The year of the sports injury in Baltimore…

First, the Baltimore Orioles had a gruesome April and pitching injuries that led onto the field and now the Ravens are 1-5 and trying to get Lamar Jackson (and lots of others) back onto the field to rescue the season. Recovering Tampa via Baltimore sportswriter Joel Poiley brings his Orioles and Ravens passion and wisdom home for a deep dive chat with Nestor about life as a local sports fan during this tough year.

Nestor Aparicio and Joel Poiley discussed the current state of Baltimore sports, focusing on the Orioles and Ravens. Poiley highlighted the Orioles’ need for better starting pitching and a middle-of-the-order bat, criticizing the team’s reliance on strikeouts and the performance of players like Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman. They also touched on the Ravens’ struggles, citing injuries and coaching issues. Poiley emphasized the importance of community engagement and proper management in sports, drawing parallels with his experiences in Tampa. They also discussed the upcoming World Series and the potential impact of the Blue Jays’ success on the Orioles.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Recommend that Judy Matte try the meatballs at Libratories, as they are delicious.
• [ ] Follow up with Judy Matte, the widow of Tom Matte, as November 2nd marks the 4-year anniversary of his passing.
• [ ] Reach out to Rick Vaughn about his interest in managing the Orioles, as he still wants to manage and could be a good fit for the team.
• [ ] Consider Mark DeRosa as a potential dark horse candidate for the Orioles’ manager position, as he understands analytics but is also a player’s guy.

Baltimore Positive Tour and Upcoming Events

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the Baltimore Positive tour, mentioning upcoming events at Costas Timonium, State Fair Catonsville, and Pizza John’s in Essex.
• Nestor discusses the Orioles offseason, including potential managers like Albert Powell and the impact of injuries on the team.
• Joel Poiley, a recovering sports writer and author of the Tom Matty book, joins the show to discuss his experiences and insights.
• Nestor shares a story about meeting Tom Matty’s widow at a restaurant and reminisces about the 75 Colts reunion.

Joel Poiley’s Career and Insights on Sports

• Joel Poiley talks about his long career as a sports writer and his recent retirement.
• Nestor and Joel discuss the current state of the Buccaneers, including the impact of injuries and the performance of quarterback Tom Brady.
• Joel shares his thoughts on the Ravens’ season, expressing concerns about the team’s performance and the impact of injuries on key players.
• Nestor and Joel reflect on the challenges faced by both the Orioles and Ravens, emphasizing the importance of community engagement and proper management.

Challenges Faced by Baltimore Sports Teams

• Nestor and Joel discuss the challenges faced by the Orioles, including the need for better starting pitching and a middle-of-the-order bat.
• Joel shares his theory on the importance of starting pitching and the challenges of relying on a volatile bullpen.
• Nestor and Joel discuss the performance of players like Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, and Adley Rutschman, highlighting areas for improvement.
• Joel emphasizes the need for the Orioles to focus on signing quality starting pitchers and rebuilding the bullpen.

Community Engagement and Ownership Issues

• Nestor and Joel discuss the importance of community engagement and the challenges faced by the Orioles in connecting with fans.
• Joel shares his experiences with the Tampa Bay Rays and the importance of community involvement in sports.
• Nestor expresses frustration with the current ownership and management of the Orioles, highlighting the need for better communication and community outreach.
• Joel and Nestor reflect on the impact of ownership decisions on the team’s performance and the importance of having a strong community presence.

Future of Baltimore Sports and Personal Reflections

• Nestor and Joel discuss the future of Baltimore sports, including the potential impact of the Blue Jays’ success on the Orioles.
• Joel shares his thoughts on the importance of signing quality free agents and the challenges of building a winning team.
• Nestor reflects on his experiences as a sports writer and the importance of integrity and community in sports.
• Joel and Nestor conclude the conversation with a discussion on the importance of having a strong foundation and community support in sports.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Baltimore sports, Orioles offseason, Ravens season, Tom Matty book, sports injuries, baseball pitching, free agent signings, community engagement, sports writing, Baltimore community, sports management, World Series, baseball analytics, player performance, team strategy.

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SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Joel Poiley

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively, taking the Maryland crab cake tour out on the road this week. We’re going to be Costas on Wednesday, I will have Raven scratch offs to give away say cost is Timonium. Cost it’s not done dog Costas. We’re going to do that one next month, we’re also gonna be getting around town all month long through this world series period of time. Next Tuesday, we’re gonna be over at State Fair in Catonsville. Alan will be joining us. We might be talking some World Series, but certainly the Orioles offseason. Who’s gonna manage them? Albert Powell’s this that whatever Cocos pop on the fifth in lauraville, see Marcella, and I’ll get some of my favorite coconut shrimp. And then on the seventh of November, will be a pizza John’s in Essex, which usually means that Luke finds reasons to cut practice short before the Minnesota game and get to Essex and have some pizza, as well as some scratch offs from the Maryland lottery. This guy scratched off from Northwest Baltimore down to Tampa Bay. He is a recovering sports writer, aren’t we all and author of the Tom Matty book, he comes on the show two or three times a year. He sends me texts once or twice a month when I piss him off or give him a rah rah or fire him up as an old sports writer columnist Joel poyly is here. That’s P, O, I, L, E, y, you can find him out where Tom Matty books are sold. He was a friend of the Maddy family who wrote a beautiful book. And Joel, I thought of you. I was I was out the other night at cost I was at Costa centimonium, and friend of mine came up to me. They were doing rocking at the races, which is this big liquor, liquor, poker, distributor, beer, fancy wine. There were all sorts of liquor people out. People knew who I was. I didn’t shave, I didn’t look good. I was just there to watch, like, the end of the four o’clock games and a little bit of baseball. And somebody came up to me, and they’re like, Hey, I it was, it was will Kamado, who runs liberatories. My shout out to Dante and the whole liberatory family, John everybody up in Timonium, and he said, Tom Matty’s wife, widow came in for dinner last week, and I’m like, so when I hear Tom Matty and I hear his family and dude, the 75 colts thing, I can’t believe I haven’t had you on since then, because Maddie wasn’t on a 75 Colts. But that reunion six weeks ago with Bertram. I mean, dude, I met Roger Carr you know what I mean? Like, I met George Coons, and he offered me free burgers and french fries in Las Vegas because he owns McDonald’s franchise, which I never knew 50 years. So his email is my Mr. Fry guy is so anyway, like the stuff you learn when you’re an inquisitive sports writer and you have the youthful energy of my 57 years. Joel,

Joel Poiley  02:47

I got you good being back on Nestor, good to see you. Yeah, I’d love to do a book with Bert. I mean, I think about that team all the time because it was the second generation, you know, was after Unitas and yeah, Tom wasn’t involved. But then again, he was, because he was always around the team. He was always promoting, I think at that point in his life, he was doing some TV for CBS. As far as Judy, I think I told you, I still keep in touch with her. I’m going to give her a call, because I think November 2 is the date Tom passed four years ago. So that’s always kind of burned into my mind.

Nestor Aparicio  03:28

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I saw Tom at Libra Tories, you know, I, I, you know, I don’t frequent Libra Tories, but I’ve been there many times, and libs grill, the whole deal. And I saw Tom and Judy in there years ago, Steve, Jeffy, when I there. I see old friends all the time, but tell her to get the meatballs. She gets the meatballs at laboratories because they’re delicious. I will pass that along. No, give her my love. And you know, as time goes on, I’m wearing this goofy Derek Henry jersey. And as we sit here, you’re a baseball nerd, I’m a baseball nerd. World Series. We just watched Game seven in these, I mean, the Otani thing last week. There’s so many directions I could take you in, yeah, and, but the football thing as it sits front and forward, and Lamar in the season, you’re down in Tampa, right? Like, so you give everybody a little just give your your little speech, because I like you do that, let me know who you are, but you disappeared to Tampa, like, a long time ago, 30 years ago,

Joel Poiley  04:26

right? Yeah. I mean, I’ve been down here since November of 86

Nestor Aparicio  04:31

and 30 years ago. Hell, 39 years all right? Wow.

Joel Poiley  04:35

It’s hard to believe, you know, because when I look back at some of the events, and people I followed and wrote about, and they’re not around anymore. I mean, I actually just retired officially a couple of weeks ago, but I still do a lot of freelance work. I mean, as far as the football thing, let’s pump the brakes on the bucks for now, not just because they lost. Last night. But people have to realize that without Baker’s heroics in their first four wins, they could have easily lost those games

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Nestor Aparicio  05:09

last good team, I think he’s a Moxie quarterback, right?

Joel Poiley  05:14

Yeah, last night was the first night, though, first game this year where he looked rattled Hutchinson and that makeshift secondary really confused him. I mean, he was overthrowing wide open guys. Well,

Nestor Aparicio  05:29

now Evans is really hurt, and that’s, that’s, well, he broke his collar. I mean, yeah. I mean, yeah.

Joel Poiley  05:33

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And plus, he had a concussion. I don’t like bowls as a coach, never have. I mean, forget the deadpan expression and all that stuff. But he he plays not to lose. He plays this bend but don’t break defense. I mean, it doesn’t matter who they’re playing, whether it’s, you know, the great receivers from Detroit, they almost lost to the Jets. I mean, it’s one of those games where they were up by three TDs in the fourth quarter. They take the they stop pumping the brakes. They get that field goal blocked. It was, remember that week where everybody’s blocking field goals, and it wasn’t until Baker rallies them for, you know, late field goal, or they would have lost to the flipping jets. So well,

Nestor Aparicio  06:16

the Ravens only won one game, and they beat the browns, right? So like and flack was not even there anymore. Now he’s like, it is amazing that if I had had you on five, six weeks ago, before that colts reunion, even after the buffalo loss, or whatever, the perceptions of teams and this thing with Lamar. And here’s the weird part, and I keep going with this with with Luke, by the way, Joe poigley is our guest if you’re tuning in on radio, author of Tom Mattie book, and the longtime sports writer down in Tampa, but a Baltimore guy, as you can see from his colts and Orioles gear, if you’re watching out on the on the video screens. But this is perilous, right? I wrote this nasty letter to John that he’s earned, richly earned here, but, but I also think they’re like I thought they would get to seven and seven, and I’ve predicted that. But if Lamar doesn’t get back on the field, even if Lamar gets back on the field, and I’ve seen some people say, This is me too, right? They gotta win two games in four days this week, and Miami looks like you’re going to talk about them the way we talk about the jets or Cleveland. I watch a lot of bad football on Sunday at a one o’clock hour like there, there are some hapless teams, dolphins, jets being two of them, right? But I you know the bears are capable either way and the way the stadium is emptied out here the last two weeks. As I look over your left shoulder, Joel, and I see that 1982 Baltimore Colts pennant, and I said it reminded me of art Schlichter and and, and Mike Pagel, and somebody sent me Bill troops lifetime awards. And I do want to shout out the great Marty dams, whose name came up with me was a custom customer as well. We lost Marty dam. We talked about quarterbacks of of elder statesman, but the arch Lester era here, where the stadium was empty and Earth was moving the team you were in Baltimore for that. You were bleeding hard for that, dude, I’ve never seen our stadium empty out and the people stay to boo the head coach. And I told John, I’m like, Dude, I’ve been at this 30 years. You’re in a different spot here as an organization of one in five, when you had Super Bowl hopes and a $50 million quarterback, and the season can go away before Halloween next week, and that’s dark look.

Joel Poiley  08:24

They still have other issues. I mean, Lamar not withstanding. I mean, they have no you know, because I follow the team, they have no pass rush. They’re always going to be disjointed on offense without Lamar in there. But, you know, let’s face it. I mean, like, I think Luke pointed this out. He didn’t play great in the KC game after the first drive. They have issues. And well, the offensive

Nestor Aparicio  08:48

line is not good. I don’t know that it’s going to get better, right?

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Joel Poiley  08:52

And the injuries in the NFL are crazy. But you know, in thinking about what’s going on in Baltimore this year between the Orioles and the Ravens. I mean, it’s definitely the year of the injury. That’s what people are going to remember, or injuries. But I tell you, brother, to get to seven and seven, it’s not going to be easy. I watched a little bit of the bears on Sunday. I mean, they’re playing with some confidence, so that’s not going to be an easy game. And I mean, if they can get to seven and seven, yeah, then they still have to win out. I mean, that’s a long way to go. That’s what, eight games. That’s half the season where they have to completely flip the switch from the way they’re playing.

Nestor Aparicio  09:30

Now, Joe pointley is our guest. He has done plenty of radio down in the Tampa area. He’s written books and is working on, we’ll get to some baseball in a minute, because they know baseball sort of your first blood, and we got World Series. We certainly have Oriole stuff to talk about, but the Ravens woes in the middle of all of this. To your point, I love the way you sum that up. I’m gonna make that the headline at Baltimore positive about the year of the injury for Baltimore, because you do view it as certainly an expert eye and what you’ve done for a living. I mean, there’s just no point. No offense to anybody out there that’s not a real sports writer hasn’t been one for 40 or 50 years like Joel and I, or been in locker rooms before, people like Chad steel, who have no integrity, throw me out and try to affect what people would think about the confidence of my information, which is really the I’m gonna Tombo that all day long after 40 years of my work. But I just would say like you’ve been witness to all of this from the outside with an expert eye, and having been in locker rooms and been around all of what sports is in professional sports for our city, for Baltimore, for you, being a bleeding heart Baltimore fan, being an old guy you know, from the 60s and 70s and 80s, and loving sports here, and spending a lifetime in Tampa, where you didn’t love it, but you reported on it. You love sports, but I don’t know if you love the Buccaneers or fell in love with the rays. You’re probably deep down in Oriole and a Baltimore Colts, probably ravens, guy. But the notion that you watch this from a side and say, Man, my old hometowns on the come the murder rates down. Nestor is there talking good things. The Orioles look like they could win the World Series, and the Ravens look like they could win the Super Bowl. I did a segment like last summer with Dave shining, like a summer and a half ago with rasig, when it was shiny and wonderful, and Corbin Burns was here, and like all of that. And I’m like, which one will have a parade first? And you know what Dave shining said? And this is the cynical sob that he is, neither he said, Neither he said, because it’s too hard to do either one. He said so. And here we are. And with the Raven season, I just feel like it’s been as a sports guy and a guy that’s done this 27 years with a sports radio station, or whatever. This was the year of prosperity that’s going to poopoo,

Joel Poiley  11:45

yeah, and it’s all falling apart so quickly. I mean, because I know you and Luke have talked a lot about middle of last June, I was with him. I thought that was maybe the best dose team since 70 or 71 I mean, definitely could have been better than 83 you know, and then second half last year fell apart. The subtleties of sports can change so quickly. And like you’re talking about locker rooms, you know, you get a vibe when when you’ve covered things a long time. Obviously, I’m not. Oh, you

Nestor Aparicio  12:21

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look into the whites of a man’s eyes, yeah, in victory, in defeat, in pain, in agony, in exaltation, in celebration. I have all of those experiences with these men, which is why when Edwin Muller Tyler’s in town, he texts me, you know what I mean? Like, like, there is a relationship built. And I learned this from Chris Thomas back in the day. Who followed you? Or did you follow Him? You went first, right?

Joel Poiley  12:46

I went first. We actually worked in the same building when he was a channel eight down here, and I was at the tridune, and

Nestor Aparicio  12:53

we had a few he was my aisle, you know that, right? Like, I loved Chris As a boy, like, you know, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this, and one of the reasons I’m as wacky as I am in the way that I

Joel Poiley  13:02

am killing it down here Nestor, and then he got sick and he

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Nestor Aparicio  13:06

passed, yeah, I mean, but yeah, I’m just saying for anyone. And I loved Chris, right? But of that generation, that is the point where, when you look into Kenny Cooper’s eyes in 1984 you saw what he was about, you know what I mean, and you could read a phony from a mile away. And I, like, to me, I’m with you when guys are running out the back door, I haven’t seen that much in my career in 41 years across every sport, across PR directors, real. PR directors, not, not locker room bouncers. You know what I mean? Like, there to bully people like me. I’m talking about, like, spirit of minor league hockey, minor league soccer, pro soccer, collegiate sports, Olympic sports, the Naval Academy. I covered the naval football, like, just what honor, what integrity, is for when you’re a professional athlete, the level of expectation that you stand in front of your locker, win, lose or draw, be a man. Be the tough guy you say you are. Be accountable. Have integrity. Don’t make the backup quarterback come out and have to speak for you. Like, I like, when that starts happening, I really do question, and I’ve questioned out loud, John’s integrity. But I mean, you’ve done this for a long time. Did you have a lot of guys sneaking out the back door? Maybe more in the modern era? Because, like, that’s cool in social media and all that, but it’s never cool. It’s it. It’s never been endorsed by management, agents, parents, adults. Adults don’t endorse that kind of behavior, and they don’t make excuses for it. Champions Don’t make excuses for it.

Joel Poiley  14:40

Well, you know this, you learn more from guys athletes, when they can deal with a loss and when they can come to the podium, and when they can answer the tough questions, and they just create more doubt when all those things, I didn’t run into too much of guys running. Out the back door, but even going all the way back to when you and I may have covered High School. I mean, some of the best coaches I dealt with were high school coaches because, you know, they’re maybe they were coaching a lousy team, and they were always front facing, and they

Nestor Aparicio  15:16

were always the honor of their school that you were covering them in the paper, right job, or Chris Thomas is there with a microphone to say you just lost the state championship, and you’re in tears and the cheerleaders are in tears. That’s freaking sports, man. That’s it. That’s his old that’s why we watch. I remember Freddie Patek. I mean, I saw the big dumper get very emotional on Monday night, right? Like, I mean, obviously the the agony of Mike Evans and the pain and how people react to tragedy and pain, but losing his life, and if you can’t handle that, and you run out the back door, and you have a team full of guys that run out the back door, right? No. Boy, no. Joel, I just I can’t, and it’s not because I’m some old butthole 57 year old, get off my long guy. It’s because I’m a parent of a son I will have. May have a grandson or a grandchild, or I sit here and I’m accountable every single day for the good, the bad, the ugly in my life. And like I just I can’t fathom that that’s acceptable to Steve bashati, Sashi Brown, Chad steel, John arboll, Mark Andrews parents, the people that write him checks for those military ads that he does that Trump’s behind, like, like, all of that, I don’t, I don’t understand it how you’re in the commercial One minute I’m wearing Derrick Henry’s jersey. They got me wearing his jersey. If he ran out the back door. Joel, I would not. I literally would not.

Joel Poiley  16:38

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Yeah, you interviewed Flacco, I think, during the off season, and one of the things he said was, it’s part of your job you have is, you know, when you’re being paid. I mean, let’s move it up to the pro level, and you’re representing the town, the organization, like you said, the management. I mean, look, I know you have issues with Elias. I mean, the way he handled that Hyde firing was bush league all the way around. I would

Nestor Aparicio  17:06

fire him on the spot. To me, if David Rubenstein knows anything about the world, and I go back to David Modell, and if I really wanted to be a prick, I would pull it up, and I can pull it up right now online for Purple Rain one in the second chapter where David Modell brought me into his office at the top of Signet building, and he handed me two sheets of paper. I literally still have the two sheets of paper. I have them in my files that he handed me and he had a this is before, this is in the facts era. There’s no internet, really, you know, he handed me two sheets of paper that outlined everything he was looking for in a head coach. I had it in my bag when I met Billick in Minnesota after that championship game. We’re coming up on an anniversary of that, right? And it outlined in the one thing that it said in it, and I’ll give this to you, and you’re in Tampa, dude, where the hockey team owns the place the baseball team can’t figure it out, even for a white guys like you that love baseball and Pete Williams and all my friends, it’s like they played a minor league ballpark and they couldn’t sell out this year, like just in a general sense. He wrote this down, and I might, Joel, I love you, man, you inspire me. You really do. Joe boyley, is here. You Make Me Think harder because you treat me like a senior editor. When I look at you, I see Steadman. You know what I mean? I see that generation of people that would hold me accountable. Jack Gibbons wrote to him in my birthday last week, and almost made me cry. So the thing that he wrote was, recruit the community. Recruit the community. And I in Tampa, there’s been nothing in your 39 years there, and Chris Thomas showing up there as a Baltimore guy, or whatever that the Buccaneers were. The yucca near is running around in cream sickle. Nobody cared. The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t exist. They weren’t a glimmer. Once they did, they were a joke, and they played in a blimp that nobody wanted to go to. And they didn’t win, right? And their owner was a creep. There’s the history, right? I’ve been through that with Rick Vaughn, right? And then the hockey team came in, and they’re like, they don’t know a puck from a truck. Nobody here is going to go to hockey games. They want the Rangers. They’re all New Yorkers. They want whatever. They’re Canadian. They want their they’ll go see the Canadians play, or they’ll see the leafs play, or the Canucks or whatever. And nobody from Vancouver is there anyway, but, but either way, am I portraying that the right way? On behalf of of your community in Tampa,

Joel Poiley  19:27

the first ownership group with the lightning didn’t know their ass from their elbows. It was Japanese guy, the person you know this, who saved hockey down here was Espo Phil Esposito. I mean, because he promoted the team, he he recruited the community. He did, I mean, yeah, he brought in a female goaltender, Mano Riom, and it wasn’t just a joke, though. He was trying to get even women involved by doing that. I mean, you know, and he still does analyst work. With He pinched me

Nestor Aparicio  20:01

on the cheek. The last time I saw him alive, I was up in the press box there at the ice palace ice arena, and he pinched me on the cheek because I told him that I was close with Gene ubriaco. Oh, he pinched me. Oh, boobies, my boy from the zoo. So I mean, Espoo, God, you know, when I think of Espoo, you know what? I’m always gonna shake my ass for you, but I’m wearing my pajamas because that’s why I do the show. Do you remember Ooh, la, la, sa zone? Do you remember that from the Ranger, the New York Rangers commercials with Brad back right? Song, that’s Phil Esposito recruiting the community in New York as a ranger, like, it’s recruiting the community. Man, like, literally, it’s recruiting the community. And I don’t, both of these teams stink here now. Both of them have owners that are out to lunch and all. It’s a cautionary tale that the stadiums empty and they’re booing har ball, that everybody that owns Oriole bird land is pissed at Katie Griggs. On down, I’m getting angry. Anonymous letters here about Katie Griggs. It’s crazy, right? So, like, what I’m saying is, you’ve been in a place where, like, recruiting, the community has sold ice on 110 degree days in Tampa, right?

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Joel Poiley  21:16

But all the alumni from the team you know from from Bradley to Andrew Chuck. They’re still here. A lot of them have made homes here.

Nestor Aparicio  21:26

What did they call 94 maybe like that,

Joel Poiley  21:30

9394 four or five years before we got base.

Nestor Aparicio  21:33

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So they in existence, like two or three years longer than the Ravens. Just, I’m trying to put it in, like around when Camden Yards happened. Okay, all right, yeah. I mean,

Joel Poiley  21:42

that’s what shocked us down here, that we got NHL, hockey before MLB, and it was crazy.

Nestor Aparicio  21:48

You had hockey before baseball, yeah, and Tampa’s weird. Joel, you know that? That’s why you love it so much. Joe poily is here. He is an author, a recovering sports or, I mean, I want to give you some oxygen on where you are in your disappointment in the Baltimore sports thing, because you the headline was injuries. For you, that’s what worse the old guy would say, Well, isn’t that convenient? You know, like, is this convenient to say it’s injuries? But, I mean, I think that is the lead story, certainly for the pitching of the Orioles right as we transition to baseball, because I know that’s your game, I

Joel Poiley  22:25

was going to go a little bit more into the bucks. I mean, just for a second me, the Bucks own the community, because they came along in 76 and even though they were the yucca nears, there was nothing else here but college sports. So for them, it was easier, because they had to town to themselves until, what, 9394 you know, then baseball, 98 but they were no good, right, right. But because this area and you know, football down here is king, they were still packing the old Sombrero, you know, until they started winning. But, yeah, let’s, let’s it gets, get into the scene up there. Man, it pains me to see what’s going on up there, but injuries are so convenient. I mean, I have so many thoughts with the Orioles. I’m just going to start with my theory, which I’m sure nobody will buy. I think they need to sign two starting pitchers, and I think they, yeah, they need a middle of the order bat. There’s no question. They need a Nelson Cruz, Harmon Killebrew, who knows, you know, Frank Robinson. But even though they look pretty good going into next season, you know, with Rogers, Bradish, possibly wells, depending upon how they want to use them, Kramer, this postseason has proven again that starting pitching still matters. Starting pitchers are still better than your bullpen guys. I had this theory for several years now. I call it the human theory, and initially, my friends were laughing at me, but now they’re buying into it, because I’ve been looking at Box Scores for like, four or five years, and this may be a project later on, and you know, if it comes to fruition, I’ll tell you about it, but I

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Nestor Aparicio  24:08

love box scores. They’re the basis of my sports love. I mean, I was the agate clerk, for crying out loud, Joel,

Joel Poiley  24:15

that’s how we all started.

Nestor Aparicio  24:19

Loop leaders. Man, I say loop leaders. And Luke’s like, what’s a loop leader? You know?

Joel Poiley  24:24

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So, yeah, check your old Sunday Sports. Yeah, I think depending upon daddy money bags, you know, and how much money is going to let Elia spend, I say, narrow the free agent pitching list down to the top seven, not the top 10. You have to sign one of the top three and then sign one of the other four, which they probably won’t do. They’ll probably just sign one. But you know, because they still have to get a closer, and they still have to rebuild the bullpen, although you can rebuild a pen maybe on 35 or 40 million. I mean, you know, relative to. Terms, that’s ridiculous money to us, but I think they need to concentrate on pitching. I have no problem if next season starts with Povich, young and even gray ride, because I told you before, I think he’s Hunter, Harvey 2.0 great potential, but I don’t think his body can hold up to the rigors of a major league season. I have no problem if all three of those guys start next season in Norfolk, because if you can sign two, like an ace and a one A and then you put Rogers, bradders or Bradish, Rogers, whatever you know numbers you want to put to them, and wells and Kramer, you have a pretty good staff. Even if Kramer ends up as your long man in the bullpen, you’re going to need that. I’m not. Bullpens are so volatile Ness. I mean, you see these guys like CNL, Perez and and Cano. I mean, they lose it overnight. But I know the problem with Cano. I mean, we followed the game. I know the game. It’s his arm slot, and I’m sure the Orioles can see that. I mean, when he first came up, remember, like the first year he retired, like the first 2225 guys, he makes the all star team. Once he starts raising his arm slot and his ball starts tumbling in the middle of the plate, he gets crushed now, and I’m sure, I would hope the Orioles pitching coaches can figure that out. All right? You go to the offensive side with them, you can’t go into next season with beavers as much as I like his potential. He’s still a young kid, and he struggled in September. Cowser, who I could talk all day about, because I don’t think he’s a major league player, and I’ll go into in a minute. Yeah, I’ve been tough on him too, yeah, and general soreness, and, right? And he’s a whole other issue. Here’s my deal with cowser. I know every great guy though the whole cow outfit thing, I’m Katie Griggs. Can use them for marketing. He, he’s a typical Elias draftee. He’s big, he’s strong. Struck out a lot, but they figure, you know, coming into the system, but they figured they could fix them. He’s a tease. He’s like Jim Fuller was you remember fuller back? I

Nestor Aparicio  27:07

remember Jim fuller now you’re talking my language.

Joel Poiley  27:10

He could hit the ball a mile, you know, like cows or can but he can’t hit it often. I went, I looked at some numbers, and this goes back to something manzalino said, ladies,

Nestor Aparicio  27:22

goes back to you and I, being old guys about strikeouts and not and not having any, not having an appetite for the way modern baseball likes

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Joel Poiley  27:29

it. Yeah. And you know, I’m not an analytics guy, but as a reporter, I use numbers to augment facts. I mean, yeah, the average strikeout rate of Major League Baseball is 22% which is ridiculous. Guys in our day would make the majors doing that, but kauser is a tease. He’s big, he’s strong, he has power, he has a great arm, but he can’t hit the ball. He can’t hit a curve ball or breaking ball to save his life. And as a not as an outfielder, I’ll get to his injuries in a minute, which were perplexing to me that he was still playing as an outfielder. Look, I’m not going to tell you I was a great player, but I played all through into college, into my 30s. Paul Blair was a friend of mine. He lived in my apartment complex, Scott’s level apartments, growing up when I was in high school, former comp state Skipper as well. Man, yeah, Paul was a great guy. And, I mean, I love Paul. I’m in high school at Milford, and he’s given me tips on, you know, play shallow. He was great. But what my point is, kauser doesn’t get great breaks on the ball, you know, Diorio say he does. Yeah, he has a great arm. How many cut off guys has he either overthrown or he runs the ball in on the ground, a great cut off. And I’m getting too technical here is like a lead pass in baseball. You want the infielder coming in to the infield catching the ball, where he can take that quick crow hop and make that throw. When you make him leap up or field a ground ball coming in from the outfield, you’re allowing the base runner four or five more steps the fans up there watching guys pull into second and third. Like, it’s a matter of course, you know. Like, oh well, he was going to make it anyway. Go back and look at some old films from our day, from your cousin’s day, from 66 you know, the great teams all the way up to 83 Brooks would cut off throws coming in from Kurt bleffery, you had no arm in left field. Throw to Louie at second. You diffuse innings that way. When you get guys trying to stretch hits, cows are going back on a ball, he does not know where the outfield warning track is because, yeah, how many times have you seen him crash into the wall and hurt his shoulder.

Nestor Aparicio  29:42

Well, I had Fred Lynn on the show this summer, by the way. I know we

Joel Poiley  29:45

talked about that, and I know Freddie fragile. Freddy hurt himself a lot, but he caught the ball.

Nestor Aparicio  29:51

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Here’s another thing. Here’s so Jim Edmonds, by the way, yes,

Joel Poiley  29:54

oh, Edmonds is great, yeah, near Hall of

Nestor Aparicio  29:58

Fame, we love guys that crash in the one. Balls we just don’t like when they get hurt. Well, here’s the deal with cows are go back too much this week in baseball in the 70s, you and me, I think Joe, but

Joel Poiley  30:07

here’s the deal, when cows are leaps for a home run, the ball doesn’t go over his glove. It’s two it’s two feet to his right or two feet to his left. That tells you he’s not tracking the ball. Now I’m finding out now what? He had broken ribs and, you know, he was playing with a bad hand. Then why the heck was he out there? I mean, was he the best they could throw out there? You know, a guy who strikes out 37% of the time can’t, you know, can’t hit a curve ball

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Nestor Aparicio  30:38

to save his life. I’m with you. How many at bats are you expecting him to have

Joel Poiley  30:41

next year. Okay, here’s a here’s another point with him. Go back to when he came up in 23 I mean, he was awful. He had one good at bat in a series down here. Remember the series in July of 23 when the Orioles overtook Tampa,

Nestor Aparicio  30:55

they got they, that’s right, when the they hit the gas. Right for about 11 months, they hit the gas. That was it.

Joel Poiley  31:01

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He hit a sack fly in one of those games where they, I think they swept or won three out of four. From Tampa, took over first place. And I remember thinking, Oh, maybe the kids getting it did nothing the rest of the year. I know he was second in rookie of the year last year, but a couple things, it wasn’t a great year for rookies. I mean, he old the pitcher from New York, one his 24 home runs don’t mean anything to me, because he accomplished them in about six weeks of the season. Remember, he started hot, did nothing in May and June, got a little bit hot in July, and then he comes back this year. Now, okay, I’ll give a guy a pass a little bit, because he’s banged up, but in our day, he doesn’t make it out of triple A brother. I mean, he’s a prospect with a lot of tools, but, but you’re right. He’s got over 1000 at bats. Well, everyone

Nestor Aparicio  31:47

here graduated because that was the will of the organization. You’re one one, you’re a one two, you’re one four, whatever you are, you are the hope. You are the few. We’re not. We’re not going to backfill by giving money to the Canadian guy who played 40 games. You know what I mean? Like we’re not we’re gonna give you the at bats, not them. That’s how Santander was grown. That’s how mount castle became whatever. He became a Mancini and whatever. And that’s what bad organizations do. Bad organizations play their young, cheap players and figure out who’s good and who isn’t out on the field instead of in Norfolk, or instead of it literally in Salisbury, for crying out loud. But that’s old school. Now it’s there. You know, they’re cheap, play them. They’re young, and they’re young and cheap play them. And we’ll figure out whether we’re going to pay them or get rid of them or wear them out, in the case of Matt weeders, or, you know, whatever, run them like a rented mule. Before Scott Boris gets a hold of him, we have to start paying for the for the groceries. And this really is the jury. Everything you’re saying Joel is incumbent upon Mike Elias, but it’s really incumbent upon Rubenstein. And I’m going to tell you, because I’m on the streets here, and even though they’d like to tell you, I’m the outsider, no, you’re not. Eric Getty’s running the place. Eric Getty’s the baseball guy. Aaron Getty’s money is active. Money era. Getty’s got young kids. Eric Getty’s got a bigger ego than even Rubenstein era. Getty will do two bobbleheads when it’s all done and run around in the hot dog race. Eric Getty is the guy here who’s throwing the party. He’s the guy with the with too much money baseball loves, like all of that. He’s He’s young, he he’s going to be the John Angelos that usurps this. So just know that, A, R, O, U, G, H, E, T, I. And you know when you meet him, you meet his assistant, and she shakes her hand and tells she’s gonna get in touch with you, and never, you never hear from her. So I’m letting you know that that’s ownership, and everything you’re giving me, including the fact that their general manager fired the manager and hid for three and a half days and finished in last place, and blah, blah, blah, blah, but comes forward and says, I gave you Trevor Rogers did not, you know what I mean? You know, I we drafted that gunner Henderson kid, he can play. So they’ll they can sell the positives, and they can also do the bleeding heart. But we were injured. We were really hurt. We got hurt. We got hurt. Look at pitching, unprecedented pitching, babe. But we got Bradish back. So the things that keep your job, including, here’s a new manager. I found your new manager. I found you a starting pitcher. It’s going to cost under $84 million but this is this, Mike. This is what it’s going to cost. Mike arroghetti, big bones, and they all think that this community has money flying out of trees. And Katie Griggs got off the plane from Seattle and thought she’s going to win the community by pissing on people like me, and I don’t, I don’t see it. Joel, I’m not feeling it here for where the money’s coming from. But more than that, what are they doing? They’re not even front facing. They were at the brown advisory last week. Why don’t you come down to the Dundalk and Middle River advisory? Why don’t you come down. To the Costas advisory, and it will talk to your fans about who’s going to support this. And they just think they’re going to find rich people in Baltimore like, literally, that I’ve watched this for a year and a half. They feel like they’re going to find rich people to buy boxes, and they’re going to bring Provident Bank back to life, and Frank Bramble is going to come back gasoline, and Henry’s gonna come back, like, Dude, I know where all the pieces, where the bones are in the whole city, like they need to be recruiting the community. I go back to David Modell recruit the community.

Joel Poiley  35:34

Like, you’re right. I mean, it’s not New York, it’s not Chicago, it’s not LA, it’s not people that just have that ready disposable income. It’s Baltimore is a town of average, working hard, hard, working Joe’s and Jill’s, and they do not seem to have picked up on that at all.

Nestor Aparicio  35:54

By the way, I went to Aubrey Huff’s press conference back after they threw me out. You can look it up. I went to a couple press conferences. I was there when Buck Showalter got hired. His wife tweeted about that when I wrote the John Angeles letter. But I was at the Aubrey Huff press conference. I’ll never forget. I went down there. It was like, it was stupid. It was like four o’clock in the afternoon on a Friday afternoon. It was kind of the earth, you know, it was whatever. And I know Aubrey such a great American. He’s a real patriot. And I know He lives in your community down there with Hulk Hogan and Bubba the love sponge and like all of that. So, you know, I know the grease of all of that because Huff showed up on that show. He called Baltimore shit hole, like the whole deal, right? I went down there and I liked Aubrey, huff the player, and I remember him the hero and the Giants gear and like all of that. And I like the signing from a baseball, like, hey, we need a bat, right? And I, you know, I liked Glenn Davis and Chris Davis, so I’ll give you. I can go through all of it. I liked Raphael Palmeiro until I met him, you know. So, like, I could go through that. But the Huff thing that day, this is when the franchise was ailing, suffering. The Ravens had won a Super Bowl. I think it probably was during the Steve McNair, kind of, you know, ravens were good. Billick was here. There was expectation. Ray Lewis was Ray Lewis. Ed Reed was going to the Hall of Fame. Terrell Suggs was it was a good time for the Ravens. It was an awful time for the Orioles. And weren’t they all, but they brought him in, and I remember going down there on a Friday night, up onto the third floor of the little warehouse, and they had a little press conference. And that dude flew in for the press conference and flew out, and could not have been less interested in being in Baltimore. I think they gave him, like, a lot of money in that time, you know, three years 30. But whatever the number was, it was a lot. It was they had done something. They had signed what you’re asking for, right? They had signed a top 10 free agent in a position that they had a need who could hit the ball off the wall, and you know, was going to hit him 39 home runs and drive in 112 runs and be a leader. Right? Instead, he was a redneck who came up here hated everything about the city turned out to be a virulent, you know, bad guy, legendarily bad guy. And came here called our city a shithole left. Nobody came, nobody like that’s been baseball here for 30 years. Is finding the guy that isn’t hard in like Derek Henry is I’m wearing his jersey, by the way, on purpose, instead of signing, signing mercenaries. You know, I that word has been around for a long time, the mercenary free agent signings and stuff. But in baseball, they all kind of feel mercenary. But you need to figure out who’s I don’t want to downplay Charlie Morton. I want to upplay him as being a quality human, and the kind of people that they’ve wanted to sign to be leaders, to come in to teach gunner Henderson and Adley rushman and Jackson holiday how to win, you know. And I don’t know where that is, I’ve given you a big mistake in Aubrey Huff, and I bring that up into say, like, going out and throwing out money like you’re, you know, like they’re on the pole and you’re making it rain, if you’re arrogedty, and watching what the Mets have done up in New York, and just saying, money, money, money. You better get the right kind of cats in here. You know, I mean, I’m just saying and, and this is watching Mark Andrews and, you know, watching Marlon Humphrey talk about being a loser at his locker this week, and you know, just what the ravens are in the ticker and what I’ve seen as a man and as a sports writer, and having done this for 40 years, all of my adult and since I was a child, I’ve done this. I I’ve seen the mistakes, dude and throwing money around to just anybody with an armor this baseball team’s got to think differently than that. And the old man could never think like that. And I can’t even get Eric Getty or Griggs or any of these people even into a room to talk to a redneck from Dundalk, Venezuelan, Hispanic with long hair who won’t tell them what they want to hear. You know what I mean, literally,

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Joel Poiley  39:56

I know. I mean, that’s the thing. I mean, your views are all. He’s going to be the truth, and they don’t want to hear it. Let me give you an example, George Springer. You know, he’s had a couple down years in Toronto, but you talk about character and what that means in a clubhouse, in a community, to a team, this is a good dude. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit. Oh,

Nestor Aparicio  40:19

you know him a little bit. Okay, well, I’ve done some. The first thing he mentioned after he won was Canada. We won this for Canada, we like, and I told Luke, I’m like, this is a whole different kind of world series. Yeah, I’ve been up to Canada. We opened the season there. I know a lot of Canadian people. I’m supporting. Getty and his grandson, Mark Shapiro, runs the team, even though he took my press pass away on opening day. Disgraceful. Mark and Ron, all of you. I mean, walk your talk, bro. I mean, you let my Caucasian reporter into your press box in skydome. You didn’t let me in. I got no time for that, but nonetheless, I’ve been pulling for the Blue Jays in a way that I thought I’d be more Mariner oriented. But I like new teams. I like anything, not the Yankees, and I love Janet Marie, and I love Dodger Stadium, but this, this is going to be a nationalistic kind of world series this week, and the Blue Jays, and I pointed this out to Luke, and this is where I’m taking you down a long road. Okay, they are going to be like the Yankees now that they’re on the top of Canada, and because they are Canada’s team, and they’re going to be well funded. So you this is for a Getty and for Rubenstein, and for the Red Sox people and and for you Tampa pober citos And your new owner down there, or whatever you’re going to do, you better be willing to pay baseball players, because the Blue Jays are now in play the way the Cubs became in play 10 years ago, where they started like spending like drunken sailors, the Blue Jays will be, it will be incumbent upon them as Canada’s team. It’s different. It’s just different, man, like, you’ve been up there, you’ve see all these Dunedin people to come down every year, like, it’s just a different gig. And what Trump has done to Canada that this is going to be nationalistic for the Blue Jays people and a guy like George Springer, it’s the first thing he said, like in the post game, we’re doing this for Canada. They feel it because they pull their they pull their passport out every day as Americans when they’re there. Same as Josh nailer, by the way, he’s probably another guy, you

Joel Poiley  42:12

know, yeah, a couple points. I mean, Springer grew up and he had dyslexia, and he’s over. Some people know that, but he overcame that, and he he started his own foundation for kids with dyslexia, and he’s just a good dude. I was really happy for him last night. But here’s what the Jays have done. Remember, they gave Vlad the big contract, and then the rest of it is just they’re kind of like role players. I mean, Springer had a bounce back year. Bichette, you know, is going to get his money. But a lot of these guys, like Clement Kirk Barger, I mean, I followed a game, and I didn’t really Excuse me. Know that much about him, but yeah, the Dodgers are going to be if you want to just look at the series a little bit, the Dodgers will be favorite. But I tell you what, the Jays can grind through a pitching staff. It’s going to be a good series. I mean, we’re not. And, yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  43:05

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I only lost the first two games at home and won, right? I kind

Joel Poiley  43:08

of was with you. I wanted to see Seattle make it, because they’ve never been there, and, you know, it’s a good fan base, and they deserved it. But it’s been, like, 32 years, you know, for Canada, for Toronto. So yeah, it’s going to be a good series, but I loved the especially the starting pitching in the postseason, like I said, and where small ball mattered. Did you see that rally last night in the seventh inning? Yeah, and kind of felifa gets two strikes on him. Do you see that ball? He hit up the middle? He just kind of guided that ball. There was no way he was going to just take that big King Kong swing like the Orioles guys do, and strike out. He look, it could have been a hard hit, double play three feet to the left. So shortstop gets it turn a double. I’ll take that over strikeout, you know, but that’s, I

Nestor Aparicio  44:01

don’t love postseason ball for the pitching and but I like the desperation, the drama of Gosman coming in and having to get three outs and, like, like, I get all of that, but it is a different style of baseball, like you really are, but in June and July, you’re playing for a three run homer all the time, because that’s how you get paid, right? But nobody bunts, no, like all of the things that that create a run, that manufacture runs, in the modern parlance, that’s not the way Moneyball was written. That’s not the way the analytics book is written about. You know what you do on 16 or 17? You know whether you understand

Joel Poiley  44:37

manzalino had a quote late in the year, and whether Tony gets a job or not. I mean, we can talk about that for a second, but he’s not getting this job. But yes, but I liked him. He was more. He was just more interesting than Hyde, but he had a quote late in the year after the Orioles won the few times put the ball in play and won a game through contact. And he was saying, Look, I understand analytics. There’s three true outcomes, walk strike out or home run, but I like contact. And you start thinking about that, it’s okay now for guys to strike out 33% of the time, that’s ridiculous, dude, and that’s what the game has come down to. You made the point that July, a three run homer matters more than small ball. I’ll argue that point with you. Winning baseball is winning baseball, and the Orioles don’t have a lot of those players that can do that. Whether that’s the organizational philosophy, well,

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Nestor Aparicio  45:34

they feel like their best chance is to hit the hell out of the ball. That’s their best chance to get a run. That’s a better chance then drawing walks, running around, stealing a base, going the other way, like, you know, making a starting pitcher go deeper and work counts like we’ve seen it. We witnessed it. It led to what it led to. It led to some desperate looking baseball, like, literally, from a bunch of young guys that are, that were, that were drowning this year. In many ways, Adley rushman looks like he is drowning right now. And I don’t know what it is, right?

Joel Poiley  46:07

We got to talk about him. I mean, it’s, it’s perplexing. It really is. I mean, for a guy to fall off the cliff like that, I saw a stat on him in late August where, for the previous 162 games a full season. Obviously, he was hitting 211 nests. I mean, he and holiday just frustrate the hell out of me with with their backsides ending up in the first base dugout, that that long, shangled swing of theirs. I mean, holiday had the kind of year I figured he’d have a little bit and he’s still 21 and I get all that, and I’m glad he got rid of the leg kick and those things, but

Nestor Aparicio  46:48

he does feel like his father’s his best batting coach, right?

Joel Poiley  46:51

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But he was missing pitches, fastballs right down the middle, because either his dad or the team or the organizational philosophy has him trying to launch everything, I mean, good fastballs right down the middle, and he’s swinging under them because, because he’s bailing out and Adley, I don’t know, I’ll give him credit. I think his his defense, which wasn’t bad, got a little bit better this past year. His rate throwing out guys is a little better. He’s always had good, soft hands.

Nestor Aparicio  47:21

Well, he also had a lot of guys on base. I mean, the pitching wasn’t good, right? So, I mean, no, I’m just saying, like, life is different when you’re allowing 12 and 14 and 16 base runners than allowing four or five or six, like, just your job as a catcher and and pitchers working out of stretch, right? Yeah. I mean,

Joel Poiley  47:40

Elias is obviously a smart guy, but when I listen to him talking to me, it’s just a lot of word salad. You know, your actions dictate what you’re really going to be like. Is he happy with his team striking out 10, 1215, times a game? That’s half the outs in a ball game, whether you don’t even have the defense needing a glove to get you out. It’s just pitch and catch. I get it a strikeouts, a great thing, but you what I love about the postseason is old school still matters, manufacturing runs, putting the ball in play. They talk about the core. I mean to me, other than Westie and gunner, and I know his power slipped a little bit, but he showed me a lot. He was stealing bases. He was playing his tail off, and his defense really improved a lot. He’s the least of their problems. Westie, they have to keep healthy. But you know, holiday doesn’t really look like a one. One to me, just looks like a kid who might be a good player. Adley, I don’t know what they’re going to do with him. They’re not going to trade him because he has no value. You know, cows are we talked about Kierstead. Well, we

Nestor Aparicio  48:47

ever saw all the money and we never talked about him at all, right? Right? And he got to be 450 at bats next year, and 21 home runs, and 72 are being I mean, they’re counting on these guys, right? Like there is no, as I always say to Luke, there’s no Calvary, and the cavalry comes here in the offseason with whatever they sprinkle in, and they spend $100 million on an outfielder that I have zero. Okay, how many bats you give in that guy next year, and he’s the highest paid player in the team.

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Joel Poiley  49:17

All right, I have some numbers for you. These are numbers, and you can probably figure out where I’m going with this. Over the course of O’Neill’s career, he’s never played more than 138 games the last four seasons. He’s played 9672 113 when he had his year with Boston 54 this past year. Here’s the other thing about him, because I’ve researched

Nestor Aparicio  49:47

him, so it’s the upside. 113 games next year. Is that the upside?

Joel Poiley  49:50

I think they would take that. But here’s what I’m getting at. I’ve read up on him. His dad was a champion bodybuilder in Canada. He’s a way, Nestor, yeah, and that’s how the kid got into it. You. You see the interviews with him, the tank tops, the cut off T shirts. He’s a dude. He’s a weight guy. To me, he’s trained his and we’ve talked about this. He’s trained his body to be an NFL fullback. He has no flexibility. They say he can run or and he has agility. I don’t see it. He throws the ball like Herman Munster, yeah, and like I said, you count on an untested rookie in left and beavers, a guy who really isn’t a major league player in center, and cows are and general soreness and right and that’s going to be your starting outfield on opening day. You can pencil the Orioles in for fourth or fifth place next year. That’s why I think they need to just go all in on pitching. I’d rather. That’s why

Nestor Aparicio  50:44

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I’m worried about the Blue Jays blossoming here, not whether they win or lose next week, just how you’re going to be competing with them for these for pitching. I’d rather they’re going to be willing to spend 200 million, because they like a full ballpark, and they like being Canada’s team, and they like beating Americans. I

Joel Poiley  51:00

do rather see the O’s lose every game next year, four to three. You cannot winning games. 10, 7987675, is not sustainable, because the other team will probably have better pitching anyway. And the point I was getting at with using too many pitchers in the game, I call it the human theory. You can’t bring in four or five different bullpen guys every night, even though that’s the way the game has devolved. In my opinion. Why? Because I guarantee you, one of them had an argument that morning with his wife, girlfriend, mother in law, significant other, and then one of the other guys who you bring in at night probably has a sore elbow or shoulder, but he’s a margin guy. He’s worried about his job. He’s not telling the managers or the pitching coach. I call it the human theory. Go, this is where we were talking about the box scores. You go back and look at box scores a lot during the regular season, there’s always going to there’s going to be, if there’s 15 games in a full slate during the season, I’d say at least 10 of them, you’re going to see blown saves, guys coming in, giving up that two run double late in the game. It just doesn’t work. But that’s the way the game’s gone

Nestor Aparicio  52:17

well, and the max effort, part of the bullpen effort, and being able to throw it doesn’t mean you can throw a strike, especially not a Yankee Stadium with 50,000 people in there. So Joe Paulie doesn’t have to worry about that the Tampa. Where are they playing next year? In Tampa?

Joel Poiley  52:31

Okay, they the trop supposedly will be ready, but it’s, it’s still kind of iffy, because they still haven’t replaced all the panels, you know, at the top dude as

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Nestor Aparicio  52:43

we sit here and watch the World Series, it’s disgraceful. They played Sacramento A’s, and the Tampa rays are playing in a minor like it’s just and there’s no Montreal or Austin, Texas or Portland, Oregon. Come in Nashville coming to save them. The

Joel Poiley  52:56

only thing I can say is the new owners do seem to have a clue. And if I can read the tea leaves a little bit, they want to build a stadium in Tampa, and you’ll know this, they want to build it like right near, right across the street from Ray J and, you know, Steinbrenner legends field. So you have this complex right there, there’s, there’s some land there.

Nestor Aparicio  53:18

So are they gonna rip down mons Venus for this, you can’t do that. I’m just, I’m just, I just, you know, you know, I’m just asking. I’m just concerned. That’s all. I’m getting older.

Joel Poiley  53:30

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It’s a buck secret ingredient, because the visiting team comes in every night. They go to Mons, get liquored up, do

Nestor Aparicio  53:37

their All I know is there’s a lot of car dealerships and Ponderosa kind of steakhouses and on Dale Mabry. And then there’s mons Venus on the Dale Mabry baby going up toward Polk County. Yeah, you know, is that good? You got it? I know my way around a little bit. Joel, appreciate you, man. Joe poily is a recovering sports writer, old Baltimore guy who stuck down in Tampa, lucky you in October here. Or is my friend says Flora duh, which is, I love that I’m never gonna lose that because I met Ron DeSantis down there at an Oreo game a couple years ago. So speaking of duh. So hey, man, Blessings to you. I will check back in with you the minute we get a manager, the minute we get a number one starter, the minute that Rubenstein and Eric start spending money, the minute the Ravens get their act together and tell me about your Tom Matty book and why they should buy it. Because I think people should spend money and buy the book. See it. Appreciate it. Last Man Standing, I do see it? Yes, yeah.

Joel Poiley  54:41

It’s been out since last August. It’s done well, there’s still some clicks on Amazon, and I sell some copies myself. You love the old Colts. You love the old traditions. You love the guys who loved your community, as we talked about, Tom was your guy of. Real quick before we go, because I knew I go. I saw Rick Vaughn about a year and a half ago after Madden got let go by the angels. He still wants to manage. He we’ve talked about this. He’d be perfect for that team, but they won’t go that way. They’ll go analytics. And Joe would want more control. Dark Horse Mark de Rosa. I have no inside info, but I know he wants to manage. He knows the team well. He knows the young core is kind of struggling. He understands analytics, but he’s, you know, he played 12 years. He’s a player’s guy. Just my

Nestor Aparicio  55:33

I’ve heard Ryan Flaherty. I’ve heard also

8

Joel Poiley  55:37

given Yeah, so we’ll see.

Nestor Aparicio  55:40

You know, the last time around when it was Brandon Hyde, I heard Joe the Astros, Espada, you know, he wound up. So these names that get circled around, they can bring anybody they want in, Adley rutsman’s got to hit the ball. Henderson’s got to be an MVP. Holidays got to blossom. That we talk about it all the time. Joel will be writing about it. He’s down in Tampa. He’s Joel poily, P, O, I, L, E, y, you can find him out on the interwebs. I can connect you. He’s written a book on Tom Matty, Last Man Standing, please go pick it up. Please come pick me up with a crab cake. Pick up a raven scratch off from the Maryland lottery. We will be at Costas on Wednesday of this week. Cost us Timonium. I’ll be back in Dundalk soon. I never forget the original, old gangster, trust me, it’s for the holidays. I’m not going to cost us in Dundalk unless Gina shock is with me from the Go, go. So there, that’s I’ve dropped the ball on that. Unless I get my Dundalk mafia together, State Fair and catons will be there next Tuesday. Alan McCallum is gonna talk some baseball with me. We’re gonna have some pancakes and some eggs and bacon and some some waffles. There’s no cheese with Alan. He doesn’t want a cheese omelet. I’ll get him the fried chicken and waffles. He’ll love it. And I’ll get the shrimp and grits. It’ll be delicious. Cocos pop in laurelville On Wednesday, the fifth, with Marcella and coconut shrimp and rasig. I’ve got some other guests I think, well, I don’t want to give away who my guests are going to be at Cocos, but that’s the fifth and the seventh. I’m at Pizza John’s in Essex, and we’re going to honor Craig heist in Essex and in Dundalk through the holiday seasons, as we lost heist last week. The king of Kenwood, as I like to say so. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.