It is certainly not a brand of baseball that is attractive or of high quality but “pennant race” MLB action is unfolding at Camden Yards as the Cleveland Guardians come to town with October on the brain. Our Cuyahoga insider Munch Bishop pitches in from Ohio as the sub-.500 Baltimore Orioles circle the drain and limp toward the finish line in a less-than-optimal baseball season in Birdland.
The discussion assessed the Orioles–Guardians September pennant race, emphasizing defensive execution, pitching control, and organizational concerns.
Baseball Race
- Munch said Cleveland’s offense has improved with recent additions, but walks are overtaxing the pitching staff and bullpen.
- Cleveland’s approach, described as “Guards ball,” relies on aggressive baserunning, defense, and consistent contact.
Team Issues
- Both teams were criticized for sloppy defense, mental errors, inconsistent fundamentals, and questionable lineup or roster construction.
- Nestor argued that expanded playoff access has lowered the bar for contention while leaving unresolved doubts about whether the Orioles can compete for a championship.
Open Questions
- Can either team stabilize its pitching and defense before the September series and final games against strong opponents?
- Will the expected labor dispute disrupt next season and the offseason?
- Host the Maryland Crab Cake Tour event in Dundalk next Friday. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Give away the Kiss Fairberg item at Costas during next Friday’s event. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Publish two musical-memory installments per week as part of the countdown to the 28th most influential artist. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Provide Nestor with the contact information for the head of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
September Pennant Race
- Orioles and Guardians meet in meaningful September games.
- Expanded playoffs have made flawed teams competitive.
Guardians Performance
- Cleveland’s recent road success and offensive additions were discussed.
- Walks, high pitch counts, and a fatigued bullpen remain major concerns.
- Defensive strengths and weaknesses across the infield and outfield were reviewed.
Orioles Concerns
- Defensive miscues and poor fundamentals were identified as persistent problems.
- Roster construction, player development, ownership, and front-office leadership were criticized.
- The team’s low attendance and lack of enthusiasm were noted.
Baseball’s Future
- The participants discussed a possible labor dispute and its effect on next season.
- Traditional baseball fundamentals, box scores, and the changing viewing experience were compared with modern practices.
Rock and Roll
- Nestor and Munch shared stories about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, influential artists, and memorable concert encounters.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST AM 1570 Tass, Baltimore. We call this thing Baltimore Positive. I have let my hair out for this segment, so you know it’s going to involve some rock and roll. But first, sports. We’re going to be doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour next Friday in my homeland of Dundalk. I’m going to be a costus. My hair will probably be up at that point because I’ll be eating, and I don’t want to get my hair, you know, keeping away from my Zeke’s coffee here. But the Ravens Kiss Face Bird and Kiss is number 28 on my countdown for our 28 great memories. But this is the Kiss Fair. I’ll be giving this away at Costas on Friday. Also, our friends at GBMC and Farnin and Dermer. I am wearing the Comfort Guy gear. I’m wearing the orange here today, and I gotta get my collar right. I look like Fonzie because this next guest is on. I gotta get formal for you, Munch. Hang on, dude. Okay, let me do a proper introduction for you and your Fairberg or Cleveland. T-shirt is
Munch Bishop 0:52
fine, man. T-shirts are fine. That’s what I’m wearing.
Nestor Aparicio 0:54
I’ll I’ll bother you in about six seven weeks because we play the Browns middle of October, right? And we have this patsy schedule. The Ravens do beginning of the year, Colts, Saints. They go to Brazil and play the Cowboys, but like it’s Tennessee, it’s you guys, it’s it’s they should be six and one, right? So I’ll get the football in a minute. Munch Bishop, no rush. How many years? 50. How many years for you? On the only
Munch Bishop 1:19
47, my friend. 47.
Nestor Aparicio 1:21
I was gonna say 50. All right. I’m gonna be at 35 on December the 13th, and this 28 is for 28 years of WNST. So this is the 20. Our 28th anniversary was august 3, and I’m celebrating by having Kenny Albert on today. So who did the base? Who did the did the Oreo game Thursday night too in Baltimore, so I’m I’m doing this 28 rock and roll thing, and you’re mr. Cleveland and rock and roll and rock hall and all that. I got to tell you, man, I am I’m I have a meeting with curators at the rock hall. Probably shouldn’t say this out loud, especially as somebody who’s been on the radio in Cleveland for 50 years. But this is this is near and dear to my heart. My buddy Phil Weiser is on the Rock Hall board. Okay, he is in the band Child’s Play. He was an original bass player. He also went on to life to do some things. He invented things. He’s been the CTO of Paramount for a long time. We did an hour together a couple months ago. He’s actually here rehearsing with my Child’s Play buddy, my rock and roll best pal John Allen. So I have these belt buckles from the 70s, the the the Pacifica belt buckles. I’m trying. They’re opening a new wing in the Hall of Fame, and I’m trying to get my belt buckles featured there in the Rock Hall. So if you got any elbow grease down at the Rock Hall munch, because I know what a rock and roller you are with you and Michael Stanley. Like you’re a sports guy, but I could talk rock with you all day. You’re like John. You know, brother, you’ve been probably
Munch Bishop 2:49
you probably forgot, but back in 1979, I actually service marked a term because I was doing sports on a rock station to start my career, and I service marked a term in the state of Ohio. It’s called sports rockers because what are we? We like sports. We like rock and roll. What are the people that follow us? What are we ourselves? We’re sports rockers. So we’ll keep rocking and rolling with you all the way through.
Nestor Aparicio 3:10
What station were you on?
Munch Bishop 3:12
WLVQ in Columbus, QFM 96.
Nestor Aparicio 3:15
Really?
Munch Bishop 3:16
Yes, 1979. August 15 was my first day there, first morning show, and I predicted that the Orioles and Pirates would play in the World Series, and the family would come out on top, and that’s exactly what happened. That was some pretty much instant cred about two and a half months. We don’t talk about Sister
Nestor Aparicio 3:31
Sledge here, and we don’t put them in the Hall of Fame. I am
Munch Bishop 3:34
family, brother. We are family.
Nestor Aparicio 3:36
Oh, I got all my sisters. All I can think about is Omar Moreno’s wife and the whistle? It’s just a, it’s a scarring memory. Burt Bly Levin brings it up every time he sees me, so you know it’s fine. Munch, I brought you on, and I like not to talk football, not even to talk rock and roll. I love my hair out, and I want to be an idiot. Haven’t shaved in a month. This is my. We got to play the Colts beard.
Munch Bishop 3:58
The
Nestor Aparicio 3:59
Orioles and the Guardians are going to play some games here of significance in September. I don’t. Luke calls this the the race of the undead. You before we began spoke of the Guardians’ ineptitude. The Orioles, as we speak, haven’t won in four days, and the only time they won is when Colton Cowser saved a game to win it in Colorado from them not being swept in Colorado. Nobody wants this last wild card spot, Munch.
Munch Bishop 4:28
We know the Guardians go on the road. Well, first they have San Francisco come to town. Bad team. I’m a huge Giants fan, but it’s a bad team this year. Guardians take two or three from them. Then they go to Colorado. They sweep the Rockies. They go to L.A. They sweep the angels. They come home and they have problems playing at home. And their crowds have been fantastic. The crowds have been magnificent. But you know what? Cece Athia said this to my son. My son was a left-hander. I mean, he still is a left-hander, but you know, he’s in the business world today, programming microscopes. He’s a physicist. And he said, “You know what, young man? This was a camp when he was seven or eight years old. He goes, ‘There’s one key to to pitching and being successful in baseball. You know what that is? Throw strikes. You know, guys are going to hit balls at times. Let them get themselves out. You’ve got eight fielders out there plus yourself with you. Throw strikes. The Guardians pitchers cannot throw strikes, Nestor. You cannot walk a leadoff man time and time out. You can’t walk a leadoff man three innings in a row. Okay, they scored. I’m not a big stat guy, you know that. But over 70% of the time last night, yesterday afternoon, I should say, it was an afternoon game. The Guardians pitchers walked nine hitters. Nine hitters, if you can believe that, nine Blue Jays hitters. And by the way, you got to love the Blue Jays fans. They travel. The Blue Jays fans made as much noise, if not more, at times than Guardians fans yesterday. But when you can’t throw strikes, a what does it do? It runs up your pitch count. B that means you’re out of the game quicker. C that means your bullpen gets even more attack. So that’s their big problem. I mean, the Adele and Low editions have been phenomenal. Patrick Bailey has been phenomenal. So offensively, they’re pulling their weight. People thought it would be the opposite, but the bullpen is gassed, and the starters, even Gavin Williams, as good as he is, and Parker Messick, they still throw too many balls. They walk too many hitters. So keep your eye on that when the teams get together.
Nestor Aparicio 6:20
I love having the old guys on. Munch Bishop’s here. He’s been doing it for long. Like let’s older,
Munch Bishop 6:25
older,
Nestor Aparicio 6:26
older. But let let’s play get off my lawn here a little bit because the only reason I got my hair out looking like a fool, and you and I are doing this, and there’s a meaningful series on Labor Day here, is because they’ve completely lowered the bar of what a playoff team can be right, like we’re watching this as lifer baseball fans, and I’m saying this is a playoff team. These guys that throw the ball around like the bad news bears. The way this team has played defense this year, Munch, it’s, and I I’m not the only one. Like Ben McDonald sees it, Jim Palmer sees it every night, but on social media and amongst my friends who know my last name’s Aparicio, and I might know a little bit about baseball, having done this for 35 years.
Munch Bishop 7:07
Nestor, you know that Luisa and Nellie Fox, my favorite shortstop second baseman combo of all times.
Nestor Aparicio 7:13
Were you a Southside fan in ’59? You go to the White Sox. My wife’s
Munch Bishop 7:16
a Southside girl. I didn’t know her growing up, but I just loved the grid. The White Sox reminded me of that blue collar guys, which they were, and you know, being an inner city Cleveland guy. Oh, I just always loved Louisiani. My dad would take me to games, especially to see the Yankees play because they’re the Yankees. He played Triple A baseball. He had respect for them, and to see the White Sox play with Jungle Jim Landis and all those guys, Jim Rivera. Those were some fun teams.
Nestor Aparicio 7:41
Clue,
Munch Bishop 7:42
oh, dude, clue. I mean, come on, cut the sleeves off your jersey. They can’t fit through your muscles.
Nestor Aparicio 7:48
So, so much. I, I think for both of us, and even Luke, who’s a you know half a generation younger than me, but Luke’s an old soul. Yeah, the notion that we’re that this is a baseball pennant race, and we’re watching this. Look, I’m not get off my lawn. I’m not like they can’t change, or that we don’t want better playoffs or more playoffs. I think the the team that gets the buy is silly in baseball. It’s just not a. It just shouldn’t happen. Like keep it rolling. Yeah, yeah. It’s just it’s not good. It’s it’s not good for baseball. But the notion that they’ve gotten the season started earlier. It’s going to end last week of September here. We play in New York, play the Yankees. The thought that that that weekend could mean something here if they’re a game or two out. Cleveland, Toronto, whoever it would be, right? We thought Minnesota and Detroit for a minute doesn’t feel that way now. What do you make of the lowering of the bar? You said that they had good crowds in Cleveland. We don’t. We don’t have that issue here right now. Right, right. Like, like, I can’t say that people are now. The Red Sox are in town as we speak. They’re honoring Eddie Murray this weekend. It’s his third, the 30th anniversary of his 500th home run. They ran him out of here in the 80s. It was a racism thing, just and a baseball. But you know, Eddie left, came back, hit his 500th. They’re gonna sell some tickets off of this or whatever. But there’s no enthusiasm for a team that has kissed 500 once after going over the wall to steal the ball Monday and has backed up ever since. And I like for any of us that have watched baseball, it’s peculiar to watch a team that’s this flawed be like a playoff contender, and they’re going to be one for a couple of weeks unless somebody really beats somebody up. But it it’s exactly what they wanted with baseball, which is to have more teams interested. But as we sit here and watch it, it’s I don’t I don’t feel like the Orioles can win the World Series. I don’t feel like they can beat the Indians two out of three this week.
Munch Bishop 9:45
Well, you know what? When you do stupid things, I can handle losses. You can handle losses. But there’s something that I call a bad loss. I know a loss is a loss is a loss. But did you force that loss? Did you not make an easy throw from shortstop to second base to start a double? Or at least forced to run around. You talked about throwing the baller out, Nestor. In little league, I’ve taught teams. I was taught myself in second grade. You don’t throw the ball more than you have to. Okay, hit the cutoff, man. Take it from there. You see so many balls going by, guys. You know, and pitchers having a backup. Oh, but sometimes they don’t back up because they don’t know how to play the game. It gets
Nestor Aparicio 10:21
sloppy. It
Munch Bishop 10:22
blows your mind. Yeah, it really does. And you know, to me, that’s inexcusable if you’re a quote-unquote professional baseball player. I do games for an independent league team, a frontier league team in the area. I do the play-by-play and color commentary. I flip off with my sidekick, and you know what? Those guys handle the ball much better because it’s a league where major league teams can pluck you because they’re not. It’s an affiliated league, so any team can take any of your players at any time. Those guys play better baseball than the pros these days because they want to get noticed. They know the fundamentals. Plurals get sloppy, and you remember there’s an old saying: confidence and cockiness. Confidence means you know you can do it. Cockiness means you think you can do it. We’re seeing a lot of thinking, too much thinking instead of reacting in Major League Baseball today.
Nestor Aparicio 11:07
Where do you put the Guardians in regard to like this season and where they are? And you said there’s some enthusiasm. What are we going to get when they get here on Monday?
Munch Bishop 11:14
You’re going to get a team that plays. We call it guards ball. Okay, they’re going to run out every hit. They usually get one or two hits a game by running out balls in the infield or getting infield hits. Play very good defense, catching the ball. Got to watch out because when they’re throwing the ball around, especially Rokio with short, Bazana at second, Hen How Young Phenom who just came up from AAA when he’s out there. Outfielders have been solid. Adele and Low. I mentioned new acquisitions and Patrick Bailey, of course, Low from the Reds, Adele from the Angels, Bailey from the Giants. These are solid ball players, and they’ve totally given the team a shot in the arm with offense. You know, Stephen Kwan. No, he’s not going to hit power, but you don’t need a guy. Give me a guy that hits singles every time he comes up, gets three hits a game, singles and a couple doubles. That’s when you know C. Aquan. You’re going to notice something else too, because to me, he’s a surefire Hall of Famer. Jose Ramirez, since he broke that bone and had surgery in his hand, came back too soon. Why? I can tell. He’s seen a couple balls go under his glove as he went to his left at third base. His throws over still phenomenal. I mean, he’s hitting only he’s hit only one home run since June six. Did that two days ago, so he’s struggling just a little bit. But the outfield is very good. The catching is very good. A middle infield can’t have some quote unquote dents in its armor at times, and the bullpen is gassed. If you get to Cade Smith, it’s lights out. Hunter Gaddis is starting to come back. It’s your eighth inning, man. Your setup man, but the rest of the bullpen, who’s normally very good, is just tired. I mean, you, your pitchers. When I said they walk too many hitters, when you’re going into the fifth inning with 90 pitches, or the fourth inning with 85, you know, you know that they’re not going to last much longer. So keep your eye on that.
Nestor Aparicio 12:57
Well, we had some hot days this week. By the way, Munch Bishop’s here from Cleveland. You can follow him. Munch, tell me where to find you and like all that podcasting the things you’re doing
Munch Bishop 13:06
on X is at Munch Cleveland on Facebook, whatever it’s called these days. It’s Munch Bishop.
Nestor Aparicio 13:12
There it is. All right, easy enough. the the The notion that the Orioles would be in this and where they are, and I got to tell you, dude, it’s not just the 43 years in Angelos. And I told a previous. I had Bob Kravitz on talking about Ursay and Baltimore. We play the Colts this week, obviously. So it’s like old week here. The team we stole from you is playing the team they stole from us. Like, okay, so I, you know, I told Crav this earlier as well, just in regard to the weight of the Angelos thing here, and thinking the next group, the next ownership is going to be better. We were talking about Bob Ursay, Jim Ursay, Carly Ursay. You know, they’ve had one family there. It’s like a feast them. It’s like it’s like the the Queen of England, right? You know, here we knew the Angelos’ kids. Fredo wasn’t going to run the team. He’s in Nashville counting the money in a walk-off grand slam, and but these new guys have been horrific. There’s no feeling they’re going to be any better. First
Munch Bishop 14:12
of the Angelo’s bad. I
Nestor Aparicio 14:14
mean, they spend money. They spent $5 million this year on a washed-up outfielder from the Mets for a month to borrow him, he had a home run last night. Good. So, the difference is for me, where where you carry the weight, like being a Browns fan, something you know a lot about. But I carry the weight of the inaptitude, the awfulness. Then they stick this criminal quarterback in the play for you. Like it’s just it’s unthinkable in certain ways, but then there’s the baseball part of it where you’re like, it’s been 43 years since they won. Can they be a playoff team? Can they win tonight? Does tonight’s game matter? Because we had years here, like the Browns, where the baseball team didn’t play games in. December on Labor Day, where a playoff berth was truly at stake, as it is this week. So this is sort of rarefied air. I’ve been on here 35 years, Munch. Ask me how many days I’ve had to talk about the baseball team on Labor Day as being relevant. I mean, in 35 years, it’s been like eight seasons. Yeah, maybe eight. Maybe I have to really add it up. 9697, I mean, I like I’m going back last century. I I look at this and say, well, they’ve lowered the bar and they’ve tried to make this better and all of that. But what we have here is Elias was hired by the last guy. He feels like GM for life. I mean, he gets votes of confidence. The new owner doesn’t know anything about baseball. Rubinstein, when he opens his mouth, it’s very apparent he’s not, as we would say, a baseball man at all. Has
Munch Bishop 15:47
to tell him not to open his mouth and just keep writing checks, right?
Nestor Aparicio 15:51
But that person has to hire the GM, and that’s where when I talk to Kravitz about Chris Ballard surviving five coaches now, you know, with the Colts there, and what’s going on here, where DeCosta has now survived Harbaugh and has decided on Minter. That that that the way these structures work, and Albernaz would be the reason I’m even talking to you about this because he comes out of that Vote family. Vote thought enough of him to fly here for the press conference. I’ve never seen that in all of my years. Where and
Munch Bishop 16:23
that’s one of your proteges. Also, you do that for him. Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 16:26
yeah. I mean, I was very impressed by all of it, Munch. I have not been impressed by Craig Albernaz.
Munch Bishop 16:33
Well, you know what? You see it on a daily basis. I see vote on a daily basis. I understand the team really has overachieved his first two years. You know, he’s got more out of them than most people. Almost Tito Francona ish, okay. Although Tito’s had some problems in in Cincinnati, and I’m hearing that boy, his tenure may not be long there, and it breaks my heart. But vote, you know, some of the things are coming to the surface. He’s too big on this lefty righty thing. He changes the lineup frequently, and you know when you have younger players, it’s not as easy as the vets going from center to left or left to center or playing second base one day, shortstop the next. But he just changes the lineup too much now. With the addition of Adele, Low, and Bailey, he’s kind of changed that, and these guys are in the lineup each and every day as they need to be. But the changing the lineup and guys not throwing strikes. Everybody talks about the prowess of Carl Willis. I like Carl. He’s had some Cy Young Award winners. However, to me, he’s not doing any something because when you come out, walk the first batter of the game. Every time you take to the hill, there’s something there. I mean, you tell the guy throw strikes, throw strikes, throw strikes. You know, put a note underneath your pillow at night. Throw strikes, and there’s times I’ve been puzzled with some other coaching moves, managerial moves. But once again, all this team has done under vote is win.
Nestor Aparicio 17:52
I love having Munch Bishop on the show because it allows me to have a fellow old guy here, so we could talk about important things like strike one being the most important pitch in baseball, or Ray Miller telling me and Mike Flanagan and Jim Palmer and anybody else mix speeds, throw strikes, work work fast. Yeah, you know, like now they make you work fast with the pitch clock, and I
Munch Bishop 18:13
take the pitch.
Nestor Aparicio 18:14
You know, like I love baseball, and I’ve become much more attuned to sitting at home and watching the box on TV now because the box makes it better than being there for me. For me, I like when I go to the game now. I can’t see balls and strikes from wherever I’m sitting. On television, it’s very it’s a great television game, and they they make the pace better and all of that. But these old school axioms that you and I would have about pitching defense, scoring runs, moving runners, strikeouts being bad. I did a whole thing here about a month ago on how embarrassed I was the one time I struck out in the Berkshire Little League. I don’t think I came out of the house all weekend because striking out was like a shameful thing when you were 11 or 12 years.
Munch Bishop 19:01
Also, you cared, and you know. Let me tell you this, and this is something that blew my mind yesterday. Not just the nine walks, but in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Guardians are down by three. They have two runners on base, right? Two of the hitters, and one of them was one of the men I mentioned, Joe Attell, who just came over from California from the Angels, who’s been phenomenal. Two of the hitters took called third strikes. How do you take a called third strikes when you have two men on? You’re down by three, and it’s a bottom of a ninth inning. Bottom of ninth inning means that’s your last chance. So again, that is something stupid. And I mentioned to you they do too many stupid things these days.
Nestor Aparicio 19:37
Here’s the thing that I think stupid from the top, and this is where I’ll get after Rubenstein and Arigati, or Elias and or Albernaz, and how that flows down. And this is if if the season’s over. And look, I haven’t even talked about the strike with you and the fact that they’re not going to play, and that’s reason my hair’s out and I’m doing rock and roll because I don’t think they’re going to get to Sarasota. Like I mean, just I I I. I was credentialed at the All Star game last month. Munch, I like spent time around baseball. I can’t find anybody anywhere in Philadelphia over two days who believes that the season’s going to happen next year on time, or that it’s not going to be a complete ish show all off season. Like you, 100%
Munch Bishop 20:15
I mean, I’m of that mindset. So too far apart. The
Nestor Aparicio 20:17
firing of the general manager before they drafted players, probably not smart. The the allowing him to liquidate Adley Rutschman, and by most accounts, he won the trade for didn’t win it on didn’t win it on Thursday night when Rutschman came in here with two bombs and beat their ass. But in a general sense, watching this franchise this year, that’s supposed to be a year where, like, they finally get their pitching together. They they get rid of the old man’s dead and buried. The kid Fredo’s gone. This guy writes checks. I mean, they wrote a $19 million check for Chris Bassett on Valentine’s Day. The Angelos family didn’t do that for number four and number five pitchers. You know, so there have been a lot of things that I would say financially throwing money, money, money, but they have no, they have no heart, no soul, no feel for the game, no feel for the city. Rutchman was happy to get out of here. Gunnar Henderson’s going to be happy to get out of here. The stadium’s empty. It’s somnambulant. You know, like it is. It’s very old. It’s very tired. It’s very white. The people that are there have been beaten up for 43 years by the badness of it all, and and the new people are screwing you on money on the Birdland Insider and your point system and all the free Koco’s and all of the the stuff that the upcharging for the bobbleheads, making you stand out and sweat your ass off to get a bobblehead, like just all of it. Like I’m everywhere
Munch Bishop 21:41
though with with the premium. Once
Nestor Aparicio 21:42
they had a game, they couldn’t get the game on television because Greg Bader runs Masson. The game didn’t exist. Like it just they put a Tom Davis podcast on, like in the middle of the game because they couldn’t get their game on their network. That happened. This like this
Munch Bishop 21:58
is that cannot happen.
Nestor Aparicio 22:00
Mickey Mouse organization, as I see it, all the way through and through, the way they’ve treated an Aparicio, the way they treat Jim Palmer, and you know who told me that, Jim Palmer. So, okay, at Jim Henneman’s funeral last year. So, I would say this from a franchise standpoint: the reason to fire Michaelias, and we’re taught you and I are pretending there’s not going to be a strike. There’s not going to be, but to me, the way they play defense and the fact that defense, we can talk about the strikeouts. That’s a we can talk about pitchers’ arms falling off. These things that are industry issues, right? The the the the imbalance of money, just all of it, right? And how they rush players and everybody’s got to throw 9898, 98 max effort like all of that. The thing that I see that is unspeakable to me that if you think you’re going to win, I played stratomatic baseball. You played strat, right?
Munch Bishop 22:54
How could you not, my friend?
Nestor Aparicio 22:55
Okay, the Orioles don’t have a one on their roster. Colton Kozer would be a two. Ruchman might be a one, but probably would have been a two on this year’s card based on where he is. They they have fours everywhere on the field, everywhere at every position. And you mentioned these young guys. They you know they can’t play left field and center field, right? Move them around. They’re young. Let them. Jackson Holiday is a one-one. They lost for a year to get Jackson Holiday. He looks like a little leaguer. He plays like a little leaguer most days. He they they’ve made him play third base, shortstop, second base. I mean, some nights he hit two home runs and get three hits and like whatever, and some nights he doesn’t look like he he doesn’t look like he has a position, and his arm’s not good enough for shortstop. I don’t. I mean, he doesn’t. He’s not a second base. They’re all shortstops until they’re not
Munch Bishop 23:54
right. They’re all
Nestor Aparicio 23:56
drafted as shortstops, Munch. You know that.
Munch Bishop 23:58
They don’t. I see him drafted as shortstop or second baseman. A lot of times, in fact, the Indians outfield with the young kids, Anhel Martinez, middle infielder. Now he’s playing outfield. They’ve done that with quite a few of the guys on the team. I
Nestor Aparicio 24:10
mean, Kobe Mayo gets off the bus and he looks like the natural. He he can’t he you can’t give him a glove, and then they sign a first baseman for $150 million who’s in his 30s, who, and they have a catcher that they gave 80 million dollars to, who’s 21 years old and is not going to be a catcher. He’s just not going to be a catcher. He might be next year.
Munch Bishop 24:32
Her first baseman, right? They
Nestor Aparicio 24:34
have old team full of first basemen, and again, and guys they can’t give gloves to, and and this is where I’m saying this is why Elias needs to get fired because money pitching defense drafting Kowser stinks Kerstad stinks Richmond’s gone Holiday’s not going to be a superstar Henderson’s rotting on the vine like I Munch I’m being. Honest with you, man. Like, and there, and we’re talking playoffs on Monday with this team. Your team and my team are getting together. This, this has been the worst defensive team I’ve ever seen from any level of construction. That you would look at it and say, you and me are going to play stratomatic, and I’m going to draft a team of fours, and you think I’m going to win.
Munch Bishop 25:21
I’m going to beat the heck out of you. It’s interesting, though, that for most part, and again, the Guardians have played great defense. You will see that. You’ll see, like I said, some of these miscues that drive me crazy. You know, something else I’m seeing on you, and people might think you’re a hater, quote unquote. No, I don’t see that. You know what I see? I see passion, and I see and hear something else that you care. Because if you didn’t care, you’d be shrugging your shoulders and go, “Go ahead, guys, go keep doing what you’re doing. No, you care, and you’ve got passion for this team and for your city. And you know what? Frankly, I dig that, man. I dig that a lot.
Nestor Aparicio 25:51
It’s my 20th anniversary of Free the Birds next week.
Munch Bishop 25:55
20 years now. Wow!
Nestor Aparicio 25:58
I’m trying to figure out what I’ve solved or what I did, or I embarrass the owner into the fact that he never ever spoke again publicly. He never, he never was seen again after free the birds. You
Munch Bishop 26:09
care about this team, and you you want some changes. I wish I could do that for Jimmy Haslam.
Nestor Aparicio 26:14
Hey, dude, we’re 30. Do you have anything you want to say about the Browns? Because we’re I’m going to see you in six weeks. Yes, we’ll talk football then. So I didn’t want to get you. I wanted to stay in the baseball lane because we’re playing each other on Labor Day in a meaningful shape. I mean, I’ve known you all my life, and how many times could I call you on Labor Day? Maybe Roberto Alomar 30 years ago, right? Literally,
Munch Bishop 26:33
that’s exactly it. You know, all I want to say is just because again, you know, when they started with Johnny Manziel or Johnny Donkey, as I call him, and then it went to the Desham Watson when the trade came over. I separated myself from the team. I don’t even follow them. They had a somebody was on the news yesterday, assistant general manager, a female, which I applaud, but I had no idea who she was because I don’t follow them. Here’s the thing, and you could use this if you need to on occasion. But what this team epitomizes, simple in two words, it is the cesspool of ignorance, and I’m going to go from there. Well, the Wall Street Journal, who’s not a sports paper, you know that they do a story on the quarterback competition of two bottom feeders. Bingo! You know that’s how that tells you all that you need to know because Wall Street Journal doesn’t do a lot of sports stories. They did a whole story on they’re having a competition between two guys who would not start for any team in the NFL. Take it from there, my friend.
Nestor Aparicio 27:29
Well, I just look at what’s happened here on the field, off the field. Bateman, Justin Tucker. You know the fact that they throw legitimate media people and fans and PSL holders and people that have flown their flag out. This is a corporate operation. The football team in here, the whole league feels like a corporate operation. But dude, you and I to spend 30 minutes talking about our respective baseball teams, and they’re about to shut the industry down. And I didn’t mention that to you either. And you and I, you were on the radio in the 81 strike. I mean, I was, I was just a Dundalk, and my old man was canceling the sporting news because he was pissed off. It didn’t have box scores in it anymore, literally.
Munch Bishop 28:07
Hey, box scores are very important. You know what? I will say this because I still read newspapers. I read three or four a day. I love having a paper in my hand, and I’m proud. My sons, who are 32 and 26, they still read newspapers too, so they enjoy them. I mean, sure. I read stuff on my phone and I read stuff on my laptop. Trust me, the
Nestor Aparicio 28:23
Baltimore Sun’s not worth reading here, my friend.
Munch Bishop 28:25
But I’m just saying that the papers. Well, I get the local Cleveland paper. Well, the Baltimore
Nestor Aparicio 28:29
Sun was bought here by the Fox people.
Munch Bishop 28:31
Okay, bingo, that sums it up. Then I read the one of the Lorain County papers, the Lyria Chronicle Telegram. Great, great writers in there. I love great writing. You know what? I also read the Wall Street Journal, down the middle kind of thing. I’ll check out the Times on occasion, and usually I’ve got a son and daughter just moved from Chicago, so I’ll check out the trip there. But you know what gets me in the local Cleveland paper, which they have great journalists, great sports people. You know, of course, Mary Kay. Sure, you know Terry Pluto, Mary Kay, who has to be struggling in her job covering the team, but she keeps a smile on her face because people need jobs. Okay, no box scores, and I have called. I have said things on the. They don’t put box
Nestor Aparicio 29:15
scores in the paper. You
Munch Bishop 29:16
get you get the Guardians box score, and that’s it. To me, you know what? One of the reasons I got into this business is between first and second grade in the Lee Harvard neighborhood of Cleveland. My dad would go off to the plant, you know, grab his lunchbox where the thermos fit into the lid of that metallic lunchbox. It was curved. He would leave the morning paper open to the page with the box scores, and as soon as I, as soon as I’d get up, I’d read every one of them. See, my old
Nestor Aparicio 29:41
man did that, but he would leave the jelly stain, and there would be the crumbs from his toast.
Munch Bishop 29:46
Okay, no jelly. Literally,
Nestor Aparicio 29:48
we we had the same. Did you have my dad? Are we brothers much?
Munch Bishop 29:51
Oh, school horse were brothers. But here’s the thing, and my dad would come home from work, and of course, this was box quarters for the night before. But I would say to him, say. So it’s like, Dad, do you know Zoila Valsales for the Twins? He he did this. Camille Pasquale, his nickname’s a little. I would
Nestor Aparicio 30:06
always check Carew and Brett. There was his my
Munch Bishop 30:09
guys.
Nestor Aparicio 30:10
Ed Schmidt. Ed
Munch Bishop 30:10
Schmidt. Those those are guys who check. Now I’m a little bit older than you, so I would go back a little bit further. You know, I was checking on Mantle and Maris and Calavito and Kaline and people of that. I was checking on Frank Robinson, the great Frank Rob Brooks Robinson, and people of that nature, and Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox.
Nestor Aparicio 30:28
So Munch, you do know from 1986 to 1992, I was the agate clerk. They called me something that rhymed with agate that would be very, very unpopular and politically incorrect and wrong. But nonetheless, I was the agate clerk. I I did the scoreboard page for the Baltimore Evening Sun, page two, top to bottom, box scores, standings, loop leaders. I still call them loop leaders. You know all the money leaders in golf. If my buddy Danny Wiseman, you know, won the PBA that weekend, I get that in on Monday morning. They wouldn’t let me put the wrestling results in. That was more Washington Star than Baltimore Evening Sun. But I did. I did the scoreboard page for six years. So like, I have box scores and standings, and my my scores app. Or you know, it’s all part of my life, so I’m with you.
Munch Bishop 31:22
You’ll agree that you don’t even need to read a story on a case, although you take Paul Hoynes, who was just inducted into the pro the the Cooper Institute. Don’t forget Shelly
Nestor Aparicio 31:31
Ocker too. Like throw Shelley in there.
Munch Bishop 31:32
Oh, Sheldon’s my guy. You know, but you you you read them as something special. But you know what? You could read a box score, and it will tell you a story that sometimes words can’t even say. When you look down, you know e5. When you see an unearned run, and you know throwing error and things of that nature. I can go on and on with you. Well, the thing about
Nestor Aparicio 31:51
the Orioles, it’s so terrible as they throw the ball around a lot, and they’re not like errors. Like when you overthrow second base by 50 feet, and the first baseman backs it up, and the guy doesn’t leave second base. It’s not an error. No, it’s just it’s just bad news bears stuff, literally. Should
Munch Bishop 32:07
there be mental errors now in the part of the part of the game? Should that that’s a mental error, but they don’t. We keep stats
Nestor Aparicio 32:14
on everything, but how about just like a good throw versus a bad throw? What’s professional? What’s not? And I, I, that’s the part for me where the labor part of this that’s going to mar baseball in the off season. All that we talk about with your town and your football team that’s a disgrace. I mean the Browns are a disgrace. The Orioles have been a disgrace here for a long, long time. At least the Ravens win games. The Guardians put on an effort. The Cavaliers have been, you know, but these teams, the the Commanders, what that ownership was, the bottom feeding of all of that-they’re just, you know, some of these franchises are allowed to, and I guess too big to fail for the Browns, right? There’ll still be 50,000 people down there watching this sick act of this quarterback, right?
Munch Bishop 32:59
You know, I will say this with the move to new pub. By the way, that is something else that just is implausible. There’s no doubt that the Haslam family not only bribed state legislators, okay, to to get the funding $600 million for their boondoggle in Brook Park, but in Columbus, when I started speaking out about that and posting and things of that nature, I was getting texts and messages, private messages from political people in Columbus saying there’s no doubt that they bribed councilmen and county commissioners down there to get their quote unquote funding for their soccer stadium. Yeah, it’s just like I said. The
Nestor Aparicio 33:35
what would the Haslams deserve from the state of Ohio based on the way they’ve run that franchise?
Munch Bishop 33:39
Nothing, nothing. So you know what? The two words I used there. Seriously, this team is a cesspool of ignorance. You can quote me on that. That’s three words. Okay, cesspool
Nestor Aparicio 33:49
of ignorance. I’m going to save that for October, and I’ll pick that conversation. Okay. Much bishops here. We’re going to play the Cleveland Browns in about six weeks, but we’re going to play the Cleveland Guardians tonight,
Munch Bishop 33:59
this afternoon.
Nestor Aparicio 34:01
Yeah. Well, you know, I’m laboring on Labor Day much. Love you, appreciate you. And if my belts, my belt buckles, ever get to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I want you to be standing next to me for the ceremony. Next to you,
Munch Bishop 34:15
the head of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’m going to let you know that I’m getting his number to you, so he’ll be prepared. I would shoot him a text if I were you first before you call him. Okay,
Nestor Aparicio 34:25
all right.
Munch Bishop 34:26
You’re gonna have his name, the top man, just like you’re the top man in Baltimore, top man of the rock hall.
Nestor Aparicio 34:31
Well, by the way, can I before I go? I’m doing my 28 musical memories. So please, and I’ve done this is really important because I’m gonna be doing two a week every week 28 counting down to number one and then we’re gonna do in December it’s my 35th anniversary being on the radio I have a 35 like with a guitar sort of hard rockish that we’re gonna pull out and then all of next year because I don’t think there’s gonna be a baseball season like normally you know what I mean like January February March April we’re not. Yeah, hope we’re talking football here. You won’t be in Cleveland, but here. Now,
Munch Bishop 35:03
my violent league team, I maybe Ohio State vibrant. Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 35:06
so I’m doing this music thing because I’m very authentic. I love music. I had a friend of mine this summer ask me how many concerts I had been to, and I said 1000s.
Munch Bishop 35:17
Yeah, and
Nestor Aparicio 35:17
and she said 1000s, and I’m like 1000s, and so my my AI and my clone are putting together the spreadsheet of every concert I’ve ever been to, ticket stubs, all that. And I’m thinking like 35 best concert, 35 best this that whatever. I’m gonna do all of that later on, but right now I’m doing the 28 most influential artists in my life at this point in my life. I’m pregnant. Who
Munch Bishop 35:44
is the
Nestor Aparicio 35:46
most influential artist in your life music?
Munch Bishop 35:51
You know what? Seriously, and to me, they’re they’re right. They’re still you know not a hard rocker on occasion, but it has to be to me the Beatles.
Nestor Aparicio 36:01
Wow. Okay. See, McCartney’s going to come in in the top 10 in mine. And and these are all personal stories, right? So, like, this is the reason a lot of these are in these. I I not only met Paul McCartney, I actually got to ask him a question once. What are you
Munch Bishop 36:17
asking, man? I need to know.
Nestor Aparicio 36:18
Okay, I’m trying to find the tape of it. It happened in 1989 or 90, and I’m I’m getting I’ll get the day. I have all the clarity. I have the ticket stub. I have the backstage passes. I have all of that. I have the signed Rolling Stone where he signed Paul on his knuckles. So nonetheless, McCartney did a press conference for it was like PETA and Friends of Animals and Friends of the Earth, he and it was in Washington D.C. It was at RFK Stadium. He played the stadium, and they did a press conference in the same room that probably you know George Allen did his press conferences underneath RFK Stadium. Literally, it was RFK Stadium in 1990. Right? Nobody would. They had no tenants at that point. Right? Well, the Redskins were still playing there. I’m sorry, the Redskins still playing. So it was summertime. It was Fourth of July. Literally, I believe it was on the Fourth of July that he did this in Washington D.C. And you know, Live and Let Die had the fireworks and like all that going on. But there was a presser before the show that he did. He came in. All the TV cameras were there. Reporter, Washington Post. I’m in the front row. I am the reporter from the Baltimore Evening Sun covering it. So there’s, I don’t know, 50 people at the press conference, maybe 60, 70, but not 100. It was smaller than that. It was a real old school press conference. He had a little table in the front that looked like a high school desk, like little table. It’s RFK Stadium, 1990. It wasn’t all dressed up, and we didn’t have our cell phones out. You know what I mean? I have my notepad.
Munch Bishop 37:51
Refreshing, refreshing.
Nestor Aparicio 37:52
And Paul, ah, so good to be here, everyone. Look at all the faces. I remember, you know, like you know how Paul is, you know, and um, and and this is a young version. Paul was old then; he was in his 40s. He was too old to be a rocker. Think about that. And I had asked him, and I don’t. I’m going to do my 35 biggest regrets, and this is no longer a regret, but it was then. He opened that tour playing at Rupp Arena, a little tiny arena in in Lexington, 20,000.
Munch Bishop 38:24
You know what I mean? But that’s small compared to the city. Small,
Nestor Aparicio 38:26
yeah. And he hadn’t played in a long time. Like he didn’t play with wings, right? He was spending time with Linda. He had. I don’t think he had toured in America since like the Saturday Night Live and the Weed Bust, like in eight since Len died, right? 8081. He didn’t tour, but McCartney didn’t tour in that era. So he was finally coming out and playing, and I had asked him. I said because he wasn’t Sir Paul then. I I think I said Paul, you’re playing a big stadium here today. You’ve played some smaller venues earlier on the tour, can you tell me what it’s like to play a smaller venue versus a larger venue? Oh, it’s great question, great question. You know, and he answered it, but I don’t have it on video or audio. Someone was there taping it, and the Chicago press conference I found on YouTube. I thought I had found it. I’m like, oh my God! I think it’s that. It’s the Chicago press conference. So these are the kinds of stories I’m going to tell. But my question for Paul McCartney and the fact that the first 45 I ever bought was got to get you into my life. Flip side, helter skelter, which I look a little bit Mansony right now. But in your
Munch Bishop 39:38
heart, not in your eyes, not in your your speech. But the
Nestor Aparicio 39:40
Beatles obviously are the freaking Beatles. How do you not put them number one, right? Like you’ve already said, you just like the Beatles, right? For me, I’ve got several ahead of McCartney, but that my that story I just told you may take on new life if I actually find the press conference, right? I mean, I have the artifacts, I. Have the story. I have my buddy Mike Marlow, who would never come on, but he was next to me at the press conference. He has a signed musician magazine, and McCartney signed his Paul McCartney. He signed mine Paul.
Munch Bishop 40:14
That’s because you’re close friends.
Nestor Aparicio 40:17
Thank you. You know, you’re welcome. So that you just got one of my musical memory stories out there. I liked
Munch Bishop 40:23
it. I’ve got one for you that I’ve got to run. This was at the concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. I was backstage. I was introduced to Springsteen by the late great Michael Belkin, who I saw when I had my near-death experience after my heart surgery in heaven. What year
Nestor Aparicio 40:40
was this that you met Springsteen?
Munch Bishop 40:42
This well, the the rock roll of the concert for the Hall of Fame had to be ’94.
Nestor Aparicio 40:48
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so was they did the one when they’ve dedicated it? They did the big one right at the stadium.
Munch Bishop 40:53
Yeah, and that that was the big ones. You know, to just get the ball rolling. They had the groundbreaking and everything else, and the opening where we broadcast live and got to meet Peter Max and actually for the groundbreaking I got to escort Pete Townsend, grabbed him he put his arm in mine because they ran out of security people and since I’m an inner city guy the guy goes just act tough and walk him about 200 feet from the groundbreaking to the tent that we have set up for VIPs dude if the
Nestor Aparicio 41:19
big towns have grabbed my arm I would have I would say something to him like, “It’s put on, it’s put on. You know, I would I would say something musical to him. I said, “Who
Munch Bishop 41:30
came first? That my love opened the door, okay, from his solo album. But from backstage and and met met Bruce and the promoter for said, “Hey, this is one of the good guys in town, this and that. And we’re talking, but all of a sudden, about 10 feet away, Dylan walks by. Bruce grabs my arm like you would grab my arm if you saw somebody. He goes, “Oh my God, it’s Bob Dylan! And Dylan looks at him, and I can’t, I can’t do impressions good. But in that Dylan voice, he was like, “Oh my God, it’s the boss! And he smiled and just kept walking, brother. I gotta leave you, my friend.
Nestor Aparicio 42:02
Oh man, I’m gonna be telling stories about the time I caught Michael Stipe making out with Natalie Merchant backstage at Merriweather. Hear
Munch Bishop 42:10
that one soon.
Nestor Aparicio 42:12
You’re making me remember stories. Much Bishop, I love you. He’s in Cleveland, Cleveland, Baltimore. Get together and playing baseball, which gives us an excuse to get together, but not as good an excuse as maybe to get some breakfast together there in in Cleveland sometimes. Let’s see
Munch Bishop 42:24
when you come back. We’ll be a little
Nestor Aparicio 42:25
more positive. Stay with us.
Munch Bishop 42:27
Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
