Spring Training & remaining MLB Free Agents

277 BaseballBiz On Deck with Mat Germain

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck and once again, Mat Germain and myself, Mark Corbett are joining you to it and enjoy what we have in this life. And the only thing we can look forward to was, you know, Mat , I was looking at the Superbowl and said, Oh, you know, I was this game. Everybody's been building so much up to the millions upon millions of dollars spent on commercials.

[00:00:23] Mark Corbett: And I thought I'm going to pass the best thing about it. Mat was. It's the beginning of baseball . So how you doing buddy? 

[00:00:35] Mat Germain: I'm doing pretty well. I'm it's still pretty cold up here in Canada. We're not feeling the spring training yet. So I'm hoping that there's a draft that comes up from Florida and Arizona and and just warms us a little bit and then puts us in the mindset of baseball because the Super Bowl is the last kind of It's a hot event before you start things, spring training, but you do need a little bit of that warmth to seep up and then, you know, warm up the bones after a long winter.

[00:01:05] Mat Germain: So hopefully that happens soon. 

[00:01:07] Mark Corbett: I'm hoping so too, my friend. I'm in Louisville this week and it's freezing. It's snowing, freezing. It's on the cusp. It's around 31, 32 Fahrenheit, and it is just not been pleasant. But I was messaging with you before the show today. That I was able to give a presentation on women in baseball at a place called Morning Pointe and first thing I said, Hey, anybody get to see the Superbowl?

[00:01:33] Mark Corbett: And they said, yeah, yeah. I said, who cares? I said, the only again, I said, what I said earlier, the only thing good about the Superbowl is that once it's over, we have spring training and baseball has begun, but it's been, um, it's been an interesting week. You know, you and I last week, we, we were trying to. To figure out the world heck we were trying to figure out also spring training and back and forth we were talking about where's Pete Alonso go where's Pete Alonso going and I bet you no sooner than we had finished recording this the boy signed 

[00:02:10] Mat Germain: yes he did and he's going to be uh yeah I know it wasn't the ideal contract that he wanted with the Mets.

[00:02:17] Mat Germain: I'm sure he would have liked the five or six year deal just to not have to go through this whole process again. But in the lineup, structured the way it is, he should be able to have banner years with with the Mets and sign another deal with them. If he does do that well, I think there's gonna be a lot less pressure on him this year than ever before.

[00:02:38] Mat Germain: , even though he's gonna put, you know, some self pressure just to support and do his job. Um, I think you're going to see statistics go up significantly because by the time you go through Lindor and Soto and you get through whoever, wherever he ends up, you know, in the lineup, fourth, fifth, um, he, he'll, they'll be pretty worn out.

[00:02:59] Mat Germain: And, and so he'll, he'll get a little bit better, uh, chance to do some damage possibly with people on the bases more often. So, uh, I think it's a good deal for him and I'm happy that he got the deal he really wanted. 

[00:03:11] Mark Corbett: I wonder too. I mean, we talked. Possibly about even how, uh, Blake Snell with Boras, you know, he, he didn't necessarily get the deal.

[00:03:19] Mark Corbett: He wanted the 1st year. He signed, and came back and got a better deal the next year. So maybe we'll see that too with Alonso. Earlier today, I noticed that you were talking about the free agents that are out there. Now, I'm almost afraid to say these names, Mat , because as soon as I do, we know they'll have all been signed.

[00:03:42] Mark Corbett: Let's see, I want to read the list real quick that you put up. Um, well, and I'll, no, you go ahead and read it, because you, you have targets for each one of these folks, starting with Alex Bregman. 

[00:03:52] Mat Germain: Right. So I think we've spoken about this a little bit before, where I think Alex Bregman, if he does join the Phillies, uh, could either play second base or third base.

[00:04:03] Mat Germain: Um, But I think Alec Bohm would then become a trade target for a lot of different teams. So the, the Phillies could divert some of the costs of Bregman by dealing Alec Bohm and getting another piece that they want to push ahead with. And there's areas where they could improve a little bit, like in the outfield and maybe in the bullpen, which, you know, dealing Alec Bohm might allow him to do.

[00:04:28] Mat Germain: So I think he's just a fit there. Because of how clutch and how experienced he is in the playoffs. And that's really what the Phillies are going for. If the Mets are adding Pete Alonso, bringing Pete Alonso back to me, it always puts a little bit of pressure on the divisional rivals to do something. And, uh, the Phillies, even though they've had a really good off season, they could use that extra boost.

[00:04:50] Mat Germain: Um, Nick Pavetta to the Orioles was one that I thought, you know, You don't have to have the elite guys. You don't have to go after Max Fried. You don't have to go after, uh, Blake Snell. But you do have to have enough innings in your rotation to to mitigate a lot of the issues you're going to have in season.

[00:05:13] Mat Germain: And right now I look at the Orioles starting rotation and I, I just think it's way too shallow. It's, it reminds me a little bit of what the Blue Jays had last year, which was, you know, it's just lacking a little bit of something. So I think Nick Pavetta would push that a little bit over. Um, I'm not sure what your thoughts are on that one.

[00:05:32] Mark Corbett: Well, I'm looking at what you were saying as far as the Orioles. and pitching. Yeah, I mean, that's kind of where they came up short last year, too, wasn't it? Because you had a good, strong, young team, and if you'd asked me at this time last year, I would have said yeah, a good, strong team, I thought was there, but, They didn't, they didn't deliver in those 262 games.

[00:05:54] Mark Corbett: And presumably pitching was a big part of that because they did have the fielding, they did have everything else. It seems like, but it came up short there. Maybe this, uh, may be prophetic will make a difference, but how many more people do they need 

[00:06:10] Mat Germain: Right. Well, when they let Corbin Burnes walk, I think it just kind of, you know, it leaves you a little bit of, of a bad taste in the back of your mouth.

[00:06:18] Mat Germain: And you're thinking, okay, Grayson Rodriguez can't be the be all and end all of the rotation. Um, and I think, you know, they would lower a lot of pressure on his shoulders to have somebody else in there that could be clutch for them. Uh, they, they have some prospects coming up too, but they dealt a lot of those to the Rays.

[00:06:36] Mat Germain: Like Jackson Baumeister came over and he would have been somebody that they could have Relied on mid season ish, right if they needed him Uh patrick corbin's a guy. I don't know Change of scenery is going to do him some good or is my first thought and and I think the Pirates are in a situation where If they want to turn him into a two inning guy, remember Um, the the indians did that with a lefty.

[00:07:01] Mat Germain: What was his name? Oh my goodness. I can't believe that You I can't think of his name, but they had a lefty that they brought in. He was a two inning guy, shut down everybody. He just became lights out as soon as they put them in that role. And, and I think Patrick Corbin could become that for the Pirates.

[00:07:17] Mat Germain: They need a swing guy that, you know, if a starter goes short or gets out of the game at a little bit early, they can throw Corbin in for two or three innings. I don't think he has to be a starter anymore to be really effective. And I honestly don't know that he's going to get a lot of those shots. With the way things are shaping out.

[00:07:37] Mat Germain: Maybe once there's an injury, they can slide them back into rotation if they need them. But I think the Pirates could use some length in their pen and he could be one of those guys. A little bit like how the Rays has brought in Alex Faedo, right? Like Alex Faedo is not going to start, but he's going to be a valuable long, you know, reliever for the Rays.

[00:07:54] Mat Germain: So that's how I see Pat Corbin and he's not going to break the bank. Uh, Jose Iglesias and Yasmani Grandal to the Marlins I just you know The the Marlins have caught a lot of flack for not signing anybody and they finally did today They signed Cal Quantrill. He was the first actual You know major league signing.

[00:08:16] Mat Germain: So, uh, they've done something I'm sure Lou's ecstatic. Uh, but but Jose Iglesias and Yasmani Grandal are just kind of solid veterans You that could, to me, rebuild their value. If they do well with the Marlins from now until mid season, you know, they could end up getting dealt to a contender that needs their, their skill set, uh, for a playoff push.

[00:08:40] Mat Germain: Now, if they get lucky and somehow the Marlins are still in the hunt, then so be it, and they stick around and, and they go. But, um, I think both of those guys Or at the point where playing time is what they're going to be concentrating more than, uh, than actual team. So, uh, the old adage of beggars can't be choosers kind of comes into play here.

[00:09:03] Mat Germain: Um, JD Martinez to the Rays. I think I've, I've spoke about this a little bit more in depth on, on blue sky, but I just think, you know, when you look at Eloy Jimenez, Um, he, we talked to a guy from the Orioles, remember? And he was talking about how the White Sox reacted when Eloy was dealt. And then the Orioles never even lifted a finger to keep him around once they saw him.

[00:09:26] Mat Germain: So, I just don't have much faith. faith in him helping the Rays out. And I have a feeling that the Rays would be more likely to give the spot to Curtis Mead than they would be to Eloy Jimenez anyway. So to me, it's more of a race between Curtis Mead and JD Martinez. So when I look at those two, I'm thinking Curtis Mead needs the playing time.

[00:09:47] Mat Germain: He's not going to improve and be able to push himself unless he gets the playing time. Riding the bench is not going to do him much good. And last year in AAA he didn't show enough to me to earn that, that major's look yet. And I want him to do a little bit more defensively. So keep him in AAA at least to the mid season point and then you can bring him up if he's doing really well.

[00:10:11] Mat Germain: Make him earn it, right? And then JD Martinez wouldn't break the bank again. Might cost four. Five million max. And, and I think, you know, the Rays do have issues hitting left handed pitching as a team and, and, you know, Chris Morel, I think had just under a 700 OPS against left handed pitching. And he was, he would have ranked fourth with the Rays last year.

[00:10:36] Mat Germain: That tells you how bad they were against left handed pitching. So JD Martinez is. Solid is okay with against right handed pitching, but he's even better against left handed pitching still at his age He can do some damage in a park like what the Rays are gonna be playing in this year I think he would do really well and I think he has a lot to teach a lot of the young guys that the Rays have on board like I I Just had this mindset of you know, maybe Yandy Diaz can speak the Junior Caminero in one way but and JD Martinez can talk to him in another way and they're both going to see different things and talk about different things, but I think it's important for players to have lots of different viewpoints to draw from So the Rays could use somebody like that and to me adding Danny Janssen, Ha-Seong Kim and JD Martinez that would be you know, three Really significant additions to the lineup and with the pitching they have on hand It would make the Rays a lot more dangerous to me, especially in clutch and key spots during games And then the final one was justin turner to the reds.

[00:11:41] Mat Germain: I just you know tito francona I know would love to have that kind of veteran grit guy Uh, they've lost Votto recently, and I think they need to replace a little bit of that. 

[00:11:51] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:11:51] Mat Germain: Uh, Justin Turner is just, uh, you know, he's never going to bark and complain about playing time. He'll DH when he can, if you want to slide him in at third once in a while, or, um, you know, there was an unfortunate P.

[00:12:05] Mat Germain: E. D. Incident with the Reds and one of their prominent prospects in the L. L. V. Marte. And I think, you know, from what we saw once he returned to power was extremely lacking. Um, so I wouldn't bank much on him coming up and helping the team out. But Justin Turner, I think, can, can give him more length in the lineup, keep spots, you know, here and there.

[00:12:30] Mat Germain: He did well enough last year that you know the bat can still play. So why not? Bring him on board and he's not going to, again, he's not going to cost very much. And I think he deserves a home. He's still good enough to be in the lineup. 

[00:12:44] Mark Corbett: Well, those are awesome, good folks. I mean, I especially was looking at, at Turner and I, I was curious 'cause I think maybe you're a little bit more optimistic about him than, than I am about, you know, I think of him getting a little bit longer in the tooth and I just don't know what he's gonna be able to bring, but we'll see.

[00:13:00] Mark Corbett: Uh, looking at veterans overall though, and I am just quickly while we're talking, I was looking here, bringing up sporting news. And as spring's training is starting, I saw something about, it says, um, on Sporting News Today, it's the longtime Dodgers Superstar, Mookie Betts, sent a clear warning to his teammates about taking another World Series appearance for granted in his first comments at the team's opening workout.

[00:13:26] Mark Corbett: He said, quote, We can't keep thinking about being champions again, unquote, he said for Jack Harris of the LA Times. He said we haven't even played game one. We have to take care of spring training and then when game one comes, then game one comes. But we can't keep talking about the world series. I tell you what, man, Mookie, I think he's a player's player.

[00:13:55] Mark Corbett: Everybody on the teams appreciate him and they respect him. And I think it was good message. I mean, how many times have you seen a world series slump, uh, a team that comes back the next year, but in reality, ain't going to happen. I mean, is there a richer, deeper team than the Rogers Dodge, 

[00:14:15] Mat Germain: the Dodgers.

[00:14:16] Mat Germain: What he's talking about is exactly the reason why the Yankees haven't won the World Series in a long time. They presume to be worthy of the World Series win just because. Without having played it and won it, right? And that's the difference between a Mookie Betts and a Gerritt Cole, right? Like, when Gerritt Cole won't run the first to cover, I mean, Mookie would have covered that base.

[00:14:44] Mat Germain: In a heartbeat, you know, so it's the, the whole process of, of being excellent because you're putting in the work in all the details. We hear about it a lot, especially in baseball, the details will kill you. That one play, that one instance, that one missed opportunity can come back to haunt you. All the time, you know, the first inning, the one run you didn't get because you didn't move the runner over.

[00:15:10] Mat Germain: Well, you lose the game by one run, right? Like this, it always comes out to be that. So yeah, I love that attitude. I think the Red Sox missed that when he left. And, um, yeah, it's, it's taken them a while to get back to that confidence level. Um, but, but again, it's a work ethic. And I think a lot of baseball players have it.

[00:15:30] Mat Germain: You can't be, you can't survive in baseball with part of you being. Like that, right? Um, so it's a great thing and I, you know, hopefully if I'm in on another team, I play that bit just for, for my team and I say, this is how we eat. If the Dodgers are doing this, we sure as heck should be doing the same thing.

[00:15:52] Mark Corbett: I mean, to see the Yankees, like you said, it seems that word entitled comes to mind, you know, it's being used when you see that. Yes. I think the fans and certainly the players seem to be showing down the field and. It affects the game. Even poor old Aaron Judge, and I can't believe I'm saying that, but poor old Aaron Judge seeing, looking out there, being distracted, and not catching the ball in his glove are, it's just, oh my gosh.

[00:16:18] Mark Corbett: And Garrett Cole, not going over and covering first. Basics people, basics. Staying focused. And I, I think they were completely mind blown to think that there was a possibility that they were going to be doing better than they did. Yeah. 

[00:16:35] Mat Germain: The worst part was pointing the first base. 

[00:16:37] Mark Corbett: Yeah. How many times is that going to be played this year, man?

[00:16:44] Mark Corbett: It's going to be replayed and replayed. That was perfect. Oh, but you know, you, I bring up Mookie because you're talking about some veterans and you had another post today. I'm thinking about, Uh, you had Pujols, up there as well. See, because you were talking about it's the giving some depth.

[00:17:03] Mark Corbett: Well, even in just what we were talking here a moment ago, uh, was it Yasmani Grandal and Who else? Yeah, 

[00:17:09] Mark Corbett: it came out because the, uh, Craig Calcaterra, um, ended up posting something about the, the re or the Rendon deal, and then Mike Petri sent something else out and I was like, okay. Like I, I just, I, I think this needs to be said because like a lot of people will have gripes with guys like Stu Sternberg as an owner, and I think it's misguided because of how great an owner he is in the.

[00:17:37] Mark Corbett: Baseball operating side where he let he hires the right people and he lets them do their job, right? And the angels are the complete opposite of that So I brought up the three examples the three big ones, right? And what Mike Petriello had said was that you know The Rendon deal is probably gonna end up as being one of the most disastrous in history and I was like, hold on There's three of them And they're all with the same team.

[00:18:04] Mark Corbett: Um, so Albert Pujols ended up signing for a 10 year deal, 254 million over that 10 year span, he added up a total of 8. 5 fWAR. Okay. That's less than one per year. Um, Josh Hamilton, five years to the 125 million. He added up a 2.4 fWAR. That's o like less than half of an fWAR per year. Um, for 125 million.

[00:18:32] Mark Corbett: And then Anthony Rendon seven years, 245 million, 3.7 fWAR total. I mean, you know, overall you're looking at the. 624, 000, 000 that the Angels will have paid to those three players for a total of 14. 6 fWAR. That is just Like, you want, I could sit there, Mark, and throw a hundred dollar bills in the fireplace all year long.

[00:19:01] Mark Corbett: And I still would not be able to burn enough money to match that amount. It's just insane how much money they've wasted on three guys that were too old the day they were signed. Like, it just doesn't make any sense. It's, to me, if I'm If I'm hiring a GM as an owner, I'm begging the new GM, I'm saying, please, Do not let me do this to you because this is like the worst case scenario, right?

[00:19:35] Mark Corbett: As an owner, I mean, you have the opposites, right? You've got Bob Nutting who will sign nobody or the guy in Miami. You know, they're both about the same and then you've got RD Moreno, who's like completely hands on and then feels like he needs to add money. Do you know what the alternative was to Anthony Rendon if they didn't spend the money on him?

[00:19:58] Mark Corbett: Alex Bregman. 

[00:19:59] Mat Germain: No. Well, yeah, signing Bregman right now would be exactly like that, right? There would be a typical angels move, but, um, The, at the time when they signed Rendon, they just missed on Gerritt Cole. Oh, really? It was the other guy. He's from there. He's from that area. So the thought was that they were neck and neck with the Yankees and they almost got him.

[00:20:22] Mat Germain: So the, the, the question is how much more would they have had to take away and not sign Rendon to get Cole? And what, how much different would their fortune have been since then? You know, that's, I think about 

[00:20:38] Mark Corbett: it's, it's amazing. You know, one of the things kind of jumping around is always, and looking at these different players and who the teams are bringing in.

[00:20:49] Mark Corbett: One thing you brought up time and again is correct me if I'm wrong. Wouldn't it be nice if an MLB. You could trade prospects 

[00:20:59] Mat Germain: or draft 

[00:21:00] Mark Corbett: picks or draft picks. I'm sorry, Doug, if you could trade draft picks, I knew I would get, let's try it again. Oh, well, they, you said the past is, you know, as far as being able to trade draft picks and what kind of, where would you see, how would that strengthen some teams and how could it impact others?

[00:21:23] Mat Germain: Well, the main reason I think it needs to be done is because when, let's say I'm the Pirates this year and we luck out, Paul Skenes is lights out, our hitters start doing what they're supposed to be doing, we're chasing the playoffs, we're in the middle, we're near the top of the division, and I want to push all my chips in.

[00:21:45] Mat Germain: If I can't trade those assets, I can't go out and get players that otherwise would be attainable to me. So that's the main reason because all it does is block the the the small market teams from acting like big market teams when they get the chance to do so By using some of those big chips because if i'm offering a first round pick to Uh, I don't know.

[00:22:13] Mat Germain: Let's say the Rangers are out and Paul DeGrom happens to be healthy and I want to bring him in for a playoff run, whatever the case may be, right? I can't use that draft pick. Well, then I'm stuck because I can't afford to pay anybody. I know I can't. I'm in a small market team. So I can't take on a contract.

[00:22:32] Mat Germain: So now what am I trading? What am I going to give anybody for a top prospect or a really, um, You know, controllable player, like I, I'm going to have to give up my whole farm. Well, then it just weakens me for the longterm and it doesn't give me the same kind of, you know what I mean? So, so there's a whole, there, there's always going to be a mixed, um, Package that you're able to offer the more variety you have as a franchise than the better prepared you are to compete.

[00:23:02] Mat Germain: So to me, anything that comes in the way of competing based on where you are, right? And you're supposed to be a smart, grown up responsible organization, which we know they're not all the same. But, but, you know, like how many, I'll give you another example, Mark. Um, It's a very applicable one. I, I monitor a lot of this because I, my, like I told you before, my dynasty league, uh, goes way too deep, honestly, and we know way too much about too many things, but, uh, The international market, right?

[00:23:35] Mat Germain: How many teams avoided completely the international market? The Orioles, the Tigers, uh, a whole bunch of teams just never invested in it. And they never got the, the, all the high end players that you could get from the international market. Like the Astros, for example, a lot of the guys that they have Are because of the international market a lot of the the benefits that they've had over the years is not just from the draft picks that they got in the tanking that they did, it's also because of the investments they made in the international market.

[00:24:09] Mat Germain: The Cleveland Indians, the same thing are guardians, uh, the raise, uh, you know, there's a bunch of the Yankees do a really good job. The Jays are starting to kind of amp up their ends of it. Um, but I think The more well rounded a franchise is by maximizing the rule five draft, the international market, the draft trading draft picks.

[00:24:29] Mat Germain: So the comp competition ones, uh, uh, competitive balance picks are the ones you're allowed to trade now. And you're seeing them dealt, you know, pretty regularly because teams want to add value where they can and be able to deal it away when they need to. Um, I, I still don't understand how as a league you can block that from being dealt.

[00:24:54] Mat Germain: I don't understand NBA you can trade, trade. Any draft, pick NFL, you can trade any, the draft pick, uh, does, it doesn't make any sense. They're the only league in the all of pro sports that inhibits the trade of draft picks. Why? 

[00:25:11] Mark Corbett: I cannot begin to imagine. I mean, it's it continues to amaze me where Major League Baseball puts limitations on itself.

[00:25:19] Mark Corbett: There's, there's so many things that seem like the wild, wild west, but this one is something that makes simple business sense. Why couldn't you actually do that? It's like you said, it's, it's working in the other leagues. Why wouldn't you do it here as well? Uh, I don't think necessarily. I can't imagine MLB PA, you know, coming out against it.

[00:25:41] Mark Corbett: There may be something there, but I, I don't see it. Um, 

[00:25:46] Mat Germain: there's two reasons that people don't watch the MLB draft, right? When it happens, number one is because you can't create any draft picks. You're never, you're never going to move up. So I know where I, my team is picking, I don't have to worry about it.

[00:26:01] Mat Germain: And I know I'm not going to see the player for four or five, six years. So what do I care? Like, I really honestly do not care. Not, not me, but people who are just regular casual fans. Call me when the player is just about to get called up. That's all they care about really. So you're doing yourself a disservice by not allowing the draft picks.

[00:26:21] Mat Germain: Cause then at least, you know, if you're telling them they have a chance of trading for the number one draft pick and possibly getting Paul skeins, then all of a sudden they're perking up. They're like, Oh, well, well, maybe we'll do a trade. And then they get a party together and like, okay, well, maybe we'll watch this and see how it goes.

[00:26:38] Mat Germain: I don't understand. At all. The anti marketing that goes into not allowing draft picks. 

[00:26:47] Mark Corbett: You know, I mean, yeah, it's insane. To me, the whole NFL draft thing is just, I mean, it's neat, it's fun, and I, one of my favorite movies is draft day and it's because of all the maneuvering and the back ends, people working a deal here and switching and trading.

[00:27:05] Mark Corbett: And yeah, that would, that should be part of it. Cause it does just come off as some so dry and predictable with MLB. Um, I'll tell you what it made me feel like years ago. It's what's the WWF and they had, what is it? Monday night raw and some other. So they did, there was a couple of nights a week, they had two or three shows and they drafted, I don't know if you ever saw this, they drafted wrestlers from one show to the next.

[00:27:35] Mark Corbett: And yeah, they had a whole night of this. And it was like the old church picnic where you had the wheel, you spin it. And so they had this wheel spinning and it, And all these different, uh, wrestlers faces coming up and then it would stop and they would say, John Cena goes to RAW, you know, or something along those lines, the undertaker now will be on Friday night fights, whatever the shells were.

[00:28:01] Mat Germain: That's what they should do for, uh, for, for the lottery. Right. And they should have the tickets floating around in one of those booths. Somebody blindfolded in there and trying to grab them as they're blowing around. 

[00:28:14] Mark Corbett: I love it. I love it. Have some insanity and some entertainment too. There's enough insanity going on outside the world though, I guess.

[00:28:23] Mat Germain: But still, 

[00:28:24] Mark Corbett: Oh, Hey. Talk about insanity. Well, football's gone, but right now, that's up in Canada. I probably keeping you from a great game right now. There's the four nations are playing. What's it tell us a little bit about that. 

[00:28:39] Mat Germain: So basically, the, well, I don't know how many people would know about this, but the, the World Cup was one of those things that, um, in hockey has always been harder to plan because the NHL gets involved and there's whole payments, uh, going on and, um, you know, they want to monetize things.

[00:28:58] Mat Germain: They want to make sure players don't get hurt, yadda, yadda, yadda. But they basically decided that to try it in a different way, um, for this year and to have a four nations cup and to see how it goes. And basically Canada's up 1 0 right now against Sweden. Um, got the corner of, uh, of my eye and that Nova Scotian actually scored the goal, uh, which is pretty cool because we're a tiny little province.

[00:29:26] Mat Germain: And, uh, the fact that two of the best players in the world are, are from here. It's pretty amazing. When I moved to this province, we didn't have a single player in the NHL from from our province, and then the Halifax Mooseheads moved in, and then they, they amped up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, helped get kids a lot more playing time, being able to move all the way up.

[00:29:51] Mat Germain: And it came to that, but basically, yeah, there's the United States and Finland as well that are playing. And so they'll, they'll have a tournament of some sort and kind of see who comes out on top. But, uh, it's a pretty unique thing. I remember, I don't know if you remember the Canada cup. They used to have like, instead of a world cup, it was called the Canada cup.

[00:30:11] Mat Germain: And then, um, it's morphed into different things. And the most famous one, I think during that stretch. Was when Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were playing on the same line and making plays together and it was just Insane to see those two playing together, but uh, the hockey sense is off the charts And they're throwing the fuck around Uh, I don't know if I ever told you this but I took my wife to uh, her first hockey game like of a high level Uh, and it was Canada against the u.

[00:30:42] Mat Germain: s. Before they went overseas for a World Cup event. And, uh, and it was fast. It was slick. It was, you know, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then the next game I took her to is the Mooseheads, which were our Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. And she was like, why are they so slow? I said, well, you just went from like the, the highest, the highest response, right down to the guys that are just trying to scrape together a couple of good shifts, like a different thing.

[00:31:10] Mat Germain: Oh, oh, 

[00:31:14] Mark Corbett: that's, that's pretty cool, man. I'll tell you what, it, it being able to see that, uh, now I'm going to let you get Nova Scotians out there making a difference tonight. So wish you and your Canadian team all the best, my friend. 

[00:31:29] Mat Germain: Sounds good, Mark. 

[00:31:31] Mark Corbett: Any other nuggets we need to take a look at? 

[00:31:34] Mat Germain: Ah, the players are starting to show up.

[00:31:36] Mat Germain: The entries are starting to mount already in a couple of places. Uh, I know you're, you're, you're busy with, uh, other events, but there's, there's a few big ones already, uh, coming out. And, and, uh, So what my, my big focus right now is kind of, uh, talking to the baseball gods about not having certain arms fall off or, uh, you know, things like that and making sure that we can have a healthy season of baseball unhindered by any politics whatsoever.

[00:32:07] Mat Germain: And we can enjoy it and have a nice distraction to, to keep us well grounded. 

[00:32:13] Mat Germain: Amen, my friend. Amen. Well, I'm looking forward to this season. I'm looking forward to all the insanity. And it's going to be going down to Charlotte. And then of course, in George, Steinbrenner's Tampa to watch the Rays this year, I did a quick glance at season tickets and the base that I thought saw through the system was like 5, 200 bucks and maybe I was looking the wrong place.

[00:32:36] Mat Germain: I don't know, but I'll check more later. And I think it came with an MLB subscription. 

[00:32:42] Mat Germain: Oh, there you go. 

[00:32:43] Mat Germain: It was weird. It was strange. I'll do more of that for future show, but, uh, well, Mat , thanks again, buddy. It's always great talking with you. 

[00:32:50] Mat Germain: Always a good time, Mark. And hopefully things keep going the right way for you.

[00:32:54] Mark Corbett: Amen, brother. Amen. So thank you all again for joining Mat and I today here on BaseballBiz on Deck. I love having you here and we'll be talking with you again real soon. Oh,