Inside Access with Jason LaCanfora and Ken Weinman
Mark McLemore: This Orioles ball club is better than they were last year because of experience
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Download the Instacart app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last. Minimum $10 per order additional term supply. This season, the W is going to new heights. And that means the queens are ready to take it to court and the court. Welcome to Queens of the Court and Odyssey Original Podcast. I'm your girl Cheryl Swoops and I'm Jordan Robinson. All WNBA season long, you can count on us to bring you interviews with some of your favorite WNBA stars, analysis of all teams and hot takes you can only find in this courtroom. Listen to Queens of the Court, a WNBA podcast presented by AT&T on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. Orioles and Rangers begin a three game series tonight in Arlington. Remember Baltimore baseball tonight this evening. Yours truly and Ryan Ripken getting you ready for baseball and joining us now I used to play for the Orioles from 92 to 94 played with the Rangers. Now part of Valley Sports South West broadcast covering Texas Rangers baseball. It's Mark Macklemore and Mark. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time. I guess a funny thing happened on the way to being sellers for the Rangers here. Now they're they're five out in the West seven and a half in the wall card. How these next 11 days are going to be really interesting, I think, for the Rangers. Yeah, I think they are. You know, with the way they played in Houston, that was a very crucial situation or a series last weekend and they played well to two out of three. And that's exactly what they needed to do. Obviously, sweeping them would have been better, but at least they didn't get swept and they won the series. So yes, I'll tell you what, Chris Young and Bruce Bocey, they have they've got some decisions to make here over the next 11 days. Could you see it coming last year? You know, because this doesn't feel that different from a year ago, except that they obviously didn't have that World Series experience under their belt and they were mashing the ball in a way they haven't this year, but they've also had a lot of key guys, you know, who frankly haven't been able to play as much baseball as they liked it. Did you sense it was coming last year? And do you think they have another push like that in them? I think they do, but obviously they're going to need, you know, their guys back. Josh Young has been out all season with a broken wrist. That is a huge hole in the lineup, but I can't take anything away from Josh Smith and what he's been doing in his absence. He's played extremely well. It's not ready to two home runs in a ball game my last Sunday to beat the Astros and win that series, but Josh Young is Josh Young. He's a very good ball player, so replacing him is very difficult. They're going to need him back in the lineup, hopefully sometime soon. Marcus Simeon hasn't really had the year that he's used to. I think he's going to come around the same thing with the Dallas Garcia. I think those guys are going to have to have a better second half in order for this team to win division and get the postseason. We're talking to Mark Macklemore. It's inside access here on the Fed. Mark the Evan Carter was so huge for the Rangers and the playoffs last year. Got some key hits and the Orioles series got key hits throughout the playoffs like he started slow and then he got heard how important will his return be? I think it's very important, but you know, not sure when that's going to happen. They're trying to go very slow and make sure that when he gets back, he's 100%. But yeah, he's been a key factor last year for sure. Man, and his that's been missing in the lineup, but Wyatt Langford has stepped up and stepped in and he's done a fabulous job. He got off to a slow start and then he went on the aisle with a hamstring strain and since he's been back, I'll tell you what, he's been on fire. This kid is living up to the billing that they gave him. So hopefully he can continue that the second half as we go through the league for the second time. That's going to be an important thing and that's usually the important thing for young players. When you go to the league the first time, you may have some success, but you have to make those adjustments the next time around because you better believe they're not going to let you keep punching you right in the draw. Mark, one of the reasons we foolishly thought the Orioles would win that playoff series last year is because we weren't sure about the Rangers pen and it was an issue for most of the year. And then it became a real strength in the postseason. And now it feels iffy again, is that an area that they're going to have to address if they if they do want to come anywhere close to to what they did a year ago between now and the deadline? I can see why is always looking to improve the team. Any way, shape, or form if you can. That's his number one goal. How do I make this team better today? How do I make better tomorrow and the future? So he's got all those things to weigh on. But for me, the bullpen has been, you know, not as consistent as they would have liked to have been, but when you get David Robertson in there or Kirby Yates at the back end and you've got that lead or the game is close, it's pretty much locked down right there. So guys are coming back from injury. Josh Bors is back. He's going to be a big arm out of that bullpen. Hernandez has been throwing well. So we've got some pretty good arms in there and they're starting to be more consistent. So I think that's really the big thing. And then as far as the starting rotation goes, I think those guys go out there and they get it done pretty much every time out. So for me watching these guys all year, it's really been the offense that hasn't been the consistent piece. The bullpen has been fairly consistent. The starting rotation has been really consistent. So now that offense just has to catch up with those other two aspects. Mark, if they do decide to sell, if they start slowly here in the second half, how much I know there's like what seven free agents in the pitching staff, like how much do you think goes if they do become sellers? Man, I'll tell you what, that's a very tough question. That is a very tough question. We'll put it on my GM hat. Oh, man. I think they would be foolish to let guys just walk. I think if they see why it feels they have a very good chance to win the division. And I think where we're sitting at today, five games back, they absolutely have a legitimate shot and went into the division. They've been as far back as 10 games and now or as far as back to June 18, they were 10 games back. Now they're five games back. They played both of the teams ahead of them. So they've got time. They've got opportunity. They just have to get it done. So as far as the seven free agents, man, when that window of opportunity is open, you got to go through as many times as possible. Obviously, they won the World Series last year. And if there's a chance that they and see why it feels that there's a chance for them to do it again, I don't think he's going to fail. I think he's going to keep it, keep his hand and maybe even add to the team if he possibly can. So you see a lot of AOS baseball Mark, and I know the standings say what the standings say, but I also know the Astros are one 20 or the last 30 games and they obviously have a pedigree. Are the Houston Astros the team to beat in the iOS? No, the Rangers seem to be in baseball. They're the reigning champs. So until that changes until there's another one and it's not the Rangers. They're the team to beat. I know the Astros have been playing well. I expect them to. I didn't expect them to stay where they were the first month into the season or even the second month into the season. I did not expect them to be a last place team because they're not. They are going to be there in the end. I think Seattle is going to fall back. I think it will come down to the Rangers and the Astros, quite frankly. And I think the Rangers have the ability to beat the Astros wherever they play, either here or at home, as long as everybody's healthy. That's going to be the key thing. Can everybody get healthy and then stay healthy for the second half push? Margaret, simply with Seattle from your perspective, they just can't hit. Like, it's a roster that was not properly put together, but the pitching kept them in it for a while. The pitching definitely kept them in it. I mean, they're hitting 217 as a team. That's hard. It's hard to win. I mean, you can, they got great pitching. Those young pitchers have taken a step forward in their maturation process and you can see it. But the hitting is the problem. They've got guys that they can hit. They're just not hitting the way that they want to. So I just, I just don't think it's their time yet. I still think Houston's got a lot of experience, a lot of gas, a lot of good players and they keep replenishing them and the Rangers are the same way. They just have to the Rangers just have to stay healthy. But I think Seattle is going to fall back. Before we let you go, Mark, you guys did obviously get a chance to see the Orioles pretty recently when the Rangers came here. Do you feel like this Orioles team is is more fortified and ready to do a little more damage this postseason than they did obviously last year? I'll tell you what, they were scary last year. Like you said at the beginning of the call, you thought there was no way the Orioles would lose. I knew it was going, I thought it was going to be tough. But the Rangers, what the Rangers were able to do in that playoff run was unprecedented. So I don't think anybody saw that coming to be quite frank about it. But yes, so this Orioles Club, they are even better than they were last year because now they've got another year's experience. So they've been there. They've seen it. They know what to expect. And these guys are hungry. For me, I can't wait for this weekend. It's going to be an exciting series. And I just want to see how far they come. I didn't cover the Orioles series when the Rangers were just there. So to be able to watch these guys up up close this weekend, it's going to be fun. Mark Macklemore, this was great, man. Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. You got to fill it up. Thank you. All right. Hey, coming up next Terps there. Men's basketball. They are practicing already. And John Ross Dean covers college basketball for CBS. He was just their practice, tweeting away about this guy looks good. That guy looks good. Got us all fired up. John Ross Dean is going to join us next here on the fan trying to figure out what to eat for dinner yet again with North sides and bullion as you're 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. Visit 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, an 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 podcasts.