Inside Access with Jason LaCanfora and Ken Weinman
Dan Connolly: I just don't know who I feel confident in the 8th and 9th inning
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Purple has a wide variety of mattresses from the original purple mattress to the restore hybrid collection. It combines gel flex grid with coils and the rejuvenate lux collection, the height of luxury. With over 112,000 to five star reviews to prove it, visit purple.com to find the perfect purple for you and enter code podcast 10 to get 10% off. Orioles start a three game set in Toronto tonight. Grayson Rodriguez and Chris Bassett, the bone and Jim Hunter doing BBT tonight at six. But let's talk some Orioles baseball now. Dan Connolly covers the ozone major league baseball for sports keta. And he joins us now and Dan. Thank you as always for joining us. Let's start. We haven't spoken to you since the deadline. What did you think about what the Orioles did at the trade deadline? I would give it a B minus maybe I liked it in most ways. I have a little bit of a quibble with the quality of the relief pitching. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen somebody who not only had closer experience like like Soto and Dominguez did, but also we're having a good year. And we're pitching well. I like to make us his arms. So I think that, you know, it works a little bit, but I like the right lefty combination. I personally would have liked to have seen somebody maybe who's having a little bit better of a year. Maybe, you know, has a little bit better control of the stuff that they have. And I think that's my one quibble. I really liked the the Eflin pickup. I actually heard about that today. Sports kid. I did a Q and A with him. And I think that's a real good one. And I met as I was intrigued by and, you know, that's turned out well so far. So I think it was solid. I think they filled the holes, but I would have liked to have seen a better quality group for that bullpen. Dan, a lot has been made about this past trade deadline being such a seller's market. And you see what the Padres gave up for Tanner Scott and the Kakuchi trade. But is that just the new reality of the trade deadline moving forward ever since the new wild card has been introduced? Absolutely. I think that's exactly what it is. I think that there are too many teams that don't know exactly what they're going to be and are kind of holding off until the end. So not only do we see, you know, it being a seller's market, but we also see a lot of flurry at the end. The last couple of years we've seen that now where people are like, all right, all right, let's do it now. And then, you know, you end up having like seven trades go down from like five fifty until, you know, until the deadline. Oh, five or six, Tanner are still coming in. So I think that is the reality. I think is the, you know, the deadline is always going to be now from here on out. As long as you have those many teams involved is going to be a seller's market. And I think it's why you'll see a lot of times, you know, players who have a year or more of control year, year and half of control. You'll see them more in the off season and it'll be much more of a rental thing. And that's one of the things I did like what Michael I did is that several of these guys he got aren't rentals. They're, you know, their players are going to be around for a little while. Like I said, I've always been an Efland guy if you stayed healthy and Philly. I think, you know, I thought Tampa maybe overpaid three years and forty million for them because that was a huge deal and they struck hot. But then we saw the rest of the off season that year and guys were getting crazy money. So they actually made a smart move to do it, you know, in very early December. And now the Orioles have part of that. And I think it's a benefit for the Orioles. I would have liked them to see them get Efland, you know, a year and a half ago. But I think this works for them talking to Dan Connolly. It's inside access here on the fan. Dan Jackson, how are they looking like a completely different guy than the guy we saw in April? What are you anything you noticed different about him? Well, he looks like he's got more confidence. He looks like he's got a better plan at the plate for sure. But, you know, I had an issue guys and I've said this before. I've written about this, but, you know, they didn't bring them up to start the season. And I thought that was a mistake because I think you want to start up be with the guys, you know, kind of everyone's kind of getting used to what's going on. And I think that would have been excellent had he been able to start at the very beginning. To give him 10 games, he destroys it in AAA. So after 10 games, they bring him up here. And now he's behind everybody. And now, you know, now he's struggling, now he's trying to fit it in. And he gets 10 more games, struggles, and he goes back down to AAA. And I would have liked of either let them just keep them in the minors for a while, get through the first few weeks and then bring them up. Or bring them up, you know, at an opening day and keep them for weeks. And so I think that was a little bit in this management of it. I didn't like it because I think this guy is a quality player. And I think we wanted to see what he could do for a, you know, for a long period of time. But I think we're going to see that now, especially with the Mateo injury. I think it's, you know, his position second base, let him run with it. And I think because of that, because he's got confidence, because he's not thinking that every single game you might get sent down. I, I think he's just a lot more relaxed and you can see it at the plate. Dan, we've yet to see under Michael Elias, him give out a multi-year contract to someone and reinvesting in their own. And obviously new ownership here now. But Anthony Santander continues to hit 29 years old switch hitter with a ton of power. How do you see that situation play out? Should, should the Orioles be aggressive in keeping him? It's a real tough one because he's also a leader. Everybody loves him in there. He's a really good guy. He's an oral. I mean, I know that, that he was signed by the, by the guardians, the Indians, but he is an oral and he has done a tremendous job. He's a really big part of this team. However, if you're going to spend money, you probably should do it on the, on the 26-year-old catcher and the 22-year-old shortstop and the 20-year-old second baseman, perhaps. You have a lot of outfielders, a lot of, have a lot of guys that can play that position. And it's tough because he's a guy that I think you're going to lose more than just his power when he leaves because I think he does, he brings that clubhouse together. He's so, he's so easy to like. He works so thinking hard, but you know, he's had some injuries in the past, which he's done a great job with his back and legs. He's done an amazing job. He works, he gets there hours before anybody else gets there and does his stretching and does his work and stuff. So he puts the time in to, you know, produce the way he's done. But I also wonder if you only have a certain pot of money. And, you know, David Rubens, I should have a large pot. But if you only have a, if you're only going with a certain pot of money, I think it probably is wiser to divvy it up to younger guys and guys whose positions are a little bit more important. But, man, I think that would be a tough loss to see Anthony Santander go somewhere else. Dan, I asked you about Jackson Holiday a moment ago. Let's go to the other guy they called up and that's Kobe Mayo. Does not have a hit yet. He's getting a day off tonight. I saw Ramon's three for four with a homer lifetime against Bassett. So they might have something to do with it as well. What do you think of Mayo so far? I think he's young. He's trying to figure it out. You know, I don't, a book show author and you've heard him say it 100 times can, but a book show author used to say the biggest jump in sport is triple up to the majors. And I agree with him and obviously, you know, but you know, college, football, college, basketball, the speed is different. But everything else is kind of the same. In baseball, it seems like everything is different. The pitchy, you never see that kind of pitching until you get to the majors. And so I just think here's a guy who's got all the talent in the world. He's got a really good head about him. He reminds me of Trey Mancini. He really does, even in the face, but just overall in the way he kind of carries himself. I think he's going to be fine. I think once he gets that first homer, which is what we're all waiting for you with that guy, I think he'll be able to relax. I just hope he gets some time to really play and I think he probably will. But, you know, we saw it with Gunner. I mean, how many, I think you and I talked about it several times. Should they send this guy down? And I think we both were in agreement that they should keep him up. Let him keep playing and look what happened. And I think we're going to see that holiday. So I just think it's a, you know, I see a guy who's very eager to play. You know, the strikeouts thing, the big swing has been kind of the one question about him. And I think that we're going to see a little bit of that until he gets used to the quality of pitching. You cannot replicate the pitching of the major leagues anywhere. Worried about letting someone else pick out the perfect avocado for your perfect and press them on the third date guacamole? Well, good thing Instacart shoppers are as picky as you are. They find ripe avocados like it's their guac on the line. They are milk expiration date detectives. 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That's why it's so important to choose the right mattress. Sleeping on a purple mattress is truly a unique experience because purple mattresses are made with a gel flex grid. The gel flex grid is an innovative material that moves with your body to relieve pressure in areas like knees and hips. And support in others like your back. It feels soft where you want it and supports where you need it. Purple mattresses instantly adapt when you move. You don't sink in and get stuck like with memory foam. And thanks to over 1,400 air chambers in the gel flex grid, you will sleep cooler on a purple mattress. Purple has a wide variety of mattresses from the original purple mattress to the restore hybrid collection. That combines gel flex grid with coils and the rejuvenate lux collection, the height of luxury. With over 112,000 to five star reviews to prove it. Visit purple.com to find the perfect purple for you and enter code podcast 10 to get 10% off. Dan, the offense has really been trending up in a big, big way over the past couple of weeks. But as you mentioned, there's still some concern with the back end of the bullpen. Orioles, Yankees, identical records. How do you handicap this sprint to the finish? The bullpen still worries me, guys. It does a little bit. You know, I like the fact that they have kind of strengthened and not even kind of. They strengthen the rotation. You know, you had some questions about who number four and five were, you know, Kramer's was your three. I'm now Kramer's back to a four spot. You know, Rogers is there, which I do like that pickup. I'm not sure how much it's going to play for the playoffs for the Orioles, but I do like that pickup. Get a left-hander and get somebody who has, you know, a high pedigree. But that bullpen, I just don't know who I feel confident right now in the eight and nine innings. I mean, could it be cano? I mean, I don't know. I don't know. You know, Dominguez has shown me some stuff. He obviously has always had a big arm, but I'm concerned about what happens, you know, in late in bullpen. In games or close games and what happens to the bullpen. I think I probably would still give the edge to the Yankees because of experience. In fact, I asked Kevin Galvin that I did at the Q&A with him with sports data. And I asked him, "All right, man, I put you on the spot who wins this division?" And he said, "Yankies." And I said, "Why?" And he said, "Experience." And I think that is probably the case. I think the Orioles may be more talented all the way through 1-26. But I think the Yankees might have a little bit more of experience to maybe push it in. We'll see. I mean, you know, both teams haven't played well recently and the Orioles, you know, got a couple. So we'll see. I mean, if I'm not mistaken, guys, I can't tell you the last time this has happened. But there's not one team in Major League Baseball right now that's playing over 600 ball. Yeah. Or even at 600 ball. That's incredible. You know? So it's there for the taking. And I think if the Orioles can shore up that, you know, that rotation and I mean, I'm sure of that bullpen. And maybe score a little bit more while not relying on the homerun. I think they should be there with anybody. So I think it's going to be a heck of a run at the end. And I think the Yankees and Orioles are pretty even. Dan, before we let you go, one more question about the bullpen. We talked about a bunch of arms, but Craig Campbell's name has not been mentioned at all. He got up at one point, I think either Saturday or Sunday, but did not come in the game. What's his role at this point? I don't know. I think his role is when they need him and they need a right-hander and whether it's this seven, eight, nine, I mean, they're going to put him in. They, you know, they're paying him way too much money. And he has a lot of, you know, of success and experience to not use them. I just, you know, I think part of it is they don't want him to wear down and he's worn down in the past. And, you know, he obviously has not been particularly sharp with his command, you know, the last few weeks. And I think there's a concern. This was my concern when they, when they signed him. I, I thought that he could get them to a closer. I felt like, you know, we, you could give him that ball in a couple, you know, for a couple months and a, a closer would emerge. And I think they've gone out and tried to have two other guys who can close now besides Cano and Kimberly. So maybe they're still kind of figuring that out. I think this team's making the, the playoffs guys. And I know you don't want to say it's definite because there's a lot to go here. But I think this team's making the playoffs. And I think what they need to do is win now, but they also need to figure out the roles. And I think right now in this month or so of August going into September, getting ready for that stretch run and getting ready for playoffs, I think they're jockeying and trying to figure out who goes where I've said this a thousand times. I think it's so important to have roles in a bullpen and know which guys coming up when the world were at the best and we'll go all the way through their history camp when they were at their best that you always do who is pitching the seven days and nine, right? I mean, and they knew it and those players were, I mean, back in the 12, 14, 16 guys, those were, those guys all knew they could anticipate when they were going to be used or if they're going to be used that day. They had, you know, they were looking at the lineup. They were looking up. They would get up there or they would start stretching the six because, you know, he's going to be in the eight. And I mean, it was like that you can find a guy who can close, but you need to find guys who know what their roles are and they can, you know, embrace those roles. And I think before seeing with Kimberly and the rest of these guys, right now, Dan Connolly covers the world's immediately baseball for sports key to Dan, always great, man. Thank you so much for your time. You got a guy. Take care. Trying to figure out what to eat for dinner yet again with nor sides and bullion is your not so secret ingredient. You can skip the drive through and do dinner at home nor taste combos provide a menu of delicious, affordable and well balanced meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less. At nor.com to get quick and easy recipe ideas for your home cooked weeknight dinners. It's not fast food, but it's so good. It's the most anticipated WNBA season in history and you know what that means court is back in session. Welcome to Queens of the court and Odyssey original podcast. I'm your girl Cheryl Swoop and I'm Jordan Robinson. All WNBA season long will be bringing you interviews with star athletes, analysis on your favorite team and lots of hot tape, order, order in the court. Follow and listen to Queens of the court on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. - Yes.