World Series begins - Blue Jays & Dodgers

 It’s World Series time! Mat & Mark break down the 2025 matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, diving into the storylines, rivalries, and what this series means for both nations. 

Dodgers will not take their foot off the gas pedal

Tyler Glasnow is kind of a hit and miss pitcher, however

Blake Snell pitching effectiveness for the Dodgers

Batting power with Ernie Clement

Blue Jays players are 150% behind their manager

If Toronto takes 1 or 2 of the games in LA it could be a 6 or 7 game World Series

Former Blue Jay, Teoscar Hernandez is a powerful hitter for Dodgers, he will be able to deliver the scouting dirt on his former team

The return of Bo Bichette 

Question on depth of Blue Jays bullpen

Max Scherzer will be able to offer insight on his former team, the Dodgers

Mariners suffered with bullpen against the Blue Jays – certainly with George Springer

Jays Scherzer & Chris Bassitt – will they pitch more innings in World Series

Mariners

Logan Gilbert did not have his best results against the Blue Jays

Getting to know Bazardo     

Facing George Springer at bat “

Mariners Coach Dan Wilson's fearful look during their games with the Blue Jays

Jays Schneider exudes confidence

MLB 2025 Postseason Strong viewership this year

ALCS, between the Mariners and the Blue Jays, had 10 million viewers, a 32% increase in viewership over previous year

Playoffs games are averaging 4.3 million viewers. a 30% increase over last year

ALDS game 5 drew 8.72 million viewers – most viewership since 2011

ALCS, between the Mariners and the Blue Jays, had 10 million viewers - 32% increase in viewership over previous year

Playoffs games are averaging 4.3 million viewers. a 30% increase over last year

ALDS game 5 drew 8.72 million viewers – most viewership since 2011

Canadian audience contributed significantly to all of the numbers

Game 7 of the ALCS - record breaking viewership on SportsNet and SportsNet Plus, which brought in 11.8 million Canadians to the broadcast

WPBL League announces 4 city locations for 2026 launch – Boston, New York, Los Angeles & San Francisco

How will WPBL build audience to watch the game via tv, streaming & etc

Mo'ne Davis

Justine Siegal instrumental with Baseball For All & now WPBL

Need for Intra-sport support across MLB, NHL, NFL

Winter League games w/Major Leaguers like Nick Castellanos, Jason Chourio

Sports Equinox  - Get your remotes, popcorn and pizza ready - Monday, October 27, 2025, games being played across MLB, NHL & NFL

Mat’s journey to the Baltimore ESPN zone 

Harold Ramirez still out their working in Mexican League to get back into MLB

RaysUp – what is coming up with Pete Alonso & Luis Arráez

MLB “Meritocracy” Debate: MLB’s diversity page changes spark discussion on inclusivity and representation. 

DEI – DoD – Jackie Robinson take down and the brought back up

MLB.com changes to their DEI pages -  less inclusive of diversity than before?

Be aware of GroupThink

Aliens & Epstein files soon to be released

Go Jays!

Find Mat at @matgermain.bsky.social or reach Mark @  baseballbizondeck@gmail.com BaseballBiz on Deck, @ iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and at www.baseballbizOnDeck.com 
Special Thanks to XTaKe-R-U-X for the music "Rocking Forward"

Transcript

320 BaseballBiz On Deck 2025 - World Series_Blue Jays & Dodgers

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to Baseball Biz On Deck, and we're here with so much fun this week. Mr. Mat Germain's here. I'm Mark Corbett. We're here. And you're here too. And we all know what's happening. That's right. It is the beginning of the World Series. Let's get started. Mat. 

[00:00:18] Mat Germain: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're giving us way too much credit mark from the start, like that.

[00:00:22] We know what's happening. We don't know what's happening. We, we know the teams that are playing. We don't know what's happening. I know there was a lot of beer drank after the, the Blue Jays won their game. Uh, but that's about as far as I'll go. 

[00:00:37] Mark Corbett: I am. So, you know, I've so much wanted to see the Mariners that are made.

[00:00:41] You and I both, I think because we were looking for them to be at their First World Series, even if they didn't win it, we wanted to be able to see them get there. I mean, the Blue Jays have been there a few times and anybody's facing the Dodgers. It's gonna be questionable series anyway, how it all plays out.

[00:00:57] I was really glad to see at least we [00:01:00] have representation from the Al East with the, the Blue Jays there, so, 

[00:01:05] Mat Germain: right. So you, you gotta think of it from so many angles. In this case, mark, like, first of all, the Yankees. The Yankees didn't want the Blue Jays to win because they're the ones who booted them out.

[00:01:15] All those Yankee fans were probably booing the crap out of their TVs and they didn't want the World Series to take place mostly in Canada market. Yeah. So if it goes seven games, most of the World Series games will be played in Canada. Mm. It within this political climate that is a goldmine that brings up so many question marks.

[00:01:42] Oh, man. 

[00:01:42] Mark Corbett: Well, I I hope that we get there. I mean, I hope it's that far into the series. 'cause I, last thing I wanna see is another four and, oh, that, that, those things are boring to me.

[00:01:51] And, um, man, I, I would absolutely love to see. Toronto have it. I wonder if the, if the [00:02:00] Canadian president would welcome us president to the, the final game of the World Series. Oh. And the, 

[00:02:08] Mat Germain: the Prime Minister is not, uh, shy from, from, from inviting anyone to, you know, to do business with and have, you know, a couple of beers with, and, and I think he is a sports fan in general, like, and he is done some shows if you've ever, you know.

[00:02:23] Paid attention at a lot of the politics up here. 

[00:02:25] Mark Corbett: He's done well. If I paid attention, I'd say Prime Minister instead of President. 

[00:02:28] Mat Germain: Yeah, it's all good. But, but the, the, I think the, the thing is they're just about to sign a trade deal on top of it, supposedly. Right? There's rumors that on three or four different things they're trying to resolve, so.

[00:02:44] My, my theory is, well, whatever one you haven't solved yet, you know, stake it on the World Series. Say, you know what if the Blue Jays win, it goes in Canada's favor. If, if the Dodgers win, it goes in the United States favor. 

[00:02:59] Mark Corbett: Yeah. [00:03:00] Okay. I have this image and it's one I, I don't like the way things are going here and politically in the us There's, there's obviously really been no bones about me sharing that information and I. I didn't, I didn't like seeing the World Series team, you know, being in front up or any of the professional teams being in front of the president.

[00:03:24] Uh, alls I can think is if a Canadian team. Wins the World Series? Mm-hmm. Will they be invited to the White House? 

[00:03:34] Mat Germain: Nope. They will be invited to the, the House of Commons in Canada or, or there you go to meet the Prime Minister at his home. Uh, I don't know if he's moved into the same home where Justin Trudeau was staying 'cause they, it was being renovated for a while, so I, I'm not exactly positive on where they would be invited, but, uh.

[00:03:52] Definitely they'll, they'll make room for those guys. I think the Canada angle goes further than that though, mark, because Freddie [00:04:00] Freeman is, is, you know, Canadian citizen. He has dual citizenship, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is Canadian citizen. , You have, , a lot of, , differences between these two teams.

[00:04:12] So the Dodgers have three players from JA Japan, one from South Korea. Obviously they're a West Coast team. They are centric that way. Everybody on the Blue Jays is either from North AmErika or the Caribbean except for one player. And he comes from Slovakia in Europe. So you've got these two kind of East coast, west coast, you know, vibes between, between these two teams.

[00:04:35] And then it's really, , intriguing that, that these two teams face off , at a time when, baseball's been looking for large markets to take a hold of the, uh, world Series to kind of amp up the ratings, and we're seeing the results that, you know, that that's bearing even without New York involved.

[00:04:55] Mark Corbett: Well, I'm glad to see, like I said, the Toronto there and, and you're right. I was curious to see [00:05:00] how all this would play out. I was looking at, let's see, was it Bet MGM Anyway, you know, 'cause I liked to go all about gambling, but it was interesting to see at the beginning of the season who they were picking to be, uh, at the World Series.

[00:05:13] And the, the top two teams they picked were the Dodgers. So that was, I think, the easy one to pick. And then they had the Yankees after that O. Other teams they saw advancing were the Phillies, the Mets, the Braves, the Astros, the Padres, the Rangers, the Red Sox, and the Orioles. And obviously the only one. See where we have, we did have the Phillies, uh, into that mix and Red Socks early on too, so, 

[00:05:43] Mat Germain: Hmm.

[00:05:45] Yeah. , The cool thing is too, you have the whole country of Canada watching, and I think I want to draw some attention to that because last year there was a whole thing about, oh, the Dodgers and the Yankees meeting up and it's going to be [00:06:00] a ratings bonanza. Right? Well, the ALCS beat the ratings of that World Series, so the, the Mariners and Blue Jays Outdrew.

[00:06:12] What happened in the World Series last year? So, so that tells you the power of an entire country being behind a team, right? And the attention that it draws. And I think when we start talking about expansion. MLB has to take note of that and say, you know what? Adding another team in Canada just improves the chances.

[00:06:34] We get the entire country involved in these playoffs, , and , get better ratings as a result. So it shouldn't be overlooked that when you get a Canadian team involved, whether it's basketball, whether it's , hockey or uh, baseball, you're going to get. Significant ratings boosts because there's so many people that are focused in on it that are gonna cheer on, even though it may not be their team in their region, they're going to [00:07:00] just pile in there and bandwagon that team to, , to cheer it on.

[00:07:05] Mark Corbett: You know, being part of Baseball Biz On Deck really need to, I need to do my homework and find out a little bit more about the viewership as this advances through this World Series and see how much folks are paying for commercials in that. And you know, it's interesting because coming up to the World Series, we've had to have a mix of places where we watch our games.

[00:07:25] Uh, FS one, you know, HBO Max. Different ones. And some of these you had to have cable. But these last ones are all on Fox. And I will be curious to see too, how much more we may see of Canadian advertising that would appear across all the broadcasting that Fox is doing with this.

[00:07:47] Mat Germain: It's gonna be interesting to see how that, that all works out. Sadly, because I'm in, Canada, I've taken note that you know, even though you can pay the best package that you want to watch the Super Bowl in, you're never gonna get [00:08:00] the AmErikan ads. You're always gonna get the Canadian ads that supersede whatever's being broadcast in, in the United States.

[00:08:07] So you never get the actual. , Full package of what all regions here, or the majority of regions, you're just getting a snapshot of one particular region. 

[00:08:18] Mark Corbett: Well, that's the damn shame. And you and I have talked in the past one time we'll have to get Craig Calcaterra back on here to talk about, , even being able , to watch your team wherever you may live.

[00:08:27] So we'll see what 2026 is on that. But this year with, I love it again that we're going to see. Toronto Blue Jays. Jay's there and I would just absolutely love to see them take over and give the Dodgers, holy heck, and have a seven game series. This, to me, that could be one of the most exciting, uh, MLB World Series we've had in years.

[00:08:49] Mat Germain: Definitely. And I think the, you know, it's really important that Blue Jays win one of the first two games. They can't go away from Toronto down 0 - 2, like they did with Against the Mariners. The [00:09:00] Dodgers are never going to let off that Dick Gas pedal. Um, and, and here's an interesting note. So Tyler Glasnow doesn't have great numbers in Toronto, right?

[00:09:10] And, and he's a little bit more of, um. Uh, hit and miss sort of playoff performer as well. Like he's had his struggles, he's had his outstanding performances. So which one, which version are they gonna get? Blake Snell's a little bit more of a sure thing. And as a lefty, I think he, he can attack the Blue Jays in different ways, but I took a look at.

[00:09:31] The Blue Jay's performances at the plate from July onwards, and they had five hitters within the top 30 in terms of isolated power, uh, from July onwards. And that really surprised me. And some of the names on there, like Ernie Clement, et cetera, like it was surprising that they had, you know, that much clout, uh, from that point onwards and that many extra base hits.

[00:09:55] So. The lineup and the blue Jays, they, they, they always seem to have somebody that can kind of [00:10:00] come through, have some power, and, and because. They have enough power, they can attack some of those Dodgers pitchers that can be really dominant. But then just walk one guy hit a a batter, and then boom, there's a home run.

[00:10:14] Just like what we saw with George Springer, right? Right. Where, where it just takes that one moment in time, that one bad inning or sequence. And then whammo, the, the Blue Jays have you. And because they're a good defensive team, they don't, they rarely make the mistakes that get them going on the other end.

[00:10:31] So, um, it's hard when you're playing that kind of team to get the edge and I know, 'cause we've watched the Rays do this and enough times through the playoffs, uh, through time, right? So it's a little similar to that mold.

[00:10:46] Mark Corbett: Well, let's see here, Mat. Do you think it'll take seven games to win this World series? 

[00:10:52] Mat Germain: I think you know, it depends a lot on how the Blue Jays play in LA. Um, there, [00:11:00] like there's other angles to this, so. You have a team in the Blue Jays that are 150% behind their manager.

[00:11:08] The love and the respect that they have for their manager right now, , and how you see, how, how motivated and passionate together as a crew group that is unlike something that I've seen in a long time, , in the playoffs. If they can go to LA and steal one or two of those games, , it could be six.

[00:11:29] Uh, but if it goes the other way and they lose the first three games, let's say. You know, I, it, that'll be a really hard thing for them to kind of swallow. So on the, on the Dodger side of things, you have guys like Teoscar Hernandez. Now, for anybody that doesn't realize, te Teoscar Hernandez is the 12th highest.

[00:11:49] Hitting player on Blue Jay's history. He knows that stadium very well. He knows the roster very well. He knows the players very well. He will be the scouting guy that they go to and get all the little , [00:12:00] dirt on Vladdy Guerrero Jr. And try to kind of, get that going. On the other side, you have Bo Bichette, apparently he'll go, he will be returning from his injury.

[00:12:08] That's a huge boost to a team like the Blue Jays, especially with , the amount of, , lengthy at bats that he can provide to their lineup. And , he's hit, uh, through his career extremely well, both at, in Rogers Center and , in LA. So. Those are two big, integral parts of each team that are going to matter a lot.

[00:12:29] I think the other thing you saw for the Blue Jays as they went through these playoffs is they don't really trust all of their pen. They, they've shown cracks in that mold and started using some of their starters as a result. So how much is that going to continue? Are they gonna call on another guy that wasn't part of the ALCS roster?

[00:12:48] That's a starter, but that they can use for longer term, relief, appearances. Scherzer and and Bassitt be asked to throw more innings or less innings. When are they going to be used? There are [00:13:00] so many question marks with this. Like Max Scherzer has the book on the Dodgers. He can provide that to the Blue Jays.

[00:13:06] Right?, And he's not shy about sharing that kind of information. So, so like the numbers of stories, when you start digging into things, uh, about these two teams, it's just they're endless. Like you keep digging and, and finding more gems to kind of share. 

[00:13:21] Mark Corbett: Well, you know, it would, thinking about what it took for, uh, with the Mariners and watching them like to see some of the challenges they were having and looking at Logan Gilbert, who this young pitcher who's done so well , and he suffered, , in the game with , the Blue Jays.

[00:13:41] Um. It didn't, and I think they were, I think the, the Mariners, correct me if I'm wrong, wound up playing some of their, um, what I wanna say, not their closers, , they brought in some of the pitchers more often than you would've thought. I mean, maybe on two days rest or three days rest, [00:14:00] they're bringing somebody back in, you know, at least play an inning or two.

[00:14:04] And that. That says a lot about what, how that team's longevity would be if they had to get all the way to the World Series. It was amazing to me. And when you look at how they were struggling with their pitching with the Mariners, but so with the Blue Jays, you, I mean, it seems like the pen is still an issue there too, but you feel like they got , a better handle on it , 

[00:14:28] Mat Germain: or am I 

[00:14:29] Mark Corbett: completely wrong in all that? 

[00:14:31] Mat Germain: No, no, no. But I, I think that John Schneider stepped away from it, , and Dan Wilson really, didn't. , So it ended up hurting him. Like for instance, if he had brought in a starter instead of Bazardo to go up against. George Springer, does everything change?

[00:14:48] Yeah. So when you had Chris Bassitt come in the game and you had Max Scherzer come in the game, like, those are calls that were made because he knew, like Schneider made a decision that his b his pen was just too burnt and too [00:15:00] exposed. He, they had seen them too much. That that's, well, you could argue the same thing with Bazardo.

[00:15:05] They had seen him enough that they could, you know, time him and know what he was, how he's gonna attack them. And, and when you have somebody like George Springer at the play, who has so much experience having been with the Astros for so many years, yeah. You know, his heart rate is low. He's able to focus, think, not, get overly excited and just wait for that pitch and mistake.

[00:15:25] Um, and so Dan. Should have brought maybe somebody that's more, uh, um, more of an unknown and, and provides more question marks for George to have to think about while he is there in that huge moment, right? Mm-hmm. It's easier said than done, right? Because it, either way, you know, you're, you're throwing it a little bit of caution to the wind.

[00:15:47] But, and, and I would say that Dan Wilson hadn't been there before, like John Schneider's been going through the, the, the ringer with the Blue Jays for a long time. He's gotten knocked out, he's gotten, you know, [00:16:00] the brunt of the, the media outrage and, and they wanted him to be fired and they wanted Shapiro to be fired and everybody wanted everybody to be fired.

[00:16:09] Right. When, when they got sted, what was it in the wildcard game? I can't, they were expected to go through, right? And then boom, everybody wanted everybody out. So Dan Wilson Wilson got them to the game seven of the ALCS. He has nothing to be ashamed of. There's a lot of growth with that team. Their pitching staff is still young and controlled, but it does show you, mark, everybody kept saying the Mariners need to trade pitching.

[00:16:37] They have too much of it, they need more hitters. And look what ended up, you know, biting them in the back, in, in, in the playoffs, was still struggling, grinding to get those pitching innings through the, through the playoffs. It's a, it's a grind no matter how good you think you have it built when you get to October.

[00:16:56] Everybody's on fumes. And so you gotta make sure that you [00:17:00] have that fire in your heart to make the right call. And, , I don't want to bring it up again. Everybody knows , the Rays side of it, but, , the Mariners are gonna get another shot. Now, I don't know, maybe it's just me. Mark, you can speak to this, but when the camera was on Dan Wilson Wilson, he almost looked.

[00:17:17] Scared on occasions or, or doubting himself, or there was this fear in his eyes, and I don't know if it's just the way he looks.

[00:17:27] Mark Corbett: No, no, I, I, I saw too, there was a, almost a, a sense of, uh, indecision, if you will. Right? Or like, and I thought, my gosh, man, you know, you, you gotta convey confidence with every moment with that team. If they see you showing a weakness, just like a lion with a pride behind them, you better show it, because another lion is gonna come and take your place.

[00:17:48] But right then and there, , he needed to be able to exude nothing but confidence, uh, and so the team would see it and to, to make a difference in pro within his own head space to make [00:18:00] those decisions confidently. 

[00:18:02] Mat Germain: Right. And I wanted to bring up the ratings again because to me, I like to provide hope There's enough gloo, doom and gloom in the world today.

[00:18:09] So this is how it's shaping up right now, mark, for the ALCS, between the Mariners and the Blue Jays, they had 10 million viewers. Okay. For, for the first game of that series, that's a 32% increase on the previous year. Okay. , That's huge. Like 30% doesn't just happen. Easily. It, it's an impressive number.

[00:18:34] , Overall, all of the playoffs so far, uh, they're averaging 4.3 million viewers per game. That's a 30% increase over last year. So again, so it's not just one series, it's not just one team, it's overall baseball seems to be attracting more eyeballs. , Another notable game was the game five, the ALDS that drew 8.7.

[00:18:56] 2 million, and that was the most watched [00:19:00] ALDS game since 2011. Uh, so that's 14 years ago. Right. , It shows some excitement about the playoffs, which for baseball has been, kind of a downhill slope for so long that seeing some positive momentum is encouraging , and should be spoken about more so that we at least pat baseball on the back when they deserve it.

[00:19:23] , And it had an added note that the Canadian audience contributed significantly to all of the numbers. , It's one of those, . Nice, tip of the cap also to the country of Canada, that kind of supports the game and the game. Seven of the ALCS was the most watched, , record breaking viewership on SportsNet and SportsNet Plus, which brought in 11.8 million Canadians.

[00:19:53] If you know about the country, that's over 27% of Canadians. Geez, going to the tv, [00:20:00] watching baseball for that. So, you know, that's pretty cool. Wow. 

[00:20:09] Mark Corbett: I, I cannot only begin to imagine if we had 27% of the folks here in the US watching the teams here, the man, the, the value of something like that. Well, I remember, was it the last time I would see Canada's team?

[00:20:22] You know, and rightfully so, you know, when some of the, uh, postseason games are coming up and. They were talking about the js, just like, yes, that's it right now. 'cause there's no expansion. And this is Canada's team, the pride across an entire nation for one baseball team. It's like, wow. And when they're playing, it's like any team, when they're playing good, you've got even more fans.

[00:20:45] But that's fantastic to hear. There's been that kind of participation. I'd like to pick up that template and put it on down here. 

[00:20:53] Mat Germain: Mark, that would be over 110 million AmErikans. Oh 

[00:20:58] Mark Corbett: Lord. [00:21:00] 

[00:21:00] Mat Germain: Practice four. A 

[00:21:00] Mark Corbett: new stadium. I 

[00:21:01] Mat Germain: think you could get there. 

[00:21:03] Mark Corbett: also, as long as we're talking about Toronto, and we may come back through the World Series here for a moment, but the Women's Professional Baseball League just announced the other day, uh, where they're going to have four cities that are starting and not one of 'em is not unfortunately Toronto.

[00:21:18] However, one of the two owners of the two key people who are putting this women's professional Baseball league together. One of 'em is Keith Stein. He's from Toronto, and, uh, he's done a lot up there with, , he's a businessman, The Women's Professional Baseball League.

[00:21:35] They're gonna have their first four teams. And I was curious, 'cause I thought when they were gonna do this. I thought they would stay geographically in one, one area, like maybe just the northeast, you know, with Boston and New York and a few other places. However, they have decided to have four cities.

[00:21:53] Boston and New York are part of it, but they're also having Los Angeles and San Francisco in their inaugural [00:22:00] 2026 season, which I think is pretty neat. Trying to put this together so quickly. Uh, they had tryouts earlier this year at the Nationals Stadium. They had over 400 women coming and trying out over like a three day period.

[00:22:15] It was so difficult to try to make sure you gave everybody a fair shake, you know? But anyway, they're gonna be coming up with these four cities, Boston, Los Angeles. New York and San Francisco, so LA and San Francisco there.

[00:22:30] You're gonna have them out there, obviously on the West Coast and New York and Boston, out here on the east. I am really curious to see how this plays out. And you, the thing of it is too, Mat, when you're, you're starting a new league like this, there has to be. A bit of showmanship about it. So while you may see 400 great players out there, you may not pick the top ones reach.

[00:22:54] I don't know. I need to have 'em on the show and ask. But the, the thing of it is you've also gotta have somebody who's gonna [00:23:00] draw attention. You know, you have to have somebody who already has a certain prestige or, or popularity out there. And I think we'll probably see a few of those players too. There's probably gonna be a few from, uh, Asia and, uh.

[00:23:13] See, maybe Australia, Canada, I don't know. But the whole thing I'm thinking is that all of these folks, it's gonna be interesting to me to see how they work up a schedule and are able to get teams together to be able to try out, to practice, and to travel for that season. So once I have more on that, I'll certainly share it.

[00:23:35] Mat Germain: So one of the things that that comes to mind immediately is get yourself on TV some way somehow. Right? I don't care if it's YouTube, if it's, uh, getting a, a deal together with MLB tv. Uh, if it's something with, uh, M-I-L-B-T-V, if it's pr, uh, Amazon, if it's Apple, if it's whatever the yes, there'll be people in the stands.

[00:23:59] There'll be [00:24:00] things that are important like that. And that's definitely, you know. The bulk of the income that they're gonna make initially. But getting eyeballs on the game is what matters most. And I think you can relate back to the MLS right? The MLS, even though it was just men's sports at first and then eventually grew to be, you know, both sides of things.

[00:24:18] Um, and they have a women's soccer league now that's professional, and we even have the team here in Halifax. , You have to get eyes on the game , and until people can actually. See it and, you know, seeing is believing , and then you kind of, you know, it becomes something that you'll see the highlights.

[00:24:35] There'll be a nice play. It'll replay it, they'll put it on TSN, they'll put it on the ESPN, they'll put whatever, like, they'll be things that come up that happen. . Which become a focal point, uh, that they can then, you know, tell others they, until they do that, they can't get that big name that you're talking about that they need to get, to draw people to the park.

[00:24:57] I think the, the one thing that they could do [00:25:00] is lean more on entertainment side of things as well. So in some way, shape or form, having some sort of entertainment factor included in, in some of their games or performances. . I don't know what that is. I can't speak to that. You know, I keep thinking of bands of,

[00:25:17] I don't know. I don't know exactly. Well, we're, we're 

[00:25:19] Mark Corbett: gonna have to get 'em on here to, to share some of that with us. 'cause I'd really like to hear more about that. I know one of the people they really spotlight right now is Mo'ne Davis. Mm-hmm. And she was like such a star when she, early on, and, she played a lot with baseball.

[00:25:32] She was doing something with softball and now she's back with this. She's a person that a lot of people recognize and a lot of talent. And, uh, we'll see, you know, how this works out for her and others as well. I'm not sure. I know we were talking at one point, you know, Kelsey Whitmore, you know, she'd been so fantastic and she's been playing with the bananas a while back.

[00:25:52] I don't know if she's actually going to be with the, uh, women's Professional Baseball League, but she's done a lot to help promote it over the last [00:26:00] several months. So there's a lot of good folks out there, and I'm really curious to see how it all plays out. I, but you got a good team to start with anyway.

[00:26:08] You got a good team as far as putting this together. You had Justine Siegal, who's been worked for years with Baseball for all and has done so much to promote women in baseball.

[00:26:16] She's had, you know, turn tournaments across the US and elsewhere and bringing all these women in. You know, I, we've even had.

[00:26:23] The Florida boats on here in the past, and they were one of the women's teams who've gone to some of those baseball for all tournaments. And then, like I said, you got Keith Stan outta Toronto. I think with strong people like that, we're going to see success come from this organization. People want this.

[00:26:39] There's, there's a lot of people you're gonna see after promoting, even like Billie Jean King. You look at, at the legend of Mabel Blair, she's gonna be out there as well. There are a lot of folks. We want this to succeed. So we'll see how it all plays out. But I, I think great things to come. What could I say?

[00:26:57] Mat Germain: Do you think that there should be [00:27:00] intersport, uh, promotion? So, so here's, hear me out for a second. So I remember as a kid, right? Um. Commercials going on with Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan, or Bo Jackson. And Michael Jordan, or there was an intersport, you know, promotion factor going on in those marketings that helped all sports, you know.

[00:27:27] Kind of gain some respect, notoriety, et cetera, and to amp things up, uh, for those games. So if you have the WNBA that's already taken off and you have women's soccer that's taking off and you have like, there should be some cross-promotion factor to those leagues, um, because I think the stronger they are as a whole, the more mix of fans you're going to get that want to support all the different, um.

[00:27:56] Types of sports that, \, that women are a part of. So I think that's [00:28:00] a really beneficial thing that promotes not only the sport for, let's say you do the WNBA and you get some of their biggest talents to go and, and, and kind of be part of commercials or events. You know, you could do the vice versa when they have the, the baseball leagues going on.

[00:28:18] It just. 

[00:28:19] Mark Corbett: Well, and I mean, it can be simple things too, man. I mean, the other day, Vladi, when, uh, he came in, he was wearing what, a a, a jersey? A Austin, Mathews jersey from the Leafs, you know, and I said it was a simple thing, but it's showing kind of a cross support between sports and. There's those type of, those little moments, there are you, you see maybe three or four people from the National Hockey League, uh, sitting there at the stands during a game during what Major League baseball game and the simple things like that, you know, it makes a difference.

[00:28:53] Are you and I talk time and again about having more of the sports players [00:29:00] doing. Commercials and promotions, , they should be doing some of those to together across one another. I mean, I could you imagine, oh, say, uh, Tom Brady and Derek Jeter doing a spot together. You know, or, but actually working with, with a few stars from who are alive out there now that are up and coming and that's, those are the sort of things, whether it's sometimes a charity event or whatever.

[00:29:27] Those are the sort of things I think that will help when you look at trying to blend sports and build something together.

[00:29:36] Mat Germain: So would you believe me if I said that I'm watching baseball right now?

[00:29:40] Mark Corbett: No. What are you watching?

[00:29:42] Mat Germain: The, the, the Dominican Winter League. Oh yeah. So a lot of names that you forget about sometimes. Uh, but I'd like to bring up one name on there that, that I'm watching right now.

[00:29:54] That's, you know, an interesting guy this winter. It's Nick Castellanos. Oh yeah. [00:30:00] He's playing and, and he's, uh, he's two for two and he's got a home run and a double, uh, or sorry, just a double. And, and so, you know, you see a lot of these guys that, that are. Pending free agents being dangled, uh, are talked about possibly being released.

[00:30:17] Uh, and so they show up a lot of times down in the winter leagues. And, um, you know, a Cheerio is another guy, another big name that's down there and he's playing tonight. Uh. You remember to Alba the catcher, uh, he's playing there, but he's actually at second base, um, Gabriel, Gabriel Arias, uh, Franklin Barretto.

[00:30:39] There's a lot of guys that you, you recognize the name and you're wondering, um, you know, whether or not they're, they're ever gonna get another chance at the. Major league level or not. So it, it's fun to watch those, those winter leagues because of that. And there's also the Mexican Winter League that's actually started as well.

[00:30:58] Uh, and there's a whole bunch of [00:31:00] other names that are included on that. Uh, in that league. I think Jonathan or Ronda used to play in that league. Yep. You know, every year. And so did Randy or Rosana, um, for a few years. But, uh, I'm not sure if he's taken part in it this year. 

[00:31:16] I don't know. I mean, you know, Randy's has made that his home country, so, uh, yeah, would almost be surprised if he wasn't playing there this year.

[00:31:25] Right. And there is one Rays player playing tonight. It's second baseman, Ja, amo. 

[00:31:33] Mark Corbett: You got me on that one, brother. I don't remember that name. 

[00:31:35] Mat Germain: He's, he's the guy that they got from Milwaukee. He's a second baseman. Uh, he's gonna be, uh, playing in AA probably next year. And, uh, so he's getting some winter league time, which.

[00:31:46] I, I know you've heard me say this a lot this year, mark, but, uh, it's one of those things that I promote heavily that more players do, and he's the player that the rays got in return for Danny Jansen at the deadline, so [00:32:00] he's putting in the extra work. I appreciate that. I tip my hat to it, and I still think that the rays need to do that with a heck of a lot more of their lackluster hitters.

[00:32:10] Mark Corbett: So it's nice to 

[00:32:11] Mat Germain: see. 

[00:32:12] Mark Corbett: Well here I was thinking there's no more baseball and the, but as you were talking about crossover, we got the sports Equinox here coming up my friend. 

[00:32:21] Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

[00:32:22] Mark Corbett: And that that day when we see the NFL, the NBA Major League baseball and NHL all playing one game. And that's gonna be coming up on Monday, I think it's, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:32:34] Eight 15 we're gonna see a kickoff in Kansas City. And then, let's see, there's gonna be a first round of action in, uh, let's see. The NFL will be the Washington Commanders and the Kansas City Chiefs, the NBA's gonna have the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons. Also, I think, let's see who else we got on here.

[00:32:54] Magic, uh, the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76 ERs. The Atlanta Hawks and Chicago [00:33:00] Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans. Toronto Raptors and San Antonio s Spurs. Who else? We're looking at Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas MavErikks. Uh, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timber, wolves, Memphis.

[00:33:21] Grizzlies, golden State Warriors, my gosh. Then you get the MLB, and of course we've got what's going on with the World Series NHL. You got St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Boston Brus at Ottawa. Senators. Senators, excuse me. So we're talking a full day of sports there, boys and girls. So get, get your lineup there.

[00:33:40] Make sure you got all your channels queued up and enjoy that day. 

[00:33:46] Mat Germain: That's that, you know, it's one of those. One of those days you hope you have a remote and a lot of popcorn and maybe a pizza on the, on the side because you could be sitting down and, and watching a heck of a [00:34:00] lot of good sports. Um. But I, I always say there's a little bit of overload around that time of year too, that, that kind of, you wanna digest it all, but you know, you're gonna miss something and you're gonna like, oh, you can only have so many screens and, uh, going at the same time.

[00:34:16] And, uh, I think you, it is one of the joys, I guess, of being a s sport, uh, sports fan is that you get a little bit of, uh. Of choice, which is not always the case of year round. So, uh, you take it when you can get it. 

[00:34:30] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I think sports bars ought be doing pretty well that day. I know, I keep thinking of that show.

[00:34:35] Uh, Sherlock Holmes Elementary and then his house, he's got like. 12 different screens, at least going all at the same time, and he's constantly watching them. And you know, you could ask him anything about what was happening, any screen, and he could, he could give you in detail whatever it was about. It was always like, okay, that's the way I enjoy sports.

[00:34:55] Mat Germain: Are you seeing Karen hasn't set you up with five screens? Is that Oh gosh, [00:35:00] no. 

[00:35:01] Mark Corbett: No, no, no. 

[00:35:03] Mat Germain: Uh, no. No. It, it, you know, I, I remember Mark, the first time I went to Baltimore, I ended up going to the ESPN Zone, and you walk in there and they sit you down in these lazy boys. You've got the speakers behind your ears, you've got these remotes, and you've got these.

[00:35:19] This wall of screens all sizes and you get to pick whichever one you wanna listen to. I sat down there and I was just looking up and, and my buddy looks at me, he goes, I don't think we're ever gonna leave. And I think you're right. We 

[00:35:38] Mark Corbett: Sports Paradise. 

[00:35:39] Mat Germain: Yeah, that's right. But uh, yeah, I wanted to add actually the, um.

[00:35:46] The names from the Winter leagues. I know you'll appreciate this in Mexican Winter League, uh, one of the, of your old friends, Harold Ramirez is playing. And, uh, and, and so it's, it's fun to see some of those [00:36:00] guys still kicking at it, still trying to get back into it. And there's another x-rays called Bly.

[00:36:06] Who's, uh, who's still trying to get back at it as well. Anyway, I thought I, I'd throw that out there. 'cause I remember Harold was, uh, one of your favorites while he was still at the Rays, and it seems like yesterday that he was, uh, a big part of the team. So thought I'd throw it out there. 

[00:36:21] Mark Corbett: I'm glad that I always Yeah, you're right.

[00:36:23] I always did like Harold, man, I hated to see him go. We, there's a lot of guys. We hate C Lee, but he was certainly one of 'em. He always seemed like a humble fella. Mm-hmm. Wow. You've been, uh, chatting up a bit on Blue Sky about what you see as the future of the rays and folks who may be coming or going. Do you wanna share any of that with us today?

[00:36:45] Mat Germain: Yeah, I, I think there's enough smoke to start saying that, that Yandy Diaz has been spoken about in trade, and I I heard that at the deadline as well, and, and they didn't move him. I think. Part of it was because they were still competitive and they saw [00:37:00] themselves as such, and they made the, a kind of investment in, uh, in their pitching that pointed to that a little bit.

[00:37:06] So they were kind of on the fence as to whether or not they wanted, but also they weren't getting the prices that they wanted. And I think now when you're reading the tea leaves and you're seeing. Pete Alonso walk away from the Mets, and you're seeing the Padres being extremely disappointed from their first base production and seemingly ready to move on from Luis Arráez B.

[00:37:26] Um, when you have those kinds of, teams that wanted limited risk, but also assured performances. It makes somebody like Yandy Diaz very attractive, right? Oh yeah. 'cause what you're looking at is, okay, do I sign Josh Nailer for three or four years and give him, you know, 15 million per year? So then you're talking 60 million, or do I just take on the 12 million that y di?

[00:37:53] Is owed and then decide on an option they have. The brilliance of the Rays extension with the Diaz was [00:38:00] adding that option that kicks in in 2027. So. The, the team that gets him is getting two years of control of a prime player who just showed he can actually hit for power, not just for average. So the Mets and the Padres, which are two very desperate teams to me, make it hard.

[00:38:20] And the other ingredient in there is that both of them have very high end catching prospects that the Rays probably would love to pry. They, they're also not shy about dealing their prospects at all. , So I think Erik ne Neander is going to take advantage of that a little bit. The other team that I thought of doesn't make sense.

[00:38:38] It would need a third team, so that was the St. Louis cards. Uh, but they have the pro, a lot of prospects the Rays would probably be interested in. So if there was a threeway deal of sorts, including the mats, APOs. That could be worked out. I think that would work. And I, I wouldn't even be surprised to see the rays decide after that to sign somebody like Josh Naer.

[00:38:57] Why not? If you, if you [00:39:00] trade Yondi Diaz for a package of players and you sign Josh Naer, are you worse for where like you're, you're still a very competitive team, and the reason that you still sign somebody like Josh Naylor is because. You still can shift Jonathan Aranda to second base. Right. And, and still move on from Brandon Lowe if you choose to do that.

[00:39:21] And once you've dealt Yo Diaz, it just seems more likely to me that you would move Brandon Lowe and with his back and aging, he's gonna be 32 next year. Wow. He's gonna, you know, going back into the Trop on turf to me is not a good idea. So, so he'd be better off now for him, I think. Teams like the, the San Francisco Giants playing right beside Will Adames again.

[00:39:43] You know, that's a perfect spot. And honestly, I think he would do really well out there, even though it's not ideal for a lefty to hit at, uh, hit Home runs in San Francisco. He's one of those guys that has the power to get it over the fence over there. Um, so I [00:40:00] think in his case, the, the short. Timeframe of his contract remaining.

[00:40:05] The only way that I think he stays with the Rays beyond this off season is if he signs an extension. So if he's really settled, he doesn't wanna move anywhere, he wants to just add a year in an option or something like that. And the Rays are, are happy to keep him around. Maybe they do that and then he becomes their primary DH and , and still allows somebody else to take over second base.

[00:40:28] So in that case, you don't really care what the turf is doing. Right? But the last one is Pete Fairbanks. Now I did some calculations on his, . On his wicked incentives and when he structured his contract, it was brilliant, , because he's gonna end up, even though his option's only 7 million, he gets 5 million in bonuses based on what's taken place between 2023 and 2025.

[00:40:50] So he's, his option is really 12 million. , I don't see for one second a raise. Keep paying $12 million for any reliever. Nevermind, no [00:41:00] Fairbanks. And I think that's why they brought in Griffin Jax. So. Just a matter of which teams are gonna be most desperate to bring 'em in. I think the Atlanta Braves are one of those teams that could, , have interest and, and if they make the right moves in other places, , they would be happy to bring in somebody.

[00:41:18] Even with the injury risk, they've never been shy about bringing in guys with injury risk. So, um, anyways. Those three guys, I think even though they were kept at the deadline, I think this is the time now for Erik Neander and Rays to maximize on that, reinvest some of that money in other locations. So primarily right field and catcher.

[00:41:41] I just don't think that they're gonna find a catcher that's being paid right now, and they're not gonna want to sign an old guy like JT Realmuto to a big deal. So. So that's why I point to Josh Naylor and potentially one outfielder that they could bring in, or they could deal all three [00:42:00] and just sign Kyle Tucker.

[00:42:02] I, I honestly think that, that the market is gonna be so insane for Kyle Tucker that the rays aren't really gonna be playing for that level. 

[00:42:09] Mark Corbett: Right. Yeah, no. You know, I always say I like to have the homeboys here, but, uh, I, I, I recognize that of course, whether it be Pete Alonso or Kyle, that we're not gonna be pony, ping up that kinda cash.

[00:42:22] Mm-hmm. And if we even need somebody like Pete, because of all the strength we've had between DHS and first base. Oh brother. Well, I haven't got much else. How about you? Um, I wanna talk about 

[00:42:39] Mat Germain: meritocracy. 

[00:42:41] Mark Corbett: Please do. 

[00:42:44] Mat Germain: So a while back, like we were talking, you and I about the, uh, the page on diversity in, in, uh, in mlb.com, it's their inclusion page is what it was called.

[00:42:56] And there wasn't any changes at that time that were made. But if you [00:43:00] go back to that page now and you scroll to the bottom, the amount that everything has been shortened and, and kind of. Cleaned or cleansed is the best way that I would put it. So. It has some, some things at the top, which are, are very genErik, very fine.

[00:43:20] It says, you know, our pillars are people, our culture, our community, right? But there's nothing said in there at all about any sort of diversity whatsoever. Geez. And, and where it used to have, it was in the talent portion and in the business portion, and in the brand portion, which is just below that. And instead what they have in there and the talent, it says an inclusive meritocracy, oh Lord.

[00:43:45] And that's what they added, mark. Oh, okay. So for anybody that doesn't know what me, I even hate saying the word meritocracy, right? That means that, , the economic good or political power , are vested in [00:44:00] individuals or people, , based on ability and talent rather than wealth or social class. , Or you can say in this case or diversity, right?

[00:44:10] Um, so. You know, it, it, it marks a shift. And so I just wanted to bring light to it a little bit because there's a lot of that going on everywhere. There's a lot of, of blanding of what used to be things that, that kind of were meant to address, um, issues that were overlooked or stepped on for, for many generations.

[00:44:37] And, and so. I'm kind of mixed on this mark. Okay. So I'm like, okay, if you want to tell me that the per best person gets the job, that's fine. Like that's, anybody that runs a business would wanna run it that way. Yeah, you what you don't wanna have happen is that nobody ever. Is willing to look at who has [00:45:00] been hired and kind of discern some patterns that point to exclusions.

[00:45:06] Right. And so, and so the, you know, how do you, who does the rating, how do they do the rating? How does the, um, how do people feel represented in that sport, in that work environment in, you know, that's where the loss ends up being is if you don't see yourself represented in anything, then generally speaking, you're gonna feel like you're not really being welcomed into that environment.

[00:45:32] Mark Corbett: Well, and and you bring up a good point, and I know toward the beginning of the year had some concerns, even the Department of Defense. Had taken down Jackie Robinson's military career as far as posting it on there, you know, there's, it's, it's that bad. I mean, right now though, I'm looking at https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/community/diversity-equity-inclusion.

[00:45:59] And there is a [00:46:00] page for that. But the thing of it is, unless you're looking for that specifically, I don't think you're just going to jump out and bite you. Mm-hmm. Uh, and you're talking about, you're talking about looking at it from the MLB site itself instead of, uh, trickling down. I mean, here on the page it says in great letter, big letters, diversity, equity, inclusion in the admission of that, but.

[00:46:20] It should be. It shouldn't be just one page buried somewhere. It should be a thread that runs throughout all of the major league baseball, uh, sites, and, uh, certainly through the, the corporate one that has to be able to show, you know, including all these folks. And yes, a player should be judged on their talent, but not at the exclusion of bringing other people up.

[00:46:44] And that is where the problem becomes, as far as I'm concerned, is you have to be able to recruit people from a diverse, uh, pool of talent. You know, if you, if you keep going to the same pool of talent, you're just gonna weaken your organization in the first [00:47:00] place. 'cause you're gonna be looking at the same methods and practices and not learning anything new and not giving other people an opportunity 

[00:47:07] Mat Germain: called groupthink.

[00:47:08] And it's a real problem in a lot of, uh, different businesses and, and. Areas of, of employment. Um, and so the mlb.com thing also points to that whole, um, I do want to tip my hat to some parts of their site. Like there's other parts that are more, um. Still haven't been altered, is the best way to put it. And so we'll see what happens over time.

[00:47:33] But I wanted to bring light to it because I do think it's good to monitor these things and see what direction or, or trend they're going in towards. So hopefully, people aren't being left out that shouldn't be. And, and meritocracy is, is, is. Not an evil word per se. It is just one of those that kind of, , goes backwards based on what was trying to get addressed by what was in place before.

[00:47:58] Um, so maybe there was just [00:48:00] a, a length of time that that needed to be in and now we're moving on and then, you know, we'll see how that goes. And if, I hope so, needs to get fixed after that, we will readjust. '

[00:48:09] Mark Corbett: cause we don't need, we don't need exclusionary crap going on. That's what. Exactly. Something like that actually starts out with, so I'm, I'm glad you brought that up.

[00:48:18] And the thing of it is too, sometimes. Mat, when I see this today, I think what's, what's that old game? They, they play in the street. Five card Monte, you know, where they 

[00:48:27] Mat Germain: Yeah. 

[00:48:28] Mark Corbett: And I think it's way, whatever the, uh, uh, the vile thing that's happening today, they keep moving around the cards and, you know, either disappeared or you, you don't see it again.

[00:48:39] What happened? What, what's, so some of these pages, some of the events that are happening, uh, Epstein, uh, they, you know, and sometimes they get lost. In the middle of everything else, 

[00:48:48] Mat Germain: I've never heard that name before. 

[00:48:51] Mark Corbett: And you soon, you soon won't because we've got the aliens. We're gonna have the special, uh, records that Pam Bondi's gonna put out.

[00:48:58] We'll know what's going on with all [00:49:00] the aliens out there in Arizona. And uh, once we get that done, maybe we can talk about that other stuff later on. Anyway. It's 

[00:49:06] Mat Germain: like a plan mark. I look forward to that conversation. I think the next, next time we talk, we should wear alien hats and costumes and speak our, our natural, uh, language from the planet we came from.

[00:49:18] Mark. 

[00:49:19] Mark Corbett: I, I like that my friend. I like that a lot. I've, all righty. Well, thanks again, buddy. I appreciate it. We're gonna thank all of y'all. I hope you're enjoying the World Series this year. Hope your team wins if they are the Blue Jays, and if not, well, you know, shame on you work. We're glad to have you join us here once again, Mat, any final words?

[00:49:40] Mat Germain: Uh, I'll even say it. Go Jays. Go 

[00:49:42] Mark Corbett: Jays. I'm with you. All righty. Until next week folks, and we'll talk with you then. 

[00:49:51] Mat Germain: All right, brother. I like that nod to the JS at the end. That was hilarious. If you're not taken for the J's, shame [00:50:00] 

[00:50:00] Mark Corbett: on you. Yeah, yeah. I forget who it was. Somebody who was. It's one of the ones that Tampa Bay Ray said, well, you know, there's Rays aren't there, so, you know, he did one.

[00:50:11] And I said, dude, it's the Al East, you know, they're the underdog as far as going against a pull for 'em, damnit, you know? 

[00:50:19] Mat Germain: Yeah. I think, you know, the, the, the nice thing is that it's not like I hate the Dodgers players. 

[00:50:27] Mark Corbett: No. Right. 

[00:50:29] Mat Germain: At all. Like, most of them are very likable and it, it's more of the, the.

[00:50:34] Disgusting finances. 

[00:50:38] Mark Corbett: Well, the mechanism to put 'em in there and, you know, uh, Bobby Bonne Day is gonna look like nothing. When you look at macho, he's got over the years to come. 

[00:50:47] Mat Germain: That's gonna be so embarrassing. Mark. It's some four gm, you know, five years from now is gonna inherit the Dodgers and he's never gonna win anything.

[00:50:56] And they're gonna ask him wine. He's gonna say, look at the [00:51:00] books. 

[00:51:01] Mark Corbett: I have no money. Right. 

[00:51:04] Mat Germain: Uh, anyway. Oh, whole point in Lowegh when that happens. Mark. 

[00:51:08] Mark Corbett: There you go my friend. There you go. Well thanks for carrying the load today. 'cause I have, I was turning my mic off all the time 'cause I got the day going sniffles.

[00:51:17] But anyway, you take care bud. And uh. Well, thank you for your support too. So I got that, uh, meeting with a doctor next week, but things look really great. That's awesome, Mary. Yeah, I'm, I'm very, very thankful. Very thankful. So Awesome. Thank you, bud. 

[00:51:31] Mat Germain: You, you know, it must be all the yoga you're doing, mark. I think it's keeping you zen and, and you know, center.

[00:51:43] Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

[00:51:44] Mat Germain: it's all good. It's all good. I'm glad. Say hi to Karen for me. I'll, and uh, yeah, enjoy the sun, uh, this week, but not too much sun if you have that cancer issue. 

[00:51:53] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Live in Florida, you know. All righty, brother. Well you take good care and we'll catch up. Sounds good. Alright bud. [00:52:00] Thanks. 

[00:52:00] Mat Germain: Cheers.