Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the early days of Orioles baseball and start of season with hope and high expectations at Camden Yards as the Birds come home for the spring.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
orioles, game, weekend, baseball, day, pitch, years, opening, arena, play, clock, talked, running, people, baltimore, night, point, spring training, saturday, defense
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
What about w n? S T Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive. We are positively into a beautiful spring week here. It’s opening day. Bruce Springsteen’s coming to town Don Henley’s coming to town. Most importantly, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmidt, are coming to town. And most importantly, we’re going to be celebrating 50 years of the Maryland lottery giveaway. So it makes a lot of scratch offs. We’re going to ever cost this on Wednesday. I’m bringing my crab mallet from letter Rascon as well. I’m gonna get some crab appear but I haven’t cracked the crab yet. In 2023. So it’s sort of ceremonial. I think I’m going to be doing that on Wednesday, overcast this in the afternoon. Also our friends at window Nation. I’m wearing my window Navy gear here. 866 90 nation now back to five years. 0% financing. If you get your windows, please do it. It’s a good idea. I’m doing all sorts of things. Shout out to pest czar for helping us I yelled out to the cosmos. I said I got spiders, spiders, spiders, bugs, bugs and the pests are people came running in and help us out so I’ll be shouting them out as well. Wednesday Acosta’s Friday and fadeless downtown celebrating the opening of the brand new arena. I’m looking forward to it Springsteen on Friday night, eagles on Saturday, it’s a lot to wear out. A young man like myself, and I remember back in the day, when the Baltimore Orioles would open at home on a Monday when the national championship was being played. And I have to pick one or the other. Now they’re picking 70 degree days I get to hazely lazily hang out and other than drinking too much and trying to hit a yoga mat on Thursday night Luke. I’m planning on spending some days soaking up the sun. Having fun with my friends just like that. 1973 disco song about the Orioles. rough weekend with the gloves. Right. Interesting weekend with the bats. Tough weekend with the arms look like cold is held to be sitting in Fenway Park. I’m glad I wasn’t there. But the Orioles are alive and well. And it wasn’t the start we all want to be talking about. We’ll be watching a play in Texas for a couple days. But it’s it’s a start. And here we are with the season and Adley rutschman Adley rutschman Adley rutschman.
8
Luke Jones 02:12
Yeah, no question about it. You summed it up pretty nicely there and it kind of comes down to this. They hit really well. I mean, top to bottom as far as their regulars, even Gunnar Henderson who didn’t have any hits, but he walked six times he got home base a lot over the weekend. Offensively, you’re happy with where they are. But what do we always talk about the key to success? We talked about this a lot with the 2022 Club pitching and defense right? Well, the Orioles even on opening day did not pitch all that well, although it wasn’t as quite as bad as the final score looked. But defense issues all weekend. And the pitching on Saturday and Sunday left a lot to be desired in Cramer, not very good at all on Saturday. Corbin had his issues on Sunday. But all of that being said, they were literally a dropped pop fly from Ryan McKenna on Saturday, from having still won the series, they would have taken two out of three and you’d have a different, different attitude towards what we saw. So it’s one series they lost two out of three. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, the defense was awful. And I will say based on what we know about this club, going back to last year, some of these guys going back the last few years. I’m not as concerned about that. I think they’ll defend. I think their defense will be good. I think it was a hiccup. It’s cold. It’s Fenway Park, it’s a weird place to kind of open up a season. You know, again, all the excuses you want to put out there. They didn’t they didn’t defend it kick the ball around
Nestor Aparicio 03:41
baseball, and it’s 80 degrees every day for eight weeks. And you’re on an island and yeah, and then you land and everybody’s got hoodies on. And you’re running around out there and everything feels weird about it. There’s no doubt about that.
Luke Jones 03:54
Yeah, yeah. So again, I mean, they’re professionals, and they’d be the first to tell you, you got to make plays. And again, Ryan McKenna cost them a ballgame on Saturday. I mean, he’s literally on this roster. For his defense and speed. He’s not much of a bat, so wildly disappointing on that front as much as the second game of the season can be I mean, your hope is, at the end of the year, you’re at you’re thinking back and you’re saying What was the worst loss of the year? You’re hoping it was game two because you lost on a pop fly, drop with two outs in the ninth and then Batista two pitches later gives up the game. Losing the homerun.
Nestor Aparicio 04:30
8That was something right out of Keystone. I mean, yeah. Oh, just bad a beat as any awful night in the awful awful strain of Orioles baseball were awful things happened at Yankee Stadium. I mean, it was just it was Charlie brownish. I mean, it really is.
Luke Jones 04:47
Yeah, I mean, that can’t happen. I mean, but the only thing I could think of that was worse at Fenway Park over the last 20 years was the Mother’s Day Massacre years ago. Remember they what they were up five or whatever it was in the ninth inning and they lost to them but But it was brutal. It is brutal. And so that said, again, the defense, I’m not as nearly as concerned about the defense, I think the track record of even some of these guys who haven’t been around quite as long. I think Austin Hayes said it best after Saturday’s loss. Ryan McKenna catches that ball 999 times out of 1000. But it costs him a ballgame. But on the pitching front, that is where I do have questions. You know, I think fair questions as far as what this team is going to look like. And certainly, I mean, you give you give up nine runs in each of your first three games. I mean, that’s well below the bar. So it’ll be better than that. But we’ve talked about it. I’ve written about it at Baltimore, positive.com, especially the state of the bullpen, as its presently constructed with Dylan Tate on the IL Michael Gibbons on the Il. There’s some concern there and certainly they need to get better performance from their starters. I mean, get whatever innings
Nestor Aparicio 05:57
means Hall Rodriguez, let’s take those three guys. Sure. Three best pitchers in the organization. they’ve logged zero winnings, and they’re probably going to log zero winnings for a little bit. And then it’s going to look like a couple of innings. But maybe in August, they’re logging 20 innings a week. You know, I mean, maybe more. Right, right.
Luke Jones 06:19
I mean, and certainly that’s, that’s the long term upside you’re looking at right now. And specifically, Grayson Rodriguez, we talked about this a little bit last week with the decision that option him, you know, he had a rough spring, first start for Norfolk wasn’t great. It wasn’t awful, either. But certainly was there looking for a little more consistency from him. And keep in mind, he missed three months last year with that lad injury, which really disrupted what was going to be a June promotion last year. So it’s disappointing
8Nestor Aparicio 06:48
for Jim Palmer to go on and say he didn’t pitch well enough. It’s easy. It’s just easy to pitch. You want to know why he’s not here. He didn’t pitch well enough. That’s the way this works. And that was pretty obvious at the end of spring training, right? I mean, and as Palmer said, a couple of times, all he had to do was, you know, just show we belonged here. And he hasn’t done that yet. And that that’s disconcerting when he’s the number one prospect in baseball. I mean, the thing about rutschman, despite the first weekend of whatever it was last year, he is looked like he belongs and that’s what you want for you don’t want Rodriguez coming up here having an eight and a half. And it can I go back. I don’t know why I thought about rocky carpenter the other day, but I just do, because I think of all time guys that were a little bit of a meathead and a little bit of never made it and a little bit of a scratch your head and say, How could someone have an era of two wood buoy? And it’s, you know, like all the way through and not make it How does that happen? How does that ever happen? I just they always say that step to the big leagues is the biggest. And I think it’s also the most disconcerting when you make it and don’t make it when you get there and you’re and you’re overwhelmed, or you’re injured, you know, and trying to make it. And I think all of that goes into this kid with the injury last year, that that as a 55 year old guy. And it’s Jim Palmer being a Hall of Famer, that’s forgotten more. I think it’s a red flag for everybody to say slow down a little bit.
Luke Jones 08:13
Yeah, I think that’s fair in it. And I wrote about this. I talked about this with you briefly. Book. I don’t think it’s the end of the world. And I know a lot of people were ticked off and they’re talking about service time manipulation. And let’s be clear, Mike Elias has manipulated and he’s one of many general meaning managers who do that kind of thing. And look, did the Orioles look at this and say, okay, Grayson didn’t throw the ball as consistently? Well, as we would have hoped in the spring. Let’s let’s slow down here. And oh, yeah, maybe if it benefits us from a service time standpoint, we’ll also live with that, right?
Nestor Aparicio 08:48
We I don’t want to screw the kid up, because I don’t think they want to screw the kid up. And I think they’re smarter than some of the batches of guys who’ve screwed people up where you know, in Buck show Walters case it was we drafted you can’t get in here. Get in here. Right pitch play. That’s different than I think the way this is going to be handled to some degree and the service time issue. Sure. I mean, I’ll hear all that. But right. In the end, if they felt like he could get guys out tonight in Texas, he’d be here, I think, well,
Luke Jones 09:18
8well, there’s that. But then the other side of this is if other guys who are in the current rotation aren’t going to pitch all that well, then we’ll see him sooner rather than later. I mean, that’s just how this works. So yeah, in a big picture, since I’m much more of the thought of Pete doesn’t make his debut until the end of April or the beginning of May give him a few starts to get, get himself ironed out all the kinks out of command back to where it’s been in the past. The stuff is still there. You know, I haven’t heard any concerns on that front. So, you know, the presumed the presumption is that he’s, you know, the assumption is that he’s healthy, so it’s not the worst thing in the world to pump the brakes. Give him a check. As the exhale, go down the Norfolk put together some good starts there, you know, at least decent starts, let’s say, and then give them the call. In the meantime, you know, you see how the current five pitches and you know, first weekend at Fenway Kyle Gibson was better than the numbers indicated I think he was let down a little bit. I thought he was fine at least. But Dean Kramer not good on Saturday and Corbin not not very good on Sunday either. So yeah, I mean, it’s
Nestor Aparicio 10:28
more out of the veteran guys who’ve been out and and playing cold baseball and been in a crowd question and but then again, guys behind the not catching the ball. How about guy running the bases and the Red Sox treating it like Lucy’s catching? I mean, what what was that?
Luke Jones 10:43
It’s really interesting. And this is if we’re going to talk now about the rules, right? You know, people talked about the bigger bases. And inherently that makes the the base path, base path slightly shorter. But the big one is obviously the pitch clock. And I think pick offs
Nestor Aparicio 11:00
also quick to write. I mean, you can only have the picks, and all of a sudden it’s I’m running. Yeah. Because
8Luke Jones 11:07
Because you try it again. And if you don’t get them it’s a balk. So then it’s a stolen base anyway, essentially. So it very much becomes interesting in effect in that way. But it is interesting that to see the numbers and the Orioles were an extreme, you know, they sold 10 bases over the first two games, which is unheard of. I feel like there were years a book show Walter Orioles where they wouldn’t steal 10 bases in two months, let alone.
Nestor Aparicio 11:31
Six of them were gifted. Yeah, yeah. So you talk about things that are gonna make more offense. I mean, 10 more times in the series guys got from first to second free of charge. That’s great. Yeah. The second the third,
Luke Jones 11:42
it’s interesting. And it’s one of those factors that when you kind of talk about the unintended consequences. I mean, I don’t know if you want that much, you know, that much of a change in terms of stolen bases. I think everyone was saying, Yeah, let’s let’s see some more, you know, more of the running game and guys trying to steal and certainly the Orioles I mean, Matteo and Mullins were one two in the American League and stolen bases last year. So it’s not as though the Orioles don’t have speed that was already built in. But I think with the pitch clock, the fact that you have a clock, the fact that when you’re gonna see it count down, knowing a pitcher, okay, he can step off, and he might step off once or twice. But you can kind of time that up. Right. So that’s something that I think is going to be interesting to monitor as we saw quite a few stolen bases over the first weekend across baseball, it’s a
Nestor Aparicio 12:30
8better game. Yeah, hey, it took me three days to watch it. And my wife and I are watching and we’re like, oh, we can stay with it. It’s a seven thing and they’re actually gonna play baseball, instead of jerk off and jerk around and come off the mound and play games and warm up and come in and scratch their nuts and have a meeting and, and have a review. And like, seriously, I swear to God, we were are we going to watch women’s basketball in the final? Are we going to watch the eighth and ninth inning of a four run ball game? And we kind of hung in? Because, you know, the issues happen quickly. You know, I mean, it feels like it’s happening all of a sudden, instead of back end. And that’s welcomed as a 55 year old that and I’m not a 20 year old kid who doesn’t have attention span issues. But like let’s get the games going. You know what I mean? We’re we’re here to see the game. We’re not here to see you scratch nuts and jump off the mound and have meetings and and happy human rain delay. That’s over for this. Yeah, no
Luke Jones 13:27
question about revenue, I think. I think so. And look, could there be an adjustment that they find that maybe the clock needs to be tweaked here or there in certain situations? I’m I think that’s possible. But I think you’re right and I think opening day and I wrote this at Baltimore positive.com I think opening day was a perfect case study. Let’s face it. Let’s go back and look at the box score for the Orioles Red Sox. I have that in front of me right now. A combined 19 runs a combined 26 hits a combined three heirs a combined the Orioles drew nine walks the Red Sox drew three so you had 12 walks. You had 17 strikeouts you had 12 Total pitchers used the Orioles threw a total of 153 pitches, the Red Sox threw a total of 191 pitches. Now if I had told you that Nestor is in the four hour and 17 minute game. You that is a game pushing four hours, right give or take a few minutes you’re thinking that’s a 350 That’s a 348 That’s 50 pitches. That game on opening day, three hours, 10 minutes. That’s if that’s the kind of game that I’m looking at a lot of walks all that like I said, and we can debate how good how well that game was played overall. But to have all of that happen in the game, and for it to be three hours 10 minutes. You can live with that. I don’t need every single game to be under three hours. I just don’t want every single one to be three to three and a Half right or three to four. So, so you know, I think the early returns on the pitch clock. I think that the overall sentiment that you’ve seen from certainly younger major leaguers, and some of these guys having experienced the pitch clock at the minor league level the last few years, I think the overall sentiment is, yeah, it’s an adjustment. It’s a little bit different than what we’re used to. But we’re getting used to it. And if it makes for a better game, if it makes for a better product, if it makes more people engaged, rather than what you just know, mentioned out when there’s other stuff on and you got a game that’s dragging, and there’s no end in sight? Yeah, well, I think a lot of people that that turns off a lot of people, even people who love baseball to your point. So I think that’s been an overall positive again, well, they need to tweak it at some point, is there going to be a certain circumstance or a certain situation that they hadn’t thought about before? Well, then you can adjust it, but I think by and large, you’re right, it’s not going away. And I think it’s been far more positive than negative in terms of the concerns with the pitch clock. So you know, and haven’t even mentioned the, the elimination of the shift, which, you know, I had mixed feelings on but it does make aesthetically speaking, a better product, a game that’s more enjoyable to watch. So we’ll see how it plays out. Again, we’re still dealing with a small sample size, but I think, you know, even going back to spring training, seeing the time of average time of game, really kind of shave off roughly a half hour, you know, that’s that’s it’s funny, we baseball, we always talk about longing for the past, right? We’re very romantic. We’re very traditionalist when it comes to Baseball, baseball fans themselves, but you look at the way that America has kind of evolved, we’ve gotten faster and every other element of our life, right? Cell phones, everything smartphones, compared to how we used to consume information, but you go back to 30 or 40 years ago, the average time a game in baseball was much more much quicker. Yeah, it was a much faster game in terms of the pace so nice to have some mechanisms in place to try to turn things back so to speak, in that regard. And you know, the clock is not distracting, you know, it’s not like the shot clock in basketball. I you know, I don’t think we’re gonna see fans counting down or anything like that, but it’s an adjustment, but I think it’s been a positive adjustment so far. I would
Nestor Aparicio 17:25
just say this on the clock. I’m okay with it. I think in the postseason, if they added five seconds, it’d be okay with me. And I think in the postseason to think about it a little bit more and always, the postseason always felt a little bit more pregnant a little bit more quiet a little bit more thoughtful. I mean, even back in the 80s when I was a kid, it felt like the pace of it was much more deliberate because every game was a knockout and obviously in the five game series in the way they play it now it’s it’s different. But Lucas here Baltimore, Luke, you can find him the Orioles are have an opening day on Thursday. You’re excited. We’re excited people are coming downtown. The weather should be good. We’re gonna be all around a Costas on Wednesday and a fade these on Friday. Also taking the Maryland crab cake tour up to Bel Air. We’ll be at Pappas, on the 13th at the new Bel Air location, just in North Bel Air just north of John Carroll. Also on the 27th we’re going to be down at Captain Larry’s than Federal Hill. Really looking forward to that. I’ve heard great things about their crabcake down there. It’s right down the street from pike his house and we’re looking forward to get back downtown to Fort Avenue and doing that. On the baseball side of the weekend. The catch the kid with the angels made in Renfro and right field was amazing, right? You know, a lot of times you get these no hitters and perfect games and crazy stuff happening first weekend and but the Orioles coming into focus into all of this and playing every day and getting sort of basketball out of our system and the San Diego State thing and in Connecticut thing and all of that. For the the heartbeat of it. And for what I built here for 31 years. It feels different this year because they have a chance. You’ve been doing this a long time as a fan as a friend as a, you know, a professional doing this for 15 years and you pointed out on your fingers the other day, how many chances when we’re pooping on Angelo’s, by the way John’s everywhere now except here, he’s on TV, he’s on radio, he’s out it. I’m gonna be writing about both of these owners and accountability. And who’s out in front who’s in the back. I’m gonna be rereleasing the Peter principles. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and drinking over the weekend on singing too, by the way, thank you ace and the guys in the cultivated I was over my old stomping grounds at the Emerald tavern the other day. So, but the baseball Jones and I don’t mean flags on cars. I don’t even mean my Facebook timeline. I don’t even mean people that aren’t into baseball becoming into baseball. But my wife and I are watching the Red Sox in the Orioles and over the weekend and having that be back again. And a chance and players I’m interested in and new broadcaster is a new this and new. I’m just, I’m flying in and I’m diving in because there was no spring training. There were no games. I’m seeing the Little Caesar run around. It’s almost comical, like, I mean, it really is comical to watch this after seeing the lawsuit like it’s just, I have just eaten it. Michael Jackson in the thriller video. I’m eating the popcorn as an outsider, I’ve reapplied for my press credential with the Orioles. We’ll see how that goes as well. But you’re going down to the ballpark this weekend eating hotdogs I’m going to be wearing my oriental jacket or maybe not. It’s going to be 70 degrees. Maybe I get to wear my new Lucky Orange shirt that I got that I went to Hollywood casino but I’m excited about it. I’m excited about going downtown. I I guess I’m gonna go for a couple of innings on Thursday. I don’t have a ticket yet, but I usually figure it out. But I want to dive in and at least have some fun with it. Because there hasn’t been much that’s been fun lately, dude, to be honest.
Luke Jones 20:55
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s, look, they’ve got a chance. And look, let’s not overreact in the same way that if they swept the Red Sox, we wouldn’t be talking. And it already, you know, as we’re talking about the first few days of April, but there’s certainly a level of expectation that hasn’t been there since the end of the Buck show Walther Arielle. I mean, Let’s call a spade a spade. This is a team that, you know, held on a couple years too long, so to speak, as far as that era with the way that things just kind of disintegrated. And, you know, they didn’t get great value for Manny Machado it once you got to the point where you weren’t gonna extend them. But yeah,
8Nestor Aparicio 21:30
that’s Chris Davis, still. They haven’t been do a deal with him. Oh, they’re still.
21:36
Right. Oh,
Luke Jones 21:36
he’s still he’ll be making money for a long time. I mean, there are a lot of deferments. I mean, it’s not quite the bobby Binya Mets deal, but it’s, you know, is he
Nestor Aparicio 21:44
8getting five or 10 million this year? Like real money? I’d have to, I’d have to look. I mean, you know, but but mistakes that are made. That’s a legitimate $10,000 A week they’re sending to him or whatever it is for for ever. So yeah. So when we talk about the Mars money, and like, you know, forevers a long time. I’ll just say that.
Luke Jones 22:06
It is it is but all of those. And look, we’ve talked about it with ownership, the stadium, lease mass, and all the different off the field issues that let’s be clear, have an impact on what is going to happen on the field in terms of players you add or don’t add and all that. But that aside, there, there’s a lot to be there’s a lot to like about this team, even with an ugly couple games over the weekend. And, you know, I think there’s, there’s some buzz for it to your point. It’s not super bowl, car flag kind of buzz just yet or anything like that. But I think there’s some intrigue, there’s a level of interest, you know, I couldn’t even see it on my social media even had some of my friends texting me about the games who aren’t exactly people that watch the Orioles on the nightly basis. So there’s always a little bit of that at the beginning of the year. But as I said, I talked about this with you. I’ve talked about this with Dennis, with the Ravens being where they are with Lamar Jackson and their offseason. And even the most optimistic of Ravens fans, it’s unsettling, when to this point, you’ve made one outside addition to your roster. I mean, that’s just where they are. There’s an opportunity for the Orioles to really create some buzz here and some interest and to really, they’re not going to overtake the ravens, NFL is King everywhere, not just in Baltimore. But it is a chance for them to garner some attention and to create some enthusiasm. If they can get off to a good start now wanting to over the weekend, not what you’re looking for. That’s obvious. But if they can win a series in Texas, and then come home and play well, and get off to a good start here over the first few weeks, then I think you’ll have more and more people paying attention and tuning in on a nightly basis or a semi nightly basis to see how this team is faring so And to your point. First time and at least and this is the kindest timeline. At least five years since the Orioles have had any kind of semblance of hope going into a season.
Nestor Aparicio 24:02
Look up the Chris Davis numbers you ready? Go away off, dude.
24:06
Lay it on, way off way off. Like I said,
8Nestor Aparicio 24:10
Is he still getting 6 million a year ready?
Luke Jones 24:14
It’s a lot. I can’t remember the exact number. But when he signed
Nestor Aparicio 24:16
his contract, it was set up with 42 million in deferred payments. Okay, so starting in 2023, which is now right, he will receive 9.1 6 million for the next three years. The 1.6 million is 160,000 by the way. So so he will receive 9.1 6 million next year next year and 25. So that’s 28 million. He’s getting the next three year 27 and 27.4 starting at 26. It goes down to 3.5 million a year. Oh, that’s all that’s for seven years. That’s for seven years. Okay, that’s seven more years. Right? That’s another 20 4 million, and then then starting in 2020 33. So that’s 10 years from now. He will receive 1.4 million yearly for five more years.
Luke Jones 25:11
8Yeah, I think lottery tickets, I think his payments, the deferred payments, I believe go until he’ll be like 52 or 53 years old, something like that. Like I said, it’s not quite as crazy as the bobby Binya one.
Nestor Aparicio 25:28
It’s crazy, or what is it 9 million a year because Oh, yeah, he is getting some money. But this is like, right. I owe money. This is different kinds of money. Right. Right.
Luke Jones 25:36
I just meant the term for Binya, but yeah, I mean, he’s making some very serious money still in welcoming the Orioles signed up for this back in 2016.
Nestor Aparicio 25:45
I mean, if you want to, Mark Jackson needs an agent. No question.
8Luke Jones 25:50
No question. Luke challenges here he
Nestor Aparicio 25:52
is he winning and overseeing all things in the orange universe and Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He’ll be eating hotdogs, I’ll be drinking the beer. We’ll be downtown on opening day ever get ever Costas on Wednesday doing the Maryland crab cake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery in conjunction with our friends at Goodwill. Got some great guests on Wednesday as well as on Friday morning, opening a new arena. I’m so excited. I was trying to find all my old arena buddies and do you have a civic center memory? Do you have a favorite Civic Center memory? I mean, I just think about Bruno Sammartino Superstar Billy Graham. I think about being there with Cyndi Lauper coming out of just for your perspective. Georgia Championship Wrestling, the first time Ric Flair came in. Like I just I saw Andre the Giant like just wrestling memories alone. He sticks skeleton, just wrestling memories alone to be amazing. But then there’s the Harlem Globetrotters. Then there’s the Baltimore clippers and all of the clippers and the skip jacks that came after that and the deck gods and working down there and the blast and taking girls in the 80s for blast games and the Black Sabbath in sticks and Van Halen and Judas Priest and Black Sabbath and Paul Stanley and Peter and Peter, Chris and Steven Tyler putting his head on my shoulder at an Aerosmith show and drinking beer with the guys from triumph when I was under age and see Gary Richards from REO Speedwagon hammered out of his mind with Kevin Crone, just bands in music in Chicago and you too, and the stones and the Eagles and Springsteen and Springsteen, and now they’re going to redo the arena. I mean, I’ve you mentioned the circuses, and I’ve you mentioned the bullets, games, and I haven’t even mentioned me being the the announcer with the series. So I, you know, I did all of these fun things in that building. I’m gonna go back in there on Friday night, and Springsteen is going to like, and it’s going to be like a different building. Like I that’s, I that’s exciting for me, I there’s no where I’ve been other than, like, Memorial Stadium, like literally, Capitol Center has been gone for 25 years. The arena was just there. And I guess, I got to think about the last time I was in there, I don’t even remember, like, I walked out of there, and it’s a different thing. But I am really, really excited about this and in a curious way, because I’ve wondered my whole life. What’s going to become that. What are they going to do with that?
Luke Jones 28:14
Yeah, it’s fun. And you asked me my favorite memories. I mean, mostly wrestling. I mean, it really was now my old man and my mom taking me to WWF shows back, you know, whether it’s Civic Center or the Capitol center. I don’t really have any legit
Nestor Aparicio 28:33
8game or a blast game there.
Luke Jones 28:35
I’m sure I went to Yeah, I’m sure I went to cap skip jacks and the blast at least a game or two. I mean, it wasn’t something we did regularly. But
Nestor Aparicio 28:48
I saw all sorts of things. My dad would take me down there for for hockey practice. Like just so many things. Like I saw boxing there, Reggie gross, delivered a punch and blood flew all over my notebook. I mean, like I had nights at the at the like the arena’s just I was at I was at the blood circus with ox Baker came in and, and Charlie Ekman and Artie Donovan came by the seats. The chi was a scam artist. Like I have so many memories there, man. It’s incredible.
Luke Jones 29:20
I’m looking right now I found this. So I went to WWF Smackdown. In 1999. I’m looking I pulled up the car. It actually was November of 1999. It was a couple of weeks before Survivor Series, which is one of their big four pay per views. But I have the card. I’m going to just fire away here and go off the list. I’m going to tell you the Hall of Famers that were on this card. Kurt Angle that was before he actually made his TV debut as Kurt Angle. It edge who’s in the WWE Hall of Fame. The Dudley boys who are Hall of Famers? The Godfather is a Hall of Famer. Watch Big Boss Man was was on that card, and then you’re ready for it here. Here’s the main event of the night. The Rock, Shane McMahon, Cain test who passed away years ago. They defeated degeneration X. Guess who else was there that night Stone Cold Steve Austin did a run in Arnold Schwarzenegger was there that night just making an appearance for a movie he was doing. So I was at that it was a TV taping show, which usually isn’t as good as a house show because you got your laws with the commercials and everything. But looking at this card, I’m like, Man, that’s, that’s, that’s probably I’ve been the one WWE pay per view in my life up in Hershey that I went to 20 years ago. But that’s probably you know, top to bottom, the most impressive card I’ve seen in person. I mean, I just named a dozen Hall of Famers who appeared on that show that night. I mean, that’s, it’s pretty cool. So yeah, I mean, and I know aw is going to be at the arena. They’re doing a dynamite taping there, I believe in about a month. So that’s going to be one of the earlier you know, one of the earlier events for the revamped arena. So yeah, look, unfortunately
8Nestor Aparicio 31:06
this weekend. So I’m looking at a Anita Baker. I’m looking at Janet Jackson, Bryan Adams. I’m looking to John Mayer, I’m looking at Adam saying, you know, so events are coming. Everything that they promised is being delivered. And I want to drag you down for something before it’s all over. Well put the Foo Fighters back together and we’ll get you down for that. All right, Lucas.
Luke Jones 31:24
Sounds good sounds.
Nestor Aparicio 31:29
We’re in a little bit of a delay where he’ll be an Oriole Park all week. He’ll be at Owings Mills. Many things going on. We got draft happened later on. I’ll be drinking some drafts on Thursday morning as well as Wednesday afternoon, overcast, it’s no Friday morning. We’ll be down to fade. Lee’s also a great place to grab a crab cake for opening day. I’ll be at Bally’s opening day two before the game but we’re actually doing the show on Friday, but I’ll be there Thursday, promoting Friday and having a crab cake because that’s what I do. Alright, I’m Nestor we are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore positive
