Takes

Roman Anthony is a defensive liability for the Red Sox because everyone is successfully running on him in left field.

Roman Anthony, world baseball classic hero. But he has been, he's become a meme basically. If he can't, he just can't throw anyone out from left field. Everyone's just running on Roman. Shane tried to tell me he was great last year, but he was playing right field. Now he's playing left field... it's just not good.

I am not a fan of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system in baseball

I'm not a fan... I just don't understand why you even have umpires in the first place if you're gonna do the ABS thing. There's gonna be so many more [reviews] in baseball.

James Wood will be a monster this season and hit 35 plus home runs

The only thing I have to look forward to this season is James Wood just being a fucking monster and getting 35 plus home runs. That's the only thing that I'm going to this season looking forward to as a Nats fan.

The Phillies will regress to a wild card team and lose in the first round

I think Phillies are regressing. They'll still make the playoffs as a wild card team. They'll sneak in and then lose in the first round.

The Italian WBC team acts more 'American' than the actual Team USA

I feel like the Italian team is more American than the American team. The way that they're acting. They're loud, they're boisterous, they're arrogant, they're fun. That's what I want outta my American teams.

I will charge the mound if my teammate Seth Lugo hits me with a pitch

I've got Puerto Rico on Saturday and I believe I'm facing a teammate in Seth Lugo. If he hits me, I'm gonna charge the mound. So, we'll get a little Royals on Royals fight.

A baseball player must reach 2,000 hits to be considered elite

I think most real seam heads would say like 2000 hits. If you get to 2000 hits, you're probably elite. ... if you get to 2000, that's the big number in baseball. Everyone talks about you gotta get to 2000 hits.

The MLB All-Star Game is the only one that still holds any relevance

The only Allstar game that's still cool or holds any relevance is the baseball Allstar game because you can still throw 99 and still try to hit a dong off someone.

The Tigers bringing back Justin Verlander is PR 101 to distract from their arbitration loss

Speaking of PR 101, this feels like PR 101 from the Tigers who have signed Justin Verlander... I feel like after it's like, hey, we didn't like the... arbitration. They were like, 'oh, our fans hate us. Let's bring back Verlander.'

Low-budget MLB teams like the Pirates and Reds would just pocket a Dodgers-sized budget rather than spend it on players

For all the teams that cry poor, I really do wonder if you just could [give them the budget]. Snap your fingers and be like, 'Pirates, you have the budget that the Dodgers have. Reds, you have the budget that the Dodgers have.' I don't think any of those teams would actually spend the way the Dodgers do. They just take a profit. Which is bullshit.

The Cubs' ceiling is getting swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS

I have been forced to to, to move the Cubs ceiling with the Kyle Tucker signing... I think now the ceiling might be Cubs get swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS. That's the ceiling.

The Pirates leaking interest in Kyle Schwarber is just 'red meat' to appease the fans with no intent to sign him

I feel like the Pirates' version of them actually signing a big free agent would be just leaking it that they're thinking about signing. Correct. That was... their red meat to the fan base. Be like, look, we tried.

Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 game in the 2024 NLCS is the best game ever played in sports history

[Ohtani's game] might be the best game ever played, maybe in any sport... especially when you consider the NLCS, you know, it's like, it's in the playoffs, you know? Yeah. I think he might be right.

Mark Walter might be the best owner in all of sports

This guy might be the best owner in all of sports because afterwards... Yamamoto was a good bet because of his age... He trusts the evaluations... I just tell them, yes. That's what an owner should do. He has really smart baseball people and he just says yes.

The Blue Jays will win the World Series

The cup is in the building for the Blue Jays... the pointy little flags [are] in Canada... they can win the World Series. The Toronto Blue Jays... what a story. Trey Yesavage is unbelievable... this guy is insane. It's great.

Shohei Ohtani might be the best athlete we will ever see in any sport

[Shohei Ohtani] is getting into the territory of one, he's somehow underpaid. Two, he might be the best athlete we ever watch, play any sport. It's getting into the Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, these territories where in 50 years you could see yourself saying, remember when we got to watch Shohei Ohtani.

Brad Paisley is the Scott Foster of Major League Baseball because he is an 'extender' who sings the anthem before extra-inning games

I'm not a big Brad Paisley fan, but maybe I should be. He's the extender. He's like Scott Foster for Major League Baseball. [Every game he sings the national anthem before] went to extra innings. Game two in 2017 went 11, game three in 2018 went 18, game one in 2024 went 10, and this game went 18. Brad Paisley [sang] the national anthem before all those games.

George Springer is the most clutch postseason hitter of the last 15 years

George Springer does it again. Maybe the most clutch postseason hitter of the last, what, 15 years? Third all-time in postseason home runs now, which is pretty crazy.

Shohei Ohtani's three-home run and 10-strikeout game is the greatest individual performance in sports history.

I feel very comfortable saying that Shohei Ohtani hitting three home runs, pitching six shutout innings with 10 KS in an elimination game was the greatest single game performance I've ever seen a baseball player play. ... might have been the best game in the history of sports.

Baseball fans should blame their own cheap owners for not spending instead of being mad at the Dodgers.

We should be complaining about the Pirate's owner and the Red's owner and the, and the Rockies owner and all these owners that don't wanna spend a dollar. That's who should get the blame. Not the Dodgers. ... I'm done complaining about it. Blame your owner or not the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are essentially a collection of All-Stars that is unfair to the rest of the league

Dudes on dudes. That's what the Dodgers are. They just have dudes everywhere. They just hit home runs. ... It's crazy how good the Dodgers are. It's not fair. ... Like I want that, I want an owner who's just like, oh yeah, we, we already have a, a ton of dudes that are awesome. Let's just pay another dude a hundred, $200 million just to get even more awesome.

The Mariners are a team of destiny

I do feel Team of Destiny Vibes from the Mariners. Now their destiny might be to just get waxed by the Dodgers in the World Series. But I do think that Seattle's gonna get there.

Baseball teams should celebrate every playoff series win, regardless of prestige

I'm a big believer in celebrate everything. I know people get upset about it, but it's like the baseball season is so long you have to celebrate the ride. You don't know where your next celebration's gonna be. ... I'm a celebrate everything guy.

The impending MLB lockout will be the defining story of baseball next year

This is going to be the defining story of baseball next year. So hopefully people understand that this is gonna be a big deal... owners essentially lock players out, say you cannot report to work. And then it just becomes a staring contest.

The Mariners win over the Tigers in the ALDS was fueled by the 'Vibe Shift' of Humpy the Salmon winning his first race

This win goes as much to their stadium management crew as it does to the team on the field. Because T-Mobile Park was a dead zone. And then they did a second Salmon race... and Humpy the Salmon, a mascot who'd never won... his record was 0 and 162... Humpy won. Vibe shift entirely. Next inning, Mariners win.

The Cubs should bring home Kyle Schwarber

I would love [to get] Fram [and] Kyle Schwarber... Schwarber would be awesome. Bring him home. Be awesome.

The Brewers could absolutely beat the Dodgers in the NLCS

I've got a future on the Brewers that I put in in early August. They could absolutely beat the Dodgers. I've got a future on them... I would be very happy to see the Mariners win the World Series over my future, but I like the Brewers.

The Blue Jays are going to be a handful in the next round with Bo Bichette returning

The Toronto Blue Jays... they're getting Bo Bichette back I think in the next round. It's so, the Blue Jays are, they're, they're gonna be a handful.

Aaron Boone doesn't actually do anything for the Yankees besides chew on things

I don't really know what Aaron Boone does with that team besides just like chews. He just chews stuff. Yeah, he's like a dog. If you leave him alone, he, and there's something in front of him, he will pick it up in his mouth and he will chew it. But outside of that, I don't know what his day-to-day is.

Statcast measurements for home run distances are a lie

Stack Cast said [the Aaron Judge home run went] like 473. I don't believe that for a second. ... When they say like 373 feet on their like internal measurement system, there's no way that was only 373 feet, right? No, I don't believe any of that.

The Cubs will be the only team to get swept in the Division Series

I think the Cubs are screwed because I saw Tom Fornelli our good friend who's on later on in the show, who does not like the Cubs tweets. So we're gonna get three out of four of the DS series as sweeps, and now the Yankees won. That means a Phillies are gonna win and the Cubs are gonna be the only team that gets swept.

Cheating in baseball is legal as long as it doesn't involve electronics or batteries

Cheating in baseball is legal except if you use electronics. That's my, that's my rule. Like use electronics then at that, if a battery is involved, then that's against the rules.

Rob Thomson is coaching the Phillies like a loser

Rob Thompson is coaching like a loser. ... His reasoning for Aaron Nola is that he's a, he's a big time pitcher. Ranger Suarez is a big time pitcher. Pitch your best guys. ... it's the momentum that, that just really pissed me off. Is that it was the first time the stadium was feeling something and just ride it. Just ride it.

The Yankees should not celebrate a wild card win

I don't think that the Yankees should celebrate winning a wild card round... I think every other team can do it. You're the New York Yankees. You're supposed to be the Yankees. The standard shouldn't just be winning a wild card series.

Pitching Matthew Boyd on short rest was an inexplicable mistake by Craig Counsell

Craig Counsell decided to pitch [Matthew Boyd] on short rest game one. He got absolutely lit up... I don't understand it. Why wouldn't you go bullpen? ... I feel like every short rest is always a disadvantage.

The Tigers' series win erased the memory of the Guardians' historic 15.5-game comeback

Did the Tigers just erase that entire 15 and a half game comeback? I unfortunately think yes... when you lose then to the Tigers in three games, that's brutal. You caught them to then get the right to lose to them at home. You kept them alive to allow them to embarrass you.

The Guardians' historic comeback to win the AL Central will embolden bad GMs to never give up on a season

The fact that [the Guardians] won the AL Central now emboldens every general manager... because when they're 15 and a half games back, they'll be like, 'We're still in this. Remember the Guardians?'

The Guardians are the best team in baseball right now

Guardians are, are red hot. I put a future on the Guardians to win the World Series just because of like how crazy this last month has been for them. The best team in baseball right now. I don't think they're, they're the most talented team, but like, in terms of the streak that they're on, it's worth a shot at least.

The Mets are definitely making the playoffs

Gun to your head? Are they making the playoffs? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. They, they are definitely set up in a spot that they should, they should be feeling okay about themselves.

Teams should only celebrate clinching the division, not the Wild Card or DS

Clinching the playoffs is absolutely celebration worthy... I think when you win the wild card division series, it's like, this should be business as usual. Like we are, we're here now to win a championship. Let's focus on that.

Shohei Ohtani should be eliminated from MVP consideration after giving up five runs to the Rockies

Shohei [Ohtani] got rocked and he got hit by a line drive... he hit into a triple play, five runs against the Rockies. Those two things should eliminate you from the MVP.

MLB realignment and getting rid of the American and National Leagues would be a mistake

Shut the fuck up. Get the fuck out of my clubhouse, Rob [Manfred]... I actually think they should do the opposite. They should get rid of Interleague play... Dial it back, but don't get rid of the leagues. That would be a mistake.

The Milwaukee Brewers' 12-game win streak will inevitably end and they will blow their lead to the Cubs

The brewers are up eight games now. It happened in like two seconds... I think you guys just got out to a hot start... This is by the way, the Ultimate Loser talk that I'm just trying to find Solace being like we didn't blow the lead.

The Yankees should bring back Joe Torre and their old facial hair policy

The year where they decide to change their entire facial hair policy and grooming standards, things go downhill. They should go back to a manager that doesn't manage just off a spreadsheet. They need, they might need to bring back the no facial hair and Joe Torre all in the same.

Kyle Schwarber should win the NL MVP

I was gonna say Kyle Schwarber should be MVP. ... Shohei is not pitching. ... I also have a 90 to one ticket on Kyle Schwarber. But that has nothing to do with us saying Kyle Schwarber should win MVP.

The Miami Marlins might sneak into the MLB playoffs

The Miami Marlins... might sneak away into the playoffs. They're six games out of the Wild Card. I don't know, fun story going on in Miami.

The Chicago Cubs' 2025 trade deadline was a disaster with no clear plan.

Cubs Trade deadline recap... They got no plan. They got a bunch of rental arms. A super utility man. Which I like that. That's cool... But it feels like Kyle Tucker will not be resigned. The Cubs had, they, they traded a prospect, a really good pro prospect in Cam Smith for Kyle Tucker... And then they did nothing at the trade deadline. And they're holding onto prospects and then they're probably not gonna sign Kyle Tucker... it's a disaster.

The only way the Cubs can make their deadline right is by re-signing Kyle Schwarber in free agency.

The only way they can make it right is if they bring back Kyle Schwarber. I decided on that. I'm gonna start putting the pressure on that. 'cause he's a free agent.

The Baltimore Orioles have the best color scheme and logo in all of baseball

Orioles sneaky have like the best color scheme in baseball... and logo.

The walk-off catcher's interference rule is a stupid rule

I mean there's no, there's not much Hot Seat. It's just a stupid rule... Lost on walk off catcher's interference. Second time it's ever happened in MLB history. First time since 1971. The problem was the catcher just stuck it... It was technically letter of the law catcher's interference.