The Fan Early Morning Show
Can the Pirates just go on one little streak?
We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature, whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to, or the succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With all trails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently. With offline maps and on-trail navigation, download the free app today and make the most of your summer with all trails. What kind of programs does this school have? How are the test scores? How many kids do a classroom? Homes.com, those, these are all things you ask when you're home shopping as a parent. That's why each listing on homes.com includes extensive reports on local schools, including photos, parent reviews, test scores, student teacher ratio, school rankings, and more. The information is from multiple trusted sources and curated by homes.com's dedicated in-house research team. It's also you can make the right decision for your family. Homes.com. We've done your homework. This season Instacart has your back to school. As in, they've got your back-to-school lunch favorites, like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back-to-school supplies, like backpacks, binders, and pencils. And they've got your back. When your kid casually tells you, they have a huge school project due tomorrow. Let's face it, we were all that kid. So first, call your parents to say, "I'm sorry." And then, download the Instacart app to get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes all school year long. Get a $0 delivery fee for your first three orders while supplies last. Minimum $10 per order additional term supply. Support Radio 93/7 the fan. It's a great morning. Oh, it feels great this morning. My name's Nicholas Harry Callis. This is the fan of the morning show. It's for the average Joe, and when the average Joe wants to shop like a pro, the average Joe can go to CGR wholesale, our fan early morning show sponsor. But I think I've gotten more into a rhythm since I've been doing this. It was getting a little tough there about the last year, just trying to wake up and get here and do all this stuff. But now it's, I'm in a rhythm. I'm getting into it. And, man, I just feel so much better this morning. I'm eating breakfast on the regular now and I'm getting to bed at a reasonable time. Oh, it just feels great. I just feel great this morning. I hope you feel great out there as well. If you're up at this unusual hour of the morning, but it is bright and early, and we are going to talk sports this morning, you can call me for 129-289-370. You can also talk to me on XET, Callis_33. That's C-A-L-L-A-S_33. I take typed out form on there or on the phone, 4129-289-370. Just a couple housekeeping things, just some things of interest that I found before we talk about sports pirates one. Yesterday, we can talk about that. There's a lot to take away from that game and that win. And where the pirates now are in the standings, how those standings look, how the National League looks. There's one team in particular, too. I want to highlight from the National League that just turned themselves from a laughing stock into a legit contender, so we're going to talk about all of that. Call me, get a phone line now while I go through this little debrief here. I guess now I want to call it a debrief. Donnie has a debrief. I'll call it housekeeping. Callis is housekeeping. Just things on my mind this morning. We get a phone line if you want to talk about the pirates 4129-289-370 or start commenting at me already at Callis_33. That's C-A-L-L-A-S_33. So, first things first, I'm beginning some inquiries about buses, so I appreciate the fan support for that. People just trying to look out for me and I appreciate a lot of you guys saying, "You know what, Callis, just be happy. Do what makes you happy." I hear Crowley a lot just smacking me into reality like, "Hey, Callis, don't do that. Do reasonable things." You know what, I do want to be happy. I appreciate all of you that have said that. Somebody called me on the hotline. Don't necessarily do that. Don't make that a regular thing unless you're serious, but I called me on the hotline. It was like, "Callis, there's this church somewhere that wants to sell a bus." I'm like, "Okay, well, this is interesting." So, I thank all of you for your support out there. This is going to be happening within the next month. I need another paycheck. I need to put some repairs on one of my other cars, and then we'll get this set. But I appreciate all of you for your support. It's very kind. Okay, item number two, housekeeping. Donning football's evening show yesterday is must-listen radio, if you go back. Specifically, the interview with Noah Hiles, but I mean, there was a thunderstorm last night. Power was knocked out at my house, and there was a tornado watch. So, I don't know if Crowley left yet, but if not, he probably was in his basement. You know, no, yesterday seemed a little bit more serious than the one that he hid from. The storm was real bad. You know, you had a lot of heavy rain and some light thunder. I don't think I saw any lightning, but I also closed on my blinds because I have a dog, and my dog is sensitive to storms. Yeah, and so, my name is show yesterday. Donning football's show was so interesting. I mean, this man had to bowl through some of those emergency alerts, the EAS, the emergency alert system. And sometimes it'll just kick in randomly. It's like the commercial you don't expect, but it's also like important information. That's why it just like cuts everything off and just sends you a signal of what you should be worried about. It's very, very helpful. It's very useful. I know if you're driving, I didn't realize that a storm was coming. Then my phone went and then the radio went off shortly after that. So, um, yeah, those alerts, though, those were scary. I mean, I was driving and I got, you know, and I got one. I was on the phone with my mother, who's on vacation right now. And yeah, it just scared me. I prefer the radio ones and the TV ones a lot more than the ones you get on your phone because they are, they are extra aggressive for, and I think a bit unnecessary. I mean, if I'm in immediate danger, like, like, hey, Kalis, you're about to die. Don't, you know, don't move. Stay for a second. That, I think, would, would warrant the alerts that you get on your phone. But I think just a little like, or something like that would be more reasonable. But, but Donnie just pulled through. I think no Ohio's got cut off twice during that interview. And I caught the, uh, toward the end of it, where they were talking. And I think Donnie said that he got cut off twice. But I heard the second, emergency alert on my way home when I was listening to the show and the station and you go back and rewind the Odyssey app or, or on 93 seven, the fan.com. The listen live tab, you can rewind. You can go to the full schedule, go to the fan evening show yesterday, see if you can find the chapter with Noah Hiles and just listen to that. Donnie's a champ though, just working through that. And I hope he made it home safe. I haven't heard from him because nobody's really up this hour that works here other than me and Dorne and Crowley when he's here. So, um, but I mean, it really was great. Donnie. I love Donnie. And that was, uh, I was entertained by that just him getting through the, um, the emergency alert system, um, interruptions to put on his show and Noah Hiles for braving, you know, safety to, to be on the telephone and stay through those, those alerts. That was, that was very funny. All right. That's my housekeeping, um, bus on the way and Donnie football is great. I think you already knew the second one though. Um, all right. Now, out of the pirates. So just a review of the standings right now. Everything's interesting in Major League Baseball, by the way. Cleveland got to 50 wins. Their one win away from matching the Yankees Major League best. No, that's not true. American League best. The Yankees have 52 wins. Guardians have 51. The Phillies have the new best record in baseball. They're at 53. So the Yankees have kind of slowed down a bit. And I just said that was interesting. The Orioles are now at 50 wins. So that's two teams now vying for the A.L. East. The rest of them are starting to fall off. Although they're all pretty good. I mean, nobody in the A.L. East is, is terrible, terrible. Um, the White Sox are 21 and 61. That's fun. Uh, the Oakland Athletics 29 and 54. My man Mason Miller and that team not, uh, not feeling it. Again, this year, Marlin's 28 and 52. That's, that's fun. Uh, shout out to the National League central for being close. Nobody in the 20 win sector and, and three teams out of the five are, uh, at least three wins away from being to 40 wins. So that's cool. Rockies are 27 wins. So, uh, the Pirates eight and a half back in the division, which that's tough. The Brewers are 48 wins. They're 48 and 33. Uh, then the Cardinals are six games back in the division. So right now, the Brewers have a strong hold on that. Not that we've never seen a collapse in the division though. So don't totally lose hope, but, uh, the pace the pirates are on right now. Um, not so much, um, division material. Well, it's here. Let's go to the wild card standings because those are more interesting. Here's one team that was just gone, which is out of it that has come back and now, is now making a stand for the playoffs. That's the New York Mets. They were, they were below the Pirates before. I think a two or three weeks ago, you would have seen them below the Pirates. They've gone on a tear. I think 12 of their last 15, they've won. They're on a three game winning streak currently and they, um, man, they just beat the Yankees. They get a couple games here now. They're playing in that subway series. They're beating the Yankees. Sue and the Yankees, you're kind of retreating a bit. They're retracting a bit. Not as dominant as they once, you know, were to start the season. Although judge has 30 home runs now, but that too, halfway through, not even halfway through, not even at the all-star break. Judges cracking 30 home runs. That's tough, but it's city field. Home of the Mets, Mets beat the Yankees and the Mets are about 39 and 39. So they've hit 500. They're right there. That's their winning percentage. They are 500. And so the Mets are not a game and a half back of the Padres for that second wild card spot. The Cardinals no longer have a buffer at this moment though. They won yesterday. The Cardinals are kind of in tied position with the Padres. So it's pretty much second and third spot though. Uh, I don't know how the records are like that though. I think it's just the winning percentages similar. The Cardinals are 41 and 38. The Padres are 44 and 41. So it looks like the Padres played a couple more games than the Cardinals have so far. And for whatever reason that may be. But yeah, the Mets one and a half back. And I think that they're interesting. They're a story you're going to want to follow. Now ever since Grimace, that's just the story. Grimace just throwing out the first pitch of the game and the Mets have just turned it on. So good on them, I guess. But I mean, they're an interesting story for sure. Um, 39 and 39, they're knocking on the doorstep now and they are they are becoming a force in the National League. The Pirates. Okay, here's where the Pirates stand though. Now the Pirates are still two and a half back, but the Diamondbacks lost their most recent game. So the Diamondbacks are now 39 and 41. They're tied with the Pirates who are now 39 and 41 as well. Pirates are two in a way to excuse me, two wins away from being a 500 team. And that's that's cool to see Diamondbacks and the Pirates are two and a half back each. So the Pirates are still in the thick of the race. Two and a half doesn't look as good as a half game did just a little while back, but they're still in it. Unlike, I'm not going to say they're out of it, but unlike the Reds and the Cubs, the Reds have lost two in a row. The Cubs are now in a four game losing streak. And so they're falling back. The National is not in division, but the Nationals have lost their last three. And, uh, so the Reds and the Cubs are falling out. The Cubs are five out of that third wild card spot. The Reds are four and a half out. So. Hey, I mean, I like seeing the, uh, the National League central opponents getting, uh, getting beaten down and buried further down in the standings. That's cool to see. Uh, so really it's a, it's three teams now at the moment, not that those two teams can't go on a run. I'm not going to just, you know, absolutely dismiss them because, you know, then I'll jinx it and then they'll come back. But I mean, this is where we are right now where the, it's the Pirates to Cardinals and the Brewers right now who are in striking distance, if not already in a playoff spot, which the Brewers are and the Cardinals are. So the Pirates are within striking distance. The other two teams are, um, are in position as it stands right now. So, but I mean, the Pirates doing, doing the little things. I mean, it's, it's still frustrating, you know, when they, no, I mean, somebody tweeted me yesterday too and said, how can you say that you're frustrated? You know, they're doing, you know, they're doing well. They're doing better than, you know, many may have thought. Um, I mean, I kind of understand that perspective. They're, you know, they're, they're doing certain things right. I've just, I'm longing for that sweep. I think is what I meant. Maybe, you know, maybe it's not that they, maybe I said it wrong, not that they are losing games and they should have won. I just want to see them go a little bit over the top of the, the minimum to, to make up for when they lost earlier in the season, you know, went on that seven game losing streak. I want them to make up for that by going on a longer winning streak. And that I think will correlate and then it'll get them into a wild card spot. Um, so maybe it's not saying that they lost games. They should have won. I just kind of wish that they would go on a winning streak, even just a little one, not one of those massive ones, not, you know, you know, not, you know, they don't have to get hot, hot, hot, but like, you know, go on a, go on a seven game winning streak and I'll be happy. Give me one sweep of a series or two, if you can. I mean, there's no reason to get too, and you'd probably need to sweep two to, to win seven in a row, but give me a little streak. Give me a tiny streak. The net, the center record and the 20s for winning streak. Give me, give me, give me seven wins in a row. And then, you know, I'll be happy because I think that if you win seven in a row, you're going to set yourself up for, um, you're going to set yourself up to get into a, a playoff swap by doing that. If they keep doing this, okay, we'll win two here in a series of three, we'll lose two in a three game series here. We're just going back and forth. They're going to stay where they are. They are going to even out. They're creeping up there though. And after the Braves, they're coming back to town and they're going to play the Cardinals. They're going to play the Cardinals twice at PNC Park in July. That'll be crucial for where the races right now, because the Cardinals have a wad card spot. So that's a series coming up that is going to be crucial. That's one that extra focus will need to be taken. Get through this series against the Braves. They'll have an off day that Monday, so they've got an off day today. They'll have an off day that Monday after this weekend series. And then Tuesday through Thursday, it's, uh, it's Cardinals ball, Cardinals ball at PNC Park. And then later in the month, two of the Cardinals are coming here and they're going to play again. So it just makes those two series seem crucial. Take it one series at a time, but that's, that's what you got to look forward to right now is having the opportunity. If you can stay in it against the Braves, win the series against the Braves here, Cardinals come into town. Now you have an opportunity to directly attack the Cardinals. So a lot of big series coming up, and I just want to see if they can get on a little run. Give me a little run. That's all. So again, maybe my phrasing wasn't right there. Maybe, you know, not necessarily that they, they lost games. They should have won. Maybe that's not the right verbiage for, for some of the games that they've played in, but I think I just mean that I want them to go on a streak that I really believe that they need to go on at least one streak this season and break out, you know, one time to get themselves into that playoff position. And then they can keep doing the, the back and forth thing and, um, and get into the, get into the playoffs that way, but they need to, they need to make up for what they did earlier in the year to get into a playoff spot. I think I don't think that they can keep getting away with winning a series here, losing a series there, winning a series here, losing a series there. And whether that's, you know, doing that with the roster they have constructed or, um, for acquiring guys, whoever they may acquire here, come trade deadline time, whatever the case may be, however they want to handle it, it's just got to happen. If they, if they do want to make the playoffs, they've got to go on a little run here. They can't keep, they can't keep doing the same thing. It's, it's, it's entertaining for sure. And I'm grateful that they're in the race. But if we're talking about realistically them making the playoffs, they've got to go on a little streak here. And that's why I talked about before to it. I know Crowley gave me the, you know, we can't go back to the past thing, but I just mentioned that to say I want them to go on a winning streak now because if they had not lost seven in a row earlier in the year with, for their biggest losing streak too, was, was back at the end of April and beginning of May, they lost seven in a row. If they had not done that, they, they wouldn't need to go on a streak now because they're, they're back and forth. You know, when it's serious here, lose the series here, they would probably have them in playoff position right now. But now that that's not the case, they've got to go on a winning streak, I think to, to come back in the standings and the law card standings and get, and get a spot. They've got to counter losing seven in a row by winning seven in a row and sweeping at least one series. You can't get swept twice and not make up for that. That's why the other teams are ahead of them right now, I believe. So we all belong outside. We're drawn to nature, whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to or the succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives. Well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With all trails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently with offline maps and on trail navigation. Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with all trails. You don't just live in your home. You live in your neighborhood as well. So when you're shopping for a home, you want to know as much about the area around it as possible. Luckily, homes.com has got you covered. Each listing features a comprehensive neighborhood guide from local experts. Everything you'd ever want to know about a neighborhood, including the number of homes for sale, transportation, local amenities, cultural attractions, unique qualities, and even things like median lot size and a noise score. Homes.com. We've done your homework. This season Instacart has your back to school. As in, they've got your back to school lunch favorites like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back to school supplies like backpacks, binders, and pencils. And they've got your back. When your kid casually tells you, they have a huge school project due tomorrow. Let's face it, we were all that kid. So first, call your parents to say, I'm sorry. And then download the Instacart app to get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes all school year long. Get a $0 delivery fee for your first three orders while supplies last. Minimum $10 per order additional terms apply. See, Van Brothers brought to you by Sutton Chevrolet 2024 Silverado LT crew cab up to $7,500 in rebates, full terms and qualifications. All right, son chevy.com. Today, it's going to be pretty comfortable again. I have 80 low of 64 less storms today. That's going to be clear. Mostly throughout the day today, tomorrow. I have 87 low of 57. So it's going to be a little hotter tomorrow. Clear skies expected, then some thunderstorms and rain over the weekend. Oh, not great. That's fan weather brought to you by Son Chevrolet. I know Bethel Park's having a fireworks show on Saturday, so hopefully it doesn't rain during that, but it might. And that would be not fun. Anyway, all right. My name is Nicholas Harry Callis. Welcome to the fan early morning show. You can give me a call for one, two, nine, two, eight, nine, three, seven, zero. I'm going to provide some reaction to the pirate game yesterday here in a minute. I got a tweet though, and I'd like to read it. And I will right now. Please stop dissecting the MLB wildcard race in June every day. There is still half the season left. So I think that the reason why I want to do that is just to illustrate how difficult it is to play in the national league this year. I know I said the national league is weak. Kind of changed that tune a bit just because I think that all the teams are good enough and competitive. So I guess you could call them. It's like is the glass half full or half empty. It's you know, is the league really weak or really strong? I think that's the ultimate debate after seeing the Mets win 12 of 15, though, I thought it was reasonable to just kind of illustrate. Okay. Any team can really be in it at any time. And I like to illustrate it just to show you and really emphasize that point I'm making that the pirates have to do something else. They've got to do something else. They've got to make some sort of improvement to get them beyond this, you know, just this redundant win to lose to in a series over and over and over again. That, you know, that's it. That's all. And so I mean, that's why I illustrated because it's it's it just furthers my point when I do it every day to just show you that, hey, I want the pirates to go on a streak because the Mets now have won 12 of 15. They're in the race. Now I get it, you know, in a typical year of June and checking out the wildcard race, I get it wouldn't be as prominent. I think this year is just different. I think this year is an outlier. This, this, this race, this wildcard race is so interesting. And I think so important that it did it warrants some sort of mention all the time. And I really wanted to highlight the wildcard race today because the Mets are now they went from being on a trajectory to being one of the worst teams in the league this year to the one eight of their last 10, 12 of their last 15, they're 39 and 39 now. And now they're a formidable opponent, which means that the pirates ought to be on the lookout. The pirates are just, you know, a game back of where they are and they're hot. So again, this is just a weird year where I think it's important to look at the standings every day just to check in and have conversations about that. But it just furthers my point to that the pirates got to get on a run here to separate themselves from some of these teams that are getting hot. So thank you for your tweet though. And thank you for listening. I appreciate it. Real quick on the pirates. Another, another hit in a game for Andrew McCutchen. He went one for five yesterday with a homer. Love to see that Reynolds one for five. The hitting streak stays alive, baby. Let's go. And ready to lies two for four with a homerun. So as he figured it out, maybe his great American ballpark, just a great place for left handed hitters, absolutely. You know, I'm, I was going to compliment Roddy to lies, but then I'm thinking about it. And every time I compliment the pirates for doing something right in the game, they usually, or if they lose and they struggle and I, and I, you know, critique a specific player that player usually goes and does something good. So I'm going to sarcastically and ironically say, you know, at pirates, it wasn't good enough. Six to one wasn't good enough to better. You know, Luis Ortiz going six inning, striking out seven. How dare you? You know, I think it's just every time, you know, I compliment the team. And then they, then they lose a game. And you know, and certain players struggle that you feel like shouldn't, but then you know, you compliment them and then they do poorly. And then you, then you critique them heavily and you get angry. And then all of a sudden they start doing well. I said yesterday, Roddy to lies isn't hitting home runs. I think as much as we'd want him to for what they're paying him for. And then it goes out and hits a freaking home run. So, um, that's just, that's how it is. So I'm going to again, sarcastically, ironically, say, you know what, pirates not good enough, go do better. Um, very good. But that, I mean, I mean, again, a neutral non sarcastic way. It was a solid game. I liked that. Luis Ortiz went in there and he, he pitched well six innings like that is beautiful. Kyle Nicholas struck out one in two innings, gave up no runs and Chapman, um, batten it down in an unsafe situation. So, um, solid game. I liked it. Um, now just keep going. Off day today, Braves on Friday, uh, in the first of a three game series. What kind of programs does this school have? How are the test scores? How many kids do a classroom? Homes.com, those, these are all things you ask when you're home shopping as a parent. That's why each listing on homes.com includes extensive reports on local schools, including photos, parent reviews, test scores, student teacher ratio, school rankings, and more. The information is from multiple trusted sources and curated by homes.com's dedicated in house research team. It's also, you can make the right decision for your family, homes.com. We've done your homework. Today's episode is sponsored by nerd wallets smart money podcast. Get your head in the financial game with smart investing and budgeting tips straight from the nerds. Nerd wallets experts will set future you up for success with dependable fact-based insights. No financial misinformation allowed. Learn how to save on your summer vacation. Find your next credit card or loan for a big purchase and invest in your next index fund. Make smarter decisions in 2024. Follow nerd wallets smart money podcast on your favorite podcast app. Oh, hey, we're invited to the Johnson summer pool party this Saturday. I said we'd bring our famous potato salad. Oh, Saturday, but that's when the blinds guys come in to give us a quote. Those appointments take forever. Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you, I already found everything we need at blinds.com. They're totally online, so we don't have to wait around all day just to get a quote. I talked to a blinds.com designer and they're sending us free samples. Oh, blinds.com. I've heard of them. Yeah, they've been around for over 25 years, but not everyone knows they can also handle the measuring and installation for a fraction of what the other guys charge. Plus, they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Well, blinds.com sounds like a no-brainer. Guess I'll cancel. Already done. That gives you time to make the potato salad. Yes, dear. ShopBlinds.com now. For some receiving up to 40% off, site wide up to 40% off at blinds.com. Blinds.com. Rules and restrictions may apply. Trying to figure out what to eat for dinner yet again. With no sides and bully on as you're not so secret ingredient, you can skip the drive through and do dinner at home. No taste combos provide a menu of delicious, affordable, and well balanced meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less. Visit noor.com to get quick and easy recipe ideas for your home cooked weeknight dinners. It's not fast food, but it's so good. Protect your vehicle's engine with a full synthetic oil change and save with mobile one at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Purchase five quarts of mobile one full synthetic motor oil and receive a $10 O'Reilly gift card after rebates. See store for details. With your mobile one purchase, you'll also receive two times points during old rewards bonus points month at O'Reilly Auto Parts. O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, R