Hi everybody and welcome to Fred and the Fantastics on Believe in PodClips around the world. Matthew
DiBiase, sports historian with us. World’s worst sports handicapper Mark Mancini with us and of
course from Galaxy Sports, 127-year-old Art Sorce with us and all right you know we’re
we’re in August right now. We’re taping this on Friday afternoon. I don’t know who the
Cy Young winners would be in the American League or the National League but I’m guessing
that Mark knows. Mark, who’s the National League Cy Young winner in your opinion?
Well, I started in San Diego. I’m kind of partial to those Padres, and
Dylan Cease has only given up one run in his last 28 innings through a no-hitter. I’d have to
go Dylan Cease. You know, his dad is Jewish. I think he’d be the next. I’m trying to thank
for minutes. Koufax, Steve Stone won it, and Dylon Cease. His dad is Jewish. I don’t think
he’s Jewish, but his dad was Jewish. I don’t know if that would count as far as that is concerned.
All right, so you say Dylan Cease. I thought you were going to say Paul Skenes. So how come
you didn’t say Paul Skenes? Well, I think, you know, he doesn’t have enough under his belt
quite yet, but he’d be my second choice. But I think Dylan Cease to me is just, he lights
out man he’s the White Sox had him they you know the Padres saw something in him and that other
guy that’s in Chicago that needs to get out of there is Garrett Crochet. Not bad. Okay, uh Matthew
DeVos who is this in your opinion who are would be the Cy Young winners the American League
National League as of, uh today, uh August 9th? I’d go with Mark because right now you know the,
the, the Padres they’re hot right now they’re only three behind the Dodgers and they’re
surging. I mean, if they can overtake the Dodgers, I think that would help Dylan Cease’s, you know,
campaign for Cy Young. So I think I concur with Mark in that analysis. Yeah. And they are
hot, the Padres. What about the, what about the American League? I don’t know. I don’t really,
I don’t really have an opinion on that. You know, I just, I don’t know. Nothing really comes
to mind. I go with Corbin Burns in the American league. Yeah, and Paul Skenes in the national League.
Art, do you see that? Matthew DiBiase, sports historian, doesn’t care about the American League.
There’s something going on.
I’m harsh on the American League, but no, no one really,
it used to be in the old days it would stick out at you,
but now it’s just, you really don’t see anyone
really coming to fore anymore.
I mean, the Suarez with the Phillies was hot there,
but then he got hurt.
So now I think that hurt his case
for the Cy Young and all.
No, Framber Valdez.
Yeah.
Houston is something, he’s right there.
And I think Dylan Cease,
cause right now the Padres are really hot
Houston’s been kind of playing 500 ball. I don’t know. I just, I think I would have thought before
the season, you know, if you look at it, you know, you look at the American League, you see, you see,
you know, Garrett Cole, you see all these pitchers. And, you know, I got to tell you,
that Corbin Burns has basically kept the Baltimore with the Yankees so far this season. And I
mean, he’s done a great job. And I just think he’s the guy. And, and I’ve actually seen Skenes pitch in person
and I gotta tell you something, whatever that pitch he has, the slapper or whatever they call it, I’ve never seen anything like that thing, and he’s throwing consistently high 90s, early low hundreds.
Hey Fred, you probably saw the post up on Facebook, you know I’m not a Dodger guy, but prayers for Freddie Freeman, man, for his son to go through something like that.
You know, it’s interesting. On Monday night, when Freddie Freeman came back, they gave him a three-minute standing ovation.
I thought that was a beautiful thing. When I was a little kid, my dad took me in March 1959 to the Coliseum for Roy Campanella night.
And I swear to you, they’re not comparable, but to the fans supporting Freddie Freeman.
and then they flipped to the Philadelphia Philly players and they all had their hats over their heart.
So it was and of course the story is he’s home from the hospital three and a half year old son
and he’s got Guillian-Barre disease which is not something good to have but at least he’s home
from the hospital and Freddie Freeman is back with the Dodgers. You know I’m looking here
at USA Today Sports Weekly,
and it’s getting smaller and smaller.
It used to be like-
I know, everyone.
They always do.
It’s just a pamphlet.
And then the graphics are disappearing.
Yeah, it used to be like 48 pages, now it’s 24.
I’m looking on the back page
and they’ve got the rating of the players in baseball,
of the teams in baseball.
Headline is White Sox may be the worst than thought,
maybe worse than thought, and of course it’s true.
I get you guys will never guess who they have number one. Mark, who do you think they have number one right now?
Oh, I know.
Who? I think I’m gonna throw the Arizona Diamondbacks. Okay, you say they’re gonna they’re the best team in baseball right now according to this?
Well, they have hit the most they have been the hottest team coming out of the All-Star –
I think I guess they went to the World Series last year. I think
I mean, this is a good ball club.
Fundamentally, a good ball club.
What did these guys say?
Hang on, hang on, Art.
He said Arizona.
Who do you say that US Saturday Sports Weekly
has as the number one team in baseball right now, August 9?
I’m going to go with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Philadelphia Phillies?
No, I wouldn’t go with that.
I might say like Milwaukee, because they’ve been steady.
They’ve been very, very steady.
I would go with Milwaukee.
That would be my bet.
OK, let me list the top five.
You ready?
OK, go.
The Cleveland Guardians number one, the Baltimore Orioles number two, the Phillies number three,
the Yankees number four, and the Brewers number five, the Dodgers number six, and the Braves
are back to number eight.
So the Cleveland Guardians, anybody?
I mean, obviously, I wouldn’t have guessed Cleveland either.
Didn’t they lose a double dip just the other day?
Yeah, to the Giants.
They’re number one according to USA Today Sports Weekly.
They’ve been a surprise this year and a great team, but I don’t see them being better than the other four teams you mentioned.
They are the number two CDAL, they are number two, they’re like a stealth team in many ways. I mean, the Kwan kid is unbelievable.
I mean, what a leadoff hitter he is. Well, here’s the other thing.
You know, the Padres have won like Matt was saying they won 14 out of 16.
Yeah, they’re kind of going on these stretches without Fernando Tatis Jr.
Is he a guy that might be traded down the line?
All right. Let’s take a quick break right here on Fred and the Fantastics.
Yeah. OK, we’re back right now.
And you can email us at sportsfred@aol.com, sportsfred@aol.com.
So much to talk about, but since we are talking baseball,
let’s talk TNT and the Savannah Bananas
and gonna be on TNT starting this season
and our next season.
And again, we’ve had Bronson Balhlom,
who’s the catcher for that team
when he was at Arizona State, we had him on the air.
And of course he was Hunter Green’s catcher
at Notre Dame High School here in Southern California.
We’ve had Neil Balholm, his dad, and Cathleen, of course,
used to be a sportscaster in Arizona.
His mom, we’ve had them on.
And Savannah Bananas, Art Sorce.
I’ll watch that on TNT next year.
They’re on the Ocho.
ESPN8 has them on all the time.
And I got to tell you, it is refreshingly fun to watch.
I mean, the second baseman fields a double playground
ball between his legs.
flips it behind his back to the shortstop.
I was like, wow, this is actually pretty fun.
The Harlem Globetrotters of professional baseball.
King in his court.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Matthew, what do you think?
Sports historian that you are.
It’s kind of like,
it’s like a modern 21st century version.
I remember was that Portland had a minor league team.
Bing Russell, the actor owned it.
Yes.
I mean, Tim Bowden told stories about it.
I mean, they were wild.
They would have loudspeakers
and they would insult opposing teams’ fans on the way to the opposing ballpark.
Just call them the craziest, most obscene names possible there.
Kurt Russell even pitched for them for a brief time.
So in a sense, it’s like a 21st century version of that.
in that sense, as long as they’re entertaining, that’s the key.
All right. So they’re filling stadiums, Fred.
They’re going to be on TNT.
The question is legally, we don’t know the answer to this yet.
Again, we’re taping this Friday, August 9.
obviously Amazon thinks that they have the, the NBA on Thursday nights and, and
not just Thursday night, but they’ve got the NBA and instead of TNT.
TNT matched Amazon’s offer. Matthew, in the end what do you think the judge
will say? What do you think the judicial system will say as far as
Amazon or TNT and the NBA?
The thing is, with Amazon, you gotta pay for it.
I mean, I don’t know, the audience for the NBA,
I mean, is that something you really,
can you cough up the money for?
Whereas with TNT, it’s far more accessible and all of that.
I mean, I’m not-
And how about the relationship over the last 35 years?
Yeah, that too.
You know, I actually, it could be a blow to the NBA.
If you’re making them pay cough up money
for your prime time stuff during the regular season,
I think you’re gonna see a downswing.
I think, no, I think that’s a blow at the NBA in that sense
because the audience, the core audience for NBA,
I think that’s a mistake.
I think, I hope-
It’s one of the reasons why they’re doing it
to try to get in to the streaming,
you know, away from linear TV.
Is that part of it?
of course it is, I don’t know.
I know. They’re in the pharmaceutical company now.
Yeah, I don’t know.
No, Art’s 100% right though.
they want to get into more of the streaming. So that’s why even though TNT matched Amazon’s
price, they said that doesn’t count. We’re sticking with Amazon and then TNT says,
I’m going to court. I don’t know how it’s going to come out. It’s not going to be this year.
I don’t know. I mean, Amazon’s a big company. The one drawback is you might want to hire
people with more than an IQ of a grape. They don’t even know how to deliver.
I mean, they throw the packages all over the place.
You don’t even get the right thing.
And it’s just, so I don’t know.
So your ragging on Jeff Bezos and the boys?
They’ve done pretty well for themselves.
You know what?
Big corporations, Trader Joe’s, In N Out,
you know, Starbucks, they get it.
Can I ask you guys a question real quick
since we’re all fantastics?
Okay.
Is the NFL really playing with themselves here
with preseason football?
I mean nobody’s playing in any of these games.
I mean it’s to the point where they’re charging full price for tickets.
Like tonight the Steelers and the Texans, you know the Baltimore Ravens and the Eagles
full price.
You’re not going to see any of the top players playing.
Steelers have eight guys out. they can’t afford the risk.
I know. They can’t afford the risk.
So why not just go to the 18 game season.
See, play the, play the, the, the 40 kids that are trying to make the
roster in the other two games, but give the fans a chance to get in there
for half price or something. They’re making billions.
The same people that complain and then show up and dole out $300 to see the
scrubs play, uh, you know, in the pre-season are the same people at
bitch and moan about the players making $20 million a game. It’s crazy!
I mean, everybody that I know who has sees the tickets, gives them away or, or has somebody
pay for them that wants to go to a game. You know, the Cowboys and Rams-
We’ll get to talk in the, since we’re talking the NFL, what about Mr. Lamb down in Dallas?
So will, uh, the Cowboys give him what he wants, which is an extension or will they- No.
Well, he’s pretty adamant about this Fred. He doesn’t look good to me. I mean, then I’m a CeeDee Lamb fan
I think he’s a good wide receiver, but at what point do these divas deserve 30 million
dollars? I don’t see it.
Well, he’s supposed to be going to Pittsburgh for Najee Harris.
Well, would Pittsburgh give him the money?
So they’re going to have Aiyuk and Pettikens fan in?
They’re in the running for that other guy in San Francisco, Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk, yeah.
Yeah, I don’t quite, I don’t quite understand it from the 49ers perspective there. I
think they’re making a very bad mistake. Whatever he’s asking for. He’s worth it.
They can’t win without him. They will win with him. Why are they doing this Art? For a play?
Well, you gotta look at it. Trent Williams wants more money. Then they got Purdy down
the road. They got to pay him, which I personally think as good as everybody says,
Brock Purdy is, he’s one of those guys that, you know, with the right surroundings.
He looks fantastic.
Here’s the question I got to you guys.
What is the most traveling team, you know, the Dodgers and Yankees in
baseball, the most traveling fan base in the NFL.
You’re not going to believe it.
Now, do you say the Steelers, Fred and Matt, what do you guys say?
Most traveling team.
Oh man, sheesh, probably the 49ers.
Yeah. Yeah. Who is Cowboys Nation and all that? You know, who do you got red?
Uh, I I’m not sure. There’s three of them. Shocker is I think you get on this
second one. It’s the 49ers. I couldn’t believe it. I thought the Packers,
the Cowboys, the Steelers would be there, but the 49ers – is that the number
of people that are following them or is that traveling them on the road?
Yeah, I know a lot of traveling, but more kind of local though.
They’ll go to Pittsburgh. They’ll go to Baltimore. They’ll go to DC and all that.
Yeah. But those three teams, the 49ers, the Steelers, I mean, yeah, they have huge fan
bases and of course Dallas was America’s team for many years.
Maybe the Chargers have the Chargers have the worst following. Mostly retirees.
Where are they now guys?
Are they in LA or San Diego or are they in Vegas?
I know that Justin Herbert is not going to play in the preseason and who knows if he’s
going to play in the regular season.
It’s a very interesting scenario.
Have you ever had plantar fasciitis?
No. I have.
I’m going to tell you.
People say, oh, your foot’s a little sore.
Let me tell you something.
It is the most painful thing in the history of the world.
Joakim Noah had that.
Yeah, I had that briefly.
That’s why I wear cushioned soles on my running shoes and all that.
There’s big cushions there for the shock, yeah.
There’s 18 teams in the Big Ten, which makes a lot of sense.
I think one of the magazines, where do you think they have UCLA rated?
17th, I think it was. 17th.
17th. I think 200 to 1 to win the conference.
All right, Art, 30-second final thoughts right here on Fred and the Fantastics.
Well, you know, I’m still going to watch preseason football because I love football,
But, uh, I got to tell you, I watched the CFL game last week and it was really exciting.
And I, and I, I got a kick out of it.
There was wide open.
I mean, it was really fast paced, but I’m a little bummed out about the Olympics guys.
It just didn’t quite deliver what I wanted it to deliver.
And I wish I had watched more of it on Peacock.
Did you eat any of the food with the worms?
No, but I’m not jumping in the Seine if that’s what you’re telling me or leaving
that bear on the Matthew and third Matthew in 30 seconds uh give us
bio thoughts i love the Olympics um actually i saw I’ve watched more than i
did in Tokyo there it’s not half bad maybe not the greatest in the world but
I’ve been enjoying and in fact I’m looking forward to watching the
marathons both tomorrow and Sunday men’s tomorrow and women’s on Sunday
uh and for the i know I’ve been liking Matthew are we going to win more
golds than anybody I’m going to give that I’m going to
give this away in case you missed it but
that they dropped the baton in the 1600s.
Yeah, I saw that too.
Hey, that happened before in ’88.
They kept screwing up, but sometimes it happens, man.
Yeah, you know.
Those guys are not gonna be on the hands team.
I know, I know, I know.
But it’s a decent Olympiad.
I’ve been watching.
Yeah, I’ve been in a lot of nations
winning their first gold, Maldives, Guatemala.
Didn’t Israel finally win its first gold medal,
first Israeli athlete?
Didn’t I see something like that?
An Israeli winning a gold?
Mark, in 30 seconds, your Pirates coming off a very bad series against the Padres.
How are they going to do the rest of the way, your Pirates?
Well, I think they’ll take the Dodgers out. They’ve won 10 of 16.
I’m going to lay four bets down when my buddy goes to Vegas on four teams that can get to the Super Bowl.
The Steelers, the ‘Skins, the Falcons, or the Chargers.
Wow. And who’s the fourth? Did you say the Chargers?
The Chargers. I like Harbaugh. Do you want to send me the money now?
I was gonna say, that’s why we call you what you are – the world’s worst handicapper! Just send us all a check, would ya!
Harbaugh’s getting started – today starts now!
They lost both wide receivers, their quarterback isn’t playing, and you’ve got the Chargers going to the Super Bowl. His team stinks and he’s got them taking it to the Super Bowl, baby!
All right, for Mario, for Matthew, for Art, for Mark. I am Fred and thank you for listening to Fred and the Fantasticks. Bye everybody!