Tampa Bay Rays - highlights for fans to enjoy - RaysUp

• Emotional challenges of being a baseball fan during a tough season & highlights the importance of staying even-keeled, like successful baseball players
• Recent experience watching the Rays play the Braves in Atlanta, mentioning the hot weather & a humorous incident with a child kicking his seat
• Rays' pitching struggles, particularly with reliever Phil Maton
• Mat notes the Rays' unsuccessful history of investing in relievers & advocates for building the bullpen from within the system
• Mark & Mat discuss promising players like Cleavinger & Jason Adam, noting their contributions 
• Pete Fairbanks' recent injury scare & relief that it's only a bruised finger.
• Importance of moving on from underperforming players & discusses the ups & downs of the Rays' bullpen.
• Braves shortstop, Orlando Arcia was underestimated early in his career
• Rickwood Event - Gray Sox/Montgomery Biscuits & Birmingham Black Barons, 
• Chandler Simpson comparison to legendary base-stealer Ricky Henderson.
• Simpson's impressive stats & his potential impact on the Rays
• Need players like Simpson who place the ball well & steal bases contrasted with power hitters
• Basics of baseball: getting on base rather than hitting home runs, & avoid obsession with exit velocity.
• Tony Gwynn & Kirby Puckett, frustrated the pitchers
• Gambling & Baseball stadium health y foods
• Bi-lingual food vendors at Expos games – "cotton candy - barbe à papa"
• Rick Vaughn's book on Tampa’s baseball history.
• Babe Ruth's legendary home run at Plant Field 
• U.S support for Finland during Russia's invasion & the All-Star game in Tampa.
• Willie Mays's passing & his contributions to the game & the Negro Leagues.
• Pitching Home run leaders for the Twins & Rays: Pablo Lopez & Aaron Civale.
• 2018 draft picks by the Rays: Taj Bradley, Joe Ryan, Shane McClanahan, & Matthew Liberatore.
• Shock of Joe Ryan's trade, happy to see his success with the Twins.
• Harold Ramirez being picked up by the Nationals after being DFA'd.
• Rays pitchers, Jeffrey Springs & Shane Boz potential return.
• Potential trades & team strategies, particularly regarding Dodgers & the Cubs.
• Changing routines for pitchers transitioning between starting & relieving roles
• Successful transition: Luis Urias with the Dodgers.
• Young players' aspirations focused on starting pitching rather than relieving roles..
• Yandy Diaz – wearing out pitchers
• Testing the Rays’ lineup  - Siri is again making it happen at the plate
• Rays atrocious bullpen
• Yandy’s consecutive times on base
• When will Winning Streak begin?
• Depth in starting pitching
• 5 of the top 100 prospects are in Rays system
• From “quadruple A” player to MLB 
• Mark & Mat discuss Papa Johns & Tim Horton’s trades 
• You can’t buy coffee beans from Tim Horton’s – addictive?
• Taj Bradley & Joe Ryan face-off
• 22 days before the St. Pete vote on the Tampa Bay Rays stadium

Mat on Twitter x.com @Mat_Germain_   
 Mark can be found on Twitter x.com  @TheBaseballBiz & and at  http://www.baseballbizondeck.com
BaseballBiz can be found on iheartradio, Stitcher, Apple, and Spotify
Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music “Rocking Forward"

Transcript

#RaysUp 241 BaseballBiz

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. And once again, Mr. Mat Germain and I, Mr. Mark Corbett are joining you with all the great news about the Tampa Bay Rays. You know, what's happening with the stadium news, what's happening with that team and will they ever see 500 again?

[00:00:27] Mark Corbett: Hey, Matt, how you doing buddy? 

[00:00:29] Mat Germain: Just a ray of sunshine, Mark. 

[00:00:33] Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. I'm telling you, you know, it's, it's tough this year. It's we're not going to have. The year that we want, it doesn't mean we're not going to move forward and good things will happen, but it's, it's just, , it's just part of how the things seem to work out, at least this year for theRays.

[00:00:53] Mat Germain: It's the kind of season where it tests you as a baseball fan. It basically says, you know, are you able to ride the ups and the downs, , as evenly as you should. And I think when you talk to most baseball players, you know, the ones that do the best, I guess, at managing their emotions, they never get too high, they never get too low.

[00:01:13] Mat Germain: They sort of, , ride in between. 

[00:01:18] Mark Corbett: Well, let me ask you this. I agree with that, but. When we, when the wife and I went to, , Atlanta this past weekend, watch the Rays take on the Braves. And by the way, when they're chanting Rays or Braves, sometimes it sounds very similar in a candrowd of 49, 000 or whatever that was 40, 000.

[00:01:38] Mark Corbett: , but man, whether I enjoyed theRays playing it day or not, I can tell you what I didn't enjoy that place. It was hot and it's humid as any place we've got in Florida. They're true this past Friday night and this, , we're there, I got to take this part. Anyway, it's just kind of funny. We are there in the next last row.

[00:02:00] Mark Corbett: One of the tears. And right behind us is a couple of families and they each have like children that are probably about three years old that, well, the one, the gentleman behind me, he has a child sitting in his lap and she likes to use her feet to push forward and kicking me in the head in the back. 

[00:02:19] Mat Germain: That would drive you insane.

[00:02:22] Mark Corbett: It did. It did last at about two innings and Karen, & I , took a walk and came back. Um, but before we did the, , Somebody else decided to spill a drink on my arm. I had around my wife. Oh, it was like, you know what? I was feeling good at the beginning of the game. And then that, and then the weather just was nasty.

[00:02:48] Mark Corbett: I can't remember if it was that game or another one or both. But when I hear the name Phillip Maton coming out to mound, I just shiver.

[00:03:01] Mark Corbett: I wished well for that guy, and I really want Kyle to be able to do whatever he can with it. But when I hear that name, I just think bad things are going to happen after that. 

[00:03:11] Mat Germain: Yeah, when they first signed Phil, um, I mentioned, you know, how, , how. Badly things had gone every time that the rays had invested in a reliever.

[00:03:22] Mat Germain: I think there's only really one time with Rafael Soloriano that it turned out to be, you know, a really good investment. Um, so their history with this kind of deal in the Rockies sort of proved that a few years ago, I think it was three years ago where they invested like over, You know, 25M in Wade Davis, Jake McKee and all these guys that they brought in to try to revamp their pen.

[00:03:46] Mat Germain: It just didn't work out. Buying a pen is not a good way to build it. Um, you can see the angels with Robert Stevenson and he's on the aisle still to this day. You're much better off building from within, which is why earlier this year, I mentioned on, um, on X, , that the raise had, they don't have a single guy from their system in the, in the pen at all at 1, they, how many drafts have we seen where they drafted picture after picture and, and they don't have 1.

[00:04:17] Mat Germain: Reliever that they're able to develop on their own on their team. Like, there's something not right there. And, and, , hopefully it changes over time and, and they have a better ability of building up from within because it's definitely not an area you can really spend your way out of when you're in trouble.

[00:04:34] Mark Corbett: No. And I agree with you there. The, the one thing, one of the bright lights for me was Garrett. I really thought until about a week ago, I thought he was it. I thought, man, this guy, he is cooking. He is going to be the guy, him and Jason had, we're going to be the guys to go to. And then quite honestly, I used to give Adam a lot of grief too, but yeah.

[00:04:59] Mat Germain: The relievers, they, I think they're used to it, right. They know everything is a micro, you know, micro examination of, of their skills. So yeah, that's normal. But yeah, I agree. I think Adam and Clevenger, everybody was most comfortable with, , this season. 

[00:05:17] Mark Corbett: Poor Pete got hit the other day, but I was reading earlier that it is nothing substantial, that it's just a bruised finger at the moment.

[00:05:24] Mark Corbett: They thought maybe he broke a finger or something after being hit with 103 mile per hour bowel ball by Mr. Correa. So, , but evidently he's gonna be just fine. So I was glad to see that's going on. 

[00:05:40] Mat Germain: No, it's great. And I think, . I think the, the rays are, , are going to have the chance now to basically, I don't want to say do whatever they want, but I don't think, like, you know, when sometimes people are just sort of bad, you don't really get the choice to, to move on from them because you're sort of getting the good and then bad.

[00:06:01] Mat Germain: I mean, good and then bad, at least in this case with the rays, , the guys that have been bad have been so bad that no fan would blink if they moved on from filming. The other guys in the pen that I've had, , they just haven't shown signs of life. I think Phil had like one good week or maybe three or four really solid outings.

[00:06:23] Mat Germain: But like I said, I said, all of those outings were in non high leverage. As soon as you put them in even medium leverage, he tends to dance around the strike zone a lot more. And when he goes in, it's. Usually with, I don't know if it's the wrong pitch mix or the wrong location, but whatever the case, it's just, it's just not working out well.

[00:06:45] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Well, it's, , I don't know. Hopefully if Kyle can tune him up or maybe somebody else in the system, if he goes down triple a can help tune him up, but doesn't seem to be there right now, you know? Well, you know, one of the fun things I told you about going to Atlanta was I'd hoped to seen Charlie and Darnell.

[00:07:07] Mark Corbett: Do their thing together, but the, the game we went to, they, neither one of them were playing that day. So, but it's, it's always a joy to see them. We talk about the x rays all the time. And then last night, an x ray kind of took us down a little bit on, um, looks like it was going to be a, a win last night with the twins and.

[00:07:28] Mark Corbett: There he is, Mr. Margot himself, Manuel, and who, who did they bring to the back? Cause he was actually already on base. Was it Santander? No. 

[00:07:37] Mat Germain: , Santana. 

[00:07:39] Mark Corbett: Santana. I knew that wasn't right. Okay. Yeah. Santana. Wow. But 

[00:07:43] Mat Germain: you know, he's a good hitter. Like I, it's not like, like Phil Maton gave, gave up a hit to, , you know, to a guy that, that never gets hits.

[00:07:54] Mat Germain: It's just a matter of, you know, pitching to the moment, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:07:58] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Well, it was interesting too, though. I think looking at the, the strongest player last night was that guy who was dragging the tarp or holding the tarp down across the field as, as the rain was coming and the, the, what, the end of the flap.

[00:08:14] Mat Germain: Yeah, I saw that. It's fine. 

[00:08:19] Mark Corbett: Oh, but well, another, I'm just jumping around a little bit here. Another thing about Atlanta. I really enjoyed watching was that shortstop Orlando Garcia, man, that guy, he is amazing watching him out there on the field. 

[00:08:32] Mat Germain: And the funny part is people didn't realize he would be this good, um, when they let Dansby Swanson walk and I was getting a little bit critical about them letting, because Dansby is a spirit guy, right?

[00:08:43] Mat Germain: He's the rah rah team guy, does everything professional, a lot like Marcus Semyon. , that, that style player, or even Willie Adamas, like just carries the team. Well, he's just a steady performer through the year. So I was surprised that I didn't go, but yeah, you're right. Arceus definitely stepped in and, and sort of, , made them forget all about it because you just, he's a, he's a fun player to watch.

[00:09:08] Mat Germain: No doubt. 

[00:09:11] Mark Corbett: Well, another thing I was watching and I haven't had a chance to sit down and watch all the game. And that's the Gray Sox and the Birmingham Black Barons. They played yesterday at Rickwood and your boy, man, he's there. He's kicking it. You know, Chandler Simpson, , got Roy Wood Jr. We're talking with him before the game and asking him, he says, well, who are some of the people you, you really watch?

[00:09:35] Mark Corbett: He said, well, you know, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, not surprised. He said, Willie, he said, but if you get more contemporary or more closer, he says, there's people like Ricky Henderson. I thought. Yeah, Ricky Henderson. That's who you could see as far as stealing bases. And then, , at the beginning of the game, he's the first one at bat representing the gray socks slash Montgomery biscuits, and he gets a hit and he just puts it right there along the ground and just, you know, gets himself down there to, to first and the next batter up, , is a ball.

[00:10:07] Mark Corbett: And so it's only second pitch of the game. Chandler Simpson goes over and still second.

[00:10:15] Mat Germain: You make it a joke now, pretty much. It's just every time he gets a hit, it's a double at a minimum. And sometimes it's a triple. So yeah, the, when you can, how many, let me just ask you this, Mark. Okay. We're all, we're at the 100. At that mark, right? How many players get promoted from a plus to double a and hit around 400.

[00:10:39] Mat Germain: Right? It 

[00:10:40] Mark Corbett: just doesn't happen, 

[00:10:42] Mat Germain: Matt. It really doesn't. And when it does happen, usually it's a phenom of some sort. Right? Um, and I think. People are reluctant to put Chandler Simpson in that category because he doesn't have the power. And I think it's blasphemy. I really do. I think that there's more value in Chandler Simpson because he'll drive the other team bonkers.

[00:11:04] Mat Germain: First of all, he can't get him out. You know, so that's in itself is a struggle. , he'll foul off pitches. He'll get on base when he definitely shouldn't. He'll hit a dribbler and all of a sudden he's on base and all your pitchers thinking is, Oh, well, there's a triple. I Like, there's no way out of the inning at that point, he knows he's giving up a run pretty much if the other team has enough, you know, outs to get him in, but, , that, you know, when you're putting that kind of potential at the top of the lineup with the kind of power that the Rays have gathered through the draft and other signings, , and a trade with Junior Cabanero, , that's a lot of, of, you know, I don't know a lot of fun because you're putting a guy on base constantly and then you've got the guys to drive him in behind him.

[00:11:52] Mat Germain: So, I don't, I know this year has been a struggle for the raise. I don't know how much of what's there that we're watching tonight is going to be left behind by the time Chandler Simpson arrives, but he's a special talent and he, in my opinion, he should be in the top 50 right now in, in terms of prospects across the MLB, if not the top 20.

[00:12:14] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. It's what you, it's, he's amazing to watch. And what you said about power, it is, it's, oh, well, I would say it's almost simple to see people criticize what he's doing there because he is strategic in what he is doing. He, one thing I see Roy Wood was asking him, so how many home runs you're going to get this year?

[00:12:33] Mark Corbett: He says, he said, well, , up or over. He says, and Chandler finally said, well, you know, two he says, but at least, you know, two. I'll do two, maybe two and the thing was, , what's bright woods junior says, well, you know, you had that home run the other day, but it looked like it only should have been a double.

[00:12:54] Mat Germain: Yeah, that's that's hilarious.

[00:12:59] Mark Corbett: And the thing of it is, is that, yeah, he's not hitting it out of the park. We've got so many players who, who feel the need to hit it out of the park. Every time you're at bat, but a good strategic ball that's placed out there. If, if you got a batter who can do that, if you've got a batter who can still bases as effectively as Chandler Simpson seems to be doing, man, don't worry about the daggone home runs, rest of it, you know, 

[00:13:26] Mat Germain: Let me ask it to you this way, okay?

[00:13:28] Mat Germain: Would you rather a player who hits 260, gets on base about 335, , hits 20 home runs, steals 30 bases, or would you rather have one that hits 360, , gets on base about 400 and above, , and, and steals 120 bases? 

[00:13:51] Mark Corbett: Give me that second guy all day long, 

[00:13:54] Mat Germain: you know, which one are you thinking that everybody? I'm pretty sure it would take the second guy, even though you're going up against a 2030 guy, which people value because they're like, oh, 20 home runs 30 stone bases.

[00:14:05] Mat Germain: What I told you is pretty much what Randy or Rosalina did in his best year. 

[00:14:09] none: Yeah. 

[00:14:10] Mat Germain: So. So, you know, if you're measuring him against Randy Rosarino, and he blows him out of the water just based on statistics historically, and he's been steady at that with no matter what level he's been at that level all the way through.

[00:14:23] Mat Germain: And now it's double A, which, you know, he's seeing a wide variety of pitches. And they're attacking him more aggressively now, and he's just having nothing to do with it. Like Luis Arreaz, um, of the Padres, he's able to slow down his bat and decide where he's putting the ball. That, to me, is a lost skill that we need to get back to.

[00:14:45] Mat Germain: Because the number of shifts with the number of holes that are on the field, you can put it places where you can have success. We saw it against the Rays the other day, where they bunted three times in a row. Did they not have success? You don't need to hit it hard. So all this exit velocity stuff is garbage We need to stop it.

[00:15:04] Mat Germain: Like there's a happy medium is what i'm saying We need to get back to the the basics of all you need to do is get that ball to land once Right and not be caught. That's it And then if you're able to do that and get on base, you're gonna have success You don't need to put it over the fence if randy rosarena played You As smartly as Chandler Simpson and shorten his swing, he would be an electric player instead of struggling the way that he is now.

[00:15:33] Mat Germain: I think he's been more steady, , and better at bats recently, but he's still seeking that power. He's still over swinging big time. 

[00:15:43] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I mean, he's had some good results here the last few games, but he's had some struggling other times. And I do appreciate a player like Chandler Simpson and anybody who can place that ball so well.

[00:15:56] Mark Corbett: I mean, I love to think that when I see some of these players and they find that spot where none of the outfielders or infielders can get that ball in time. And I think, did they, were they really capable of placing it that well, or did, is it just happenstance from them slugging away? 

[00:16:14] Mat Germain: Yeah, it is a special skill and I know growing up, you probably, you know, you would be able to reflect on these guys as well.

[00:16:21] Mat Germain: The Tony Gwynn, Kirby Puckett, all these guys that had high averages growing up that simply just wanted to put the ball in play in a place where they could drive doubles, you know, if they could and, and, um, And if they did walk into a home run, that would be great, but it wasn't something they went out and looked for.

[00:16:40] Mat Germain: They just wanted to keep the lineup chugging, and the more guys on base, the more frustrated the pitcher gets. That's basically the way it rolls. I also think when you look back at the The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry, you know, during the, , Jeter days and the Ortiz days, they had a way, during that era, of fouling off pitches, like there's no tomorrow.

[00:17:04] Mat Germain: Like, if they didn't like the pitch, they just fouled it off, spoiled it, and kept going. And you had these lengthy at bats, and that's how you got into these. Four hour, four and a half hour games because they were just, you know, wearing the pictures down, waiting for the pitch that they could drive out of the park.

[00:17:19] Mat Germain: So there, there's other skills that go along with it. It's not just a matter of, , of hitting it, you know, anytime, especially when you're limited in speed and you can't do a Chandler Simpson does and just put it anywhere on the ground. And you can pretty much have an infield single or. But I think those skills, those little, you know, abilities are the things that stand out to me a lot of times and he saw parade is with the raises.

[00:17:44] Mat Germain: 1 of those guys that can spoil pitches left, right and center. And all of a sudden you're looking at a 10, 11 pitch at bat and he gets. It gets a home run, right? 

[00:17:52] Mark Corbett: Yeah. I mean, as you, you wear out a pitcher, you're wearing him out. You're not going to see him next to any, because suddenly he's, he's done 20, 25 pitches this inning.

[00:18:02] Mark Corbett: I mean, he's, he's hit his cap. Maybe he's already up to 90 pitches or something because of you, you and a couple of others who've worn him out with 10 pitches and fouling after foul, after foul, after foul. 

[00:18:13] Mat Germain: Exactly. 

[00:18:16] Mark Corbett: Wow. Hey, you know, It was, there was some good news come through off field this week, and that came from St.

[00:18:26] Mark Corbett: Pete city council. You and I've been talking in the past, we had Colleen right on here a while back, and we know there's two stages of votes they're going to take to get everything done with the raise and establishing the new stadium in St. Pete. And one of those votes took place earlier this week, I think it was yesterday, actually.

[00:18:46] Mark Corbett: And they've, um, What was it? They, they had a five, three count supporting it. So there's total of eight council people. There's no tiebreaker with the mayor or anything like that. So you had to have five votes. It wasn't going to be anything with a tie. , there's, they're still challenged because they still didn't even have a lot of documents that they voted on, but I guess they figured it's inconsequential, Matt, if they don't have everything together for the next group.

[00:19:16] Mark Corbett: And there's going to be a vote what I think around the 12th, not to dig up the exact date, but the council is going to vote then have, have another six hour workshop. And, , hopefully we'll, we'll get this thing done. But, , the longer this thing takes the more, more questions I have. And, and one of them I was thinking, I never really asked was.

[00:19:39] Mark Corbett: What about gambling? What about, you know, some of these parks, they've got, , a gambling place right outside the gate and they're starting to looking at putting them inside the stadiums. So whether you get a draft Kings or an MGM, , betting's still place inside. And I'm curious. What might evolve with that, or if that's even covered in the contract, I'd have to dig into it, but I don't remember seeing anything on that particular aspect.

[00:20:08] Mat Germain: I think it's sad, to be quite honest. I'm not a, like, I, I've been a poker fan, you know, back in the day, I played a significant amount of poker. I'm not anti gambling by any means, but I think they're taking advantage of what really ends up being a disease a lot of times. Oh, yeah. . And profiting from it.

[00:20:27] Mat Germain: And to me, that's a little bit sickening to see. You know, sports in general, marry themselves to so much gambling. I mean, a lot of the movies and a lot of the things that we've seen in the past that have kind of, you know, shown the impacts of gambling have a lot to do with college basketball, for instance, right?

[00:20:47] Mat Germain: Where people are gambling through bookies and this, that, the other thing. When it was illegal, it wasn't any better. So I'm not saying that that is any better or the avenue they should go in and hide it. Okay. So the fact that it's out in the open is okay. It's just the promotion, you know, , amount that they're trying to push it.

[00:21:07] Mat Germain: It's like, it's almost like at this point. Okay. We know it's out there. It's fine. If you want to go seek it, but don't shove it on the people so that they always have it. You know, like how they did with tobacco companies and he said, you know what? You're not allowed to advertise now because kids were getting, it should be the same thing with gambling.

[00:21:25] Mat Germain: If you want to gamble, sure, go out, gamble, you know, you should also have a way of blocking yourself from gambling. If you feel that it's a, , , something that you need to stop because it's always going to be in the favor of, of, you know, The company that's doing it, you're never ultimately as a group as a whole going to win gambling right?

[00:21:46] Mat Germain: So I think it's it is sad that it's become so prominent. I mean, they're always going to seek out the. The profits wherever they they might be, and the fact that they still sell the amount of hot dogs that they do when we know their cancer causing, um, and they, you know, there's a lot of diseases out there that are caused directly from processed meats.

[00:22:08] Mat Germain: And we continue to push those like candy. Um, that's another aspect, right? If we look at each other as human beings 1st, um, the things that we're kind of putting each other through are not really positive. They're very negative. And so I see that kind of thing and it kind of makes me reflect on life more than anything.

[00:22:30] Mat Germain: And I think it's, yeah, I don't want to be too much of a, oh, everybody should be only doing good things in life. But those kinds of things, you know, I wish that they would use their platform to do better with. 

[00:22:47] Mark Corbett: Well, I think that's a reasonable, you know, approach and let's face it, you're a dad. I'm a dad and we, we probably feel a little differently than some others.

[00:22:57] Mark Corbett: And especially, I think you get, you know, you have younger, younger children and. I think we want to make sure we're giving them the best role we can. And that some of those things don't make sense to be there, whether it be the gambling, the cigarettes or the Carson is Jenny hotdog. I enjoyed it true as spark the other day.

[00:23:17] Mark Corbett: Um, but as you started talking, I was like, I think it was Joe Camel, Joe Camel, Joe. 

[00:23:23] Mat Germain: Yeah. Baseball players used to have that cigarette dangling from their mouth during interviews. It was, it was, you know, the cool thing to do. 

[00:23:33] Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, on YouTube, you can find all kinds of commercials of sports athletes, , you know, hawking a certain brand of cigarette or such, and it's today.

[00:23:44] Mark Corbett: I mean, it's, it's taken a long time for those things to change, but, um, 

[00:23:48] Mat Germain: When you go to certain parts, like you went the truest, , like the, I think the last change, because what I saw going to, like, I went to Camden, I went to, , see the Royals. I went to Roger center. What I've seen is an uptick in good food.

[00:24:06] Mat Germain: It's not cheap, but, but there's like barbecue, there's this, there's that, there's all different kinds of foods that you can get. Um, It's just the ones that walk around that still push the hot dogs a lot, right? The, the, the hot dogs. Yeah, peanuts are fine, but, you know, beer or whatever else, um, and, and so to me, that's the last thing that could change, right?

[00:24:28] Mat Germain: Where you could have a guy walking around with burritos instead of hot dogs or whatever you want to have them carry around little tacos. I'm sure they would carry almost exactly the same as hot dogs, and they wouldn't be as bad for you as, , it'd probably be tastier in some cases. You want to hear something funny?

[00:24:45] Mat Germain: Like, when I was, . When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to be sitting at at the Expos games, um, was the fact that they, it's the only stadium where they did everything in French and English. So when the guy went around with the big tray of, of snacks, it would be, , something like this. It'd be, chip, crusty, cracker, Jack.

[00:25:10] Mark Corbett: Oh, do that again. 

[00:25:11] Mat Germain: Do that 

[00:25:11] Mark Corbett: again. 

[00:25:12] Mat Germain: Cotton candy. Bah, bah, bah, bah.

[00:25:18] Mark Corbett: I love it, man. 

[00:25:19] Mat Germain: Hilarious, right? It's, it's one of those things where, first of all, you know, Cracker Jacks is the same in French and English. And, and the fact that, , cotton candy was bah, bah, bah, bah, I still remember the first time that they said it. I started laughing. It Yeah, anyways, but yeah, the, the foods, I think all together at the stadiums are getting more, , I don't want to say posh, but they're getting more like what population is eating outside of the stadium as well and more away from the hot dogs, unless there's a charitable event.

[00:25:53] Mat Germain: I think the, like Roger center, the blue Jays are trying to sell as many hot dogs as possible for charity and like, they're gathering money for it. So, , that's the exception, I guess, a 

[00:26:06] Mark Corbett: little counterproductive, you know, sort of like if you had a health organization, putting that up and also having a cigar smoke room while you're, it 

[00:26:14] Mat Germain: makes me shake my head.

[00:26:16] Mat Germain: Sometimes I just, yeah, I don't get it. 

[00:26:18] Mark Corbett: Oh, You know, in Tampa, I mean, it used to be big cigar capital and I won't say the world, but a big cigar capital anyway. And it's still part of the culture, certainly around Ybor. And I know I've told you time again about working down at the museum, Tampa baseball museum down there.

[00:26:38] Mark Corbett: Pardon me, but where was I going with this? , yeah, what's, it's interesting. I've been doing a little bit more looking at the history of Ybor and of baseball in Tampa Bay. And there's a gentleman by the name of Rick Vaughn, and he put out a book on, um, on St. Petersburg and how spring training kind of evolved around there.

[00:26:58] Mark Corbett: And I had him on before, and I'm reading his book right now that he has on Tampa. And how things everything from what's going on with plant field and how, , Jackie Robinson had his, , they're playing with the Dodgers, you know, with it, Babe Ruth, it is 560, 540, 580 feet home run, you know, there and something I just put up on X cause he also mentioned that.

[00:27:23] Mark Corbett: It was like the first all star game was in Tampa because this morning I was reading John Romano of the Tampa Bay times talking about, Hey, we've been here. How long? Every 29 other teams have had an all star game and not Tampa. And I thought, well, look at Rick Vaughn's book. It, what happened is way back. I guess it's probably 1939 when Russia invaded Finland.

[00:27:47] Mark Corbett: This is interesting. When Russia invaded Finland, the U S wanted to do something. They wanted to back. So former president Herbert Hoover was enlisted to help find ways to raise funds for the people of Finland to rebuild from all the attacks they had over there, well, one of the things was going to be a sports division and lo and behold, They decided to work with, , I guess it was, , whatever it was, a Kennesaw mountain land is back then and put together an all star team on all star game, and they actually did it in Tampa, which was just, it's an interesting story.

[00:28:25] Mark Corbett: So I came across this, , image of that all star game and I put it up on X earlier, but it's, it's interesting when you look at. Oh yeah. We've never, we've never had an all star game at the TROP. However, we did have one in Tampa back in the night, about 1940s or thereabouts. It's like 

[00:28:43] Mat Germain: a good story, Mark. I hadn't heard that at all.

[00:28:47] Mark Corbett: Yeah. That guy, I gotta have him on here again, man. He's got great stories to tell. I just go, you know, peel through that. It's only like about 160 pages, but every page I'm reading, it's like three new things pop out at me. And it's like, yeah, it's, it's crazy. But, , talking historically, I mean, We can look at what's going on right now with Rickwood Field and the Birmingham Barons and also, , the Montgomery Biscuits, also known as the, , the, what's the Gray Sox play there this week.

[00:29:18] Mark Corbett: So it's, it's interesting. We look back at the game and things that have changed. It's, it's kind of sad. The synchronicity of Willie Mays passing is the Rickwood Field game. 

[00:29:32] Mat Germain: I am glad that Willie got to see the, , the fact that, , the Negro league stats were, were put in, you know, by everybody. So hopefully that's, you know, that's something that he was happy to see before he passed, but yeah, that's sad news.

[00:29:47] Mat Germain: He's one of the greats, right? It's there. There's very few players that, that kind of get national headlines when they pass away and he's definitely one of them. And, , Set the standard, you know, a lot of people that saw him play said, you know, there's very few that could touch him when it came to, , playing center field defensively.

[00:30:07] Mat Germain: So, , that one of the greats. 

[00:30:11] Mark Corbett: Yes, indeed. We, he was a great spokesman for the game and certainly for the, the Negro Leagues as well. And it fascinated me. I think we talked about this before. When they first started incorporating the Negro league stats, then Willie only had like 10 more runs or something.

[00:30:29] Mark Corbett: There there's only like 1 year are very limited number of, , data on him with the Negro leagues. And I can only wonder how much more depth that there's still to be uncovered, , on those statistics. 

[00:30:45] Mat Germain: No, hopefully somebody will do that digging. 

[00:30:48] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I hear you. Oh, okay. I've got, I've got another one for you, my friend.

[00:30:54] Mark Corbett: So it was a Tuesday with the twins and we, I did realize that both the twins and the Rays had home run leaders in the league there and knocked me down. I said, Oh my gosh, who are they? Well, it's Pablo Lopez and Aaron Savalle. Both of them have had more home runs than anybody hit at the time. They both at the time were tied at, , having, , allowing 14 home runs.

[00:31:20] Mark Corbett: And, but since then, Pablo has taken the lead and he now has 16 home runs. He's allowed for the season. So Aaron, sad news, but. It's the kind of news you really don't, don't mind hearing from somebody else. 

[00:31:34] Mat Germain: That's going to end up being one of those weird trades because at first, you know, Pablo Lopez for, , Luis Arreaz, it was kind of a clean cut.

[00:31:42] Mat Germain: Both teams won. Now it's a lot blurrier because Reyes got traded for a package after struggling beginning the year. And then Pablo Lopez is having, you know, an up and down season. So it'll be interesting to see when we look back at it much further down the road, when the package that Miami got back, , ends up developing and seeing what it looks like.

[00:32:05] Mat Germain: I have a feeling that they're going to be on top because I don't think the twins will be able to get a huge package for Lopez. If ever they do decide to move on. , but. If Lopez finds his form again and they end up making the playoffs and, you know, he helps them through some wins, they could still end up, you know, looking the best out of the two.

[00:32:25] Mat Germain: So, it's a pretty intriguing trade to kind of look back on. Speaking of which, I do want to mention, um, pitching tonight. Is the fifth round and seventh round draft pick of the Rays, , from the 2018 draft. So the Rays took Taj Bradley in the fifth round and 60 picks later, they took Joe Ryan. Um, that was in the same draft as Shane McClanahan and Matthew Liberatore.

[00:32:56] Mat Germain: So you talk about four really, really, really good arms that they got in that draft. And, , it's too bad they can't pitch on the same side. We all understand. Why they dealt them at the time, but, , two special talents and they're both doing pretty well tonight. Tied one, one so far, um, in the fourth. 

[00:33:17] Mark Corbett: Well, I was wondering about, pardon me.

[00:33:19] Mark Corbett: I was wondering because I heard the name Joe Ryan. I said, I know that name. I know they, I'll check real quick. Best baseball reference. Oh, he's been with the. But then with the twins for four years, I said, but something still tickles. My brain said, raise, raise rates. And I'd forgotten about him being there in the draft and us picking him then.

[00:33:38] Mat Germain: No, it definitely hurt. Cause I had, he had just pitched for USA and, , WBC and, , we had visions of him and, and the rest of the youngRays. You know, coming up together and having success. , so when they dealt them, it was a pretty big shock, you know, like how last year they said they, they had dangled a junior camera narrow at the trade deadline, right?

[00:34:00] Mat Germain: It would have been that kind of shock. It was that high. Like he was that highly thought of at the time, you know, you might've put them. About the top 3 or 4 fastballs in the minors, um, among prospects, so, , you know, it was definitely a shock. He's a good talent. He's a good guy. As far as I know, he got along with everybody and raise organization still does.

[00:34:23] Mat Germain: So, , you know, it's fun to see have see him having success in Minnesota and he's pitched really well for them and steadily through the time since they got him. 

[00:34:36] Mark Corbett: Well, I'm always glad to see somebody thrive after, you know, we've dealt them somewhere else. Have you heard any news on Harold Ramirez? Is he, since the DFA?

[00:34:46] Mat Germain: He's in the, the Nationals picked him up on a minors deal. I don't know what opt outs he has as part of that deal. Like often, he'll be in the minors, but if they get an offer from somebody else. They can jump ship. Um, unless they're, you know, they're offered a position with that team. So the Nationals did well there.

[00:35:05] Mat Germain: I think, you know, the there's a good chance they'll end up being sellers at some point. So if they want to call them up and help the young guys out once, . Once they makes a few deals, then they'd be able to do that. Cause I think they have some guys like, , Lane Thomas and stuff like that, that would be highly sought after.

[00:35:23] Mat Germain: So, , there's some gaps there that they would possibly be looking to fill and Harold could do well for them. 

[00:35:31] Mark Corbett: Well, I hope he finds, you know, a place that works out for him because again, he's one of the beloved players you see out there, everybody loves to see, you know, with Tricia Whitaker, she's talking with us, ballet sports, I think everybody's Picks up a little bit on that to get a little excited in the story about him.

[00:35:46] Mark Corbett: And this is a child with autism and the blue, , support that they do for that cause those kinds of things just really endear him. And, but while he's being defect DF aid. I'm looking back and saying, well, who are these guys been on the entry list that are on the horizon of returning? I mean, looking at a little bit of pitching going on.

[00:36:07] Mat Germain: Yeah, I, I think the Jeffrey Springs just through two innings last night did really well, his stuff just looks like it's spot on. Like there is not much difference. Um, well, there is a difference that he's still working his way back, but there's not much compared to what he was doing when he started, , 2023 and he looked electric at that point.

[00:36:28] Mat Germain: He looked like he was on his way to. I saw a young pot potential, , season. Um, so it's good to see that. And Shane Boz has looked pretty solid as well. Um, I think both of those are going to be pushing for, , for positions now. Shane Boz is not on the IL anymore. He was basically put in AAA, like on Using up one of his options, right?

[00:36:51] Mat Germain: So there's no pressure to bring him up, um, which gives the Rays more time to figure out, you know, trades or anything else that they might want to do, or to see if a guy ends up with an injury at some point, they need to replace him. So, but the same can't be said for Jeffrey Springs. So there is a timeline with Jeffrey Springs.

[00:37:10] Mat Germain: I'm not exactly clear on when they need to bring him back, but essentially, once you see him hit the five innings mark, you'll know that that's. You know, the next one might be an MLB, , after he does that and maybe the one after that. So right now he's at two innings. I haven't really monitored what, how many pitches he's, he's had to use to get through that.

[00:37:35] Mat Germain: Um, but I like what I see from him for sure. , the other thing it does too, if ever they You know, I don't know, I don't know exactly what their plan is going to be, how long they're going to stick with this roster and when they're going to decide to make moves, but I know they need to detangle, right? And so they're going to need that other team that gives them what they're looking for or something close to that, , before they do, you know, make any trades.

[00:38:01] Mat Germain: And I will say that, , The Los Angeles Dodgers, the dreaded Los Angeles Dodgers, who stole Tyler Glass now from the Rays, according to Rays fans, have had a few significant injuries that could have Put them in the mix for a couple of guys. So Yamamoto went down. So you have to believe that somebody like Zach Eflin would be of interest to them.

[00:38:25] Mat Germain: , Yamamoto has a shoulder issue, a rotator cuff. That's not something you want to dance with, you know, very long because, , if, especially when you're talking about a guy that has what a 12 year deal, you want to nurse that rotator cuff back to health, , because it's, it's a longer game for them than just this year.

[00:38:44] Mat Germain: Um, and then the. The other guys, Mookie Betts. So I'm not saying the Rays have the replacement for Mookie Betts in house, but they have guys that the Dodgers may be have interest in bringing in to help deepen their roster while they wait for guys to return. Right. So that's one team I would keep an eye on.

[00:39:05] Mat Germain: And the other one is the Cubs. I think they have some pieces that the Rays would be really interested in. But all in all, I think, , it was surprising to see Harold Ramirez not get a return. I thought, I really thought a team would want to snag him before anybody else did just because of the amount of success he has against left handed pitching.

[00:39:25] Mat Germain: But like I said before, I think When you're looking at that as 20 to 25 percent of pitchers in MLB, you can't really carry it very easily. No, 

[00:39:36] Mark Corbett: no, you know, and I'm talking about Harold, but also the pitching. I keep thinking, Matt, about how many pictures every team has. I mean, it's half the fricking roster.

[00:39:48] Mark Corbett: Um, you look at this and Are we going to see more of these guys? May maybe, , Boz or Jeffrey Springs, they come back and they're a a two, three inning guy. I mean, or maybe we see more of 'em as relievers. I mean, once upon a time you always expected a pitcher to go to the full game. Maybe you put in a reliever.

[00:40:08] Mark Corbett: I really wonder about the whole methodology for the future of the game in the arms of these young men. If we're gonna see a whole change about how. Pitchers are used in the game. And by that, I mean, the inning and pitch count, 

[00:40:25] Mat Germain: you can build your roster to what you're to head towards what you're talking about.

[00:40:31] Mat Germain: But having said that you need to do your research on personalities and their routines. Because they're very, very routine oriented jobs, , that demand people acting in completely different ways to get prepared. So, when you're, let's say for instance, they, they, they tell Shane Boz, you know what? You've never pitched more than 90 innings in a season.

[00:40:55] Mat Germain: We'd like to just work you up to that amount. So because of that. We'll put you in the pen and we'll bring you out for two to three innings at a time. He's like, fine. But my entire routine now is shot. I've got to start from scratch. I got to warm up differently. I got to, everything that I do normally is changed now.

[00:41:13] Mat Germain: So I'm sitting there for two, three, four, five innings. I don't know what I'm going in. My mindset is completely different. Um, so. There are pitchers that are willing and able to do that easily and can transition back and forth with just a little bit of a mindset difference and there's others that will be stubbornly completely against it and and will raise hell if you try to do it to them.

[00:41:38] Mat Germain: So You just have to do your research and know what you're working with. And all, oftentimes, I mean, it's up to the manager to sell it to the player, , and, and kind of give them that vision. So one example of that that was successful was Louis, , Urias and, um, with the Dodgers, 

[00:41:54] none: that's 

[00:41:54] Mat Germain: how they broke him into MLB.

[00:41:56] Mat Germain: They basically said, you know what, we'll bring you in whenever we need you. And we'll give you the three, four innings at a time. He did great. He, it actually. You know, lengthened him to the point where he was able to be a starter later on and, um, and, and yet a lot of success. So for the raise, I think you could do that with somebody like Joe rock, for example, or, , Mason Montgomery is doing that in triple a right now, but he could be the same kind of style for that.

[00:42:24] Mat Germain: And it's easy to sell to them because they've, you know, they don't have a starter's job in MLB yet. It's harder to do it when you've been an MLB starter and that's the job that you want. I think that's the big thing. 

[00:42:38] Mark Corbett: Well, I think any young players are growing up doesn't say, Ooh, I'd love to be able to come into a game for just a couple innings.

[00:42:44] Mark Corbett: Wouldn't it be so neat ? 

[00:42:47] none: That's true. 

[00:42:50] Mark Corbett: Oh, no, no. The game changes the way we play it and everything from size of paces to pitch counts to how many timeouts. I mean, how many times you can call, okay, you, you gotta smile when you. So you see how many times that a batter can call time, because think about Yandy Diaz two or three years ago, man, how many times would he step away from the plate at a single at bat?

[00:43:16] Mark Corbett: It seemed like he would, he would wear out the pitcher that way as much as Fallon off the tip, foul tip balls or whatever, just 

[00:43:23] Mat Germain: very true. 

[00:43:25] Mark Corbett: So many things. 

[00:43:27] Mat Germain: Yeah. Edwin Encarnacion was the same way. He would always have to adjust every piece of gear he had on. Go back. 

[00:43:35] Mark Corbett: Oh, I don't know. Oh boy. So. What do you got planned for the future of this?

[00:43:41] Mark Corbett: , what do you think is going to happen now for the upcoming games? We got, what'd you, Pittsburgh's up on the mantle after the twins. I believe. 

[00:43:49] Mat Germain: Rays are seeing like, , just a gamut of, of high end pitching, which isn't going to make it easy on their, their lineup that's already struggling. Um, you know, the, the good thing is that, um, they're going to, they're going to get a taste of, , Some strong pitching so that afterwards they might end up, you know, being able to go on a winning streak of sorts but I think that the the Joe they're gonna see Jones and skeins and a lot of I don't know a lot of pitching that you know can be volatile because they're younger But it's gonna test the lineup, especially with them being Right handed pitchers and to raise lineups still lacking a bit of that You The left handed depth, Josh Lowe's looking like he's hanging on so far.

[00:44:40] Mat Germain: So that's helping out the lineup a little bit. I think Richie Palacios has slowed down quite a bit. And I posted that a bit earlier where. , there's a couple of guys in the lineup that need to get going. Johnny DeLuca has hit the ball well recently and that helps. Um, but you can't just leave it to Jose Siri and, , Isak Paredes and maybe Randy Rosarena is heating up now, , a little bit.

[00:45:05] Mat Germain: So, That helps, but when you're facing right hander, right hander, right hander, that's not going to be sustainable, more than likely, right? For extended periods, but we'll see. I'm still in the wait and see approach. I kind of waved the white flag and said the Rays are more than likely not going to make the playoffs this year, um, just because of how tough they're faced.

[00:45:28] Mat Germain: August and September schedules are they only have 3 days off in both those months, which isn't much. So their pen is going to be torn apart and their pen is already atrocious. So, you know, when you put those 2 things together, that's not really a recipe for success. Um, so I don't see the playoffs right now for the Rays, and I think it's going to be more about accumulating a few compensation draft picks if they can, accumulating depth that's going to be able to support the young guys coming up, and that's fine.

[00:45:59] Mat Germain: Pepeo and Bradley are going to be the future of the rotation. We're going to get to see them grow. There's a lot to kind of cheer for and, , and support through the rest of the year, no matter what happens. So, , yeah, hopefully they still. You know, throw up enough highlights that it keeps us excited all the way through.

[00:46:20] Mark Corbett: Well, I mean, Yandi, you got to love the count is like, was it 21 games or 20 games that he's been on base consecutively? 

[00:46:29] Mat Germain: Exactly. Yeah. 

[00:46:30] Mark Corbett: I mean, those are the things you got to enjoy with man. Um, it's to me, I take those little nuggets and cherish them. , I, whether we even. Let's get above 500 or not. Yeah, I'd like to be that.

[00:46:43] Mark Corbett: What, what I don't want to see is at the end of the season, we're number five in the AL East and, and, you know, last one leaves the basement. Turn the lights off, please. 

[00:46:53] Mat Germain: I don't know. I don't know which way I'm getting it. Like I said, the, every team has a wind streak in them and the rays have yet to have it.

[00:47:04] Mat Germain: How. What it will look like when they have it. I don't know, but they will have it. Assuming Josh Lowe gets healthy, maybe Junior Caminero gets back to AAA at some point and then gets the call and it boosts the lineup. Maybe Curtis Meade comes back and his bat's been on fire in AAA lately. Um, you know, Jonathan Aranda could end up coming back and having a punch for the lineup.

[00:47:29] Mat Germain: So they just need to. To get that spark and that winning streak going once they have it going then. Yeah, you can go on the like, let's say They go on 11 or 13 game winning streak against whoever it doesn't even matter when in the season that changes the entire outlook Because then then you're what five six games above 500 Anything can happen at that point from that point forward.

[00:47:56] Mat Germain: It's just that right now, if you're looking at the, the reason and what they need to get to 90 wins, they need to have a, , about a 625 winning percentage. That's tough compared to, you know, when you're looking at the road, the competition they're going to have and the schedule they have, they have the toughest schedule in the majors.

[00:48:16] Mat Germain: Left from this point forward by weight of opponents. So, you know, it's a lot to ask, do they have the starting pitching to do it? Absolutely. They do. They, they have that depth. They have something that all the teams are looking for right now, which is starting pitching depth. Are they going to add enough to the lineup to balance it out and sort out their pen at the same time?

[00:48:40] Mat Germain: That's the part that I'm not really sold on, especially with the way Kevin Cash has been using the pen and it favors, it's just, it's mind numbing to be quite honest. I know he's handed players and he's got to use them. But at some point, somebody's got to decide to, , to either amp it up or shut it down on one or the other.

[00:49:01] Mark Corbett: Yeah. You get to work with the tools at hand, man. And that's, that's the challenge. I mean, we're, we're seeing some of these players, I mean, not trying to trash anybody, but a couple of the, the. Just a couple of guys in the opinion, wondering why they're still there. And Kevin can only work with who the, who he has and that's what he has right now.

[00:49:21] Mark Corbett: So I, you know, it's still exciting for me. I'm not, I don't have down on the raise. , I figured if I ever think about getting down theRays, I'll listen to a white socks podcast and then. 

[00:49:33] Mat Germain: Yeah, well, you know, and, and it's to be quite honest, it's hard to be down on them when you know how close some of their best talents are, you know, When you're talking about having, you know, five top 100 prospects sitting there in AAA and AA, then you know that help is coming.

[00:49:52] Mat Germain: It's here. It's not like you're the Blue Jays and you don't have any. Yeah, well, you have Elvis Martina, but he's, he's here, he's already arrived and he's not really, I don't know, to me, he's not really a top prospect. I think they put him there to have some representation, but regardless, he's, he hits the ball hard when he hits it.

[00:50:10] Mat Germain: I just don't know that I would, I would put some other people ahead of him, but all that to say that they have a handful. The Jays might have one. Um, so when you're looking at the difference between the two, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the Rays. , if you're able to kind of, , be patient on some of those prospects, I know it's hard because I, what I've been hearing a lot from Rays fans is this, is, um, we've had a lot of top prospects come up that resemble more, , Quadruple a player caliber than MLB caliber.

[00:50:47] Mat Germain: And I think that's, it's a misconception because of this. If you're a team that's competitive, right? And that's going for that playoff spot, you're winning 95, a hundred games, 99 games. You're always going to demand more out of your roster and out of the players performing because the stakes are high and you're trying to push that limit.

[00:51:10] Mat Germain: So your patience. for young players to learn on the go is going to be a lot lower than a team that is down and out and has all the room in the world to give them. So I don't think it's, it's a fair assessment to say that about the Rays. Um, I, I think it's more a matter of, Demanding that of the players themselves and it's up to them to earn it and to be on point and when they arrive to be ready to perform and they just haven't been.

[00:51:41] Mat Germain: A lot of times it's kind of a little bit like a recoil effect where they've. They've looked uncomfortable, whether it's on the field with Curtis Meade making errors, whether it's making, you know, some silly mistakes, um, they just haven't looked, , the part so far. And so I don't think they're quadruple A players though, and I don't think it's fair to paint them as that, because I think given the opportunity and the time, they would grow into everyday players in my opinion.

[00:52:10] Mark Corbett: Well, I believe it takes nurturing. I mean, we were even talking earlier about Taj and going from triple a to, to the raised level to MLB level that it is different and it's. How they, how they adapt, but you can't take Chandler Simpson and just take him from where he's at and throw him up into the show because the level of player at each from going from single A, double A, triple A, you know, to here it's, it's massive.

[00:52:39] Mark Corbett: And I mean, I think you'll be able to do fine when he gets here. And the tools we have right now that the players, they still make an exciting game and, you know, and they did well the last couple of times that Papa John's took a hit because last couple of games, they put six on the board and, , 

[00:52:59] Mat Germain: You ship some of that up to Nova Scotia, Mark.

[00:53:01] Mat Germain: I don't get any benefit from that whatsoever. Maybe I should open up a franchise up here and connect. 

[00:53:08] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Let's see. What, who is it? Oh, no. Dang on it. What's, what's the, what is the place you guys got up there? The hockey player, Tim Hortons. I'll give you a Papa John's for Tim Hortons. 

[00:53:22] Mat Germain: Sold like bandits down there.

[00:53:25] Mat Germain: That's kidding me. The snowbirds down there would eat it up. Go out of business in Florida. 

[00:53:34] Mark Corbett: I. When I used to travel and do sales, a lot of times up in the north, I would, I would always find my way to Tim Norton's and, um, but what would drive me crazy was I couldn't find anywhere else. So, grins and giggles, I was down here at 1 time.

[00:53:49] Mark Corbett: I said, okay, take me to the closest, you know, and lo and behold. There's one in Florida. There's one in Tampa. No, what it was, it must've been a sponsorship with the Tampa Bay Lightning playing hockey. So that made sense. I, I haven't been there, so I don't know if there's actually any kind of a vendor or not, but.

[00:54:11] Mark Corbett: Yeah, the 

[00:54:15] Mat Germain: funny part with, , I don't know if it, if it's the same all over, but way back, I think 5 to 8 years ago, , Tim Hortons changed their coffee completely, like their source and, and the other 1 went to McDonald's when they were Brought up in their carafe and all that kind of stuff. So, um, so it's kind of an odd one cause I'll go and get McDonald's coffee and it tastes like what I remember Tim Hortons tasting like, and now Tim Hortons has a brand new coffee, which the thing that will always strike me, Mark, about Tim Hortons coffee is you can't buy it in grain.

[00:54:50] Mat Germain: You can't buy coffee beans from Tim Hortons. It's always ground. Why? Because the addictive, the addictive chemicals are mixed in with the grind. No! Really? You can't buy coffee beans of Tim Hortons, at all. You know, you can for McDonald's, but you can't for Tim Hortons. Oh my gosh, 

[00:55:13] Mark Corbett: I had no idea. Ah, not bad. I loved it there.

[00:55:17] Mark Corbett: I ate, I ate there sometimes twice a day, but it was, which probably is why I've got the figure that I do now. But, oh brother. Well, if I, if I can find a way to get your Papa John's up there, I will. Ooh, I'm looking at the screen right now. It looks like a little argument going on between, , 

[00:55:35] Mat Germain: Yeah, calls, but, , it's one, one in the fifth, , Taj is looking good.

[00:55:41] Mat Germain: I've been looking at the pitches and both him and Ryan are dueling right now. It's almost like, , you know, anything you can do, I can do better. 

[00:55:52] Mark Corbett: Oh, well, I'll let you get back to watching the game, man. And we'll chop it up again next week, but it's, it's always fun. Chat with you, buddy. 

[00:56:01] Mat Germain: What do we got? , 22 days before the vote.

[00:56:06] Mat Germain: Is that right? Yeah. Two days, Mark, three weeks and one day. And you might know, you know, what's going on with the rays permanently or semi permanently.

[00:56:19] Mark Corbett: Well, when they, when they lay the foundation, I'll feel a little more comfortable. Oh, we'll see brother. We will see. 

[00:56:27] Mat Germain: Thanks for having me. It's always a pleasure. I love it. 

[00:56:29] Mark Corbett: I enjoy it too. So you listen to Matt Germain and Mark Harvett match. You can always find his comments on X. com at under Matt underscore Jermaine underscore it's at Matt M A T underscore Jermaine G E R M A I N underscore, and I'm Mark at the BaseballBizon Twitter.

[00:56:50] Mark Corbett: So check us out. , you'll find Matt's musings and, , scouting tips on there. And. Always a lot of fun. Once again, Matt, thanks for being on here today, brother. 

[00:57:00] Mat Germain: Not a problem. And I'm looking forward to the next time already. All right. 

[00:57:06] Mark Corbett: Oh, Hey, I gotta tell you something on that book. I'm reading. It's real interesting.

[00:57:11] Mark Corbett: That whole plant field, which is put together behind the hotel of, , Henry plant, he's the one who built this big hotel with minarets and all that sort of thing on top of some of the buildings. And they had to get. Plant field ready for the cubs. And in order to do that, and he had support, I think of the governor, he got, he got prison workers to come out there.

[00:57:41] Mat Germain: Awesome. 

[00:57:42] Mark Corbett: Oh, I've got to do something because at the same time, there was also the, , the gentleman who was, let's see, I got this right now. The guy who was the mayor was also the publisher of the paper. There should be like a corruption 

[00:57:57] Mat Germain: show 

[00:57:57] Mark Corbett: on, , 

[00:57:58] Mat Germain: on TV permanently in the, in the States. It would be so awesome.

[00:58:07] Mark Corbett: Oh, we got, they'd have plenty to work with me. Oh, brother. Okay. Well, I'll let you get back to the family, man. It's always, it's always a pleasure. I'll, I'll catch up with you and, , I'll let you know what it's loud. 

[00:58:22] Mat Germain: Sounds good, 

[00:58:22] Mark Corbett: Mark. Thanks a lot. All 

[00:58:23] none: right. Bye bye.

[00:58:32] none: Done.