Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Episode 157: West Coast Fallout

Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Episode 157: West Coast Fallout

by Home Run Applesauce

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Topics in this Episode

About This Episode

65:23 minutes

published 1 month ago

English

Copyright 2023, Home Run Applesauce LLC

Explicit

Speaker 00s - 79.32s

At Bed 365, we don't do ordinary. We believe that every sport should be epic. Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar. See for yourself when you sign up today and get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just $5. Whatever the sport, whatever the moment.It's never ordinary at Bet 365. 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. Terms and conditions apply. At Bet 365, we don't do ordinary. We believe that every sport should be epic.Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar. See for yourself when you sign up today and get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just $5. Whatever the sport, whatever the moment. It's never ordinary at Bet365 ORG. 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.Gambling problem call 1-800 gambler. Terms and Conditions Apply.

Speaker 382.58s - 123.22s

Welcome back to Today Your Love Tomorrow, the World Series WORK_OF_ART. My name is Brian with me. As always, is Chris PERSON and Chris the Mets ORG just finished their first West Coast swing of the year. They went three and three taking two from theDodgers and taking one from the Giants ORG. After the first two Dodgers wins, it seemed a little bit like the Mets were never going to lose again. They had won six six straight I believe it was. It was six or seven Chris PERSON? What wastheir win streak? Six in a row. That's what I thought it was. Was it six or seven, Chris PERSON? What was their win streak? Six in a row. That's what I thought, yeah. And then, you know, got blown out by the Dodgers ORG in the last game, lost the first game of the Giants ORG series, but, you know, rebounded nicely. So in our weekly vibe check, how you feel about the Mets ORG as of right now?Pretty solid.

Speaker 1123.78s - 197.08s

No complaints really about the road trip. Obviously, you would love to see them win both series. But a three-and-three trip against two, you know, obviously the Dodgers ORG are one of the elite teams in baseball and the Giants ORG maybe aren't, but I'd say they're a team that's not embarrassing to lose a game or two against that that can happen. So it's funny, every time a West Coast LOC trip comes up, I always go back to that one that they had.And I think it was 2006 where they just dominated. It was a longer West Coast LOC trip. Yes. And they were just fantastic. That is the absolute ideal scenario for that. But three and three still sitting above 500 feels like we can't really complain afterthey started 0 and 5. They've got a pretty good shot here to make it to May 1st at or above 500. And look, that alone is contending in this version of Major League Baseball ORG. So, yeah.

Speaker 3198.3s - 203.84s

I believe they would, if the season ended today, they will be the third wildcard team, I believe.

Speaker 1206.26s - 206.72s

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3207.6s - 207.92s

Yeah.

Speaker 1207.92s - 210.56s

Look, a few weeks ago,

Speaker 3211.2s - 214.92s

not only are they 0 and 5 to start the season,

Speaker 2215.02s - 216.52s

but you're looking at the schedule and saying

Speaker 3216.52s - 218.86s

they got four with the Braves ORG coming up.

Speaker 2219.72s - 221.38s

They've got the Dodgers this month.

Speaker 1221.94s - 260.56s

Those seven games that were on the schedule, one of them in Atlanta wound up being rained out. But those seven games alone could have been sort of season enders given the start that they had and just the quality of the opposition. So the fact that they've won four of six from the Braves and Dodgers ORG, does that mean that they'd be the favored team or have a really good shot in a playoff series? Probably not.But better than I think we could have expected. And I don't think they're firing on all cylinders yet.

Speaker 2260.96s - 263.36s

We can get into specifics.

Speaker 1264.08s - 278.02s

The bullpen has been excellent. Maybe it's not quite this good over the course of the full season, but I would think that the lineup, especially with the addition of J.D. Martinez PERSON, can make up for that. And there's room for improvement in the

Speaker 3278.02s - 307.28s

rotation, too. So, yeah, I feel similarly to how you feel in terms of the general state of the team right now, you know, like I said before, it would have been nice to win both of those series against the Dodgers and the Giants ORG. But taking 203 from the Dodgers ORG in the manner in which they did was great. And, you know, you never want to see somebody, you know,

Speaker 2307.54s - 315.7s

blown out and trounced, but I'd almost rather see them lose that game

Speaker 3315.7s - 346.16s

in the fashion they did against the Dodgers ORG because it just, it sort of seems like, you know, your team's going to get blown out now and then. These things happen to every single baseball team. And so let them take the blowout loss. It wasAdrian Hauser PERSON, who I feel like is going to become a frequent target of scorn for you and I on this podcast. But maybe he can do what Harrison Bader PERSON did and use our ire towardshim to prove us wrong.

Speaker 2346.7s - 355.04s

So your move, Mr. Hauser PERSON, go right ahead and hate us and prove us wrong with your,

Speaker 3356.24s - 524.08s

with a better performance. But no, you know, it's it was a nice, it was a nice road trip. The team seems to be, you know, weathering the loss of Francisco Alvarez PERSON, which we'll talk about at a minute, reasonably well so far. The offense hasn't totally cratered without Alvarez PERSON in it. Like you said, G.D. Martinez PERSON is going to be here.By the time that this episode gets released, possibly, you will have have already watched JD Martinez play his first game as a Met ORG. So there is help on the way in that regard. I think there's also some reasonable optimism to be had around the rotation being a little bit better, as you mentioned, Chris PERSON. We are still about at least a month away from Kodai Senga's PERSON return from the injured list, but that will obviously have a huge impact on the rotation when he returns.You know, we have not seen outside of Sean Manaya and one of the Severino PERSON starts. We have not seen like truly dominant starting pitching from this team yet. And while I don't think that that's going to be the case for the entire rotation or even for the bulk of the starts that they get, I think this team is capable of putting up, you know, above average starting pitching more frequently than they'vebeen putting it up so far. That's, I mean, I'm hedging like all over the place here, but I just, I just feel like this team has a lot of room for improvement without crazy things happening. Like, you know, I, I would, everyone who listened to this podcast for long enough knows, I went to college of Pittsburgh. One of my friends is a huge pirates ORG fan. And he would say things all the time like, you know, uh, you know, if we can just, if we can find someone to take Derek Bell off our hands, you know, we can get, we, we can get this great, you know, we'll trade Derek Bell to the Yankees ORG and, and they'll, and like, he would do these preposterous tradesto somehow make himself feel better about the state of the pirates. And that's just not realistic ever. The Mets ORG have a chance to be really good. We're not really good. The Mets ORG have a chance to be greatly improved just by the natural order of things happening the way it should. A couple of more decent starting pitching performances.A little bit more offense from guys who maybe had a slow start and all of a sudden this team looks you know considerably better than the team that we're looking at right now which is still a team that is performing you know too decent uh you know uh it's doing it right man this is the most

Speaker 0524.08s - 532.28s

i have such a sinus allergy brain today this is just the team's doing fine right. Man, this is the most, I have such a sinus allergy brain today. This is just, the team's doing fine. Jesus Christ PERSON.

Speaker 3533.08s - 605.98s

We should talk about Francisco Alvarez PERSON quickly. So last week, after we recorded, Alvarez had the third game in a row where he tweaked his thumb a little bit. This time, he was rounding first base and stumbled and reached out his hand to brace himself on the ground and tore the ligament in his thumb. This comes a day after sliding into the second base pretty hard with that thumband two days after a catcher's interference call where he had hit in the thumb with a bat. So, you know, clearly he is, the thumb was an issue for the last, you know, a couple of days he was playing. But it really became an issue when the ligament got torn. And, you know, you never want to see a player get hurt. You never want to see a young player get, be out for six to eight weeks is the expected recovery time, supposedly. You never want to see a young player get uh be out for six to eight weeks is the expected uh recovery time supposedly you never want to see that ever but in terms of how bad things could have beenwatching that play i i'm i'm thankful this is all that that went wrong uh how do you feel about this injury situation yeah about, about the same.

Speaker 1606.58s - 660.26s

I think one thing we've heard so much about is that Francisco Alvarez PERSON has this just kind of incredible work ethic. He's always playing hard. This is probably a play and an example of finding the right balance between that and sort of being a durable player over the course of 162 and hopefully more games per year. Obviously, a catcher is never going to play all those games. But yeah, you don't want to tell somebody to dial it back or tone it down when that approach has gotten them to the level that they're at. But in his case, it's two parts of it too.I hope people remember that he got hurt hustling. Yes.

Speaker 2661.18s - 663.24s

That is the cause here.

Speaker 1663.84s - 735.46s

And then the other side of that is just I love the effort, but was that necessary in that situation? And that's where I would just love to see him find that balance. Not critical, really, of them, just one of those things to maybe consider moving forward because I think the fact that he's, he said okay overall, but he hadn't been off to, I mean, he came out of the gate hot, but he cooled off kind of substantially. In the short term, that probably makes it a little easier to absorb his absence.But when you, you don't want to go too far beyond these next two months with Nerva's and Nito PERSON as your go-to options behind the plate. And look, it's entirely possible, too, that Alvarez PERSON is a defensive, a major defensive upgrade from either of those guys.

Speaker 0741.38s - 741.5s

I know Nido had gotten some praise before the Mets got Norvaez PERSON,

Speaker 1743.58s - 774.02s

and Nito wound up mostly playing in Syracuse GPE. But, yeah, yeah, he'll be missed. I don't think it's an insurmountable sort of situation for the Mets ORG. And obviously J.D. Martinez coming in and essentially being what the ideal version of Alvarez PERSON is, a middle of the order power bat, that is fortunate timing. Yes.

Speaker 2775.84s - 778.32s

Obviously, it would be better to have both of them in the lineup.

Speaker 1779.22s - 802.24s

But, yeah, here we are. I do just hope that it's, I think they initially said six to eight weeks. And then shortly after said definitely more on the eight week side. But I hope it's just that. And I hope it's not something where we get into waiting until August for him to return.

Speaker 3803.4s - 813.84s

Yeah. Because then you'll get the insufferable baseball discourse of this is like a trade acquisition deadline, a trade deadline acquisition, which is maybe my least favorite thing in all of baseball analysis.

Speaker 1815.28s - 818.04s

When people say that, it makes me absolutely bonkers.

Speaker 3818.54s - 821.12s

So let's hope to not get any of that.

Speaker 2821.86s - 823.82s

But also, yeah, I mean, I'm with you.

Speaker 3824s - 860.94s

I know Alvarez PERSON works very, very hard, and I'm sure that he's going to do everything he can to get back ASAP. But that said, I also don't need him to try to rush his way back and then take more time. I'd rather him take the time now, be conservative about his approach, and allow in those eight or ten weeks whatever it is to come back healthy and not not be in the situation we seem to be in all the time as Mets ORG fans where injuries just lingerand the recovery time is always twice what we were told it is yeah you and I've talked about

Speaker 1860.94s - 866.82s

that too how I'm sure that happens for all fan bases but as we are Mets ORG fans we can only really understand it from the Mets perspective so I'm sure that happens for all fan bases, but as we are Mets fans, we can only really understand it from the Mets perspective.

Speaker 3867.12s - 872.96s

So I'm sure that happens to other teams players, too, but it always seems like it happens to the Mets ORG. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 1873.98s - 877s

Going back, like, my entire Mets ORG fandom pretty much.

Speaker 3878.76s - 889.82s

And to a certain extent, those feelings are justified because especially now that the Wipons are 95% out of the picture and no longer involved in running the team or

Speaker 1889.82s - 953.28s

being any substantial part of it. You've heard more of those stories. Some of them came out while they were still around. But when you're hearing from the likes of Pedro Martinez that Jeff Wilpon PERSON was in the clubhouse personally sort of badgering guys and making them feel like they had to play, I mean, even still a little bit of a source, but I think for Mets ORG fans, the fact thatZach Wheeler is pitching in Philadelphia and not for the Mets ORG at this point very likely goes back to Wilpon PERSON ownership, seeing him as somebody who wasn'thealthy enough or willing to pitch through injuries enough, in their opinion, to invest in keeping him around. Objectively, I've been a little bit surprised how durable and how good he turned out to be.

Speaker 2953.44s - 954.44s

Agreed, yes.

Speaker 1956.98s - 1057.72s

But to just dismiss the idea of bringing him back, and we saw it in the Brody Van Wagon PRODUCT in Comment, too. It was just a half season that was good. the idea of bringing him back and we saw it in the Brody van Wagon in comment too it was just a half season that was good and at the time or a half season that was like greator whatever it was that he said and that was true at the time but yeah so yeah I think I think it does happen a little bit throughout sportsand I think whether or not there's sort of bad motives from ownership to push guys to do things they shouldn't do. Injuries are just tricky sometimes. And I mean, I know when I've had minor semi-athletic injuries of my own, They feel like they can take forever to recover. And I'm not trying to get back to playing a sport at an elite level, right? I'm like trying to be able to run a couple miles a few times a week. And that is difficult to recover from a sprain or, you know,we all have friends who've maybe torn a ligament or anything like that. Like, imagine that experience with needing to get back to, like, absolutely 100% of what your body can be to get back out there and play at the highest level of a sport. So even with the best intentions, I think those setbacks can happen, but the Wilpon PERSON scars are real.And we are justified in feeling like it only happens to us as Mets ORG fans.

Speaker 31059.18s - 1103.78s

My friend Eric Steven, who does the three-inning save podcast with the Dodgers ORG, has talked about how he, it took him years to get over the, like, PTSD of being a Dodgers ORG fan during the, the really, really disastrous period when the McCorts PERSON were just like, you know, they're basically the Wilpon PERSON West, Wilpon's West, right? And how it took a couple of years for him to even, like,you know, begin to accept that the Dodgers ORG were making good decisions. And I feel like that is the story of Mets fans everywhere with Steve Cohen PERSON. I think Mets ORG fans have probably overcompensated and, you know, the whole Uncle Stevie PERSON bullshit stuff that was happening was like the overreaction to that.

Speaker 01104.06s - 1107.32s

But I totally understand the, you know,

Speaker 21107.34s - 1111.38s

the very real PTSD from the Will Ptun PERSON era that we're all carrying with us.

Speaker 01112.3s - 1115.38s

At Bed 365, we don't do ordinary.

Speaker 31115.88s - 1118.4s

We believe that every sport should be epic.

Speaker 01118.78s - 1231.78s

Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar. Whether it's a walk-off, grand slam, or a base hit to center field, whatever the sport, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365. 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. At Bet365 ORG, we don't do ordinary. We believe that every sport should be epic.Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar. Whether it's a walk-off, grand slam, or a base hit to center field. Whatever the sport, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary. At Bet, 365, 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia. Whatever the sport, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365 ORG. 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. At Bet 365, we don't do ordinary. We believe that every sport should be epic. Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar. Whether it's a walk-off, grand slam, or a base hit to center field.Whatever the sport, whatever the moment. It's never ordinary. At Bet365 ORG. 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. At Bed 365, we don't do ordinary.We believe that every sport should be epic. Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar. See for yourself when you sign up today and get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just $5. Whatever the sport, whatever the moment. It's never ordinary at Bet365 ORG. 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. Terms and conditions apply.

Speaker 31232.8s - 1239.42s

Anything you want to say about the Dodgers or Giants ORG series in particular? Anything that stood out to you as particularly encouraging or troublesome?

Speaker 11242.16s - 1260.68s

Uh, hmm. No, I mean, I guess the big concern that people have is sort of the just what the rotation is doing, not getting deep into games. I mean, not even getting close to getting deep in the games.

Speaker 31260.68s - 1261.26s

Yeah, I was going to say.

Speaker 11262.72s - 1320.88s

And generally a high walk rate and all that. To go back to what you said a little earlier, Hazer is the one pitcher who has just been awful. And in writing about the Med Series against the Cardinals this weekend, I said at the time of that trade, uh,Hazard PERSON seemed like the headliner, right? And, uh, it's turned out to kind of be the opposite. But it's, it's just four starts. It's probably a little soon to panic, but I do think that, uh, I don't know how many more like truly bad starts from Hauser and great starts from Christian Scott in Syracuse GPE. How many more times does that happen before you say, hey, we have to give this a shot? Right.

Speaker 21323.92s - 1328.1s

Scott is pitching in a way that, I mean, he's not going seven or eight innings every night

Speaker 11328.1s - 1423.18s

but the strikeouts are sky high the walks are super low even his most recent start he walks the first batter gives up a two-run home run and then retires 18 batters in a row with I forget it was nine 10 11 strikeouts whatever whatever it was. Just absurd, right? Like, you love to see a pitcher be able to get past early mistakes and then just get into that groove. But, yeah, I don't know how much longer to go with it.Before his most recent start, I was of the mindset that, look, Hauser PERSON's made. There was three starts at the time. It's probably too early to sort of pull the plug. But then he had a really bad one to follow that up. And yeah, it was against the Dodgers ORG, but he should be better than this.Well, yeah, clearly. His strikeouts are down. His blocks are way up. And he's got an ERA over seven without allowing. He's given up one home run. So if that fly ball luck kind of turns on him and everything else is the same,it could get really ugly. So yeah, that, that is my one area of concern. But it seems like there's a very easy fix.

Speaker 31424.14s - 1497.56s

Well, I mean, look, even if they, even if they really feel like Scott PERSON needs more time, there are other internal options that they could go with. You know, we haven't seen much of Joey Lucchese just yet this year. And that's probably for good reason. I know his velocity has not been what it should be. And there's a couple of issues, you know, obviously with that. But I also feel like there's plenty of people who, you know, wouldn't mind with Jose Budo PERSON being a more regularpart of this rotation even after Kodai Senga returns. Max Kranek PERSON just got off the I.L. It was option to Syracuse GPE. So there are other options here that aren't just, you know, write it out with Adrian Houser for the rest of the season. Now, in terms of the Christian Scott PERSON of it all, do you get the impression just from, you know, what you've read, what you've seen around?Do you think that he is going to, is he an early season call-up, or do you think he's a September call-up at this point? Hmm.

Speaker 11498.24s - 1536.86s

My best guess would be somewhere in between. I don't know if they have any sort of inning limit in mind for him this year and if they do wear that it or that lies. I'm curious to see his teams continue trying to navigate pitching injuries, whether they continue to put innings caps on guys or really just go with lower pitch counts and each outing. It's been, I feel like the trend has been lightning workloads more and more and the injurytrend continues to go in the wrong direction anyway. Yep.

Speaker 21537.92s - 1540.6s

So I don't know what the right answer is there.

Speaker 11540.6s - 1552.16s

It gets talked about quite a bit throughout baseball these days, but I'll predict that Scott PERSON is making Major League starts in June. Okay.

Speaker 21553.4s - 1555.08s

Somewhat conservative, but

Speaker 11555.08s - 1573.38s

I don't know. If it gets to a point that he's every single time out there in AAA ORG, he's just showing that he's kind of conquered that level, then what's the point if you don't give that person a shot at the big league level?

Speaker 01574.84s - 1580.9s

And look, it's a new person in charge of baseball operations, but we did see the Mets ORG do it.

Speaker 11580.9s - 1603.02s

It's not like everybody's gone from the front office who was there a year ago. Mark Vientos, Brett Beat Beatty, they got their shots when they hit really well early in the season. And neither of them panned out as a major league hitter last year. Ronnie Maricio took a whole lot longer before he got Major League of Batts ORG.

Speaker 21603.02s - 1607.54s

And he had also gotten off to that sort of rip-roaring start in Syracuse GPE.

Speaker 11610.18s - 1637.72s

We know there's a lot more to it than just a stat line. There are things that teams are looking for. They have access to all this information that we don't. But yeah, I would guess that Scott PERSON, even though he's a pitcher and not a position player, like those three guys, ends up a little closer to Bity or Vento's timeline than the Mauricio one. Yeah, and that's probably true.

Speaker 31638.52s - 1752s

I would say we're probably not going to see Scott until July would be my guess, because I just think that there's going to be a certain amount of conservatism in terms of bringing him up quote too early, whatever that really means. ButI wouldn't be surprised if we see him you know, early to mid-July, pre-all-Star break. And at that point, Senga PERSON should be back. We'll probably have a better idea about Hauser and Severino PERSON in terms of what their true2024 talent looks like as opposed to just a handful of starts. We'll probably have a bit of a better idea about if Buto PERSON is continuing his, you know, his ability to look like a much better pitcher than all of us had him pegged to be, we'll have a lot more data to go with, and it will seem like it's a better, I guess they'll just feel like they will know what they're asking Scott PERSON to do at that point. Like right now, I don't know what they really think they're asking Scott to do. Are they asking him to be a number four starter?Are they asking him to be a number two starter? Are they, without Sengar PERSON? Are they really looking to him to be the number one starter? I mean, that's not realistic, but, you know, if no one else is pitching effectively and pitching deep into games, they're going to be looking for him for a lot more. I think they're going to have to have a better sense of just like what is expected of him beyond just the immediate this start that he's pitching in today.They need to have a better sense of sort of what his role on this team is going to be for the rest of the season. And I think by early to mid-July, they probably have that figured out. So that'll be my guess. Give Sena a month or so in the rotation

Speaker 11752s - 1771.56s

before they make any rash decisions. Yeah. Yeah, no, no. I mean, that that is logical. And look, there's other guys there too. Like you said, Lucchese PERSON is somebody who maybe gets a look. Dom Hamill PERSON had a really good start recently.

Speaker 21771.84s - 1774.08s

And he's been pitching well.

Speaker 11774.08s - 1781.34s

And really, Scott Vassel PERSON and Hamill, Vassel a little bit less so.

Speaker 21781.84s - 1787.48s

He's still, he's just struggled in all of his starts. So,

Speaker 11788.2s - 1891.72s

never mind, remove him from this thought. But I mean, he's got, he's got plenty of time that he could bounce back and sort of figure that out. But Scott and Hamill PERSON both had not the greatest first start of the season. And then in their three more recent starts, they've been just fantastic. Hamill's got a 2.3 ERA, 24 strikeouts, five walks, and his last three.Scott has a 2.70 ERA with 25 walks, four, sorry, 25 strikeouts, four walks, four walks. And his last three starts, those first couple of series that everybody played in in Syracuse GPE, there was a brief series in Syracuse and then they were in Scranton GPE. The weather wasn't great.Everybody's just come up from spending two months or more in Florida, ramp it up for the season. And they're sort of thrust into the chilly March and April upstate or Pennsylvania GPE weather. Yeah. So, yeah, it is nice that there's maybe four pitchers who are on that Syracuse GPE roster right now that wouldn't scare me as somebody who's getting called up to make a major league start. That is depth that often has not been the case for the Mets ORG. And, you know, you mentioned Krennick PERSON.He would be the fourth in addition to Lucchasey Scott and Hamill PERSON. And I happened to catch Krenick in Binghamton GPE. I think I mentioned it last week.

Speaker 31891.82s - 1892.24s

Yeah, he did.

Speaker 11892.24s - 1934.16s

As well. But look, it's only AA ORG, but he looked really good. Sometimes guys catch your attention in person. And he did. I don't know that that necessarily means that he'd be a great major league starter but I was impressed for somebody who I spent most of the last three months going like who what what does he dohe caught my attention and I just based on that start that he made, I would not be scared to see him pitch a game for the Mets ORG.

Speaker 31935.7s - 1992.76s

Yeah, that about a pitching depth is really something we haven't been accustomed to in a while. I think when people were talking with the Mets system in this offseason, there was so much talk of the young position players who were acquired in the deadline trades last year. And obviously those are still the marquee players in their system. But I don't think enough attention went to Christian Scott, Mike Vassel PERSON, etc.Of having actual pitching prospects for the first time in a couple of years. So, you know, it is nice to see even if, you know, just, I mean, to quote former Mets ORG, I mean, to quote many people, but the first person I ever heard say it was former mostly Mets podcast host Toby Hyde PERSON. There is no such thing as a pitching prospect, you know, and pitchers break. So it's always good to have just lots of options there, even if they're not the most exciting options that are there.

Speaker 11994.24s - 2000.1s

Let's talk to Andy Martinez. Sorry, what? Go ahead. Oh, yeah, no, that Toby Hyde PERSON, blast from the past.

Speaker 32000.2s - 2006.08s

Yeah, I love that mostly Mets podcast. It was Toby and Ted and Patrick Flood PERSON.

Speaker 12007.18s - 2007.38s

That's a great podcast.

Speaker 32007.54s - 2008.48s

Yeah.

Speaker 12008.64s - 2009.64s

Yeah.

Speaker 32012.48s - 2013.82s

That might be the first Mets ORG podcast I ever listened to, actually.

Speaker 12014.1s - 2015.94s

Huh.

Speaker 32017.94s - 2022.94s

That might predate Amazing Avenue FAC audio. Wow. I'm a traitor.

Speaker 22023.1s - 2024.34s

I'm a traitor to my own kind.

Speaker 12024.46s - 2024.82s

Look at that.

Speaker 22027.34s - 2029.88s

Anyway. Let's talk to Eddie Martinez for a minute, though.

Speaker 12030.24s - 2035.24s

You know, we have not seen him play in a major league game as a met.

Speaker 32035.98s - 2045.46s

We didn't see him play in spring training as a met. You didn't catch him in any of his rehab starts. Did you? Did he play up north at all or no?

Speaker 12047.28s - 2050.74s

Well, he did, but I didn't make it.

Speaker 32051.64s - 2053.58s

The Rangers had a playoff game on the same night.

Speaker 12053.58s - 2053.82s

Okay.

Speaker 32054.42s - 2054.58s

Yeah.

Speaker 12055.22s - 2058.36s

So he had one game in Florida and two in Syracuse GPE.

Speaker 32058.94s - 2079.06s

Yeah. Obviously, everybody has high expectations for him because he's JD Martinez PERSON and we know what he can do. But sort of what do you think the first couple weeks of JD Martinez PERSON has met will realistically look like? How much of a difference do you see his bat making from jump?

Speaker 12083.1s - 2229.22s

I'd say quite a bit. And, I mean, look, I know DJ Stewart's done a good job in his playing time so far this year. They've really gotten better performances, I think, than expected from a few of their hitters. But there just isn't a substitute. I mean, last year, Martinez had an isolated slugging over 300, which even by his own standards is very high.Yes. But this is a real power bat. And that's not to take away from Francisco Lindor, who has hit 30 home runs several times, including just last year, as it met. It's not to take away from Francisco Alvarez, who might have had a shot at that, if not for getting two months of the season taken away by this thumb injury. But even with good performances up and down the lineup, there's just not somebody who can hit for power like that other than Pete Alonzo PERSON.So, you know, I know Tim Britton PERSON wrote about sort of an age-old question about whether or not, like, lineup protection works or means anything. And to me, it's not so much that he's protecting Pete Alonzo PERSON. It's more that Pete Alonzo and Martinez PERSON back-to-back make for a pretty tough pair for a pitcher to have to try to get through. And look, to his credit, I feel like Alonzo PERSON hasn't even been talked about that much during the season.But guys hit seven home runs. He's sitting 263, 3, 4, 516. And that is about a slash line that you think Martinez PERSON could replicate. Last year, he was a little lower on base, but a higher slugging than that. But put those two hitters back to back in the middle of a lineup, Lindoro PERSON will get back to his usual.And then all of a sudden, I'm not saying it's quite as, I don't know, I don't know the right word for it. But it's not Juan Soto and Aaron Judge PERSON, but it's also not bad. And I think that impact will be felt close to immediately.

Speaker 32231.18s - 2238.12s

Yeah, that's the interesting way of putting it in terms of how fast the impact will be felt.

Speaker 12238.28s - 2239.3s

I don't know about that.

Speaker 32239.38s - 2241.54s

You know, I am worried about him.

Speaker 12241.62s - 2247.88s

I know he's a veteran player and doesn't need as many reps to get himself hot as a younger player may.

Speaker 32248.68s - 2297.72s

But it just seems to me like he has not played a lot of rehab games. He didn't get spring training at all. I mean, he was working out. I'm not imputing his work ethic or anything of the sort, you know, but it's a very different experience what he did this spring versus what the other 25 guys in the roster did for the spring. So I'm a little bit concerned about him coming out of the gate cold,but I wonder if the reputation of J.D. Martinez PERSON is almost as important in terms of that lineup protection idea, whether it's real or not, than the reality of J.D. Martinez PERSON is. You know, are people fearful enough of him that they will, that they will, you know, pitch more carefully to him, even if they know he's coming off of just a handful of games to prep for the season? I don't know.It's, it's an interesting question to ask.

Speaker 12300.38s - 2304.56s

Yeah, he'll get a chance to establish that fear. Yeah.

Speaker 32304.56s - 2366.6s

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do want to establish that fear very quickly. Yeah. Yeah. I do want to talk about the bullpen for a minute, and not just because you were our regular bullpen correspondent this offseason, but the bullpen has been excellent so far.The piece you wrote yesterday, you identified at least five, if not seven players that have been pitching, you know, not just in flukeish ways, but pitching really quality innings in the Mets ORG bullpen, you know, so far this season. And obviously we all want that to continue,but the limited amount of starting pitching innings has really put a strain on the bullpen already. We've seen the churn. We've seen Michael Tonkin PERSON come and go and come and go since the start of the season. And it just, it seems like the bullpen might be a tenuous place to put hope only because of how bad the starting pitching has been in terms of going deep into games. So how are you feeling overall about the bullpen right now?

Speaker 12373s - 2373.06s

Pretty great. And hey, didn't expect to be saying that at this point of the year.

Speaker 22378.68s - 2378.76s

Right. Yeah. I mean, to their credit, they did, the Mets ORG did go out and make a bunch of moves.

Speaker 12380.48s - 2404s

They just waited a long time to do it. Adam Ottvino in particular was someone who I felt like got a lot of negativity last year when he was, I don't know, decent, capable, whatever. He hadn't replicated his 2022 season, which was very, very good. But to me, he didn't just become a total train wreck.

Speaker 32405.06s - 2409.26s

He was also fighting upheld against the expectations of being Diaz PERSON.

Speaker 12410.64s - 2411.12s

Right.

Speaker 32411.36s - 2417.6s

Well, yeah, and I think, like I wrote about this, too, that just the, the Diaz PERSON being back,

Speaker 12417.72s - 2422.8s

his presence totally changes the mindset for everyone else in that bullpen in terms of what

Speaker 32422.8s - 2423.46s

they need to do.

Speaker 12423.48s - 2424.8s

for everyone else in that bullpen in terms of what they need to do.

Speaker 32428.38s - 2428.96s

And that doesn't take away from their numbers.

Speaker 12431.82s - 2440.58s

But when you have Edwin Diaz PERSON, who doesn't even look like he's fully back up to speed yet. And there's no reason to think that he can't get there. And it's crazy to say that a guy with like,

Speaker 22443.6s - 2446.22s

I think it's a 1.04 ERA that he has right now and it's like he's he's okay he'll

Speaker 02446.22s - 2459.06s

he'll get better. He'll do but yeah um adivino is doing awesome work that read Garrett PERSON seems to be

Speaker 12459.06s - 2547.64s

for real and and I think we all need to see a little bit more before we can fully make that conclusion. But Reed Garrett has, he leads to the Mets ORG bullpen innings pitched. The strikeout rate just keeps staying. Edwin Diaz PERSON levels of high. Yeah, Otto Vino PERSON has been great. Brooks Raleigh PERSON is currently dealing with some elbow inflammation,but as far as we know, the team has said that his MRI is clean, so they don't expect that he'll be out long term. He's been very good. Jake Deekman PERSON has started to round into form. Even Drew Smith has some issues that he probably needs to address, but the results so far have been good.Look, right now, this is objectively a very good bullpen. And I think there's at least a chance that enough of these guys are for real, that they stay within the top 10 in major league bullpens. And obviously, you always want every component of your team to be the best. But we dealt with so many awful bullpens over the last 20 years that as Mets ORG fans, having just a pretty good one or a great one is a real treat.So it is still April.

Speaker 22549.08s - 2555.6s

You know, it is still April, but similar to what you were saying coming out of spring

Speaker 12555.6s - 2576.1s

training, I'd rather have, I'd rather have a great first month of real games and those stats and take it from there than the opposite and wondering if it could ever possibly get better. So yeah, yeah, feeling good about it. Also, it was really glad that Edwin Diaz PERSON got into a game in a high leverage spot that wasn't just the ninth inning.

Speaker 22576.3s - 2576.68s

Yes.

Speaker 12577.02s - 2603s

We've seen the Mets do that quite a bit in 2022 with him. And they should continue to do so because it just, look, if I'm Adamadovino or Reed Garrett or Jake Deekman PERSON, and I'm like, well, you know, they gave the heart of the order Diaz PERSON, but I've got this 1.9 or 2.2 ERA, I'm going to still feel pretty good about myself in terms of what I did.

Speaker 22603.28s - 2604.08s

Absolutely, yeah.

Speaker 12604.76s - 2650.88s

Hey, my stats are a little bit better. I know it's because this guy's on my team. I don't care. Like, there's no shame in having somebody who's just that little bit better than you go out in those spots and take that off your plate. And deep down inside, I'm sure, like maybe there's a couple, like, just pure baseball sociopaths like Max Scher PERSON out there who aren't afraid of anything and, like, don't have it. Like, there's no, there's just no, like, oh, wow, like, you want to face Monsetto PERSON?Have that it, right? Like, I'm sure there's a few of those in bullpenes around the league. But these guys are all human beings. There has to be some level of relief that you might not get the toughest assignment that day

Speaker 32653.6s - 2659.2s

yeah i i well said uh baseball sociopaths shall also be the name of a punk band

Speaker 12666s - 2668.28s

hey if max charzer PERSON picks up a guitar, if he ever retires.

Speaker 32668.68s - 2675.4s

Yeah. Anything else say about the Mets ORG before we move on to our music recs?

Speaker 12682.56s - 2685.76s

No, I just, I hope that as you hear this, they are in the midst of taking advantage of a Cardinals ORG team that might be the worst one we've seen. I don't know about in our lifetime.

Speaker 32687.66s - 2688.76s

At least the last 25 years, right?

Speaker 12691.58s - 2722.26s

Yeah. Yeah, in quite some time. Like, going back to the 2006 NLCS EVENT, I don't think the Cardinals ORG have been this bad since then. So I hope that they're looking that bad all weekend. I hope the Mets ORG take advantage. And I hope we all get to enjoy that because it feels like one of those things that just doesn't come along all that often.So, you know, consider it the total eclipse of the Cardinals ORG. Let's hope. Let's hope so.

Speaker 32722.72s - 2742.38s

I'm trying to see here when the last time that the Cardinals ORG even had a losing record was. I don't know. That's not an easy thing to find. It's hard to find. There is no easy to find baseball reference page which is like year-to-year records. Is there?

Speaker 12744.38s - 2751.1s

Yeah, if you just do the search, general advice, if you just search Cardinals ORG and then click on the franchise.

Speaker 32751.52s - 2754s

Oh, look at that. Yeah, that's easy. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 12754.86s - 2759.44s

So, I mean, 2020 throws everything off when you're just scanning and looking at numbers.

Speaker 32759.62s - 2763.34s

I mean, they weren't very good last year. No.

Speaker 12763.34s - 2764.24s

I guess I kind of forgot.

Speaker 32764.7s - 2777.62s

No, but they weren't. They were in it good last year. No. I guess I kind of forgot. No, but they weren't. They were in it for a while. They won 78 games in 2007. So the last time they won less than 70 games, not counting, obviously, the pandemic year was 95.

Speaker 12780.52s - 2788.32s

So this could be the worst Cardinals team in, yeah, in a very long time in 29 years.

Speaker 32789.5s - 2789.72s

Yeah.

Speaker 12789.92s - 2797.42s

Oh, yeah. I did have one more Mets ORG thought. I know the A's kind of teased maybe being worse than the 62 Mets last year,

Speaker 32797.42s - 2801.7s

but the White Sox this year might really pull it off. They may, yes.

Speaker 12802.72s - 2843.32s

I have a couple of friends who are nice talks fans and they are not happy. No. I mean, they're three and 22. They're on pace. I think that's a 22 win pace. Um, oh, no, sorry. They, that 22 win pace was from when they were 3 and 21. They are on a 19 win pace right now. Oh, my God.Which would be half with the 62 Mets ORG won. I don't know. Again, it's just April. And I'm not of the mindset that I don't want any team to ever be worse than the 62 Mets ORG.

Speaker 32843.48s - 2844.74s

No, I have no idea of people who are in this.

Speaker 12847.44s - 2871.24s

Right. Like, I have no idea of people. I think the Mets ORG said, right. Like, I would be totally fine with another team taking the worst season ever mantle. And I think there's some hope here, especially because most of the rest of their division looks pretty good. So, yeah, not my top priority in terms of Mets thoughts this season, but something to keep sort of on the back burner.

Speaker 32872.46s - 2873.06s

Yeah, man.

Speaker 12874.48s - 2875.4s

And the Astros ORG might suck. That's fun, too.

Speaker 32876.44s - 2879.56s

That is fun too, yes. Shotten Freud PERSON all around here at the end of this episode.

Speaker 12882.44s - 2886.04s

Have we talked about the A's moving to Sacramento next year yet?

Speaker 32887.84s - 2893.76s

I feel like, I mean, we've definitely mocked the whole process of moving to Vegas GPE and the uncertainty.

Speaker 12893.76s - 2953.86s

I don't remember if we specifically talked about them being a AAA ORG team. It's a damn shame, you know, now that I've gotten all into Liverpool and European NORP leagues and everything and fully understand how relegation works and it's like the whole organization should just be forced, like the A should be forced to actually play in AAA ORG and like bump all their affiliates down by one, make Major League Baseball in 29 team league until the A ORG's do something that shows they deserve to be back in it yeah i know mathematically that doesn't work but the principle of it i hatethat major league games are going to be played in a triple a ballpark is it 10 000 seats i think they said yeah and then they might they might bring in some temporary stuff to put in the outfields for like an extra five but like who's going to be a tourist destination for uh visiting teams like nobody's going to be an ace fan i mean you you would figure

Speaker 32953.86s - 3066.78s

that sacramento is not that far from the bay area so there's there there probably are 10 000 a's fans in the sacramento GPE region. But that said, like, it, to get them, first of all, to get them to all come to a game is unlikely. And also, just the idea of a, like, what is this due to the young players who are going to be coming up and playing their first full season of baseball in a place that's no different in the last, you know, a couple of years of their minor league careers.It's just, it's such a weird thing from a, for the players, it's a bizarre thing for the fans. And then after this, you know, this isn't even like, you know, when the Yankees ORG played at Chase Stadium for a couple of years because of renovations to Yankee Stadium FAC. Like that's weird, right? But you're going back to your home base after that. They're never going back to their home base.They're going to be leaving this area to go to a new place. So they're going to have to basically build up a temporary fan base, then build up a permanent fan base, all with no real sense for how baseball in Las Vegas is going to work in terms of fan appeal, because it's, you know, we've only seen the 51s ORG there and other minor league teams who have drawn well, but never drawn like gangbusters, you know, I just, I really don't know what to think of any of this. It is such a weird thing. I mean, I think it sucks. That's what I think of all this. There, there is noupside to this, really. I'm just, I'm really flummoxed by how this is going to work on almost every basic level. Yeah.

Speaker 13067.3s - 3131.76s

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess if I were, we have friends in Sacramento, but I believe their sports allegiance is like elsewhere in the country. But I guess theoretically, if I were an A's fan already, I'm living in Sacramento, I could go, hey, all right, they're going to play locally. I'm going to go to a bunch of games because this is the team I've always followed.But anybody who's going to games in Oakland GPE, I think, out of pure disdain, is not going to go to games in Sacramento and will not follow the team to Vegas GPE. I'm sure there's some exceptions, but like really a handful in this case. But yeah, it's a joke. And it really does make the league and the commissioner look like they don't have a handle on what's going on. That it came to this and this is the best plan they could come up with.And it might even be four years like they said that up front which anybody who's filed anything ever involving construction if you're

Speaker 23131.76s - 3139.92s

thrown out that there might be a delay before it even starts there's a delay yep yeah uh four years in the

Speaker 13139.92s - 3156.1s

triple a ballpark um, I don't know. It's pretty pathetic, and it is not something. It shouldn't be something that's worthy of major league status. But alas.

Speaker 33157.44s - 3165.34s

But alas. That said, it would be kind of cool to see a Mets ORG game in that ballpark. Just for the novelty.

Speaker 13165.58s - 3167.28s

Yeah, well, yeah, that's right.

Speaker 33167.4s - 3171.7s

That's one of those, hey, I'm going to be in, you know, maybe you could even make it work with,

Speaker 13171.7s - 3180.38s

uh, if it's a road trip where the Mets hit, uh, San Francisco and Sacramento or Seattle

Speaker 33180.38s - 3181.02s

and Sacramento.

Speaker 13181.36s - 3192.08s

It's a little bit farther, but still, you know. Yeah, I know, but it's doable. Like, you could potentially see the Mets ORG in a couple of very unique environments. Yeah. In the same season.

Speaker 33192.58s - 3211.38s

So the real shame of this all. And of course, I have to make it about me as we have the show here, is that my wife did her right after she graduated, she lived for a year in Sacramento. And this year is the 20th anniversary of that so she is going to Sacramento this fall and I said you guys should really delay your reunion

Speaker 23211.38s - 3219.4s

a year and invite spouses next year so that I can miss you know that's not happening so unfortunately

Speaker 33219.4s - 3273.82s

for everyone involved but especially for me um but yeah that's uh that's baseball that's that's that's the weird state of baseball right now you have you have teams that are making more money than they've ever made in the history of the game players are finally starting to be compensated in a way that seems like it's maybe fair compared to the amount of money that they're making for these for these franchises and you also have at the same time the a is just the most mismanaged embarrassment of a franchise it's it's such a weird time to beeverything about baseball right now is very very strange and I think you have to place a good chunk of the blame at Manfred ORG's feet. And, you know, they are very loathe to change commissioners. So we're going to probably have this guy

Speaker 13273.82s - 3282.32s

for a long time. Yuck. Yeah. Well, Chris PERSON, why don't you tell our listeners about your dream

Speaker 33282.32s - 3285.54s

before you tell him the music pick?

Speaker 13288.92s - 3319.9s

Sure. I had a dream that I couldn't come up with an album pick. And every once in a while, as you know, if you listen every week and stick around for the music picks at the end of our episodes, I might not have something ready to go and defer to Brian. And then he has an album. And then I come up with one or finalize my decision and go second. In this dream, that happened.But then I just couldn't come up with a record at all. Like not one. Couldn't think of a record. Woke up. Only podcast dream I've had to date that I can remember. I've had many.

Speaker 33320.2s - 3330.6s

But I came in, I came in wanting, I made an album pick an hour before we recorded today just to make sure I'd be safe.

Speaker 13331.64s - 3491.18s

So all of that said, I have an album pick. As is also often the case, a little bit of a roundabout way of coming to it. But I've been reading Wayne Kramer's autobiography or memoir as we touched on earlier this year. Sadly, he passed away early in 2024. And I made it MC5 recommendation that just had to be done. But in reading his book and sort of like a lot of themusic that was around and getting him into playing guitar and all that as a as a teenager uh this artist wasn't mentioned directly but in listening to a lot of the stuff that wayne kramer was talking about from those like early rock and roll days, uh, throwing that at like the Spotify algorithm essentially takes you down a path where a bunch of other similar artists come up. Uh, and Wanda Jackson is one of them. And she's still with us. She's retired. I believe she's in her late 80s now. But she had made a record with Jack White called The Party Ain't Over. It came out in 2011. I had the really good fortune of picking up. At the time, it felt like expensive tickets on Step Hub ORG. But if that sort of scenariowere to happen again uh wanda jackson with jack white and his like third band records band uh i think it was like a 10 piece band or something but uh they were playing a show at music hall williamsburg FAC which for anyone who's been there uh you know that is a very small venue. Even though it wasn't a Jack White PERSON show for a band, including a legendary musician and Jack White PERSON, that was a tiny show.So got to be there for it. See most of these songs play live in addition to some of her older stuff. And it was just a, it was a great time, great show. The band was great. Obviously, Jack White PERSON is a fantastic guitarist. And looking back through our music wrecks, I don't believe, unless he contributed something to an album that is, you know, didn't immediately identify on our spreadsheet.But I don't believe there's been a music wreck on this show that has Jack White's guitar on it. That's somewhat surprising.

Speaker 33492.42s - 3492.8s

Yeah.

Speaker 13493.12s - 3544.44s

I'd have to really go through it with a fine tooth comb to verify that. But I don't think that has happened. So, yeah, this record, I think she sounds great on it. It's mostly covers, including Thunder on the Mountain of Bob Dylan WORK_OF_ART, shaken all over, which goes back much farther than just when the Who did it. But to me, the Who sort of really defined that song on live at Leads ORG and maybe on some oftheir other live records. But those songs rip it up. An Amy Winehouse PERSON cover, you know that I'm no good. That is really great. Not a combination of things that I ever thought I would say, right?

Speaker 23545.32s - 3557.08s

Like not because of Amy Winehouse PERSON, but just Wanda Jackson and Jack White got together and covered Amy Winehouse is not a thing that you would have expected ever.

Speaker 13557.08s - 3587.8s

So, yeah, I like this record a lot. It definitely opened up listening to more of her older stuff. And I know critical reviews of this record were a little hit or miss, but screw that, I'd say. It's a fun listen and everybody sounds good. And it wasn't the first time that Jack White PERSON had made, he did the record with Loretta Lynn PERSON, very different style of music.

Speaker 03588.4s - 3602.38s

He's connected with some of these older musicians and made albums with them, which is something that I think is pretty cool to get to do, obviously for the artist, but also cool for fans to get to hear.

Speaker 13603.06s - 3604.36s

Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples PERSON.

Speaker 33607.6s - 3609.6s

Johnny Cat and Ben Harper PERSON. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 13609.6s - 3613.6s

And Ben Harper and Mavis Staples PERSON also made a record together.

Speaker 33613.6s - 3619.36s

It's fun to see that sort of those generational

Speaker 03619.36s - 3624.4s

connect gaps be bridged by really good musicians.

Speaker 13624.4s - 3625.04s

I have a really important question for you though here. Sure. gaps be bridged by really good musicians.

Speaker 33627.38s - 3628.4s

I have a really important question for you, though, here.

Speaker 13628.72s - 3630.76s

Sure.

Speaker 33635.28s - 3637.52s

Does Juan of Jackson keep the line about Alicia Keys in Thunder on the Mountain WORK_OF_ART?

Speaker 13639.5s - 3640.72s

Oh, that's a good question.

Speaker 33647.76s - 3649.24s

Because I remember at the time, that was a big deal that Bob Dylan cited Alicia Keys PERSON in the lyrics of that song.

Speaker 13651.4s - 3653.62s

So I wasn't sure if she kept it up or not.

Speaker 33655.32s - 3655.68s

Yeah, yeah, I'll have to listen.

Speaker 13656.92s - 3657.16s

Yeah, listeners.

Speaker 33657.84s - 3659.14s

Like more closely. Yeah, listeners, get it out.

Speaker 13659.6s - 3664.76s

If not, I always find it funny when people sub out a different, a different artist.

Speaker 33664.92s - 3668.46s

Like in those situations, I heard somebody cover Surrender by Cheap Trick ORG ones.

Speaker 13668.84s - 3673.4s

And instead of saying, and they got my Kiss ORG records out, it was like they got my trick records out, right?

Speaker 33673.4s - 3674.62s

Like referencing Cheap Trick ORG.

Speaker 13674.76s - 3755.36s

So I always find it interesting when people update those references. But yeah, excellent pick, Chris PERSON. I'm looking forward to revisiting that. I haven't heard that album since it came out. So I'm looking forward to revisiting that. I haven't heard that album since it came out. So I'm looking forward to revisiting that. My pick comes from an offhand comment made to me this week.So I am currently playing bass in a pit band for a high school production of the Adams PERSON family. A friend of mine does local theater stuff. And a couple times a year I got hired to play bass or guitar in these pitmands. And the drummer and I are good friends. And we both have very similar taste to music. They were talking about what show they're doing next year. And someone said, they think they're doing the descendants. And the drummer looked at me and goes, Milo goes to college. And I said, the Descendants is a Disney ORG channel show that's now a musical,but he was referencing the punk band. And I said, no, Milo PERSON goes to the theater. And then he goes, showage. It was all these, like, descendants references back and forth. And I realize I have never picked one of my absolute favorite punk rock records of all time. And that is the descendants Milo PERSON goes to college. Came out in June of 82, the month I was born.I'm sorry, recorded in June of 82, the month I was born. So I like to think that when I came into the world, I brought some my logos to college energy with me and the descendants, you know, soaked it up and made a record out of it. But it is what I love

Speaker 33755.36s - 3901.86s

about early punk rock, and I've probably said this in the show before, is that they're really, punk was not a style of music. It was an attitude and it was a way of doing things. And so like the descendants played a ton of shows with Black Flag PRODUCT, even though they don't sound like Black Flag PRODUCT all. They're way more melodic. If you like any sort of what is considered pop punk now,this is sort of the starting point for that. They are not pop punk. I would say they are maybe melodic hardcore. I hate all these terms. They all sound fake. But it definitely is like a proto pop punk type sound, really melodic songs.But the band is just so interesting. So Milo PERSON Ockerman, who was the singer, the reason the record is called Milo goes to college is because they were a band. And Milo PERSON was going to college. And they were breaking up because he was going to college, and they were breaking up because he was going to college, and then this album did well, and so he would comehome from college and would do more shows with them. But eventually, he became a legit scientist and still balances a science career with a punk rock career, but also their bassist, Tony Lombardo, was, I believe, like, 15 or 20 years older than the rest of the band. He was a local guy to where they were from in Southern California LOC. And so he played with them, but, like, it's a crazy to think of, like, this 18-year-old kid playing with a 40-year-old bass player or a 35-year-old bass player. Like, but his songs fit really well into the descendants, like, world.His songs fit really well into the descendants, like, world. It's, it's, it's such a fun album. It is, it is funny in parts. It is, uh, super catchy. Like so many albums of this era, it comes and goes in like, I look up the time now, but like, it cannot be more than, let's see, how long is it, 22 minutes long.It's, uh, so you get 15 songs and 22 minutes. And Bill Stevenson is one of the great drummers in punk rock. He played with Black Flag PRODUCT for a number of years. After the descendants, he formed the band All, which was, uh, like, an offshoot of the descendants. And, uh, really smart lyrics, really funny stuff.And if you don't know Milo PERSON goes to college, you probably should. So that's my pick for this week. The Descendants, Milo PERSON goes to college. I like how our music picks could not have less in common, Chris PERSON. That's fun.

Speaker 13903.12s - 3903.78s

It's good.

Speaker 33904.52s - 3915.92s

Anyway, thank you all for listening. We appreciate it. Go to Homeward Applesauce.com ORG for more information. Follow us on Instagram at Brianings-in-app at Chris McShane PERSON, and we will talk to you soon. But until then, let's go Mets ORG.