Jeff Passan
Appearances
Pardon My Take
Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
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Pardon My Take
Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
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Pardon My Take
Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
We've seen the New York Mets guys spend themselves into a bad place. Money does not necessarily equal success in Major League Baseball. It allows you to make mistakes and it gives you opportunity at those high level players that some teams just don't have access to. And that's not great. Like if you want to say that part is bad, I would agree with you on that.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But is it bad enough where you're going to put constraints in place that ultimately hurt the players, the people who we watch these games for? We don't watch it for the laundry. We watch it to watch incredible athletes do incredible things. And if you're trying to do something that harms them in the name of parody, you're barking up the wrong tree.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Yeah, I mean, we're looking at 116 games from the Seattle Mariners. And let's not forget that Mariners team bombed out in the first round of the playoffs, too. So when I try to answer that question, are the Dodgers good or bad for baseball, right? One of the things I always go back to is that I can more or less guarantee that the Dodgers are going to be in the postseason.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And there are only 12 playoff spots, so there's a lot of value in that. But let's look past 2024 and back to 2023. They got swept in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Let's look back to 2022. They got beaten by the San Diego Padres. Let's look back beyond 2020 when they won the COVID World Series.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
They hadn't won a World Series since 1988, and they have been spending not quite to this level, but pretty similarly over that time. And so the great equalizer in baseball is that its postseason is just kind of a crapshoot. Like even the best team is going to go into a series with a 60% chance of winning, not a whole lot higher than that.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Right now, if you look at the Dodgers, like the most favorable projections have them at like a 25% chance to win the World Series. Now, if you ask me, would you take the Dodgers or the field? Even though the numbers suggest otherwise, I'd probably still say the Dodgers just because beyond their stars, guys, they have so much depth in the organization and depth matters.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Depth allows you to weather the injuries. Depth allows you to weather the ineffectiveness from some guys you might not have expected. And that's one thing the Dodgers have done incredibly well. They have developed players who can either step in for free agents who leave Or be there when guys get hurt.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
A floor comes with a cap, a cap comes with a floor. The two shall never be separated. And, you know, as somebody who looks at like the Pittsburgh Pirates and sees Paul Skeens on a near minimum contract and sees Jared Jones before he got hurt. But Mitch Keller, they've got Bubba Chandler coming up like the Pirates have an incredible pitching staff. And they didn't do shit this offseason.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I should be the person who's yelling about this because I live in Kansas City, because I grew up in Cleveland, because I embody the Midwestern thought process when it comes to sports. And when you have a team like the Pirates, I look at them and I'm like, try. Just once. Just once. Please go out and try to field a winning team. I look at Cleveland.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
They traded Andres Jimenez, lost Josh Naylor this offseason. They won the American League Central last year. Another team. Didn't do shit. And it just bothers me as a sports fan and somebody who loves nothing more than widespread competitiveness that some of these teams that are in position to go out and potentially win World Series don't treat their seasons like it. It's disrespectful to fans.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
It's disrespectful to the game. And listen... I would love for there to be a salary floor in place in order to force some of these teams to go and spend. We saw this off season, the Oakland A's actually went out. Sorry, that's the A's, not Oakland anymore. But the A's went out this off season and spent some money. And
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
The reason PFT they did that is because they were in position for the Major League Baseball Players Association to file a grievance for them not spending enough of their revenue sharing money. Now, that was enough of a threat for them to go out and spend, but it wasn't seemingly enough of a threat for the Miami Marlins who were in the same position to go out and do that.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I understand if you're going to pull back and do a full rebuild, it kind of makes sense just to bottom out what your payroll is going to be. But that doesn't make the game better. And when too many teams are doing that, when the lack of incentives to win are in place...
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Uh, it's problematic for the sport, which is why I think MLB and the players association in particular did a really good job in the past collective bargaining agreement of draft pick penalties where you can't pick multiple years in a row inside of the lottery. Mm. If you are at a certain salary level or a certain market level.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
So there are little things that are helping, but they haven't solved the problem at this point yet. And it's why when we get to that collective bargaining time, you need smart people in the room to make decisions that positively impact the sport writ large.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I think people are sleeping on Cincinnati a little bit. You know, Ellie Dela Cruz has a chance to be a super-duper star. And Matt McClain, who's the second baseman there, was out all of last season. He's an all-star caliber player. And Hunter Green at the front of their rotation. And they're managed by Terry Francona, who all he's done throughout his career is win.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
The Reds sort of stagnated last year. I think I might have picked them to win the Central last year. But in a division as wide open as that is, I like a team that has some youth on its side. I like a team that has a little bit of energy going on. And the Reds feel like they could be that team this year. Because you're right.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
In the National League, you've got your clearly established teams that are either going to be good all the way to great. In the East, it's the Braves, the Phillies, and the Mets. Uh, in the central, I don't know if anyone's good. All five could win that division, frankly.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And in the West, uh, the, the Dodgers clearly at the top, but the Diamondbacks had the best offense in baseball last year and added Corbin Burns, the best free agent starting pitcher this off season. Uh, the Padres still have a ton of talent and did a good job adding Nick Pavetta to a rotation that really needed another starter. Uh,
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And the Giants are an improved team, and it'll be interesting to see, A, how Willie Adamas plays there, and B, how much Justin Verlander, who's well into his 40s now, has left.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I am happy to say that I am not. It's for the best.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I don't give a shit about that. Why? Why do you? Oh, we do.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Yeah. Okay. I do suddenly give a shit. Right. It's very important to us. How can you not be romantic about baseball? Could he compete? I don't know if he could, but I do know that I have some favors to call him.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
No, no, I'm not. In fact, I'm rooting really hard for it now. I'm going to make sure that the especially juice balls are there for him. Oh, shit. Oh, yeah.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I feel like after I watched the latest White Lotus last night, I feel like this is a very White Lotus conception. We'll turn some people off.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Yeah. You know, the rookie class this year is not all that great. On the National League side, the guy who I picked, I mentioned him a little earlier, is Bubba Chandler with the Pirates. And I think you guys will – I don't know if you saw this story, but I think you'll appreciate it.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
So Paul Skeens, you know, probably the best pitcher in baseball right now after less than a year in the big leagues, gets named opening day starter for the Pirates. And Bubba Chandler was a guy who I think he went to Clemson to play football, got drafted, was a two-way player, just an extraordinarily athletic guy.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But Pirates made him a full-time pitcher, fastball up to 100 now, great breaking stuff, good control and commit. He's going to be a guy. I picked him to win Rookie of the Year this year, but... On the day Paul Skeens was named opening day starter, he got a text from Bubba Chandler.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And I don't have the exact words, but it essentially said, enjoy it while it lasts, because next year I'm going to be starting opening day. Wow. I love that.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
i i adore that the guy hasn't thrown a pitch in the big leagues yet and he's got the balls to text the guy who is best at what they do right now and say get out of my way and that's that i mean it's confidence it's swag that's a dog it's a big bubba chandler fan already yeah a great bubble move too yeah i like my bubba's a little cocky yes absolutely
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Christian Campbell is my pick for the American League. He, you know, he started off this season as potentially the second baseman or the favorite going in for the Red Sox after being minor league player of the year last year. And he just kind of stunk at the beginning of spring training. And there was, you know, the gloss wore off a little bit, but the Red Sox believe in the bat.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And I understand why. It's an unorthodox swing, but he's got incredible contact skills. And, you know, through this work – I wrote a story about this earlier this spring on Roman Anthony, Marcelo Meyer, and Campbell, the big three prospects with the Red Sox. And Boston's doing like a bit different form of training of hitters than there used to be.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And hitting has fallen so far behind pitching in Major League Baseball that – It is one of those things that's kind of broken and could use some fixing. And I think these guys with Campbell actually winding up making the Red Sox opening day roster, playing at second base, forcing Alex Bregman over to third, and Rafael Devers to be DH. He's the favorite, I would say, at this point.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Do not sleep on Jackson Jobe. right-hander with the Detroit Tigers, who's in their rotation, as well as Cam Smith, who, Big Cat, I think you might know Cam Smith's name. He was one of the players who went to the Houston Astros in the Kyle Tucker trade.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And less than a year after being drafted, he's making the Astros opening day roster and is going to be their starting right fielder and was one of the best hitters in the Grapefruit League this spring.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Yeah.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
What is that? He's got issues with both elbows. We talked about this, remember?
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Giancarlo Stanton in a cone of shame.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
The Yankees' hope is the fact that they reside in the American League. Because if you drop them into the National League, they're fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth best team. You know, before Garrett Cole needed Tommy John surgery, I still had the Yankees winning the American League East. I do not have that as the case anymore. I don't have them making the playoffs.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And I feel like this is like potential asshole zone for me because I didn't have them making the playoffs last year either. And they made it to the World Series. It's not that I'm like... A Yankee hater, because I don't think that's the case. I just look at them and there are so few things with the Yankees that I can point at and say, yes, that is going to happen.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I know Aaron Judge is going to have a very good year as long as he's healthy. He has consistently done so and is going to be in the Hall of Fame and is the best hitter in baseball right now. But beyond that, do I know that Austin Wells is going to be a success at leadoff hitter? I do not. Do I know that Jazz Chisholm is going to take that leap forward we've been waiting years for?
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
No, I don't know that either. Don't know about Anthony Volpe or Jason Dominguez. Have no idea if we're going to get 2023 or 2024 Cody Bellinger. Does Paul Goldschmidt have anything left? Can Carlos Redon be a top of the rotation guy? How does Max Freed survive? who's been consistently awesome throughout his career in Atlanta, transitioned to New York.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
All of these different things that are up in the air give me pause about the Yankees. But I'll also acknowledge that if a few of these things hit right, the Yankees very easily could not only win the American League East, but could win the pennant again. This is a team whose ceiling is pretty high still, even after the Cole injury.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But the floor happens to be lower, I think, than it is in typical years for the Yankees.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I apologize for doing like a long checklist here, but that's how wide open the American League is. It's like, I mean, you can make an argument for every team. Tampa Bay, Shane McClanahan turns out isn't that hurt coming back from Tommy John surgery now and headlining a really good rotation and an excellent bullpen.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Junior Caminero with the Rays is going to be a superstar and this is going to be his first full season playing. So I could see the Rays doing it. The Blue Jays, I have them at the bottom of the AL right now. But if Vlad Guerrero and Bo Bichette have the years that they have, Vlad last year and Bo the years before that, they're both impending free agents. They could lead the team to the playoffs.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
The Red Sox, I have winning the division. I feel good about what they did getting Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman this winter. And let's not forget about the Orioles, who won 101 games a couple years ago and made the playoffs last season. I think people are sleeping on them a little bit.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
In the Central, the Twins, bad year last year, always questions about health, but they've got a lot of slug in that lineup, and they're starting pitching with Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober. At the top of that rotation, they have a chance to be pretty good. Kansas City made the playoffs last year. Great pitching and my pick for American League MVP, Bobby Witt Jr.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I've got Detroit winning the Central with Tarek Skubal and so many other great starting pitchers in that rotation. And A.J. Hinch is a manager just like he gets how to construct lineups and use the platoon advantage in his favor. Cleveland won the division last year. I'm not really on them, but they're also one of those teams that surprises.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Seattle playoffs two years ago, 88 and 85 wins the last two seasons. A great starting rotation. And today they signed Cal Raleigh to an extension. Cal Raleigh's nickname is Big Dumper because he's got a fat ass. And it's like, honestly, it's the best nickname in baseball right now. And love, love him as a player. Want a platinum glove leader in the clubhouse.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Uh, the A's are going to be better this year. I'm not sure if they're a playoff team quite yet. Uh, the Astros seemingly always are a playoff team and, uh, you know, training Kyle Tucker and getting Cam Smith back in addition to Isak Paredes, who's going to absolutely abuse the, the short porch in left field. Uh, it, The Astros still have a chance to be good.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But the team I'm picking to win the pennant is the Texas Rangers. They won the World Series two years ago. They were pretty awful last year, but they get Jacob DeGrom back to headline their rotation this season. You know, Kumar Rocker and Jack Light are both really good young arms.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And when you look at the lineup, that Corey Seager and Marcus Simeon up the middle, Josh Young at third base, they traded for Jake Berger at first place.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
first base Wyatt Lankford Evan Carter in the outfield they have good catching with Jonah Heim and Kyle Gashioka like on and on and on if the Rangers bullpen can perform or if at the trade deadline they can go out and get some high-end relief arms I think they have probably the highest ceiling in the league okay so there were two teams you didn't mention White Sox we don't have to talk about because they're uh I mean they're a joke Jerry Reinsdorf should sell the team the other one
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
You know, I remember I went to spring training with the Angels on the day Trout was going to talk two years ago for the first time. And it had been coming off a season where he'd gotten hurt, which has been sadly like an all too frequent thing lately. And we posed him the question, like, do you have any inclination to leave? Would you waive your no trade clause to go to a contender?
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And he said, I feel like I have unfinished business here. Now, he hasn't said anything to the contrary since. But like, guys, we got to remember this. Mike Trout is 33 years old now. I'm not going to say he's entirely past his prime because I think if we have like a full healthy year of Mike Trout, he can still be a guy who puts up a thousand OPS and looks like one of the best players in the game.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But he's been around for 14 years now. He's had 14 years of Artie Moreno bullshit. And it just goes to show you the importance of ownership. I don't know if this is the same way in other sports. You guys can tell me in football especially. Because I don't know who's considered the good owners or the bad owners in football.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But the way that Artie Moreno has run the Los Angeles Angels in the 20 or so years he's owned the team, and especially over the last decade and a half since Mike Trout's been around. Let's look at it this way. They had Mike Trout in his prime once. with Shohei Otani for six years, and they did not make the postseason once. It's crazy. It's insane. It's malpractice.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
As somebody who was the biggest Mike Trout stan imaginable during his best years, the year that Miguel Cabrera wins the Triple Crown, I'm arguing that Trout should have been MVP anyway because that wasn't just a hot take. He was a better player that year. What Cabrera did was incredible. Trout was just better than him. It saddens me that Mike Trout might never know what winning feels like.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Because what are we doing this for? Like, what's the whole purpose of athletes going out there? There's the individual accomplishment that you want. They're the goals you set and that you try to meet. And that that gives you some feeling of fulfillment. Yeah.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But at the end of the day, you want to win something with the people who you spend seven or eight months in close proximity with, with some of your best friends in the world. Because coming together as a team and achieving something like that beats anything you can do individually. And Mike Trout simply has never had that in his professional career.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
No, Rendon had surgery, so he will not be playing. He is not playing. That guy's amazing. Yeah. I mean, he really, really is amazing. There were two contracts the winter he signed with the Angels that were for seven years and $245 million. It was Anthony Rendon and it was Steven Strasburg.
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And the total production that their teams are going to get for the half billion or so dollars that they spent on those players, it's unbelievable. And it shows why, like, owners in baseball are so hesitant to give out deals like that. I get it because they can go sideways so fast. And in Rendon's case, like...
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I'm not going to say he never liked playing baseball because I don't think that's true, but it was never like his passion. It was never what he lived for. He was never like a grinder. He was just extraordinarily talented at something, got paid an obscene amount of money and hasn't been able to get back out there. Yeah.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I mean, there's no one left, really. After Bregman left this offseason, it's like Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers are really the only ones left from the cheating team. And Altuve is going to be there forever. He's the astro of lifetime astros. But they still have Jordan Alvarez, who is one of the best hitters in baseball. And adding Cam Smith has...
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
has sort of reinvigorated potentially that lineup. And they've still got Frambois Valdez, Spencer Arrighetti, Hunter Brown. Like, the Astros have done a good job of developing starting pitching. As you saw Carlos Correa and George Springer and some of the core, you know, Alex Bregman, the core guys of not just the cheating championship, but the one they won after that as well.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But, yeah, the Astros... They're an interesting organization because it's it's one of those teams where other like people from other organizations love shitting on the Astros, like absolutely love it. And I think some of it goes back to the cheating, but some of it they just don't believe that they're particularly well run.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And yet they make that trade with Tucker and it's immediately paying dividends.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
yeah you're right that that's what it is in spring i don't know how you guys feel about spring but you know living in the midwest spring is when the sun starts coming out i walk outside in spring you know i can wear shorts and a t-shirt and not like my asshole kids who wear shorts and t-shirts like in the middle of the winter because i don't know when it happened that children's skin suddenly became impervious to cold weather yeah
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I feel like this is a new generation thing. I don't know if your kids are like that.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But, no, you go outside and you see the sun every day, and I think that's why opening day feels good because it is introducing us to the season that makes us happy.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Good hoodies.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
If you have the ability to have a guy out there who can impact both sides of the ball, why would you limit him from doing so? Particularly if he's on a rookie contract, which is short enough where you're not locking him up long-term and you're not going to have... any of like the wear and tear issues later on in life. It's the NFL. You can get rid of them anyway. Contracts aren't guaranteed.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
But Otani being elite at both levels at the highest level of baseball, if Travis Hunter can be an all pro cornerback and an all pro wide receiver in the same season, that's, Get back to me and we'll have a conversation. And I am not minimizing in any way. He's awesome. I love watching him play, but it's just a matter of levels.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Both true. Hunter's never won an MVP, and I'd like to see him hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball or throw a ball a 95.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Good counterpoint.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Uh, he's, he's been shut down for like a month now, so he's going to have to build up and let's remember he's coming off of his second elbow reconstruction. So the Dodgers are going to take it easy with him. And they also have so much pitching depth that they really don't need him. So is it going to happen in May as expected?
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
It could, but I think it all just really depends on how his elbow responds. And we're going to get a much better sense of that over the next month or so.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Yeah, we don't need it. Yeah, it's all good.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Yeah, I don't think it was quite that much weight, and I don't think it was the flu. They haven't said what it is specifically, but the sense is he's going to play in their actual opening day stateside. So, listen, baseball is better when Mookie Betts is good. Yeah. Yeah. I hope nothing but a full recovery there.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
And I seeing him, you know, even if the Dodgers are bad for baseball, like seeing Mookie Betts out there is a good thing for everyone.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
I look forward to talking with you guys on the day that Home Run Derby rosters are released. Yes. I have my mission for the 2020 season. You said it.
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Opening Day With Jeff Passan, We Finally Got A Great Tourney Game, Lebron vs The World, Fyre Fest + Severance Finale
Thanks, boys. Appreciate you having me.