Jackie Robinson - Spring Training - AL East predictions & Tampa Bay Rays

283 BaseballBiz On Deck
 Jackie Robinson - Spring Training - RaysUP World Series

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Okay. Oh, welcome to Baseball Business on Deck. I am Mark Garman, and with me is my good friend Mr. Mat Germaine. And in this wild maelstrom of insanity, the college baseball, we, we can't let it just sit there because politics has to come into the room and God bless us all. Hey man, how you doing? Before I go on and on.

[00:00:25] Mark Corbett: I'm 

[00:00:25] Mat Germain: living the dream as part of an independent Canada. Mark, how are you? Oh, 

[00:00:30] Mark Corbett: I hate you. No, I hear it, brother. I, I, I'm, you're a blessed man and, uh, there's a lot of folks here south of the border, uh, who appreciate all that you're doing, but also appreciate, man, what a great place to live. But absolutely 

[00:00:47] Mat Germain: as is America, you know, for all their own reasons, I think both countries have, uh, have something to offer everyone.

[00:00:54] Mat Germain: So, uh, you know, I hope the best for both of them. 

[00:00:57] Mark Corbett: Absolutely. America. America. Oh man, I, man, I found this movie. I put something up on, on Blue Sky earlier today, and it was America. The motion picture. Did, did 

[00:01:10] Mat Germain: you ever see that thing? No, I, I know what you're talking about though. I like, I remember hearing about it, but I haven't watched it or, or read up on it.

[00:01:19] Mark Corbett: It is timely. We won't go into it much, but it takes, it, it basically fictionalize everything with, with how, um hmm. Our forefathers brought things here together in the old US of A, and it puts people in the same time span so that Lincoln and and George Washington are best buddies. And the evil king that they have to fight.

[00:01:40] Mark Corbett: And the Fighting Kings is something we know about today as well. So, but I don't know if you get a chance, it's on Netflix. I thought it was fun.

[00:01:49] Mat Germain: I'll check it out. 

[00:01:50] Mark Corbett: Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. And speaking of Kings one, king of America has made such an impact in so many of our lives, but I thought surely it won't impact baseball.

[00:02:04] Mark Corbett: And then of course, a couple of weeks ago we had. Craig Calcaterra And we did discuss some of the, not only the ugliness that's going on right now, but we also talked about baseball and how it could impact things. And one of them, I think both you and he mentioned and I had to say, well, surely not pull those blinders up.

[00:02:26] Mark Corbett: Surely not 'cause less than a month away. We were talking about a special date April 15th. You know, not like the Ides of March where there's for forbearing or something more terrible, but, but a great day. April 14th, when we celebrate Jackie Robinson day only. Some people don't appreciate as much as others.

[00:02:48] Mark Corbett: I. 

[00:02:49] Mat Germain: Correct. 

[00:02:50] Mat Germain: So the thought was that, you know, at some point in time with DEI and everything being, uh, attacked the way that it is by this government, um, that, that day, that special day that baseball created, you know, after a lot of, uh, thought and effort and, , to reflect a little bit of history within baseball and the impact that baseball had on history.

[00:03:14] Mat Germain: It goes hand in hand. You can, you know, there, there's a synergy between the two and that Jackie Robinson Day was just so special because of that, it brought everybody together. Everything kind of turned off and the focus was. On enjoying baseball together, all Rayss, all, you know, shades of, of, uh, pink, orange, purple, and blue.

[00:03:37] Mat Germain: , coming together and being, , a group of one enjoying the game for what it is and sort of trying to build that culture of acceptance. Right. Yeah. So that's what it's all about. And that's what DEI is not about, right? So the, the, the, the whole premise of, of taking the page, a Jackie Robinson page offline as part of that process.

[00:04:01] Mat Germain: Now I've heard that they've brought it back on since, uh, since it was taken off. Uh, but to me it's just the first salvo. I, I don't know. 'cause I'm not in the United States, so I don't know what the reaction was of all Americans and how, you know, it may be different in certain areas than others. 

[00:04:20] Mat Germain: Yeah.

[00:04:20] Mat Germain: Because we're kind of diverse. You can't say all. Okay. Right, 

[00:04:23] Mat Germain: exactly. Like, so Jeff Passen had his reaction. 

[00:04:26] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:04:26] Mat Germain: And I think that caught the attention of a lot of people. Right. And within the baseball circle at least. But maybe you can talk about how it's been in Florida, um, or in your area at least. 

[00:04:37] Mark Corbett: Oh gosh.

[00:04:38] Mark Corbett: Well, I, I, I say that a lot of us sometimes have blinders on down here in Florida, it seems like it's even more so, uh, I haven't talked enough with people. I have reached out to some and folks said, yeah, you know, Jackie Robinson was a great man. . Either they don't wanna say anything politically or they don't wanna acknowledge what all is going on with it. See Jeff Passan earlier today, 'cause he was, he was the one had been informed by somebody and Craig Calcaterra was going about this as well, but Jeff kind of broke some of it out.

[00:05:08] Mark Corbett: See what was talking about the removal on the story of Jackie Robinson on the Department of Defense website. And let's see when, uh, the response. From the Pentagon, press Secretary statement to ESPN said as Secretary Hegspeth, has said DEI is dead. The Defense Department discriminatory equity ideology is a form of woke culture Marxism that has no place in our military.

[00:05:38] Mark Corbett: It divides the force erodes unit cohesion, and interferes with the services core war fighting mission. We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the department with a directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases, the content is removed either deliberately or by mistake. Uh, that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive.

[00:06:03] Mark Corbett: We instruct the components and, uh, they correct the content accordingly. 

[00:06:09] Mat Germain: Right. So just using what you just said right now, Mark, when I am Major League Baseball and I have a Jackie Robinson Day, how is that viewed by that government? 

[00:06:23] Mark Corbett: It's, it's clear. It's clear. Anything that celebrates achievements of people that has any kind of diversity to it, basically, it doesn't need to be there.

[00:06:33] Mark Corbett: It doesn't, it shouldn't exist. Let's erase that and digitally it's so much easier to do too. So not surprisingly from a website, if somebody wasn't looking for it, maybe they wouldn't have seen it. 

[00:06:45] Mat Germain: Right. So my premise would be that I don't believe Jackie Robinson Day would take place this year. I think there will be some sort of announcement at some time that there'll be something else going on on that day and there'll be an upheaval.

[00:06:59] Mat Germain: Now, maybe it's survives this year and it only happens next year, but I still think that it's attacked, you know, in a, in a certain way. And I also think that the unretiring of the jersey will. We'll be attacked or approached at some point. 

[00:07:14] Mark Corbett: Wow. 

[00:07:15] Mat Germain: I would even take it a step further. I think they will unretire Jackie Robinson's number and they will retire.

[00:07:23] Mat Germain: Babe Bruce's number. 

[00:07:25] Mark Corbett: Oh, come 

[00:07:25] Mat Germain: on man. That I am telling you, Mark. You can email me the day it happens. Wow. Because it want, they want it to be. So righteous that it galvanizes their, their, their fan base and their, the people who really believe in what it is that they're doing. That's what they're trying to do.

[00:07:45] Mat Germain: They're feeding the machine that feeds them. And it's sad. Uh, it's destructive. And it's destructive not just for society as a whole. It's also destructive for the game of baseball because as soon as Rob Manfred goes to a podium and announces that. Baseball changes forever from that point onwards. So in 2004 when, when Jackie Robinson Day began, it was a day of celebration.

[00:08:14] Mat Germain: It was a day of something to be proud about, something that you could really bring your kids to the park. Talk a little bit of history, you know, with them that may otherwise not come up in conversation and, you know, talk about some of the issues that we've overcome over the generations to become a better, more accepting society.

[00:08:36] Mat Germain: So by taking it away, and this is just one example, I mean, there's, I read all of dozens of them every day that are going on right now in the United States, and it saddens me. I, I hate it with a passion Mark. I think that there are not enough people being aggressive. I I, I see some of the town halls people are voicing their displeasure.

[00:08:57] Mat Germain: Like, I get it. They, they're doing what they can with the moment and they need, you know, some momentum before they explode sort of thing. You know what I mean? Yeah. They, they get too crazy. But, um, I think. If you look back at the history of Jackie Robinson Day, I think people forget that not everybody wore number 42 right away, like as, as great as Jackie Robinson Day was.

[00:09:21] Mat Germain: I. It was not really what it is today until Ken Griffey Jr decided to wear number 42. He approached Bud Selig, he approached Jackie Robinson's, uh, you know, family, and he said, I would like to do this. Would you allow it? They okayed it. Only a handful of of black players decided to wear the jersey that year.

[00:09:42] Mat Germain: It wasn't everybody. Yeah. And then it took two more years before it was so popular of a, of a, a statement that Bud Selig said, okay, now everybody from 2009 onwards will wear 42. Nobody said Boo, nobody was against it. I didn't hear one MAGA person back then voice their displeasure that 42 is being worn.

[00:10:06] Mat Germain: Right, right, right. So you have all of those years to this point, we're 2025. Right? 2009 to 2025. And I'm telling you, Mark, there is going to be backlash if they go through with Jackie Robinson Day. Um, so I don't know. I, I don't know what your thoughts are on whether or not it happens this year. I don't think that's really the point.

[00:10:29] Mat Germain: Yeah. But, but the point is more that this, the, the, the movement is under attack right now by DEI. 

[00:10:37] Mark Corbett: Well, you know, Jackie Robinson stands for a lot of things. Number 42 was a great baseball player. He was the first black man who crossed that color barrier into Major League baseball from the Negro leagues. But also he was a great civil rights leader.

[00:10:57] Mark Corbett: He did a lot there. He, you know, and he was, he was just a great man overall. The other thing I've almost forgot to mention is what we've started with and being as far as the Department of Defense, he also served. So if you look at all these components of a man, yeah, guess what? He was a diverse individual.

[00:11:15] Mark Corbett: He was a man, he was black, he was a baseball player, he was a soldier, and he was a civil rights person as leader. Uh, maybe bit more, but I mean, he was involved and. We should all have components that make us diverse, and those are, those should be celebrated. But when you start oppressing people because of certain points of their diversity, whether it be their color or any their sex or anything else.

[00:11:41] Mark Corbett: You start cripple, we start crippling ourselves as a society. And that's what we're doing right now. We are crippling ourselves. We are not recognizing and celebrating the uniqueness of each individual out there and the strength of what those people bring together with all of us. And I, I mean, I'm getting on my how high horse here, but if what you see happens if it comes to pass.

[00:12:05] Mark Corbett: I would hope there would be an uproar. I would, I would challenge everybody right now to go ahead, have a button created with a number 42, put it on your chest and we'll wear that as an emblem of protest. You know, I mean, people will put resist on their shirt or whatever else, but guess what? 42. It is very clean.

[00:12:22] Mark Corbett: It's clear. It's no characterization about anybody. It just says, this was a great man. This is something we should all stand behind. And Jackie Robinson certainly is a model for that. 

[00:12:33] Mat Germain: That is an outstanding idea. In fact, I'm going to write people and, and tell them that at every major league baseball stadium this year, they, they should be handing out buttons and getting people to wear them.

[00:12:46] Mat Germain: Why not? The, the, the players are wearing jerseys. Why aren't the fans wearing buttons? Like that should be part of the event, part of the celebration. And they can even put the year on there if they went on the back or something like that. Like just to annotate that, you were at Jackie Robinson Day at the stadium on that day, right.

[00:13:02] Mat Germain: But yeah, that's a great idea. I love that idea, Mark. And I think that that is kind of the way of healing, right? Of, of trying to, and it shows strength against a movement, which is important as well. You can't let that sort of mindset, I. Um, put a shadow over everything, everyday life, the way that they're trying to do.

[00:13:25] Mat Germain: Um, and I think that that's a great idea. I, I, hopefully, you know, somebody takes that on. I don't know if they ever do hand out things at the stadiums on that day. Uh, I imagine some might and some may not. Uh, but I think MLB directive in this case would be kind of pretty, pretty awesome. 

[00:13:43] Mark Corbett: Um, you know, it'll be worth going to check and see what promotions most.

[00:13:48] Mark Corbett: Of the teams have promotion days and say what they're gonna be giving that day. So I, I'll do some homework between you now next week, and find out, you know, what they are. Go if there's giveaways with number 4,200. 'cause I mean, I, I think that's important. Mm-hmm. Uh, so I want to take another look too, um, after some of that first information, going back to what the Pentagon Press Secretary was saying, let's see, they updated their statement at one point to say.

[00:14:16] Mark Corbett: I love this brother. Oh gosh. Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima as many others. We salute them for their strong and in many cases, heroic service to our country. Full stop. We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics such as Rays, ethnic, ethnicity, or sex.

[00:14:45] Mark Corbett: We do only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the war fighting mission like every other American who has worn the mu uniform, DEI, discriminant. Tory equity ideology does the opposite. It divides the force.

[00:15:00] Mark Corbett: It's more the same thing, but, but the whole idea of invoking Jackie Robinson and the Navajo Code talkers, the Tuskegee airmen to try to bolster up their argument is just sacrilegious as far as certainly blasphemous.

[00:15:17] Mat Germain: If you're erasing the history, you're not teaching it, and then you're not promoting it, so it, it goes against their statement completely. Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, it, there's a reason why movies, you know, that relate to, to wars are popular because they're also a, a tool of education, right? 

[00:15:36] Mark Corbett: Yeah. I 

[00:15:36] Mat Germain: think when I went to see Saving Private Ryan as an example, there were a lot of veterans that was there in the first night that it aired, uh, at the theaters where I was at in, in Halifax.

[00:15:46] Mat Germain: And, and there was a lot of veterans in the crowd and a lot of them could not stand up at the end of that movie 'cause they were in tears and they were, you know, embarrassed by the fact that they were getting emotional about a movie. But. You know, minimizing the impact that these veterans had in whatever role it was, whether it was, you know, a completely white, uh, airborne crew or, uh, a black, whatever the case is when they're honored and they're, or they're bestowed some sort of historical, uh, meaning within, uh, a country's history that should be sacred.

[00:16:25] Mat Germain: Forever. Yep. Not toyed with as a political tool, which is what's happening in this case. Yeah. And, and I think there's nothing constructive about this whatsoever. And hopefully somebody rectifies it down the road. I think we, we can probably, and this is this conversation there. Yeah. People know where we stand.

[00:16:46] Mat Germain: We've said our peace. Amen. And I think, uh, there's a lot of good things to talk about in baseball. We had that. Did you get to see the Japan uh, opening? 

[00:16:55] Mark Corbett: I. No, I didn't get to see the opening. I was, I was one of those people who woke up late and did go back and watch it. But I was there to critique what little I did the first game and I said something that's on Blue Sky today.

[00:17:06] Mark Corbett: It was like, okay. I was, I was excited to see Kyle Tucker come to bat because here he is, a newly minted Cub, you know, and fantastic. I'm seeing coming up to bat. They break away to show the Marquees Sports Network breaks away to show, uh, one of their staff in the stands talking to somebody who is serving beer in a unique way that we don't do in the United States.

[00:17:30] Mark Corbett: And I'm going, good heavens people. Let me see, Kyle Tucker. You know, let me see him play in for his first game professional baseball game with the Cubs and. It takes so little to get me going. But, 

[00:17:45] Mat Germain: but Mark, you're right, you're onto something like the, also the, the jerseys and hats and everything that were being sold, it was like 95% Dodgers geared, there was barely anything from the Cubs.

[00:17:56] Mat Germain: Like how does that happen? How does Major League Baseball allow that to happen? , the, the, the skewed aspect of everything, uh, you had also, what I had to laugh about was, uh. The, the fries, right? That, that one moment there was something going on in the game and it was like 15 minutes of the reporter showing the length of fries and how they were amazed, oh, this.

[00:18:17] Mat Germain: And then she had to bring some up to the, uh, the, the, you know, the announcers and, and then they were talking about, oh yeah, everything's great. But I really liked our basket and Robbins because that's American, but I don't like everything else that they had there. 

[00:18:31] Mark Corbett: Yeah, let's show a little slight racism on, yeah, on sundries and desserts, you know, but the thing of it is, Mat.

[00:18:41] Mark Corbett: That kind of imbecilic presentation of baseball is going on. If Rob gets the whole enchilada, is it going to be just as bad or worse? Oh, 

[00:18:54] Mat Germain: so the reporter was actually saying this fry tastes more like potato than what we have in this. States

[00:19:04] Mat Germain: watching baseball. They're talking about how a fry tastes like potato. What am I watching? Anyways, 

[00:19:13] Mark Corbett: I'm glad they've crossed the Pacific to find that out. 

[00:19:16] Mat Germain: Yeah, but the games were okay. Uh, Ohtani had some success. I think a lot of the Japanese players had a, had a really good, , showing, which is important when you're doing these events.

[00:19:26] Mat Germain: You know, if you, if you can get some of , the hometown, crowd going and, and happy, um, there wasn't as many chances as. As you would see during a WBC or something like that. But, Ohtani looked really good. Um, hit his first Homer of the year. Kyle Tucker hit a double, like you mentioned him at the end of the second game, but didn't really amount to much.

[00:19:47] Mat Germain: The Cubs come out of it and, you know, we all would've predicted, uh, the way it turned out. They, they're down oh and two, and now everybody's saying the Dodgers are gonna go 1 62 and oh. Mean, I don't know. 

[00:20:02] Mark Corbett: And they're, and they're doing it without Mookie and without Freddie and without Freddie Ribs. I don't know what all came, I haven't read any more than he initially had some rib issues.

[00:20:11] Mark Corbett: Yeah. But. Wow. Gosh, almighty. You, and think about it. Now that you've played in your first two games of the season, you still got spring training to go back to. 

[00:20:22] Mat Germain: It is just funny. 

[00:20:24] Mark Corbett: Oh, you know what's interesting too? I was looking at the, the game and it was the second game. I can't remember if it was the eighth or ninth inning when, uh, Showay o's coming up to bat.

[00:20:35] Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:36] Mark Corbett: Bases were loaded. Uh, or was it No, they, they had already walked two people, I think, and they wound up walking show, Hey, that's right. 'cause the bases were loaded with that. I thought, come on dude. I either throw him something he can hit and memorialize this game 'cause, or just don't walk him. Yeah.

[00:20:55] Mat Germain: Yeah, you're not in the World Series like you're, you're putting on a show, right? Like, and, and really you should be looking for the glory of striking him out in that situation and making yourself look better. Uh, but I think that's probably the manager's call more than the pitchers in that case. Yeah, the, you know, the, the, the big and short of it is that, you know, spring training is going on.

[00:21:17] Mat Germain: There's a lot of injuries. Um, not as many as, as I think we've seen in some years. Uh, but you know, I think the latest one that I saw was Jared Jones has an elbow issue now for the Pirates, and he's an important piece for an up and coming team. Oh, yeah. You know, behind Paul Skenes. But every time that I see that, I keep going back to that five man rotation.

[00:21:38] Mat Germain: Like at some point, uh, teams have to realize, you know, and I, I keep going back to it, Mark, when I look at it financially, I. I think they want it to happen that way 'cause it costs them less money in the long run. If the pitcher's broken, I don't have to pay him. I can walk away. The fans won't be angry. They understand he is broken.

[00:21:58] Mat Germain: What am I gonna do? Uh, and then they get to, you know, use that pitcher or that arm up as long as they need while he is in arbitration or, or, you know, before that. Yeah. Um, I think that's a problem that in the next CBA, if I was the player's union, that is one thing I would address. Pictures should have a reduced.

[00:22:18] Mat Germain: Timeline to when they hit arbitration compared to hitters because they're at such an injury risk. Uh, so maybe you lower it for pitchers so that they get to their first arbitration year in their third year instead of their fourth. Um. Or something alike. Yeah, so that they get more recognition. Like a good example right now is Drew Rasmussen, right to Tommy Johns.

[00:22:41] Mat Germain: He just signed a mini extension because they're trying to eat up the arbitration and he's so afraid to throw because his arm might fall off. So he is like, well, I don't want to put the velocity on if I'm not gonna get paid. 'cause if I get the third one, I'm pretty much done. My career is over. Yeah. Same thing with Shane McClannahan.

[00:22:58] Mat Germain: He's in that exact same boat. Um, so you're looking at guys that are walking on eggshells, trying to throw a pitch at, you know, 98 miles an hour. I, I don't know, like I look at the Rays and I'm hoping, like we've talked about the six man rotation. Nobody has said anything about it. I think there's still a chance Zack Littell will get dealt.

[00:23:18] Mat Germain: Uh, there's a lot of teams looking for pitching, but I still hope that they're gonna go with the six man rotation and eventually it'll become the norm in Major League baseball. So we see the better pitchers develop long term instead of this continuous, you know, turnover that that never ends. 

[00:23:36] Mark Corbett: You see what Craig Kimbrel signing up with a Manner League contract, like a million or two.

[00:23:41] Mark Corbett: What's, I dunno if he's hit 40 yet or not, but we were, you see all these old arms and they're failing because they've been throwing so much for so long. But Craig 

[00:23:49] Mat Germain: Kimbrel 

[00:23:50] Mark Corbett: is 

[00:23:50] Mat Germain: young. Like he is not even close to 40. He's not, I think, hang on. And like when I was looking up his stats, I don't wanna say recently, but in the last year or two, he's 36.

[00:24:05] Mat Germain: So that's ancient. Yeah. For a reliever that's not that old. Like, do you, you've seen what John Schmo, a couple of other guys, Ken Kenley Jansen is a bit older. Yeah. Um, anyways, all that to say that I always thought, you know, you look at his statistics for Craig Kimbrel, they are in the range of making it to the Hall of Fame.

[00:24:26] Mat Germain: If you compare 'em to Trevor Hoffman and a couple of other big relievers, um. Uh, Billy Wagner's another one. Um, so he compares very well to those in the class. Mariano Rivera is just in his own world. Um, but when you're looking at Craig Kimbrel, he's got 440 saves, uh, and he's got a, a career whip of one and an ERA of, uh, let's see, 2.59, uh, over 809 innings.

[00:24:58] Mat Germain: Hmm. I mean that, that is really, you know, Billy Wagner. Let me see, how many did he have, uh, in terms of, just want to see, 'cause he finished his career a little bit earlier, right? Um, I. And he had when he retired, 422 saves. So Craig Kimbrel has already passed Billy Wagner in terms of saves. Billy Wagner had exactly one whip, same as Craig Kimbrel, and they have a very similar ERA.

[00:25:28] Mat Germain: So Craig Kimbrel right now is a Hall of Famer begging for a job. Yeah. Yeah. That's sad. It's weird, right? It sucks. Um, but I think the odd nature of how he pitches and how he, he does things in the quirky aspects of it, make it a really hard task for pitching coaches to reinvent how he does things. Um, so I think that's a little bit of what has come to play is that people.

[00:25:59] Mat Germain: I think can read his pitches a lot better than they used to. And trying to reinvent him at this point is, is a little bit harder to do. Um, maybe he figures that out again. But, uh, I think the right situation and the right team could also, I'll give you an example. I think the, the, the Texas Rangers or team that if they're going to make it far need to find people for the back end of their pen and, and he would look good with the Texas Rangers and somebody like.

[00:26:25] Mat Germain: Uh, Bruce Bochy would know how to use him in the best ways that would maximize the, the effectiveness of Craig Kimbrel and maybe get his moxie back even. Um, so it is just an example. 

[00:26:39] Mark Corbett: We're talking about pitchers here for a moment and ones that are 35 years old. And I'm going to segue into me going to my first spring training game in, in a few weeks, actually a few years.

[00:26:51] Mark Corbett: Went and saw the Detroit Tigers, and saw the Pittsburgh Pirate in Lakeland. 

[00:26:57] Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

[00:26:57] Mark Corbett: And the first inning there, I'm starting to see names and hear names. I'm like, is this a Yankees game? Um, I, IKF. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Gleyber Torres. Okay. To Tommy Kahnle. Uh, 30 5-year-old pitcher, you know, he's with Detroit and, uh, let's see, it.

[00:27:14] Mark Corbett: Gleyber's with Detroit. Mm-hmm. IKF I believe is with the, the, the Pirates, and I'm like. Did I go to the wrong stadium? Maybe I need to be over to the George Steinberger stadium. But, but it was, it was amazing to see who the, how talent moves around and certainly the Yankees, but, uh, a 30 5-year-old pitcher nonetheless, coming back to Tommy Kahnle.

[00:27:36] Mark Corbett: So I. 

[00:27:38] Mat Germain: The Tigers are a lot of people's choice for, uh, for a team that might surprise this year or really push the ante up a little bit. They have an x-ray with them as well. Who's on the injured list? Alex Cobb. Ooh. And, and they also picked up, um, José Urquidy from, um, from the Astros who's like, eh, he just strengthens the back end of their rotation if ever he gets healthy again.

[00:28:01] Mat Germain: Uh, but I, I like what, what they've done, I think. As much as you can, you know, pick on Gleyber Torres's defense, he's going to be a bat that gives them, you know, a steady, you know, boost within, you know, just to lengthen it. Because I think the, you know, the Tigers have the, the core pieces. What they need is to basically fill a lot of the blanks and a lot of that experience.

[00:28:24] Mat Germain: I mean, if you've played in Yankee Stadium and you've taken the fan abuse and press abuse there for years and years and years. It's easy to go to Detroit and say, you know what, we're one of the boys. And then, you know, they have an excellent manager and, and, and a up and coming team. I think they're, they're gonna be a lot of fun to watch.

[00:28:41] Mat Germain: If ever Javy Baez can actually find his game again, like his moxie, they, it would take that team to another level. I, I always thought I. The saw season that Willie Adames would've been a great signing for them just to solidify a short stop or even third base, uh, longer term. But, um, yeah, I, I, I like their team.

[00:29:03] Mat Germain: I think they're a really dangerous team this year. 

[00:29:07] Mark Corbett: Wow. Well, it was good. Like I said, I knew Spring trains coming to a close. Mm-hmm. And in the last few weeks of spring training, we got two, two games to count toward the regular season and let's, uh, talk it earlier. So. Next Tuesday mm-hmm. Is the last spring training game.

[00:29:24] Mark Corbett: And then Thursday, March 27th is opening day and I'm like really? One? I can't believe it's here almost, but the two I, I would forgotten how close there you are. Back to back the last day of spring training, you know, virtually butting up to opening day. 

[00:29:43] Mat Germain: Yeah, it's an exciting time because I know if you're a nerd like me and you're, you've got a lot of prospects in the, in the game, you, you kind of want to know where they're getting assigned, who's getting promoted, who's starting where, how do those franchises look?

[00:29:56] Mat Germain: 'cause it tells you a lot about what the, the franchise is thinking at that point. Good example would be like Trey Morgan. If they feel Trey Morgan is really advanced and can take on aaa, you know, that would be a big event. Or Yoniel Curet I think who's currently seems to be assigned to Durham for now until they finalize all the teams.

[00:30:16] Mat Germain: You know, if he was to start at that level, it puts 'em all of a sudden in a conversation to be one of the first call-ups to the Rays because he is that close. Um, so yeah, it's a lot of fun opening day's. Always great. I love it. I'm hoping politics stays clear of opening day and lets us enjoy it. And then, uh, the, the, the, the other thing that I love to hear about opening day, and I wish they promoted it more like if, if MLB promoted themselves the same way the NFL does and did more promotions on the food, right?

[00:30:46] Mat Germain: Opening day, here's the new food we have, this is what we're offering this, we've got this 15 pound barbecue platter. I don't know. Whatever it is, right? Like have fun with it. Like make it an event that people want to go to because of the food and you know, the celebrations that you have. Um, and the feeling.

[00:31:04] Mat Germain: And what I always loved about opening day was listening to the crowds and talking to the crowd, like people in the crowd. And, and it's, it's, it's a family event. It's a friend's event, right? You go there, you talk to people, you get the mix, and there's always that little murmur. Going on in the crowd, right when it's a good crowd.

[00:31:23] Mat Germain: And there's a lot of people and, and you know, being from Montreal, we didn't have all those crowds consistently. So when they were there for opening day, you enjoyed them that much more. Uh, but yeah, that's you. Even when the mics are on, when you're watching it on tv, you can also hear it, you know, a little buzz in the air and a little bit more electricity.

[00:31:44] Mat Germain: Um. Yeah, I'm hoping that it's gonna be a really fun opening day. Uh, Shane McClanahan's gonna be the starter for the Rays and, um, you know, you hope for that big old w but, uh, as long as he comes off the mound healthy, I think it'll be a, a, a productive day for him overall. So. I don't know, like what are your predictions for, for opening day and onwards?

[00:32:09] Mat Germain: Um, in terms of the AL East, if you were to look at it from what you know today and what you've seen, you know, through the spring training.

[00:32:17] Mark Corbett: Well, last year I had higher hopes for the Orioles. And those have been diminished. I think after our conversations, like with , Nat Gordo and talking about the Red Sox, I see them as really.

[00:32:31] Mark Corbett: Going to be strong. I think Alex Cora has got a good team there and they're gonna be pushing right along. Uh, if you ask me after that, Yankees, I just, there's a big question Mark 'cause of all the injuries and what will Brian Cashman do? 

[00:32:46] Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

[00:32:46] Mark Corbett: Now, I mean, injuries are question Mark with every team, but I don't know how they're going to be able to hold up.

[00:32:52] Mark Corbett: But, uh, if I had to put 'em down on this, I'd say, okay, let's go ahead. We'd say, uh. Wishful thinking. We, we put Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Yankees Blue Jay js. 

[00:33:05] Mat Germain: That's exactly how I have them. And, and again, there's a lot of moves that can be made to fix that or change it or whatever, but preseason. Before opening date's, exactly the order I have them.

[00:33:17] Mat Germain: You can argue wins and losses. You know, totals. I think all of the, the lease will be strong as per usual. I don't expect any of them to be below 76 wins. Yeah. And I don't expect any of them to run away with it either. Uh, unless. There's a few, you know, prospects in, in the Red Sox camp that can actually break out and really like, take hold of things that could take the Red Sox to run away with it a little bit.

[00:33:42] Mat Germain: But I think the Rays will keep up with them pretty well and a lot better than what people think. What, what I've seen so far this spring for the Rays is, uh, is just the depth and the steady. Quality of players that they have throughout, you know, whatever position, whatever, um, area of the game you want to focus on.

[00:34:04] Mat Germain: The Rays have like four or five options. Four or five options, four or five options, and they, they underperformed last year. I know we spoke about a lot about this a lot, you know, when you don't have all of your left-handed bats for. Two months of the season and you start off that way. That's a huge thing to have to overcome.

[00:34:24] Mat Germain: Like I, with the game being the way it is right now, with 80% of pitchers being right-handed like you, it's a lot to live through. I think the Rays need more credit. You know, I. To have lived through that last year. They also banked on a lot of their veterans and took care of them. Like giving that little extension to Yandy Diaz, that's a pat on the back.

[00:34:43] Mat Germain: Oh yeah. That's a little security for him to not have to worry about. And he gets to focus on the season knowing his, you know, next season is secure wherever it ends up being. That helps. They took care of Drew Rasmussen the same way they took care of, uh, Brandon Lowe. They picked up the option. Um, there, you know, there's just.

[00:35:01] Mat Germain: There's no lingering questions this year, aside from the stadium, you know, and we won't go get into that aspect of it. 

[00:35:09] Mark Corbett: Oh, good . 

[00:35:11] Mat Germain: I think, you know, if you watch the games like I did, Chandler Simpson is an electric talent. Uh, Carson Williams, same thing, just you can tell they're oozing talent and they are chomping at the bit to earn their, their way to the Rays.

[00:35:28] Mat Germain: Those two guys, when you're looking at the way the roster's made up with Junior Caminero at third Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, and you look at the rest of the outfield, if you add those two guys in season to the team, you've got a brand new momentum to, to kind of take them to that next level defensively and offensively.

[00:35:48] Mat Germain: Uh, so I think Kevin Cash is gonna have a lot of fun making up lineups this year. He's gonna see a lot of electricity on the bases and, and. I think the guys that Sean a lot in the spring training, um, are giving us a lot to look forward to, uh, overall. And, you know, I, I so wish that spring training was more about that, about relishing it.

[00:36:09] Mat Germain: So I think one thing you wanted to talk about was that prospects game, um, between the Red Sox and the Rays, did you watch it? 

[00:36:17] Mark Corbett: I did not be honest with you. I have not. I was just going over some of my notes with it and I did see, was it Chandler Simpson and sounded like he was just a speed demon. If I read correctly, the the notes I.

[00:36:29] Mat Germain: Yeah, no, it was a great game. The Rays like they were up against the Red Sox, which let's face it, they're like, you're talking two of the best three systems in, in Major League baseball, and they're just oozing with talent on both sides. That, you know what I think you saw a little bit more was that the Rays pitching.

[00:36:47] Mat Germain: Is probably going to outshine all other, uh, minor league pitching when it comes to overall, which is what they addressed at the trade deadline last year. Right. Um, the, a lot of people were angry that the Rays kind of mini sold, right? They sent Randy Arozarena, they sent, but that was the focus was to strengthen the pitching group.

[00:37:09] Mat Germain: That would go along with the great position players they drafted from 2021 onwards so that they would come in together and kind of push together as in waves of talent. And, and it was a great job. 'cause holding back the Red Sox prospects is not easy to do. Yep. Um, and it also showed that the, the Rays have a lot of.

[00:37:28] Mat Germain: Different ways of, of scoring runs. Uh, now because of their speed and because, you know, they're really focusing on contact and putting the ball in play. And actually, I don't wanna call it small ball, because you know, they do want guys to hit the ball hard. Yep. But, but they're focused on the fundamentals of the game that, you know, were more of the focus in the eighties and seventies, uh, which is great to see because I think you need to balance things out, right?

[00:37:55] Mat Germain: You can have sluggers like Xavier, Isaac, and, and others coming up. But unless you have a well-rounded lineup that have different tools. You're still gonna be vulnerable. And that's what I always saw with the Yankees, because you're filled with bombers, you're not versatile enough. And it was the same thing with the Red Sox last year.

[00:38:12] Mat Germain: Their athleticism wasn't the level it needed to be for them to dominate. Uh, and I think that's why those prospects they have now are so enticing to them because they are more athletic. So that prospects game showed us all of that. It showed us, you know, the, the really great talents that the Red Sox have coming up in Roman Anthony, and the rest of them.

[00:38:32] Mat Germain: And it showed what the Rays have. And those two are going to butt heads I think for the next three to five years. Uh, the Js, you can just. Forget about it. I know they're offering, supposedly they're going to offer Vladdy a contract. He's, they've got what, a week and a bit now? Uh, and they're talking somewhere between five 50 and 600 million.

[00:38:52] Mark Corbett: I thought he wasn't gonna do anything until, well, till after the season or before. Opening days. Is opening day. Is that his deadline? 

[00:38:59] Mat Germain: Yeah, so they're allowed to make offers. I still don't hear any, you know, res uh, resolved things. So I don't know what else they're putting in there, if they're trying to defer half of it or whatever it is.

[00:39:12] Mat Germain: Uh, but he hasn't signed pen to paper yet, so we'll see if that hap But even so, the team around him just isn't there? It's not no. It's not conducive to a, a prolonged winning, you know, team. I do like Enders. Himenez, I think he'll do well for them, but their system's just so weak. Anytime they have injuries, they're, they're scratching and clawing to find somebody able to step in.

[00:39:35] Mat Germain: But yeah. So 2025 Mark, is that the year the Rays win this World Series is is Oh, yes. With all the can Hang on just. On Steinbrenner Field, hoisting the piece of metal as proclaimed by Rob Manfred is Shane McClanahan with a brand new left arm, you know, what would that feel like? What would it do? What, what would, how would they spin it in Yankee land that they allowed this to happen?

[00:40:13] Mat Germain: You know, on Yankee soil, the Rays win the championship in Tampa. 

[00:40:19] Mark Corbett: I, I, I, I had all these crazy images of people tearing down the Yankee banners that are probably been hidden. You know, if that was the case, the crowd would just be outrageous. You know, the Rays, they, they would pour to the street. They, they'd find themselves flowing over into the Ray James Stadium, and they would have a one largest party ever.

[00:40:37] Mark Corbett: They'd have the Yingling Bush. Folks bringing all the booze in. I, I mean, I wasn't Molson, but hey, you know, that they would bring that 

[00:40:46] Mat Germain: if that were to happen, does it make it sacred ground enough for them to say, we're building a stadium here, right? 

[00:40:53] Mark Corbett: Damn it. Yes.

[00:40:54] Mat Germain: Why? It, it'll have the card, it'll have the, we've already won here.

[00:41:00] Mat Germain: Uh, so I know, I know it's farfetched, but I think, you know, when you look at the Ray story, it would be a really interesting book ending to have it say. The final piece that got us the stadium deal in Tampa was winning the World Series in a Yankee stadium. 

[00:41:20] Mark Corbett: Oh man. I don't think I ever wanted the World Series more for the Rays than now.

[00:41:24] Mark Corbett: After you play, set it up for me like that. 

[00:41:27] Mark Corbett: Whoa. 

[00:41:29] Mat Germain: Spin it to a good ending after all the doom and gloom, Mark. Oh yeah. It's important to laugh a little. 

[00:41:34] Mat Germain: Thank you for that. I appreciate it. It is, it is crazy. It's fun. And I, I, I wanna see how much chickens cost for World Series at, uh, at George Stein Field. 

[00:41:50] Mat Germain: Oh, maybe they'll sell eggs in little golden.

[00:41:55] Mark Corbett: All right, brother. Wow. Man. I can't think of anything else. I think that was a good camper, my friend. 

[00:42:02] Mat Germain: I think so too. Oh, I hope you enjoy your, uh, your last few, few games of, uh, of spring training. And, uh, I, I wanna. Hope that all those predictions I made earlier in the show are wrong and that everybody lives through all the hot dogs and gravy that they're gonna put on their fries, uh, for the opening day two.

[00:42:23] Mat Germain: Uh, and hope. Yeah, and hopefully they, uh, uh, they get to enjoy some good fireworks and, and high scoring games and, uh, and a lot of thrills like the baseball should be fun, should be happy, and, and enjoy it 'cause. There's so many things to not enjoy in the world. Baseball is not one of them. That's right. 

[00:42:43] Mark Corbett: All right, well, I'm gonna find my 42 button to get that on and be ready for the opening day and we'll get cracking my friend.

[00:42:50] Mat Germain: Sounds good to me. 

[00:42:51] Mark Corbett: Okay. Thank you all for joining. Mat and I here today. Once again on BaseballBiz on Deck, and finding the fun in baseball. Sometimes it's a little more difficult times than others, but man, I did like the way we closed out today, so thank you again for that, Mat. 

[00:43:06] Mat Germain: You're welcome. 

[00:43:07] Mat Germain: Alright.