RaysUp - Fred McGriff HOF - Tampa Bay Rays falling - Mat Germain & Mark look to Kevin Cash

BaseballBiz – Episode e202 – RaysUp – Fred McGriff, HOF & Tampa Bay Rays] 

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to Baseball Biz on Deck. I am Mark Corbett your, host. And with me today I had the prognosticator of baseball. The man who could dig deep, who could see what's actually going on between the teams, whether it be minor league teams, major league teams, or just some guy who knows something for the corner.

[00:00:15] Mark Corbett: Maybe not that I got Matt Germain on the day. How you doing, Matt? 

[00:00:19] Mat Germain: I'm living a dream buddy all the time. How about you? I tell you what, I'm having a great time and I wanna give kudos to you right here. Hopefully this doesn't embarrass you, but, I know you've been doing a lot of rescue activity up north for people in some rather heavy downpours.

[00:00:35] Mark Corbett: I. 

[00:00:36] Mat Germain: Right. Rains have been relentless in Nova Scotia and Halifax, region in particular. And, a lot of folks, digging outta some water in their basements and throwing out a lot of good goods and, some people in peril. So hopefully everybody's okay now and, and we can bounce back and have a better week this week 

[00:00:57] Mark Corbett: you're here.

[00:00:58] Mark Corbett: Again, thank you man. [00:01:00] I appreciate it and wish the best for all those folks as well. Definitely. Talking about something a lot less important baseball but something we enjoy our distraction, if you will. And of course we're talking about Ray, the Tampa Bay race today with Matt. As always, I want to give a tip of the hat to a man who's meant a lot to baseball, who lives here in Tampa, and that's Mr.

[00:01:24] Mark Corbett: Fred McGriff. 

[00:01:25] Mark Corbett: Fred's, you know what Matt? I love this means being induct. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame on Sunday, and lo and behold he doesn't have a logo on the cap that's gonna be with him there in the Hall of Fame, right? How many teams did he play for anyway? 

[00:01:44] Mat Germain: Yeah, he was highly sought after, and for good reason. It's one of those guys that when a team was aiming to acquire Fred McGriff, it's because they wanted to heighten their level of respect in the [00:02:00] league. And I think that's what probably speaks most about Fred McGriff. Everybody respected him. He didn't have to, Speak loudly or do much on other than what he was doing on the field, to impress anyone.

[00:02:13] Mat Germain: And, his professionalism and respect for other people always showed through. And, I think it's one of those kind types of careers that doesn't always, Yet the respect that it likely deserved for a long time. And I'm glad, really happy for him and all the teams he played for that he gets to represent all of them even with a blank cap.

[00:02:36] Mat Germain: Kudos to him for sure. 

[00:02:39] Mark Corbett: Indeed. He started out back like in 1986. Toronto went on to be a padre, a brave Tampa Bay Devil Ray. Let's see what else he do. Yeah, a cub. Let's see. And even, even the dodger for a little while there too. Man, talk about a [00:03:00] busy career across this spanning several different teams over 19 years.

[00:03:06] Mark Corbett: But wow, that's I'm real impressed with him. Being from Tampa as well he's spent a lot to this community, and it's not unusual when you live in this area to see generations of players. Now, I'm not sure what his son's doing, but I can tell you my son was going to high school at the same time as his at Jesuit, and.

[00:03:30] Mark Corbett: His son was a outstanding quarterback for the team. And it just, you see an athlete, it's not surprising. There's a certain ethic that Fred probably passed on with being a professional and focusing on achievement and team and as a quarterback his young son had to do all those things.

[00:03:48] Mark Corbett: Now, I have no idea what he's doing now, but it just kinda showed the character of him, even through his family. And I think the if [00:04:00] you've ever heard anybody say a bad thing about Fred McGriff, please show me, because I've yet to meet anybody or talk to anybody or chat with anyone online that's that has a negative thing to say about him whatsoever.

[00:04:13] Mat Germain: And after a career that's that long, at so many places, that's unique and noteworthy in its own right. It's great. Both him and Scott Roland are similar in that they were both quiet leaders. Yes. And so going in together is really a, I don't know, if you're in major league baseball today and you look at the stars of today, and then you look at those two inductions.

[00:04:38] Mat Germain: Does that impact the way that you play the game after the fact? Or do you just say this generation's different, so we're just gonna play our own style and do it the way we do? So it's interesting, to think about it a little bit. 

[00:04:53] Mark Corbett: Maybe it will give a heads up. There's been criticism in the past.

[00:04:57] Mark Corbett: It's do you not let Pete rose in? Does [00:05:00] Kurt chilling not gonna come in here because of this, that, and the other? Or there's others maybe had some bad behavior or said stupid things and do you withhold that the participation to be in Valhalla of baseball because of that? Because the thing of it is, if these people.

[00:05:19] Mark Corbett: Quite honestly they're, they become role models for the youngsters who watch them. And I was watching they got some something special on Netflix. Man, this is ridiculous. It's on the American Gladiators. You remember that thing? You're probably too young to remember that I. But yeah, I'm, yeah.

[00:05:38] Mark Corbett: It was a crazy show where long before you had American Ninja and all this, you had these muscle bound people and they would compete against Johnny, whoever. And they would either, some kind of battle, either pushing big giant, balls against one another are jumping and leaping from place to place, but, It came to [00:06:00] me, found out the merchandising on the American g Glader Gladiator just went through the roof, but the thing came out was, okay, you guys are that big and that buff for a reason and we can't really have that going on.

[00:06:12] Mark Corbett: This is the time of Mark McGuire and No. Yeah. So they said we're gonna test you. Okay. Oh, by the way, this test will start in six weeks. 

[00:06:26] Mat Germain: Yeah. Whatever you do. Don't travel to wherever you get your stuff. Yeah. Oh 

[00:06:33] Mark Corbett: man. Oh it's crazy. And there's a bit of one of 'em. He actually, they They stopped him at the border coming up from Mexico with some Ros and a handgun, and it's oh geez.

[00:06:45] Mark Corbett: But 

[00:06:46] Mat Germain: that that they've drawn in the Hall of Fame I am a complete Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. Just have a disclaimer in there about whatever it is that you need to have I get it over with and let him see [00:07:00] that before he dies. Other than that, like I've seen, like Roberto or Alamar is a good example of somebody that made a mistake.

[00:07:08] Mat Germain: He really spit on an umpire, which is at the time was one of the biggest things that you'd ever seen on that front in terms of other than the usual arguing or whatever between them, it was a complete disrespect of that individual. But they made. They made the everything work thereafter, they're, they get together all the time and chat now, and then next thing you know, he's in the Hall of Fame.

[00:07:34] Mat Germain: So I think there's a line that they've drawn now, the writers They weren't given a fair shake in terms of what they have to work with when it comes to letting people in into the Hall of Fame. There's other guys you can point to that should be in there and probably aren't because of the suspicions.

[00:07:51] Mat Germain: I just think that a museum is a museum. You wanna highlight all the aspects of the game, put it all in there and let [00:08:00] everybody decipher themselves, what they should, celebrate most and 

[00:08:04] Mark Corbett: not. I like the idea of that too. I mean of having Rose there, but also had the lesson of what happened with him and.

[00:08:14] Mark Corbett: Because you, the man cannot be denied with what he achieved. He is part of the history of the game. And if you're not gonna put him in a museum that's about that game. I don't know. I'm so we'll see. But I, again, kudos to Fred McGriff. So that was probably the best thing that happened to Tampa Bay Rays this week.

[00:08:35] Mark Corbett: Blown up. Yeah, blown up. Wow. I don't even know where to start, Matt. You and I, it's been a little while since we talked. It was before this All-Star game. Things were looking good. They weren't then, thank goodness, just for the All-Star season, not All-Star game began.

[00:08:57] Mark Corbett: We walked in with a win. [00:09:00] We had a win. We'd been suffering something terrible and then, Everything else happened after that. Oh, brother. It's like deflating the tires. It 

[00:09:14] Mat Germain: really is. But I'd like to sit here and just forget about the last week and look at it in, in, in this way.

[00:09:23] Mat Germain: Okay. We have five healthy pitchers, test starters. McClanahan isn't shining probably as much as he would like. There he is, had his ups and downs during his starts that have hindered his length. I don't know what that is, if that's him restricting velocity or not really. Having the touch and feel that he normally has, if there's something there, but, Overall, the starters that we still have, not the ones on the iil, but the ones we still have are good to go.

[00:09:57] Mat Germain: They don't have any innings limits. They're [00:10:00] all healthy. We have three more months of the season to go or and we hope Yeah. Yeah. Here doing a bit and then so they should be in a good place on that front. We have some backup that's come up now, that is very intriguing.

[00:10:18] Mat Germain: So you've got Jacob Lopez and aa. You've got Logan Workman who's shining in aa. You have e m Seymour was making his way back, the F C L, Kobe. White has had o over 7.1 innings. He's going to be jumping up the AAA very shortly. Andrew Kittridge is in aa. He should be available to, the Rayss very shortly.

[00:10:42] Mat Germain: Robert Stevenson's looked very solid for the pen. Yes, there's some shakiness in the pen here and there and in blots. Overall, the pitching staff, we can say, has been solid through this whole down stretch of July. Yeah. I have [00:11:00] no qualm about what the pitching has done. So we start there.

[00:11:03] Mat Germain: We're like, okay, as we head towards the playoffs, the pitching is in a solid place. Yes, you can add a starter. That's definitely one part that I think they would like to add if they can, because you need that depth and you want to make sure you get to the finish line. It makes sense. Then you look at the lineup, and that's to me the most intriguing part.

[00:11:24] Mat Germain: 'cause the Rays bet on their own guys early in the season in the off season. And they, Shawn right away. So everybody assumed that was gonna continue through the season in some way, shape, or form. And there are some slides that nobody predicted now. I just sent out a tweet that about a question that WDAE put out and it was like, whoa What do we attribute Monte Franco's slide to?

[00:11:47] Mat Germain: Or in July? Is it because he was benched, or other things? And I said there's a lot of considerations in there. Like the feud with Randy could be ongoing. They might not say publicly, but maybe it's [00:12:00] still there. I. Wa de Franco's already paid. He's under control through 2033.

[00:12:06] Mat Germain: What's his motivation for showing up every day and shining and if you combine getting paid and getting crapped on by your front office and them highlighting Randy land at top of it, which I don't know what the source of the feud with Randy is, but that's just antagonistic at that point.

[00:12:23] Mat Germain: Yeah. And then Randy has the play that he has, which is sheer laziness. And they still don't bench him, even though wander got benched. But it was a personnel personality clash that they're saying Wander was benched for. If that's going to be a vegetable thing, shouldn't a lazy play that costs you the game be a vegetable thing here.

[00:12:45] Mat Germain: So a lot of that source really comes down to Kevin Cash and how he's mad managing his players and there's a lot to delve into in that front. Kevin Cash is, contract ends in 2024. There's no [00:13:00] guarantee he'll be here beyond. It's funny that the rays haven't picked up the option for 2025, yet they've kept that open.

[00:13:06] Mat Germain: They haven't locked them up for longer, they haven't given them an extension. They're gonna be monitoring this because if this slide continues through the fall and they somehow miss a playoff spot, which is all impossible right now, they're only five games they could be outta the playoffs.

[00:13:23] Mat Germain: And so if they're, if they end up out of the playoffs, What happens to Kevin Cash and what happens to the Raysd lineup now to stop that from happening? The onus is on the front office. There's something that has to change if they don't change something in the lineup right now and stop the madness basically and tweak something just to energize the team.

[00:13:46] Mat Germain: It doesn't have to be enormous and mind blowing. It doesn't have to be tani but it has to be enough that it gi it gives. The players, the fate that the front office has their backs and they see the potential on the team and they're willing to go for [00:14:00] it. And so as long as it's that much, I think they'll be okay.

[00:14:04] Mark Corbett: Let me ask you something here In the past, We've talked about leadership and the Yankees, they say that they made shit, let's step back, forget the Yankees. A lot of times the teams, when you look at leadership, we had Charlie Morton as a leader, but that's a pitcher who isn't necessary sitting there in the dugout all the time.

[00:14:26] Mark Corbett: Is there a leader amongst the rays right now that you think you can say that kind of can Rays them up? 

[00:14:34] Mat Germain: Really good question. Here's, like the guys that you would want to be leaders that were paid to be leaders. I'm not sure they're doing that. So Manuel Margot was paid not because he is a stellar outfielder and he is given a lot of money and Raysd money to be there.

[00:14:54] Mat Germain: And I'm not sure that whatever intent they had with that is working out obviously, because you've had the Yi [00:15:00] and Randy Feud. You've had the Yandy, or sorry, the Randy and Wander Feud, and then you have just this general kind of. I don't know, sudden lack of cohesion, which is weird because at the beginning of the year, everybody was hanging off the gr guardrails and cheering each other on.

[00:15:18] Mat Germain: They seemed really intense right at the beginning of the year, and now it's lackadaisical and a loose Yeah 

[00:15:25] Mark Corbett: I look here at Siri and sometimes the swings seem. Yeah. Okay. If I get it, that's grade or, oh, I didn't hit it. What's the matter with that? It just, he just seems either disappointed after each hit and, or excuse me, after each swing, and I'm disappointed.

[00:15:41] Mark Corbett: It seems like a 1, 2, 3. Okay, there. I didn't get it. And maybe next time I'm around and I wound up, I got a text with a friend today. He says, it was a bad series to Rays. As there was a good turnout for all the games. I don't know. I'm gonna go into the rest of that. And I said I, here's what I saw earlier today.

[00:15:57] Mark Corbett: I was flipping around on YouTube [00:16:00] and there I see him, Steve Rogers climbing up and looking at Thanos and I'm waiting for him to say, I can do this all day. But at that moment the swelling up of the music's coming and all these portals open and all these heroes are stepping out onto the ground and.

[00:16:23] Mark Corbett: It's time to hear those words Avengers assemble. And I want that right now for the race. Rays a symbol. Come on man. I said to my friend here, I said I, that's why I said, I think it's time for the race to have the Avengers assemble music for every player's walkup music, a unifying force through music stirring the players and fans into a frenzy victory mindset. Yeah. 

[00:16:47] Mat Germain: I think a industry could get energize them, but you're right, like there's a lack of, Charlie Morton should have been resigned by the Rays. They had the perfect setup to keep him around for the rest of his career. And I don't understand what the trepidation was [00:17:00] there.

[00:17:00] Mat Germain: I really don't. It still baffles me to this day. And then they turn around to give Tyler Glass now 25 million. I'm not sure he's the guy that you want leading the team because. He's cursing and swearing and very intense and in big moments. And he's not, I don't want to say he is not approachable, but he's very, he's very big.

[00:17:19] Mat Germain: He's very loud, he's very boisterous and some guys might not take to that. Yeah. So I don't know. I. If you look for guys in a clubhouse, not everybody's gonna be the prototypical leader. You want different types of leaders in there so that everybody has a source to go to anyway.

[00:17:39] Mat Germain: It's a diversity of leadership is what you want, and I think in the Penn it's fine. They have guys at Kittridge coming back. They have Fairbanks. They have a lot of experience in their overall deman and There's nothing lacking on that front in a rotation.

[00:17:59] Mat Germain: Lin is very [00:18:00] quiet. McClanahan might be developing into a leader, but he might not be there as well. He is still learning his craft. So to me that's what they're mostly missing. So a lancelin type acquisition for that rotation would be monumental because he has the grit. He has the don't never say die attitude, and he would take those other starters by the horns and say, no, we gotta do this, we gotta do this.

[00:18:26] Mat Germain: Did you see this happen? Yada. He's a completely different type of pitcher than Cory Kluber was. Oh, yeah. But he'll have the same impact in terms of getting the conversation going between the pictures. That's fine. Let's say you do that, but it is the lineup. How do you change the lineup?

[00:18:43] Mat Germain: I think Paul Goldschmidt would be a great acquisition. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't know what type of leader he is with St. Louis. He might be quiet. He might be, I don't know. I can't speak to that, but to me, him or Pete Lonzo, the rays have always been chasing a big first baseman that's solidifying the [00:19:00] lineup and anchoring it.

[00:19:02] Mat Germain: I still don't think they have that Luke Rayley's getting close to being that, but to me he's still a valuable outfield piece because Josh Lowe's showing cracks and if Josh Lowe can't handle doesn't turn it around in the second half, then you want Luke Rayley available out there. They don't have much in terms of left-handed outfielders coming up in aaa.

[00:19:22] Mat Germain: So to me that's what I would say is they need a guy who's a left-handed bat for the outfield. Hopefully Curry Bellinger is an intriguing guy. They, and then, Pete a Lonzo, if they can somehow manage to take him away from the Mets while he is struggling, that would be epic, because I think the race could actually extend him.

[00:19:40] Mat Germain: He's a Tampa Bay guy. And I think the Mets are looking for change. Kyle Mondo could headline the deal for the Mets and show the fans. Okay, we've got a. An MLP ready first basement, and we can afford to do other things with the money we save, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And I think Steve Cohen's looking for change.

[00:19:57] Mat Germain: So maybe they luck out and get that.[00:20:00] More realistic is probably that they do the status quo at that position and go for that left-handed bat that's in the outfield and maybe a catcher. Maybe a catcher like Omar Valez with the Mets could be available. And he was injured for the first half of the year, but he's a solid veteran behind the play guy.

[00:20:19] Mat Germain: He's really improved his receiving, he's a left-handed bat, so they could pair him with Beth in court and go back and forth. I don't know how injured me he is, but I'm expecting eight weeks that those kinds of moves, I think are what you're gonna see. Or they'll go for a younger guy and give up two or three prospects to get that younger guy that's a little bit more elite and can be controlled.

[00:20:41] Mat Germain: The parades deal and the, the Luke Rayley deal. A guy that has the potential that they see that nobody can give them the playing time they need. But in this case, I think they need that veteran like Tommy fan was mentioned. I think that's putting a spark [00:21:00] on gasoline.

[00:21:00] Mat Germain: I just don't think. That's the right one, 

[00:21:04] Mark Corbett: There, we've done that. Oh Tommy's, he's got a lot of spirit, man but he's ready to chasta somebody very quickly too. And I'm not talking about necessarily the most positive of guidance, but. He'll certainly point out if somebody needs to step up.

[00:21:22] Mark Corbett: Oh gosh. 

[00:21:24] Mat Germain: Do you have any, trade, candidates that you think they should 

[00:21:27] Mark Corbett: target? Oh you said go Schmidt. I liked that one. I did think about him, and again, I don't think anybody's gonna go after his Tani for whatever. It would cost too much on any team and I don't I was thinking hitters simply because we are so weak right now.

[00:21:48] Mark Corbett: I think we, I think we got the people we can invigorate. Then it comes down to, if it's just for grins and giggles, let's say Tani one, you're renting 'em for a year, and how many great prospects, how many [00:22:00] great People that you're looking in the minor leagues right now, would you wind up s rendering for somebody like him?

[00:22:06] Mark Corbett: I don't see that happening at all. Injury 

[00:22:10] Mat Germain: Ruin his value altogether. 

[00:22:13] Mark Corbett: Another guy I looked at, but he just signed an extension with the Braves and that was Darnell. I keep you were talking about catcher. I think, you know what, and he would bring a maturity to back to the team as well.

[00:22:23] Mark Corbett: That's another part I would, Darnell would be one of 'em, ones I would see as a critical piece for the team. I don't know 

[00:22:33] Mat Germain: The guys that I'm hoping that they target, 'cause I know, Mariners are looking for some help and I think there's a chance that the Rays help 'em out at second base.

[00:22:41] Mat Germain: They're having a really hard time filling that position. And to go get mad brash or Nuno from the Mariners and shore up the backend. Or they could target Josh hater because to me, Colin Poche has shown some cracks. And Jalen Beeks is still in [00:23:00] aaa. We're not sure what he's gonna be able to offer.

[00:23:02] Mat Germain: Ekman's been solid so far, but they need a second lefty that can dominate the backend. So if you are looking at October, let's say the Rays due remain in the pa in the playoff picture and they get into October, how much are you trusting Pete Fairbanks in ridden Boston, let's say, and it's ice cold.

[00:23:19] Mat Germain: Yeah. And you need a high leverage reliever. Who are you putting out there? Sure. Andrew Kittridge you could dream about and say, okay, maybe he's back in form at that point. And I'm hoping he is, but he can't go out every night, number one. And having a lefty dominate like that, like Josh Hater would be huge for the Rays pen.

[00:23:38] Mat Germain: I think so. I think Josh hater to me, even maybe Seth Lugo in, in San Diego, who's a, he's been a solid starter. He'd be a good. Fifth for the Rays. If they need to use him as a reliever in the playoffs, they could use him in that role. He's been there before. They can give him two, three innings if needed.

[00:23:57] Mat Germain: I think [00:24:00] those two acquisitions I would really be happy with. So those are the ones that I've have on the top of my head. And Jonathan India just became available again apparently for the red. So that one, I know the, I know for a fact the Rays were in on a year or two ago. So if he is somebody that they feel could perform in the second half and do away with a lot of the woes that they've had, to try to balance out at second base, I just don't know what he would cost.

[00:24:30] Mat Germain: They would probably ask for a lot for India. And I think they may attempt to get Curtis Mead, or JU Junior Camara. I wouldn't, I don't think I would give up either for him just because of the cost contract wise. I don't know if the Rays would be ready to extend India and make it worthwhile.

[00:24:51] Mark Corbett: Yeah. I keep looking at who we get coming up and Jonathan Ronda's coming up and not that these are key players make that large a difference, but looking at [00:25:00] who we do have just basically as reserves, the de Han. And who is that? I can never say that young man's name. Is it Wasabi? Yep. 

[00:25:13] Mat Germain: Ora.

[00:25:13] Mat Germain: Thank you. Yep. And he's a solid infielder that those last, Jonathan, Rhonda, and OBE are two guys. I think the Padres would really be interested in if we asked for Seth Lugo and Josh Hader, they would be because look at when they demanded, quote unquote demanded that Jay Cronen was in the deal with the Rays, right?

[00:25:35] Mat Germain: Yeah. In the past, Very similar player where he is a utility player with low power initially, but really high average. And, I think Jonathan Ronda is in the same mold as Jake Cornworth, to be honest. 

[00:25:49] Mark Corbett: We'll see how that plays out, my friend. It's interesting me it's always funny. You knew though t talk was gonna be out there, not just for Rays.

[00:25:57] Mark Corbett: But across all of M L B and he, [00:26:00] right now, he's saying basically, you know what, and I think any of the big players out there are gonna say it. I'm really not interested in the trade talk right now. I just wanna get to the playoffs. So 

[00:26:09] Mat Germain: I, if I were the angels right now, if I were the owner, I. I would go get Josh Hader and I would go get Marcus Stroman.

[00:26:16] Mat Germain: Stroman is a, so a SoCal guy. You go get those two, you go for it. 'cause if you're gonna keep ani you better be going for it. And not just with what you have, you've gotta put all your chips in the middle and show him that you're going for it. If they do that and they make it to the playoffs and have a really good run.

[00:26:35] Mat Germain: I think they have a chance to resign them because then he will see them acting the way they should if they decide to just fluff it here, fluff it there, and keep 'em. And then that's the dumbest thing they could possibly ever do. Even if they eek into the playoffs, he will be gone because he won't believe that they're willing to go forward at that point.

[00:26:55] Mark Corbett: Yeah. The angels are, have been interesting to watch. I keep thinking the [00:27:00] highest expectations, trout, Tani, and all the others out there, and Artie Moreno's said, what's he gonna do? He's, I can't see him giving Tani away for whatever, 40 some odd games or 50 games, whatever's left at that point.

[00:27:13] Mark Corbett: Let's see what else we gonna go on my friend? I do wanna mention something about the OR series without going too deep into that. I've really worried that we were overplaying Pete out there. We had him out there three nights in a row. A good reliever, a good closer can usually do that.

[00:27:29] Mark Corbett: But Pete seems like he's still coming back from it. Circulation thing in his hand. Yeah. And he won't say 

[00:27:36] Mat Germain: no. They just knew how big the series was and they were trying to lock it down. I, I. I, I don't think it's optimal. You're right, he's a two Tommy John Guy. You don't want him to have a third and it's it's disconcerting because if you're burning him at both ends this early in, in the mid-season, yeah.

[00:27:57] Mat Germain: Then what's he gonna look like in October? But then [00:28:00] hopefully Andrew Kittrich can take some pressure off him. Hopefully Kobe White comes in and, shows really well in triple A and can be an added chip as well. But I think Robert Stevenson's also gonna earn a more of a back end role over time.

[00:28:15] Mat Germain: And it'll be intriguing. I would not be shocked if he is like the second. So there'll be a let's say Andrew Kittridge, and then you're tied between Stevenson and Fairbanks when you're late in games. Just because of the wear and tear and when you want to use 'em. I feel like Pete Fairbanks probably is better used.

[00:28:37] Mat Germain: In the playoffs as a fire hose guy when first sign of trouble hits in the sixth, seventh, or eighth, you throw him out there, you put it out and he's got that fire where he is not gonna get rattled and he can get the things and misses, 

[00:28:50] Mark Corbett: right? Oh yeah. I love his eyes, man. You look at him when he comes up there to pitch and it, they are nothing but splints of steel [00:29:00] and, he's just amazing as a player.

[00:29:03] Mark Corbett: He's a true warrior out there. It's been exciting to watch and see the trout fill up a few of these weekends recently too, on a whole other issue. It's, this weekend sellout this past week playing the Orioles fun stuff. But you could hear the Baltimore fan base out there. There's, they're pretty strong and, yeah.

[00:29:25] Mark Corbett: One thing you got, go 

[00:29:26] Mat Germain: ahead. Seattle. The same thing, right? Seattle had the Jays fans out there, so it happens. 

[00:29:31] Mark Corbett: Yeah it does. And it's interesting I think in part because when I think of all the spring training around this area, I. The Oreos are just right down the road in Sarasota today at Smith Stadium, so I know they've got a base there and I keep thinking well, and everybody wants to come down to Florida during the hot months for one reason or another.

[00:29:50] Mark Corbett: And they put it, pull a ball game in there with it as well. I don't know, I, I don't think if the race continue to play like they are, they're gonna be continuing to [00:30:00] fill the stadium for the remainder of the year. But we'll see how that plays. I did, you mentioned earlier about Kevin Cash. You look out there on Twitter, et cetera.

[00:30:11] Mark Corbett: Sooner or later if somebody's always ready, not just to chastise the manager, but ready to toss him and I can only wonder, I can only wonder what happens in those locker rooms. Kevin seems like such a soft-spoken man on at the press conferences, and I always wanna wonder what a manager is like once those.

[00:30:34] Mark Corbett: Locker room doors are closed and it's just him, the coaches and that team and how dramatic they may get or not, and how they speak to that team and how, what's I wanna say, not demanding, I guess that's the word for looking for demanding. They are. I would love to be that little proverbial fly on the wall and see what that Kevin looks like.

[00:30:56] Mark Corbett: I just wish 

[00:30:57] Mat Germain: he'd use his instincts more and rely on the [00:31:00] data less. There, there's. There are moments in games sometimes, and it's small things, tiny things, timing things. Where you can tell he is going with the data and not baseball instincts. And I think if he was using his gut solely, sometimes things would turn out a little bit different because of that.

[00:31:19] Mat Germain: You never know what baseball he's not out there doing the work, so he has to trust his guys, the guys he is given. I think overall Kevin Cash is doing an excellent job. I'm not throwing him under the bus at all. I'm saying that there are signs that the control and When you decide to bench a $230 million player in a market where you've never paid anybody close to that amount, yeah, there, I don't wanna say they're red flags, but there's huge implications in terms of how you're managing that room.

[00:31:54] Mat Germain: And you did it publicly. You didn't just sit 'em there and not tell anybody anything about it. You went out there in the [00:32:00] media and basically threw him under the bus, like literally Wonder Franco has a good reason, like it used to be in the old days that the media would talk about why a guy was sitting because let's say Randy, for example, right?

[00:32:15] Mat Germain: Randy Misplays, that if he doesn't play the next two games, the media and the fans know The manager doesn't have to say anything, right? Yeah. But they know why he's sitting. And so they could have done the same thing with Wander and kept it in house, but they didn't. I Now is that because Wander said he would go to the media or they knew he was going to, or he'd already done an interview about it?

[00:32:36] Mat Germain: I don't know but what I do know is that it shows some cracks in the management of the ray and to be honest, I don't want to go all the way back to the Blake Snell situation, but there, there are moments through the whole playoff tenure when I feel like they even, I'll tell you the one that sets the worst with me about Kevin Cash.

[00:32:58] Mat Germain: Okay. And when I started [00:33:00] losing a tiny bit of faith, it's the end of last year, the last month and a half to two months. Okay. Including the playoffs, because it seemed like losing was acceptable. To me, that changed a lot of things and it changed the mojo, it changed the field, the team, and it was almost like, oh, we have to make sure everybody's healthy.

[00:33:20] Mat Germain: And that became the priority instead of working through every game to win. Yeah, and so when you're changing that mentality of the team willingly and openly and telling people about it has a resounding effect and they ended up going into the playoffs, blah, just sitting there and not amped up and not grinding through it.

[00:33:40] Mat Germain: And meanwhile, the Red Sox were doing the completely opposite thing and they were riled up and ready to sock anybody in the face that they went up against. Like you need that attitude, that grit. And I don't know if he has that. I really don't know. And I wish I would see more fire from him, especially as the season wears on in the [00:34:00] second half.

[00:34:00] Mat Germain: That's all. And that's what I say. I wonder about it. 'cause we're not seeing it on the field and I'm keep hoping that somehow or other he's communicating in a very impactful way to those young men. Get up, let's make this happen. We're gonna back you, we're gonna go with this. Dig out the Avengers, assemble music.

[00:34:21] Mark Corbett: I don't know but don't look like that gadget is holding his face in his hand murmuring and looking at the stats, and if that's the case, yeah. I don't want a statistician running a game. And hopefully that's not the case with him. But you're pointing out, obviously there's moments where that is the case, I'm not ready to ditch Kevin, but Kevin, do something for us please, man. He's 

[00:34:46] Mat Germain: like anybody else? Like how long did it take for Dusty to get his World Series? Yeah. And you have to learn along the way as a manager I think there's a point where you mature as a manager and you're willing to take the heat from the [00:35:00] front office if you do X, Y, Z and fail there go.

[00:35:02] Mat Germain: Whereas I don't think he's been there so far. Maybe after he gets his next contract, he'll be good to go. I don't 

[00:35:08] Mark Corbett: know. We'll see. We'll see. And I know you got some things going on today, and so I won't keep you much longer here, but I did wanna take a quick look back to yours and my projections for the race and see if maybe we need to amend them on the number of games that they would, they would win this year.

[00:35:26] Mark Corbett: You, you remember this, yes. 

[00:35:28] Mark Corbett: Yes I do. I was, you said 1 0 7 and I said 1 0 2 and, Only 59 games remaining. We got how many games we won right now, let's see, 62. Yeah. Almost impossible. 

[00:35:44] Mat Germain: Yeah. Yeah. Who could have predicted that? July. It's 

[00:35:47] Mark Corbett: insane, eh? Oh lord. And if I kept telling myself during this period, by the way, Matt, I kept saying, remember Mark, Matt said there will be hard times ahead.

[00:35:57] Mark Corbett: Yeah, it's true. And [00:36:00] I said, yeah, but did they mean this much? Because 

[00:36:04] Mat Germain: baseball always because baseball, that's it, brother. Humble, even the be best teams. You have to keep your nose to the grindstone always. 

[00:36:14] Mark Corbett: Alright, any final words you wanna impart upon the audience today? My friend? 

[00:36:20] Mat Germain: Yes. I would say I'm hoping for two trades from the Rays that are gonna impact the, the active roster.

[00:36:29] Mat Germain: And I would also expect to see one minor league trade where they're offsetting their rule five, draft guys. Just to protect the minor leaguers, make sure they have the. The wheel churning in terms of keeping talent coming through at the bottom. The other thing I'd like to say is, look for a lot of transactions, 'cause they're gonna start fitting in those draft picks they signed in the lower minors.

[00:36:51] Mat Germain: So you're gonna see a flurry of promotions and that's gonna be fun to watch. 

[00:36:56] Mark Corbett: I thank you Matt, and, you and I have to talk again once all [00:37:00] the trade debt line has passed and see what Neander and Company have decided to build a better team. So thank you friend ly, and I know you've got an event to go to so go ahead.

[00:37:12] Mat Germain: Yep. All, all good. I'll we'll get in, touch after the, trade deadline and, look over all the mistakes they made. Absolutely. We're here to criticize. I've done this. That's right. Alright go enjoy your cake and had a wonderful evening. Matt, thanks again for joining us and, once again sharing with Rays up.

[00:37:34] Mark Corbett: Looking forward to seeing what's gonna happen for the remainder of the year. Alright, have a good one, mark. You too, my friend.

[00:37:45] Mark Corbett: Hey man. Thanks. That was great.