BaseballBiz On Deck

Mat Germain & Mark Corbett – Somethings cooking in the Rays kitchen

• "Winningly Good”
• Marlins rough road
• Colorado Rockies – Pete Fairbanks. The balls are horrible.
• “That’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes”
• Velo down 2 MPH - Pete doesn’t do well in the cold
• Rays pen was out of sorts in first Rockies game
• Ryan Pepiot – 11K in 6 innings, was the trade worth it.
• Glasnow threw 14K in 7 innings
• Angels series - Is that Chris Farley shouting from the stands
• Ron Washington is working to invigorate the Angels team
• Angels will visit the Rays at the Trop – definitely worth getting a ticket to see future HOF’er Mike Trout
• Ron Washington coaching brought strength to Dansby Swanson & others when he was with the Atlanta Braves
• Will Blake Snell take the mound against Rays next week at the Trop
• Will they pull Blake in the 5th inning
• Austin Shenton – DH of the day
• Rays strategy had 2 righties and then a lefty lineup to shake up Angels pitching
• Off-balanced Rays batting lineup missing key left-handed batters, Jonathan Aranda, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe & DeLuca. Opportunity for Shenton to get his reps
• Jose Caballero- he is “Electric” – steal of a trade
  • Working hard & looks like a Gold Glover. Spinning & Throwing.
  • More speed than Franco. He is a 5 WAR Shortstop.
  • Golden Glove performances with Caballero & Yandy Diaz
• Siri is getting on base more effectively
• Strong arm of Rortvedt
• Zack Littell- came through with a tough first inning with the Angels
• Cleavinger & Poche a bit erratic in the bullpen
• Rays now above .500
• Marlins are not competitive
• eX-Rays Front Office move - Pete Bendix now with the Marlins
• Marlins Scouting dept found lacking, Need a Alex Anthopoulos approach to rebuild a productive team
• Tommy Pham & Brandon Belt, 2 Free Agents that could help the Miami Marlins be a stronger team.
• "tanking” strategy for 2024 Marlins?.
• There is a reason that Kim Ng left Miami
• Colorado Rockies weather Cold & Windy. How does it impact pitching speeds & finding ball trajectory
• Brandon Lowe injury - right oblique. Will the Rays keep Brandon?
• Judge was able to negotiate a contract with Yankess amidst injury history.
• Upcoming games at the Trop with SF Giants & Angels.
• Angels may see Littell and Civale again when they come to St. Pete.
• Will Rays see Blake take the mound.
• Rays rotation should fare well with Eflin, Civale & Littell against the Yankees
• Should Rays expect a sweep of the Giants at the Trop. What will it look like against Webb & Snell?
• Robby Ray, the new cheap team uniforms & pink underwear
• Rays Minor Leagues are looking good – starting pitching has been strong.
• What will it be like once Taj Bradley returns
• Mat has a lot of faith in this year’s Tampa Bay Rays

Thanks to Mat Germain for bringing his knowledge, wit and wisdom to the show. You can catch more of Mat on Twitter x.com @Mat_Germain_
Mark can be found on Twitter x.com @TheBaseballBiz & at http://www.baseballbizondeck.com
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BaseballBiz can be found on iheartradio, Stitcher, Apple, and Spotify

Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music “Rocking Forward”

RaysUp! Neil Solondz, pre-game, post-game announcer, podcast host & occasional play by play guy for the Tampa Bay Rays

• Working with Andy Freed & Dave Wills
• “Living in Life’s Candy Store” – Dave Wills
• Tampa Bay Rays strength of Finding, Evaluating & Teaching Young Players
• Team has been strong and in the running 4 years in a row
• Change with loss of Zunino, Kiermaier . . .
• Rays 2023 Potential Rotation – Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs & Zach Eflin
• Zach Eflin – hometown boy – most of career with Phillies – Now 3 year contract with the Rays
• Rays Minor League players on the cusp to rise this year include Curtis Mead, Taj Bradley & Colby White & Kyle Manzardo
• Great Minor League team partners
• Post- Hurricane Ian damage - Spring Training – in Orlando for the first few weeks and then move to Trop for most of the home games.
• New 2023 Rays interleague printable schedule
• Rays have one of the longest & most tenured group of broadcasters
  • Neil praises Dave & Andy 19 years as Rays broadcasters as being 2 of the best broadcasters & kudos to the entire broadcasting team
  • Broadcasters Enrique Oliu & Ricardo Taveras - Spanish Radio Tampa Bay Rays
• Manny Navarro translator for the team
• What preparations Neil takes in preparing for the upcoming season
• What will the 2023 roster look like
• How will new schedule impact Rays “It’s not who you play it’s when you play them” - reflecting on Reds & Rays games in July 2022
• Tampa Bay Rays Podcast news & interviews with Neil Solondz
• Neil's Advocacy on Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. We all can help you can reach Neil on Twitter @neilsolondz

Notes:
Dave Wills & Andy Freed - Tampa Bay Times Story
Twitter: @AndrewFreed33 & @davewills34
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness
Neils Advocacy: https://secure.pancan.org/site/TR/PurpleStride/PurpleStride?fr_id=2692&pg=entry

General: https://secure.pancan.org/site/TR/PurpleStride/PurpleStride?px=1274265&pg=personal&fr_id=2692
Neil Solondz website
Rays Radio: https://www.mlb.com/rays/fans/radio
Twitter @neilsolondz
Photo of Neil Solondz used in Social Media
courtesy Will Vragovic – Tampa Bay Rays

BaseballBiz is also on iheartradio, Stitcher, Spotify, Apple & Google podcasts
You can reach Mark @TheBaseballBiz on Twitter & Brandon @SportsBlitzPod
Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music "Rocking Forward"

Brent Cardy, Analyst of all things Toronto Blue Jays visits BaseballBiz On Deck and gives us a peek into the 2023 season for Toronto & the AL East

• What does AL East look like – 3 team race – Orioles & Red Sox not in that mix
• Toronto Blue Jays Pitching
  • Alek Manoah, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman,
  • Kikuchi – strong mix with fastball, cutter & slider
  • Ryu –what will pitching rotation look like if and when he returns.
  • Chris Bassitt ditches PitchCom & calls his own unique 8 pitches
  • Kevin Gausman generating a lot of hit and miss
  • Alek Manoah maybe fighting his mechanics. Not the most beloved pitcher across the AL East
• Kansas City Royals pitcher, Ryan Yarbrough talked about
  "getting comfortable with being uncomfortable"
• Blue Jays lineup – George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vlad Jr, Alejandro Kirk, Chapman, Kevin Kiermaier, Whit Merrifield
• Kevin Kiermaier good solid player and fans love him.
• Dalton Varsho, Gold Glove finalist is a nice addition to the Jays – Toronto Fans appreciate a player who don’t say so much & play hard.
• Bo Bichette – Tampa Bay Native – a solid defender, a strong 2 strike hitter & a 3 year & $33 million contract.
• Long Road Trip - Jays season began with 10 games on the road before returning to Rogers Centre where renovations are being made to the facility
• Do shorter games mean less time to eat & imbibe alcoholic beverages.
• A drunk Solution: Extend the number of innings when a fan can drink. More drinks within a shorter period of time = more drunks per game? Bad math.
• Yankees legend & former Marlins Manager, Don Mattingly is the new Bench Coach for the Jays
• Balanced Schedule – what happened with Mets & Marlins fiasco
• Orioles – Rutschman, Urias, Bautista, Mateo, Mountcastle, Mullins & Hayes – will 2023 or 2024 be the year that Baltimore steps up
• Boston Red Sox in the basement & suffering, Devers & Verdugo looking good. Adam Duvall amongst the injured
• What do the Red Sox, Taylor Swift & The Tampa Bay Rays have in common?
• Will the Jays build up their bullpen? Everything else looks great
• Will the pitch clock impact pitcher injuries

Special Thanks to Brent Cardy on The Cardy Show
You can listen to Brent at https://thecardyshow.buzzsprout.com/1992683
BaseballBiz can be found at www.baseballbizondeck.com or on iheartradio, Stitcher, Apple, Spotify & Google podcasts
Mark can be reached by DM on Twitter @TheBaseballBiz

For information on the Tampa Baseball museum visit https://www.tampabaseballmuseum.org/
For more information on Mental Health you may reach out to the National Alliance of Mental

Meggie Meidlinger - Architect, Baseball pitcher, 2015 USA Women’s Baseball Team Gold-Medal winner & role model continues to give back to the game

• Full battery from Catcher to Pitcher
• Maximizing mechanics as a pitcher
• Why are young girls expected to move out of baseball and onto softball?
• Successful Women’s sports in professional & basketball teams. Why not baseball?
• Little League to High School – teammates who support one another
• “Yeah, that’s right, you just got struck out by a girl”
• High School – Meggie knew she wanted to continue to play baseball
• Sophomore year first female in Virginia to win a varsity boys baseball game
• Meggie pitched a Perfect Game as a Senior in High School
• Pitching with 100% confidence from the mound
• Sports Illustrated – Faces in the Crowd - Did Life change after that?
• After high-school there were no scholarships or teams for women’s collegiate baseball
• Meggie followed her love of Architecture into college.
• Now as a professional architect Meggie design’s from a Pitcher’s perspective
• Found baseball again with Women’s National Baseball team
• Special things can happen when you are able to blend things together – Uganda – Architect & baseball
• USA Women’s Baseball National Team players: Anna Kimbrell, Stacy Piagno, AJ Hamilton joined Meggie to run a baseball clinic for young girls in Uganda
• Baseball is bigger than itself
• Since 2019 there are now over 300 girls are now playing baseball in Uganda in 8 separate regions
• Kids hungry to learn more about the game – how to throw a curveball
• MLBDevelops Trailblazers – Meggie & fellow teammates coach young girls in baseball
• See young girls opportunities growing at an exponential rate
• The All-Americans & Ila Borders as a pitcher was an inspiration for Meggie as she grew up
• Kelsie Whitmore a great role model for young girls today
• Division 1 NCAA women’s baseball – when will we see this happen
• Women’s Baseball World Cup this Summer – 1st 2018 in Thunder Bay this year
• 6 teams in the World Cup
• USA Women’s Baseball Team won the World Cup in 2006
• Faith & belief is a huge part of Meggie’s path in her career and giving back
• What is baseball if it is not fun
• USA Team will be training in July in Minneapolis
• The team is “Ready to dominate”
• Meggie is grateful for the trailblazers who have brought so much to the game including the AAGPBL, Ila Borders, the Silver Bullets and many others.

Baseball history through the lens of the 1959 Topps Baseball Card collection.

Phil Coffin, looks back at 1959 through the history of the complete 1959 baseball card collection. He revisits baseball players, managers & stories with short entertaining essays
Back in the Day

• Phil Coffin, Author & New York Times Editor
• Mark & Phil reflect on their early days at The Courier-Journal
• Phil’s journey from Louisville to The New York Times (1997)

When Baseball Was Still Topps

• One of the best baseball books of 2024 by Sports Collectors Digest
• Short Essays on each of the 1959 Topps baseball card set
• Growing up in Indianapolis as a baseball fan
• Watching 1959 World Series between the Dodgers & White Sox with his brothers

Baseball History

• Comparing reports of Mickey Mantle & Derek Jeter as young prospects
• Ted (Klu) Kruszewski, Al Lopez, & Sparky Anderson
• Beyond the stats

The 1959 Chicago White Sox

• Tampa Baseball Museum & Al Lopez
• White Sox integrating baseball, Larry Doby, Minnie Miñoso, & Al Smith
• Al Smith beer drenching of 1959 World Series
• Ted (Klu) Kluszewski’s sleeveless
• Harmon Killebrew
• Overlap of Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball history & Hank Aaron's journey from the Indianapolis Clowns to MLB

Building a collection

• Started with 6-card wax packs for a nickel with gum
• The elusive Milt Graff
• Childhood collection tossed out by mom
• Path to rebuild the collection
• In “Jersey” you got to know, a guy to get Mickey Mantle
• Bob Gibson rookie card

Inside When Baseball Was Still Topps

• Essays on all 572 cards from the 1959 Topps set,
• Ted Williams MIA in Topps collection due to exclusive contract with Fleer
• Hall of Famer Bob Gibson’s Rookie card, one of the most valuable in the set
• Maury Wills, debuted in 1959 but was left out of the set due to doubts about his potential

Baseball’s History and Evolution:

• Stories of baseball legends like Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams
• The evolution of baseball cards, from Topps’ dominance in the 1950s to today’s competitive memorabilia market
• Eddie Gaedel’s one-game fame
• Endurance of catchers
• Challenges of following modern baseball with expanded rosters and teams compared to the 16-team era of 1959
• Baseball fans connect with the game through history, stories, & tangible memorabilia

Phil’s Upcoming Book:

• A Baseball Book of Days: 31 Moments That Transformed the Game, explores pivotal dates in baseball history
• Stories include Babe Ruth’s sale to the Yankees, Jackie Robinson’s first game, and the dominance of Dominican players in MLB

Where to Find Phil Coffin’s Books:

• When Baseball Was Still Topps: Available at McFarlandBooks com and on Amazon
• A Baseball Book of Days: Pre-order now for its upcoming release (just in time for spring training)

Mark is on Blue Sky at @baseballbizondeck.bsky.social BaseballBiz On Deck is on iheart, apple, spotify, amazon music & at www.baseballbizondeck.com
Special Thanks to X-Take-R-U-X for the music Rocking Forward