So how was your experience today at the Trop, my friend?

it sure was man it was uh it was a ton of fun it was awesome it was a super cool experience as i'm leaving i'm like i'm like leaving the top of the press box cuts right in front of me no other but eric neander i was like oh mr neander after you of course i didn't say that i was too scared But no, super fun.

What a time right now for the Rays.

That Junior Caminero home run for his 40th playoff clinching.

I don't know if you guys saw the angle of the ballpark cam in center field.

One of the coolest videos I've ever seen.

I went to Saturday and Sunday's game.

Your observations from today's game with the lineup that was put out there today, what was your big takeaway from that?

yeah.

So, I mean, those four games are going to be – I think right now we're four games up.

But, like, who's to say what it'll be there? And then just those last two weeks of the schedule, man.

It's going to be brutal for the Rays.

It's going to be tough.

But there's also a weird part of me that's like – well, screw it.

We control our own destiny.

That'd be nice.

Even a small one will be fine.

You might need a statue too.

I apologize for being late and hopping on after we got started, but I feel like my biggest takeaway from all of this is just – how refreshing it is to have this new ownership group to come in with what we had dealt with in the past, with the frustrations with Stu and all the other things that went into that equation.

have this new ownership come in and say what they wanted to do and then actually do it jp how was it i know you said you had babby on and i know you've been you've talked with them and worked with them how refreshing it was it for you when you first got to talk with babby and zalipski and all these guys and the new ownership how refreshing was it for you

He didn't care.

I feel like JP said it perfectly with how like Babby and really just the new ownership group, they're authentic.

And authenticity is like something you either have it or you don't.

And there's like – I don't know if you can build a recipe for it, but it's just so clear and obvious that, like, when Babby first – obviously, Babby's the face of it.

Mm-hmm.

And they, they sold at the deadline, and they're playing, they're not, they're playing better ball, they just have been bad from the first half and, and have be- been a lot better in the second half.

But they're a team, like, they're a game out right now.

They get in, they've got nothing to lose.

They sold at the deadline.

They weren't supposed to be there, and that scares me a little bit.

Also, just to shout out what Troy Melton has been doing for the Detroit Tigers.

Yeah, yeah.

I agree.

I'm going to buy it.

I'm going to say they have peaked.

I still think they're going to be a good team going into October.

But, Ethan, like you said, they're on the highest of highs, which would mean at some point they're going to come back down to earth.

They have to.

They have to.

Did the Rays do enough at the trade deadline? Oh,

Are you kind of in the same boat as Drew?

Yeah, I think, I mean, the important note to take here, 1-0 and Freddy Peralta starts.

You know, just throwing that one out there, no.

I think it was definitely disappointing.

I will say how exciting it was to just see the new guys, like, in their uniforms and playing.

Like, I don't think I've watched a pregame show this year.

I normally just turn it on right at first pitch.

Will he better something or

Guys, what do we think of getting Freddy Peralta? Hopefully Kyle Snyder can fix him.

[laughs] I think this is, this is a super fun trade.

I think it's easy to look at Freddy Peralta's numbers from this year and be like, "Why are we trading for a guy with a 5.00 ERA?" He's clearly struggling, struggling this year.

I look at as you're getting a proven frontline guy for a couple years in ma- in the major leagues.

And the Rays are, are betting on what they do best.

Um, we've seen it time and time and time again, um, with player development, but more specifically pitcher development.

Whether it's Griffin Jax, Tyler Glasnow.

Guys, what are your thoughts about Liam Hicks coming over to the Rays?

What are your trade proposals for Mock Trade

Mania? All right.

So to begin, I have two mock trades, one for a starting pitcher and one for a relief pitcher.

I feel like adding a starting pitcher will help not only down the stretch, but more so give some of our guys confidence.

some rest that are on innings limits like a rass like a mcclanahan um like a jax who's probably never thrown this many innings before so my first trade is for the tampa bay race to go out and acquire foster griffin from the washington nationals and in return the nationals will receive xavier isaac And Braylor Guerrero.

Now these two prospects, I feel like are...

Xavier Isaac had a lot of prospect intrigue about a year, year and a half or so.

Yeah,

So Sean, what's your grade for the raises?

Similar, similar to drew.

I mean, relative to expectations for me, I was just looking at my like preseason predictions on what I put on or what I posted to X.

And I had the raises as a 500 team.

and finishing last in the division.

So it's got to be an A-plus for me.

I was, like, more optimistic than the last two years.

And I know the feeling, man.

We love our Canadian brothers.

I've never met a mean Canadian, but damn it, are they delusional.

I mean, my God.

And I hate, like, talking crap about All-Star game voting and fan voting without bringing a solution because I don't know what's best.

To me, I think the players and coaches should vote, but I'm sure there's a thousand holes that c- that is, it goes with that.

I think it's very obvious fan voting needs, needs to go away.

Um, and no matter what voting you do, there's always gonna be someone who's snubbed.

... it's the nature, like he's-

Do you think it's worth the raise for Eric Neander to start making those phone calls now, or do you think it's like, hey, maybe the Rays are going to stick to their guns until August? What do you think is maybe in the mind of Eric Neander at this point?

I hope so.

I hope it does.

It kind of reminds me, last year, I'd have to look it up when we acquired Brian Baker, but it was early.

Early July.

Yeah, and we weren't in a spot we're in now where we're tied for the AL East or anything like that.

But I think it is time.

Now we're going to be playing the Red Sox, and these are all – not the greatest teams this year it's and they're playing at that level they're playing not great raised baseball raised baseball which we've seen like the past you know two and a half months right now they're playing they're playing a below 500 baseball right now and that's concerning to me so all right let's go to our next something or nothing steven matts was moved to the bullpen because of his two disastrous starts is this something or nothing steven matts to the pen Sean, I'll go with you first.