The guys sit down with Season sticker holder April to talk about the upcoming A’s vs Red Sox series.
The Pesky Podcast
The Pesky Podcast episode 105 They Have No Home
bribe. Hit that like button and as always leave a comment and thank you for enjoying the video. Shot to right slicing toward the pesky pole. Lie down the right field line toward the pesky pole. Leaping up. Now ball is gone. That's a home run. The rod of our nest and team as well. I fly down the right field line headed toward the pesky pole. That one tucked in. And that wall is going to be against the wall and into second base. Number retirement and a ronpais. Never is trying to retire that baseball inside a pesky pole. Welcome to another episode of the pesky podcast. I'm your host, the Rit. and we are brought to you by the B. S. E. N. The Boston Sports Entertainment Network. We're here. Episode 105 that I had called. They have no home. Most times you sit there and think that, well, there's no place like home. But man, for the longest time here at the pesky podcast, we didn't think that we could ever find an Oakland ace fan to come on and talk and here we are with one of our great friends, Leah, who had went and gave us April's name. So April, please tell everybody a little bit about yourself. Well, hey, guys, thank you for having me. My name is April Kenton. I'm a member of the Oakland 68 and I also sit out in right field. I've been a season ticket holder now for about 20 years. And I'm a third generation Oakland ace fan. My grandfather started us all off. My dad kept it going. I'm continuing it now with my nephews and my niece. So yeah, that's a little bit about me. Yeah, so April, I wanted to sit there and talk a little bit about because I'm I'm intrigued because after this season, you know, the A's won't be in Oakland anymore. They are making a pit stop to where before they end up in Las Vegas. So the plan is Sacramento. Yeah, I don't really see that as something is a viable option. It's a minor league stadium and they're going to be putting in AstroTurf, which is almost impossible to play on out here in the central valley where I'm located. It gets up. It was 112 in Sacramento this weekend, which is going to make that AstroTurf unplayable. So I don't really see that some that is a real option, but the plan is Sacramento, according to their, the powers that be Yeah, so, um, with them moving a lot of fans, you know, boycotted and you know, just aren't showing up, but April, you are one of the few that, you know, are sticking there, supporting the team that you grew up your family grew up generations loving. So tell everybody about, you know, the atmosphere. It's a ballpark. You know, and what the players and dirt now watching the fans, you know, interact with them. Well, it's sort of like a ghost town when you go to the Colosseum. Now, um, it's very emotional to talk about. I sit in the right field bleachers. So I'm in section 149 row one. And there was a point in time when that was probably the greatest fan base in all of baseball. Like you had the drums, you had the noise makers, the chance, the TFOs, the flags, everything happening was always in Oakland and right field. Everyone knew who we were. We would travel. We go, you know, do away games and travel and, you know, people stop you in the bar and they know who you are because they recognize you from TV. And now it's me and like three other people that go to games and sit in our old seats. I respect my friends. They've, they've chosen to boycott this season. They're not coming back. They're choosing not to return. And I respect that I just, I have too many core memories in the Colosseum. I had, I was already a season ticket holder before the announcement got made that this would be the last season. And when I did contact the A's about canceling my tickets, it was too late and was kind of a nice, a little moment for me to reflect because I can, I can say I went out with the team and I was there until the very end. But it's hard. Hard. Yeah. And just think like over the past couple of years, the city itself, Oakland. Yeah. You know, lost the Raiders. Now, Yeah. Like, like you guys are losing so much and sports as, as you know, April, because, you know, you say you're generational sports is a key thing that brings families together. You know, you're your grandson and grandfather go in the game because they're, they're, you know, because the father son went to the game and, you know, just families go, go into the games and, you know, it, it's crazy how you take something out of a city. And it sucks the life out of the city in a way. It does. And, for example, yesterday, I was at the game with my nephew. He's 11 and at 11 years old, he knows that this is it for his team. He's already decided what team he's going to be a fan of next year, because he doesn't want to stay an A's fan. And that's heartbreaking because when I was 11, you know, I was watching people like Ricky Henderson, and for him to say something like that is just absolutely gutting, you know, and yeah, just to think, like, when you grew up, because you and I are probably close to the same age and stuff. Ricky Henderson, Dave Henderson, Conseiko, you know, you had the bash brothers, you know, Steinbach, Walt Weiss, like, I'm throwing names out there and you're probably getting flashbacks of, you know, going to those games. And those are great times and great memories, you know, Rick Honeycutt, you know, and all of a sudden, you know, and then Eckersley, we both get to share him. Oh, yes, you do. Pretty, actually. So, but, you know, we're sitting there and now, you know, who the fans look up to, you know what I mean? It's, it's, it's sad that ownership, you know, can do this and suck the life out of, you know, a city just because they can, like, it's, it's crazy. And you say they're going to Sacramento, like, how far from Oakland is Sacramento, y'all could say. It's just a little over an hour, so maybe about 70 to 80 miles. It's not that bad. It's not that far, but it's far enough that the way California is, it's very, it's California is an interesting state because, like, where I'm at out in the Central Valley, you have to drive 20 miles to find another town. In the Bay Area, you drive across the street in your another town. So it's a totally different culture, you know, they're going to be in an agricultural area where the people from Oakland, they're probably not going to come. It's not they don't have the public transportation there. They don't have the atmosphere, you know, it's just not the same. And it's a much smaller ballpark. I've gone to many Rivercats games. They used to be the affiliate for the A's. And so many, there was many times we did Derby games and we start in Sacramento, hit Stockton in an end in, you know, in Oakland to try to catch three games in a day and those days are over. Yeah, that is absolute dedication by you. So, um, let's, let's sit there and talk because season ticket holder, you are. So, you know, do they do anything for you, for you guys that are that are still with faithful? Like, I would think for the amount of empty seats. Everybody gets to move closer, like, you know, but pile in the infield. You know what I mean? You would think so. We were given a small hat pin that said 2024 season. That was it. In the past, we had discount so that like all of our concession purchases were discounted. You know, we got scarves. It had our, you know, our 10 year on them. How many years you've been a ticket holder. Perks with discounts in the stores. We still get discounts if we buy tickets, but my season ticket, where I sit, my ticket is $29 a game. And I had kids sitting next to me yesterday who bought their tickets on StubHub for $5. And that's, that's really wrong because the A's are selling it cheaper on StubHub to just Joe Blow who comes, you know, to the game versus the season ticket holder has been there 20 years and that's not okay. Yeah. So, well, today's the off day. Red Sox, A's, you know, we played to each other already once earlier this season. And that really, that really showed our, you know, our pitching, our starting pitching was really surprising, you know, in the whole month of April. So let's sit there and talk about game one's matchup and we're sitting and we're pitching Brian Bayo who has been coming off of, you know, two out of his last three starts have been not not ace, you know, number, for a guy who we expect to be our number one pitcher who is not, it's been, it's not something you can do. And he's going up against Joe Estes. So tell everybody a little bit about Joe Estes and what we can expect from him. Well, I'd like to say that we can see a little more power behind his arm. He seems to be getting a little more confidence. He had a recent start though, but black two weeks ago that wasn't so great. I don't know, our pitching has really been struggling. I'm not, you know, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I, our, our pitching has really struggled. And it's like, if they can just get out of the box, you know, and we have a good, but I feel like they get in their own heads and it seems like they do worse on at home than they do on the road. Because they just think they really get in their own heads. But when they're on the road, they seem to be done. Don't, you know, doing a little bit better. I feel like Estes has a good shot, though. I mean, Yeah, I'm supportive. I'll support until the very end. Yeah, well, Brian Bayo, you know, he, he's a type of pitcher that gets in his own head. And if one thing starts going wrong, then he gets frustrated and he shows it. Like that is something that you can't do when you're a pitcher. You can't show frustration because then all of a sudden the guy is on the on deck circle already knows. Oh, well, we're in his head. You know, right. So that is something that Brian Bayo has to work on. And, you know, it's, it's coming up. All star breaks coming up. And I would love to see Brian Bayo, you know, back to back wins that would come in into the all star break because then that can give us some confidence going in there instead of, you know, possibly losing three out of your four last starts. I mean, I mean, Estes, I think he, I mean, he has a three, three win loss. I mean, if he can just hold it together, I think he'll be okay. Like, he's just got, like you said, just got to stay out of his own head and And taking the moment. Like, I mean, he's only been playing since 23 as it, you know, and he's got this. Yeah. So let's go to game two, game two pitching matchup. We got Nick Pavetta, who has been on a tear recently, like he has been coming out on fire. And you guys got JP Sears. So tell everybody a little bit about JP Sears. Well, Sears is another one. He's just What he's been with us what he's well, not with us, but he's been a pro now for like two years, 22, I think is when he came on. I want to say, but I don't know, like He usually starts really strong and then he just starts to fizzle if he, but he's able to keep his momentum as long as it's like I don't know how to explain it really. I apologize. Oh, no, it's fine. Yeah, I mean, he's got a decent ERA. So I'm not going to complain too much about him, but I don't know. I don't know how to explain that. I apologize. Yeah, Nick Pavetta over his last seven games. He's two and two with 3.96 ERA. It's it's been hit or miss, you know, with him, but recently he has walked a lot less batters than he normally does. And he's just been attacking the strike zone a lot. So, you know, with Pavetta, that's what you're going to be expecting. You're going to go out and see him just attack the strike zone and make you beat him. Because if he's attacked the strike zone and everything, then you don't have to. He doesn't have to worry about you know, being called balls and stuff. So, game three is one of my favorites, just because it is Tanner Halk. It's, you know, you're going to get to see, because when you face Tanner Halk the first time, that was pre-Halkomania. I'm just going to say he's your all-star, correct? Yes, yes. He is one of my one of our all-stars and I want to sit there and talk a little bit about the all-stars right after this before we get into the lineup. But yeah, Tanner Halk is our ace. Halkomania was born April 18th, where he pitched a complete game shutout and he's just dominant. You know, the last two games, the Yankees game, I cannot complain with him at all, because there was a rain delay that pulled Tanner out of the game a little sooner than expected, because he was on cruise control up until the rain delay. Oh, wow. You guys got Hogan Harris over there going. Tell everybody what you can about Hogan. So with him, I would say, same thing. He's a strong kid. He's got a big personality on the mound. He's got a, you can see it in the, especially like where I sit out in right field, we have a perfect view of the bullpen. And you can just got a lot of energy, a lot of fire in him. He wants so bad to just, to dominate. And so far this season, I mean, he hasn't been disappointing for me at all. Like, I do take into consideration that this is a tough season for the players and they're not dialed in the way they usually are. But I feel like he's got the potential to definitely do something, especially in the second half, once he gets a little bit of rest. So I have a good faith in him. Yeah. Well, if you look at it, like you and I were talking about beforehand, you have, you know, three starting pictures on the IL. So you are, you're relying on these younger guys, these younger arms to step up and kind of just try to fill in the role of a raw stripling, Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, would have with the veteran leadership. Correct. And it's been challenging because there's been nights where, you know, on a Tuesday, Thursday, we're out in Stockton watching the kids play. And then on Friday, all of a sudden they're announcing that that kid's starting and you're like, wait a minute, what? We just saw him in Stockton and they missed a step. Why didn't they go to Vegas first to our minor league, you know, to the, the minor league team there first? Because it's usually the sequence where they go Stockton, Vegas, then to Oakland. So it has been, you know, it's been interesting that they're, they're not filling the bullpen out the way they have in the past. We used to, you know, like on record, the A's would have a really strong bullpen coming into the season. And on paper, it always looks great. But this season, it's not like that at all. It's just been, let's see who we can get and we'll just let them do their job until the season's over. Yeah. So before we dive into the lineup, let's sit there and talk all stars. And we're start, we're start with the Red Sox, all stars going to Texas. You know, we got those three Cowboys right there. We got third base, we got Raffy Devers, who just past series just owned those New York tankies. And, and then we also got playing outfield, who is, he is pretty much one of the most consistent players we have had on our team all season. We have Jeremy Duran, who is going to be going to Texas as an all star. And then we've got Halcomania himself, Tanner, Halck, his first, like him and Jeremy both have their first all star selection, you know, Devers is a little, he's a little modest. He doesn't like to be called the face of the franchise, but he definitely is. And he, he likes to lead by example on the field. He's not that, you know, step up vocal off the field type of guy. So those are the three guys that are going from Boston. You guys on the other hand, have one, you guys have one, but he's a great one. And Miller. Yes, Miller time. He's an amazing kid. The kids got heat, like when he comes up to bat, like that you almost get that same energy that we used to have back with do a little, like he fires everybody up, not just the people in the stands, but he's firing up the players, like you see them get excited. For example, on Friday, you know, was it Friday, Friday night when he came out butler's dancing on his feet, you know, you can see him all of a sudden starts bouncing around. He's excited. Like they all, they all just get excited when he comes out. He's got a strong arm and for only being around for two years, I think he's going to go far for us. Like, well, April, and that's what I want to talk to you about. Yeah, the way Oakland is right now, they have, they want to keep the lowest payroll possible. They want to, you know, make sure that they save all the pennies they can, you know, move in the Vegas. So, you know, Mesa Miller will be representing you guys in the all-star game. But come trade deadline. What are the chances that Mesa Miller is still there after the trade deadline in Oakland? As a faithful ace fan, I'm going to tell you it's not going to happen. They're going to keep him. It's going to be great. You're going to see a second half of the season that's amazing. However, what's been going on this season traditionally, the way they keep, and what they've done in the past after the all-star game with our team, I wouldn't be surprised to see them take him and trade him off and have him go somewhere else. And then bring in a couple of futures, you know, something like that, considerations from another team. But yeah, it's tough because right now, like I said, he's electric. When the team loves him, they feed off of his energy. The fans feed off of his energy. And so I feel like if we lose him, that's going to be huge. It's going to hurt even more. But it is traditionally what happens in Oakland that right when you get popular, right, when you become a fan favorite, like the Sespedis, you know, you're traded the same day your t-shirt is given away, you know. So, let's hope. Yeah, because look at Mason Miller stats so far this season. Yes, he has 14 saves, 66 strikeouts, you know, one in one, 2.39 ERA, his whip is 0.85. Like those are numbers and he's got 31 appearances. Like those are those are good numbers from a player that is on a subpar team right now. Correct. And that's why it's hard to say like, you know, you we traditionally have these teams that are just so full of these amazing athletes. And right when they get hot, they go, you know, they don't get they get traded, they get something happens. And it makes every one of us that are in the stands, we're all sitting on our hands because we know like, Oh, please don't take him. Don't take him. Don't take him. We need him. You know, but it's hard with this season. How are things going? It's like, what else are you going to do? You know, like what else is going to happen? Like, you know, the ownership has not been kind to the team or to its fans this season. Yeah, so let's let's go over to the lineup now and we're going to talk Red Sox outfield first. Left field Tyler O'Neill. Right field. Will your Bray you and center field? Most of the time is Jared Duran. They also split flop. Sedon Rafael also. So what I plan on doing, we already went and talked about Jared Duran being an all star. But let's sit there and I'm going to talk about will your Bray you? Okay. And since since coming back from the IL, he has been a completely different person. He is pretty much unable to find the swing. He's batting a sub 200. You know, he's not been able to get on base before he was on the IL and he was on went on the IL because he went to step down into the dugout and missed a step and you know, did something to his ankle. And ever since he came back off the IL, it has been absolutely 180. He has not been able to get on base. He hasn't been able to, you know, see the ball very well. And that has actually, you know, hurt his playing time a little bit where they've actually played our fourth outfield or Rob Rep Snyder a lot more. And he's been he was always known for the lefty killer, but he's been on fire being able to hit lefties, righties. It doesn't matter. And he's been able to get on base very regularly to this season. So let's let's switch it over to your outfield and left field Andrew and Dajar. Yes, and Dajar. Lawrence Butler right field and JJ blood day. So April, who do you want to talk about from this outfield? Well, so I'm probably a little bit a different sort of fan than most for me when it comes to these kids. It's a lot about these connections that they make with all of us. And it kind of makes me like them a little more than maybe versus how good they actually might be. But I can't say anything bad at all about Butler. The kid is not only on fire. I mean, the kid can when he's at bat, like, you know, something's going to happen. But he's an amazing kid. Like when he's with this with the fans, like, so last year, big league weekend, he came out from, you know, getting changed and whatnot. My brother and my nephew and I just happened to be walking out to the car, catch the bus. Mark cloth says, like, what's up, guys? They see us because, you know, we're wearing our A stuff. And next thing you know, like, Lawrence Butler signing autographs for my little nephew. And the next thing you know, the entire team is surrounding my little nephew. Because he's an amazing human. And you see that field. When it comes to when he's on, you know, his playing yesterday, he had, he made a couple mistakes. There was a couple of catches that he could have made, you know, we always tease you should have ran harder. You should have ran faster. But he's doing amazing. I love the guy. As for, um, and I don't really know enough about him to give him too much discussion. Because if we really bounce between him, we also, also Rooker tends to be out in our left field oftentimes. They even put, you know, Geloff's out there sometimes. Everybody just jumps around. But, um, when it comes to J.J. Bladay, though, the dude is, I love him. He's one of my favorites this season. You never know what he's going to do. Right when you're, like, kind of getting angry. Like, what are you going to do? That's when he hits that home run that turns the game around, or at least turns the atmosphere around in the stands and gets you hyped again. And, you know, they, like I said, a little bit ago, you can tell these kids they want to play. Like, they know that it sucks to be in Oakland this year for, you know, it sucks for them. But they want to be there. They want their professional athletes. They want to play. And you really see it with our outfield. They take the time to make the personal connections with the, you know, the people who are still there, every game, waving flags, who have banners out for them. And they're working their butts off. Yeah. Quick question, April. I want to sit there and ask. Most of the time when a team goes to a new city and stuff like Oakland, you know, where we go into Vegas, there needs to be a face of the franchise. You go to a lot of minor league games, is do you feel that the, you know, the next face of the athletics is on this team or the minor league system that could be, you know, the face of Vegas? So if we're going to have to see, I still don't want to to commit that we're going to Vegas. I keep helping, hoping that we'll sell the team. We're going to keep our team, you know, something will, the something's going to happen. Like I have faith that something's going to happen to keep my team. Sorry, I might get hooked up because I love my team so much. But, um, but if we have to talk about it in a realistic sort of way, where we know that that's probably the end result going to Vegas, they've got a really good kid with Gelloff. He performed amazing in the minors when he was in soccer and when he was in Las Vegas, he performed study, he performed amazing in Stockton. Like he's steady on the field and he very well could be our franchise face. I have faith in in Gelloff. I have faith in so to strum as well. They would both be really good candidates for it. But that would be my, those two would be my goal, especially Gelloff. Yeah, well, let's sit there and go to the infield and switch it up, which is going to be quite ironic. Once we hit the A's, you can elaborate more on those two, but you're looking at Dominic Smith for the Red Sox at first. David Hamilton usually plays second base. Sometimes this Emmanuel Valdez and then Sedan Rafael play shortstop or Hamilton will flip flop and go over and play shortstop. Let's sit there and talk about Sedan Rafael. Because there is a kid who not one person is talking about Rookie of the Year candidacy. This kid is pure electric. He's the human highlight reel that I dubbed him here on the pesky podcast because he makes catch after catch after catch. It doesn't matter if it's the outfield, it doesn't matter if it's playing shortstop. He will put his body on the line and come up with the play and come up with the ball nine times out of ten. And that's just his defense. When you're looking at the plate, you know, you're looking at a guy that has, it's coming into his power. You know, he has home run power, but he has speed, which he's starting to use a little more. You know, he backs in the nine spot and for over half of the season so far, he was either leading or close to the leading in RBI's from the nine spot. That is absolutely amazing coming from someone that's batting the nine spot. So that is, you know, if he does not get consideration for the electricity that he's been able to put out there on the basis for Rookie of the Year, for the AL, it's an absolute travesty. So where we have our, you know, Saddam Raphael, April on your side, for the A's, you know, you've got two of those kids that you were just talking about with Soda Strum and Jelloff. So talk about any all or both that, you know, you want to. Oh, yeah. So whenever Zach's out there on the field, like, you know, something's fun going to happen. And I like what a utility player he is. You know, he's been a lot of fun to watch since he was in Stockton and following his career through Vegas and, you know, now into Oakland as well. Same with Soda Strum. I, the kid, he was a lot of fun in the minor system as well. And you can really see his passion. He's out there and he's playing hard. He, again, another utility player, because sometimes they have him, you know, catching, sometimes he's out there in the outfield. He doesn't know what he's going to do, but he's going to do it. And that's where I really feel like that they could be like those faces of the franchise. Like they're not afraid to do what they need to do. And just, you know, taking chances, Gelloff is definitely, he's always out there to take a chance and to make that play. So he's a really strong one. Um, who else do we have that usually comes out there sometimes? I know those are my two picks though. Like they're the two that I would say are the strongest in our infield, for sure. Okay. Well, especially Gelloff. Well, we're going to flip to the other side of the field, talk about third base catcher and the DH spot. Of course, we got our, our all star Rafi Devers, who absolutely owns the New York Yankees, this past series, where he let's sit there and pull up some stats. Well, sorry about that. There we go. Rafi Devers, last seven games. He's batted in a 3934 home run, 12 RBI's, five walks, eight K's, one stolen, stolen base. He's absolutely been on fire. And that's a third base. Connor Wong is, you always talk about there's, there's always snubs for the all star. Connor Wong was one of the ones that could have been either way. You know, his numbers and his defense was good enough to get him an all star. But when you got Ashley Rushman and Salvador Perez, in there, it's, it's kind of hard to sit there and top them. And then our DH is, and he's been coming on. Like, it seems to me he's off to a slow start, is Masatake Yoshida. So he's usually our DH. He went and, you know, he hit a ball, a game time bomb against the Yankees the other night to put us in to extra innings. And he's, he's been doing really well. So let's talk about your, uh, other half of the plate, where at third base, you got Brent Harris, uh, Legaleers as your catcher. And then, uh, I have Brent Rooker down as your GH. He said he also flip flops out left. So, um, yeah, definitely. So, um, Legaleers as catcher has been a lot of fun. He, I'm not going to lie. That's got to be one of those positions where, you know, you just, it takes a certain person to do it. And you can see where he's trying pretty hard to fill those shoes that have come before him. Like he's had some greats that have played behind the, you know, the dish for him. But, um, I don't know, I, I would like to also mention that, you know, like we had, um, what's his name? Max Munciato on, on shortstop there for a while until he got hurt. That was a big, important part of our, our team dynamic that in that part of our lineup, I thought is kind of fallen short lately. But I don't know. I, I'm partial Rooker is amazing. You know, he does play around the, you know, the horn. He doesn't just stay in one place. So, I don't know. I don't. It's, it's just, it's funny, like how, how you're talking about these players. And there are a lot of more utility players that they play multiple positions. Uh, kind of like, you know, you would expect from a, a minor league team where, you know, you're, you're trying to find, you know, we've had Bobby Dalbeck play first shortstop third base. We hadn't played right field. Like, and you don't expect, expect to see Bobby Dalbeck playing, you know, outfield, but he, but he did. You know, and he's like that from the, from the A's where you have a lot of, you know, multi position where, you know, like you, like you said, your first baseman, uh, Soderstrom, he also catches like that's, that's, you know, it's good to be able to have a third catcher on call if need be, you know, but also it takes a toll on your body also. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, we've, I mean, I want to, I would like to, you know, if you think about it, like, um, there's something that Stephen Vogt had once said when he played for us and he was our catcher. I want to say it was probably the second time. And he used to always talk about how the team was a family and how it was like you were raising a family. You know, so it was like everyone had to do a job and everyone was, was expected at the end of the night, you know, to come together and have dinner together. And he kind of referred that to being like the team dynamic, like, you know, everyone's coming back to play the game, but let's make sure every one of us is doing our job on the field no matter where we get put. And that's really what these kids are doing. Like they're, they're no different than those kids who are like, you know, on the street right now playing baseball in 110 degree weather, you know, they, they're just doing what they need to do to get to that next step. Yeah, so let's go to the bullpen. And, you know, we're starting off with the Red Sox bullpen. We got Zach Kelly, we got Chris Martin, we got Justin Slater, let's sit there and, you know, just talk about how well Zach Kelly has been doing this season for the Boston Red Sox in relief. He wasn't really expected to be as nowhere near what we thought because he didn't start to season out. He started to season out on the IL and it's absolutely crazy the what he has done since coming onto the roster. He hasn't been able to, he's been able to fight through, you know, lineups coming in on high leverage situations. And, you know, he's just really fun to watch overall. And he's was one of those surprises that you didn't really think that Zach Kelly was going to be as fun and as dominant this season as he has been. So his stats so far for the season, you know, he's pitching a 195 in relief with 36 strikeouts and 32 innings pitch and 23 appearances. Like that's that's something that, you know, we don't you don't expect. And Zach Kelly is just one of one of many people pieces we have in the bullpen. Our next thing in the bullpen, let's pull up, will be your guys's, you know, and it is behind Miller. I'm not really familiar with your bullpen. Austin Adams, Scott Alexander, and as volatile bido. So, So we have a few interesting kids out there. They're like I said, like we talked about earlier, when you look at our bullpen, it's like you're looking at a minor league bullpen at the moment. But it's not that they're not trying. You can see it out there, they're they're needing more time, you know, before they're just thrown out to the majors, like it's got to be tough for them. Some of the ones that like we mentioned Joey Estes, like, you know, he's doing really good. Mitch Spence, you know, he's a rookie kid. He's doing I think he's been probably one of the more fun kids to watch this season. And then who else was it that I liked this season? Well, Austin Adams has been fun to watch. And then of course, Paul Blackburn, but unfortunately, we don't have him right now. He's just kind of chilling while he gets better. But well, he's honorable pin though. I don't know. Our pitching is just it's where we struggle. It is really where we struggle. But you know, but let's we have a chance. So that's where we'll leave it at that. Yeah, let's sit there and go back to the Red Sox bullpen. And, you know, right here, we got Chase Anderson, who's our inning zitor. If we're way ahead or we're way behind, that's his job. He's the mop up guy. You know, every team has one. Then we got Brennan Bernadino. Bernadino is he's absolutely just filthy. He's our left handed guy in the bullpen. He's got he's a three and two, a 172 ERA. He's able to come in whenever Alex Cora calls on him. Like if the bases are loaded, he's coming in and gotten out of those jams this season. If you wanted him to come in just to pitch one, you know, he's got him up there or two. And then Kenley Janssen. Kenley Janssen was was one of those ones that he could have been an all star too, but Clay Holmes for the Yankees got it over him. But, you know, we're looking at a 2.01 ERA, you know, he's three and one, 35 strikeouts. He's he started off really, really rough, but he's kind of, you know, embraced and fell in place with the rest of this pitching bullpen and our rotation. And it's just been having a lot of fun out there because absolutely very little, if any, people thought that the Red Sox would be third into the division, pulled in the third wild card spot and just took with the first two series against the Yankees. They have went four and two against them. So that is something that is absolutely, you know, unpredictable with us. So let's go to your, some more, your bullpen. And of course, your closer Mason Miller, who is, you know, the fire in that bullpen. You guys got Luca Lucas Ericic. I think that's how we pronounce it. And T.J. McFarland. I haven't really seen him play much. McFarland is somebody that is, I want to say he's got a lot of potential, but it's at what point do you just say, can you show me what you can do? You know, and again, like, I feel like he performed better when he was at the Dodgers than he has for us. Like, I keep waiting for him to, to do something. I mean, he has a 424 ERA. And he's one for one. Like, let's see something happen. Yeah, got it in him. But we, I haven't seen it yet. And I don't know, I'm just, I'm kind of waiting for that. But I feel like our bullpen, it's either all these kids that are right out of the minors, or it's these like, oh, we'll just take you, you know, but Miller, like that kid's on fire. Like, he's somebody I'm excited to watch. Every time he comes up to pitch, like you're excited to hear, you know, you hear his music, you make sure you're out of the bathroom or back in your seat if you're walking around visiting people, because that kid can throw. And you know, the game's just done once he's coming up. Yeah, let's. So let's go and, you know, we wrapped up, we talked about the bullpen and everything. And let's go in the bench a little bit. We've got Roman Gonzalez for the Red Sox. We got our backup catcher, Reese McWirey and Manuel Valdez. Roman Gonzalez is kind of one of those guys that he can come in at any point and just hit. Like, he can be, he can be sitting the whole game and you need him to pinch it. And he comes in and he makes, makes big plays. He's able to play around the whole infield. He's played out right field once and he's, you know, he plays and made a spectacular play out there. So that's who, that's some of the people we can expect that you're going to see on the, from our bench, on your bench over in Oakland, you got, you guys have a couple guys there also. So I'm not familiar right now with who all is on our bench to be honest with you. I do know that they do now that they're going to have to probably start pulling people like we can't keep losing the way we've been losing lately, but we're already at 58 losses as of yesterday. So they're going to somebody off that bench and get something happening. Yeah. You guys got Tyler Nevin that plays first and third. Your backup catcher, Kyle McCann, and Armando Alvarez, who's one of your, another one of your guys is you toting people. Okay, so I would have to say that the kid who's caught for us a few times, I have seen him actually play a couple of times this season, but that's the thing, like we've got such a strong amount of kids who can, who are so versatile that are in the lineup that they don't really see a lot of action, you know, but we're going to have to do something to shut up the timer, bring it together. So April, one thing I do want to ask because, you know, before we start wrapping things up, I love being out out by the bullpen, you know, you get to see a lot of different things, you get to see, you know, the pitchers warm up, you get to interact a little bit with them. What is your feel, you know, being out there and getting the watch behind the bullpen? The bullpen is a really fun place to be. Usually that's where you just see a lot of action going down. The kids are always willing to talk to you and, you know, to interact with everybody, but this year it's not been quite the same. It's been a little bit more on the quiet side out there at the bullpen, but the whole stadium is quiet. And I hate to sound like a broken record when it comes talking about the team like this, but they're just, it's quiet. It's, you know, and you don't see the same as you may have been in the past, you know, like there were times in the past where we had kids out there pitching that that was where you wanted to be. And you wanted to sit out in the bullpen because you wanted people like do little to recognize you and to, you know, interact with you or get to watch someone like Norris who is maybe, you know, bullpen catching for the day because he didn't want to, he wasn't on the roster to catch, but he wanted to catch anyway. And you just don't see that right now. So April, this is where we're going to, we do a little around the pole. So this is where, you know, you can tell everybody where they can find you at. And you can talk about absolutely anything that you want to, anything that's on your, you know, that you want to get out, out there to everybody, the floor is yours. All right, well, thank you. So I'm on Twitter at Apletics. I think that you guys kind of posted that around. But usually, yeah, I'm usually at the ballpark. Like, if I'm not at an A's game sitting, you know, out in right field, section 149, I'm at a stock and sports game. It just is where I want to be. We also have, and I want to like to also mention that we also now have the Oakland ballers. They're a brand new minor league team that are there now in Oakland who are, you know, really coming together and being a team for the community. And I haven't been able to make it out to a game yet. I bought tickets. I just haven't used them. And it's not that I don't want to get out there yet. It's just that, you know, it's been hard because I've been doing a little a few roadies with the A's. I want to see them as much as I can this year before I won't have it. I don't plan to continue. You know, that's where my, I feel like this is my swan song. This is the song. This is it. This is where I'm saying goodbye. I'm closing the chapter on my team. I may go once to Sacramento, get my passport book stamped because I do like, you know, doing the ballpark chasing. But I, I don't plan on, on, on sticking with the athletics, which is heartbreaking. You know, my grandfather was a Kansas City athletics fan and an Oakland A's fan and, and to end the tradition is going to be tough. But, you know, I feel like a team that's for my community who, who is, is something that I might be more about. So I'll stick with being a Stockton Port fan. So you'll find me at the. So, well, April, I want to thank you for coming on and, and showing that there is Oakland A's fans out there. Yeah, we're. I mean, I don't love my ownership, but I sure as heck love my team. And I just wish that people, I mean, and like I said, I respect the heck out of all my friends who are making the decision not to come to the ballpark. The ballpark, that team, that ballpark, this organization, that's why we're all friends and, and it's not something we're all some of us are ready to let go of yet, you know, but it's a magical place being in a ballpark is a magical place. And it's a shame that these people are taken away from people in Oakland. Yeah, you know, I always love fever pitch because, you know, because you have your family and then you have your baseball family. You know, we actually call it out here in Oakland. We called it the fan. Oh, and, you know, for years we traveled together. You would like, you know, we did a San Diego trip 30 strong. We did a trip to Chicago 20 plus strong. You know, you go and you do these roadies with these and you become family, you know, we go to each other's weddings to baby showers, you know, and the A's have taken that from us. They've taken people's babies not being able to take their first step in the Coliseum. And that's what I've actually witnessed happen. You know, I've watched a little kid take their first step in the Coliseum play the drum for the first time. And those are things that it's going to be sad that it's going to be gone. Yeah, so April, thank you for coming on. You know, we really appreciate it here at the pesky podcast. We will, and I would love to sit there in any time and invite you back. Anytime we play the A's, if you would love to sit there and come on, we would love to sit there and, you know, keep talking with Red Sox A series if you're willing to. Yeah, definitely. I'm not going to lie. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Red Sox. That's one heck of a tradition. And it's a lot of fun to watch them play too. So it was kind of exciting. Like, oh, they're Red Sox fans. That's awesome. So April, thanks for coming on. So guys, we do have some new merchandise that we're going to pop in here. Papaban and I, you know, were working yesterday since the announcement that Tanner Haupt has been made to the 2024 All-Star team. So we went and we came up with All-Star Halcomania. That is one of our shirts limited edition. And then since the big guy Tanner Haupt has went to become on the All-Star team, man, I sit there and told, said, how goes Hollywood? So Hollywood, Haupt is also another shirt we went and just released. Also, I went and I was tired of all the naysayers, the critics about Jaren Duran, you know, the snubs. So now that he is an All-Star, acknowledge him. That is another shirt we have out. The acknowledge him, Jaren Duran shirt. So guys, make sure you head on over to BSEN617.square.site. Get yourself a either shirt, any shirt, and just remember anything that is Halcomania or Tanner Haupt's merchandise, 20% goes to the Caritas family solution, his charity. And if you don't believe me, let's sit there and hear it from the man himself. Hey, what's up? This is Jonathan Papabon, 2007 World Chan with the boss of Red Sox. Red Sox all-time saves leader, six-time All-Star Red Sox Hall of Famer. And I just want to say go to the website DSE617.square.site. The pesky podcast, myself, we are giving away Halcomania t-shirts at 20% off, man. The charity, the Caritas family solution, it's going to that. So it's going to a great call. So y'all going to get your shirts, get ready for Halcomania, Tanner Haupt, going to be an All-Star this year, future, maybe future Red Sox Hall of Famer, like myself. So go get it, baby. Halcomania. Yeah, so do what Pap says. Go over there and get yourself a shirt. So, but well, April, for April or myself, thanks for stopping by the pesky podcast. I'm going to tell you a story. I'm going to tell you about my town. I'm going to tell you a big flat story, baby. I talk about my town. Yeah, down by the river. Down by the banks of the river.