Great question.

And I have no idea the answer.

I don't know either.

That's a great question.

Man.

It'd be hard to go against Luzardo.

So these are one.

It just feels like he has a lot of answers to the test, the

Yeah.

I stayed after the game in Cincinnati last year.

He had a concert.

The stadium was sold out in Cincinnati.

I'm sure.

And I stayed, and a couple of us did.

T-Mac stayed.

What do you got? And why? I'm going to say they

I don't

know either.

That's a great question.

Man.

It'd be hard to go against Luzardo.

So these are one.

In his last seven starts, he's got a 1.08 ERA.

It just feels like he has a lot of answers to the test, the questions

Where are you at?

I'm extremely frustrated.

And I, I, you know me, I, I like to stay as positive as possible with this ball club.

club.I think the pieces are there, they're just not performing.

And I, I look at, you know, I, I look at the big three in Luzardo and Wheeler and Sanchez, and they're doing their job.

Uh, Nola's been pitching better.

Painter looked great the other night.

Mm-hmm.

It was all kind of weird.

Yeah.

Well, he said, "I wanted..." You know, he signed a two-year contract, and, you know, so he'll be here maybe n- next year.

I don't know how that whole thing is gonna play out.

I, I do think the Cora thing could be a factor, and I think that relationship between Dombrowski and Cora is a thing.

Uh- Why does it seem like the changeup has become a bigger part of our pitchers' repertoires?

Well, it's always been a big part of, of Christopher Sanchez.

But, um, you know, Painter said, "You know what? The hell with the splitter.

Uh, why does it seem like the changeup has become a bigger part of our pitchers' repertoires?

Well, it's always been a big part of, of Christopher Sanchez, but, um, you know, Painter said, "You know what? The hell with the splitter.

I'm going back to my circle change.

It's been great." Um, Nola's throwing his more.

The, the best pitch in baseball is a well-located fastball, okay? The second-best pitch, in my opinion, is a, is a well-located changeup.

Because you read-

Exactly, yes.

Yeah, you read fastball out of the hand, but you're way out in front of it, 'cause it has the same, comes out of the hand the same way.

Mm-hmm

... which turns into the, I guess, the Indiana Turnpi- eventually it's taking you right through Iowa.

It takes you the whole way to ...

The, the PA Turnpike dead ends in San Francisco, uh, across the Bay Bridge.

Like, it just goes straight, and probably the worst part of that whole stretch-

One week, that's all.

I agree, Rick.

And, and then I said it in the pregame show yesterday.

But, um, you know, if you're peaking in October, November and getting ready for the playoffs, uh, that might not be a bad thing.

Yeah, I think the, the timing is definitely developing.

You can see that, uh, the West Coast offense, everything being based off the quarterback's feet, Jalen is not bleeding out to the left...

Uh, to the, to the right.

You know, rolling right as, you know, things are developing downfield, which we saw, you know, geez, for the last four years it feels like.

It's great to see him dropping back, one, two, three, four, five, boom, ball is gone.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, boom, ball is gone.

I just feel like from the moment he got there, uh, to now, just being a guy who every player he played with, I feel like he has 100% approval rating, and that's something that's, uh, you know, really unique in the NFL.

Where are you at?

I'm extremely frustrated, and I, I, you know me, I, I like to stay as positive as possible with this ball club.

I think the pieces are there, they're just not performing.

And I, I look at, you know, I, I look at the big three in Luzardo and Wheeler and Sanchez, and they're doing their job.

Uh, Nola's been pitching better.

Painter looked great the other night.

You-

... because it really felt like we hit it out of the park again, like we did for the NFL Draft.

Where are you at?

I'm extremely frustrated.

And I, I, you know me, I, I like to stay as positive as possible with this ball club.

I think the pieces are there, they're just not performing.

And I, I look at, you know, I, I look at the big three in Luzardo, and Wheeler, and Sanchez, and they're doing their job.

Uh, Nola's been pitching better.

Painter looked great the other night.

Do you feel that that's still true?

Well, he gets

hits.

That's the bottom line.

The big knock on him is he's not fleet of foot.

He doesn't walk.

I don't care.

This guy just hits.

Is that something where, because I want to ask you about Bryce in right field in a second, but is that something where you would hope that Trey Turner goes up to Don Mattingly and says, hey, I just want you to know that I'm willing to do this? Or is that something you would hope he would do, or do you think that's not

Well, he gets hits.

That's the bottom line.

The big knock on him is he's not fleet of foot.

He doesn't walk.

I don't care.

This guy just hits.

And I like the guy.

Is that something where, because I want to ask you about Bryce in right field in a second, but is that something where you would hope that Trey Turner goes up to Don Mattingly and says, hey, I just want you to know that I'm willing to do this? Or is that something you would hope he would do, or do you think that's not even going through

Rich get richer.

I mean, that's obviously great for the Dodgers.

Is it great for the game in its entirety? Probably not because it makes them, I mean, they're already a superpower.

But I give the Dodgers all the credit in the world for creating this.

I mean, you talk about an evil empire.

I mean, they've become almost unbeatable.

I mean, to win two in a row and have a great opportunity to win a third in a row, it's something else.

be

Well, he gets hits.

That's the bottom line.

The big knock on him is he's not fleet of foot.

He doesn't walk.

I don't care.

This guy just hits.

And I like the guy.

Is that something where, because I want to ask you about Bryce in right field in a second, but is that something where you would hope that Trey Turner goes up to Don Mattingly and says, hey, I just want you to know that I'm willing to do this? Or is that something you would hope he would do, or do you think that's not even going through his mind right now?

That quality of being a teammate, has that, that's crossed over into your broadcasting?

Without a doubt.

Um, you know, everyone thinks, like when I, when I do a game in the booth with Tom, or I'm in the studio with Michael or Ricky or Ruben, whoever-

whoever-Everyone thinks it's just, just the two of us just doing our thing.

It really does- [laughs] it takes a team.

I mean, our, our, our production cavity, uh, everything that they do, from, from our producers to our directors, um, to the s- the, the, our stage managers, our camera crew.

It takes...

Because you guys have to have so much, you have so much information, and then you have to, like, kinda glean through what you wanna present during that game.

Ben, what do you make of it?

I was at my daughter's lacrosse game at Ellicott City, Maryland on Friday.

And my wife had her phone in her hand like she typically does.

And she goes, we just got LeBron.

I said, who's we? Who's we? I said, you're kidding me.

She goes, no.

And I looked at the phone.

Ben, where do you think they should do this?

Ben, what do you make of it?

I was at my daughter's lacrosse game at Ellicott City, Maryland on Friday.

And my wife had her phone in her hand like she typically does.

And she goes, we just got LeBron.

I said, who's we? Who's we? I said, you're kidding me.

She goes, no.

And I looked at the phone.

Big chance.

But, uh, like where they reached out to you the first time, was 41 the first time that you heard from s- someone from the team?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, I, I can give you guys the rehash version of it.

I've talked about it a couple times.

Um, basically, I had done a combat sports show in Thailand March of 2024, uh, with a guy who's, who's done a lot of work in Hollywood.

And, um, we hit it off.

We had a really great time doing the show together.

Scalli, is there any upside to Brad still being here?

I am great.

Absolutely wonderful.

Were you there last night? I was there.

How was that? It was an incredible experience that my 11-year-old and I will never get to experience again.

It was just phenomenal.

I compliment the Philadelphia Phillies, Major League Baseball, Everybody that was involved with, from the grounds crew to the people that were taking tickets, they just, they nailed it.

They absolutely nailed it.

Maybe the perfect age.

I am

great.

Absolutely wonderful.

Were you there last night? I was there.

How was that? It was an incredible experience that my 11-year-old and I will never get to experience again.

It was just phenomenal.

I compliment the Philadelphia Phillies, Major League Baseball, Everybody that was involved with it, from the grounds crew to the people that were taking tickets, they just nailed it.

Maybe the perfect age.

What's

the biggest difference? I think it's a belief in self.

It's determination.

It's someone putting their faith in you and Rob Thompson saying, you know what? You're my guy.

You've worked your tail off to get to where you are.

You go out and you believe in yourself.

You believe in the stuff that the good Lord gave you.

Ben,

I am

great.

Absolutely wonderful.

Were you there last night? I was there.

How was that? It was an incredible experience that my 11-year-old and I will never get to experience again.

It was just phenomenal.

I compliment the Philadelphia Phillies, Major League Baseball, everybody that was involved with from the grounds crew to the people that were taking tickets they just they nailed it they absolutely nailed it i thought so too and uh it was just one of those nights that i'll never get back and it was i mean my son my 11 year old son he's so passionate about all sports but especially baseball

That's right, that's

What's the biggest difference?

I think it's a belief in self.

It's determination.

It's someone putting their faith in you.

And Rob Thompson saying, you know what? You're my guy.

You've worked your tail off to get to where you are.

You go out and you believe in yourself.

Ben,

I agree.

You know, we, uh, we are a town with history and culture and a lot of, a lot of sports knowledge and angst.

it was, I, I loved the Home Run Derby, and that was so fun.

It moved quick, but didn't it seem...

I, initially, I was surprised at how long it was taking to get to our guys in the first round because they were, you know, at the end, and you had eight.

It did feel like the first round stretched, but then as soon as you got past that, it really did consolidate and move by quickly.

I don't know.

Ben, do you know? It's all the players.

The current players.

Yeah, they come out and they roll the red.

Everyone's all gussied up and they just walk down the red carpet.

Yeah, it's a big deal.

So they show up early to that.

Yeah.