[FULL] High Heat 9/3/2024 | Mad Dog on MLB Playoffs picture: Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, Mets and more

and good morning everybody Welcome to high heat nice to have you with us good to be back today after Labor Day lots happening on the third day of September 2024 a month left in the Major League Baseball season about 25 24 games we'll be all over it here Chris petti of course Jo's in the house Alana's in Atlanta she's got some things going on with TBS and all the baseball we'll get to that a little later on a couple minutes matter of fact we'll get a little update from Miss wizzo lots to go with here as we head down the stretch let me give you five story lines as we start this month of September season ends four weeks from yesterday so we right on target here number one Orioles and the Yankees a storyline in the American League East you know right now basically they're tied they will play three games at Yankees Stadium the last week of the season I give the Yankees a little bit of an edge on the Orioles they got better starting pitching you know uh STS got the 25 home runs uh you know their offense is better Torres has done a little better so I'll give the Yankees The Edge Rizzo's back I the Yankees will beat out Baltimore now the Yankees have not played well they lost series to Detroit they lost series to Washington the angels beat him two out of three I mean the Yankees St Louis the Yankees have done a very poor job of putting the Orioles away because they could have done this a long time ago and they've been bouncing around they lost the game with the white socks at the Rockies really haven't played that great but I think at the end of the day the Yankees will end up winning the American League East now what does it mean in a big picture where you avoid a best of three and you get a home field in the best of five we know that needs to be changed the Orioles and Yankees most likely if they do play uh will play again I shouldn't say most likely good chance they could play again in that divisional series but the Yankees and the Oriol down a stretch we keep an eye on that three games at Yankee Stadium late I'll give the Yankees The Edge that's number one number two story lines is Kansas City can they hold on in the American League Wild Card Chase now they might be able to because everybody else has stumbled Red Sox have lost 16 of 25 they show no signs that they're going to make a late run Seattle's a mess they're at 500 they're not catching Houston and I think they're out of it you want to tell me the Tigers I got to see a little bit more so can Kansas City hang on uh in that wild card Chase there in the America League now they don't beat good teams we discussed this they lost a chance last week to get a sweep in Cleveland they really put themselves in first place in the division they go to Houston they get swept they lost two out of three to Philadelphia they have not beaten good teams all year so I I I you know I I think they probably will because there's nobody else but the Royals hanging on for that SI spot uh you know they lost last night to Cleveland Minnesota does go to Kansas City later on in the month but Kansas City's got a hard schedule they got to go play the Yankees in on the road they got to go play Atlanta on the road last weekend of the season so the Royals scenario is interesting there that is item number two item number three is is the Mets and they had a great win great win Thursday in Arizona when they needed to get that d W in win that Series against the Diamondbacks Diamondbacks lost that game in the ninth inning and a wonderful job by New York winning that game they got a big base hit by engus who's done a wonderful job for him they go to kamsky or they go to Chicago the pathetic white socks that's an embarrassment Beyond apprehension with what's going on with the white socks 31 wins really for a team that's been around a long time that is bad I mean that I if I was an owner I would not stomach that I'll tell you that right now and the Mets polished them off and now they get the socks are reeling Mets and the Braves we keep an eye on it now in the NL for that last spot the Cubs are in the mix here too but them in a sec now remember Mets have a harder schedule than Atlanta if you were into that they play at Milwaukee the last weekend of the season they got two series with Philadelphia which would not be easy and they have to play in Atlanta the same week the Orioles are play in the Yankees at Yankee Stadium right now they're what a game back and a loss that might go right down to the wire in the NL who gets spot number six now the Cubs dur in the mix here they had an 8-1 home stand they've scored a million runs it's a terrible job by Council last night managing that game you cannot take out your starting pitcher off 89 pitches when you're winning a game three nothing in the top of the eighth he brings in that relever Lopez who gives up balls all over the place he lets Lopez not give up one home run Lopez gives up two home runs that that cannot happen under any stretch circumstance after he gives up the Run outs home run you got to get him out of the game you can't let mut and beat him too and the Pirates get five runs in the last two innings to win that game that is a horrendous job that can't happen if you're the Cubs chasing trying to make the postseason that's a game you cannot lose to a Pittsburgh team that has been awful for three weeks four weeks terrible job with the Cubs Jesse Rogers will talk to Alon about that here momentarily and the last thing I'll give you for a second I just thought of it because I think it is interesting Milwaukee Philly and La all three teams are in the in the race not only to win the division but Al win the division end up with the best record they're going to win the divisions all three teams but also to figure out who will have the best record which means home field and who will get that second Buy in the NL with the Brewers Phillies and Dodgers push pedal to the metal the last 10 days of the season to make sure they're a the best record and B avoid the wild card now you're going to say well Chris of course they well hold on now Philly's going to go out there and Pitch wheeler and Nola the last week of the season to secure that when they pitched a lot all year I don't know that the Dodgers are going to pitch glaso and Yamamoto late in the year in that scenario a secure avoiding a Wild Card round you have no guarantee of that I don't know that what this team's motivations are going to be for that is going to be interesting and they're close right now what is it a game apart two games apart for the three teams if it stays that way have they hand handle the last 10 12 days of the Season running after that is going to be fascinating to watch remember there's no guarantee if you avoid the Wild Card you're going to go anywhere we saw what happened last year with the Braves the Orioles and of course the Dodgers who all avoided wild card and then got muled won one game between them in a divisional Series so I'm going to be seeing how these front offic handle this the last 10 days between those three teams I'm going to throw that in the mix down the stretch too baseball here here we go now you get out a chance for a great postseason Houston Dodgers Yankees Mets I mean you get a lot of Team Phillies you get a lot of teams here big teams you know have an opportunity here late in the year San Diego and Arizona so we'll keep an eye on that in this sport now Alana is at true as pork today she's going to be involved on these Tuesdays with quick wraparound shows which you're going to air on those T TBS TNT channels true TV's got some of them they have the NCAA tournament games Alana will do a wonderful job that is why today you see her and you'll see her on Tuesdays in Atlanta she commutes and does those WP arounds down there that's an excellent job for her she do a wonderful job there and she's going to edify what I just said M Rizzo it's all yours take it away hi Chris it's awesome to see you it's a great time of year in our wonderful sport of course I've been scoreboard watching since the beginning of the season but now once the calendar hits September 1st everybody is really starting to pay attention as you mentioned I'm here in Atlanta at truist Park getting ready for a whip around show race to the penants myself and Yonder Alonzo thanks to the Atlanta Braves for having me here today and thanks for True TV for putting us on tonight I am thinking about the things that you were saying in the brush back Chris and I think when you look at the New York Yankees they have to find somebody else that can hit besides just Aaron judge and Juan SoDo if you look at the Yankees as a whole you mentioned the starting pitching you think it's better than the Baltimore Oriol starting staff but if you look at the lineup I think the Orioles offense is deeper than the Yankees now the Yankees pitching is going to get better when you have heel and Clark Schmidt come back but if you look at what the Yankees are doing offensively the rest of the team not named judge or SoDo has an Ops of 688 this year now the Orioles since the start of July their starters Chris have an erra of 4.72 that ranks 11th in the majors even Corbin Burns their Ace is only 4.74 as far as the ER over that span they need adley Rutman to get hot he's hitting 190 with a 585 Ops in his last 50 games so while the offense of the Orioles is good adley Rutman needs to get things going and the starters need to absolutely reduce the amount of runs given up and runs earned as far as the erra is concerned so that's the Yankees and the Orioles in the AL East when you look at the Braves of course I'm at their home park today they welcome in the Colorado Rockies um here at truest Park tonight the rotation has gotten a boost of course with Max freed returning to his old form in his last three starts they just need Chris Sail to continue his High Young Award caliber season let's think about the fact about where these Atlanta Braves would be without the season that Chris Sale is having obviously this team more than any other team in the league has been decimated by injuries but nobody feels sorry for the Atlanta Braves nobody feels sorry for the Los Angeles daughters as far as their starting staff is concerned on the iil but the Braves have to hope that Chris S can continue to do what he's doing and they have to pray that nobody else gets hurt because this team has been absolutely decimated by injuries to key key pieces now Jesse Rogers is going to join us a little bit later coming up he's going to talk about the Chicago Cubs obviously the white socks are abysmal this season but the Cubs have gone on a bit of a nice run here recently I'm a little confused as to why Craig Council pulled Jameson tyion uh yesterday uh when when that happened you got to leave him in the game but let's talk about what the Cubs could do and possibly force their way Chris into this postseason Cody Bellinger they need him to get hot again I feel like we've had this conversation all SE seon long when it comes to Bellinger he goes into these offensive slubs the lineup has been red hot though in their last 11 games Chris he has not been a part of that as far as Cody Bell Andro is concerned Justin steel was supposed to get the start today but he's been scratched with elbow soreness they cannot afford to lose Justin steel he's been great for this team I would love to see the Cubs get into the postseason baseball's better when the Cubs are good uh they're making a run for it obviously it always matters who's playing the best baseball at the right time you need everybody to play to the back side of their baseball cards but you also need guys to stay healthy in the last 11 games Chris they're 9-2 they're scoring almost you know over nine runs a game almost n and a half runs per game the average is there the Ops is there and they have a plus 50 run differential so Chicago making a case for themselves obviously we know that the Milwaukee Brewers are going to win the division Chris but the Cubs making a case for themselves to get into that postseason via the Wild Card here's the thing about the Cubs that's why that lost CL night you can't lose that game the Cubs have a series with the they have a series with the Yankees the Cubs go to Philadelphia and the Cubs go to Dodgers Stadium so they got nine games against the three best teams maybe in the sport and they Trail Atlanta by three four games so you cannot under any circumstances lose to the Pittsburgh Pirates who have been not bad have been horrendous for three and a half weeks they were three over 500 and before last night they were 10 under you cannot lose that game three nothing top of the eighth inning when you're hot as heck you got to get six outs they didn't do it and those are the kind of games when you're chasing you cannot lose so we'll keep an eye on that great job Alana you talk to Jesse here momentarily here we go now with ballpark cam at City field with the Red Sox and the Mets the Red Sox have faded they they came wi at home which has killed them all year long the Mets have Plucky they're feisty has a big Series in Arizona off that awful Sunday loss in San Diego and Diaz blew the ball game well not just him they I I can't blame it all on him because obviously they scored Padre that day in the in the eighth inning but then Diaz blew the game with the Carol home run uh in in Arizona but the Mets have hung in there they've done an excellent job and they're right on the cusp here of getting into the postseason the endur leading off has been great he's not going to win the MVP but still the chant all they want at City Field here's John Heyman he's our pal let's start there great story here John I mean I know you want to finish it off uh with postseason if you can but they were 11 under and now whatever they 10 or 11 over he has done an excellent job Mendoza and the Mets are feisty and they got a heck of a chance let's go through them first go ahead yeah I'm with you Mendoza's done a great job their Bullpen is solid for the most part the rotation is deeper than most and that lineup is maybe the deepest in the game so I I think they have an excellent chance the Braves I give the Braves credit for being still in front a half game in front at this point with all the injuries the key injuries they've had auna out for the year Strider out for the year all the other injuries the key to the key guys so I give the Braves a lot of credit for hanging in there but the Mets are a good solid team and they are absolutely showing that over the last few months now the Mets have a harder schedule you make a big deal about that they have two series with the Phillies Braves don't play the Phillies anymore they got a series in Milwaukee to close the year Brewers might be playing for avoiding a wild card series so they might need that and they have to go to Atlanta where they never play that great despite the fact they won two out of three there this year earlier on you give a big deal with the brave edge with the schedule or it means nothing to you let me hear your thoughts there yeah normally I'm not big on the strength of the schedule but in this case playing the Phillies you're right on it the Phillies and the Brewers going for that same thing right they want to be that second team along with presumably the Dodgers who get that buy in the first round so the Phillies have something to play for the Brewers have the same thing to play for and the have a lot of games six games with the Phillies uh three with the Brewers uh that makes it more difficult for them but again they are healthier than the Braves and they are right now hitting a lot better than the Braves and I still give them a Fighter's chance I know it's a half game but I think that schedule gives the Braves a little bit of an advantage if you're betting I'm not a betting person but I'm sure that the Braves are probably favored more than that half game would show all right how do you feel the Dodgers Brewers and Phillies are going to play the last 10 days of the Season knowing they're already you know clinched the division so they're all set with there and of course you know the Wild Card you want to avoid that if you can but are those three teams going to push you know pedal to the metal push the envelope in you know Yamamoto and glass now will wheeler pitch you know eight Innings to avoid that or you think they're going to sort of let the chips for they may considering the idea that you know there's no guarantee if you avoid the wild card that you're going to do anything in the postseason as we saw last year with the three teams who won a total of one game with 100 wins how do you think those three teams are going to play it let me hear yeah I mean the Wild Card teams have gotten there last time last two times in the national league right with the Diamondbacks and the Phillies before that making the World Series out of the wild card but teams do not want to be in the Wild Card position they really want to avoid it at all costs and I'm just going with the recent history and that's when we have had these playoffs recently and nobody uh plays plays it to just get in the playoffs and whatever they all play it to get that by and not have to play that extra round so I'm assuming all those teams are going to play hard until the end particularly the Phillies and the Brewers who are a few games behind the Dodgers at this point all okay so you think they'll go after it all Yankees and the Orioles I give the Yankees a little ledge uh only because of the pitching uh they got manyy more pitchers than the and they're going to get a couple here pretty soon back the Oreo's pitching is a mess and I don't like the Oreo Bullpen Dominguez gives up home runs every time he's out there I think the Yankees will plus they get the Orioles at home I think the Yankees will figure out a way to eek out the divisional Chase in the American League East let me hear your thoughts on that you would think so you would think their lead would be more than a half a game at this point though and look effin has come back and he looks great he's one of the best pickups of this deadline which what really wasn't a fruitful deadline for too many teams obviously the Yankees made hay with jazz chis on but the Orioles did too with efin if Grayson Rodriguez comes back late in September that'll be a big plus for them for the play play offs but you're right in terms of the rotation uh Yankees have more options now plus they have Clark Schmidt coming back L heel coming back we'll see if they use them in the bullpen or the rotation but they have a lot of options assuming Cole's healthy uh they probably have more options for the rotation than anybody is anybody playing for their supper here late I mean is Jerry depoto okay Seattle's collaps he fired the manager uh I mean there's a couple of other scenarios I can give you if you weit know moral with St Louis what is your take on a couple of these situations with some GMS and managers here for these floundering teams what do you see with that well we know the Marlins are going to move on skip scho marker made it clear he doesn't he wanted that option the team option taken away and they they agreed to do it and he will have I think his choice of some other options whether it be the white socks or whomever else there'll probably be a couple of other openings you would look at Toronto perhaps for manager I think they will probably stick with the front office uh uh it does feel like uh they're safe Shapiro Shapiro and of course Atkins in the front office I would guess they would be safe for at least another year so I would say Schneider could be an issue in Toronto St Louis you wonder about I know that Albert Pooh also was on earlier is he a candidate to be manager in St Louis that would be interesting uh he's done a good job here I we don't want to lose him but you wonder about him yier Molina another potential candidate there in St Louis uh and obviously Schumacher who had been a player there there uh in St Louis as well could be a candidate if they do make a change but I I don't think there going to be a ton of uh openings in the maneral ranks and in the front office ranks you know I think depoto will hang on in Seattle uh it does feel like a kind of an ownership move to go with Dan Wilson and Edgar uh Martinez uh now and see how they do at the end but obviously the hitting has not worked they are the most unbalanced team in baseball their pitching has been outstanding it's really a shame they're not going to be the playoffs there six games out with that kind of rotation really incredible but they've hit only better than the white socks and the Marlins hard to believe I do think depoto survives I think Toronto they survive I don't see a lot of front office changes right now I think the managerial switches are the ones to look at and you know obviously we know about the white socks they're going to hire a new manager uh the Marlins they'll hire a new manager and I would say Toronto St Louis maybe uh you know it's interesting to keep an eye on we'll see what happens with Bruce Boi whether he wants to return I do think he loves managing and he is the all-time great as you know better than anybody the all-time greatest October manager but you have to get to October uh obviously he's safe if he wants to stay I think he probably does but this has been a rough year in Texas and I I would look this Bud Black retire in Colorado I I don't think he's in danger in terms of a of a firing but you wonder if he would like to retire at some point so I would look at those five or six places for manager GM couldn't pinpoint one there I think they're going to be a change well and fascinating all right and how about stto I mean I can see at the end of the day I can't see how letting him go I really can't I he never live it down he's so good now I I do think he's got to keep an eye on what judge makes you can't pay sto that much more than judge although you can obviously extend it a lot longer because is a lot younger and I know there'll be a lot of chatter and I know he probably won't sign until March but at the end of the day I do think Soto will end up with the Yankees for his career what's your take with that yeah I mean I think the Yankees have an excellent opportunity here obviously they're a team that does the best business they have the highest revenue he is there he does seem to be enjoying himself by and large there it is an advantage having Aaron judge batting behind you that said I don't believe that Aaron judge's contract will limit what stto gets in free agency it's a different situation I mean obviously judge wanted to be back in the Bronx and we kind of all knew that he preferred to be back if all things were equal and the Yankees didn't make them equal we really don't know what Soto he has not play his cards out there at all uh you know he obviously turned it down with Washington the 15 years 440 million I I don't believe that they're looking at the judge deal and saying well it's got to be limited because judge is the best player and he makes 40 and so he's only going to get 40 or 41 or whatever I don't think so I think the Mets are probably going to be a big player there we don't know that for sure either but in free agency anything can can happen so I I don't think it's as predictable as people think did anyone think A-Rod was going to Texas I don't think anybody had that on their radar on their bingo card in September at zero people so I you know you never know when you're talking about a player of this caliber who's 25 years old uh but by the same token now let's you go with Robinson Canó which I don't name me the one yany player who left who they wanted well there were players that they barely wanted that they weren't able to get that people thought they were going to get like Cliff Lee but in terms of you know Superstars that were already with the Yankees they generally don't want to leave but we're talking about Judge Jeter those are guys who grew up with the Yankees you know they were alltime Yankees soda's only been there one year we know he did turn down a contract with the with the Nats you know most guys in free agency go for the best deal so you know I you you can't rule that out and potentially the Mets could make the biggest offer and certainly the Dodgers you can never rule them out and there were other teams that tried to trade for him like Toronto San Francisco and the Cubs that didn't get him the Yankees did get them good for them that was actually a great trade for both teams San Diego did very well in that trade as well but it's been a obviously a huge boom no pun intended for the Yankees to have stto and they're obviously going to make a huge effort to bring them back and usually the Yankees do get what they want but I in free agency all bets are off all right right now if I had to ask you who's going to I think the NL it's going to come come down to Dodgers and the and the Phillies I really do uh I think they'll play a seven game War and I think that would be great for the sport American League you know Houston's very dangerous I don't completely trust the Yankees Cleveland's going to win one of these years it's been since 1948 they got a great Bullpen who would you take right this second to come out of the American League well I don't like to go away from my original predictions which were Dodgers and Orioles so I went with pretty much chalk close to it I guess the Yankees were slight favored over the Orioles but at this point if I were to guess I'm going to guess Philly's Astros as the World Series wow you're going back to houon look at you why you like how come I mean because of their pedigree and the fact they always win they've got the rotation that looked like it was in disarray with eight different guys going on the iel at one time or another I looked like a complete mess and obviously we haven't seen Garcia we're not going to see McCullers or K's barely pitched but they have a pretty darn good rotation right now and you have to love their nucleus you've got Tucker coming back I mean you know this is a team that's done it in October and right now they've pieced that rotation together remarkably so with arag Getti coming in there and obviously the the trade for Kikuchi uh fber is an outstanding October pitcher I I think Houston's the in my mind Houston's the favorite in the American League right now excellent job by Mr Heyman always a pleasure John keep up the good work we check in a uh as we move it along here appreciate a few minutes thanks Chris here we go now from the truest Park ballpark cam where I am NTT ballpark cam taking us out to Wrigley Field it is the second of a three-game set between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs Paul SK on the hill for the buckos Hendrick on the hill for the Chicago Cubs joining me now is ESPN staff Rider Jesse Rogers who does a tremendous job covering all of Major League Baseball particularly of course the Cubs and the white socks before we get into the Cubbies Jesse thanks for being with us let me ask you your just overall take on the Chicago White Socks obviously on a historic run of losses this season I mean this is a a franchise that obviously has some history too it has a World Series championship in its name what do you make of the abysmal season that the white socks are having yeah I mean we kind of saw some of this coming Alana I mean they were designed to lose a 100 games now they're getting the worst version the worst possible outcome of that 100 loss kind of team that that they brought back from last year I mean they completely turned over their pitching sta so 100 105 losses made sense now what's made it so much worse is their their offense it's just putrid and this is with a bunch of guys that people know Andrew benintendi and Andrew vaugh and Luis Robert these are these are MLB players that are just having horrendous years so again they're getting the worst possible outcome in a year where they were going to be bad anyway and that's why they're battling for that record but of course there's bigger issues with the white socks going all the way up to ownership and how the team has run we've talked about that in the past but right now it's just like I said the worst version of a bad team all right let's talk about the Chicago Cubs now for a moment on a hot streak here the yesterday was a bit peculiar why Craig Council Jesse decided to take out Jameson tyion there and go with Lopez he said it was an easy decision for him because Lopez has been good as of late what did you make of the call you know I'm a very good second guest Guy up in the Press Box but in this case I can live with it it was only 89 pitches not 110 but it was a three-run lead you have six outs to get not nine like if you pulled them after six it'd be much worse you have six outs to get Jorge Lopez 87 erra in August the bullpen has been great you've beaten up the Pirates lately I didn't have a big problem with it yeah maybe you could have squeezed one more inning out of him but who knows maybe J Lopez gives up two home runs in the ninth and you still lose so I actually think in a one- nothing game I would have left the starter in but with a little cushion there you can live with it to to to predict Jorge Lopez to hit two give up two home runs in the eighth that's hard to to come by and you know someone mentioned this stat I didn't realize this uh the last time the Cubs blew a lead like that three nothing in the eighth or later was the 2003 playoffs when they blew that lead famously with Mark Prior on the mound a specifically a 3 nothing lead so I I didn't think it was a big problem and it was kind of a fluke finish for for Pittsburgh and you know what the Cubs beat them up last week coming back from 103 down the Pirates deserve to win a game down 3 nothing and honestly when you think about what jot Lopez has done for the Cub since being acquired he's been pretty special what has made him so effective Jesse going into that outing yesterday he had a 76 erra in 23 and 23s Innings of work yeah I think he and Ty and Miller remind me of each other as another guy the Cubs kind of just picked up you know who was let go and they're they're just On Target right now they're just on target with everything that's why yesterday was was so unusual to see Lopez leave a couple balls in the zone there there his stuff has just been really On Target not leaving it in The Hitting Zone he's been throwing pitchers pitches until yesterday so that that's what I see with Lopez and you know why that happened I mean it's you can do a deeper dive but you know just a guy that's been locked in the Cubs have a really good pitching infrastructure they've done well picking up guys up the waiver wire or guys discarded by other teams um I mean it works both ways it happens a lot around the league one guy's trashes another guy's you know gem kind of thing and so uh I I I think he just locked in in terms of his control and it's been great all right well the Cubs can ill afford to lose Justin steel he's already been scratched for today Jesse as you know with elbow soreness what more can you tell us and then what should we expect from him yeah I mean look he's not going to start in the next day or two the elbow soreness doesn't go away in three or four days now we've we've seen you know everyone goes to the worst case scenario which of course is still on the table but I've seen even with Justin steel a a quick return from soris he had this uh last year and and missed a starter too so it's not unheard of to come back quickly but this is a top of the rotation arm the Cubs have a 3.9% chance of making the postseason at least according to ESPN they're not going to take any chances with him we'll just we won't know no won won't know more until the next day or two as they as they run some tests but he was scratched late last night so obviously this just popped up um so I imagine he's not starting anytime real soon but I can't declare that he's out for the for the for the final month of the Season or not I just know they won't take chances with that low of a playoff percentage you know uh odds Jesse I see your 3.9% odds of making the postseason and I raise you 9.3 runs per game for the Cubbies over this nine and two stretch in the last 11 games what has gotten into this Cubs offense that's made them click so well yeah so I can give you the the easy short version and it's the fact that they don't have any Superstars so they really need nine guys to to to go well they really do and finally the bottom of their order uh Pete Crow Armstrong and Miguel Amaya both young players really found their groove over the last month or so they've come on strong and that has lengthened the lineup and then some other guys have gotten hot as well you know I was talking to Dan B Swanson yesterday he's like many times you have three guys going well three guys not so going well and three guys moving up or down the Cubs had seven to choose from now they have nine doing all that stuff now why is it's all come together now is is is even an interesting more interesting question you know paraphrasing Craig Council yesterday it would be more explainable if they were just bad for five straight months okay we have bad offensive players we need to make changes but this is where hitting becomes really hard to figure out because they were good in April bad for three months and now they're good again so it's like how do you figure that out come October when you want to make some changes potentially if they do come up short so hard hard to figure out but the short answer is just the length of the lineup has now gotten a bit deeper with the eight and nine hitters coming through all right two more questions from me Jesse is how do we get Cody Bellinger going as far as that hitting is concerned because we talked about how good the offense has been 9.3 runs per game in the last 11 games Cody hasn't been on that tear though what are you seeing from him you know Cody has changed as a hitter I don't think he's wanted to but it's incredible on it he is better in my opinion with two strikes than he is with no strikes he's so good at locking in and and dinking a ball the left field especially against the left-hander or or you know some once in a while pull BL a ball down the line but the slug hasn't been there especially early in the count uh so that's kind of strange uh you just have to recalibrate what you think of Cody Bellinger as a hitter great with two strikes not as good or or or lethal with no strikes it's hard to pinpoint he's such a mechanical fiend when he's not going well he will be out there at 8 a. working with the hitting coaches and so maybe we just have to think of him as a different kind of hitter aana because I don't have the exact answer why he's not slugging as much all right last question for me Jesse the Cubs don't have a very easy ride the rest of the way in terms of schedule they'll face the Yankees the Dodgers and the Phillies do you think they get into the postseason no I don't I think they did a great job of just getting to this point about three weeks ago their strength of schedule ranked like 27th now it's up to 16th the brave strength of schedule is 24th or 25th they have an easy two weeks coming up easy for me to say of course it's Major League Baseball you never know but I I think it they needed to get just even a game or two closer Alana for them to have a shot last night's loss was just devastating you know having that three nothing lead so I I don't think they get in but I think they could probably repeat their record of 83 wins last season or maybe win a game or two better but that's not going to be enough all right Jesse Rogers ESPN staff Rider we appreciate you very much thanks for the Insight you got it anytime be well and this day in history presented by New York life lots of great moments that was the Sunday before Labor Day weekend or Labor Day I should say it was Labor Day weekend Monday was Labor Day when the Yankees played the Tigers at Yankees Stadium they started that series only a game and a half up on Detroit they won the first two games one of those was in warcore fashion and then Mano got up there in the bottom of the ninth inning of game three in front of 55,000 at Yankee Stadium and tied the game up with that Homer and then La Howard hit a three-run homer to win the game and a Yankees swept Detroit the Tigers left to with a 4 and a half game deficit Yankees were on their way to winning 13 straight and won the American League by a million games nine and a half I think it was they won 109 and then of course they won the World Series this is a famous game and a famous that and a famous home run because it became the first scenario where two players on the same team hit 50 homers in the same year remember obviously garick and Ruth had that you know they hit 107 combined but Garrick didn't hit 50 homers in 19 27 he hit 47 Ruth hit the 60 these are the first two who have done it for the same team in the same year Maris hit Homer number 50 on August 22nd when Manel hit this home run against the Tigers Maris had 53 homers so they have it with these two obviously they hit combined that year 161 and 54 do the math 115 home runs which is I don't know if it's the alltime record but it should be that's how great they were now remember there's another part of this story man only hit four more home runs the rest of the year he had that uh he was feeling lousy for a long period of time Mel Allen on a flight back from Boston in late September told him to go visit my doctor Dr Feelgood it was Dr Max Jacobson so Mano makes an appointment on Monday on an off day gets a shot in his hip it becomes absessed and he doesn't really basically play the rest of the year and only plays gets four or five at bats in a World Series in which the Yankees beat Cincinnati easily in five games so Maris was sick a lot of people I'm not going to tell you what he was sick of they didn't really diagnose him properly he got the Feelgood shot it would work for John F Kennedy that was a Mel Allen U suggestion Mano goes to get it and then he gets sicker he's in the hospital and everything else and then of course Maris ends up hitting 61 home runs a lot of people wed for mano to break Wu's record at 60 Maris is the guy who ended up doing it Roger hits to 61 on the last day of the regular season Manel hit 54 I don't know when the last day or last game that he hit the Homer was uh Manel obviously that year had a tremendous offensive season we all and you know Maris was protected in that lineup which was a big deal when he hit the 61 but the both of them hit the 61 and the 54 Yankees won the pennant the Tigers won 101 games that year but the Yankees won 109 and whatever it was and swept that three- game series and that was very good video I have never seen that that's at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday afternoon before Labor Day in 1961 and the Yankees basically polishing off Detroit to win the American League pennant fascinating and man hits the Homer Jerry Staley was the pitcher for the Tigers the right-hander when Mano deposited the ball in that left field center field area left center field bleachers at the old ballpark in the Bronx there you have it that's a good a very very good New York Life moment here today welcome back everybody to high heat NTT ballpark cam taking us out to American Family field in m W it is the Cardinals at the Brewers that game tonight at 7:40 Eastern your first pitch Matts and savali on the hill time now for the mik the keys to the game and I tell you what for the St Louis Cardinals the keys to the game is keeping this man in the ball park Willie Adamas have yourself a 2024 sir five home runs as far as that is concerned the most consecutive games with the home run in Brewers history look at the company that he keeps Jeremy bernitz is on the list Eric tames on the list as well Willie adamus from August to September 2024 of course it's only September 3rd right now but five straight games with a home run for him and not only that he leads the national league in RBI as well in 138 games so far this season he has 99 runs batted in the average is at 255 28 doubles 29 home runs 99 Stakes an Ops of 812 by the way Willie adamus is in a contract year this season he is a free agent after this year I'd say that he is making the most of it that's miniki keys to the game Willie Adamas all right everybody welcome back to high heat time to turn up the heat this is where I ask Christopher Russo a question on the spot that he doesn't know all right Chris John Heyman brought it up earlier when you were talking to him he thinks the Astros are headed to the World Series in your mind are the Houston Astros the best team in the American League yay or nay uh I would say nay they're due to lose uh early they've won as you said or he said seven straight ALCS they've been to they're due to get picked off sometimes you know you're going to lose a series you don't think you're going to lose so I would say that they will surprise now they're dangerous and I wouldn't be shocked but I'll go the other way just on odds that now for a change they're going to get surprised by somebody and they all going to play the Wild Card round because they will not be able to avoid that because they're going to be the third seed so they have to play a Royals a twins you know a team like that in that first round watch them lose so I will say the Astros will get picked off early before the ALCS okay so if the Astros are not the best team in the junior circuit who is the best team in the AL in your mind yeah it's very tough um you know I don't think the Royals or twins are going to go to the go to the World Series um I don't think Cleveland I know that they do and they got a great Bullpen class is wonderful I understand that and they do but you know and I can't pick the Yankees every year I picked you know I forget who you pick you went Dodgers I picked Orioles Phillies at the beginning of the year I thought you know let's go back to 1983 so I'll stick with that I'll say Baltimore will somehow some way figure out a way to beat the Yankees in the best of Five series I think so too but I also think Baltimore is going to ultimately win the division I don't think the Yankees will win the division I think Baltimore wins the Division well why do you think that Yankees have an easier schedule and I get three games at home go ahead I just think that Baltimore has a better offense I do say that I will say this though obviously pitching and defense matters more but for some reason I just have a feeling Baltimore is going to win the division I think they're going to surprise people wow that would be something if the Yankees don't win the division if they don't they can blame it on all these terrible series I we see you Friday on our show Alana's going to see you tomorrow on on true from True Park good job chriset tonight I apologize good job Chris benetti and joy Alana on tonight from true as Park that wraparound that's important we see you Friday Joy vad see you then I [Music] oh m it has been processed normally