We give out our end of the year awards.
#mlbpodcast #baseball #baseballpodcast #podcast #redsoxpodcast #redsox #redsoxnation #soxnation
The Pesky Podcast
The Pesky Podcast episode 130 Awards Time
video is brought to you by the Boston Sports Entertainment Network. Please consider liking and subscribing for more Boston SportsCon. Shocked to right, slicing toward the pesky pole down the line, and it's got to be. Lied down the right field line toward the pesky pole, leaping up, and that ball is gone. That's a home run. The rot of our Nissan team as well. I fly down the right field line headed toward the pesky pole. That one tucked in, and that ball is going to lead. If it's the wall, and in the second base, the number retired, and that's Rafael Devers trying to retire that baseball inside a pesky pole. Welcome to another episode of the pesky podcast episode 130. This is our award show. I'm your host, The Rit. With me, like always, is Do-G, George Sullivan. We got our new co-host Rob, and we've got the executive producer up from the corner to a hot seat. So, as always, brought to you by the Boston Sports Entertainment Network. Make sure you give us a follow over there on YouTube or Twitter. BSEN, underscore 617. Guys, what's going on, man? The playoffs are starting, and there's a lot of teams that are easy, first round exits. So, let's dive into that before we go into the awards. Who was your biggest surprise on an early exit? So, Rob, let's start with you. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I was really shocked that Houston Astros got swept into games against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers were absolutely hot at the right time, and honestly, you would think the way the Houston Astros were playing. They were in third place, almost fourth place of the division, earlier in the year, 12 games back, and they clawed back the Mariners, blowing the U.S., thinking, "Okay, the Houston Astros are gaining momentum." The man of Detroit Tigers who had a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs by the All-Star game, magically making the playoffs, and then sweeping the enemies, the most majorly baseball fans, because everybody knows since 2017 about the Astros scandal, just molly-wapping them. So, I was shocked by the Tigers ending up winning two games then. Hey, a lot of young guys, you've got to give them props and homegrown talent wins ball games. Wait, wait, wait, there's a scandal? Oh, yeah, who would have thought, right? What was your biggest surprise so far? Me or George? George? Oh, Baltimore. It's like they learned nothing from last year. I'm of the opinion that I think that they're missing a veteran guy from out of the organization who's already won. Get him in the clubhouse. I mean, you get a lot of young guys. Yeah, I mean, Mullins has been there a while. Colvin Burns is a veteran, but they need somebody from the outside and a proven veteran, who's been on a winning team before, and says, "Boys, there's some things we have to do," because they didn't play well down the stretch, which I kind of thought that when they got to the playoffs, have a nice day. They would turn it on, or at least do bloody better than they did. You know, there's too much talent on that team to do that. Yeah, and you may just put his honorable mention, the fact that Chris Seal couldn't pitch in the postseason for Atlanta. Oh, what a surprise. Hey, it's what we've dealt with it ever since 2018. So, what about you? The one thing that I want to highlight, though, is that both of the division winners that had to play in the wildcard series are gone now, Astros and Brewers, which I think to me is the one problem with this format, and I don't know what gets done to change it, but it just seems like winning the division means nothing. We saw the same exact thing happen to the Brewers last year, and I mean, the Brewers are more prevalent in my mind because I live just across the bridge from Wisconsin. I know a lot of Brewers fans over there that are upset right now that this has happened to them two years in a row. So, but yeah, in terms of big surprise, I got to go with the Orioles. Okay, me personally, I've got to side with Rob. I honestly thought the biggest surprise was the Houston Astros being swept. Detroit is on fire, and they just keep mowing it down. Another team that is just right there with Detroit is the Mets. Man, what are your thoughts real quick on Mets Philly series? Let's go with George so far. And, you know, the first game, Alonzo, you know, shutting it up. Everybody, some alleged champion. And then, you know, today back and forth, you know, with crazy. Well, look, these guys play in the same division, so they know each other real well. Okay, so this is kind of akin to when the Yankees and the Red Sox met, you know, leading to the 2004 season. These know each other real well. There's no secrets at this time of the year. They played each other, what, 14 times over 16 now, probably. But, you know, this is a best of five series. You're looking at probably a five game series, and a lot of bloody noses in the process. So, yeah, no supplies to me. And they go to New York next trip. So, you know, good luck. Yeah, it should be fun to watch for sure. But yeah, this is going to be a this is going to be a knockdown drag out. Brandon. Yeah, it's, it's, I think more exciting than I expected it to be. And, you know, that's no disrespect to their rivalry. I thought the Dodgers Padres was going to be the series to watch. And so far it is. I've got it on the background right now as we speak, actually, but that game today, especially with that back and forth. It was crazy. I was watching that get ready for the podcast. And I still, I think a Mets have got a little something in them. I think they might be the ones moving on at the end of the day. You know, you can never count Philly out, but the Mets are definitely not just going to lay down and die. Like I think a lot of people thought they were in this postseason. So, it's, I think it's going to be a lot of fun these next couple of days. And I think, you know, even though the Red Sox are new, obviously that's where all of our hearts are. I think that this is going to be a really fun postseason to watch. Absolutely. Rob, what about you? So I'm going to answer what you said in the beginning about the pitch tipping with Devin Williams. I noticed it too. I saw a video breakdown where he's holding his fastball, his hands a little bit more higher up in the glove. And then when he's going to like the off speed, the change up his hand positioning is a little bit lower. And you can see like when you hold the ball different, you can see like, obviously the leather is going to expand a little bit of your gloves going to move a little bit. So you pick up on that. And then I think Mark Miento's let Piedalazzo know where someone let Piedalazzo know, hey, the glove is his shifting pay attention if the glove shifts down. That's a change up. So when he picked up on that one opposite field, waited in the box, took it the opposite way. And in what could have at the time meant his last career at bat with the Mets, it would have been a good one. And he again hits a home run today. And that game was absolutely insane. Nick Castellano's a home run and then walks it off for the Phillies like what's going on. And then that Dodger series, oh my God, what the Padres had a four, nothing lean early. And then Otani hits a bomb. And then it just goes to show you Freddie Friedman on a bomb ankle doing what he's got to do. And I think that's why I'm going to allude to why they walk Mookie Betts three times. Realistically, Mookie Betts is a 249 career playoff hitter. He's a great guy, great obviously you guys know the Mookie Betts is my favorite player, Red Sox legend winning a World Series. But he's not good in the playoffs. So the fact that they walked them three times was really a head scratcher until obviously I found out after. Hey, what's Freddie Freeman's take pop and Perka sets playing on a bomb ankle so it makes sense and he made them pay. So, and I do think the Mets have that 2021 magic only because they, I mean, not only do they have grimace and they have everything going from but also they got Jake Deacon. They got JD Martinez Jose Iglesias guys who were on that 2021 team. So who kind of already have playoff experience to know what it's like to play big games. Yeah. I'll go ahead George. Yeah, I see. This is going to be the series of the home run. Okay. I mean, you know, the game stats yesterday. With, uh, missed a non typical lead off here to hit one to the moon. Right. And yeah, Schwab, it's like, Oh my God, here we go. But the tipping of pitches. Remember, if you remember Bryce Hopper. You know, was it two seasons ago went up and he saw something went up and whispered something into who was this year and, you know, next thing at all, he went yard. So yeah, I, you know, ball players pay attention and, uh, you know, it's, it's a, we're all creatures inhabit and when it, when a pitches, you know, begins to tip. You know, you know, it's no secret. Now, now they're going to, now, you know, Williams is going to be worked with, you know, with the coaching staff, but. Yeah, I mean, this is, you get the feeling that when this game, when the series is over, it's going to be decided by, you know, walk off. You know, one way or the other. And it'll be probably a tape measure at that. Yeah, and, and looking at the Mets team. It's kind of ironic that. Of all people. JD Martinez. Yeah, being on on that team. If there's anybody that studies pitcher. It's, it's, you know, him and I won't be surprised if he was the one that caught that slight advantage. And, you know, guys. So. Yeah. But yeah, sitting there and, you know, the playoffs are great so far, in my opinion, and it's going really well. But let's, let's ease in. Uh, to the end of the year awards that we're going to be giving out, but before we do, let's go here a quick word from our sponsor. Castrano baseball development. Uh, family owned and operated, and they want the best for you to. Take advantage of learning some baseball, but also have that quality family time. Are you tired of being overlooked by college recruiters and professional scouts? Are your metrics so low that your bad speed doesn't sell you? Well, guess what? We have your solution. We have our dynamic bad speed accelerator training program now available. Buy us. And that is castrano baseball development. Make sure you head on over to find them on Twitter. Check out their website and learn more. So let's, uh, let's ease into the end of the year awards. And I want to start off with one of the ones that you added. Uh, surprise performer of the year. So, uh, you know, talk a little bit about, uh, the award and, and then, you know, give your, give your winner. Well, surprise performers is somebody I felt that. You know, uh, roster position 24, 25, 26, you know, uh, you don't expect much from them. You know, their duty is probably as a utility player. Uh, can also apply to somebody on the pitching staff. I actually went with my selection. I awarded two, but the position player was Romi Gonzalez. Uh, proved to be an excellent pinch hitter. Uh, through extremely valuable. Uh, as a utility player made an unbelievable play in mid season. They kept the red star streak. They kept moving along, uh, around just before the all star break. Uh, you know, you kind of forgot he was, is the opening day, second baseman, 23 for the white Sox, although, you know, that's not saying much, but. Um, yeah, I didn't expect much from him. I thought he'd be gone by mid season and I couldn't understand why he was there. But I, you know, he surprised me and got my respect by the end of the year. And the spice performer for the pitching staff, even on a small sample size has to be Richard Fitz. Okay. I mean, could you, did you picture him throwing 15 shutout innings before he finally gave up a wall? I sure as hell didn't. And, um, yeah, I mean, he had shown some promise in the Mayan leagues and that's why, uh, when they traded Verdugo, they wanted him because they saw something in him. He had, you know, he had a good season of the Myers, but to come up and hit the bigs and start throwing goose eggs for 15 innings. Are you serious? Um, yeah, I mean, that that, yeah, he definitely got the surprise performer for me on that. So those are my two guys and the reason for it. Absolutely. Uh, Brandon, let's go over to you. All right. So pitching wise, I got to agree with the OG, Richard Fitz. He couldn't have said it better there. Uh, on the offensive side, I got to go with David Hamilton. Um, you guys know I've talked about it in the past. I was in Minnesota for his big league debut. Um, I would just happen to be at that game. And, uh, I didn't really think he was going to contribute much this year if you didn't make the team for a very long time. But when he was here, he showed up. You know, he hit some home runs, which I did not expect him to hit. He stole bases. I mean, he could have stole more bases than Duran if he stayed healthy. Um, so that that's got to be for me is David Hamilton on the offensive side. Okay. Uh, I said there and I'm personally on the offensive side. I also chose David Hamilton on the pitching side. Uh, I was, I was surprised and I was pleasantly surprised, but Tanner how, you know, uh, coming off of, uh, his seasons where he was hurt, you know, taking the line drive off the face. Then all of a sudden, does he belong in the bullpen? Does he belong as a starter? Well, he's surprised everybody and he showed that this season, he belonged as a starter. So those are my two. Uh, Rob, what about you? For me personally, I'm going to say for the offensive side, I'm going to agree with Brandon. I'm going to agree with you, Josh. I'm going to say for that, I got to go with David Hamilton. And 294 at bats. He was amazing. Had eight homers, 20 RBIs. Obviously got hurt towards the end of the year, but 33 stolen bases who would have expected that out of David Hamilton, a guy who also played a consistent second base when he was up in the majors played really good defensively, too. Well, not a shortstop, but second base, he wasn't as bad as he was that shortstop, but David Hamilton is another guy. Another guy I want to mention for the pitching side. I was really surprised with Cooper crush. Tugged was a Cooper Chris. Well, when we signed up for a million dollars in the off season, I call him the million dollar man did a little bit of an edit with a million dollar baby song, but in 26 games, he had a winning record. 408 ERA and 99 and a third innings. He was very good. And he had almost a 1.4 whip, which is very solid. And he went to the bullpen, too. So he spot started a couple of starts, filled in really nicely in the beginning of the season when we lost what locked in a lot of guys. He stepped in amazingly pitched very well, too, when he was starting. And then most of the bullpen was a big help took down the end of the stretch for the Red Sox, obviously not making the playoffs, but he was a big help in that bullpen and also being able to spot start when needed. You know, forgot about Chris wall a little bit. No one actually expected him to do anything of what he did. And he went on that stretch and George and I talked about it in the season that stretch of what was a Georgia five six games, where he what he looked amazing. Five innings, you know, occasional sixth inning. He would go to, but he went out there and he did his business as the number five guy and he handled his role very, very well. The other thing he did is, he did what you said, all the things you said, but the other thing, he works quickly. And he kept, he kept opposing his off balance by doing that. And he was, he was definitely counted on more than I think any one of us thought he was going to be and proved to be, you know, quite the pickup for a million bucks so. Yeah, so let's, let's sit there and go for the unsung hero word. George, let's sit there and let you start it off there. How can I, how can I not choose the best fourth out of the field in baseball and Mr. Ref Snyder. Okay. You know, known as a lefty killer this year we did it from he got left these and righties. You know, pop pop some home runs, stole a couple of bases, played solid defensively in all three out field positions. Could be counted on to do whatever it took. You know, it looked like a pretty savvy signing this year, and people were wondering about why he was on the team to stop the year. That's why. It was a solid veteran presence, and you know, not the superstar, but you plug him in when you need somebody, any drive pitches crazy so yeah that would definitely my own son hero. Rob, what about. For me, I would say my unsung hero of the season I would have to go with Connor Wong. I mean he had a very surprising season obviously with him and Reese McGuire being a platoon and session. Obviously, and obviously you're recent McGuire ended up being DFA later on the year, but he showed himself as why he should be the number one catcher in that at the time obviously he played a little bit of second base and first base later on down the line in the season. Honestly, Connor Wong, hitting for good average in about 308 he stole bags and he was very good defensively behind the plate a little bit towards the any kind of started like, you know, not being the best offensively behind the dish but in the beginning he was throwing guys out his pop time was good. And he played a good defensive catcher at the beginning of the season and he stepped in big when Danny Jansett came to the team, he made a move they said okay we want better defense let's put Danny Jansett behind the plate Oh, I can step up and play second base I could step up a play first base I could fill in wherever you need me and I think Connor Wong this season had a really good year and arguably a lot of people were talking about him making the all star team at the time as a catcher because he was hitting very for average showed a little pop in that bat but yeah unsung hero who would expect a Connor Wong to have a breakout Yeah, Connor Wong before the all star break was a surprise he was bad number 300 and that was absolutely crazy. Me, my unsung hero is I had to put him in here was big doms like for a man to sit there and not be on the team Cosis goes down, you know, we had, we had, well, very Cooper, God, man, like that experiment, like, good Lord, like Dom Smith took over first base and he took over, you know, big smooth, you know, and he always had a good smile, always had a good laugh, you know, going on But I think, you know, him coming in and stepping in and holding that first base spot, so Cosis came back was absolutely, you know, amazing what he did, Brandon. You know, you almost changed my mind they're written because that's an amazing pick. But I got to go with Mossah when they let him play because some of those hits that he had especially against the Yankees, you know, if they did the same thing They did with Latin players, Garrett Cole would have said Mossahtaki Yoshida just as quickly as he said Devers because he was another one given Garrett Cole fits this year and I got to give a couple shout outs to Zach Kelly for getting us out of that base loaded jam against the Yankees Who could forget that that was an amazing play and then of course Tyler O'Neill whenever we needed a clutch one run home run he was always there. Yeah, great solo career. So, Rob, let's go to you. And our next word is the person that made the biggest step forward. So, the biggest step forward. There's a lot of guys that I could look at and say, Hey, this guy has made an improvement. This guy has shown that he could be consistent. And one of the guys who I think has stepped up. And I know his first half of the season looked a very, a little bit shaky, but I'm sorry that second half of the season was a little bit shaky. I want to talk about Carter Crawford's first half of the season. And I just want to say, in the beginning of the year, he was at the point where he started, and he was leading the league in ERA. He was getting pitching a lot of innings him, Bayo, and other guys, especially how 30 starts consistently. The first time of Red Sox pitching has done that in a very, very long time since the early 90s with Pedro and Roger Clemens. I really thought that Carter Crawford was took a step in. He ate a lot of innings. He was a guy that who would expect it him to be that solid in the beginning of the year. And who would have thought that like, Hey, obviously Carter Crawford is not really a guy who gets a lot of, he does get a lot of strikeouts, but as we all know, he does give up the home run. Molly and a cutter Crawford start would have given up like two or three solo home runs as of late. But I do know, I didn't press what cutter Crawford and what he has done. His stuff looked really good. And another guy who I really liked was Brian Bayo towards the end of the year. Obviously, in the beginning of the year, he was, he looked good in that first start against Seattle, then he had a rough stretch against, but towards the end of the year, that eight innings shut out master piece against Ray's where he struck out like almost eight, nine batters. He was solid. He was looking really good. And I think moving forward towards the end of the year, he was starting to pitch really well. And I think Brian Bayo is a guy that you're going to have to watch out and be, he's probably going to be one of the better number two or three starters coming up next year for sure. Yeah, my personal preference, I chose this word. I had to take real your brain. He went in this season, you know, over there in right field, you know, but he went step in. And he showed that can end up an arm. And, you know, he was able to be out there consistently as long as he stayed away from those dugout steps. I still say, if he didn't go on the aisle for that little bit, you know, he would, he would have been easily the rookie of the year. And now, you know, he's in the conversations. And, you know, but going from, from last year to this year, I think he took a huge step forward. In this lineup. So, Brandon, what about you. So, you know, William is a great choice. Everything you said about him is spot on, but for me, I got to go with Tanner how, because you did not expect him. He was ticketed for the bullpen potentially. If Gio Lito didn't get hurt. So you're looking at a guy who may have been a bullpen arm spot started to come in. And basically, the out there all year long give you 30 starts. Yeah, they sat him a little bit towards the end of the year because he got gassed, but just like what Rob was saying with cutter, you can really throw them both into the same conversation. Two guys that went above and beyond what any of us could expected from them this year, but so it's got to be how can I need it for me. Okay, Jordan, what about you. David Hamilton. I think that at the beginning of the year, you said they were going to bring up David Hamilton. You said, well, he's your pinch runner. Okay, still 70 basis in the minors, whatever you didn't think much of them defensively. Yeah, he has his issues at shortstop, plays serviceable shortstop. But boy, he proved himself to be a pretty bloody good second baseman. And, you know, he showed he had pop, he's got that little whip it, a little whip swing that sends the ball into the seats in right field. So, yeah, I thought he, because if you look, yeah, I had low expectations for him coming in. You know, he was, I thought he was just a, you know, a one trick pony, you know, just the guy that you want another pinch run, you know, when you needed a run. He's not that guy. He's proven he can play and play very, very well at the major league level for his skill set. So, yeah, that was for me that was, it was Hamilton. Okay. Let's go on. Most, I hope I can say is it with a straight face. Most reliable bullpen option. So, Brandon, let's start with you. Oh, God, this is a tough one because we didn't have many as, as we know, but I got to go with Justin Slaton. He was the, the rule five guy. I mean, who, again, who could have thought, you know, we thought, you know, we became maybe a valuable arm, but as the OG has said many times on this podcast. He's got a closer mentality and I think by 2627 he could very well be the closer of the Red Sox with Louis Guerrero at number eight, or you could even, you know, slip flip flop those two around so for me it's slate and because I did not expect him to be able to come in and do a little bit of a little bit more healthy. Yeah. Rob, let's go up to you. That was honestly going to be my answer as well. Justin Slaton was very reliable when he was in, in the games this year, six and two record, a sub three are a 1.1 weapon, 55 and a third innings struck out a lot of batters, barely walked guys will show up like dominance on the mound. And that you really didn't like in that bullpen down the stretch, especially the two guys we traded for being kind of, not once a bus, but they definitely didn't work out the way we wanted him to. And obviously Lucas Simms and obviously Luis Garcia, but I do see Justin Slaton being possibly a closer in a couple of years, but also you've got to look at it this way too. You do have Liam Hendrix coming back next year, but do you really think he's ready to be a closer after missing two years of baseball. He is a reliable guy. You might have to work his way into it, but that's Justin Slaton. I mean, if Kenley walks, which I wouldn't be surprised if he does, he's earned his 12th probably closer role. If not, I would say Justin Slaton or maybe even Garrett Woodlock could slide in as a closer if they moved to the bullpen. Well, Kenley's already moved back to LA because he was there for game one of the Dodgers. So. All right. It has to be Slaton. Okay. It has to be. You know, Roberta Best, sub three era 1.01 whip. I mean, come on. Real five kid. All right. Did you again? You took a gamble. This kid was this kid with nuts on the mound. He, you know, he coughed it up a couple of times. He had a couple of bad eyes, but he's a young pitcher. But I never felt I never felt like crap. Something bad's going to happen when he entered the mound, you know, when he entered the game. All right. Yeah. I said a hundred times. Closer mentality. He ain't Guerrero to go pick him and you're right above Hendrix. He the socks are probably annoying to miss the closer, but I think they're going to have to have those two guys in the bullpen to, you know, kind of back him up all he gets in his groove again. But yeah, for me, it was an easy choice. Yeah, I'm. Oh, man. I'm back and forth between. Yeah, I like slighting, but I. I also liked. Both Zach's. You know, I like Zach Kelly. And I like Zach Penrod. Like Kelly had a really like the end of the season is when he really started to implode. But I think. And a small sample size, I love Zach Penrod, but I like Zach Kelly. You know, he had a sub four, this season also, you know, six and three. So I really sit there and think. You're a sit there and. That's my choices for reliable bullpen. So don't get me wrong. Slaton was amazing this year. But I really, I really sit there and think overall that it had, you know, for me, it was, it was that Kelly. So let's go to the king of clutch. So Rob, let's start with you. Who, who was the man that was there in every situation possible when it came on to him. Bam, you know, it was him. I'm not going to lie, even though he didn't get a lot of starts in the outfield. They're in the lineup. It's got to be Masataka Yoshida. Every time he had a big moment, he was kind of like Justin Turner of 2023. Last year, obviously in 2023, we know Justin Turner always came up in the big moments. Him and Verdu, they always came up clutch. But Masataka Yoshida, that game. Tying, home run, in Yankee Stadium, down to their last strike, hitting it to right field and giving them the lead. Big at bats, even with the bases loaded at Fenway Park a couple. Like I think it was like in September, he had like one of the bigger hits. Or even two runs with the bases loaded. He just always seemed to be calm and collected when you needed him the most. He was the most reliable bat off the bench. And another guy I want to throw in there too. I have a lot of like two people with two in there because there's a lot of options on the Red Sox, I would say. Another guy would say would be Tyler O'Neill. Whenever you need a Tyler O'Neill to come up big in big moments, he would come up clutch. Obviously that'll walk off through your own homer against the race. When you needed big hits, Tyler O'Neill drove him in. I know he didn't get many opportunities because most of his home runs this year were solo home runs. But when he had guys on base, he rarely strikes out. He shortens his swing and got the job done. And Tyler O'Neill is a guy who also came up in big moments for the Red Sox this year. I feel as well because whenever you needed him, he always ended up having a big hit. Even though it wasn't like a crazy walk-off or you needed the guy to get on base, Tyler O'Neill was that guy. He always set up clutch as well. Yeah, for me, I'm choosing Jared Duran. You know, whether it was, you know, a lead-off to get the ball rolling. Or, you know, when he just needed to drive someone home from second, you know, steal a base, steal home. You know, early on in the seat, Jared Duran was able to do it all. So that's my guy there. George, what about you? It was Duran. You know, he started rallies. He extended rallies. He made, you know, some really great catches in the outfield. So just a couple of very good throws. You know, when he needed something good to happen, he was probably either the starter or in the middle of it. All right. And even while it wasn't, even when it wasn't in a Red Sox game, to hit the go-ahead home run in an all-star game, you know, a couple of big moments, that was it. And I think the other thing that, and I thought it was clutch because, and I mentioned it a couple of times, when he shot his mouth off and he got suspended, he came back and continued to play well. [inaudible] There we go. Yeah, there we go. They just go, you know, and that would be it. He didn't. He took it to heart and just continued to play like he had played. So, yeah. I can't definition a clutch for me this year. Brandon, what about you? I think you guys are, you're pretty spot on to run, but I think we're going to split this one because I get aside with Rob. You know, it's, it's got to be Yoshida for me because when I think of clutch, the first thing that pops into my mind is like Rob said, it's too strike a ninth inning home run that, and many other moments too. You know, Yoshida was just a guy this year that when they let him play, he always seemed to get those big hits in those big moments. And, you know, you guys are right with Duran Duran as well, you know, starting rallies and things like that. But when I think of like clutch, like when you need it the most, Yoshida just seemed to come through over and over again. Hey, you can't go wrong with either one. I sit there and think I would love to head. You're Yoshida play a little more, but now that we're finding out some news. Overall, where, you know, he might need off season surgery. Okay, you know, maybe that's. Yeah, we didn't put they only played him sparingly. So, but let's go. Let's go defensive player of the year. And I'll start this one off because it, you know, it could go one or two ways. But I've got to go right with the human highlight reel, Saddam Rapaella, because it didn't matter if it was a short. It didn't matter center field. Didn't matter for the second base. He put his body on the line. Every time when he left his feet, I got a little worried just because I got flashbacks of Trevor Story. So, but other than that, that man. He knew where the ball was, how did they're the quickest route to get there and put his body full extension on the line. So that's my pick for defensive player of the year, George. Same. You nicknamed him. And it's true. I mean, how many, yeah, my memory is just full of great place that he made. And when story went down and there was some real concern about what would happen. He studied it at short, but boy, when he played center field, there is. That's where he belongs. I mean, my God. There's no ball that gets hit to the outfield, but he thinks he can't catch. That's when I wanted my center fielder. Absolutely. It's almost like he, the ball's head and his mind's already computing what angle, the quickest, you know, they get to the ball and he's already, you know, the first step is in his there. So Brandon, what about you? It's, you're doing three for three because there is, there is no one better. I mean, like we've talked about it on this podcast before first player since 1901 do 60 in center 60 is short. I mean, that's just absolutely incredible. And then after story does come back, he moves over to second base and looks pretty damn good there too. So it's got to be him. I do want to give a quick shout out though to cost us because that stretch, he's getting that first base is starting to look a lot better than it was last year. So, but three for three on Rafael, you guys. Rob, what are you saying? What are you saying? So I'm going to call us Wendy's because we're going to go four for four here, but I also want to throw in. I always say there's two guys. He's probably going to win a gold glove as a utility player this year. I mean, the way he played center field. I mean, it was amazing. And he also played a really good shortstop as well. So I want to be surprised that he's in the nomination for utility men for a gold club. Another guy I want to point out was will you bring you because will you bring you, it was just played an amazing right field and I looked at the stats compared to raw. And will you bring you on paper will you bring you does have four more defensive run saves and set up say Don Raphael. He has a 16 defensive run save and 903 and a third innings compared to site on raw. I was 12 defensive runs safe. If we're talking about highlight reels. Oh, absolutely. Say Don Raphael. You can make a highlight real right now and it'd be like 20 minutes long with his crazy place. But my choice is said on Raphael just because of that flexibility to play shortstop and second base and the outfield. But will you bring us a close second to me because he did play a good right field left away part this year. All right. I think that's a lot of fun. Jeremy and also has 18 defensive run save big improvement from what he used to play us to carry on. Okay, here we go. This is going to be a tough one rookie of the year. So Brandon, let's start off with you. You know, like you said, it's tough, but it's not tough for me. Obviously, we have a guy in a brain who is going to be in the conversation for actual rookie of the year. Again, it's Rafaela because of that versatility because of what he did for this team when he did it. You know, when you look at, you know, the things that he's doing again, we talked about it the first guy to do that since 1901. And he led all the rookies in RBI's, I believe, or was either first or second and, you know, 15 home runs. I mean, is he going to get the, the nod that will your brave is in the actual conversation? No, because they don't value defense necessarily as much as they do offense, nor do they value the positional changes as much I feel like. But for me, it's Rafaela hands down. Well, Brandon Raphael is in top five in hits, doubles, home runs, extra base hits in RBI's. That's, that's, that's exactly my point. Like he's got to be in the conversation. I don't think he will be, but, but for me, it's him. Well, you're a brand you is in the top five in this exact same category is except for it. He's 16 hits. So he's first and doubles third tied for third and home run second with extra base hits and fifth with RBI's in the hips. I, it's just that, that little I else. And I think I was going along with Alex core a pole in him. When he's when they're facing left these. Yeah, it's not for those things. Will you would be, I would think up there in the actual conversation. For sure. So George, what about you? It was tough. You got to extremely worthy candidates. You would you're not wrong with either one. All right, because they, they brought different levels of excellent play and excitement to the team. For me, it was a brave. Look, he plays right field in Fenway Park 81 games a year. All right. That is one of the toughest outfield positions you can play in baseball. And he does it well. He has a laser guided cannon for an arm. And you know what, he's pretty bloody fast because you don't you look at him and he got all he's a big boy. No, no, he can cover some ground. All right. I, I believe he would be right at the front of everybody's mind if Alex core didn't cost us him, like he did cost us in 23 cinema with lefties. You can't get better against lefties until you play and AC did him no favors by doing that. So, you know, he never popped off about it. Did, you know, did everything the team asked for him that play, you know, that play, we almost got that to the home run away against the Yankees still sticks in my mind. That's throwing a body, you know, against, you know, into the stands and going. Well, geez, I hope I don't break a further brace someplace right. You know, how do you not do this, this, this, this guts that goes with that. Stane Raphael is probably the better athlete all the way around because of his athletic prowess, but for me as a ball player. A brainer's ball players MVP. That's it. And George, that player talking about what he dove into the crowd. It's kind of like, I bet you those fans were thinking there. Wait, is it the rule that, you know, whatever comes, you know, into the into the crowd and the fans get to keep. So, do we get to keep? We'll hear a break there. Yeah. That's a souvenir. Yeah. So, Rob, what about you? I'm going to agree with OG here. I got to go with Lillier. One of the better played one of the better rookies in Major League Baseball this year. Just a two. Obviously, we got to point out that in the beginning of the year, he did slump and a lot of people were talking about, oh, what is going on with Lillier. I was like, what's going on with Lillier? He's a really good hitter. Very productive hitter when he had time in 2023. But all of a sudden, after that first month of the season, he just clipped the injury kind of torn down a little bit, but still 15 homers, 58 RBIs, a 781 OPS, and then also stole eight bags. And like I mentioned earlier, the 16 defensive runs safe and right field, probably one of the better things is great as his defense. Lillier Bray, you honestly performed very well. And he's just like, like I said, well, we have thick. We have one of the best young talented outfields and best young talented farm systems in Major League Baseball. You got thick Willie out there. You got Jaren Duran. You guys who are coming up in Roman Anthony, you got so much talent that this might be rookie of the year right now, but oh my God, wait until the other young guys come up the big four. They're not ready for the core four yet. But will you bring you great season? I got to go with Lillier Bray, you just a little bit oversight on Rafael just because the consistency factor with him not striking out of as much is very important to point out that the state on Rafael does have a high K rate so it kind of hurts a little bit what his value but defensively no Rafael great, but will you bring you good hitter good defender got to go Lillier on this one. Well, I personally split here, because I'm looking at what Saddam was able to do at the nine spot, you know, tied Jason Barrett tech for all time Red Sox 61 RBI is coming from the nine spot. I'm thinking big clutch moments, you know, him and Jared Duran going back to back. That nine spot is a, for me, is what puts him above Lillier Bray you because a lot of a lot of times you get a little lax physical because you know you're down in the lineup a little bit. He's playing clutch at the nine spot, going along with with his, with his defense, but I can't wait till next year when he gets to take that step. Hopefully forward with the speed, because then you got now Trevor story says that he wants to steal some bags up. You're getting too old for that man. I'm going to tell you right now. Let the rand let the young guys do it. You know, we stay healthy. We don't need to put a hand or anything like that. So, but no, I personally, I'm going to throw in the, we're going to split it up and I'm going to go sit down and wrap by L. So, next up, hold on let me let me bust it out for you OG. I'm going to throw it as the saw young award, but we all know totally nasty, totally nasty, totally nasty. The totally nasty award, because otherwise known as the saw young award to lose common baseball vote. So, George, this is your award. Who are you taking? Well, the guy that we were all talking about when all this started. It's 10 or how. I mean, what else can you say? I mean, he started a couple of started a few games in 2020 in the COVID season. His high his season high, if I'm not mistaken, was never 100 innings. He pitched 178.2 wings, 1.14 with 3.12 we are a. You know, he threw a complete game this year. Okay. You know, that's a rarity in itself in the in the MLB. He's a fierce competitor. A lot of times they didn't give him the run support or he would stay to a lead and the bullpen coughed it up. He's he's a very tough competitor. And on this staff right now, I think he's your number two. All right, because right now, let's face it, they don't have a number one. Okay, there's no number one, but he's a solid number two. Uh, you know, but yeah, I mean, there is nobody else. Absolutely. That was that is also my pick. And I want to apologize. It was April 16th. Was his complete game. Shut up. The night to how command he was born officially. That's true. Man, it was absolutely crazy. And it, his season was good was good up until that interview. And then PAP TC kind of said, okay, let's take a step forward and kind of challenge Tanner health. And then next thing you know, he goes out there and, you know, complete game, shut out. Uh, what was it? It was under two hours. Yeah. You know, he just cruised through that. You know, it was like 158 or something like that. It was like, it was like ridiculously quick. You take away the win loss record, because you can't sit there and have somebody. Count that, in my opinion, when the run support isn't there. You know, he, if you go look at, you know, the runs he gave up, because he had, he was under a four, you know, he had a superb season. You know, if Brian Bayo would have done the first half, what he did after all star break hands down, you know, it could have been, it could have been him. But Tanner how, how come, that is, I can't wait for next year to see him take that step forward. So Brandon, where about you? How come, I mean, I talked about it earlier. This is a guy who was for all intents and purposes ticketed for the bullpen. And then Lucas Gioleto goes down, right, because I don't know why, but they had already kind of said when Lucas Dioleto was healthy, that Crawford was going to be the number five. But he kind of made up their mind on that. So we're talking about a guy again, who was supposed to be your long reliever out of the bullpen, who comes in for mop up roles. Comes in and becomes your number one. I agree with OG that he is a number two. We don't have a true number one, but he becomes your number one, essentially. So it's how Romania hands down. All star game and, you know, first time making it. Rob, what about you? I mean, it's a no brainer. It's Tanner how and the reason why I say this is he has improved so much since last season. I remember I was trying to, I was scrolling through here because I was looking for my notes because I did write it down. So I remember last year he had a third time through the lineup. I think he gave up like I think he had like a 60 at third time through the lineup. He really struggled last season getting a third time through the lineup. And obviously started the 2020 started in the bullpen. Honestly, I think 2021 he did have some spot saves for the Red Sox down the stretch as well. So he was destined for the bullpen. It's an amazing season. 9 and 10 record. Obviously the win loss record. I don't play into that because I mean look at Jacob DeGrom when he was on the Mets. No run support. Wanna, I think he won and he won the side young with a losing record, which is absolutely hilarious. And, but a 312 VRA, almost a three era 30 game started, which is again, a lot of starts, which is great in 178 and two thirds and he had a fifth, which is a fielding independent pitching of a 3.32 and a whip a 1.142, which means he gets a lot of strikeouts. That slider is probably one of the better sliders in Major League Baseball besides Chris Sale. And honestly, I always said this a comparison. He's the right hand to Chris Sale, the same pitching motion, same arm slot, Tanner, how an amazing season. He's got to be the team side young without a doubt and get your how command he has shared by the way guys. I need to get mine. I need to buy one, but get those how command he has shared by the way. We are still selling them. All the charities still goes to the creators family's solutions. I talked to Ashley Lambert. She was ecstatic when she when she got the the total because that goes so much for the kids that the government doesn't help. These these children, you know, going, going to the YMCA, you know, taking them out and stuff like that. So, yeah, it was great. And I was thinking. I was talking to thing. And I'm probably going to be sitting there and next season, we're going to be up in it from 20% to, I think we're going to get 50% of each shirt sale to increase the give to that charity. So, let's last but not least, the season, most valuable player in the Boston Red Sox. Brandon, I'll let you start this. It's Duran. You know, again, we talked about these guys for the last hour and these guys come up multiple times, but you look at the all-star game. You look at, you know, he could have been a guy for most improvement as well, because you look at what are biggest step forward, because you look at, you know, 22, 23, and now 24. What he has come out and done. And, you know, not only that, but become a leader. When Raphael Divers has said, I don't want to be that guy. Yeah, you know, you might have been paying me, you know, $30 million a year, but you're paying me to hit bombs. I, you know, I'm more the quiet guy. I don't really want to be the leader that a lot of people think he should be. Well, when you've got a guy's like story and now Duran, you don't necessarily need Divers to be the leader because Duran can step into that role and say, okay, hey, we got this. He can mentor the young guys. He can rally the troops. Like OG was saying earlier, how many rallies did he start? You know, so it's Duran. Yeah, and Duran, the arbitration salary is projected at 4.9 million. That's a steal. You know, top, I know, I know, I know OG hates this stat and I do too, to an extent, but top five in war. Yeah. I mean, who's who saw that coming. Yeah, absolutely. So I, this is going to be a shout out to Amanda, the, the leader of the Duran fan club. I can't wait till we get her on here to talk about, you know, just some nations that she was able to have. You know, from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, how much the journey that she went on, you know, with them and stuff. I can't wait for that. So George, what about you? I chose Duran, you know, it's not to discount what Devers did, but, you know, Devers didn't see the field and other occasions because of his shoulder. I think that collision that he had with T.O. was more problematic than people let on. You know, to my hand, I have 50 more bats, than Devers did. Okay. You know, you know, you know, A-35-OPS, Duran had an A-70. You know, I'm sorry, but that's, you know, if I, if I have a bat's a game roughly, all right, that's 30 games, the equivalent to 30 games. I'm sorry, you know, he's, he took that giant leap and he's in the front of everybody's mind in terms of one of the better our fielders in baseball. Yeah, I didn't see a comment. I, you know, me, I was honest, I just sent him packing. You know, I thought that last year was the anomaly. I thought that was the prime opportunity. Hey, played good last year. You know, let's get rid of him a year too early, right? Then a year too late. Yeah, I'll stand here and I'm going to put my hair shirt on and say, yeah, the OG was wrong, dead wrong. So, yeah, he hands down, Jared DeRin, you know, as I said earlier, he started rallies, he continued rallies, made the plays he was supposed to. He's, he doubled up in one year, his career stolen bases. Okay, he's like 33 or 34 33 stolen bases in the three years prior to this. He's still 34 this year. You know, he was, he showed he was a complete player for once and played to his strength. Speed is his strength. So, yeah, no doubt in my mind. I think we got the riff freezing, but I will go. I'm a agree and say Jared DeRan on the amazing season turnaround season and you got to talk about consistency when it comes to MVPs. Besides, obviously that suspension, which we're not going to talk about what he said or what he did say he owned up to it and made a mistake. We're all human, but played almost every game from the Boston Red Sox this season and that's something that a lot of guys nowadays don't do. You don't see a guy playing 162 games for his team. And the stats he put up were amazing. Almost a 300 batting average, a 285 average, 14 bombs, 30 doubles, led the league with 13 triples, 26 stolen bags. And let's not talk about his 870 OPS. And then like you said, branded a top level. And then a WRC plus I want to talk about, which is a weighted runs creative plus of 129, which is 29 points above league average. The league average is 100 playing above league average and then the 18 defensive run saves improve so much defensively and center field. I was at the game where we lost 28 to five where he didn't hustle and that was kind of like, you could tell that weighed a lot on his thing. And another thing I got to say about Jared Duran, preach his mental health, always big about his mental health and how he struggled with it. And that's something that you really got to look up is a lot of youth, a lot of young people, even older people who are older and watch baseball or anybody around. We all struggle with mental health and Jared Duran's a big preacher about that. And we love that he embraces it and is there for people as well. So I got to go with Jared Duran on this one and I got a nickname for him. I hope it runs around. I call him the Duran, I'll always call him the Duran, I think it's a good. I like it. I like it. Rob, we might have to come up with a shirt for next season. T shirt there. So, I always judge MVP off as this. Who is the one guy you take off the team that this team's not the same. And this year, it's Jared Duran. You know, if you take them off the team, we have no other lead off hitter. You know, we haven't had a lead off hitter. Since dope. Mookie bets. But. Pro far deep breath, Rob deep breath. Well, just pro far just made him look like a an ass on national television. That made me. Yeah, Mookie best trot around the bases. He that he hit a home run and pro far had the ball in his glove the whole time and didn't tell him. Like, that's absolutely embarrassing. But, you know, I for longest time, Jared Duran reminds me of Ellsbury. You know, he's got that speed. He's got the pop. You know, and he's he's improved defensively tremendously. So that is who I chose for my MVP. You know, we were all we got the same people. We were a couple of times got a couple surprises too. But overall, I think, you know, we were pretty spot on with our picks. So let's let's come to pole real quick. Final thoughts. Let's start with Rob and work our way around. Final thoughts. Honestly, as much as we had a terrible time towards August and September watching the Red Sox play baseball. It was a really fun season watching the Red Sox all and all play all year round and keeping a wild card spot and keeping a playoff hope until three games out of the season. Got to say the Red Sox were fun to watch this year. And surprisingly, I was not disappointed. I didn't get to scream at my TV as much that that's my bread and butter on TikTok. I think next year, like I always say, as long as we stay healthy, sign a true ace and get a veteran guy in this clubhouse. Look out for the Boston Red Sox in 2025. We'll be in October. We will be where the Dodgers are, where the Padres are, where the Mets are next year. If we stay consistent and get our goals done, but go Sox. Brandon, what about you? Yeah, I mean, go Sox like Rob said, you know, kind of it hurts not to have Red Sox baseball in October for the third straight year, but the playoffs are going to be fun. And I'm actually a little hopeful for the offseason. I mean, you know, Brazil's got to prove it before I, you know, give the full thumbs up. But I'm a little hopeful that this offseason will go better than last because you can't really do much worse. In my opinion, I mean, they didn't, they signed some guys. It's not really that they did bad last year. It's just, you know, guys like Giolito got hurt and things like that. But I'm kind of hoping for a better offseason and, you know, we're going to be doing these podcasts on Sundays. If you want to come hang out with me in the meantime, head on over to Black Eagle to 407 streaming. We got some baseball content coming back in November and gearing up for some stuff. We're doing a lot of spooky October Halloween stuff over there right now. Just dropped a video the other day that actually was pretty successful. Got 500 views in less than two days. So I'm pretty proud of that one, but that's where you'll find me during the week. OG, what are you? Yeah, go Sox. I know everybody's, you know, like still a little pissed off about the fact that they make the playoffs. Although, you know, sticking around to last week was more teas than anything else. 81 to 81, considering, you know, we haven't finished above 500 since 21. It's an accomplishment and I'll put it in quotes, but, you know, it's better than finishing 80 and 82. There's something to build on there. That sounds like a Homer statement, but it's really not. You know, I covered in part one of my off-season shopping list this morning in my coffee notes. Next week, I cover the search for number one and what to do with the fruits of some very good drafting under the previous administration and what to do with the talent that we've stockpiled. So that's kind of a tease for next Sunday. Yeah, I mean, was this season a success? Not, not in the way we would normally think of it. Did the team improve? Yes. Are there areas of much larger improvement? Absolutely. So, you know, kind of a mixed bag. Yeah, and George, I want to sit there and say article was great today. If you want to check out any of our writers, not only for the pesky podcast, but for BSEN. Bam, head over to bossesforceentertainmentnetwork.wordpress.com. We're again. We've got, oh my goodness, I can't even remember what his name. We've got Mia, we've got Liv, we've got Tommy, we've got George, we've got Tori. Oh my goodness, we've got Ricky. So we've got Rob. So there you go. There you go. So yeah, check on over. It's not Red Sox. They're writing about the Patriots. They're writing about the Celtics coming back. The core we have for Bruins content coming up is absolutely amazing. They're very passionate. They're very knowledgeable. So I can't wait for that to happen, but make sure you head on over to our YouTube channel at BSEN 617. We will be putting out we are 2024 Red Sox player highlight videos. Jaren Duran's already there, dropped this week, we're going to switch it from a player to the 2024 season recap video. And man, it is. Beam's going to break your city's going to break your heart. It's going to be a little bit emotional video. So, but then next week we jump right back in with the human highlight reel. George said that would be a great one that we're going to sit there and put out next. So check out that next Wednesday. We got the Boston Bruins 2025 height video up swam in just signed today. Thank God. So I can't wait, but. Make sure we this is. I think he's frozen in time again. Oh, man. So, yeah, I mean, the Bruins is going to swim. This morning was great. So. Yeah, but for Rob for Brandon for the OG and myself. Thanks for checking out 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 big fat story, baby. I talk about my town. Yeah, down by the river. Down by the banks of the river. [BLANK_AUDIO]