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It's time for another edition of the Brett Boon podcast. I've ever made you almost with the blows. You lose that me down three times too, so I know what you're talking about. It's your host, MLB All-Star, Brett Boon. Bottom line is, you will become a successful major league hitter by hitting pitchers mistakes. As he sits down with his sports entertainment friends from around the world, you are not going to be a successful major league hitter if you hit pitchers pitch. This isn't just any former Jock's podcast. The change outcome, you got to change the income, you got to change what goes in, and that changes what goes out. Often duplicated, but never replicated, just like his back flip. Okay, now the party starts. The responsibility starts now. Now in its fourth year, this is the one and only, Brett Boon podcast. Welcome to the Brett Boon podcast. I'm Brett Boon, and today on the program, I'm happy to be joined by a play-by-play announcer for the Baltimore Orioles, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome, Evan Brown, to the show, Kevin. I've been bugging you to come on. I'm glad we finally got together. We're both in separate hotels, but we'll get this thing done. Brett, thank you for having me. I'm realizing I kind of look like two-face right now with half of my face and shadows. Let's see if this lamp makes a difference, and I unplug the lamp. This is what we're going to have to deal with. I'm sorry. That's all right. It's good. We're here for content. We're here for content, but not for lighting. American League East, give me three things that have surprised you about the American League East this year so far. I'd say one and two are Toronto and Tampa being as far out of it. I think there were some reasons to be concerned about the Blue Jays, especially after they pretty much struck out in the free agent market, but I didn't think they would fall this far down. And the last, Tampa is not necessarily a surprise. When you look at the roster, they've dealt with so many pitching injuries. Obviously, not having Shane McLennahan and Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs. I just always assume Tampa is going to figure it out. They're going to find 15 amazing pitchers out of nowhere. So at this point, if they don't win 90 games, it's kind of a surprise to me. Again, maybe not necessarily on paper, but I just have so much faith in that organization. But obviously, the pitching rules have caught up with them in the offense was never going to be quite as good as last year. So those are the two big surprises. The top three teams in the division, I guess the Red Sox are a little bit of a surprise. We saw the Red Sox in April. I'm here with the Orioles and we were in Fenway Park a couple of weeks into the year and the Orioles swept the Red Sox and the Red Sox looked awful defensively and really didn't look like they had much depth in the lineup. But guys like David Hamilton and Sedon Rafaiella, Romi Gonzalez, career minor leaguers in some cases, young players and others who really stepped up or you're brave, have filled out the lineup a little bit more strongly than I imagine. I thought the Red Sox would be with Andrew Bailey, a much improved pitching team. They've been better offensively than I thought. So I would say the Orioles and the Yankees being one to and being this good is not a huge surprise to me, but I am surprised with the relative strength of Boston and the depth they've built in their lineup and then the lack of strength for Tampa Bay and Toronto, who as we sit here now less than a week to the deadline, both look like genuine sellers. I didn't think that was going to be the case at the start of the year. When I thought about this question before I asked you, I thought if I asked myself this question, I had the Blue Jays to win the division. I looked at the Orioles a year ago. I thought it was a nice story and I thought you had some nice talent, but I didn't think that was going to go anywhere. I was surprised the good start the Yankees got off to with Colby and out at the beginning. I'm with you at Boston. I didn't think it was going to be a factor. So I was wrong about the entire American League East and I'm with you on the Tampa Bay thing. I think you're in and you're out. The way these guys find a way to get to the finish line and get to the postseason on a consistent basis is really a testament to the organization and I think a culture that's been created in Tampa Bay that really, if you take into consideration the talent level, the changes, the interchanging roster that they do, just like you said on a yearly basis, I think it's unmatched on the production and the success that the organization has had without a consistent group of young stars that have driven that. So I think it's really interesting how it's kicking out. Now that we have four wildcard teams, do you see a difference in teams, how they prepare, especially back in my day, the time before my time? Man, there was an urgency. That 162 was so important. But as the rules change, as the game change is moving forward, more seats at the table, what do you see the difference between, is it that big of a deal to win the division or is it about getting a seat at the table? I've been thinking about this recently. It might be more about getting a seat at the table given it's a small sample size, but the evidence we have in this wildcard era where last year Texas and Arizona made the World Series after not getting a buy, playing in the wildcard round. The best three teams in baseball last year were the Orioles, the Braves and the Dodgers, they all got a buy, they all lost in the first round. Now maybe that was because of the extra rest, maybe not. I don't think it was in the Orioles case. I think they ran into a Rangers team that was just better equipped for the postseason last year. The Braves played a Phillies team that was probably about as good as Atlanta from June on last year, so that was a pretty even match up. The Dodgers, I still don't know what happened to that. Arizona Series, other than maybe the Dodgers didn't have as much pitching as we thought. But in the year before the Astros got the buy in one of the World Series, so I think we're still too sued in this new era to tell how much the buy makes a difference or not. I know it seems we'll tell you they want it. But at the same time, I do think a seat at the table is important. I was thinking about this the other day because just yesterday, actually, because the Orioles tonight, as we record this on Wednesday, they're going to start Chase McDermott is making his Major League debut. They could have started Colvin Burns on regular rest after a day off, and they could have started Grayson Rodriguez tomorrow on regular rest. But they're pushing those two back a day. And Greg and I, to zero, as managers said it, he wanted to push them back a day. He got a little aggressive. He wants to get that as much as possible down the stretch. And I do wonder if you didn't have the soft landing of the three wild cards and the Orioles are going to make the playoffs. No question. In the past, when there's one wild card team, maybe there would be a question. So are you going to push your starters a little bit more? And do you think you have the luxury of getting extra days off because you're going to be in the playoffs with the three wild card teams? Or is this simply the way that we handle pitching in 2024? I don't know. I think those two things might be correlated, though. I think there's a little bit more reason to play it safe if you've gotten off to a good start because you just want to get in there. And it happened with Texas and it happened with Arizona last year. You get in and anything can happen at that point. I've seen more time than less time than any time in baseball history has it been important to win a division. It seems like you just got to have a healthy team right at playoff time and get that train moving in the right directions with today's game. The injuries are unbelievable. It's like I see it every day. It seems like there's a Tommy John once a week. It's all about health and it's all about for me getting a seat at the table. Orioles last year, we heard about this talent stream that they had and that was coming. But I think they surprised everybody by winning 100 plus games a year ago. This year they're not so much of a secret, especially the guys that have to face them on the field. What makes this team go? It starts offensively. I mean, it literally starts with Gunnar Henderson almost every day who is one of the best three or four or five players in baseball right now. I mean, you can start the list with judge, you know, Tani rightfully so. And then I think it's Gunnar Henderson and Juan Soto and Bobby Wigjune. You're probably after that with Mookey Betz being hurt. One of the most exciting players in the league is going to go down as one of the best players. I think the Orioles have ever had and he's only 22 years old and I feel like we can comfortably say that because he is a star. He's a mega star. He's a gold glove capable shortstop. He is one of the best base runners in the league. And oh, by the way, he has 50 home run power and he's batting lead off and he's 23 years old. He just turned 23 this year. So it starts with Gunnar. Wasn't the full time lead off hitter last year, kind of took that over near the end of the year, slowly moved up the lineup. I think he's never going to leave that spot now, or at least not for a while. I just think it's a really balanced lineup run. I mean, they've struggled against lefties a little bit as the years gone on, but particularly against right-handers. Adley Rutchman, Anthony Santander, Lionel Hearn has been one of the best surprises in baseball the last couple of years. It's hard to find a lot of weak spots in this lineup. I think there's more depth coming. Kobe Mayo, who's the AAA third baseman, is seen as one of the best hitting prospects in baseball. His call up could be any day now. Connor Norby is a terrific hitting second baseman. Maybe joining the team soon as well. So it's offensively, it's athleticism. It's a team that leads the majors in home runs after they were in the middle of the pack last year, but still has great base dealers and has great base runners and goes first to third a lot and moves runners in a lot and scores runners from third with less than one out. So like we hear about teams doing the right things and doing the small things well, they do the small things well, and they also lead the major leagues in home runs. So they do the big things well too. You know what I watch from them is they're young, they're hungry. Like you said, they play the game right. And that to me is something that goes unnoticed in today's game. Today's game is about the home run. They don't worry about the strikeout from a mental standpoint on the great teams I've been on. When we do the little things, when we move the runner, like you said, they get the runner in from third with less than two outs. That's kind of an un... I don't see that happening in today's game. I get frustrated watching the TV sometimes when I see a runner on third with less than two, and it's just a strikeout. And I think to see even whoever the hitter may be, do they have a clue on what they're trying to do in this situation? And it frustrates me. So I think, well, that's why nobody bumps anymore, because if they get them on third with less than two outs, they don't get them in anyway. So why the hell would you bond? That's what I think the game's gotten to. But the mental anguish you can put on an opponent when you have a team that consistently moves runner, gets the runner in with less than two outs. It's a psychological edge. It's almost like the other team goes, here we go. It's one and nothing again. And we just got here. The game just started. If you can have that, couple that with talent, you've got something. And I see this royal team. I'll tell you, I'll be honest with you, they surprised me. They won 101 games a year ago. I said, I don't know if they can do that again. I've watched this team quite a bit. They're good, and they know they're good, and everybody else knows they're good. And there are a lot of fun to watch. And like you said, it seems like they have more talent coming. You came to the Orioles in 2019, I believe. There's been a lot of lean, lean times in Baltimore. Camden Yards, who back in the day was the jewel of Major League Baseball when it came onto the scene. A lot of success. But the recent times there hasn't been much. What's that city of Baltimore, and the whole Camden Yards experience changed from the time you came in in '19 to present? With Walmart's new fresh and frozen subscriptions, you can save time when you're weekly grocery shopping. Dad, you're supposed to be grocery shopping. And miss the chance to embarrass you in front of your friends? I subscribe to snacks and wet napkins. You know how messy you are. Dad. Walmart, subscribe to your weekly list. It's the most anticipated WNBA season in history. So you know what that means. Court is back in session with Queens of the Court, a WNBA podcast. I'm your girl, Cheryl Swoops. And I'm Jordan Robinson. All WNBA season long will bring you interviews with star athletes, analysis on your favorite teams, and lots of hot takes. Order in the court. Follow and listen to Queens of the Court, free on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Some decisions are easy, like playing your favorite song. Other decisions are hard, like choosing the right credit card. But that's mostly because the financial system is complicated. That's so many offers, rates, and products. But which one's best for you? That's why we've reinvented credit karma to do the hard work for you. We scan for the latest offers from our trusted partners to help you find the best financial hits for your unique situation. That way you can spend less time saying, huh, and more time doing well, anything. Download into a credit karma today and get everything you need to outsmart the system. I think the first game I did in 19, it was a weeknight game in April against Oakland. I believe it was the lowest recorded attendance in the history of the park that game. And now five years later, attendance is up about 30%. And it was up about 30% last year and about 30% the year before that. So it's exploding. It's exploding. The weekend games against the Phillies and the Yankees of late have been sellouts, have been electric crowds. I got there in 19, as you said, Brett. And the team was starting this rebuild. So before 2019, Michael Ias takes over as general manager, brings in a new front office, Brandon Hyde takes over as manager. And the expectations are the team is going to be bad for a few years. And they're going to tear it down and they're going to focus on the minor league system and the international signing and the draft and all of which have happened. But people told me, just wait, this is going to seem like a Ravens town. The Ravens are, I think one of the consistent franchises in the NFL now over the last 20 years, tons of success. People love the Ravens. And people said, you're going to see Ravens flags and Ravens batters and Ravens shirts, but just wait till the Orioles get good again. This is an Orioles town and it's going to feel like an Orioles town. And it started to feel that way in 2022 when the team was competitive and in the wild card hunt till the final week. And now the corner's just been fully turned. Everybody's wearing Orioles T-shirts. People are walking their dogs. Everybody's wearing Orioles hats. There are Orioles flags, Orioles bumper stickers on cars. I went down to the concourse in Miami yesterday to get food. And I'm just getting stopped by tons of Orioles fans who are just so excited to be here and talk to somebody else. I don't know why it was or not about this team. You can tell the size of the Orioles visiting fan base pretty well if you just close your eyes and listen to the O and the National Anthem. Because that's the tradition when the National Anthem singer gets to the O near the end, the whole Orioles crowd chance O and it seemed like there were about 50 to 60 percent of Orioles fans in Miami last night. So yeah, it's been a pretty amazing awakening. And I've talked to fans from all over the country that have been Orioles fans for a long time. Just didn't have a lot to cheer about for a few years but are so engaged and so enthusiastic. I mean, you know this Brett, you know what Camden Yards can feel like because the seats are pretty close to the field. It's a great arrangement. You get the warehouse in the background. It holds the sound well and it starts to feel like that again now for big games. And that is I think one of the great thrills of any baseball stadium when Camden Yards is alive. There's something different about it. Yeah, definitely. And because I've been there in some real good times in Baltimore and I've been in some lean times where it was crickets and that O and Orioles didn't matter. Let's get to the division a little bit. What do you see with this Yankees team? You know, I keep a special eye on the Yankees obviously from the family ties. But I don't know. I was surprised how well they started. You know, I mentioned I mentioned Colder, big guy being down at the beginning. I thought, oh, this is going to be rough, rough sled and it was completely the opposite. The big thing for me has been since Stanton's been down, they've struggled because they don't have. And I said from the beginning, I know what I'm getting with judge and I know what I'm getting with Soto when healthy. These are MVP candidates but Stanton's presence and a productive stand which he was until he got hurt. I think makes a whole difference because it's just another pillar that sits in that lineup that you cannot just avoid judge and Soto and get through that lineup. It's like, nope, we got another pillar there. And since he's been gone, for me has been the key. Now recently they haven't pitched as well and really, you know, some guys are struggling. But what do you see? There's been some key series. I kind of like it. You know, from a player standpoint, I liked when we had a little distaste for an opponent. It seems like these guys are kind of starting to get a little bit, you know, we had a little back and forth recently. I wouldn't, I wouldn't necessarily call it bad blood, but there's definitely a rivalry brewing with the Yankees. But it seems like the Yankees are always having a rivalry, something it's been half a day for years. I just saw this last outing. But but now I'm saying the race or getting it or I'm sorry, the Orioles are getting into it a little bit. Your skipper came out the other day in a hit batter situation. It was nasty, by the way, I saw it when he got hit in the head. But it just seems like it's there. What do you see from this 2024 Yankee team so far? Imagine telling Yankee fans before the season, you guys are going to be begging for John Carlos Stanton to come back off the injured list to save the team. I mean, just think about the journey that they've been on. When the Orioles were in New York in June, the middle game of that series, Stanton hit this outrageous three run home run off of Union Kanone, the seventh made it a one run game then crushed a base hit off Craig Campbell and the ninth tied the game out. I was scared of him in both those big spots and and he's having one of those seasons. That makes you remember why he can be such an intimidating presence. So it's pretty similar to what you're seeing. I cannot believe how bad this lineup is outside of Judge and Soto. And they're still, by the way, leading the major leagues and runs per game, which is incredible. But they have a chance to, I think, own the next six days before the deadline because there are so many obvious offensive holes and so many places they can make upgrades. And I know the minor league system, maybe not as strong as it used to be, but they can improve the team dramatically because they just have so many needs in different places. And with Judge and Soto, again, with a bad team around them, they're leading the majors and runs per game, it's kind of scary to think about what they could be if they ace this deadline because I think the pitching is good enough. I don't know if Luis Eel is going to make it to the end of the year, but what an amazing surprise he's been. Clark Schmidt early on before injury was a great surprise. Cole may be rounding into form now. I think it is a rotation they could feel comfortable with going into the postseason. The bullpen for me is good, but maybe a little above its skis this year. I'm not sure I fully buy, given some of the low strikeout rates in the bullpen that this is a top tier back end bullpen. I think they could use probably one more piece back there, but in six days, this could be a totally different conversation because if they can get a third baseman who can hit, they can get another corner out fielder who can hit, they can, to me, become right up there with the Phillies and anybody else is a World Series favorite. I'm just kind of amazed that nobody else outside of Judge and Soto has stepped up. And over Hugo was good early. I know Ben Rice has certainly had his moments since coming up, but I am pretty stunned at the lack of consistency outside of what is clearly the best one to punch in the game in Soto and Judge. Yeah, you're right. And I was surprised with how good that the rest of the rotations line up. I look at the Yankees and I think, you know, they're the Yankees, you know, they're always going to do something. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised either. If they go, they go out and add a scuba type pitcher and put it place him right in there behind Cole. I don't know. It's going to be interesting to see, like you said, there's definitely room for improvement on the offensive side. And, you know, is Stan never going to come back? I always think that is when Stan goes on the IL, I always think he's ever going to come back. You know, they're his hamstrings different than my hamstrings, apparently. But you know, we'll see. We'll see how that goes. Turning real quick to Boston. They've been a real for me. That's been a real surprise. See, seeing, I didn't think Boston was even going to be in the equation. They pitch better than I thought. They hit better than I thought. A lot of young players that aren't very well known out there, but they're just quietly having a solid year. Thoughts on Boston. I think the other two we've covered enough of. Yeah, Andrew Bailey looks like a master stroke of an addition as pitching coach. They have thrown fewer fastballs than any team in major league history. As far as we know, their fastball rate is the lowest in the stack cast era. I'm sure nobody's throwing less fastballs than them before 2008, because now the league doesn't seem to throw any fastballs. So, very impressed with what they've done from pitching perspective. I think Cutter Crawford, Tanner Hauck, these guys have been best case scenario for them. They're better offensively than I thought they would be, especially without Tristan Casas. I mean, Casas gets hurt early. He was looking like a potential star in the middle of the lineup, gets on base, hits home runs. They lose him. They've had to shuffle around guys at first base. They lose Trevor's story again, a month into the year, who has just had the worst injury luck in baseball the past three years. So, they've been able to survive him. David Hamilton, again, minor league veteran at shortstop has performed pretty well in his absence. I think Jarron Duran's taking the next step forward and looks like one of the best all-around players in the game. Rafael Devers is maybe having his best offensive season. So, I have been surprised and impressed by Boston. I think they're a legitimate playoff team. I think they're a scary team because maybe the back end of their bullpen isn't great, but they have started pitching and they have a lineup that's added some depth, and they can mess around with the lineup versus lefties and versus righties pretty well. So, I like Boston as one of the wildcard teams. Maybe not in the Oreo Yankee category, but I think they're going to make it. I think they'll take out one of the teams that's in the fight in the American Lake Central. And I, again, trade deadline, are they going to add? If they add in the next six days, if they can get a couple of relievers, maybe one more bat, I feel like Boston is more of a contender than people realize. And to your point, they've been playing some of the best baseball of anybody over the past two months. So, you brush off a slow start to the season offensively, and the Red Sox have been genuinely one of the best teams in the game since maybe mid-May. Yeah, and nobody's talking about them, and nobody's talking about them. Which is weird. The Red Sox, and nobody's talking about them. How did that ever happen? Right, right. I think I look similar to how the Cleveland Indians have kind of been ignored, what they're doing. Like, are the Indians really doing that? You know, when Bieber goes down early, you think, well, yeah, this Indians is a nice team. They're a fun team to watch, but they're not really seriously to be reckoned with. So, they're sitting there at 60 and 40. And I think sometimes quietly doing it gives you a little bit of an advantage. We talked at the top of the show about the Dodgers getting those postseason 111 wins a few years ago, 106 a couple years ago. And enough that this format to me is really, I think it's obvious, it's the easiest it's ever been to get to the postseason at the major league level. But as a player, it's like once you get there, man, there's a lot of landmines just to get to the World Series, let alone win a World Series. So I can argue that it's the easiest 162 ever, but the toughest postseason and maybe the toughest time to win a World Series once you get there. You have the hot team now that maybe doesn't play well over the course of the year, but figures it out in September and years past you go, man, if that team only had an extra month to figure it out. And now with the second and third wild card spots, you don't need the extra month, you can be Arizona last year and figure it out at the end of the year and get in. Look, I mean, some of the other teams that are in the mix for the second and third wild card spots, we may not be talking about now, but Seattle, their pitching is elite, elite. Again, if they had any kind of offense. I think it's best in baseball one through five. I mean, every time you will number ones. Yeah, every time we go to Seattle, they come here, it's not a six inning two run start or six and a third one run. It feels like what they got. If they could get any offense, any hitting, and again, maybe at the deadline, they had a couple of pieces. If they just score four runs a game, they become one of the toughest teams to beat. Kansas City, who was one of the worst teams in baseball last year, Seth Lugo, Cole Ragan's. I don't want to see those guys in a wild card series. That's about as good a one to as anybody has right now with Bobby Wood at the top of the lineup and a lot of team speeds. So, the American League to me is just totally, totally wide open this year. And maybe in years past, it would be Orioles, Niacis, it'd be Cleveland, it'd be Houston. Now you could have Seattle in the mix. You could have Kansas City. You didn't miss Soto's played really well. You could have Boston. I think there are eight genuine contenders right now. And by the way, it doesn't include the team that actually won the World Series last year in Texas. But I, you could tell me any of those eight teams get hot and make it to the World Series. I would not be shocked. [Music] Bring Glory Home in EA Sports College Football 25. Experience the decibel-shaking soundscape of college football, putting you inside the stadium alongside iconic rituals and traditions. Test your strategic decision-making with an all-new composure system, player wear and tear, and screen-shaking home field advantages. Learn more about the MVP bundle, which also includes EA Sports Madden NFL 25 and can't miss rewards at ea.com/collegebundle. Got some good news for your ears? More of the good stuff is coming up. And even better news for your hair. The best hair care is at Sephora. They've got all kinds of products for every kind of hair, from brands like Amica, Carastas, Moroccan Oil, and K-18. You knew where to get great audio. Now you know where to get great hair care too. Sephora, good news for great hair. Shop hair care now at Sephora.com. Yeah, player in me. I hate the current format as a player. I always heated that 162 and it seemed like, man, when you were done with that season and you were standing atop the mountain, it was something. And it was like, all right, let's go to the postseason. But I have to admit, I take that player hat off and now I'm ex-player. And let's put my fan hat on. I love the current format. I think it's great. I think it's got a bunch of cities talking baseball down the stretch. We're in past years. They're talking football. So the fan in me loves this new format. I think it's a lot more exciting. I think it brings a lot more eyeballs to the game. But the player in me, that old school, I still think, man, there's got to be something for that 162. It's got to be something in there that says, the guy that wins the most games in 162 is the best team. It has the most depth because anybody can win in a short season. So I don't know. I'm kind of conflicted here. But the analyst and the ex-player loves the format. I think it's really good for the game and really exciting. Yeah, I'm with you. You play 38 games and then you're done. You play everybody twice and then the season ends and over as the most points wins. That's fair. Is it the most exciting? Maybe not because you don't get a chance to then get into a postseason. There is no postseason. I don't think that would work with Major League Baseball. But it's not necessarily fair or just that the Dodgers outperform the Diamondbacks by 20 games. And then it's a best of five to determine who is the best. I think we have to just be honest with ourselves sometimes and say the best team doesn't always win in baseball. The most deserving is the team that's the best but then gets the hottest. And that is the reality. That is the randomness of the sport. It's what makes to me this week such an interesting week because the majority of teams are in the playoff hunt. And in the national league there are so many teams. Yeah, they're in the wild cards spot. So general managers in front offices are just trying to stay afloat right now. It's just an insane and saying week because some teams are probably going to decide whether to sell or buy if the trade deadline is Tuesday, they're probably going to decide on Sunday or Monday. And you're going to have this late flurry of activity. So the trade deadline itself, I mean, nothing's happened. We're less than a week away and nothing has happened because nobody wants to make the first move. And I think so many teams are still in a holding pattern, which is frustrating for front offices, but will lead to probably another insane 48 hours leading into the deadline. Because you could be a team that's in 500 right now and not feel like you have a chance at the World Series, but you look at Arizona. Arizona didn't like a World Series team at any point last year. Until they actually made the playoffs and then ran through the Dodgers, came back against the Phillies and made the World Series in Arizona at this time last year. And they had a Paul Seawald, but that was not a team that was seen as a major contender that needed to be a huge buyer. So who's sitting around there this year thinking, maybe we could be Arizona. And maybe the pirates are sitting there thinking, hey, why not us? We're a game over 500, but that puts us in the mix. The Mets who got off to a terrible starter probably thinking, why not us? Arizona again, they're two games over 500. That's enough to be a playoff contender right now. So it is that I think the the randomness and the chaos energy that has enveloped the sport is, again, maybe not fair or just, but it is exciting. And I don't know, you know, going forward, what they're going to do to kind of reward the best team. I mean, you always reward the best team by playing seven game series. You play a seven game series, you're going to get to see a fourth, maybe fifth starter, whereas in those short series, if you've got a great one and two, you can kind of just leapfrog and get through if you're hot. I love the trading deadline being two months prior to the end of the season versus one. There's so much more strategy that comes into it. And when you look around at all these fans, I want my team, my team's got to go get this and go with that. As you mentioned, there are so many more buyers than sellers now because so many people are in the mix and it's like, I don't want to sell, but do I buy and there's a lot more buyers. So there's a lot less inventory. So everybody can't get necessarily what they went. It's who gives the best package at the right time. So I think this next week's going to be really interesting to see what unfolds. Yeah, I mean, there are maybe eight or nine definite buyers right now is a look at it. I think there are 20 teams that could be or eight or nine sellers and 20 teams that could be either buyers or say, you know, we're close enough that we don't want to make a big sell off like Detroit. You mentioned Derek scuba Detroit's 15 and 52. I don't think they're a playoff team this year. I think their odds are pretty slim. But they have made enough strides that they could say reasonably, we think we'll be a playoff team next year. And we have a great manager. We have a great general manager. I have an up and coming farm system and lots of young town. So does it make sense for them to trade Derek scuba with two plus years of team control? Or does it make sense for them to say we think we might be good the next couple of years might take an Orioles esque leap might take a pirates esque leap to get into contention. And that's a big decision to be made over the next six days. I'm sure they've been talking about it for a lot longer than six days. But it's a team like that. It's a team like Texas, which is 49 and 52. And all of a sudden the Astros and the Mariners can't win a game and the Rangers are three back and they won the World Series last year too. Does that factor into it? So they say we don't want to have a fire sale the year after winning the World Series and we've sold out our ballpark and attendance is up and fan interest is up. So there's just so much that goes into it. It's tough to for general managers because I was talking with our GM Michael Elias about this yesterday. Do you know the trade deadline this year is on the same day as the draft pick signing deadline. They're both July 30th because the major league draft has been moved back in the past couple of years. So this is the most insane time to be in a front office ever because you have to sign all your traffic who you just took two weeks before the trade deadline. And you have to make sure that's done on the same day as the actual trade deadline. So that leads to even more chaos. I just think one of these days the news is going to break and it's not going to stop breaking and Jeff Pass is going to be tweeting every 85 seconds about some big trade. But yeah, I'm looking at a half dozen teams here that could still go either way depending on if they go six and all in the next week or oh and six or somewhere in between. Last one, I'll let you get out of here. Orioles, how active are they going to be? What do they need? You're missing, you know, means and braddish go down. Some guys have stepped up obviously Burns getting him. That was the big the big off season acquisition. But Suarez has been really good. Rodriguez Ervin Kramer's back. He's been on the aisle on and off. Do you have enough in the bullpen? You know, I I've been watching the Batista kid who ended up getting Tommy John and missed the season. One of the best if not the best closer in the game. He's missing the entire year. Kimbrels come in. He's he's been spotty. He had a rough stretch and then he's back in the closer role. Seeing Kimbrels recent post seasons. Everything you see without putting you on the spot by putting you on the spot. What are these Orioles going to do? How active are they going to be? And in your opinion, what do they need to do in this coming up to this deadline? I think they reasonably could add five pieces. I think they could add maybe a right-handed hitting outfield. I don't really have a ton of outfield depth, but it's mostly from the left side and they've struggled against lefties a little bit. And that's a little more of a luxury because the offense has been so good. I think they could use two starters. A right-handed reliever and left-handed reliever. That's a lot to ask. I don't know that they'll get all five of those pieces. I think they'll probably get at least two or three. I have no idea how active they're going to be just because this is so new for this front office. Last year they didn't do much. They got Jack Flaherty from St. Louis a little while before the deadline. They made a smaller trade to get Centaro Fujinami from Oakland. Neither of those two were major impact moves. And you mentioned the team was a big surprise last year. I think it was a big surprise to the front office. And I think they kept sustainability in mind a little more last year. Didn't want to upend the apple card in the minor leagues. Didn't want to trade the big prospects. Knew there was a big window of contention, which they're still in. The differences this year. Well, one of the differences to me is the Corbin Burns factor. Corbin Burns is here. And he'll be a free agent at the end of the year. There's a new ownership group. Nobody knows what kind of money the team's going to spend. In that respect, Corbin Burns is obviously going to command a huge, huge salary from somebody. We don't know what kind of offer the Orioles are going to make. So I think you treat this like it's your only year with Corbin Burns because it's certainly the only year you have guaranteed with him. And you don't have a rotation right now necessarily that the Orioles might feel fully comfortable with in a seven game series. There are some young pitchers they like. Chase McDermott's going to make his major league debut as we tape this tonight. We'll see how that goes. But they could use more pitching depth. They don't have Kyle Bradish, as you mentioned, they don't have John Means, they don't have Tyler Wells for the year. So I think you owe it to yourself to be a little bit more aggressive, given that this is the one Corbin Burns year the Orioles definitely have. And without Felix Baptiste, Crickham, again, outside of Little Blip has been really good, but they could use another right-handed reliever. They could use a left-handed reliever because Danny Coulomb is out until at least September and he was their best lefty. So it's all about pitching. And look, we saw the Marlins last night. The Marlins are 29 under, right? They have never been in contention from day one this year. And yet everybody they threw out there in the bullpen was nasty, nasty, including Tanner Scott who pitched for the Orioles, AJ Puck and Drew Nardi. And what it reminded me is they're good relievers everywhere, right? Bad teams have good relievers. So you can get pitching. There's a lot of it out there in bullpen. I think that's a big priority. I think the Orioles have to add at least one starter. And I think they could add too. Will they be super aggressive? Will they trade Jackson holiday, Colby Mayo, Samuel Bassio, kind of skeptical of that? I don't think that's the way this front office wants to operate. I think they want to hang out of those guys long term. I think if you're going to get Tarex Google, you have to throw in probably two of those names. So I would be surprised if they went that far. But I think it's definitely at least one reliever, definitely at least one starter. And if they can add a right-handed hitting out fielder, great. If they can add even more pitching depth, great. I am anxious to find out. Let's just put it that way. I really am anxious to see if this front office is going to upend the mold a little bit here and be a little bit more aggressive and trade more prospects. You can argue for it both ways, which makes for the fun of the deadline. No matter what, there will be people saying you made the right call. No matter what the people saying you should have done the other thing. But I really, my guess is kind of as good as anybody else's here. And I think they could use a little bit of a shakeup because it's been a slower month. But pitching and pitching and pitching is where I see this thing going. Kevin Brown, I appreciate your insight, man. I enjoy watching you guys. I enjoy watching you guys, the telecast for the Orioles. I really do. That's why I reached out to you. I said, I like that. I like Kevin Brown. Tell Mac, I said hello. And I wish you guys the best this year. It's going to be a fun race that that division especially. I think with those two guys battling down the stretch can be a lot of fun. And I wish you in the Orioles all the best. And ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate you tuning in to Boom podcast. Once again, I mentioned we're now on YouTube. Check us out or tune into the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. Until next time, keep it here. All-star, closer, Ken Lee Janssen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? This ball isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Radford. And every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago. And it's now the most prolific national daily baseball pod. There is another fact. So jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to baseball isn't boring presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.
