Dennis Koulatsos and Nestor talk through the Orioles July speed bump at Yankee Stadium and the four All Stars in Seattle for the Midsummer Classic.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
game, baseball, people, week, watch, baltimore, team, star, yankee stadium, home run derby, orioles, playing, thought, ball, nestor, all star game, pitching, yankees, pitch, rodriguez
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Dennis Koulatsos
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Double U N s t tassel. Baltimore. Baltimore positive we are through the Fourth of July and I don’t know what to make of this week, man, you know, everybody knew it was gonna be weird Fourth of July in the middle of the week, then it’s still gonna be here on Thursday and Sunday doing the Sunday Sports force. We’ll be back on Thursday between three and five. That is Colossus joins us now from Koons Baltimore Ford where they saw some cars there in Holland. I don’t know if people buy cars more when it’s 100 degrees or less. You told me
8
Dennis Koulatsos 00:27
when their deals are out there and they need a vehicle. Yes, they come out regardless of the weather. And right now the deals are good. The inventory is solid and we delivered 18 vehicles on on Fourth of July. We were out of here by six o’clock as well. So it’s a great day for us.
Nestor Aparicio 00:43
Yeah, it’s weird. Like I don’t even for car dealership or for restaurants like Monday night I’m like, getting like if I go out to like a Monday night or like a Saturday. i i It’s so weird. In the summer. Two people are at the beach. Everybody’s a Delaware. Well, Ocean City are here. They’re doing other things. But meanwhile, the Orioles thing are the early part of the week they go up to New York, they had a rough weekend here, right? I mean, you went out to the ballpark last week, they get a rough weekend. And now they’ve hit like, I don’t they might win three games. By the time people hear this on Sunday or whatever, right by the time you’re on the air. But this has been their first All right, they’re stuck in the mud a little bit right now as if we were all sort of waiting on a little bit because it’s bound to happen 162 game season, but they need more pitching. I mean, it’s in the widest knows that they all know this, that this isn’t going to hold up over the long haul.
Dennis Koulatsos 01:31
The problem is the pitch and cools off and so that the bass, right they haven’t really hit produce any runs in about a week’s time. And you can’t have that the only way to compensate for poor pitching is by trying to outscore the opposition, of course. And well, those two things don’t come together. Man. I’ll tell you what, it’s crazy. And they’re hanging in there. They’re they’re moving to other three series and whatnot. But let’s see what happens to have. They’re facing some adversity for the first time, in a long time. And I’m curious to see how this team will respond.
Nestor Aparicio 02:00
8Well, adversity, I mean, they’ve been an adverse franchise for most of 30 years, right. So to have things going so well, that you lose a couple of games in New York, you lose a couple games at home. These are first world problems for a baseball franchise that’s trying to be a pennant winning team and a relevant team and have this not go to hell in a handbasket. Right, like a lot of young players, to your point. But there’s pedigree all over the field at this point. And this has maybe been taking this to the Ravens that if there’s problems during the season, there’s pedigree here to try to work that out, try to help that especially in the wide receiver room for the football team. This is a chance for Adley rutschman. This is his first, hey, things aren’t going well. I came up we’ve been winning the whole time. We’re playing great baseball in April in May. And now things are happening ran all them and listen. It’s got to be hot, right middle of summer. These guys are young and I know all that. But that’s part of this is that these are long, hot seasons. You’re in New York. The one thing I thought about New York on Monday night, and I do appreciate Mr. Angeles for allowing me to watch the game on national Monday. They play the Yankees are a massive one and Palmer’s there. And it’s like you know, but Fourth of July holidays like all that. I watched the game Monday night and this was just me. Okay, I haven’t been down to the stadium since opening day and there are people down there some are paying attention somewhere. You’ve been to a three or four games. You’ve been out there
Dennis Koulatsos 03:24
I am. I am one and five A Camden Yards. So I’m not allowed to go there anymore. But I believe in jinxes, but yeah, six games so far this year.
Nestor Aparicio 03:31
Wow. That’s six more than you’ve been doing the last 10 years, right? I mean, like at least Yes. Maybe the last week spent a long long stretch of time here twice a week with me on your show. And just saying I don’t go when they when they’re ready to when they’re going to put good coffee in the cup. I’ll go drink it right good coffee
Dennis Koulatsos 03:46
in a company that have four, four all stars on the team and a belt, some equity, right? They’ve got gotten off to a very good start so they can afford to face some headwinds, some speed bumps, if you will. But they’ve got to power through the master they’ve got to figure it out. And whether Brandon Hyde needs to play small ball, shuffle and lineup. He’s got to do something to jolt his team in the effort he got to perform better. Well they
8Nestor Aparicio 04:09
do everything on analytics and statistics that’s the way the organization’s by the way buckshot wants to know three to one to be the first manager fired Major League Baseball I got the odds on that I’m thinking Don’t bet on anything here in this culture was sports but I do want to take this back to Monday nights and Monday night games on and I put it on right at the beginning. I’m watching the pregame show a little bit Yankee Stadium the whole deal. And they walk out and the game starts and I’ve seen Oriole batters up when the Yankees people are doing roll call for the left field or the center field, you know, the yelling the names and all that. And I’m looking at a pan the stadium and people popcorns in this, but people everywhere. And I’m thinking last night for Fourth of July everybody’s off. It’s like a Saturday night was Monday night. And I thought to myself just for some of these young players. And if and that’s most of the team that’s not Aaron Hicks, who got roundly booed and you know, like all of that and all that. But walking into was stadium when you’re very young man I mean these are guys just got called up last couple of weeks like a lot of every week we’re calling up a Jordan Westberg and saying he’s the next this or the next that or we get saviors all along the way to counselors coming up all these guys will be coming up right? Then they walk into the real Yankee Stadium. They’ve been at the Grand Hyatt in New York, the limo, the bus picks them up they got the freeway they show up at Yankee Stadium, they get their three o’clock they’re taping up and then they walk out BP and the whole deal but then the the game start and their people there. Lots and lots and lots of people. No offense to major league baseball or these players or the Orioles crowds or whatever. Boy oh boy. I mean, I watched the Orioles every night, right? They’re lonely. When they go to Tampa it’s lonely when they’re home. All right, Friday night, Saturday night, they didn’t score any runs and he gets he hits. Shaq was good all deal, right. But there were people in the ballpark on Friday and Saturday. They didn’t play well. Like they just did. I don’t know maybe if I had to come out and do the show in front of a Wembley Park. You know, crowd I wet myself, right? It is different. But I think for them, they’re going into these big environments, right this week. Good big crowds, Yankee Stadium guys are all over the field making $50 million $300 million payroll the whole deal. And I fought for them on Monday night. Well, this is a little different for them. This is different. There’s a real crowd. Here’s a lot of people it’s an American League East and they have a lot of them. If they wet the bed and lose all these games. They’re still fine. They’re good. They’re they’re going to be an okay shape either way, but I did think this is a different kind of challenge because most nights, they go to Oakland, nobody’s there. Like I’m trying to think of places they been lately, where there’s been a lot of people where there’s been a big crowd other than Friday and Saturday at home. These Yankee Stadium games just felt like real baseball to me. It felt like old school baseball to me in a way that when they’re playing Tampa, and there’s 11,000 people there. Yeah, it feels like it feels like may, you know
Dennis Koulatsos 06:55
Well, that’s a very astute observation on your part that Nestor and I would imagine Yankee fans tend to be very loud I’ve never been to Yankee Stadium never don’t know what the atmosphere is like they’re on a free for the July evening against the America I would call
Nestor Aparicio 07:11
it carnival. Like in that sounds. It sounds like a ballpark. Thunder there. Yeah, I mean, I mean, if you’re putting yourself together and doing the subway ride or the freeway, nobody lives in the neighborhood. Everybody’s coming from a long way. And there’s billions of Yankees fans, right? So when they get there, they want to participate in roll call because they watch it on TV every night. Right? So like there. Yeah, the Yankees, Hey, I’ve been up there where tickets are five bucks, and you can just walk in playoff games. So I don’t think there’s any crescendo and certainly not having a great year in any way. But there is something about that stadium never feels like our stadium does when it’s lonely, right? Maybe it feels like we have to three rain delays at one o’clock in the morning sunlight or whatever. But But Yankee Stadium would never when you go into Yankee Stadium, it’s carnival. Like everything’s expensive. Everything’s new. Everything’s shiny. It feels like a giant mall, honestly, when you walk in, but it’s when the game starts. And they’re 40,000 45,000 people in there as there were Monday and Tuesday yelling it. It’s a different thing for a ball for 22 year old ballplayer then playing in Norfolk or then playing even in Camden Yards. I mean, I just think there’s a little bit of weight and and they’re slumping, and I think it’s getting to their head a little bit. This is just a rough week. And i It’s the first time we’ve talked about it being a rough week, and you’re now invested, having spent money and gone down there seven times you want them to do well. This is this is a test for them to your points a speed bump on the promete
Dennis Koulatsos 08:35
8and that’s great. It’s been a great epiphany. I know the lineup from bottom to top top to bottom under the pitching staff. I know the coaches and I know the guys
Nestor Aparicio 08:45
about the manager you don’t like the lineup? That’s right, well,
Dennis Koulatsos 08:48
right. You know, you know the guy that triple A and double A and a ball. We know about all of that Jackson holiday. So yeah, I’m invested in a team and I want to see them do well. And I realized that I recognize that they do have some shortcomings, particularly that pitching staff. I mean, their era is just the era pitchers for the mowed through the roof.
Nestor Aparicio 09:06
Well, and they’re getting into the bullpen, and this is where Luke is the smartest guy in the room amongst us and you know that to be true, where you know, Lucas back in May like hey, I’m a statistics guy. There weren’t too many one run games or winning too many close games. And then I said look, what’s the illiteracy? Well, they need more blowouts. And I’m like, Look, Jones’s headline Oriole should blow out more competition and when that make it easy, right? But when you dolt and looks on vacation get fat on max Pete’s up there Wildwood right now having a good time with his family and his niece and I’ve seen pictures I love I love that 15 years and there’s nothing you love more than seeing your employees and your friends do well. Right so like watching him at his family vacation but the oral said look you gotta get your ass back because hey, once that you left you know Luke said back in May he was very very like hey man, pump the brakes on this they’re using the bullpen too much they don’t have great starters means looks like he’s not coming back Rodriguez is not an easy he’s a might be DL Hall D Y’all Grayson Rodriguez, I mean, our dream was by the all star break, they’re in the rotation, they’re pitching Well, the rafter, we’re not close to that. So whatever Gibson is going to be whatever, whatever these five or six guys they’ve been throwing out there and I’ll throw Rodriguez into that because I mean, there’s going to come a point where he’s gonna get another turn here because he can’t not get a turn. He’s their guy, they at some point they’re gonna give him the ball. I I liked that they’re slumping a little bit before the all star break. I liked that they can get through the weekend. And then we’re gonna get a little bit of a break next week, these guys are gonna go out to Seattle and come back with a whole bunch of new gym equipment and, you know, their Grammy bag of stuff that you get at the All Star game. But there’ll be a fresh start next weekend. And no matter how this ends at the end of this week, no matter how it goes this weekend for them, you know, they had a good first half, but I don’t want to see them and then the first half of season nine of 11 or 10 of 12 or where you know, whatever they’re heading toward right now and it’s not good, but there will be a fresh slate of pain. Next week for the second half and all things being measured. They’ve had a great first half but it’s hot. It’s crowded in New York, they’re getting tired, pitching looks tired. And they’re good. I hope they use this all star break wisely. You know write
8Dennis Koulatsos 11:14
and speak in the the All Star Game Nestor I can’t tell you the last time I watch an all star game, but I’m gonna watch this one because again, for the reasons you just stated, I’m invested in his team. I know the players and I can’t wait to see the four Oriole All Stars participate in the game.
Nestor Aparicio 11:28
Watch the rutschman homecoming two in the Home Run Derby and his dad. I mean, it’s listen, I think the Home Run Derby is the worst thing ever. I’ve attended 15 of them. I didn’t never liked them. I think the rules are stupid. It’s just and when you’re in the stadium, it’s just other than, you know, at home, it’s back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back back all the Chris Berman and all that stuff, like I’ve got worn out on it. I didn’t love it in the 90s. So we’re sure 25 years into this. And I used to go to the All Star game be like I’m not sitting at the ballpark for three and a half hours watching this. You know, unless I’m out there in left field trying to get foul ball or homerun balls. It’s not that entertaining to me. But I’m with you watchman’s involved. He’s a special guy here. We’re at the beginning of something. This is a night for him to have a coming out party. He’s a one on one. But he plays in Baltimore, they’re not, you know, they’re we’re on the map or we’re not on the map. And that way baseball players have a hard time. They can’t get Shohei Otani and Mike Trout on the map from a marketing standpoint, so he could be a great hope for them. He if the Orioles win three World Series in the next eight years, he’ll be a part of that he’ll get a $400 million deal. But he’s only gonna have one All Star game in his hometown, right? I mean, that’s the way you might have one in Baltimore, if Angeles ever sells the team to get a real owner in here. And the league isn’t so angry, they don’t get the all star game to Baltimore, which is the way that’s gone down the last 10 years. You pay your mass and Bill Pete will get an all star game. That was kind of how that’s kind of how that negotiation went. But for rutschman This is a big, big thing. And I think to your point, I’m invested invest in watchmen I love is actually one of the things with the baseball team, the football team throw me I don’t know, Adley rutschman Part of me wishes I was covering Adley rutschman Because it would be interesting to sit and talk to him because he seems like he’s got his his ish together.
Dennis Koulatsos 13:14
They thought about I thought I read somewhere where his father is going to be actually pitching to him. Yeah, at the All Star game. How cool is that?
Nestor Aparicio 13:21
8I mean, that’s why I’m watching. I’m saying I don’t watch watchmen because that’s a good thing for for Baltimore is gonna be a part of it. He’s one one. He’s the next golden child of baseball, we think we got a good team, we think we’re gonna be playing baseball in October for a few years. And watchmen is gonna be a part of it. I love that he’s stepping out to do it.
Dennis Koulatsos 13:38
I love the fact that he gets to tell his grandkids that his father actually pitch and they can actually watch it has their grandfather pitch to him at an all star game. And I’m sure growing up with a young man that I don’t know if that thought never crossed his mind or his father’s mind for that matter. I just think it’s a wonderful storyline in that regard.
Nestor Aparicio 13:55
You know, a lot of these players back when I covered them, And I haven’t been around them in a long, long time. The fragility of the ego and of the Home Run Derby if you go out there and you don’t do well or you don’t win, or you hit line drives or whatever, I just remember. Just you know, Raphael Palmero is my favorite sort of, you know, village idiot when it comes to baseball, but I spent some time with him. He had beliefs like stupid sedition, that oh, you put me into a slump. You can like that a media member or a homerun Derby could put him into a slump like that. That’s that’s the stupid snitching of baseball or whatever. Then Richmond’s, like my hometown. My dad gets to pitch to me, I just want to go MIT and be a part of it. I know you know, you want me wants to win. But I don’t think he’s thinking well, I might only hit eight home runs and get knocked out in the front of know how the rules work anymore. They change them every year. But I love that there that there’s a party because he kind of got screwed on the voting right? I mean, he’s that he should have been the starter and like all that and we go up and down the river. DENNIS I used to do a week of radio from 1990 To until the Ravens mattered like 99 took the first 10 years of my career. We will do a week on how Greg Olson got screwed out of the all star game. We got my god we did two years on Messina and Seto Gaston in 93, right, like the all star game used to really matter and this and that, and rutschman get screwed out of the starting position, but he’s gonna go and participate. And he’s young. And it’s his hometown thing i I’m all in I’m gonna watch Monday night because of him. And if he weren’t hitting the home run derby I have no interest in watching some kid from the I just I worry
Dennis Koulatsos 15:32
about when the oil participate in the All Star Game Nestor, because all those guys over swing and it takes them several games to get to swing back to normal. They pick up because they’re over swing and they’re they’re trying to knock the ball out of the park and it does mess up their swing. That’s one thing I read about many, many years ago.
8Nestor Aparicio 15:48
rutschman is going to be fine. I mean, a lot of people say and hit the ball at well lately anyway, you need some more extra costs. So
Dennis Koulatsos 15:54
look like Michael Jordan used to Misty that when he had a couple days off, he played 36 holes of golf. And Phil Jackson does get very mad at him because he would he would lose his basketball stroke. He would because of the muscle memory from swinging a golf club versus shooting a basketball.
Nestor Aparicio 16:10
I don’t think Michael missed his muscle memory. I think I think that
Dennis Koulatsos 16:13
8should take them about a half a game to get us to get his act back together again, which was okay during the regular season. But what drove Phil nuts was Michael did that during the playoffs. And so he will be off for the first half of a game the day after he played golf.
Nestor Aparicio 16:27
Golf and he’s playing cards in Atlantic City Come on, you know better net he was
Dennis Koulatsos 16:30
he was also betting on every shot, but we’re not going to talk. We want to talk about MJ that his gambling prowess. He used
Nestor Aparicio 16:37
to own an MB. It is amazing with competitive people, right with Pete Rose. And with you know, when you have that itch, you have that thing going on you and I don’t have it in any way really, my dad didn’t have it. But like, you know, I do worry in the baseball thing people talk to me about baseball and gambling and all that. And when I talk to baseball people about I’m like, It’s really weird and gross that in that they really believe their money is going to be embedding on every pitch moving forward, that you’re gonna be able to be like a blackjack game, you’re gonna be able to bet on every pitch every bad red or black striker ball, it’s going to be we’re moving in that direction with bait. And I think that that’s what baseball deep down. They believe that they that they can bring the football gambler or the poker player, you know, whatever that is to baseball because there will be plenty of action, as opposed to baseball because it’s boring or whatever, that this would be the action in baseball. Hey, it’s the action in cricket. I don’t know anything about cricket. All I know is they play in Pakistan, India, Jamaica, all over the world. And every place they play it. It’s a gambling game. It’s a it’s a gambling game. Like football is a gambling. Football is a gambling game in this country. It really is right? More so than anything else. But baseball, you know, and we were watching. You’re invested in the All Star game. You got me watching the Home Run Derby, you’re going back to the ballpark. That’s why we even talk any football in the second. We’ll do that on your show. That is glasnost. We’ll be here on Thursday from three of the five again on Sunday. Make it a little football and I’m going to get for you because you always asked me about the crabcake tour. I did a whole education this week at fade Lee’s with Marty Geary who is a fisheries biologist on the Potomac River, Catonsville resident, and he told me about these gigantic invasive blue cat fish that were stocked in Virginia in the early 1970s and late 60s thinking they were not going to be harmful. And everything about the ecology change and they’re now coming up the river. Hey, you know what, I think I can even share this with you because I I shared a lot on the front of the website. But my, our mutual friend, our mutual friend, Sam tutor is out on the front of wn S T. Right? You can go check it out. He’s holding a catfish that looks like it ain’t nuclear waste. You don’t I mean, it’s so awkwardly fat. And these fish are eating everything at the bottom of the Chesapeake, including our crabs. So Danny was telling about that a family so I know you’re a fisherman. So we’re gonna talk about that on your show a little bit when I would visit with you this week.
8Dennis Koulatsos 19:07
Alright, sounds like a plan. I used to fish for catfish at the Conowingo Dam many many years ago. So I know a little bit about it
Nestor Aparicio 19:14
different different different. These are like on your plate ideas are like, like carp, they they could be 100 pounds. And they grow exponentially. And they school. Like they surround predators. You know, like it’s a whole different animal. And it’s really kind of scary to have a biologist and I always say and I’ll bring this up on your show. This is like a horror movie where they didn’t listen to the scientist and
Dennis Koulatsos 19:43
when we’re talking about snake heads you talk about invasive that’s that’s usually between snake guests and catfish. I guess delete everything in the lake.
Nestor Aparicio 19:51
Sammy today is gonna get me out on his boat in his YouTube channel as well. He’s coons Baltimore for customer and fishing buddies Dennis as well. That will be your authority from three of the five again on Sunday. Happy holidays to everybody celebrating red white and blue I hope you’re at the beach I hope your toes are in the sand hope you’re gonna start playing better this weekend and overall enjoying the all star game next week I’m Nestor he’s that as we are wn st am 5070 Towson Baltimore we never stop talking Baltimore positive
