays? Yeah, exactly.
BOBBY: Okay. There’s one final team that we haven’t discussed yet, and that is Canada’s very own, the Toronto Blue Jays. Weird team to talk about.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: They’re kind of like a post hype, post— post darling team. Does that make sense? Like, they were a team that everybody kind of could get behind to three years ago, because they had the exciting young core. They were the— they were Orioles-esque. They were Diamondbacks-esque. And now a lot of those players are up, they’ve been up for a while. They’re good, they’re great. They’re so, so— whatever it might be. They snuck back into the playoffs in a crowded AL East field. They did it. They kept the Mariners at bay. They made it in, after being eliminated by the Mariners in the postseason last year. I just don’t know what to make of them. I don’t know what the— I don’t know what the path is for them and I don’t really know what the storyline is to them winning. So, can you help me out?
ALEX: Yeah, they feel a little bit like that— the— the person you invited to the party who like you— you don’t know super well. And then you kind of go off and do your own thing. And a couple hours later— and a couple hours later, you realize, like, they’re still there. And you’re like, “Oh, you’re still kicking, huh? You’re still doing your thing here? Good for you.” Like I’m— I— I— I would be happy for them to have some level of success. I think Rogers Centre rocking would be a really fun— I’ve never been there personally, but it even comes through when you’re watching the games on TV. The way that place— I mean, it’s so cavernous, the way it echoes. So I think like in terms of atmosphere, that’s an exciting thing to root for. Obviously, I think it’s— like my mind immediately goes back to Jose Batista, right? And— and that game, that one— that one game. And we just really seen how that crowd can get rocking. And, like, the players are no slouch, either. George Springer, still— still pretty good at baseball. Vlad, not having his best year, but still an enjoyable player to watch. I—
BOBBY: They feel just really— they feel really solid.
ALEX: Yeah. You feel like the— just the middle of the bingo board.
BOBBY: Like— like a solid B plus.
ALEX: Okay.
BOBBY: You know, like— like their— their rotation is really good. Gausman— Gausman is unbelievable. Chris Bassitt is basically exactly what they paid for.
ALEX: Yup.
BOBBY: The Yusei Kikuchi Reclamation Project is— has been fascinating to watch.
ALEX: Remarkable.
BOBBY: I mean, maybe it’s just because he’s getting 14 hours of sleep.
ALEX: Sleep.
BOBBY: A solid sleep. You know, they were like they [55:49] and they were like, “Go to bed,” and he listened. And so in a playoff setting, that kind of rotation if they perform to the best of their abilities can be really cool to watch. And then the lineup, it’s like— this was sort of the calling card of the team for the last couple of years. It’s just a lot of— a lot of pop, a lot of boom to the lineup. You know, signing Springer, a guy who hits for power on the lead— leadoff spot. Bo Bichette being one of the best shortstops in baseball and not really getting a ton of credit for it. Chapman’s power is back, and— and Vlad, like you said, having a down year, but obviously the power is there.
ALEX: Right. it’s like a down year with an OPS+ of, like, 117. Like, “All right, dude.”
BOBBY: Yeah, it’s a down year for like his player profile because he doesn’t bring a lot—
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: —defensively and— or on the base paths or anything like that. So he really just leaves himself no room to have an above average year at the plate. He has to have a great year at the plate every year, and these things happen. You don’t have a great year every year, but, you know, he’ll figure it out. And then of course, my beloved Jordan Romano as their— as their closer. Italian legend, Jordan Romano. They just feel like a very solid team.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: They might be eliminated by the next time we talk about it. Who knows?
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: By— by your underdog—
ALEX: They’re— they’re— they’re all control teams.
BOBBY: They are kind of the— the control team. By your underdog, Minnesota Twins might eliminate by the next we talk.
ALEX: True. True.
BOBBY: Any final thoughts on the playoffs before we wrap this up?
ALEX: So I— you know what? I will say about Atlanta. I think there’s one— one case for them, and that’s getting to watch Ronald Acuña lead them to a World Series.
BOBBY: Oh, because he didn’t— he didn’t do it the last time.
ALEX: Which we have no— which we have not yet, because— because he was— he was injured, he injured his knee in the All-Star break when they were making their run in 2021. And obviously, he didn’t play that postseason. So in my mind, I’m like, “Okay. I would like them to play as many games as possible without, like, necessitating that they win at the end.” If that makes sense?
BOBBY: So you want them to lose in game seven of the World Series?
ALEX: Yes. That’s what I’m rooting for.
BOBBY: That will take years off my life, just so you know. Just so that we’re on the same page. Maybe— honestly, it feels set up for them to face the Dodgers again in the NLCS. And that’s not to like write off the Brewers or the Diamondbacks, whoever comes out of that series to— to face the Dodgers. And it’s not to write off the Phillies or the Marlins. The Phillies who eliminated the Braves last year. But the— these teams have played each other multiple times in the NLCS. The Braves eliminating them in— in 2021 with a team that honestly wasn’t that good. At least, compared to how good they are now. It feels like— you know, let them face at full strength one more time, even though the Dodgers are not at full strength, and yet still won 103 games or whatever.
ALEX: So you want to make the case for the Brewers, Bobby? Which we did, which— we left ’till after we finished the rest of the previews, just because we wanted to give them their own shine.
BOBBY: I thought we kind of made the case for that, maybe not. I guess we forgot them. The case is that the pitching is so mesmerizing to watch. Unfortunately, Brandon Woodruff is out for—
ALEX: Right now, adrift.
BOBBY: —for the Wild Card round. And seemingly the injury is like serious enough that even if they did make it through, I’m not totally certain that he would be able to pitch in the divisional series yet, or at what strength he would be able to, or how many pitches or whatever. But Burnes is amazing to watch. Miley has been great.
ALEX: Peralta, yeah.
BOBBY: Peralta, you know, now that he’s finally back and healthy. He’s been great since he’s come back. I just— do you feel like the— if— if the Blue Jays with the control—
ALEX: Yes. Yeah.
BOBBY: —on the AL side, they feel a little bit like the control on the NL side? They’ve been in and around the playoffs a lot in the last five or six years, just seemingly with no real shot at— at making it to the World Series. There was— like 2018, that felt like their most complete team where they had the pitching. This was when Yelich was still kind of putting up his MVP seasons. Now, again, they feel a little bit of like a post-hype energy to them. I do think they still will probably beat the Diamondbacks, though. And then there’s a possibility for the funniest thing ever, which is them beating the Dodgers, after us forgetting to talk about them. And after all, the conversation about how, you know, the Dodgers “deserve” to be in the World Series or whatever.
ALEX: Yeah, the Dodgers are gonna get bounced in, like, five.
BOBBY: Definitely just like they did last year. Just like they did last year. The case— the case is that David Stearns built this team. That’s the case.
ALEX: There you go.
BOBBY: Yeah. World Series ring for them.
ALEX: You’re looking into your future right now.
BOBBY: It’s like the World Series ring for me in the future.
ALEX: It— it is.
BOBBY: Sorry, I’m— yeah, I’m sorry to Brewers fans. Oh, the other case for them is Mark Canha.
ALEX: True.
BOBBY: Mark Canha World Series ring, who says no? Absolutely no one.
ALEX: Yeah, he’s like one of three good hitters on that team, so—
BOBBY: The other two being Yelich and Adames?
ALEX: I don’t— I don’t even know. Would you— would you count Adames as being one of the good hitters on that team?
BOBBY: He, like, goes back and forth.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: You know, there was like a couple years there. It was like, “Oh, is Willy Adames the best hitting shortstop in the league for a couple of months?”
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: But—
ALEX: The answer was a resounding no.
BOBBY: Yeah, 94 WRC+ this year, not great. That’s okay. You said three, so I was trying to find the three. Okay.
ALEX: Maybe that was generous.
BOBBY: I think that’s gonna do it for this week’s episode of Tipping Pitches. If your team is in the playoffs, best of luck to you. Unless your team is the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves, in which case I hope that they don’t experience any success.
ALEX: I am probably most looking forward to— which, like, mid-2000s, like, radio rock band the network decide to revive for, like, their bumpers, you know? Like I was watching the U.S. Open and there was a ton of 30 Seconds to Mars this year. Ton of 30 Seconds to Mars.
BOBBY: Wow.
ALEX: So I’m like, “All right. So, are we— are we on track for like some Angels & Airwaves this postseason?
BOBBY: Too deep.
ALEX: Is it going to be more like One— One Republic? It is a little too deep, yeah.
BOBBY: What about like Franz Ferdinand?
ALEX: Franz Ferdinand. Phoenix would be— would maybe be a good one.
BOBBY: What— what’s the band that sings Cable Car?
ALEX: The Fray. Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: The Fray. Yeah, The Fray, they feel ripe.
ALEX: Yeah.
BOBBY: Ripe for reintroduction. Why is 30 Seconds—
ALEX: Snow— Snow Patrol?
BOBBY: I have a great question. No, no, no, no, no.
ALEX: Okay.
BOBBY: We can’t give Lightbody any more clout. You know, he has his own fucking verse on a Taylor Swift song. We can’t give him any more clout, Gary Lightbody. I have a question for you, why is 30 Seconds to Mars back?
ALEX: No. Yeah, that’s the— I think that was the question.
BOBBY: Yeah, well, that’s—
ALEX: It’s the— why is—
BOBBY: Why they— they seem like they’re having a— like that’s being forced back into my life. Jared Leto, 30 Seconds to Mars, like every couple months, like you can’t escape it. I keep seeing this video on reels because I’m not on TikTok. It definitely started on Tiktok, like all things on reels. Of Chad Smith, the drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s a cool video, frankly, but I’ve seen it like four times now, and it means that I have to listen to 30 Seconds to Mars. He listens to The Kill, you know, the 30— the famous—
ALEX: Yeah, yeah.
BOBBY: —30 Seconds to Mars song. He had never heard it before supposedly, and he listens to, like, one verse, one chorus, and then they cut the drums, and then he drums his—
ALEX: Hmm.
BOBBY: —own part to it. And it sounds great, but I’m like, “Why— why 30 Seconds to Mars? Why not another—”
ALEX: Yeah. Why is that? There are other bands.
BOBBY: Why not literally any other band? Like literally any other band.
ALEX: Like, just do Coldplay. Coldplay feels like the obvious middle of the road, like, arena rock choice.
BOBBY: Well, I don’t think that— it’d be very interesting to hear Chad Smith drum a Coldplay song. No offense to the Coldplay drummer, whoever that person is. It is just kind of, like, keeping time— what’s his name? It sounds sad.
ALEX: Right. Well, Chris Martin.
BOBBY: Chris Martin is trying to get Gwyneth Paltrow back or something.
ALEX: I guess we’ll find out. You can place your bets now. I— I would like to— to hear people’s suggestions, though, about— see, my mind went to The Script, and then I realized that like they already do that with their Hall of Fame song. I feel like MLB Network loves The Script.
BOBBY: This is such a— this is such a thing that sports leagues do. Like, I remember one NBA Christmas day, every bumper in and out, it felt like to me, at least, was that song of The Man By Aloe Blacc.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: I was like, “Oh, my God, pick another—”
ALEX: They find one and stick to it.
BOBBY: “Any— any other song, any other song.” I got my money on The Fray, The Script and The Fray. If I gave you $1,000, would you be able to tell them apart with a photo?
ALEX: With a photo? No.
BOBBY: What about like if I played five seconds of the song?
ALEX: If you play deep— if you play deep cuts of their music, no, I wouldn’t be able to tell. Like, obviously, like I know Everyone knows I’m in over my head. I got that one down.
BOBBY: Sing every— every— every Fray song that you know right now.
ALEX: I never knew—
BOBBY: I think both of those bands are kind of— kind of like in offensively fine. Like, if they chose either of those as the bumper songs in and out for the Major League Baseball playoffs, I’d be okay with it. But, again, like if it was 30 Seconds to Mars, I’m really just focused on 30 Seconds to Mars. You know, like, I don’t want that to be—
ALEX: That one got under your skin.
BOBBY: Just like— Jared Leto, not a good actor and— but he’s in every movie.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: And the whole pop punk genre having a revival and 30 Seconds to Mars is being part of it, for some reason. We’re reviving those bands while we let other bands sort of die on the vine. What are we doing? Why are we doing that? I bet you Jimmy Butler is not bumping 30 Seconds to Mars.
ALEX: No, he’s not.
BOBBY: He’s not putting that on his Instagram story. He knows better.
ALEX: It’s slim pickings over here now the Taylor has chosen another sport, right? It’s like we kind of have second place no matter— no matter which direction we go.
BOBBY: Can I just say?
ALEX: Yeah. Say it.
BOBBY: It’s ruined the internet. It’s ruined the internet.
ALEX: It’s— yeah, I know. It’s been pretty unbearable.
BOBBY: It’s just like the internet is over.
ALEX: What a way to go, though.
BOBBY: Combining the forces of the National Football League and Taylor Swift, it’s like— it’s like when Oppenheimer split the atom.
ALEX: Uh-hmm.
BOBBY: Like, we don’t know what the world is capable of now with this power.
ALEX: Yeah, I got chills thinking about that a little bit.
BOBBY: Are we gonna take a whole episode to break down the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie? Like, right smack in the middle of the Major League Baseball playoffs?
ALEX: I— I think— I think we should.
BOBBY: That was the sound of a man—
ALEX: The Eras— Eras Tour movie was—
BOBBY: That was the sound of a man who forgot that we— he already has tickets to see that movie.
ALEX: Yeah, I don’t know when that is, but—
BOBBY: It’s two Saturdays from now.
ALEX: Okay, good.
BOBBY: It’s on the calendar.
[laughter]
ALEX: This— this podcast has been a real window into Bobby as my— as my, like, note keeper in terms of upcoming events of ours.
BOBBY: Yeah. That’s the big one.
ALEX: Well, you already mentioned The Front Bottoms.
BOBBY: Oh, true. True. Because you don’t— I— I can’t say that— that’s coming up if you don’t actually have tickets to it, so—
ALEX: I’ll go if Jimmy goes.
BOBBY: Oh, Jimmy Butler. I was like Jimmy Fallon? It’s time to end this podcast. Thank you, everybody, for listening. Oh, and thank you to this week’s new patron who I forgot to shout-out at the beginning of the episode. Dina, thank you, Dina. Please keep your eyes peeled for notice about when we will be doing a watch-along for the playoffs. Tipping Pitches watch-along for the playoffs for Patreon members. That will be primarily through the Patreon messaging system, also via Slack. You’ll probably get an email about it via Patreon. It’ll be a— it’ll be a whole thing. We’ll let you know.
ALEX: You’ll know. We’ll— we’ll annoy you about it.
BOBBY: And we probably [1:08:31] about it. We’ll annoy you about it. Thank you, everybody, for listening. We’ll be back next week when half of these teams will be eliminated.
SPEAKER 3: I should probably, probably not. Seein’ you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right? Seein’ you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right? Seein’ you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right? Seein’ you tonight, fuck it, it’s fine. Yes, I know that he’s my ex.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Hello, everybody. I’m Alex Rodriguez. Tipping Pitches. Tipping Pitches. This is the one that I love the most. Tipping Pitches. So, we’ll see you next week. See ya!
SPEAKER 3: I only see him as a friend, I just tripped and fell into his bed. Oh, yes, I know that he’s my ex.
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