00:00:01
Speaker 1: From the Berkshars to the sound from wherever you live in MLB America. This is Inside the Parker. You give us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the scoop on Major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall of Fame voter number seventy, Rob Parker.
00:00:20
Speaker 2: All right, welcome into the program. I'm your host, Rob Parker. What a great playoff edition of Inside the Parker we have for you. Coming up, we're gonna talk with former World Series champ left fielder Cliff Floyd, who now works for MLB Network. He'll jump in and come by. Also, we'll talk to maleak right from mlbroad dot Com. He's around the Texas Rangers a lot. And the World Series is set. Let's go better.
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Up to lead off, it's getting.
00:00:50
Speaker 2: Robbed and keep them out.
00:00:52
Speaker 1: Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories in Major League Baseball number one before we get to the.
00:00:59
Speaker 2: World Series, and we will talk about the matchup. I'm sorry, we gotta start with the Phillies and what I call a choke job. A lot of people don't want to use that word. How they good, they didn't choke Nobody expected them to go this far and all this poppy cock Boulder dash nonsense. When they won Game two ten nothing, people are like, I'm not watching this series. The Diamondbacks have nothing for the Phillies. They don't match up with them. Then don't forget. They blew Game five where they had a lead, that was it. And they come home and all these great players, Trey Turner, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, these guys go three for thirty six in the last two games at home. Really, all their star players were no shows. Come on, if you would have told me that the Phillies would be up three to two and not be able to close out the Arizona Diamondbacks at home and just have to win one of the last two games, I'm not buying it. This is different from the Astros who had trouble all year at home, had a losing record at home and couldn't and won one home playoff game. That's different. The Phillies were mashing at home and winning, and they came up big time small in the NLCS, and I'm not giving them a pass.
00:02:31
Speaker 1: The Phillies choked number two.
00:02:34
Speaker 2: I don't care what anybody says. I'm convinced. If I'm a baseball fan. I'd rather have a team go all in, win me a championship, fall off for the next five or eight years, and call it a day, rather than having a team that's just relevant. I hear that all the time. I'd rather my team be relevant for ten years. No, I'd rather my team go to the championship and have a chance to win, even if we can't sustain it. The Texas Rangers had a new ballpark. They spend a half a billion dollars on two up the middle players right, Corey Seeger and Marcus Simon. They went out. They signed Jacob to Grom. They knew that he had a chance that he could get injured, and they did it anyway. They made a trade for Max Schurzer. They took on more payroll. They wanted to win. This might not be sustainable. They might not make the playoffs next year. Who cares. If you're a Ranger fan, you gotta feel great. Your team said they want to win. I got a stat for you. You ready for this? The Rangers, who are just the middle of the road mostly nothing franchise right has been the three World Series since the last time the Dallas Cowboys went to the Super Bowl. Did you hear me, they would do nothing franchise. And they've been to the World Series three times since the last time the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl. They've had way more success than the Cowboys, even though most people would never admit it. Oh, it's all about the Cowboys. The Rangers are third class citizens in Dallas. Really here they are in the World Series. I love what they did. They open up their purses and they spent money. Bravo to the Rangers.
00:04:30
Speaker 1: Number three.
00:04:32
Speaker 2: All right, here we go World Series. I will be in Arlington for Games one and two, starting of course Friday night. Can't wait. I'll be there Friday and Saturday Games one and two. And I mean these two teams, both of them have been unbelievable on the road come back ability. I like both of these teams. I really do Arizona and the Rangers. But if you listen to the podcast all year long, I picked the Rangers to win the Al West. I like them from the beginning. They're masters. They got good starting pitching. I mean, Montgomery and Valde have been spectacular in the postseason. If they get anything out of Sureser that will help. I like them. I like the lineup Garcia is unstoppable, or they gonna pitch to him. If you're they're gonna make the same mistake that the Astros did. Garcia's unbelievable seegers. Great, they got some other guys who can get big knocks. I like everything about the Rangers. I don't think it's gonna be a cake walk by any stretch of the imagination. I'm gonna take the Texas Rangers and the over the upstart Diamondbacks, and I got the Rangers in six games. They get it done, and they do the improbable, which is they win a World Series after losing over one hundred games just two years ago. Think about that, the Texas Rangers World Series champs. It'll be their first in their team's history.
00:06:03
Speaker 1: So here comes the big interview. Listen and learn.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: It's so good. Now let's welcome into the podcast. Cliff Floyd, of course, played seventeen years in the major leagues, one of the Worlderies with the Florida Marlins, and is an analyst for MLB Network. What's up, Cliff? How are you, Rob? How you feeling doing great? Are you baseball in October? Always great? We're ready for a World Series before we get there, Cliff, I've said that the Phillies choked. I can't believe that they didn't make it in. They blow Game five, right, they had a chance to win that game, and then they can't seal the deal two games at home. Their best hitters go three for thirty six in those final two games at home and they lose. What happened to the Phillies down the stretch.
00:06:57
Speaker 3: Well, what happened is you run into a bus are letting the team that's really athletic get back to playing the way that you know, the style of baseball they play, and you know we will. We'll sit there at times, Rob and say, well, you know, the d Backs they.
00:07:11
Speaker 4: Gotta play they style. They got to play their style to win ball games. What about if you're just good enough to stop that style?
00:07:19
Speaker 3: And then when and then when the d bats got hot, you gave a young team an inch and that's the wrong thing to do this time and year.
00:07:28
Speaker 4: You gave them an inch and they took a mile on you. That's battle live. What happened. They outplayed them. They stole bases.
00:07:33
Speaker 3: You had you had, you had Cobrin Carroll with two stolen bases coming to the whole series, and they stole two in the last game, the most pitoaful game of the series. So you look at how that unfolded. You let them score first. We saw the record.
00:07:47
Speaker 4: When when when? When when the first team?
00:07:51
Speaker 2: When? When?
00:07:51
Speaker 4: When?
00:07:51
Speaker 3: When you score first? The team that scores first is going to win most of the games. It was twenty seven and nine, So I got a little tong tie that. But my point of it is, you let a team score first, It alleviates the pressure. And for a young team like the d Backs, it worked. It worked and in so many great ways throughout this series to allow a team that's young like them to get their legs up under them, uh and sort of play their style and it worked.
00:08:21
Speaker 2: Let's talk about Carol, who you mentioned. What an unbelievable rookie year twenty five home runs, two eighty five and he was a difference maker and got his team to the postseason like they got off to such a great start. And then like you say, he was pivotal in making the getting some big hits, stealing bases. What a what a player to jump on the scene and have his first year beat something as special.
00:08:46
Speaker 4: Well, we saw in game five he made that mistake.
00:08:48
Speaker 3: He went back to second base on that ball to Trey Turner, right, didn't no way it was And I think what happened is and he had he had a conversation last night on air when we had the chance to talk to him Rob. He said, there was some dark days. And I'm saying myself, twenty three years.
00:09:01
Speaker 4: Old, rookie, you rich. You know what I'm saying.
00:09:03
Speaker 3: Everything going for you, ain't no dark days. But in his mind, he knew he was the guy. He knew he had to be the guy to do what he did last night, and he had his handprint all over right. We talked about sack fly off Jose Alvaradom throwing one hundred miles an hour and the biggest pitchure of that.
00:09:23
Speaker 2: Know people how big that is. You know, like people think, oh, just hit a fly ball. It ain't that easy to just hit a fly ball.
00:09:30
Speaker 4: Well, no, I wish it was right for me, right, I will tell you this.
00:09:34
Speaker 3: So it was one two and he foul off that ball down right, and you're thinking, man, he got just enough of that. If I was Jose Abas, throw another one. But he came back with one hundred mile to nine fastball up and that's exactly what he's looking for a young guy to.
00:09:50
Speaker 4: Have the mindset he has right now.
00:09:53
Speaker 3: Look, I will not say dynasty, you know, I refuse to say anything crazy, but I will say this. They have the with that young core to be around young for a long time based on experience they getting right now and how athletic they are and how they put the ball in play and how they teach manufacturing. To me, that's where the game is going. If you sit around and waiting for the homer, you'll be in a slump like we saw the Phillies the last couple of games of this series.
00:10:22
Speaker 2: Our guest is Cliff for Lloyd. Of course, we played seventeen years in the big leagues, won a World Series with the Florida Marlins, and as an analyst on MLB Network. Cliff, let me. Let's go to Bruce Bochie and the old dog kind of manager who's taking his third team to a World Series. I mean, it's impressive San Diego. He went to the World Series, he won three with the Giants, and now here he is, comes out of retirement, gets off the rock and chair and takes the Rangers his first year to the World Series. What kind of manager? What makes Bruce Bochie so special? You know what?
00:10:58
Speaker 3: He just puts all these guys in a familiar situation. He keeps he keeps the up, He keeps everything calm, cool and collect and you can say, well, a lot of managers do, but it's different. Like I heard his presser, you know, out of you know, before spring training started, when he when he took the job, and he was like, I've been on the couch for three years. I wasn't coming off for just anything, right. I didn't want to manage. I did what I want to do in the game. He accomplished all he wanted to accomplish. Well, maybe he didn't. Maybe he just wanted to you know, a different a different situation. And I think that in itself, for me, Rob was super important for that whole team of making those executive decisions to have a guy like Evan Carter, let's speak for like Evan Carter. You're gonna come in, You're gonna play a little bit, You're gonna figure yourself out. But oh, by the way, wait, you can play this game at a high level. I don't care how old draw, I don't care if you're a rookie. I believe you can take these apasts into you know, crucial situations and be a big part of our success. Those are the decisions that that a OG will make. That that that if you're Chris Young and you're a general manager of that team, you have to listen to Bruce Bochi. You have to believe that what he's telling you is he's been down this road before.
00:12:19
Speaker 4: He's had a guy who can.
00:12:21
Speaker 3: Actually, you know, go out there and be you know, and and be what Evan Carter's been and can be what La Clerk has been.
00:12:29
Speaker 4: And in the back end that bullpen.
00:12:31
Speaker 2: So you have so.
00:12:32
Speaker 3: Many different things that I think he brings to the table where if you're if you sort of can sit back and take in what he's talking about, you're gonna believe what he's saying and go out there and do what they're doing. That's this bottle line how I saw it. I mean it was he was moving the lineup around, he was putting guys in certain situations, and whether you or I liked it or not, it worked.
00:12:55
Speaker 4: I think that's that's what you're getting from from a from.
00:12:57
Speaker 2: A vet, no no doubt about it. And the Rangers on the road. What do you make of that? To be able to win in the postseason, to go on the road and win all your road games, and obviously to get to the World Series, you had to go back to Houston and win the last two. And you won the first two there, you win four games there and then you win, you know, two in the other two series. To go eight to no in the postseason on the road, that's unheard of.
00:13:29
Speaker 4: It's unheard of, man.
00:13:30
Speaker 3: And you know what, you cover up so many you know, you cover all sports, right, you see everything you see. I mean, this don't happen in basketball, It doesn't happen in certain it don't happen in other sports. Our sport is the most unpredictable sport out there. In my opinion, it just really is. I just feel like it speaks to, you know, having short term memory and things working your way and understanding what happens in the ballpark. Maybe you see the ball different, you know, in Houston as opposed to I don't know. All I know is you you can't explain this postseason. It's just a different year. It's two teams that has lost a lot in the last two seasons, like they've filled up the lost column right that you're thinking that these teams shouldn't be there.
00:14:12
Speaker 4: But I think rob is good for the sport.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: Why because you know, you can lose heavily one year and and and scout right draft right, figure out a way to find that that that that diamond and rough get some guys, really believe intern your inturn your organization around, disapproved to the lead that you know what, we don't have to be in last place every year.
00:14:36
Speaker 4: Some can change just with a couple of guys.
00:14:40
Speaker 2: One last thing, Cliff, I'm gonna let you go to your World Series. Pick who wins how many games? And why?
00:14:48
Speaker 3: So I said it last night, damn please. Sech went with the you know d Backs. I went with the Rangers. I went with a little bit more experience. I went with you know, Max Surgeon now making his third start as your third starter. I love the way Jordan Montgomery's doing the ball. Obviously, Nathan Navalde has been incredible. Le clerk at the back end has been awesome. But I love their lineup. I think their lineup is one of those ones that doesn't heavily rely on the homer, right, Like they're a team that can get hot and hit them out the ballpark.
00:15:18
Speaker 2: But they have some speed.
00:15:19
Speaker 4: They can hit the ball in the gap. Uh and they have they have both, right, they have?
00:15:25
Speaker 1: They have?
00:15:25
Speaker 4: They have both covered.
00:15:27
Speaker 3: They can hit the three run homer, but not heavily rely And I think that plays, you know, in their favor, and then.
00:15:33
Speaker 4: Both both teams can win on the road.
00:15:36
Speaker 3: But I love how Texas wins on the road and quire as a storm with the fan base.
00:15:43
Speaker 2: No doubt. I'm with you. I'm going with the Rangers. I like them all you. I picked them to win the Al West. I like I like the makeup of the team. I love Bochie. I love when they signed Seeger and Simeon. People thought they're crazy. They spend a half a billion dollars up the middle, Cliff and I like both of those players, and seekers a baller and Simeon at the top knocked in one hundred runs. I like the team. So and Garcia, I mean ridiculous. I don't know if I would even pitched him.
00:16:14
Speaker 4: They better figure it out Ron for real.
00:16:16
Speaker 3: And you know what last thing I'll say is, can you believe this cat was DFA twice? I mean, it don't make sense, but you know that's our sport for you. I mean, you know that's when I talk about evaluating talent. You gotta know what you have in house. Don't tell me that's a lot of swing and missing there.
00:16:33
Speaker 4: I can fix that.
00:16:35
Speaker 1: Got the right guys in counts.
00:16:38
Speaker 2: No doubt. All right. His name is Cliff Floyd. Check him out on MLB Network. Of course, they'll have wall to wall coverage of the World Series. You know, watch the game, flip over the MLB Network, pregame, post game, all the analysis, all the stuff. Can't wait. I'll be down in Arlington for the start of it game one Friday night. Can't wait.
00:17:02
Speaker 4: Thanks, Cliff, I'll see you that big dog.
00:17:04
Speaker 1: When Rob was a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If I'm writing, I'm ripping, Let's bring in a writer or broadcaster, old or new.
00:17:15
Speaker 2: All right, now, let's welcome in Maleak Right. He's a content reporter, senior reporter for mlbbro dot com and he's based in Arlington, Texas. There's a lot of Texas Rangers game and Malik. Welcome to the podcast. How are you, man, Rob, I'm blessed.
00:17:33
Speaker 5: I'm thankful that we're still playing baseball and it's almost Halloween out here in Arlington.
00:17:37
Speaker 2: Man, how are you doing great? I know, I mean you were one of these guys early on. I know, when we picked our staff picks for mlbbro dot com, both me and you were the only ones who picked the Rangers. So it's interesting that me and you were talking on this. When did you know the Rangers had something going? I liked him from the start of the season. I she picked him to win the Al West. When did you know they had something special happening? H Yeah.
00:18:06
Speaker 5: I mean the way that they started the season was just spectacular, putting a thumping on the Philadelphia Phillies to get them out of here. But I think the time that I knew that there was World Series potential with this team was whenever Cory Seger first went injured, and uh Steger was at that time, he was probably the MVP of baseball. I call him the best hitter in the game just with his slugging percentage and I mean he the way he attacks the baseball. But while he was down, you had guys like Josh Young, you had Marcasimion going on his crazy run, a Doulas Garcia, who he's become more known to the national media now, so I think being able to hold the four down without Jacob, without Seeger and then as well Jacob Degrond was hurt at that point too, so the team just loses their ace and just kept throwing punches and kept throwing punches. So with the bad bullpen using a lot of ls, I don't know, I kind of felt like I didn't know if the bullpen was ever gonna figure yourself out. But like I said, at the point of Seeger's injury, when they were able to withstand that, I thought they'd be special.
00:19:14
Speaker 2: And they did overcome Jacob to Grim and and but they're pitching. Montgomery and Evaldi have been spectacular. I mean, then you know, you want to win in the postseason, you gotta make plays, but you have to have pitching. And how surprised are you and how good those guys, I mean, especially we know Ivaldi's had pitched in the postseason and had some success, but Montgomery's been spectacular.
00:19:39
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I mean, one way to put a blanket over a bad bullpens have your starters go along in the games. And that's what Montgomery and Valdi above done for the Rangers Nathan Uvaldi. I think he was one of the biggest signings of last free agency, just because you get the Grom and you also get the second best pitcher, which it came out to be perfect insure when you were really trying to stack your team with the grounds injury history. I feel like that played a part in it.
00:20:05
Speaker 2: You.
00:20:05
Speaker 5: Bobby also a Texas native, so it was good to get him back out here. And for joining Montgomery. Man, I don't know what the Yankees or Cardinals didn't see him. This guy, I mean, he's a dog. We call him Big fifty out here in Arlington. He comes out to fifty cent for his intro song, Big big Lefty. He's been huge, came out in Game seven and did his best Madison Bumgarner impression.
00:20:29
Speaker 2: Uh.
00:20:30
Speaker 5: Man, if Max Scherzer can be a shell of himself, then this is like you say, you went with pitching, You went with two, three, four dominant starters. The Rangers for sure have too.
00:20:41
Speaker 2: Our guess is Malik right. He's a senior content reporter for mlbbro dot com and you cover Marcus Simeon for our website big time. Uh, what's Marcus his feeling? I mean, he signed with the Rangers a couple of years ago. Last year, well, you know, it was just a so so year for him and not a great year for the Rangers. And boy, what a year he had this year. One hundred RBIs out of the leadoff spot. How excited is he to make it to the World Series.
00:21:09
Speaker 5: I mean, this is why he signed that big contract to get out here. And since he's been here, he set the tone last offseason. He was probably here around this time, early in November, late October, whenever the Range were eliminated, working out every day. Other players were following his footsteps, working out with him too. I helped that. I feel like that helped build the chemistry. And I mean when I just speak to him, he he says that this is why he's here, This is why he plays, plays hard every day and stays focused on every pitch. And he himself saw the development of the bullpen, the development of guys like Garcia and Josh Young.
00:21:45
Speaker 4: They got to follow his lead.
00:21:46
Speaker 5: It's been sort of a slow playoff at the plate for Marcus. A lot of games. He's played every game this year. He hasn't missed the inning, and I think he I think he won't tell me. He won't admit it, but he got tired at the end of the season. He had his daughter a few weeks ago, and I think just having that on his mind while also not knowing where the Rangers would be in playoffs being on the road. I get everybody has to be a professional, but I'm gonna give him that mull again and I think he'll be big time for the World Series.
00:22:17
Speaker 2: Last thing, let's get your World Series prediction. I mean, I know you've covered the team closely and you've been You picked the Rangers to make it to the World Series before the playoffs. I'm assuming that you're gonna stick with that pick. Is that your pick? And then how many games? And who will be the World Series MVP.
00:22:36
Speaker 5: I'm gonna say Rangers in six and I have adult I think adultas Garcia steps up again and is the MVP if not Corey Seeger and I have tremendous respect to the Arizona Diamondbacks. I think this is gonna be a great series. We have like almost ten total All Stars. You have Hall of Famers Evan Longorio on the other side, Jeff Bannister, former Ranger, which is on the other side, and that the Diamondbacks are scared of Nobody Corbyn, Carroll, Alec Thomas. These guys have been playing minor league championships forever and they just turned that little stage into the big stage. Fearless group. I love what I see out. I can tell Marte as well, not getting to watch him every day like I do Simeon and getting to see how he's producing the playoffs. Man, that guy, he deserves his flowers.
00:23:21
Speaker 4: Is one of the best second basement in the league.
00:23:23
Speaker 5: But I think at some point the Rangers offense is just gonna overwhelm the Diamondbacks pitching, which they need to get too early because the Diamondbacks have a shut down bullpen. But I think that Rangers' offense carries them. They get the good start from Montgomery and Uvaldi, and also Max Scherder throws a gym. So hopefully I can watch the team clitch in Arlington next Friday.
00:23:45
Speaker 2: And here it is. I'm gonna go off the beaten path. I'm gonna say that they don't pitch the Garcidia because he's so hot, they don't give him a lot to hit. And I'm gonna pick Marcus Simeon to bounce back and win the World Series MVP, getting this table set it set and getting big hits to start game. So I'm gonna go with Marcus Simeon as the World Series MVP. Thank you so much. His name is Malik Wright. Check out his content and his stuff at mlbbro dot com.
00:24:16
Speaker 1: Now bring in the closer. Here's why MLB is better than the NFL or NBA, and it isn't even close.
00:24:29
Speaker 2: Why baseball is better than the NBA and NFL. Reason number one hundred and fifty five is pretty simple. The Arizona Diamondbacks for real. Yes, they're in the World Series. I mean, you can call it a fluke whatever you want, but it happens more so than in other sports. The Orlando Magic just can't make the NBA finals out of nowhere. Those teams doesn't happen. Give me, give me exact out of nowhere, very seldom. The Arizona Diamondbacks were on nobody's radar, no zero. Not to get there in the NFL is the same. We talk about so many teams that still have never even been to a Super Bowl, and yet Arizona came out of virtually nowhere. The people of Phoenix and the surrounding areas. They were excited, they're thrilled. They cannot believe what this season turned into. Started off, grade, cooled off, looked like they weren't going to do anything, that it was just a false alarm. Put it all together, and here they are. What a chance to win four games away from winning a World Series championship. You don't see that really in the NBA and NFL nearly as much as you do when you talk about Major League Baseball and teams coming out of nowhere and winning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are definitely one of those teams. In the words of New York TV legend the Lady Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until next time. Rob Parker out d can't Gavin.
00:26:18
Speaker 1: This could be an inside of Parker. See you next week, same bat time, same batt station,
Speaker 1: From the Berkshars to the sound from wherever you live in MLB America. This is Inside the Parker. You give us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the scoop on Major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall of Fame voter number seventy, Rob Parker.
00:00:20
Speaker 2: All right, welcome into the program. I'm your host, Rob Parker. What a great playoff edition of Inside the Parker we have for you. Coming up, we're gonna talk with former World Series champ left fielder Cliff Floyd, who now works for MLB Network. He'll jump in and come by. Also, we'll talk to maleak right from mlbroad dot Com. He's around the Texas Rangers a lot. And the World Series is set. Let's go better.
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Up to lead off, it's getting.
00:00:50
Speaker 2: Robbed and keep them out.
00:00:52
Speaker 1: Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories in Major League Baseball number one before we get to the.
00:00:59
Speaker 2: World Series, and we will talk about the matchup. I'm sorry, we gotta start with the Phillies and what I call a choke job. A lot of people don't want to use that word. How they good, they didn't choke Nobody expected them to go this far and all this poppy cock Boulder dash nonsense. When they won Game two ten nothing, people are like, I'm not watching this series. The Diamondbacks have nothing for the Phillies. They don't match up with them. Then don't forget. They blew Game five where they had a lead, that was it. And they come home and all these great players, Trey Turner, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, these guys go three for thirty six in the last two games at home. Really, all their star players were no shows. Come on, if you would have told me that the Phillies would be up three to two and not be able to close out the Arizona Diamondbacks at home and just have to win one of the last two games, I'm not buying it. This is different from the Astros who had trouble all year at home, had a losing record at home and couldn't and won one home playoff game. That's different. The Phillies were mashing at home and winning, and they came up big time small in the NLCS, and I'm not giving them a pass.
00:02:31
Speaker 1: The Phillies choked number two.
00:02:34
Speaker 2: I don't care what anybody says. I'm convinced. If I'm a baseball fan. I'd rather have a team go all in, win me a championship, fall off for the next five or eight years, and call it a day, rather than having a team that's just relevant. I hear that all the time. I'd rather my team be relevant for ten years. No, I'd rather my team go to the championship and have a chance to win, even if we can't sustain it. The Texas Rangers had a new ballpark. They spend a half a billion dollars on two up the middle players right, Corey Seeger and Marcus Simon. They went out. They signed Jacob to Grom. They knew that he had a chance that he could get injured, and they did it anyway. They made a trade for Max Schurzer. They took on more payroll. They wanted to win. This might not be sustainable. They might not make the playoffs next year. Who cares. If you're a Ranger fan, you gotta feel great. Your team said they want to win. I got a stat for you. You ready for this? The Rangers, who are just the middle of the road mostly nothing franchise right has been the three World Series since the last time the Dallas Cowboys went to the Super Bowl. Did you hear me, they would do nothing franchise. And they've been to the World Series three times since the last time the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl. They've had way more success than the Cowboys, even though most people would never admit it. Oh, it's all about the Cowboys. The Rangers are third class citizens in Dallas. Really here they are in the World Series. I love what they did. They open up their purses and they spent money. Bravo to the Rangers.
00:04:30
Speaker 1: Number three.
00:04:32
Speaker 2: All right, here we go World Series. I will be in Arlington for Games one and two, starting of course Friday night. Can't wait. I'll be there Friday and Saturday Games one and two. And I mean these two teams, both of them have been unbelievable on the road come back ability. I like both of these teams. I really do Arizona and the Rangers. But if you listen to the podcast all year long, I picked the Rangers to win the Al West. I like them from the beginning. They're masters. They got good starting pitching. I mean, Montgomery and Valde have been spectacular in the postseason. If they get anything out of Sureser that will help. I like them. I like the lineup Garcia is unstoppable, or they gonna pitch to him. If you're they're gonna make the same mistake that the Astros did. Garcia's unbelievable seegers. Great, they got some other guys who can get big knocks. I like everything about the Rangers. I don't think it's gonna be a cake walk by any stretch of the imagination. I'm gonna take the Texas Rangers and the over the upstart Diamondbacks, and I got the Rangers in six games. They get it done, and they do the improbable, which is they win a World Series after losing over one hundred games just two years ago. Think about that, the Texas Rangers World Series champs. It'll be their first in their team's history.
00:06:03
Speaker 1: So here comes the big interview. Listen and learn.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: It's so good. Now let's welcome into the podcast. Cliff Floyd, of course, played seventeen years in the major leagues, one of the Worlderies with the Florida Marlins, and is an analyst for MLB Network. What's up, Cliff? How are you, Rob? How you feeling doing great? Are you baseball in October? Always great? We're ready for a World Series before we get there, Cliff, I've said that the Phillies choked. I can't believe that they didn't make it in. They blow Game five, right, they had a chance to win that game, and then they can't seal the deal two games at home. Their best hitters go three for thirty six in those final two games at home and they lose. What happened to the Phillies down the stretch.
00:06:57
Speaker 3: Well, what happened is you run into a bus are letting the team that's really athletic get back to playing the way that you know, the style of baseball they play, and you know we will. We'll sit there at times, Rob and say, well, you know, the d Backs they.
00:07:11
Speaker 4: Gotta play they style. They got to play their style to win ball games. What about if you're just good enough to stop that style?
00:07:19
Speaker 3: And then when and then when the d bats got hot, you gave a young team an inch and that's the wrong thing to do this time and year.
00:07:28
Speaker 4: You gave them an inch and they took a mile on you. That's battle live. What happened. They outplayed them. They stole bases.
00:07:33
Speaker 3: You had you had, you had Cobrin Carroll with two stolen bases coming to the whole series, and they stole two in the last game, the most pitoaful game of the series. So you look at how that unfolded. You let them score first. We saw the record.
00:07:47
Speaker 4: When when when? When when the first team?
00:07:51
Speaker 2: When? When?
00:07:51
Speaker 4: When?
00:07:51
Speaker 3: When you score first? The team that scores first is going to win most of the games. It was twenty seven and nine, So I got a little tong tie that. But my point of it is, you let a team score first, It alleviates the pressure. And for a young team like the d Backs, it worked. It worked and in so many great ways throughout this series to allow a team that's young like them to get their legs up under them, uh and sort of play their style and it worked.
00:08:21
Speaker 2: Let's talk about Carol, who you mentioned. What an unbelievable rookie year twenty five home runs, two eighty five and he was a difference maker and got his team to the postseason like they got off to such a great start. And then like you say, he was pivotal in making the getting some big hits, stealing bases. What a what a player to jump on the scene and have his first year beat something as special.
00:08:46
Speaker 4: Well, we saw in game five he made that mistake.
00:08:48
Speaker 3: He went back to second base on that ball to Trey Turner, right, didn't no way it was And I think what happened is and he had he had a conversation last night on air when we had the chance to talk to him Rob. He said, there was some dark days. And I'm saying myself, twenty three years.
00:09:01
Speaker 4: Old, rookie, you rich. You know what I'm saying.
00:09:03
Speaker 3: Everything going for you, ain't no dark days. But in his mind, he knew he was the guy. He knew he had to be the guy to do what he did last night, and he had his handprint all over right. We talked about sack fly off Jose Alvaradom throwing one hundred miles an hour and the biggest pitchure of that.
00:09:23
Speaker 2: Know people how big that is. You know, like people think, oh, just hit a fly ball. It ain't that easy to just hit a fly ball.
00:09:30
Speaker 4: Well, no, I wish it was right for me, right, I will tell you this.
00:09:34
Speaker 3: So it was one two and he foul off that ball down right, and you're thinking, man, he got just enough of that. If I was Jose Abas, throw another one. But he came back with one hundred mile to nine fastball up and that's exactly what he's looking for a young guy to.
00:09:50
Speaker 4: Have the mindset he has right now.
00:09:53
Speaker 3: Look, I will not say dynasty, you know, I refuse to say anything crazy, but I will say this. They have the with that young core to be around young for a long time based on experience they getting right now and how athletic they are and how they put the ball in play and how they teach manufacturing. To me, that's where the game is going. If you sit around and waiting for the homer, you'll be in a slump like we saw the Phillies the last couple of games of this series.
00:10:22
Speaker 2: Our guest is Cliff for Lloyd. Of course, we played seventeen years in the big leagues, won a World Series with the Florida Marlins, and as an analyst on MLB Network. Cliff, let me. Let's go to Bruce Bochie and the old dog kind of manager who's taking his third team to a World Series. I mean, it's impressive San Diego. He went to the World Series, he won three with the Giants, and now here he is, comes out of retirement, gets off the rock and chair and takes the Rangers his first year to the World Series. What kind of manager? What makes Bruce Bochie so special? You know what?
00:10:58
Speaker 3: He just puts all these guys in a familiar situation. He keeps he keeps the up, He keeps everything calm, cool and collect and you can say, well, a lot of managers do, but it's different. Like I heard his presser, you know, out of you know, before spring training started, when he when he took the job, and he was like, I've been on the couch for three years. I wasn't coming off for just anything, right. I didn't want to manage. I did what I want to do in the game. He accomplished all he wanted to accomplish. Well, maybe he didn't. Maybe he just wanted to you know, a different a different situation. And I think that in itself, for me, Rob was super important for that whole team of making those executive decisions to have a guy like Evan Carter, let's speak for like Evan Carter. You're gonna come in, You're gonna play a little bit, You're gonna figure yourself out. But oh, by the way, wait, you can play this game at a high level. I don't care how old draw, I don't care if you're a rookie. I believe you can take these apasts into you know, crucial situations and be a big part of our success. Those are the decisions that that a OG will make. That that that if you're Chris Young and you're a general manager of that team, you have to listen to Bruce Bochi. You have to believe that what he's telling you is he's been down this road before.
00:12:19
Speaker 4: He's had a guy who can.
00:12:21
Speaker 3: Actually, you know, go out there and be you know, and and be what Evan Carter's been and can be what La Clerk has been.
00:12:29
Speaker 4: And in the back end that bullpen.
00:12:31
Speaker 2: So you have so.
00:12:32
Speaker 3: Many different things that I think he brings to the table where if you're if you sort of can sit back and take in what he's talking about, you're gonna believe what he's saying and go out there and do what they're doing. That's this bottle line how I saw it. I mean it was he was moving the lineup around, he was putting guys in certain situations, and whether you or I liked it or not, it worked.
00:12:55
Speaker 4: I think that's that's what you're getting from from a from.
00:12:57
Speaker 2: A vet, no no doubt about it. And the Rangers on the road. What do you make of that? To be able to win in the postseason, to go on the road and win all your road games, and obviously to get to the World Series, you had to go back to Houston and win the last two. And you won the first two there, you win four games there and then you win, you know, two in the other two series. To go eight to no in the postseason on the road, that's unheard of.
00:13:29
Speaker 4: It's unheard of, man.
00:13:30
Speaker 3: And you know what, you cover up so many you know, you cover all sports, right, you see everything you see. I mean, this don't happen in basketball, It doesn't happen in certain it don't happen in other sports. Our sport is the most unpredictable sport out there. In my opinion, it just really is. I just feel like it speaks to, you know, having short term memory and things working your way and understanding what happens in the ballpark. Maybe you see the ball different, you know, in Houston as opposed to I don't know. All I know is you you can't explain this postseason. It's just a different year. It's two teams that has lost a lot in the last two seasons, like they've filled up the lost column right that you're thinking that these teams shouldn't be there.
00:14:12
Speaker 4: But I think rob is good for the sport.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: Why because you know, you can lose heavily one year and and and scout right draft right, figure out a way to find that that that that diamond and rough get some guys, really believe intern your inturn your organization around, disapproved to the lead that you know what, we don't have to be in last place every year.
00:14:36
Speaker 4: Some can change just with a couple of guys.
00:14:40
Speaker 2: One last thing, Cliff, I'm gonna let you go to your World Series. Pick who wins how many games? And why?
00:14:48
Speaker 3: So I said it last night, damn please. Sech went with the you know d Backs. I went with the Rangers. I went with a little bit more experience. I went with you know, Max Surgeon now making his third start as your third starter. I love the way Jordan Montgomery's doing the ball. Obviously, Nathan Navalde has been incredible. Le clerk at the back end has been awesome. But I love their lineup. I think their lineup is one of those ones that doesn't heavily rely on the homer, right, Like they're a team that can get hot and hit them out the ballpark.
00:15:18
Speaker 2: But they have some speed.
00:15:19
Speaker 4: They can hit the ball in the gap. Uh and they have they have both, right, they have?
00:15:25
Speaker 1: They have?
00:15:25
Speaker 4: They have both covered.
00:15:27
Speaker 3: They can hit the three run homer, but not heavily rely And I think that plays, you know, in their favor, and then.
00:15:33
Speaker 4: Both both teams can win on the road.
00:15:36
Speaker 3: But I love how Texas wins on the road and quire as a storm with the fan base.
00:15:43
Speaker 2: No doubt. I'm with you. I'm going with the Rangers. I like them all you. I picked them to win the Al West. I like I like the makeup of the team. I love Bochie. I love when they signed Seeger and Simeon. People thought they're crazy. They spend a half a billion dollars up the middle, Cliff and I like both of those players, and seekers a baller and Simeon at the top knocked in one hundred runs. I like the team. So and Garcia, I mean ridiculous. I don't know if I would even pitched him.
00:16:14
Speaker 4: They better figure it out Ron for real.
00:16:16
Speaker 3: And you know what last thing I'll say is, can you believe this cat was DFA twice? I mean, it don't make sense, but you know that's our sport for you. I mean, you know that's when I talk about evaluating talent. You gotta know what you have in house. Don't tell me that's a lot of swing and missing there.
00:16:33
Speaker 4: I can fix that.
00:16:35
Speaker 1: Got the right guys in counts.
00:16:38
Speaker 2: No doubt. All right. His name is Cliff Floyd. Check him out on MLB Network. Of course, they'll have wall to wall coverage of the World Series. You know, watch the game, flip over the MLB Network, pregame, post game, all the analysis, all the stuff. Can't wait. I'll be down in Arlington for the start of it game one Friday night. Can't wait.
00:17:02
Speaker 4: Thanks, Cliff, I'll see you that big dog.
00:17:04
Speaker 1: When Rob was a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If I'm writing, I'm ripping, Let's bring in a writer or broadcaster, old or new.
00:17:15
Speaker 2: All right, now, let's welcome in Maleak Right. He's a content reporter, senior reporter for mlbbro dot com and he's based in Arlington, Texas. There's a lot of Texas Rangers game and Malik. Welcome to the podcast. How are you, man, Rob, I'm blessed.
00:17:33
Speaker 5: I'm thankful that we're still playing baseball and it's almost Halloween out here in Arlington.
00:17:37
Speaker 2: Man, how are you doing great? I know, I mean you were one of these guys early on. I know, when we picked our staff picks for mlbbro dot com, both me and you were the only ones who picked the Rangers. So it's interesting that me and you were talking on this. When did you know the Rangers had something going? I liked him from the start of the season. I she picked him to win the Al West. When did you know they had something special happening? H Yeah.
00:18:06
Speaker 5: I mean the way that they started the season was just spectacular, putting a thumping on the Philadelphia Phillies to get them out of here. But I think the time that I knew that there was World Series potential with this team was whenever Cory Seger first went injured, and uh Steger was at that time, he was probably the MVP of baseball. I call him the best hitter in the game just with his slugging percentage and I mean he the way he attacks the baseball. But while he was down, you had guys like Josh Young, you had Marcasimion going on his crazy run, a Doulas Garcia, who he's become more known to the national media now, so I think being able to hold the four down without Jacob, without Seeger and then as well Jacob Degrond was hurt at that point too, so the team just loses their ace and just kept throwing punches and kept throwing punches. So with the bad bullpen using a lot of ls, I don't know, I kind of felt like I didn't know if the bullpen was ever gonna figure yourself out. But like I said, at the point of Seeger's injury, when they were able to withstand that, I thought they'd be special.
00:19:14
Speaker 2: And they did overcome Jacob to Grim and and but they're pitching. Montgomery and Evaldi have been spectacular. I mean, then you know, you want to win in the postseason, you gotta make plays, but you have to have pitching. And how surprised are you and how good those guys, I mean, especially we know Ivaldi's had pitched in the postseason and had some success, but Montgomery's been spectacular.
00:19:39
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I mean, one way to put a blanket over a bad bullpens have your starters go along in the games. And that's what Montgomery and Valdi above done for the Rangers Nathan Uvaldi. I think he was one of the biggest signings of last free agency, just because you get the Grom and you also get the second best pitcher, which it came out to be perfect insure when you were really trying to stack your team with the grounds injury history. I feel like that played a part in it.
00:20:05
Speaker 2: You.
00:20:05
Speaker 5: Bobby also a Texas native, so it was good to get him back out here. And for joining Montgomery. Man, I don't know what the Yankees or Cardinals didn't see him. This guy, I mean, he's a dog. We call him Big fifty out here in Arlington. He comes out to fifty cent for his intro song, Big big Lefty. He's been huge, came out in Game seven and did his best Madison Bumgarner impression.
00:20:29
Speaker 2: Uh.
00:20:30
Speaker 5: Man, if Max Scherzer can be a shell of himself, then this is like you say, you went with pitching, You went with two, three, four dominant starters. The Rangers for sure have too.
00:20:41
Speaker 2: Our guess is Malik right. He's a senior content reporter for mlbbro dot com and you cover Marcus Simeon for our website big time. Uh, what's Marcus his feeling? I mean, he signed with the Rangers a couple of years ago. Last year, well, you know, it was just a so so year for him and not a great year for the Rangers. And boy, what a year he had this year. One hundred RBIs out of the leadoff spot. How excited is he to make it to the World Series.
00:21:09
Speaker 5: I mean, this is why he signed that big contract to get out here. And since he's been here, he set the tone last offseason. He was probably here around this time, early in November, late October, whenever the Range were eliminated, working out every day. Other players were following his footsteps, working out with him too. I helped that. I feel like that helped build the chemistry. And I mean when I just speak to him, he he says that this is why he's here, This is why he plays, plays hard every day and stays focused on every pitch. And he himself saw the development of the bullpen, the development of guys like Garcia and Josh Young.
00:21:45
Speaker 4: They got to follow his lead.
00:21:46
Speaker 5: It's been sort of a slow playoff at the plate for Marcus. A lot of games. He's played every game this year. He hasn't missed the inning, and I think he I think he won't tell me. He won't admit it, but he got tired at the end of the season. He had his daughter a few weeks ago, and I think just having that on his mind while also not knowing where the Rangers would be in playoffs being on the road. I get everybody has to be a professional, but I'm gonna give him that mull again and I think he'll be big time for the World Series.
00:22:17
Speaker 2: Last thing, let's get your World Series prediction. I mean, I know you've covered the team closely and you've been You picked the Rangers to make it to the World Series before the playoffs. I'm assuming that you're gonna stick with that pick. Is that your pick? And then how many games? And who will be the World Series MVP.
00:22:36
Speaker 5: I'm gonna say Rangers in six and I have adult I think adultas Garcia steps up again and is the MVP if not Corey Seeger and I have tremendous respect to the Arizona Diamondbacks. I think this is gonna be a great series. We have like almost ten total All Stars. You have Hall of Famers Evan Longorio on the other side, Jeff Bannister, former Ranger, which is on the other side, and that the Diamondbacks are scared of Nobody Corbyn, Carroll, Alec Thomas. These guys have been playing minor league championships forever and they just turned that little stage into the big stage. Fearless group. I love what I see out. I can tell Marte as well, not getting to watch him every day like I do Simeon and getting to see how he's producing the playoffs. Man, that guy, he deserves his flowers.
00:23:21
Speaker 4: Is one of the best second basement in the league.
00:23:23
Speaker 5: But I think at some point the Rangers offense is just gonna overwhelm the Diamondbacks pitching, which they need to get too early because the Diamondbacks have a shut down bullpen. But I think that Rangers' offense carries them. They get the good start from Montgomery and Uvaldi, and also Max Scherder throws a gym. So hopefully I can watch the team clitch in Arlington next Friday.
00:23:45
Speaker 2: And here it is. I'm gonna go off the beaten path. I'm gonna say that they don't pitch the Garcidia because he's so hot, they don't give him a lot to hit. And I'm gonna pick Marcus Simeon to bounce back and win the World Series MVP, getting this table set it set and getting big hits to start game. So I'm gonna go with Marcus Simeon as the World Series MVP. Thank you so much. His name is Malik Wright. Check out his content and his stuff at mlbbro dot com.
00:24:16
Speaker 1: Now bring in the closer. Here's why MLB is better than the NFL or NBA, and it isn't even close.
00:24:29
Speaker 2: Why baseball is better than the NBA and NFL. Reason number one hundred and fifty five is pretty simple. The Arizona Diamondbacks for real. Yes, they're in the World Series. I mean, you can call it a fluke whatever you want, but it happens more so than in other sports. The Orlando Magic just can't make the NBA finals out of nowhere. Those teams doesn't happen. Give me, give me exact out of nowhere, very seldom. The Arizona Diamondbacks were on nobody's radar, no zero. Not to get there in the NFL is the same. We talk about so many teams that still have never even been to a Super Bowl, and yet Arizona came out of virtually nowhere. The people of Phoenix and the surrounding areas. They were excited, they're thrilled. They cannot believe what this season turned into. Started off, grade, cooled off, looked like they weren't going to do anything, that it was just a false alarm. Put it all together, and here they are. What a chance to win four games away from winning a World Series championship. You don't see that really in the NBA and NFL nearly as much as you do when you talk about Major League Baseball and teams coming out of nowhere and winning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are definitely one of those teams. In the words of New York TV legend the Lady Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until next time. Rob Parker out d can't Gavin.
00:26:18
Speaker 1: This could be an inside of Parker. See you next week, same bat time, same batt station,
