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00:04:00He swings Proton, I just learned as well, as most of the team I think does.
00:04:05And Joey Cap, who just, Joey Caparelli just happens to be with Proton, straight play Rebel as well, and he swings Proton.
00:04:14We're going to jump into it.
00:04:15Bernie's going to share my screen right here with the Las Vegas Major.
00:04:21We were at the Big League Dreams this past weekend.
00:04:24I'm sorry, I'm sorry, a weekend ago, so it's been 10 days since we started the conference season for 2025.
00:04:33There was your finishing order for the tournament, Adaraxas, AA team out of Maryland, won it.
00:04:41They won undefeated, they won undefeated, beating West Point in extra innings.
00:04:45Check out that condensed game.
00:04:47They beat West Point in extra innings in the championship, Bay Area Legends, who's actually to be determined classification now.
00:04:55They finished third, Cheapsuits fourth, and an impressive run by hybrid-to-go franchise athletics C team.
00:05:04They knocked off West Point, Eyestone, and was a dirty Vegas, I think.
00:05:11They beat three conference teams in a row to finish fifth, as well as Proton, the guys here.
00:05:20Not a great weekend finishing fifth.
00:05:24Offensive, our tournament MVP was Big Josh Cardwell from Adaraxas.
00:05:29Defensive MVP was Hittin' Sitzon, Josh Kirsten.
00:05:34Offensive MVP was West Point first baseman Adam Kaminsky.
00:05:38There you see the all-tournament team, Lattimore, Wick, Castillo, Kampfer, pitcher from West Point, Kyle Johnson.
00:05:48Misal Tavares, who used to be with you guys at straight play, was all-tournament.
00:05:52Demario Boyd had a bunch of RBIs.
00:05:55Brock Frenzel was leading off for Adaraxas.
00:05:59Adam Ustry, the shortstop.
00:06:01Kyle Fisher, phenomenal defensive weekend and hitting for West Point at shortstop.
00:06:06D.V. Hendrickson.
00:06:08Gavin Lambright, how about him?
00:06:1021-year-old rookie pitching for Bay Area with a broken left forearm that he broke Saturday night on a line drive that hit him.
00:06:21He makes all-tournament team.
00:06:23That's impressive.
00:06:24And Billy Malabar, last year's B-World MVP, rounds out the all-tournament team.
00:06:30There's your Adaraxas Sunnies, and they have six more sponsors I can't remember at the moment.
00:06:38Team picture.
00:06:40Martel's on there.
00:06:42He's actually not on the roster yet.
00:06:44He's recovering from shoulder surgery.
00:06:47Last year's AA offensive MVP may join the team later in the season.
00:06:53West Point was second.
00:06:54Alisha's put together a very strong AA team, which we'll talk about later.
00:07:02Bay Area Legends, to be a determined classification, finishes third.
00:07:07They had four players leave on Saturday night for the Red Eye flight home.
00:07:12So if they had those four guys, you just wonder, could they have won the tournament?
00:07:18Cheapsuits finishes fourth.
00:07:19Sonny Aguilera there in the middle, the sponsor, long-time conference sponsor.
00:07:27Derby Girls beats Rogue in duel one on the women's side, and they beat Incognito on the duel number two.
00:07:38Derby Girls off to a fast start, scoring some big points out there in Vegas.
00:07:42There's a shot of Derby Girls.
00:07:45They have reloaded.
00:07:46They have the power, the speed, and the defense this year.
00:07:49That's for sure.
00:07:51All right.
00:07:51So that's it for Las Vegas.
00:07:55We'll go back to our panel.
00:07:58How'd you guys hit it this weekend?
00:08:00Starting with Dan, what did you think of the opener?
00:08:06Are you talking personally, or are you talking team-wise?
00:08:09Are you talking?
00:08:09Both.
00:08:10Both.
00:08:11All right.
00:08:12So the Proton Bats actually were pretty good, but playing on those little tiny Vegas fields,
00:08:16you're not going to get a true feel.
00:08:18Everything is pretty much home run management, and the turf is a little tough to play because
00:08:23it's patchy everywhere.
00:08:24But I felt like, personally, did all right.
00:08:27A couple swings I want back.
00:08:29Team-wise, we did well most of the time.
00:08:31One game we over-swung for home runs, and another game we under-swung for home runs.
00:08:35Totally different team coming up into the duel, hopefully, for us, because I think it's going
00:08:40to free us up a little more instead of feeling like we were handcuffing ourselves.
00:08:44But in Vegas, you're always more or less just trying to feel everybody out, let the coaches
00:08:48figure out the lineup, see where everybody's playing, see how everybody's gelling.
00:08:52So at the end of the day, Vegas probably isn't going to be a big point-getter.
00:08:55So it's more or less just a good warm-up before we get into the duel.
00:08:59So I'm excited about how we kind of came together.
00:09:02We fought through a couple little pieces of adversity.
00:09:04And I'm looking forward to exploding when we get to Florida.
00:09:09Yeah, so you did most of the pitching.
00:09:11I know Josh Jones was on vacation.
00:09:14Brandon Streets, who started off really hot, ended up with a lower back issue of some sort.
00:09:21So hopefully he gets healed up.
00:09:24The weather was phenomenal in Las Vegas.
00:09:27I don't think I sweat the whole weekend, but it wasn't cold either one of those weekends.
00:09:32They used the Dudley Pro-Am ball on some really small fields.
00:09:37I personally think it leads to a lot of dead ball outs or home runs for outs.
00:09:43It also leads to hitters swinging at bad pitches intentionally to keep the ball in the park,
00:09:50which looks like bad softball.
00:09:52It is bad softball.
00:09:53So, Joey, my question to you is, what ball should they use?
00:09:58Is the Pro-Am too much?
00:10:02And how do you approach hitting when you have that ball on such small fields?
00:10:07For those who don't know, the corners on the fields are 265.
00:10:12It goes out to about 285, 290 in the gaps.
00:10:16And then center field is usually about 300 on each of the fields.
00:10:20So, Joey, what do you think about the ball?
00:10:22And how do you approach hitting on such small fields with such a good ball?
00:10:25I mean, I'm not good at hitting on small fields with good balls, and that's just not my strength.
00:10:31So, I think I've only been playing the conference, what, two years now.
00:10:35So, in my experience, Chicago, Texas, Vegas, you can all get away with, like, the hot dots.
00:10:40Everything else, I think you can hardcore, Pro-Am, whatever you want to use.
00:10:45But those three, you just don't really need that much ball.
00:10:47I didn't hit as well as I wanted to.
00:10:51I think I was, like, 670 or 680 in the leadoff spot.
00:10:54But I tried to make it a point to, like, take more walks and have a better approach and swing at some bad pitches to hit it down.
00:11:02And it led to me fouling out, striking out, looking, like, just things that I don't normally do.
00:11:07I think it's just not a fair assessment of that, because you can hit 900 with 20 home runs, or you can try and play the game.
00:11:17So, Vieira will be a telling tale as to, like, how we perform as a team.
00:11:21And I think I joined them late last year, but from what I remember, they had a very similar start where the first two or three tournaments were rough because we were gelling, trying to figure out new pieces.
00:11:31I mean, we have four new guys, and we're a major team and all that fun stuff.
00:11:37So, I think, to answer your question, hot dots in Vegas, hot dots in Chicago, hot dots in Texas, and then you can pretty much get away with pro-ams, hardcore stadiums.
00:11:48Yeah, that leads me to another question.
00:11:51Since the two of you have gone up to major and played, gone back down to double-A, gone back up to major now, what is the mentality?
00:12:00Like, as a double-A team, straight play had some real good success in Phoenix on the baseball fields, winning that tournament over Rismondo and Rufx.
00:12:10Dan, what is your belief on double-A making the jump?
00:12:18And then, as a team, if straight play doesn't have the success they had last year, what's the mentality around it?
00:12:27Like, is it a mental block to say you're major and you're like, oh, my God, we're not Rismondo.
00:12:33What are we going to do?
00:12:35I throw that out the window nowadays.
00:12:37I would say 10 years ago when I was, you know, first in the conference and Rismondo was going like 62-5.
00:12:42Yeah, going to go up against a major team when you're not a major team, you feel almost defeated.
00:12:47Like, you know you got a shot.
00:12:48But nowadays, it's a 50-50 coin flip.
00:12:50Sometimes it's a double-A team might be favored over a major team.
00:12:55And sometimes home team makes a difference.
00:12:56Sometimes it's, you know, if a guy is missing on a team, you know, you're a little shorthanded.
00:13:00Like, you know, we might be coming into the duel.
00:13:03I might feel like I'm the underdog going up against some of these double-A teams.
00:13:07And they're stacked.
00:13:08Like, they're manipulating the points.
00:13:10They're trying to cap it at nine points and fill all those players.
00:13:13Like, they're major teams that have guys that you could swap out on those double-A teams and you're not missing a beat.
00:13:19So, it's no longer what I'm remembering from 10 years ago.
00:13:22So, I'm just taking an underdog mentality every time I step on the field trying to prove a point and say, hey, I belong here.
00:13:28And this is what we're going to do.
00:13:29So, yeah, I feel like straight play definitely needs to take that underdog mentality like they did last year.
00:13:35So, Joey, touch on that and then tell us about, I mean, are you thinking you get 14 home runs at double-A.
00:13:45Most of your games at major are still 14.
00:13:48But how does your team use the home runs?
00:13:53Does your manager tell you?
00:13:55Like, once in a while in Rosemont, you hear Brett say, hit it or don't hit it.
00:14:00Or, like, what is straight play's approach on that?
00:14:03So, twos are great or twos are good, threes are great, fours are phenomenal and try not to hit the ones.
00:14:09But at the same token, you know, I made the jump to major last year with Juno and it's just outside pressure, inside pressure, you know, got to be a major player.
00:14:22Like, at the end of the day, we rattled off so many major teams as a double-A team when I was with Nitro or straight play.
00:14:30So, it's just kind of a mindset.
00:14:32I think Hacker does, Danny Hacker and JJ, do a great job of not treating us like people and also understand that, like, we have to be who we have to be.
00:14:44Like, Acevedo's going to dance.
00:14:46I'm going to yell.
00:14:48Harvey's probably not going to do anything.
00:14:49It's like, just let us do our thing versus trying to make us fit this mold of, oh, well, Resmondo does this.
00:14:55That's great.
00:14:56It works for Rezzy.
00:14:57But it doesn't work for us.
00:14:58And I think that last year for me, my struggles were, like, I was trying to be something that I'm not.
00:15:03Where at the end of the day, if I lead off with a solo by accident, then Daniel Heron knows that he's got to try not to hit it out.
00:15:09But I'm also trying not to hit the solo in the first game.
00:15:11So, we do a good job of managing the home runs normally.
00:15:15In Vegas, we didn't.
00:15:17But there isn't, like, a, you know, Griner was really firm on, like, don't hit him until the fourth.
00:15:23And that's fine.
00:15:24But then you're hoping you're in the game in the fourth.
00:15:28Where Danny Hacker's like, if we hit him, we hit him.
00:15:30And you guys are all good enough to hit without him.
00:15:32So, let's figure it out once we lose him.
00:15:35And I kind of like that mentality is, obviously, you don't want to hit solos.
00:15:39Two runners, you don't necessarily want to go for those either.
00:15:42But if it happens, it happens.
00:15:44But you don't want to leave 10 on the table, which is what we did against West Point.
00:15:47Yeah, I was going to just mention real quick the West Point game.
00:15:51So, late Saturday night, straight plays in the loser's bracket after, I think, it was a fairly close loss in the semifinals.
00:15:59And you guys, I left after the winner's final, went back to the hotel, put it on my phone as I'm laying in bed.
00:16:09And I'm like, oh, my God, straight plays down by the run rule in the fifth.
00:16:16And they've only used four of their home runs.
00:16:18And West Point's basically out of home run, almost out of home runs.
00:16:22And they have the bases loaded.
00:16:24And, of course, Ryan Ramirez hits a grand slam to win by 15.
00:16:27And, Dan, what were your thoughts?
00:16:30Was it like, oh, shit, we should have used some more home runs earlier?
00:16:35Or was it just the situation and you just throw your hands up and tip your cap to West Point?
00:16:41So, coming off the Bay Area game, we had a couple too many solos where we didn't manage our home runs.
00:16:47So, it was probably in the back of our head.
00:16:49Like, let's play the game.
00:16:50We know we've got the power.
00:16:51We'll explode when we need to.
00:16:52And we came into that fifth inning, I think, where it was 17 to 14 or 2017.
00:16:58We were down three.
00:17:002017, yeah.
00:17:01With 10 to hit left.
00:17:02And they have three.
00:17:03And we're visitors.
00:17:04So, I'm like, okay, cool.
00:17:05We're in a great spot.
00:17:06We're going to take the lead here.
00:17:07No problem.
00:17:08Even if we hit a couple solos, we're still ahead.
00:17:10And, you know, the ball just doesn't go exactly where you want it to sometimes.
00:17:14And we had a couple bad swings that inning.
00:17:16But, still, you know, three homers left for West Point.
00:17:19Still, they need 12 to score on a small field.
00:17:22I'm expecting a couple bad home runs.
00:17:24So, I'm thinking, hey, we'll just come back in the sixth.
00:17:27But, unfortunately, the game didn't play out that way.
00:17:31They got to the 15-run rule.
00:17:32And I'm still questioning if we have an ability to bat in the sixth and seventh.
00:17:37I think we'd still come back and potentially win that game with 10 homers left to hit.
00:17:41And they have zero.
00:17:41Yeah, so, it was 2017 them or 2017 you?
00:17:47It was 2017 them.
00:17:49Them, okay.
00:17:49Because, remember, I tried to propose that rule a couple years ago where the visiting team, if they were winning.
00:17:55If you're leading.
00:17:55Yeah, if you're leading, don't.
00:17:57Yeah, they could not be run ruled in the bottom half of the inning, which I still love that rule.
00:18:01And maybe I'll try to get it in there again someday.
00:18:05Yeah.
00:18:06Vegas, the weather was phenomenal.
00:18:08Hybride to go put on a show there for three games in a row.
00:18:14Ataraxas did what they had to do.
00:18:16They won by one in the winner's final.
00:18:18They won by one in the championship in the eighth inning.
00:18:22So, some pretty good videos there.
00:18:25We're going to move on to the Hall of Fame Classic.
00:18:28Oh, I just want to shout out umpires in Vegas.
00:18:32They did so many games in a row.
00:18:34They were shorthanded.
00:18:35I just want to put a shout out to the jobs that they did in Las Vegas, doing all those games in a row.
00:18:43It's much appreciated.
00:18:45We're going to move on to the Hall of Fame Classic.
00:18:49And if Bernie can share my screen.
00:18:51We got the bracket up for the duel number one.
00:18:55I don't know if, I'm sure Dan, as a real student of the game, probably noticed that in the last two years, the directors are new and they've changed the way it's seeded.
00:19:10If you notice, Chick-fil-A is the 14 seed as a double-A team.
00:19:14So, in the past, it was always major teams, whether you're new or not, by last year's conference points.
00:19:21So, if you were a new major team, brand new, didn't have any previous year's conference points, you would still be seeded with the major teams, one through four.
00:19:31And then double-A the same.
00:19:33So, Chick-fil-A, to me, should have gotten the, we have four major teams.
00:19:38We have five double-A.
00:19:39They should have got the ninth seed, but they got the 14th.
00:19:43So, new leadership at U-Triple-SSA either didn't know how to seed the teams or decided to change it, but it's been this way the last two years.
00:19:52And, I don't know, it kind of makes up, makes for a strange mix.
00:19:59So, you know.
00:20:00They've got to win an extra game now.
00:20:01They've got to play an extra game.
00:20:02But if you're a new team to the conference, why would you get a bid?
00:20:06Well, I'm not sure we're worried about Chick-fil-A as much as the team's Chick-fil-A then has to play.
00:20:12Because if you earn points from the previous year and you're Ataraxxus at three, you should be starting against the winner of Cheapsuits and Bay Area Legends.
00:20:21Gotcha.
00:20:21Not a double-A Chick-fil-A.
00:20:23Well, I personally would like to see Ataraxxus and Chick-fil-A play each other.
00:20:26Yeah.
00:20:26No.
00:20:27As far as good games and games I might do a condensed game on, definitely better.
00:20:31That's going to be a good one.
00:20:33Yeah.
00:20:33So, the weather this week is looking really good.
00:20:38What do you guys think?
00:20:39We'll start with Joey.
00:20:41Duel number one, besides yourself, because you always want to pick yourself, who do you think is winning this in the top four?
00:20:52I think, can't pick ourselves.
00:20:58I'll probably go Rufax.
00:20:59Rufax, I think Rufax is going to have a nice, they got a nice little new squad, some new faces.
00:21:04I think they're always, they're always legit.
00:21:07Reggie's going to be tough to beat coming out of the gate though, but I don't know.
00:21:11I know they got Heath, Yates, and they picked up somebody else, but I don't remember who.
00:21:17But I have to imagine.
00:21:18OJKP.
00:21:19Oh, OJKP.
00:21:20I have to imagine they're going to be missing Moose unless Moose can hit and run, but he's coming off a double knee surgery.
00:21:26So, I hope he's all right.
00:21:29I mean, I give Rufax one, Razzie two.
00:21:32I'm probably going to go.
00:21:34I'll probably go West Point three at our AXX four.
00:21:44Yeah.
00:21:46Yeah, a lot of people.
00:21:47Can't pick ourselves.
00:21:48A lot of people saying West Point has the roster this year, right?
00:21:54They reloaded.
00:21:54I mean, they got, they got, I mean, they got arguably the two of the fastest guys in the conference.
00:21:59They got Fisher and Kempfer.
00:22:00They got two old guys who can, and I say old because they played in the conference a long time, not old because they're old.
00:22:06But you got, because I don't want to experience.
00:22:09I don't want Flip to get mad at me.
00:22:11They got Flip and Radich.
00:22:13You got Ramirez who can bang it.
00:22:17Their pitcher is pretty solid, too.
00:22:18So, they got a good group of guys.
00:22:20Yeah, we'll be hitting on rosters here in a minute when we do the rankings.
00:22:25Dan, what do you have for that first duel?
00:22:28What do you think top four?
00:22:30So, it's tough because I always want to say Rizmondo should be the one seed in every tournament.
00:22:37Sometimes they start a little slow.
00:22:38We've seen they've struggled sometimes on baseball fields in the last few years where we think they should win.
00:22:44So, I like the additions that Rufek has added, adding JoJo, adding Collins, a couple other moves that I like, Austin Daw.
00:22:51They have the easier bracket on the top half, so they should do what they should and take care of business and get to that winter final, no problem.
00:23:02So, I'll just say Rufek's one and Rizmondo two.
00:23:04Maybe they go to an if game in the first duel.
00:23:06That'd be fun to watch.
00:23:06I actually have a dark horse in sports route upsetting West Point in that first game.
00:23:14I like their roster.
00:23:15I like their defense a little better.
00:23:17I want to see that might make a difference on the baseball fields.
00:23:20So, I'll put them at three.
00:23:22And then four, let's just – I'm going to say ourselves.
00:23:27I'm not going to put us on one and two, but I'll put us in four.
00:23:29I don't know.
00:23:30We can do that.
00:23:30I mean, it's a live show.
00:23:36You can do whatever you want, Joey.
00:23:37Fair enough.
00:23:40Yeah, so, duel number two, you know, I can't disagree.
00:23:44Rizmondo, traditionally, the team that wins a major has a slow start, but then they won the major two years ago, and last year they won both Hall of Fame Classics.
00:23:53So, you can't rule them out.
00:23:55It's definitely Ruf – if you're putting money, your actual money on it, so Rufek's and Rizmondo, you can't go wrong.
00:24:02So, obviously, straight play, Proton, straight play, and Juno and some of the AA teams might have something to say.
00:24:11Traditionally, there's some huge upsets, right?
00:24:13SportsReach won a couple years ago, won one of the duels as a AA team.
00:24:19The second one, they switch up the speeds just a little bit, but you still see, you know, Proton becomes the three.
00:24:28Obviously, you get your Chick-fil-A, possibly, when it probably should have been an A team, right, because of the new seating rules, apparently.
00:24:39I-57 Roofing.
00:24:41Oh, I forgot about them.
00:24:42Yeah, they've revamped.
00:24:46So, we're not going to pick the second one.
00:24:48I'm sure it's similar to the first.
00:24:50There's your team list for the duel.
00:24:52It's down a little bit, right?
00:24:5421 teams, 18 of them are at conference, 242 points to the winner, something like that.
00:25:01All four majors, all five AA's, and a bunch of A teams.
00:25:06And some non-conference teams, Wicked Mitts, I think they're – are they from South Carolina or something?
00:25:14Team Pro Action from Canada.
00:25:16Yeah, they're always fun.
00:25:18They play hard.
00:25:20And then SRC, a local Florida A team, a bunch of those guys that got bumped a couple years ago to A, put together a team.
00:25:28That's the old – that's the old LLB, LLB from last year.
00:25:32Okay.
00:25:33LLB mainly.
00:25:35The women's side, all five majors, they don't have a AA anymore in women's.
00:25:40So, you got five really good A teams also showing up.
00:25:43They have two one-day tournaments.
00:25:46They play an entire tournament Friday.
00:25:48Jesus Christ.
00:25:49Start over Saturday.
00:25:53Weather looks, at least so far, looks like maybe the best we've ever had, right?
00:25:59Unless it's too windy.
00:26:01Like, there's some wind in there.
00:26:02It's always going to be windy in Vieira.
00:26:04Yeah.
00:26:05But the weather looks good.
00:26:07That's enough for my graphics.
00:26:09We're going to see if I have anything else to cover on the Hall of Fame Friday.
00:26:17Oh, so Friday we go all the way down to the winner's bracket final Friday night.
00:26:23So, if you can't tune in during work during the day, tune in for those semifinals after work.
00:26:28And then the winner's final Friday night with the championship early Friday afternoon.
00:26:34And then the second duel starts at 4.30 on Friday, finishes on Sunday.
00:26:41Saturday's actually looking like a short day.
00:26:43I think the final game is scheduled for 6.30.
00:26:46In my notes, I had, you know, it's kind of our version of March Madness.
00:26:55Not quite as many teams this year.
00:26:58Don't forget the Ball Club's app, live scoring.
00:27:02I had in my notes, can Mooch pitch another perfect game?
00:27:06Remember, he pitched a perfect game.
00:27:08Dan, what do you think of that?
00:27:09Like, he pitched a perfect game.
00:27:12Granted, it was a run rule.
00:27:13I mean, he's a legend.
00:27:15Just add it to another list of his accolades.
00:27:18I don't think it'll happen again.
00:27:20If it does, then I'll tip my cap.
00:27:23Well, no offense to Adaraxas, but they don't have the Rufx defense behind them, right?
00:27:30Also.
00:27:31So, we're going to jump into rankings.
00:27:34I think there was another no-hitter, too, of 2014.
00:27:38Precision did it against Or the Fallen in the last chance.
00:27:43Yeah.
00:27:44So, just another random scenario.
00:27:48Yeah.
00:27:49It's hard to do.
00:27:50You got to make some serious defensive plays somewhere down the line.
00:27:55So, we're going to jump into rankings.
00:27:58Bernie can share my screen.
00:27:59We're going to look at the major division, and the three of us are going to rank teams based on classification.
00:28:09And I always do that because major teams have unlimited roster moves.
00:28:14They can pick up unlimited points.
00:28:16So, if you're a third or fourth place major team, and you're actually down in the points, you can make the moves to get to third and fourth.
00:28:25I'm not saying that a double-A team couldn't beat some of these teams.
00:28:28But alphabetical order, we're going to look at it here.
00:28:31Juno, they re-pick up John Williams, right, to play infield.
00:28:39Bishop Harris, Michael Rayner, and Eric Nervoso come over from LSR.
00:28:49Yep.
00:28:50You can see the LSR sponsorship in the Juno name.
00:28:54Ben Dunn listed here, but he actually is playing for Dirty Vegas.
00:28:59And let's see.
00:29:00They picked up Josh Riley, right, at former – I think he won the batting title one year.
00:29:07From Rasmando, so they got Josh Riley, Chad Mullins Returns, Carucci, the main sponsor and manager.
00:29:15Mason Farmer looked like he's going to do the bulk of the pitching.
00:29:19And Proton, you guys, straight play Rebel, the other sponsors, brought back basically your whole team,
00:29:27but added Connor Murray, Ryan Harvey, the power hitter, Tyler Story.
00:29:34I love that pickup.
00:29:35Outfielder.
00:29:37And Dan Kirkwood, right, the pitch.
00:29:41Yeah, we got Kirk, Story, Connor, and Harvey.
00:29:45Yeah.
00:29:45So I like that the double-A champs moved up and tweaked the roster instead of just clearing the house
00:29:54and picking up a bunch of former major guys.
00:29:58I like the look.
00:29:59We'll see how it works out.
00:30:01Rasmando, I don't think this is rumored anymore.
00:30:04I could probably take that out of there.
00:30:06They pick up Jeremy Yates.
00:30:11I mean, left-handed power for the majors.
00:30:13Who's that?
00:30:16Heath Barnes, adding some range to the infield.
00:30:20And OG Kyle Pearson, experience, right?
00:30:23He could play left field.
00:30:24He could play infield.
00:30:26On a given weekend.
00:30:27He'll tell you he can only play third base.
00:30:28He won't tell you he can play outfield.
00:30:30So on a given weekend, that guy could be an MVP off the bench, right?
00:30:35Those are three great pickups.
00:30:37Yeah.
00:30:37So I think we agree they get better.
00:30:41Rufax, they end up picking up Chris Aninos, who had that phenomenal major last year, former MVP of the major.
00:30:50JoJo Bennett, who to me is the best corner outfielder in the game defensively.
00:30:55I'm offended.
00:30:56So I think they might be using him in the infield.
00:30:59Austin Daw, corner guy.
00:31:01And they added some power in outfield with Andrew Collins.
00:31:05They lose Justin Mucciarelli, who maybe I'm just a fan.
00:31:09But I think pitching depth is hurt there.
00:31:13So they got Daw and what's it called?
00:31:19Kyle Center.
00:31:21McClanahan.
00:31:22Yeah.
00:31:23He's not on there, is he?
00:31:24No, he wasn't on there when they made the graphic, but they picked up McClanahan.
00:31:29So that adds some depth to the pitcher.
00:31:31I think he said he's only going to make a few tournaments this year.
00:31:34But he's a good pickup for him.
00:31:35He can't show up.
00:31:35And let's be very clear, DW.
00:31:37Collins is not playing the outfield.
00:31:39He's not there to play the outfield.
00:31:42After the Challenge Cup, he might want to be the catcher.
00:31:46But we'll leave that.
00:31:47He wasn't in mid-season form.
00:31:50He can recover.
00:31:51Listen, I'm not great out there, but he's not there to play the outfield.
00:31:55That's for sure.
00:31:57How many times a year do you think the Proton management sees a ball hit to you and says...
00:32:05Every time.
00:32:06Oh, shit.
00:32:07Every time the ball is hit, I say to myself, oh, shit.
00:32:11And then we end up catching things.
00:32:12Chad, go get it.
00:32:14Yeah.
00:32:14Listen, I know my role.
00:32:16My role is to catch the ones right at me, hopefully, and let Chad catch the rest.
00:32:20Like, unfortunately, he is the gold glover.
00:32:22I'm not, so.
00:32:24Yeah.
00:32:24So, here's our little tally spreadsheet.
00:32:28We're going to start with Dan Kirkwood ranking the major teams for 2025.
00:32:34What do you think?
00:32:35Rosmundo, one.
00:32:36Can't go against them.
00:32:38Rufak, one B.
00:32:39So, we'll put them two.
00:32:42Proton's going to be three.
00:32:44Three.
00:32:45And then Juno's going to be four.
00:32:46All right.
00:32:47And hopefully, we finish differently.
00:32:50But that's how, on paper, I'm going to start.
00:32:54Joey, what do you got different, if anything?
00:32:57I'm going, yeah.
00:33:00Rezzy, Ruf, us, Juno.
00:33:04And, yeah.
00:33:06Exactly what Dan said.
00:33:07He's our leader.
00:33:07So, hopefully, we finish different.
00:33:09What would it take for you guys to finish higher than third?
00:33:14Home team in the major game that we should have had.
00:33:19No, I'm just kidding.
00:33:20No, I think we have to, like, this is the biggest thing, is that we're not, other than Harvey and Streets, like, we aren't the big bopper.
00:33:31Like, we're not going to solo you to death.
00:33:34Our game is not that.
00:33:36It's never been that.
00:33:37My game is not that.
00:33:38My game is hit it hard, and if it goes out, great.
00:33:40We are very much a similar to Rufax.
00:33:44Like, we're going to play the game.
00:33:46We're going to try and play good defense.
00:33:48Hopefully, I catch some balls out there, but I'm going to hit better than I play defense.
00:33:51And we're going to have some runs where we're going to make you run.
00:33:55We're going to make you chase down doubles.
00:33:57We're going to make you hustle on singles.
00:33:59And that's what it's going to take for us to win.
00:34:01I think the biggest problem we're going to face is what I faced last year is that we're not – I'm not Kyle Pearson.
00:34:09I'm not Bradley Jones.
00:34:11Like, I'm not going to hit a solo every time on command.
00:34:13I'm going to play my game, and I'll hit home runs.
00:34:16But if we try to play the Resmondo game, we don't win.
00:34:19And it's just proven that way.
00:34:20We have to play our game, have fun, do our stupid dances.
00:34:23Like, it's just – it's who we are.
00:34:25And I think that is what will make us finish higher than third, is if that we don't get away from our game plan.
00:34:33Yeah.
00:34:34And, Dan, to add to that – oh, I have a whole new question for you, Dan.
00:34:39Looking at the major the last couple years, and, you know, Don Sr. would probably be mad at me for saying this,
00:34:46but should we have a 16 home run limit at the major?
00:34:5120.
00:34:51No.
00:34:52No.
00:34:53I'm going to say no.
00:34:53And the reason is this is supposed to be the ultimate showcase.
00:34:57So, free it up.
00:34:58Let it fly.
00:34:59I think sometimes the ball-back combination is a little too much.
00:35:03When I see little guys like McClanahan who can flick it down the line or Luis Reino flick it down the line,
00:35:08you know, that might be a little too much ball.
00:35:11So, dial it back.
00:35:12Maybe don't use stadiums.
00:35:13Use the Pro-M, you know, hardcore.
00:35:15And I still think that ball is going to fly just as well.
00:35:17You might still see more than 16 home runs.
00:35:20The 240 switch was great from 220 to try to dumb down the bat a little bit,
00:35:24but I still feel like they're just as hot as ever.
00:35:26So, keep it unlimited.
00:35:29I have a hot take that maybe not people won't like.
00:35:32I don't like the smoky, and I don't like the major.
00:35:34I think they're boring.
00:35:37I know that the home run, like, I get all that.
00:35:39But as a player, it's just, like, it's boring.
00:35:43And, like, I would rather have a 16-21 home run limit or, to DK's point, use a different ball.
00:35:53Because it, like, I want the good ball, but solo after solo after solo, it's just, it's not fun to watch.
00:36:02And I think the crowds that we are not drawing anymore, even at the smoky or the main, like, it shows that.
00:36:09Like, you don't, you can only watch so many solo home runs before you're like, all right, this is, it's a four-hour game.
00:36:14It's 60 to 60, and nobody's hit a double.
00:36:17Yeah, I have to agree that smoky, you should use the pro-em.
00:36:21I've been saying that for years.
00:36:23Forget the hardcore there.
00:36:25It's too much.
00:36:25And the major, I kind of like the 20 idea.
00:36:29Like, 20 is a lot of home runs.
00:36:31That's still 60 runs if you hit 23.
00:36:33Like, that's still a high-scoring game.
00:36:35You know Rizmondo will adjust, right?
00:36:37They'll bring in some more defense, more base hitters.
00:36:41I don't say you do it, like, this year.
00:36:44I say you say, okay, in two, three years, we're going to go to, so the teams can build and adjust.
00:36:51But that's a whole other subject.
00:36:53We're going to move on to, or I didn't make my picks, did I?
00:36:57I so much want to take Rufx to win the points because I still think they're better on 300s.
00:37:03But I'm going Rizmondo, Rufx.
00:37:05Don't feel pressure, DW.
00:37:11You got to go with your heart.
00:37:11You don't want to say the same as us, do you?
00:37:13You're just going to choose Juno just to be different.
00:37:15It's a toss-up here.
00:37:17I actually think a double-A team could finish third.
00:37:21But we'll go Juno, Proton, about equal.
00:37:26Some of those double-A teams have a chance.
00:37:28Some of those double-A teams shouldn't be double-A teams.
00:37:30Let's just talk about that for a second.
00:37:32You have a team with, I think they have six major world champions in the last two years are on the same team.
00:37:44I know.
00:37:45That's a major team.
00:37:48Yeah, they're classifying their team off of their worst three players instead of their best six players.
00:37:55Well, I mean, then you also have, like, you know, who got dropped off the major list and how did you get all that political stuff?
00:38:03But, yeah.
00:38:04Politics.
00:38:05Politics is a rough topic in America these days.
00:38:08Yeah, they are.
00:38:09All right.
00:38:10We're going to move on to the double-A teams.
00:38:12We'll start with Joey, but we'll just take a look at the rosters here real quick.
00:38:16Ed Araxas, who won Las Vegas, of course.
00:38:21Grinerd always puts together a good team.
00:38:24And it's just a lot of new faces, right?
00:38:26So you got Mooch.
00:38:28Yeah.
00:38:29You got JK.
00:38:30You got Orlando.
00:38:32Because he's on there too now.
00:38:34Oh, you're counting the major champions.
00:38:36Yeah, Orlando.
00:38:37Major players.
00:38:39Right, right.
00:38:39Grinerd was major.
00:38:41Martelld was major.
00:38:42Somehow they're off now.
00:38:43I'm pretty sure Mark Wick is major.
00:38:46Yeah.
00:38:48But, yeah, they added...
00:38:49Is AU major?
00:38:50I don't know.
00:38:50They're a really good team.
00:38:51I like them a lot.
00:38:52I love Cabot.
00:38:53Cabot's my guy.
00:38:55I like the AU pickup a lot.
00:38:57Grinerd's going to do what he's going to do.
00:38:58I'm a big fan of JK.
00:38:59I think he is one of the most underrated centerfielders around.
00:39:04And I just like the way Wick plays the game.
00:39:05Plus, you know, Orlando was my BP partner last year.
00:39:09So it's always fun to watch him compete.
00:39:11I like this team a lot.
00:39:13Cabot and Lattimore are probably underrated, right?
00:39:16Cabot just is streaky, man.
00:39:18Like, he's...
00:39:19I think he's really good, but he's just streaky.
00:39:20I like...
00:39:23In my opinion, I'm going to go...
00:39:26Well, no pick yet.
00:39:27We're going through the roster.
00:39:28No pick, okay.
00:39:29Chick-fil-A, I really like this team.
00:39:32Yeah, Chick-fil-A returns, and they return to AA.
00:39:35Picked up a bunch of their old players.
00:39:37John Natoli, who actually owns a few Chick-fil-A's, is the main sponsor.
00:39:44He brings back Clifton, Collins.
00:39:49Brady, Clifton, Collins, Ross, Sanford, Trey, J. Lou, Nick Canfield, and him.
00:39:58So 10 of the whatever are returning.
00:40:01Tanai Alston comes back, and he's kind of a team leader.
00:40:04He played a year with prime time.
00:40:07The pitching isn't...
00:40:08Who is the pitching here?
00:40:12That's Bobo.
00:40:13Oh, yeah.
00:40:14In my opinion, one of the most underrated pitchers in the conference.
00:40:19Ogletree, who's basically...
00:40:20Takes shot after shot up to middle.
00:40:25But a guy hits 700, or 700 plus, like, he hits it.
00:40:29No one loves the game more than Justin Ogletree, I don't think.
00:40:33But, yeah, a nice returning roster.
00:40:35Great to see that they're playing AA.
00:40:38I-57 roofing.
00:40:41Bring back a chunk of their team.
00:40:43Plus, they make some key pickups.
00:40:46Looks like Jordan Spaulding, Carriage will probably do a lot of the pitching.
00:40:52Dave Johnson, I heard he lost 50 pounds.
00:40:56Laser Dave.
00:40:57That's what I heard.
00:40:59Dave Johnson, left-handed power in Jacob Hoskins, Jake Hathaway, Jonathan Alkinson.
00:41:06I'm expecting a big year out of Glisson.
00:41:09Glisson.
00:41:10Christian Glisson, everyone's saying, could be the best offensive player on that team.
00:41:17Sports reach, read tools.
00:41:19They keep our man Joel Sanchez, but they pick up some guys from the major team.
00:41:27Steele Lewis to run the outfield.
00:41:29Scott Hartling.
00:41:31J-Mag.
00:41:32Jordan Robinson returns.
00:41:34Art.
00:41:35Nice.
00:41:36Comes over there.
00:41:37J-Mag.
00:41:38Yeah, J-Mag is a big one.
00:41:39Uh, looks like they got about it.
00:41:42And they got Jonas.
00:41:43I don't know if you mentioned him.
00:41:45Jonas.
00:41:46Brandon Jonas, the pitcher?
00:41:47Oh, yeah.
00:41:48I didn't realize.
00:41:49So, Jonas returns to where he had probably just about his most success besides S&I.
00:41:54S&I, yeah.
00:41:55So, I mean, so far, all these teams are better than they were, right?
00:42:01And then West Point, we already saw Philip Washington at the top of the order.
00:42:06They pick up Kaminsky camp for Kyle Johnson doing most of the pitching.
00:42:11They pick up Rocco Baldo to lead off.
00:42:14So, there's your five teams.
00:42:17We'll go over to the spreadsheet and start with Joey Kapp.
00:42:21I'm going to go...
00:42:23I'm going to go...
00:42:26Hmm.
00:42:31I'm going to go West Point.
00:42:33And then I'm going to go...
00:42:36I-57.
00:42:39I-Rack-6.
00:42:44Chick-fil-A Sports Reach.
00:42:46Because I can't count Griner out because he always puts a team together.
00:42:49And I've been on one of the teams that somehow ends up really well.
00:42:58Yeah.
00:42:59For sure, he knows how to play the points, too, right?
00:43:03Play the points is great.
00:43:04If he plays the craps table or the roulette as well as he plays the points, he'd be a rich man.
00:43:09There you go.
00:43:10How'd you guys do in Vegas, Dan?
00:43:11Did you bet a gamble at all?
00:43:14Zero dollars.
00:43:15Zero.
00:43:16Yeah, me too.
00:43:16I had a couple outstanding bets from just some, like, parlays with the March Madness that I had bet the week prior.
00:43:23Yeah.
00:43:24That's it.
00:43:25I love me some craps.
00:43:26Joey, you were up?
00:43:28Yeah.
00:43:29I actually taught one of our guys how to play craps.
00:43:31And then after I won a lot, and then he ended up winning and I started losing.
00:43:35So, I was like, all right, I'm walking away.
00:43:36Like, it's good that you can walk away.
00:43:39Dan, what do you got for double it?
00:43:42So, as I mentioned, I think Sports Reach is going to surprise some people.
00:43:47They always put a good team.
00:43:48I like the pickup that they made.
00:43:50I think their defense is a little stronger than some of the other double A teams out there.
00:43:53And I think that's going to matter at the end of the year.
00:43:56I'm going to go with West Point number two.
00:43:58I am in the same boat as Joey, where I struggle trying to put Ataraxxus or Sunnies anywhere but one or two, because I feel like they're always going to figure it out and cool their team how they need to at the end of the year, whether it's a Louis Rainier pickup or something like that.
00:44:15But they'll always be one of those scary teams that could jump up.
00:44:18So, I'm going to put Ataraxxus three.
00:44:21I'm going to put Chick-fil-A four.
00:44:23I really love the family atmosphere that Chick-fil-A has over there, and I like a couple of the pickups that they made.
00:44:29I love that the core teams stay together, especially when they broke up and went elsewhere last year.
00:44:32They all told their sponsors, if John comes back, I'm leaving.
00:44:35I'm going back there.
00:44:36And that's just so respectful, though.
00:44:38But none of those teams, by far, are anybody that can't win.
00:44:43Like I mentioned, I-57 is five, and I do see that they have a chance every time they step on the field.
00:44:49They surprised everybody last year.
00:44:51They ran away with the A, picking up Zane Miguez at the end of the year or mid-year and making those changes.
00:44:57I love Spalding that went over there.
00:45:00We'll see how they go.
00:45:01But I'm going to go with my gut in the beginning and say Sports Region is the number one.
00:45:06Okay.
00:45:06The AA division, to me, is they're all fun teams to watch, right?
00:45:12And they all have their own way that they built their team, and they all have incredible talent.
00:45:17The shortstop play in Vegas was off the charts.
00:45:21Yoder, Daryl Yoder for West Point.
00:45:24He's good.
00:45:25Yeah.
00:45:25The shortstop for...
00:45:28Well, he's on Bay Area, isn't he?
00:45:30How did I mix him up?
00:45:31Bay Area.
00:45:32Daryl Yoder for Bay Area, and then Fisher for West Point.
00:45:35West Point, yeah.
00:45:36They were putting on a show, and there were some other shortstop, too.
00:45:40Dickens had the play of the tournament with that dive up the middle.
00:45:43Don't tell him that.
00:45:45He'll make one of those every tournament, though.
00:45:47That's just normal now.
00:45:48He'll also get hit in the ankle, but, you know, whatever.
00:45:50Yeah.
00:45:50So, I love watching all these teams.
00:45:53I love how they were all built, but I'm going with I-57-1.
00:45:57I'm going with Ataraxxus-2.
00:46:04I'm going with Sports Reach 3, West Point 4, and Chick-fil-A 5.
00:46:10I truly think Chick-fil-A's 5, but I also think by the end of the year, they could come together and make a run.
00:46:20I think they make a good run no matter where they're at because they're just such a gelled team.
00:46:26Yeah.
00:46:26So, the double-A and major divisions are going to be fun to watch.
00:46:32That's for sure.
00:46:33We should have thrown Bay Area in our picks there, too.
00:46:35Well, do we agree that Bay Area is better than the A-teams, but maybe not as good as the double-A?
00:46:43Or do you think they're better than one of the double-A's or two of the double-A's?
00:46:46Whoever their leadoff is is my idol.
00:46:48That guy is really – I don't know who he is.
00:46:50I'm not my idol.
00:46:50But, like, I watched him hit.
00:46:52Yeah.
00:46:52He hit – I like the way he swings.
00:46:54I like the way he plays.
00:46:55I think they're good enough to play the ball.
00:46:56Yeah, he hit me in the leg.
00:46:57Brady Bate looked like he accepted that leadoff role and said,
00:47:04I'm just going to hit solid line drives over the infield in front of the Elf.
00:47:08Like, it was an impressive show.
00:47:11I mean, I think they're just as good as any double-A team.
00:47:13Like, I don't think they belong in A.
00:47:15I think they can compete.
00:47:16And Lambright, even though he's new to the – he's a good pitcher.
00:47:20Snap me off.
00:47:23With a broken arm.
00:47:25Oh, don't make me feel bad.
00:47:26Jesus Christ.
00:47:27I didn't know that.
00:47:28Yeah.
00:47:29Kirkwood, what do you think on Bay Area?
00:47:31Do they – would they be up in there in the double-A?
00:47:35Or should they be right where they're at, 10?
00:47:38You're going to get two arguments every single time.
00:47:41They didn't build for double-A.
00:47:42The other teams did.
00:47:43They don't think they can compete at the championship level with those teams.
00:47:47But they do have the talent.
00:47:49But they have the prior double-A players.
00:47:51Did they not build for double-A?
00:47:53They have 11 players rated double-A or higher.
00:47:57Well, make sure that the watch list and the major list points are correct then.
00:48:00Because that's how teams are being built.
00:48:02We need to modify that a little bit if we're going to try to force teams into double-A when they're only looking at the black and white point.
00:48:07I mean, I don't know what team built their team without looking at the ratings of the players.
00:48:15But to be A, you've got to have A players.
00:48:17It's not points.
00:48:18You've said that every year, and everyone else doesn't see it that way.
00:48:21So points is the main denominator.
00:48:23I look at teams like SNI, primetime, legends.
00:48:26You've got guys who are either getting their shot at the conference for the first time or B conference guys that are making a jump to A.
00:48:34And then I look at Bay Area, who's got Brady and Miz.
00:48:37And they've got Gavin, who's a new shot.
00:48:40But you've got Bradley Scott.
00:48:43You've got guys who have been in the conference for a while.
00:48:47So that's why I don't think they belong in A's, because sometimes the rankings are skewed.
00:48:52But yeah, I think they're good enough.
00:48:55They're definitely not the level of the Cheyenne-Swanson team, whatever that one is.
00:48:59They're definitely a Chick-fil-A, sports reach caliber team.
00:49:02Yeah, so unfortunately, I guess I hadn't put in the roster for Bay Area yet.
00:49:09But let's take a look.
00:49:10We've got 12 minutes left.
00:49:11Let's take a look at the A division.
00:49:14B Happy is the NFM team from last year.
00:49:17Matt Webb puts this together.
00:49:19Looks like Mike Gibson, former NFL player, is back.
00:49:25Do a rundown of this team real quick, Dan.
00:49:27You know a lot of these guys from the Arizona area.
00:49:30Yeah, Danny's always been a friend major player, but never gets notified.
00:49:35Or the notoriety he should, because he's stepping away from the game for years, coming back.
00:49:40So he's a pretty consistent, like I would say, step below Bama type player at middle of short.
00:49:46Gibson's a great guy.
00:49:47He can go backside and has power and can play a corner infield position.
00:49:51Can do some pitching if necessary.
00:49:53Richie's an up-and-coming guy from SoCal.
00:49:55Hits the ball really well for being a smaller guy.
00:49:56Can play all the infield positions.
00:49:58Jagger, great outfielder.
00:50:00Can hit with the best of him, too.
00:50:01Has had a couple good years in a row, floating around that 700 or better number.
00:50:05Zach Walters, switch-hitting outfielder, plays center field.
00:50:09Probably if he could stay consistent, he will get looks from bigger teams.
00:50:13But with his work and everything else, you're not going to see him on the field every tournament.
00:50:17But he has the consistency.
00:50:18And it's crazy, because he's one of those guys that will literally bat.
00:50:21Lefty one at bat.
00:50:22Righty the next at bat.
00:50:23Lefty the next at bat.
00:50:24Righty the next at bat.
00:50:25Orlando Cano has been playing on cheap suits and a couple other teams.
00:50:30L&S Glass in the previous years.
00:50:32Always a 700 hitter.
00:50:33Great leadoff.
00:50:35Can spray the ball anywhere over the field.
00:50:37I think Jacob Zarate is stepping away, so they might need to pick up another pitcher.
00:50:42Blake Lively, great middle infielder.
00:50:45Could play anywhere in the infield, honestly.
00:50:47Lefty hitter.
00:50:47Has had a bunch of 700-plus seasons.
00:50:50Will, great glove defensively.
00:50:53He sprays the ball back and forth, and he won't hit the home run, so he'll save him for the rest of the guys.
00:50:57I think he was the A defensive champ on Anarchy a few years back.
00:51:01Lundy, great power hitter coming over from, was it Seminoles last year?
00:51:05He just had a shoulder surgery.
00:51:07But if he's healthy, that's a good power add.
00:51:09So they've got some good players.
00:51:10Matt does a fantastic job of putting together a roster, even when he's missing guys like Jordan Spalding, who goes otherwhere, to I-57 this year.
00:51:20So, sneaky good.
00:51:21May have some down tournaments.
00:51:22May have some up tournaments.
00:51:24But definitely a strong A team with a mix of power and defense and some guys that really nobody knows about, but can shine if given the opportunity.
00:51:33Yeah, for sure.
00:51:35Higa, Walters, Lively, all very underrated.
00:51:39Cheap suits we got to see out in Vegas.
00:51:43They lost Valencia, the Rookie of the Year, but they add major player Daniel Caton.
00:51:51Our man Demario Boyd, RBI guru.
00:51:54They said they had a Rookie of the Year candidate, Adrian Ramos.
00:52:00So keep an eye on him.
00:52:01Was he a Rookie of the Year candidate?
00:52:04No, they think he's going to be this year, a Rookie of the Year.
00:52:07Oh, okay.
00:52:08Don't do it, dude.
00:52:09It's bad juju.
00:52:11Yeah, so Billy Malibar is doing the pitching there.
00:52:13Cheyenne Swenson, a new A team based out of Arizona.
00:52:18A hodgepodge of free agent players from all over the country.
00:52:24You want to talk about their sponsorship group, DW?
00:52:27Sure, go ahead.
00:52:29I don't know anything about it.
00:52:32Yeah, it's an OnlyFans sponsor.
00:52:34So maybe that would be a trend in the near future.
00:52:37Listen, if the money they make is accurate, it should be.
00:52:41Big time, big time dollars.
00:52:44It's kind of like the oil companies, right?
00:52:46Right.
00:52:47Dirty Vegas pickups for Williams to pitch.
00:52:51Ben Dunn comes over from Juno.
00:52:55Goliniak's a good pickup.
00:52:58Goliniak had a huge tournament.
00:53:00I think he made one out.
00:53:03I think he was 23 for 25 or 23 for 24 with like 17 home runs.
00:53:10Yep.
00:53:10Canobie, Hollingsworth, Music.
00:53:12This team's pretty good.
00:53:16Craig Pellegrin coming over from Nitro Circus.
00:53:20Legends from Oklahoma.
00:53:22They did an interesting thing this year.
00:53:24They merged with the team from Ohio that won the B, Schlebaugh Trucking.
00:53:31So you had the Schlebaugh's in there.
00:53:36Vanderhoof's been a...
00:53:37So that's my...
00:53:39That's my...
00:53:40Two Adrian's going to have to beat, is my opinion.
00:53:43Yeah.
00:53:44Dan Oliveira's going to pitch, the military guy.
00:53:48Schwartz, John Schlebaugh, Kyle King, Carlin Yoder.
00:53:54All come from that, and Zach Sterry, and Kyle Slicker, and Ben Young.
00:54:00So it's about half and half.
00:54:02Like it's half of the Legends type guys and half of this Schlebaugh Trucking.
00:54:07Interesting team, right?
00:54:09Because you got...
00:54:10They got Moselle too, D-Dubs.
00:54:11Yeah, they slipped in Matt Moselle, who had a phenomenal rookie year.
00:54:15Then he, I don't know, broke his leg or something.
00:54:18Yeah.
00:54:19Had a knee injury.
00:54:20Primetime, kind of the same team they've had.
00:54:24They could be great.
00:54:25They could finish in the top 10.
00:54:27They could finish 18th.
00:54:28It's hard to say with these guys.
00:54:30Ira Braun leading the way.
00:54:31Frank Fisk.
00:54:33Frankie Fisk comes over from LSR.
00:54:37Mike Williams returns from JBL.
00:54:40So, I like that team.
00:54:42Pitching.
00:54:43Yeah, I would say they're a little better this year.
00:54:46They got some big power.
00:54:47They got Chu Fields, Frank Fisk.
00:54:51I mean, they got Ira.
00:54:52Yeah, they got some good power.
00:54:54And Marucci.
00:54:55There it is.
00:54:55Marucci's sponsorship, because they've always been with Homer.
00:55:00SNI, New Florida team.
00:55:02Tommy Melton's a big name.
00:55:05Dustin Pitching.
00:55:06He won the AA a few years back.
00:55:08David McDowell, who's been a really good pinch hitter for major teams.
00:55:14Dan Sanchez doing probably a starter, right?
00:55:17Yeah.
00:55:18Scott Naparata putting the team together.
00:55:20Brandon Hooks returns.
00:55:21Clint Clymer finds a new home.
00:55:24So, do you know any of these guys?
00:55:27Yeah.
00:55:28I play league with most of them.
00:55:29I think they got three on there that are going to be in their conversations at some point.
00:55:35They got Henry Campbell, the star of the Challenge Cup.
00:55:39Yeah.
00:55:40I think they got – Henry's great.
00:55:41I think he bangs it.
00:55:42But I think they got two or three guys that are going to be in their conversation at the end of the year for Rookie of the Year.
00:55:48A lot of young guys.
00:55:49These guys?
00:55:49These guys?
00:55:51Well, I got – I don't know enough about Michael.
00:55:55Oh, that's Big Mike.
00:55:56That's Mike – that's a – I don't think Mike is going to win it.
00:55:58But that's – he's going to raise some eyebrows when he steps onto the field.
00:56:03He played for the Saints, I think, or something like that.
00:56:06But I got Zach Vanson and Spencer.
00:56:09Those are my three guys from the Florida team that I think are going to have really good years.
00:56:14Okay.
00:56:14So we'll jump in here.
00:56:16We got a few minutes left.
00:56:17We'll start, Joey, with your – we'll leave Bay Area 10.
00:56:22It could be fifth, right?
00:56:25So we'll leave them there.
00:56:26I'm going to go Dirty, Vegas, Primetime, S&I.
00:56:38I don't know enough about – then I'll do Cheapsuits.
00:56:42Legends, OnlyFans, and be happy.
00:56:51Yeah, be happy playing the West Coast schedule, I think.
00:56:55So might not earn the points.
00:56:58Yeah, S&I and Primetime are my sleepers, though.
00:57:00I like them a lot.
00:57:02I think S&I will make – they'll make the moves they need.
00:57:06At least Scott's always kind of done that.
00:57:08What do you think, Dan?
00:57:09Are we talking finishing at the end of the regular season rankings, or are we talking like A-World's ranking?
00:57:16Like who's going to win?
00:57:16No, let's go A-World's.
00:57:18Just rankings for the show.
00:57:19Yeah.
00:57:20What do you think they'll finish this year?
00:57:22Yeah.
00:57:23So like I said, or what you were just referencing, be happy.
00:57:26More of a West Coast schedule.
00:57:27They're not playing the duel.
00:57:29One of their guys is getting married.
00:57:30But that could also be good, right?
00:57:31That could also be good because they could win.
00:57:33It could – if you cherry-pick a few of the West Coast tournaments, get that 180 minimum, maybe 200 points for four or five teams, that could do much better than taking a fifth place in a big tournament like Florida.
00:57:43So yeah, absolutely, and save your legs.
00:57:45Nobody gets injured down in Florida.
00:57:48But overall, I hate doing this because I hate picking a team because I feel like it could be bad juju.
00:57:54But I like what Chief Seuss has built, and I think they're getting better.
00:57:58Like they've always had some fringe teams in the past.
00:58:01They've had some rookies come out that shined.
00:58:02They picked up a couple bigger names.
00:58:04You start to stack that lineup together with your Bama and your trailer, you know, your professional hitters all together.
00:58:10I like Carlos Abrego and Nick Guillen from the Arizona area that I play with all the time.
00:58:14I think they could have a good core, and if those other guys kind of follow suit, that could be a really dangerous team in A.
00:58:22Bang, bang.
00:58:22I'm going to go with Dirty Vegas because they do have a lot of veteran presence with Ben Dunn and Jared and DJ Hollingsworth over there.
00:58:30They could surprise some people, but I don't think it's even a surprise because they do have the experience there.
00:58:37I'm going to go with Bay Area – I'm sorry, Be Happy 3 because I do think they're going to cherry pick a little bit,
00:58:44and I love the chemistry that that team always puts together.
00:58:46I'm going to go Legends 4, SNI 5, Cheyenne Swenson 6, and Primetime 7.
00:58:54All righty.
00:58:58Yeah, it was interesting.
00:59:00Nick Guillen for cheap suits, they moved to second base.
00:59:03I don't know if that's permanent or not.
00:59:05He's always been a phenomenal defensive player, but he put on a show at second base.
00:59:09He is – he played middle infield for us at the Challenge Cup, and if you remember like five years ago,
00:59:17I think at the Arizona tournament during COVID, they beat – I think he was on L&S Glass,
00:59:23and he played shortstop when they beat Dan Smith.
00:59:25Dan Smith, yeah.
00:59:26And he was catching balls deep in the hole like where Tyler Dickens plays like 20 feet behind the grass
00:59:32and then firing that ball 100 miles an hour across the infield and throwing guys out left and right.
00:59:36Like he is a plus major defensive player in the infield and the outfield,
00:59:41and last year he hit 700 plus again.
00:59:43So he's just becoming better and better.
00:59:46He's about to hit his prime.
00:59:47We'll see if he stays with cheap suits or moves up next year.
00:59:50Who's pitching for Dirty Vegas?
00:59:53Sport, right?
00:59:54Yeah, Sport.
00:59:55Oh, Sport, yeah.
00:59:56I'm going Dirty Vegas 1, Cheap Suits 2, Legends 3, Primetime 4, SNI,
01:00:07Cheyenne – not – we'll go Be Happy and Cheyenne.
01:00:11Oh, you're putting the OnlyFans last, DW?
01:00:13It's a bad juju.
01:00:15It's a – I think they got to really come together.
01:00:19It's a real –
01:00:21Talent is there.
01:00:23It's going to have the talent.
01:00:24It's kind of a creating team, right?
01:00:27I mean, 1 to 7 here is kind of like the double-A division.
01:00:32You could roll the dice on any of them, but I'm just going by just a gut feel.
01:00:38Who knows?
01:00:39I'm excited to see Jerry lead Dirty and then Sanchez lead SNI because those –
01:00:43they're going to really go off their pitching.
01:00:46So, my last question on the rankings, 18 teams make the major.
01:00:52So, my – we're not going to do B, but what B team, Dan, do you think is going to make the major as the 18?
01:01:00The problem is I don't know many other rosters, but I'm just –
01:01:06We're not going to go too long.
01:01:07I'm just going with – I'm just going with what I've seen in the past, and Cutthroat's been around for a while.
01:01:14Yeah.
01:01:15They've been trying to build a program to move up.
01:01:18I know they're, you know, playing buddy ball for a little bit, and some players are a little upset about how things are run.
01:01:24I'm hoping that they can turn it around because I want to see positivity in the conference.
01:01:27I want to see sponsors continue to do what they're doing, and if they could get that opportunity, I think that might give them a better chance, another leg up for the future year coming through.
01:01:35So, I'd love to see Cutthroat make it.
01:01:38That's your pick for 18.
01:01:40What do you think, Joey?
01:01:42It's tough because Fishers – Fishers is scary too.
01:01:46It's Cutthroat, Fishers, or Top Shelf.
01:01:48Those are my three picks, but I'm going to go Top Shelf just because I know some guys – or I know of that team.
01:01:54Is that a Florida team?
01:01:55Pretty sure it's a Top Shelf from Georgia, the South Georgia Top Shelf.
01:02:00The little incident, but yeah.
01:02:02Yeah, I think Thin Airs, Colorado, J&I is up in the Northwest.
01:02:07I-57 is having a B team, and Chick-fil-A is having a B team.
01:02:11Those should be interesting.
01:02:13GTL with Chris Benigno, trying to gather all those players that used to play conference up there.
01:02:20They're going to play a Northwest schedule.
01:02:23It would be interesting.
01:02:24Charm Builders –
01:02:24They were ranked number one for B, I think, last year throughout most of the year.
01:02:27Yeah, and then Charm Builders is the Ohio team that finished second at the B, I think.
01:02:34I guess they didn't bump any B teams.
01:02:37I think you're right about Cutthroat.
01:02:39F1s is interesting because of the amount of talent in Texas.
01:02:42I also am going Cutthroat here with Charm Builders, Fishers, F1s, probably the Dark Horses.
01:02:55And I don't know anything about Top Shelf or Twisted D myself.
01:03:00Is a C team allowed to make the major?
01:03:02Like, in a rare scenario where one of those new conference C teams do really well on the West Coast for a few tournaments?
01:03:07I think I would have to read the details on the B even because I think they said Fishers was the only B team that paid the full price.
01:03:17The rest paid the B-C price, which means I don't think they can make the major unless they're headed – maybe if they're headed for the major, they can.
01:03:25Or maybe they just won't get the 2,000 kickback from the hotel rooms and so on and so forth.
01:03:29I'm not 100%.
01:03:31So let me check into that for the next show.
01:03:33I'll try to find out exactly.
01:03:35But those are our rankings for 2025.
01:03:39I want to thank you guys for coming in and good luck this week.
01:03:43I know Joey, you're battling some injuries.
01:03:47Dan, you might have to play some outfield, which you've done your whole life.
01:03:53So I don't think that's a problem.
01:03:54Sorry, Dan.
01:03:56Final thoughts?
01:03:57That's okay, Joey.
01:03:57Final thoughts from Joey.
01:03:59I know you have to – you have work.
01:04:00You both have work, but final thoughts, Joey.
01:04:04No, man, just excited to be here.
01:04:07Really thankful for our sponsors, Charles, Lex, Dan, Pat, Danny Hacker, JJ.
01:04:13Like, appreciate – it's the first time I've been a part of a group that things are panning out the way I was told they're panning out.
01:04:19So I really appreciate that.
01:04:21I'm excited to start my third year in the conference and looking forward to seeing some of my buddies now from Florida getting their shot in the conference too.
01:04:29So I'm looking forward to a great year and happy to have Dan leading the way for us.
01:04:34Yeah, Proton is back and 43 teams in the conference, actually.
01:04:40J-cap at checkout, baby.
01:04:43Dan, final thoughts?
01:04:44I'm 14th year in the conference this year, so a little more than Joey.
01:04:51It's always a fun time.
01:04:53So I'm just excited to get out there and see all the guys that I've played on different teams with and chop it up again.
01:05:00It's always a crapshoot.
01:05:02The conference is becoming a little more level playing field throughout, so I'm excited to see a lot of the upsets.
01:05:07I'm excited to see some teams gel together.
01:05:09Hopefully nobody beats us.
01:05:10I think we've got a really good chance based on what we've built together and the core that they have bringing back from last year.
01:05:16Chemistry is something that people overthink all the time.
01:05:20And if you can get the right mix, guys, sometimes not the talent, but the chemistry can win some games, especially in the right moment.
01:05:28So I'm excited for that.
01:05:29I'm thankful for the sponsors, but just excited to see everybody in Florida and beyond.
01:05:34Yeah, straight play, double-A champs.
01:05:36Last year, double-dipped in the finals, but you had a shot at both games.
01:05:41You were right there with Rizmondo for the Major World Series title.
01:05:45We've got to change that rule, DW.
01:05:48The flip?
01:05:49If you lose in the Major and you go to the loser's bracket, you can't be better seen.
01:05:56Flip the coin.
01:05:57No, not the point.
01:05:58They were given the home team.
01:06:01You're just saying that if you're in the sit-back, if you win the winter final, you should be home in the championship.
01:06:06Yeah, if you're 5-0 and the other team is 6-1, you should be home.
01:06:11What did they do in the if game?
01:06:13It was Rizmondo home.
01:06:14I don't remember.
01:06:15They were home the whole time.
01:06:17Yeah.
01:06:17Yeah.
01:06:18Automatic.
01:06:19Okay.
01:06:19Yeah, no, they took advantage of it.
01:06:22They won, what, five games in the last at-bat during the Major League.
01:06:26They earned it.
01:06:27We know the rules, so let's just win the onesie this year, so we can't complain.
01:06:31So, Rizmondo's a favorite.
01:06:33I want to thank Bernie and Kelly in the background for the show.
01:06:36You guys, Dan and Joey, for coming on.
01:06:39Good luck, and we'll see you Thursday morning, 8 a.m., first game, and we're going to play a bunch of softball over the next four days.
01:06:49So, safe travels to everybody, and good luck.
01:06:52Thanks.
01:06:53And go, Gators.
01:06:54National championship last night.
01:06:55Oh, yeah.
01:06:57I want a little money.
01:07:00I want a little money.
01:07:30I want a little money.
01:08:00You