What's NEXT for These Teams?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Patrick Show - "What's NEXT for These Teams?" Release Date: January 8, 2025
Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts and Dan Patrick Podcast Network

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with insightful discussions primarily focused on the current landscape and future prospects of various sports teams, delving deep into recent trades, player performances, and upcoming matchups in both baseball and football.

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Baseball Analysis

1. Justin Verlander's Move to the San Francisco Giants

• Discussion:
  The hosts delve into Justin Verlander's recent signing with the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $15 million contract. They analyze the implications of this move, considering Verlander's illustrious career, including three Cy Young Awards, and his performance trajectory.

• Notable Quote:
  Jake Storieli [04:31]: "Justin Verlander, who's got one of the prettier baseball references you will find for a pitcher, he's coming off his worst season."

2. Grading the Gavin Lux Trade to the Cincinnati Reds

• Discussion:
  The trade of Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds is dissected, with the hosts expressing mixed feelings about the prospects and the strategic maneuvering behind the exchange. They highlight the impact of this trade on the Reds' infield and overall team dynamics.

• Notable Quote:
  Jake Storieli [15:10]: "Gavin Lux had a three WAR season in 129 games... If you're trading for Gavin Lux, two years of hopefully pushing 800 OPS type production is a massive win."

3. Mike Sirota's Trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers

• Discussion:
  The trade involving outfield prospect Mike Sirota moving to the Dodgers is explored, questioning the Dodgers' motivation and the potential benefits for both teams involved.

• Notable Quote:
  Jake Storieli [16:11]: "If you're Mike Sirota, that's a good thing. I got drafted for turn them down and then they traded for me."

4. Cincinnati Reds' Team Composition and Future Moves

• Discussion:
  A comprehensive look at the Reds' roster, evaluating their pitching depth, batting lineup, and potential areas for improvement. The conversation touches on key players like Ellie De La Cruz and the strategic importance of acquiring versatile players.

• Notable Quote:
  David Mendelson [30:51]: "I would love a hitter that looks like 25 plus homers, ideally 30 today's baseball. Or I'd love a starting pitcher that I could look at and say well you're gonna get 30 starts at a 3.35 ERA."

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Football Analysis

1. College Football Showdowns

• Notre Dame vs. Penn State

  • Discussion:
    The upcoming game between Notre Dame and Penn State is highlighted, emphasizing Notre Dame's strong run game and Penn State's rising quarterback performance.

  • Notable Quote:
    Jake Storieli [19:40]: "Notre Dame is the favorite. They just took out Georgia, who they've got, you know, Georgia compared to Boise State and SMU is a different product on each line."

• Ohio State vs. Texas

  • Discussion:
    A preview of the Ohio State and Texas matchup, analyzing Ohio State's robust performance throughout the season and Texas's inconsistent gameplay. The hosts speculate on the strategies both teams might employ.

  • Notable Quote:
    Jake Storieli [25:09]: "Ohio State's looking to write an even better one. Ryan Day looking like he's on the chopping block into four years, not beating Michigan."

2. NFL Wild Card Weekend Matchups

• Chargers vs. Texans

  • Discussion:
    An examination of the Chargers' and Texans' season performances, with a focus on key players like Justin Herbert and the Texans' defensive strategies.

  • Notable Quote:
    Jake Storieli [30:12]: "Justin Herbert, man, 23 touchdowns, three interceptions. Pretty impressive what he's done."

• Ravens vs. Steelers

  • Discussion:
    The rivalry between the Ravens and Steelers is explored, highlighting Lamar Jackson's exceptional season and the Steelers' defensive challenges.

  • Notable Quote:
    David Mendelson [47:25]: "Lamar has used up all of his playoff leash. His playoff stats are pretty pretty not good."

• Broncos vs. Bills

  • Discussion:
    A look into the Broncos' improvement under new leadership and the Bills' strong offensive lineup, predicting a competitive game.

  • Notable Quote:
    Jake Storieli [51:05]: "Bo Nix in some of these recent games... I like their quarterback chipping in where he needs to."

• Packers vs. Eagles

  • Discussion:
    The dynamics between the Packers and Eagles are analyzed, with an emphasis on the Eagles' running game and quarterback performance.

  • Notable Quote:
    Jake Storieli [55:10]: "Eagles have become my favorite. Sirianni God again. If they lose to the Packers, that burnt orange could burn down Philly."

• Buccaneers vs. Commanders

  • Discussion:
    Insights into the Buccaneers' offensive strategies and the Commanders' defensive setups, considering key players like Baker Mayfield and Jaden Daniels.

  • Notable Quote:
    Jake Storieli [56:41]: "Bucky Irving is electric and I hope they feed him the rock."

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with the hosts expressing excitement for the upcoming games across baseball and football. They emphasize the unpredictable nature of sports, urging listeners to stay engaged and enjoy the unfolding seasons.

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Notable Quotes Recap

• Jake Storieli [04:31]: "Justin Verlander, who's got one of the prettier baseball references you will find for a pitcher, he's coming off his worst season."

• Jake Storieli [15:10]: "Gavin Lux had a three WAR season in 129 games... If you're trading for Gavin Lux, two years of hopefully pushing 800 OPS type production is a massive win."

• David Mendelson [47:25]: "Lamar has used up all of his playoff leash. His playoff stats are pretty pretty not good."

• Jake Storieli [55:10]: "Eagles have become my favorite. Sirianni God again. If they lose to the Packers, that burnt orange could burn down Philly."

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Final Thoughts

"What's NEXT for These Teams?" provides a thorough analysis of current sports dynamics, offering listeners a blend of statistics, strategic insights, and passionate opinions. Whether you're a die-hard baseball fan or a football enthusiast, this episode delivers comprehensive coverage to keep you informed and entertained.

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Transcript

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[Jake Storieli]

Hello and welcome to Wake and Jake. Myself, Jake Storieli, David Mendelson as we talk about the wide world of sports, couple flyer, baseball moves and signings. Justin Verlander, inner circle hall of Famer, three Cy Youngs. He is with your San Francisco Giants as they round in to form their off season. Talk about that. I did get a good chuckle. I just, I clicked on an article that was grading trades and it's funny how they landed on their answers. The Gavin Lux trade was bizarre. I kind of want to see if I have more thoughts on that. I'm not sure yet. We'll mention Michael Lorenzen. I don't know. He's an arm that'll get used. We will not talk about Drew Rasmussen's extension. Rules are rules because there's also a football mecca of sorts. Wild card weekend, the football semifinals as we all get through the next couple days. If you're a Cali person, I, I feel bad. I don't want to say I was being goofy on talking baseball. I was being a little goofy. I'm always a little goofy. But the fires are like, yo, like remember forever fires. I think one of our investor guys, his house is like, whoa. Yeah. So scary. So if you know anyone out out there, definitely, you probably checked in. But check in. It's pretty wild. And if you're someone looking to get away for a little bit, that's kind of more my lane and that's what we'll be doing here for a little bit. So let's hit the baseball high and tight because again, it's, it's a legendary Football wins this weekend unless Bregman signs Justin Verlander signs with the San Francisco Giants for one year, $15 million. What I was laughing at seconds ago I clicked on ESPN's Art. I don't know, I just like to do a peruse of ESPN and the Athletic before we get cruising just to make sure I haven't missed anything. And I was laughing because this is Bradford Doolittle and David Schonfield working together. Kelly Collabo and they gave grades to the Giants to Justin Verlander and the Tigers who weren't involved in the transaction. They gave the Giants an A, they gave Verlander a C and they gave the Tigers an F, which I didn't even know. I didn't even know how connected we were there. Couple things. Let's check off some baseball layoff layups. No such thing as a bad one year deal. I would counter that if it's a bad one year deal, that's kind of your answer. And man, Justin Verlander, who's got one of the prettier baseball references you will find for a pitcher, he's coming off his worst season. It is interesting he got an injury before that injury he was pitching pretty decently. So if he comes in healthy, I think you can expect him to kind of be the mid to low threes ERA pitcher he's been the past couple years. Could changing leagues help him? Could San Francisco's ballpark help him in some of their defense? Maybe. I think it's mostly going to come down to if the 42 year old on February 20th. How healthy is.

[T-Mobile Representative]

That?

[Jake Storieli]

Being said, the one year contract thing for a pitcher that could be Justin Verlander, I think you like it even if it's just the old Bulls at spring training and we get stories about Logan Webb. Learn this from Justin Verland. Verlander and Keaton win added some zip to his fastball from Verlander. Not exactly how it works. I mean you get one of the most experienced pitchers all time. One of the best pitchers of the last 20 years. I was just laughing. I saw. I think it was BR who did a post of all the leaders since in the 2000s. It's an interesting way to look at things. Pool Host has A lot. Juan Pierre is your steel's king in the 2000s. And then it's like Scherzer, Verlander, there's a couple other oddballs in there. That was fun. Mike Trout, ops. People forget about him if they can tap into something from Justin Verlander. Hell, even 20, 23, he was 27 starts with a 3, 2, 2. He was actually a little slightly worse. In Houston Mets, Justin Verlander with 16 starts to a 3, 1 5. And I remember that whole thing being like it didn't feel clean. Like it didn't, like, Right.

[David Mendelson]

Just felt like, like nothing.

[Jake Storieli]

Right. Like it didn't feel like Verlander was doing good.

[David Mendelson]

And he, he missed time to an injury while with the Mets.

[Jake Storieli]

So he's a year removed from 27 starts, 162 innings, a 3, 2, 2 ERA. So if you get that for one year, 15 million. Absolutely. Last year. More recently, it landed at 17 starts, a 5, 4, 8, 90 innings pitched. You know, some of the numbers down again, he was good to start, got hurt and it came down. No jokes to be made here. His high school is Gooch Land High School in Virginia, so Old Dominion. Same as Vinnie Pascantino, I believe. I believe so. And you know, one of the great games you always play is what are. What are you asking for Justin Verlander? If the San Francisco Giants are asking Justin Verlander to be there too next year, I'd be a little concerned technically. And again, I think this could get shimmied and shook. They have him slotted in the back end of their rotation. They have Logan Webb, as stable as a pitcher as you can get. Robbie Ray, who only had seven starts last year. But again, he should be more built up and, and be more than those seven starts, at least. Jordan Hicks, who made 20 starts last year, 109 innings pitched. Hopefully he can jump up to maybe like the 1 3, 30 range. Kyle Harrison, the young lefty was kind of hunting, hunting in a lot of his starts either had it or he didn't. And then Justin Verlander. And so you have some depth pieces between Tristan Beck, Keaton, Wynn. As I mentioned, Hayden, show me your bird song. Landon Roop. That. Yeah. Hey, there could be bbd. I'll ask you a question, if you don't mind, please. Who was the biggest piece the Yankees traded to get Juan Soto. Former Yankee Michael King. Where did Michael King learn his curveball from?

[David Mendelson]

Corey Kluber.

[Jake Storieli]

So Corey Kluber, brief stint with the Yanks. There's. There can be ripple effects of Bringing in an all time great pitcher that I hope Giants fans are telling those stories in a couple years or even this year and they might get something out of him. So you have to, if you're a Giants fan, like the A in the article said, I really like this for him. I wonder what else of a market was for them. Apparently the Tigers got an F out of this one if he was willing to sign there. The other thing with him, insurer, what do they want to do? Justin Verlander has made $400 million playing baseball. He was going to go wherever he wanted. If someone offered him 14 mil, I think he would have been fine with that. To go to another team. He apparently is kind into San Francisco. Is there a Buster Posey effect? Haven't seen that article yet. Does he believe in what's going on? Does he like pitching at a pitcher's ballpark? You know, could that help him out? We will see. The NL west is becoming daunting and the San Diego story continues to feel like it's getting sad, although they still have a lot of talent on that roster. But the Giants and D backs are continuing to kind of build their teams out. The NL west is going to be a bloodbath of sorts. And you have to think, you know, of the Padres, Diamondbacks and Giants. One of those teams is going to have a tough year next year. And I don't know who it is. I. I'd have to see everything on paper. You'd still think the Padres are going to do something because they have been silent. Maybe not because they're suing each other for ownership of the team. The Padres won 93 games last year and we're up 21 on the Dodgers and we're like on path to win the World Series. So I know they've lost pieces and it's, it's really hard to compare the Padres and the Giants right now. The Giants lost Snell and Conforto, okay, Significant. They've added Willie Adamus and they've now added Justin Verlander. That, hey, that Snell loss is significant. I mean, I think it's 11 starts down the stretch. They were incredible. And he goes over to the Dodgers. Jung Huli will be back. So that's something that helps them. This is always my thing with the Giants. It feels like they've got room for one more hitter and it's. Are they willing to do that? Because right now their bench is a little thin. Their DH is listed as Wilmer Flores. So could they be in the business of anyone Whether you want to go medium and do a J.D. martinez, a flyer on someone or J.D. turned them down last year. Right.

[David Mendelson]

Because he didn't think the ballpark was good for him.

[Jake Storieli]

So maybe a bad example there.

[David Mendelson]

Maybe he still doesn't.

[Jake Storieli]

You know, Santander still out there for a couple teams again if you're looking for a dh. So if the Giants get themselves another hitter, I think I could actually talk myself into it. We will see if they do that. Cause they don't necessarily need to. They've got a lot of talented guys. Ramos had a really good rookie year, Fitzgerald did two. But nobody knows what to do with that in that sample size. Matt Chapman locked up. Lamont Wade only gets on base and Willie Thomas was a big signing 180/something mil. So they could in theory be done. I would like to see them add one more hitter. And yeah, I here's what I'll say about the Giants coming into the past few seasons. We've said the same things and this team isn't that far away from those same things I would say but it feels a little more entertaining. Willie Adamus, Matt Chapman was good for them. Justin Verlander starts. Logan Webb healthy for like a full year. They've got a rotation that each guy has upside. It's just what's going to click and what's not going to click in a year. And with that tough division and hopefully some bounce back in their bullpen, they can be a tough team. But I still think when you look at that Giants lineup on paper compared to a lot of the plus lineups around the league gets a little daunting. God, I kind of want to check out this art why they gave the Tigers because that was my pick. When we did, we did the free agency draft, I was like go back to Detroit, do this all again. So I'm just wondering if they had any rumors or anything or if they're just like Clinton. Yeah. Couldn't the Tigers at least offer this? So I don't know. I think another fun game Beaverton and let me know if I'm missing anyone. There's been at least three old starting pitchers that have signed one year, 15 mil. I think so let me see, we've got Charlie Morton just happened to Baltimore. Justin Verlander to the San Francisco Giants, Alex Cobb to Detroit. So maybe that's what my article friends were being not happy about. Sugano's 13 mil for Baltimore. Let's see what that is. Boyd is 14, five for two years. So that's really. Yeah, that's a that's something. Max Scherzer still out there, by the way. I don't know. It's going to be funny to look at that handful of guys that you could have had for the same price at the end of the year. Because I bet two of them are good. I bet two of them aren't. Welcome to baseball. Welcome to analytics. So that's that. And it's exciting. He's still Justin Verlander. Famous wife, all time pitcher, could be good. I'm about it. That's fun baseball stuff. The one I don't really know where to lead you guys. My Cincinnati Reds have thrown a wrench in the equation.

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Will space junk block your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you or and the one bringing back the woolly mammoth. Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts? His stuntman reveals the answer and you never know who's going to drop by.

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How are you?

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[Jason Alexander]

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[Jason Alexander]

Really?

[Jake Storieli]

That's the opening?

[Jason Alexander]

Really?

[Jake Storieli]

No. Really? Yeah, really?

[Jason Alexander]

No really.

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[Jake Storieli]

As Gavin Lux gets traded to the Reds after they traded Jonathan India and everyone was like, oh, they finally, finally cleared up that infield Gavin Lux is in town. They traded two prospects for him. Well, one prospect and a draft pick. I did think it was funny and this is just dumb Jake stuff, but Mike Sirota is the outfield prospect, Northeast guy. By the way, the Dodgers drafted him out of high school and he said no, got drafted by the Reds and I think the third round still hasn't played pro ball. I don't know if he was injured or something. Oh, I don't know what that is. But then the Dodgers traded for him. So how bad did the Dodgers want Mike Sirota? You know and if I'm Mike Sirota that's a good thing. I got drafted for turn them down and then they traded for me.

[David Mendelson]

They. They want them.

[Jake Storieli]

I'm interested to see the follow up on Mike Sirota and that competitive balance pick. But most importantly we know Gavin Lux who got traded two time World Series champ Gavin Lux. That's a pretty big flex coming off a two war season with a massive second half. A pretty. I can say it, it was a bad first half but it's pretty easy.

[David Mendelson]

To talk yourself into. Like miss the previous year. ACL get literally getting his legs under.

[Jake Storieli]

Him and literally got under him in the second half. 61 games 304 batting average of.391 on base, a.508 slug. So he almost 345 for 61 games to bring the season home. That being said 78 games in the first half. 213 batting average.267 on base.562 BBD. Mentioned the injuries also the whole shortstop who's playing where like that was a little messy. I know in our heads that doesn't matter. Like set the lineup, go hit play defense. I've seen shortstop mess with a lot of players heads by this point and.

[David Mendelson]

I guess at 27 he.

[Peter Tilden]

It.

[David Mendelson]

It's somewhat of a full. Like all right. You don't face lefties anymore. Like a little bit.

[Jake Storieli]

Yeah. That's tough there because that's also a little Dodger syndrome.

[David Mendelson]

Like same thing happened to to Jock way back when.

[Jake Storieli]

Right. And it's. It's opportunity based and at a certain point you're a certain age that I wonder if that's what the Reds are thinking. We'll. We'll get to that in a second. What. What do we have Gavin Lux getting paid this year I believe.

[David Mendelson]

And I think around this time tomorrow we're. We'll have like some official numbers on some arb year guys. But the estimates are under $3 million.

[Jake Storieli]

I was gonna say. Cause he made 1.2 last year. So. And it kind of makes sense. Like he never had the gangbuster year. That really multiplies.

[David Mendelson]

Yeah. And. And losing a full season to an injury.

[Jake Storieli]

Right. So the two data points we do have a 24 year old Gavin Lux had a three war season in 129 games. 276. 346. 745 ops. And last year I told you, I mean they ended up nearly even. But that big second half can make you dream upon. If you're trading for Gavin Lux. Two years of hopefully pushing. 800 ops type production. He hasn't done it yet. So you don't want to put that out there too much. And changing divisions, you're seeing less similar pitchers. And if you believe in lineup support and all that stuff. Dodgers to the Reds, but the Reds play in one of the best hitters parks that I think you can dream on. Gavin Lux being in his prime, hopefully being recovered from a leg injury, being a pretty decent contributor. But where? Because our Reds, who we applauded for getting Brady Singer for Jonathan India, they currently have Ellie De La Cruz at shortstop. Let's lock that in. Daniel Reference for BBD and a couple other people. What show was that?

[David Mendelson]

Auntie Donna's big old House of Fun. So some people are gonna be really into that drop and some people like, why have you wasted 20 more seconds on this?

[Jake Storieli]

We'll like that joke. That's why you do it. And that's why you're subscribing right now. Almost 25k. Thanks, everyone. Thanks. I'm gonna lock in Ellie De La Cruz at shortstop. I think I'm gonna lock in Matt McClain at second. Unless he's a piece of trade meat that will circle back on a second. But if. Let's do this. If they are on the Reds, Ellie's at short, Matt McClain's at second. That's kind of the end of the conversation there.

[David Mendelson]

Is it?

[Jake Storieli]

Because I just remembered Gavin Lux is where this whole conversation is around then we have Christian and Carnacion Strand, who's kind of a first baseman. Spencer Steer I'll throw in here. He plays everywhere. They have him currently listed as the left fielder. Gavin Lux, Jamer Candelario. And this is going to be a bad reference because it's not referencing anything. So I don't know why I teed it up like this. If Santiago Espinal is on your team, he's going to play. It's just a developing theory. It's kind of the IKF effect. Like they're versatile enough and they're not bad enough that if they're on your team they're going to play 81 games minimum. How many to play last year? Let me walk all over myself.

[David Mendelson]

391 played appearances, 118 games.

[Jake Storieli]

Yep. So the past four years, Santiago Espinal has played 92 plus games. He plays solid defense, he plays positions and he has like a slappy bat. Wow. His numbers are so IKF. 266, 321, 685 OPS. Whoa. I might have to put out a. That's gonna be mean. I was gonna say I need to put a warning to teams. If you have this guy on your team, they're gonna play a lot, which I don't know if that's good. I don't know if that's good. Anyways, sorry for the Santiago Espinal slander. That is before mentioning the guy that was supposed to be like the future of the Reds, Noel V. Marte. He was the big piece they got for Luis Castillo. Kind of a. I don't say super prospect, but of sorts got was good pop for pds, came back mid season was not good. But you have to think they're not over him after, you know, a limp 242 bad plate appearances at the end of last season that he has to be very much in the mix. I didn't mention, but this should be tied in Will Benson, who played a lot for them last year. The numbers weren't off the charts, but 14 homers, 16 stolen bases, he's 26. Like that's a baseball player. So the Cincinnati Reds are back to having a lot of position players, which. That's a good thing. I think what's scary to me is after Ellie De La Cruz, who had 25 homers last year, I believe, and has a chance to fully break out and kind of have. I mean, he kind of did break out. He had five WAR last year. But I mean, we could be talking about if his numbers pick up across the board. You're talking about seven, eight, nine WAR type of guy. So let's see what happens with Ellie. I mean, bbd. If you had to place a bet on not a DraftKings read, but double who's going to have the second most home runs on the Cincinnati Reds next year? You would pick God, right?

[David Mendelson]

Jake Fraley.

[Jake Storieli]

So for a team that I just mentioned has a lot of depth and we've. We've got.

[David Mendelson]

Not Jake Fraley.

[Jake Storieli]

We've got six infielders, six outfielders. You can't lock in another guy for 20 homers. 20. Which in today's baseball, like 20s, if you're an average power hitter playing a full scene every day, you're hitting 20 homers.

[David Mendelson]

I think Friedel. So I was trying to say for the, for the Reds, people yelling, they.

[Jake Storieli]

Have one of the best hitters parks in baseball. So maybe that can be your spin zone that you're gonna get plus production from one of these guys. For me, the scent is this should be a Move that leads to another move. I like Gavin Lux as a ballplayer. Like I said, he, you could get two years at 3 million and 6 million where he gives you two, three war seasons. That's. That's a massive win. And maybe the Reds are just thinking, hey, last year we had a lot. It always felt like we had two or three holes and it just never felt cohesive. That maybe if we have this extra depth and jamer has another bad year or one of the young guys has a down year, somebody gets hurt that we can plug them and hopefully the wheel keeps on turning. I'm okay with that thought process, but it feels a step off. And I wonder if there's a trade for a hitter. I wonder if they do they have the money to sign for a hitter. My knee jerk reaction was like a Dylan Cease trade. To have like an actual like, whoa, the Cincinnati Reds pitch. Because I, who have been brainwashed by myself into becoming a Cincinnati Reds fan because I liked all their young hitters so much. Funny how much a year can change things. I like their pitching more than they're hitting. Hunter Green breakout happened. I keep reminding people this. 26 starts at 275. Brady Singer, wherever you stand on them. He had a solid year last year. 3. 71 Andrew Abbott. 3. 72 Nick Martinez, qualifying offer 3. 1 ERA last year. And Nick Lodolo had 2. 2.1 WAR. Shut up, Jake. Talented young pitcher. And that is before we get to Rhett Louder, who was a top pick. Who? 30 innings from Rhett Louder last year. A 1,170 RA. And they have a couple other young arms they like. So in theory, the Cincinnati Reds could be done. They have some rotate rotation, depth. I don't hate their bullpen. They got some lefties and righties with Alexis Diaz on the back end. And it's like, okay, so maybe they just want depth in their lineup. Terry Francona's the manager, you may have forgotten, and he's just going to press all the right buttons and go, Cincy, go. I'd like to think there's another move and I think it could be for a pitcher. And if it's Dylan Cease for one or two young players, I think that's a win. Looking at Dylan Cease, Hunter Green and then if Singer, Abbott, Martinez, Lodola, one of them clicks, you have like a good rotation in Cincinnati, which I feel like we haven't said that. Was anyone else with Bauer, who's on that Reds team? Was Sunny there?

[David Mendelson]

Sunny was there. Luis Castillo was there. I don't know how broken out he.

[Jake Storieli]

Was, but talent, definitely that 2020 red team. I gotta tell Jolly to do that as a video. Yeah, man. Bauer, Castillo, Gray Tyler, Molly D. Scalfani, and Wade Miley. Okay, easy on that, right? Those four all had legit Rice, Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, TJ Antone, Archie Bradley, Brooks, Rayleigh. What? Oh, Jesse Biddle. What year is this? Are there two Jesse Biddles, Pedro Strope on the team? Wasn't there a Rocky Biddle was the old Expos reliever, and he got rocked. Why do I know his name? Minus 3.2 career war. Anyways, I'd like to think there's another move for the Reds going. I'd like to think it's in any direction. If this was a video game and the Reds had a little bit of money, could you somehow. Could you somehow get Dylan Cease and then sign Peter Santander or something? Then, like, you'd look at the Reds and be like, wait, is this a good team team? Because the other thing that happened earlier, I was on the Reds, and I was giving myself my normal Reds hype speech. Here we go. Let's go, Reds. I clicked over to the Royals, and I like the Royals roster better than the Reds. And I think it's on, like, every front. Like, I believe in the Royal star a little more. Bobby Witt Jr. He showed that last year. Like, even India Wit, Pasquintino Salvi. Maybe I'm a little too biased to Michael Massey, but I. I like what's going on up there. You could argue the Reds have better depth, sure, but kind of the star in the meat of the lineup. I like that more for K.C. reagan's Lugo Waka, now Lorenzen, and then however they want to finish it. Boobage March. Will Kyle Wright ever return? I don't know. Any young pitchers I know, not really. But also the bullpen man, Ersig, Harvey, Schreiber. And then they've got all those lefties, Zerpa, Lynch, Long, Chris Stratton, that it's kind of like, okay, the Royals. Where do I officially land on the Royals? They made the playoffs last year. The team has some juice. They have a star. It was an 86 win team. Do I think they necessarily got better? I don't know. I think that kind of depends on India. Pasquintino Salvi, Michael Massey, breakout alert. I kind of like the Royals more than the Reds, which, I gotta be honest, for the Reds, that's a bad sign. Like, I hope the Royals run it back next year, but The Royals, they were second in starting pitching era. That's really good. The Reds last year. Oh my God. I accidentally just clicked on a booze ad. How do I get out of here? What is this?

[David Mendelson]

What is this?

[Jake Storieli]

Reggie Whiskey. They got me. Well done. Now I'm buying it. I'm drinking it. My Cincinnati Reds that I continue to try to talk myself into in a weak division. They won 77 games last year. 21st in OPS, 16th and starting pitching ERA, 18th and reliever. Give me a little bit of an identity somewhere and maybe Jose Trevino helps steal some pitches for them and that can help their pitching staff. I'd like if they could give me one more move in either direction. I can dream better.

[David Mendelson]

Like a new doesn't necessarily have to be best but a new most reliable hitter or pitcher. Like something with a big ceiling.

[Jake Storieli]

I would love a hitter that looks like 25 plus homers, ideally 30 today's baseball. Or I'd love a starting pitcher that I could look at and say well you're Gonna hopefully get 30 starts at a 335 ERA. And the I guess the part that surprised me when I originally did this because again knee jerk reaction posted on social media. I was like Dylan Cease, like Reds. That's an identity pitch a little bit. I kind of now believe in the Reds pitching upside more than they're hitting. That I don't know. Hopefully I'm missing something. The Reds have great American ballpark. Maybe that's where my head is at. Like go get Dylan Cease and you'll figure out hitting. But Reds, I need one more move to make sense of it. Meanwhile, watch out for whatever Mike Sirota and whoever the Dodgers pick with that pick. That's a little bit of the baseball update for now. We will see again whatever shoe drops next. There's been no real Santander rumors. Pete's kind of in a bad spot. It feels like Bregman. It still feels like he's in a good spot.

[David Mendelson]

It'll ultimately seem like Bregman's like gonna land where he wanted.

[Jake Storieli]

There's a lot of teams you can be like Bregman, Bregman, Bregman, Red Sox, Mats Gnats. I have to feel like our team, everyone wants the Tigers, that we've done. Pete, that whole first base wheel happened carousel. Then I don't know. I'm starting to think he's going to fall more into like a Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman three year with opt out. So if you have a 40 homer year in the next two years, you'll get another big deal. But I don't know. It's entered a weird spot with Pete and I didn't think it would. I thought a team would. Would talk themselves into that. Reds, Diamondbacks. Who's gonna come out of the woodwork for Pete? Yankees. No, no. Kombucha girl gift. Again, a joke for a couple people. Let's talk a little football. Because I told you this is kind of the big one. College football, if you're not into it, I think this should be your weekend. We are down to. Well. Oh, God. I was gonna say. I was. I was gonna make a joke about one of the bad bowl games. It had South Alabama, Western Michigan. But that was December 14th, so if you're looking forward to that game, it's not happening. No. There are three college football games left. Notre Dame at Penn State. Okay. Some traditional northern colleges mixing it up. The Golden Domers have become, I don't know, kind of Yankee ish. Right? Like Notre Dame used to be college football's brand. They haven't really won the big one in a while. People said last week against Georgia was the biggest game they've won in a long time. They play a fun brand of football. They want to run the ball. They've got a veteran quarterback, Riley Leonard, who's going to make plays. Not a ton through the air last week, but they didn't need a ton through the air. But their run game is really fun. Love and Price normally doing a lot of work, although Riley Leonard did a lot of the work last week as they beat a Georgia team with basically just a good end to the half. Penn State had been kind of one of. They'd been a punching bag of college football for a little bit. Cause another program that kind of landed top 10, they won every game they were supposed to win. They lost every game they were supposed to lose. So it's kind of like, well, what are you? You're clearly not the elite. You're not bad, but how do we treat you? They beat SMU and Boise State, so even reading that off makes me a little timid. But they won both those games dominantly, which. Which you like to see. They do have one of the best quarterbacks remaining in this whole dance. Drew Aller has. Has elevated his stock. He had three touchdown passes against Boise, no interceptions. Allen and Singleton are there to go to running backs. Singleton's a beast. And it's funny. Allen actually outplayed him last game against Boise. And if you're in the NFL world and you're just waiting to get to the next part of this conversation. They have a tight end, Tyler Warren, who is just massive. There's been a couple times they just give him the ball in the backfield because he's that good that it's just like, hey, figure it out, dude. We don't know how to get you the ball right now. So go. Two touchdowns receiving against Boise State and just, you know, some college players look different on the field. He is one of them. That'll be fun to see him on that stage. And I'd have to assume he's going to be a first round pick and he is just massive. I think there's going to be Gronk comparisons come the draft and if he has a big game, watch out. That, that's going to be fun to see. Those two teams, one of them is going back to the national championship. Notre Dame did that a few years ago, but they got absolutely rolled by Alabama. Like they just didn't have a chance at that. It was like Alabama's peak and it was like Notre Dame wiggled in and that was a bad time. This will be a fun game. Notre Dame is the favorite. I was just talking myself by a point and a half, so it's pretty tight. I was just telling myself, like, ooh, Penn State, they've got a quarterback. Notre Dame hasn't seen that. But Notre Dame just beat Georgia, who they've got, you know, Georgia compared to Boise State and SMU is a different product on each line that this game is being played tomorrow night. So again I mentioned this is a, an explosive football weekend. Tomorrow night at the Orange Bowl. Fighting Irish, Nittany Lions, gun to my head, why does he always do that? I guess I like Notre Dame. They just took out Georgia. They're feeling good about themselves. They kind of know who they are. They've got a good storyline. I like their head coach a little more than Penn State's head coach. And I don't know, the Notre Dame story is cool. Like they lost to Northern Illinois and everyone was ready to fire their coach and Notre Dame's a joke and here we go and they have responded from that as good as a team can, so I guess I like that story a little more. James Franklin left my Vanderbilt, so some, some wounds just never heal. But that should be a fun one. Now on Friday maybe because we've got a snowstorm in Dallas. Watch out. Supposed to get a half a foot and they don't know what to do with snow down there. Ohio State, the Ohio State, the heavy favorites to win this Whole dance. How quickly we've moved on from Ryan Day not beating Michigan over the past four years. They are the favorites. They are playing Texas, the Texas Longhorns, who their two losses this year are to Georgia in a couple close games, or at least the second one was. So we'll see if there's any Texas in Texas effect. They're playing at Jerry's World. You'd like to think there's going to be more burnt orange in the crowd. I'll tell you this. Dallas is a commuter city. Is that the transplant city? That there's already a lot of Ohio folk there and it's a fan base that travels that I don't. I don't think we're looking at something odd here. A team that wouldn't travel unless flights from Ohio get canceled. We'll see about that. Texas, I'm interested to see are they gonna mix anything up. They ended up letting Clemson into the game a little bit in their first game. Arizona State almost pulled out a miracle against them in their defense that is supposed to be their strength. Continues to just have kind of these weird moments of what is going on here. Ewers stat line ends up looking good. Last game people were wondering has he been playing hurt through the season? Because he had some moments of just bizarre kind of output on their end. And meanwhile Ohio State, I talked about Notre Dame looking in the mirror after losing to Northern Illinois and kind of doing, yo, what are we doing? And how. It's a great bounce back story. Ohio State's looking to write an even better one. Ryan Day looking like he's on the chopping block into four years, not beating Michigan. And this Michigan team was not a Michigan team that if they slipped up against Tennessee in a cold weather game, if they lost to Oregon, the undefeated number one team that they had lost to. Ryan Day could have been in a weird spot. And I don't know if he'd be the coach of Ohio State. I think after they beat Tennessee how they did. If the Oregon game was close, he would have been fine. But a reminder, they jumped out in front of Oregon cataclysmically. It's a Joe's McFly word that I try to mix in. I mean 34 nothing. I think that word works there that Ohio State has now become the favorite. It seems like they're clicking on all cylinders. Their wide receivers cannot be stopped. Jeremiah Smith, the wide out freshman wide receiver, he's drawing comps to Julio Jones, Andre Johnson, like the best of the best wide receivers, you know, that went through college football and just ripped it up. He's on that level. They have him and a book on the outside that the secret is they've kind of been feeding those guys the ball instead of focusing on the run and nobody can stop them. Even though they have a great run game. With Henderson and Howard the quarterback chipping in where he needs to, it's going to be interesting to see if what kind of fight Texas has for them. It's a five, five and a half point spread, which usually that means they're indecisive and they're trying to get you to take Texas. Because Ohio State and just how good they have looked. Ohio, Texas might be the last line of defense. Texas, one of the favorites coming into this season. And they've shown moments of really high play between their quarterback, their running back, their defense, and can they get a Texas boost or even. Ohio State hasn't seen something go the wrong direction in a while. They haven't seen a pick six. They haven't seen a bad fumble. Can they get something early that shows like, hey, this is an equal playing field. Cause right now they are rolling. I'll be honest, it's tough to bet against Ohio State right now with how good they do look. But tune into, if you're a sports person, these are going to be two fun ones to tune into. And by the way, your college football bracket, which we've talked about a little bit and we'll talk about more how we need to make some changes and adjustments. The current seeds left are 5, 6, 7 and 8. So again, how the bracket got built in previous years, it would have been a different one through four. Like a couple of these teams would have been in here. But this year, this is where we're at. And I think the product has gotten to a good spot with that Arizona State Texas game that was just electric last week. I guess we could use one more signature game. But again, we are now at the point that the playoffs started previously. So I think, I think we're in a good spot. So if college football is not your fancy, the NFL will have what you're looking for into the weekend. As it is wild card weekend, the NFL is rolling out 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 games starting Saturday, ending on Monday. Saturday, it starts off Chargers, Texans, Harbaugh, remember Michigan. Harbaugh and The Chargers are 11 and 6. The turnaround happened like he does everywhere he goes. And they will head to Houston. Who a weird year for them, man. 10 and 7. No one else in their division finished above 500. The Colts had a very culty year. Meanwhile, Jacksonville died in Tennessee with was bad enough to have the first pick in the draft. So what is Houston? CJ Stroud took a step back and was that the league seeing him more? Was it the people having a target on them? Trying to see what's my best. What is my best. Texans win. They beat the Bills a while ago, so that's kind of an easy one I guess. Since then. Since then the Texans best wins are the Patriots, the Colts, the Cowboys, the Jaguars, the Dolphins and the Titans. They lost to the Ravens, the Chiefs, the Titans. Yikes. Lions, Jets, Packers. So a year that was filled with a lot of excitement for Houston. They've been off the map since. Off the map since early in the season. The Chargers in Houston are three point favorites. And I think you could tell by the way I was talking to myself. I think I'm talking myself into that. Justin Herbert, man, 23 touchdowns, three interceptions. Pretty impressive what he's done. The lad McConkey rookie season that he's put up. Yeah, I guess I was interested to. I thought the Texans at home in a playoff game, you know, you think they'd be at least pick them or one point favorites. No, the Chargers minus three. And I think I just talked myself into more of that. The nightcap that you hope has excitement. A nine and a half point spread makes you a little nervous. And two teams that make you nervous on both fronts. The Ravens at one point my super bowl pick for this year. And man, could Lamar use a big play playoff game to shake some of his wooga wooga woogas against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who? Pittsburgh Steelers. Bell of the ball, Mike Tomlin. How did they do it defense in this guy? They've lost their last four. Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, Bengals. It's feeling different. It's feeling different for the Steelers who will head to Baltimore. They played the Ravens twice this year. They won the 18 to 16 Boswell bowl six times. Three. Is that 18? Yep, they won that one. Then at the Ravens they lost 34 to 7 with Baltimore opening it up late in that game. Baltimore is a much better team. The Steelers, it's. How can they score with the Ravens and I don't know if they can even on their bad day. Mark Andrews, Fun stat with him after the first six weeks of the year with zero touchdowns. He ended up leading the tight end position in touchdowns. There's a lot of people that had regretful fantasy trades, including my main league. I care about. Someone was very sad. No names mentioned. It's Andrew but the there's a couple.

[David Mendelson]

Andrews so that leaves it vague including in this conversation.

[Jake Storieli]

Right. So yeah it'd be cool if you get the division and Raven Steelers. We're hard hitting and maybe a special teams play and Tomlin's got something up his sleeve. I'll tell you what, if the Ravens somehow lose this game, watch out. The Lamar tone is going to change bigger than you thought. He has used up all of his playoff leash. His playoff stats are pretty pretty not good that yeah this is kind of the year he might be winning another MVP award. Everyone talks about now how his 41 touchdowns, four interceptions and how three of the four went off wide receivers hands. It's a special special year from Lamar who I think he has like a top five QBR in a season ever and that doesn't include the running and he like passed Vic this year for what he does on the ground. Should be Ravens big rivalry division game. Sometimes that's when the funk comes out. Should be Ravens by more than nine and a half sometimes. Vegas knows though. So that's your Saturday slate. Sunday Broncos Bills. My Broncos made it to the dance. Can you believe it? The Broncos 10 and 7. Bo Knicks. It seems like they're getting better. Bo Nicks 29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions. I mean their last game against the Chiefs shouldn't really count. Although I heard Travis Kelsey was getting mad about that. They're going into Buffalo. Josh Allen, who's competing with Lamar for the mvp. Buffalo, one of the tougher places to play in this league. Cook kind of figured it out with the run game this year. His final stats, over a thousand yards, 16 touchdowns. A little guy that wasn't supposed to be able to find the end zone and just spreading the ball out to every receiver a little bit the same except for Corland Sutton on the Broncos. Nice year Cortland. People are leaving him undrafted. Bo Nix. I get it. It's an eight and a half point spread. I told everyone my dream and dream is a very dramatic word. Actually it's kind of not my dream bet that I've never hit that I've wanted to hit is in most games there's a bet halftime full time that like if you think the the the Bills are going to win this game, you'd pick Bills Bills. And the odds are just slightly tougher because if you think the Bills are going the Bills should lead this game the whole way. There's usually tie and then the winner which those odds are crazy. And then my dream bet you can bet one team to be leading at half and then the other team to win. That's my dream. I would love if my Broncos could execute that dream, that Sean Payton has a Plan B. Knicks and the boys come out and they put together a couple drives. Maybe they get the ball. First field goal at the half and they're up 13 to 10. Something like that. I don't think they can win this game. I will be interested to see man Bo Nix in some of these recent games in the whole thing. Sean Payton said he saw Drew Brees in this guy and they used to just complete passes and that's what they've been doing recently. 26 for 29 against Kansas City. Okay. Backups 24 for 31 against the Bengals, 29 for 40 against the Chargers. And then it starts to thin out a little bit. I hope the old dog Sean Payne can win me over. If there is a sneaky onside kick in this game, I will be furious. But maybe that's what they'll need to actually hang with the Bills who are playing for a Super bowl year this year. That is your 1pm game at 4:30. Packers Eagles I want to have Justin Pennock on. I think his his mom had a surgery or something. I don't know if I'm supposed to be sharing that, but he was spending time with her today so we're hoping to have him next week. And best wishes if that wasn't supposed to be revealed, I'm interested to see, Pennock said. If the Eagles draw the packers, that's a really bad matchup for the Eagles and there would be a sweet Philly twist if they've gone on this run. They've been incredible. Eagles, Eagles. Eagles. They've become my favorite. Sirianni God again. If they lose to the Pack in Philly that burnt that building could burn down. That being said, Philly is still my super bowl pick because I think they've gotten back to running the ball and they're just so dominant at it. Saquon is crazy. 2000 yards missing the last game. Let's see what goes on with Hertz. He's been in concussion protocol. He practiced today. Eagles four and a half. I'll bet it. They'll win by three. I'll bet. Be mad all around. Packers. What are you? Let's find out. A lot of green Commanders Buccaneers. Your nightcap. Okay. Baker and Jaden Daniels Sure. Buccaneers have been fun all year. Man, I wish that Chris Godwin injury never happened. The Commanders have been fun all year. 12 and 5. It's in Tampa. Remember they were going on their three game skid and they had one game before the bye week to figure it out against the Titans. It was close for. Or actually no, it was not close. They blew him out early. Titans showed a little fight. They beat them, they won out. Titan, Saints, Eagles. Remember that one? Falcons, Cowboys, everything's close with them. I love Jaden Daniels and I hope we get some Jaden Daniels magic. I love Baker and Bucky. Man, I'm surprised. This is the Sunday night game. Feels like Packers, Eagles, just a little more national juice. Tampa Bay is a three point favorite and I think that's right again. There's a lot of things you could look back on this Washington season. Remember the Giants game, week two, that they should have lost but the Giants didn't have a kicker and there's, you know, the Hail Mary against the Bears. Like oh God, yeah, this, this Washington season could have felt a lot different at a couple different stops along the way. And hey there, they have some other things they can point back. The Steelers had a crazy comeback against them one week. Sit back and enjoy that breeze. What Baker has turned himself into in this second act of his career has been a ton of fun. What Jaden Daniels is doing and how electric that is is a ton of fun. Bucky Irving is electric and I hope they feed him the rock.

[David Mendelson]

See where his season numbers ended up?

[Jake Storieli]

Yeah, Bucky crushed, man. And he still was sharing time with like a couple backs along the way. Not only white, but they like their other guy. 44. Nice. That's real football talk when you say their number. Enjoy it. Hopefully if we get a Baker, Jaden, shootout, a couple Heisman guys and that'll lead us into Monday. Vikings, Rams. The coaches are connected. Minnesota 1 point favorite in LA as scary. LA. Let's see what's going on with that whole city in a couple days. Remember the Vikings were playing to get the one seed in a buy and now they're in la and that city might be rallying around everything. And Matthew Stafford and McVeigh could be scary hours. And the last thing we saw from Darnold was he was having a pretty bad time out there. Let's get through the weekend and you'll hear from us before then. Enjoy it. You guys know I've enjoyed my relationship with football. Did I watch a little NBA the other night? I did. Who was I watching? Not the Nuggets game. Who's on before them? Lakers. Lakers? Someone? Lakers. Mavs? A lot of guys missing. No Luca, No Kyrie. Yeah, NBA. This is kind of the whole thing. I saw they're doing another NBA is doing a rivalry week coming up. Oh, anything to make people believe it matters because guys aren't playing. I love it when the guys play. College basketball is in a weird spot. Everyone's pooping on them nowadays because they're saying guys don't know how to play basketball anymore. Maybe that's just on the old side of the Internet I now live on with this jacket. Hey, enjoy the sports. Maybe we get the baseball breaking news. I don't know. And if not, it's okay to enjoy the football. I support that and so does Uncle.

[David Mendelson]

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