Steve:
That, it's all doubt. That's why she's in her fifth year. That's why she's gone back. Right. Oh, looks like we're live. Klein put us on. Here we go. The twinsies. We're live. Good job there.

Chris: Sports Porch

Steve: Well, they saw your beard and they said, we better put this guy on pause.

Chris: Yeah, right. Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I don't know why we can't get on there.

Marc: Maybe they have to make sure that there's funds in the account.

Chris: Um, yeah, that's a possibility as well. Checks in the mail. Yeah. Well, it's instant. So, you know, you know, I'm not telling Elon Musk, there's a check in the mail. I don't think he cares about that. I don't think he cares about my $84 either.

Steve: He definitely cares about your beard. Yeah.

Chris: It was $84. I was ready for that. $84 for the premium for the year. That's still a lot. That's $14 a month. No, it's $7 a month. Don't try and do math. Don't do it to yourself.

Steve: We were doing it on our previous show. $6.72. Yeah.

Chris: Okay. So the two cheap asses next to me here are together because the Grand Schwabini and Hockey Jesus are on the same camera because Hockey Jesus, as smart as he is, forgot to bring his computer to where I heard some dumb story you were telling earlier when I was setting up the whole friggin show.

Steve: It's not a dumb story. The story goes, did you ever go to work and just wanted to leave?

Chris: Yeah, every fucking time. Right. So do I. Not really, Trader Joe's.

Steve: Not really. Normally, I, you know, just pack my, you know, computer up and I know it's time to leave. Right. I wanted to leave so badly today. I just left. Oh, really? It just happens like that.

Chris: And you left your computer at work, is what you're saying.

Steve: That's it. And I could have gone back for it, right?

Marc: But why? Sometimes it's like that on the plant floor.

Chris: Well, you had a show. You had something very important to do. And I'm here. Yeah.

Steve: Nobody is any worse for it. In fact, Mark and I are twinsies today.

Chris: Actually, I think it works. I am worse for it because you've been ruthless. The closer you guys get together in proximity, the more the shit you throw at me. Yeah, yeah, exactly. See, that's what I'm talking about. All right, so what are we going to talk about? What are we going to talk about on the sports porch? Well, of course, we're going to talk buckos. They clawed their way back to a very important milestone. It's kind of unfortunate for me because I did make a promise that I know some I remember, you know, I thought about bringing it up and then not bring it up. Don't worry, it was coming out. I know we're we're taught. We'll talk about that in a little bit. Paul Skeens is starting the All-Star Game tomorrow. I mean, I think that's pretty cool. We'll talk about that. He was pulled this past week after 99 pitches and seven innings of no hit ball. A lot of people have already weighed in all over this town about that, and we're going to weigh in ourselves. H.J., I don't know if H.J. has anything he wants to talk about. There's always hockey to talk about. That's right. And, of course, the Grand Schwabini, does he have a prediction? I sure do. Okay, he does. The Grand Schwabini has a prediction. We will have Trader Joe's snack time. Does it involve Taylor Swift? We will try to stump the Yenzer.

Marc: It does not involve Taylor Swift, but we will do it immediately after the pirate segment. Oh, okay.

Chris: There's a little hint there. All-star edition. And then, of course, we're going to do what we're watching and tell you a little bit about some of the things we've been streaming or watching in the movie theater or what have you. So, uh, looking forward to a great show. Um, and yes, my beard is getting bigger and yes, we'll just address it right now. It needs to be shaved and trimmed and I will do that. Um, but you know, the only other person in this room who can talk to me about that is Steve because Mark can't physically grow a beard. Oh, I can. Oh yeah. He could. I shaved today. Oh really? Yeah. Are you sure about that? Okay. All right. All right, so the Buccos blast their way back to 500 at the All-Star break. Paul Skeens pulled after a 99-pitch, 7-inning, no-hit bid. Let's talk about that.

Marc: I guess we'll just never know if he can pitch a no-hitter. Well, he's already pitched two this year.

Chris: Well, what was five or six innings and then a 7-inning? I mean, that's the equivalent of a no-hitter plus.

Marc: We'll just never know because they're afraid that his arm is going to fall off. I know. I know. It's ridiculous. And drift off into a sewer somewhere.

Steve: Well, they got to save his arm for the trade value when it comes.

Chris: Yeah.

Steve: Right. Right. And I'm thinking about the here and now. That's never been the pirates. They're thinking about don't let his arm fall off for three years from now when he'll be worth seven prospects. And that's all they really think about.

Chris: Yeah, I you know, it sounds to me like the three of us are on the same page for this.

Steve: But let's talk about that game a little bit.

Marc: OK, it would be it would be nice to You know, I do have a question for you as our big Pirates fan here, Steve. I'm trying. In listening to you speak about this, where it seems like the inevitability is he's going to be traded in three or four years, like, so are you basically saying that right now what you're doing is you're watching like the Yankees minor league baseball team?

Steve: No, what I'm trying, what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to just savor the next two or three years, including this year, because I think this is it for us for the next decade. Like this is, this is, this is all we have. So, you know, when, when I left work on Thursday, when Skeens was pitching, by the way, I didn't know he was pitching. I didn't have it on the radio in the car on the way over, but I stopped at Permanee's and I got a beer and I got a sandwich before I went up to the distillery. And, there, the game was on and I'm like, Oh, great. Skeens is pitching. Oh my God. It's a no hitter. And then he was pitching in the, in the seventh inning and I saw him straight six. I mean, you mean, no, he made it three seven or three seven.

Chris: I'm sorry. Yeah.

Steve: So it was, it was the seventh inning when I sat down and I watched him strike out the last batter and I'm like, awesome. Oh shit. They're only up by one run. They're going to pull him. I know they are. Cause I, I just felt like, you know, if they were up by three, maybe they let them pitch, you know, just to see the novelty of it. But because it was close, it was like, well, you know, you bring in Holderman is the setup guy. And then, you know, you see if he can close it out the ninth, I just knew it was going to happen. And, but it was actually kind of fun to go after work, to go to a bar, and there were like three guys there at Permani Brothers watching the game, and they were like, boy, Skeen's really had his good stuff today, you know, 11 strikeouts, and everybody was there talking about it. It's kind of nice to see in Pittsburgh, so I'm actually looking forward to having that as something to do during the dead zone, now that it's here.

Marc: Although going with the, let's talk about the game, Um, you texted me. I also did not know that the pirates were on TV. And so, you know, he, he texts me, I pull up ESPN, I see seven innings, no hit ball. I go and I turn the TV on. And the scene that I get to see is, you know, all these people shaking his hand, like, good job, you're done.

Chris: I happen to be at work and there's a very avid Pirates fan, a guy named Warren that I work with. He's like in his 60s, I think, and he's like all baseball, all Pirates all the time. So when they're playing, yeah, he had big top, he, he, I'm going to call him that. And when I see him, he, he, he always updates me. He's got it on his phone. He's always like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he's like, so this, you know, schemes is pitching a no hitter. And he's like, I bet they pull them. And I was like, no way. You can't do that now.

Steve: They didn't have the pitch count on the television. So I had to actually go onto my phone and look it up. Yeah. They really need to work on some of their graphics because no, literally, like, I mean, that would be a good thing. Like, okay. The pitch count would be good. Like, do you really need to know if it's balls or strikes? No. Do you need the countdown clock for the pitch clock? Yeah. You need that up there, but you should have a pitch clock pitch count up there too. A lot of times they do.

Marc: Well, usually it flashes. It'll be like three in one and then it'll flash and then it'll go off.

Chris: Yeah. I don't know what's going on with your mics, Robert, but you just have to be a little closer to it. That's all.

Marc: Now, how do you actually know you're not listening to this from another place?

Chris: I can hear you. I can hear it. Oh. Yeah. I'm that good. I am that good.

Marc: He is the technical director. He would be. I mean, this thing is basically against my mouth. Yeah. Well. I don't know what else you want me to do.

Steve: That's the way it's always been. Well, you could spit on that thing. Yeah.

Chris: You know, we got it and we got it in the show. Okay. So, so on the Graham official, Chris Chada says, uh, the Dodgers pulled Kershaw, I think twice while on his way to a no hitter. I could be wrong, but I don't think he's ever got a no hitter and his career is, you know, ending. I say, let's go for it. And that was the thing that we were talking about right after that happened when they pulled him. Yeah. Like look, skeins is great. He's great. There's no question about it. Okay. Um, but A no-hitter is not an easy thing to do. He may never get this close again, and he could still end up being a Hall of Famer.

Marc: Right. Yeah, I agree. It's like you never know.

Steve: It's hard to get that close. I agree. Even though it is exciting to see a good pitcher like that after work, and you're just turning it on, it's equally as disappointing to watch him then get pulled when it's a no-hitter. He's got 11 strikes, and clearly he's dominating.

Marc: Yeah, and here's the thing, too, that I'll say is that now they did end up winning the game. But I would also say that it was barely it was not a good baseball decision. No, it was not. Because their best chance to win a one run game is for him to keep pitching. Yes. That's number one. And number two, I mean, so they take him out and then, you know, the the brewers, obviously now they have life. They're like, oh, great.

Chris: Oh, good. We don't have to face him anymore. Good picture is gone.

Marc: Two hits in a row. Yeah. And then, of course, the Brewers, they decide like, hey, well, are they just decide like, well, they've given up two hits now, so let's just give them a free out.

Steve: Yeah. Yeah, they did. They did. They blew it. They really should have scored a run with those bases loaded.

Chris: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and you're taking a big risk. You're taking a big risk on a number of levels. First of all, he may never do it again. Now, do I think he's got a decent chance? Yeah, right now, his stuff is that good. But it's still almost impossible. You're asking him to do, well they don't ask you to throw a no hitter, but you're asking him to do something that's almost impossible yet again.

Steve: When a guy with this much talent starts pitching, he's going to be at his best. What's going to happen is after teams get enough tape on him and they notice something, he's going to have to change it up and he's going to have to do something different again. That's when you'll know if he'll be a great pitcher.

Chris: that's what happens with all the greats now that's the that's the other side of this you know we're all on the same page in this case i'd have left them in you'd have left them in we all would have left them in i think i think that most of pittsburgh most buckos fans now i did hear some dissenting opinions on the radio, you know, save his arm, you know, coming into the new age, these pitchers, they throw curveballs at eight at eight years old and all that. You know, to me, it's like that. That's a garbage argument to me, but it doesn't matter. But I would say if we were to take a poll, you would probably see a majority, maybe maybe seven percent, 70 percent, excuse me, of the fans out there would have said left them in. You know, I think it would be in the nine. Yeah. And John, who's watching us on YouTube says pulling him was professional malpractice. Right on, John. They think if he gets more accolades, the Yankees won't give him their postdated check waiting. Right. Exactly. So they'll get the check. Don't worry, John. So let's let's move on from that. And let's talk about the all star start, because this is something that H.J. here kind of nailed when he said weeks ago, weeks ago, Yeah. You know, Steve was saying, like Skeens is going to be on the all star team and he's going to be the starter. And after that, no hit or have we already knew he'd been named to the all star game. Right. But after that, no hit or happen. He was named the star. That was a foregone conclusion. Yeah. Once that happened. But for sure. But I want to know what everybody thinks about that. You know, old school, new school. I definitely will concede it's exciting. It's pretty cool for Pittsburgh, for the Pirates. It's great. I love it. But do I think Paul Skeens should be the all-star starting pitcher? Um, you know, I'm kind of 50 50 on it, to be honest with you. Whereas last week I was against it. You are very much. I was very much against it. But then I remembered and went back and looked at, at some of the history, the last guy to do it was Deo Nomo. You know, now he was a rookie in the major leagues. He had pitched in Japan for a few years. But that being said, it was his first year in the major league. Right. So and he was dominant, but not as not as as dominant as Skeens has been. So nobody has been as dominant. Yeah. I mean. You know, as a Buccos fan, OK, great. I think it's awesome.

Steve: You know, you should rethink that because it's not just the pirates that are excited about this. Major League Baseball is excited about Skeens getting the start. They all want to see him pitch. Yeah. Everybody's talking about him. So why not put them up there, put Livvy Dunn on the screen too, and get it going. I mean, make him the new face of Major League Baseball with that cheesy mustache and the acne face. I mean, come on, let's go. Yeah, that's what Pittsburgh's all about. I mean, teenage.

Marc: We're proud of it. Teenage boys can look at that, that acne and say, I can be in the major leagues.

Steve: Yeah, I don't need to be very shaven and all American. I can wear a cheesy mustache and get the girl to. Yeah, I can. I can. If I can pitch. Oh, by the way. Yeah, you do have to pitch 101 miles per hour and have a six second pitch. Yeah, which not very many people do.

Chris: Yeah. Yeah.

Steve: So, you know, OK, so put up John's comment there about the Skeens versus Judge. I got it. I got it. I got it.

Chris: I got a little gripe. OK, so Skeens Skeens versus Judge will get publicity.

Steve: And here's the problem that the stupid the stupid manager for the American League did. He put Judge in the fourth position. He put he put him in the hole. in the first inning. So why would you do that? I mean, it's very possible that, you know, skeins mows down the first three guys or at least gets three outs and then he doesn't get the pitch against judge. Why would Bruce Bochy do that? What an idiot. Like this is an exhibition game. This is not about, well, that's where judge bats. It's exhibition. Everybody wants to see judge, judge pitch. Who's in the, who's the first three spots? Um, some jabroni Soto. And I think maybe, maybe Henderson, I think. I think Gunner is in the third. Yeah.

Marc: But there, there was some guy. I think Gunner's leading off.

Steve: No, no, there was some guy in leading off. He said, oh, I thought I'd be batting like eighth or something like that. So he was the surprise. That's what I thought. I thought they'd put Gunner in the first position, Soto and then Judge. That would be the three guys I would want to see Skeen's pitch against. Yeah. Well, I don't think there's a… It's not a foregone conclusion that he's going to get all three out.

Chris: Yeah, and it's also not a foregone conclusion that he's going to pitch one inning, but he's probably only going to pitch one inning.

Steve: Yeah, I mean, that's the way they do it these days. There's no longer Phil Necro out there, you know, pitching four innings. Good old Phil Necro. Didn't he retire last year, Phil Necro? Yeah, I think he has like 17,000 strikeouts.

Chris: And his brother Joe is still pitching in the minors. We are old.

Steve: We're just a bunch of old guys making fun of ourselves.

Marc: In the Mexican league, Joe Negro. The only person who can tell you truly what Skeens is going to do is the Grand Schwabini.

Chris: So here we go. The Grand Schwabini is with us and the Grand Schwabini is going to make a prediction. I'm going to go back to Skeens after that, by the way. But what is the Grand Schwabini predicting this week? Because you did predict Skeens will get the all-star start, and you were correct last week. Well, he's correct.

Marc: Yep. And I'm still looking good on Jack Cywinski. He got me nervous getting up to like 183, but he's back in the 170s.

Chris: And he's batting 9th now, too. So, yeah.

Marc: So, go ahead. So, Mr. Skeens. He will face four batters. He will give up one single and there will be two strikeouts and one pop out.

Steve: There you go. We know exactly what's going to happen.

Marc: Lock it in. The Grand Schwabini has spoken and the truth is brought to you through magic.

Chris: Only the Grand Troubini predicts. That sounds great. So he's going to give up a single, strike out two, and a pop-up. We will get to see him bat against Judge. Judge is going to be pitching against Judge. That's a pretty specific prediction. I like it.

Marc: He's going to strike out the first two, and then Soto is going to single, and then Judge is going to pop out.

Chris: There you go. Straight from the mouth. Big league pop-up. A deep ball to right field. Yeah. Deep, deep fly ball.

Steve: I like it.

Chris: Okay. So I want to go back to schemes here real quick, because I had one more thing that I wanted to throw by you guys. And that is, there has been talk. Now it's just talk. Talk or chatter? A little of both. Some talk and some chatter. It starts as talk and degenerates into chatter, or it begins as chatter and evolves into talk. I've heard it both ways. There is a contingent of fans and news media that are pushing for the Pirates to start to negotiate with Paul Skeens right now on a long-term deal. I don't want to talk about whether or not we think the pirates would do that because I haven't heard that at all because wait, because I, I like this.

Steve: I like where this gets going though.

Chris: Yeah. I don't want to talk right now about whether or not the pirates would, would ever do that because that's a different discussion because in general the answer would be absolutely not. Okay. So the question is, would you, I think next year if we just ride things out the way we are on, he's on a rookie deal, blah, blah, blah. Next year I think he makes 800 grand. And then the year after that, I think he's arbitration eligible.

Steve: I think he gets one more year at that, like, probably.

Chris: That's what I'm saying. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. The year after that, he's arbitration eligible.

Steve: And after that, it's going to jump in the 10, 20 millions.

Chris: And this is all, we're going to make the assumption that he is continuing to pitch. at this level or close to it. John on YouTube watching says he'll throw for 104 miles an hour based on the prediction you made, Schwaber. And then Pat on track says, I can't believe I live with you weirdos. Neither can we. Yeah. Yeah. We can't believe it either. So would you negotiate with him now, like through the rest of this year and try to sign him to a long-term deal or a three-year deal. I've heard numbers, you know, three years, $180 million, you know, $60 million a year. You know, let's lock him up now. Five years, $250 million, $50 million a year. And of course, we know baseball contracts are guaranteed. So, you're paying this kid now. Would you do that? Well, hey, anybody, anybody.

Steve: I mean, I, I'm ready to go, but I want to hear Schwab yesterday.

Marc: First of all, number one, uh, the pirates aren't even considering it.

Chris: That's not been reported. That's that's correct.

Marc: Yeah. Number two. Um, if you don't have to do it right now, why would you, you know, because you know, then you're paying a boatload of money. to a guy that you don't have to give a boatload of money to right now. Right. The only upside to signing him now would be that you're showing other players in the league that you're serious about winning. right, which could attract other talent, you know, through free agency. But then again, you have to not stop right there. And you have to work aggressively to sign free agents in the offseason, which doesn't seem to be their path. You know, so I really think this is just way too many hypotheticals. You know, and to be honest, let's let's also be clear about if you're Paul Skeens, right? Right. If you're Paul Skeens, he's I mean, look now, Of course, you got the injury question, right? Yep. But, you know, if he believes that he won't get injured and he'll have longer than a three-year Major League Baseball career, then why would he want to commit himself to a team that might not have interest in winning?

Steve: OK, Steve. So I actually would not. And here's why. You already have him signed basically for the next three years. One of those is probably arbitration. So you're going to pay a little bit of money in that third year for him, but not what he's going to get on the open market. So I say do that and do the rookie quarterback deal that they do in the NFL. Take that money that you're going to have to spend on him, spend it on guys now, surround them with great players, and see what happens in three years. And if it works out, then you pay the damn guy in three years a billion dollars or whatever he's going to end up getting. And that's where the pirates will go off the cliff and that'll be the end of it. And instead of taking the money they would have spent on him now, and spend it on other players, nutting will put it right in his pocket. And this is what the pirates do. So would I rather see them sign him now and have him for the next five years and pay the money up front now? Yes, I would rather see that because that means I know we're going to have him at least for five years then and not just probably two, probably two, maybe three.

Chris: So you're saying, so you're saying, yes, do it if it's a five year deal, something like that.

Steve: I would say I would like to see the pirates do that because then I know he will stay because I know after two or three years they will not do that.

Chris: Right. Exactly. And you're saying don't, don't do it at all.

Marc: Well, I just don't think it makes any it doesn't make good business sense. Right. I mean, but but the key, though, the key, though, is if you want him to be on the pirates, right, if you want him to want to stay here. Right. When, you know, you're going to extend him three years from now. Right. Then you have to spend the money that you would, let's say, spend on schemes now on four or five writers who actually play who could turn the team into a winner.

Chris: Or even one or two superstars. Right. Well, that leads us to the Buccos 48-48 record heading into the All-Star break. I mean, that is in large part because of the starting pitching. In large part. So, do they really need two or three stars if their pitching remains consistent? And that's a big if in Major League Baseball. But if their pitching remains consistent, do they just need one? You know, imagine adding a Vlad Guerrero Jr. to this lineup with the pitching you have. You can add probably five or six wins. Easy.

Steve: Without a couple guys. You can pitch around that one guy. You need a couple. That's why you need a couple. Right. That's that's that's the only reason I would have.

Marc: As you like to say, Chris, who on the Pirates in the Pirates lineup scares you?

Chris: Yeah. Nobody. Well, right now, Brian Reynolds a little bit. Yeah. Reynolds can get on base. Yeah. And, and, and, uh, John, again on YouTube, that isn't nutting logic. We know that. You're absolutely right, John. You know what the thing about the thing about, um, and Marvin just joined us on Facebook. Want to get him in? Good evening, fellas. What time do you come on? I like the show. 7.30, buddy. 7.30 Eastern time. So thanks for being here. And Marvin, if you want, you can always subscribe to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your friggin' podcast. It was perfect. It was a perfect lead into that. So you can catch up on the show. Well done. So, you know, I completely lost my train of thought. That's okay. We were done with it. 48 record, yeah. I think that, uh, Reynolds scares me a little bit. This is where we were going with that. Um, if O'Neill Cruz can, can, can come into his own and somebody, you know, mentioned this on the radio last week, they said, remember his industry or his, his injury was almost catastrophic. You know, he didn't even play winter ball. Right. So he came back into spring training pretty much. And it was an, if, if not, when, you know what I mean? It was an if he starts the season and he ended up starting the season. So I think he, you know, you've got to kind of push expectations out for him to the second half of this year and just say, okay, now maybe he's got enough of his, um, Moxie back and he's not as nervous about injuring himself again. And let's see where that goes. Because if he can, if he can turn his bat around, I mean, the guy hits monster home runs and he's fast and he plays a pretty good shortstop. So you could add, you know, Reynolds and Cruz. Now you've got two guys that can hit pretty well. And so now you're still, you haven't gone outside the organization. Nick Gonzalez has shown that he's coming back. He can hang in there with major league pitching. Then then you've got Joey Bart all of a sudden, who was a one one pick a few years back playing catcher. I mean, you can forget about Henry Davis as far as I'm concerned. And I don't know why people are saying I don't know why people are talking about Andy Rodriguez coming back. He didn't really show us anything last year. I mean, he wasn't bad, but now he wasn't up here long enough.

Steve: That'd be a position. I'd like them to go get a real major league baseball catcher.

Chris: Yeah. Well, Joey Bart is, is a good catcher.

Steve: He had, if he's the guy, then let's get him going.

Chris: Right. And, and he's shown that, you know, that one, one status, he had a couple down years and there were some issues in San Francisco. Um, and, and they were talking about that. So I guess the point I'm making is they're 48 and 48. Their pitching is pretty good and they've got some guys on the roster now that do have promise. So would I go out and sign schemes, this is my answer to my own question, would I go out and try to negotiate with him now to a longer term deal and pay him money? No, I wouldn't because he's only had 12 starts at the major league level. Now they've been fantastic starts. Absolutely fantastic. The guys start in the all-star game. It's probably going to be one of the most watched all-star games in recent history just because, and most people are probably going to watch the first inning and then turn it off. Oh yeah.

Steve: As long as they get the ratings in the first inning, that's all they care about.

Chris: That's all that matters. So I would not do it because I don't think we've seen enough of Paul Skeens to know that he is going to be this good.

Marc: We don't even know if his name is Skeens or Skennis.

Chris: uh john on youtube says the pirates are the washington generals they are there for entertainment not wins or championships uh yes i i mean it's a little harsh but it's not far from the truth right because you know it's really more like they're not even really entertaining for us. Skiing has been the only thing that's been entertaining in the last 10 years.

Marc: By the way, the Major League Baseball draft was last night, and I believe the Pirates did have a top 10 pick. They took a pitcher. They took a pitcher?

Chris: Yeah. Another pitcher. Yeah, they took another. Oh, no, wait a minute. I didn't watch it. Yeah, they did. I think they took a pitcher. I think the Orioles took a shortstop. Or did they take a shortstop? Look it up. Look it up. It's not important. Yeah. I saw it and I kind of ignored it. I know. Uh, Chris Chada on Instagram says, wouldn't it be nice if the offense could consistently give you three to four runs a game? It's feast or famine shut out one game and they score 12 fronts. The next. Yeah, it would be nice. It would be nice. Uh, Pat Combs Schwaber, Pat Combs must be a rookie pitcher, right?

Steve: Yeah. Did well one year. is the guys did poorly. The next. Yeah, I'm not. I'm just going to go with that.

Marc: I think that sounds like a former Philly.

Chris: It does sound like a former Philly. Yeah. Yeah. Pat off track again. Maybe he's reminding him of Pat Combs.

Marc: He's just Pat's just sitting there thinking about major league baseball players with his same name.

Chris: Yeah. Yeah, Pat. So, okay, while Mark's looking up the draft pick for the Pirates, it's time to move on to something that I love. It's called Stump the Yinzer. Oh, and I've been on a roll lately. You have been on a roll, but I think I've got you this time.

Steve: You think you got me this time? You're going to have to get me one of these times. Maybe, maybe. I mean, you got me half of the time on that one from, I think it was Lemieux. No, that was Joey Mullin.

Chris: No, Joey Mullin. Yeah. No, I didn't. No, you got the year. I missed the year by one year. Okay. What is Stump the Yinzer? Well, Steve here is our resident Yinzer, born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. It's from a family full of proud Yinzers. What we do is we ask him a Pittsburgh related question, mostly sports. And if he gets it wrong, he has a chance to get it right. And if he doesn't, the Grand Schwabini gets a chance to guess as well. The steal. And if he gets it right, he becomes an honorary Yinzer for the week. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's a badge of honor. For any of us. Yeah. So here's our question for the Yinzer. You're going to get this. Who was the pirates last knuckleballer?

Steve: I thought they were damn pirates. Yeah.

Chris: Well, it's baseball season.

Steve: What do you want us to do? Come on, everybody knows this. It's Tim Wakefield. Schwaber?

Chris: Just say you're right, Yenzer. Who was the Pirates' last knuckleballer?

Marc: Well, there's only one, Wakefield.

Steve: Yeah, I'm trying to think if there was another. That is correct. You are still the Yenzer. Yeah. I don't think there was another, actually. I think he may be the only knuckleballer in pirates history. Yeah, we could we could look that at least since 1970, which is, you know, yeah, an important year for all of us. Yeah.

Chris: The year we were all created, which I don't like to think about.

Steve: Created or coming out. Yeah. Both.

Chris: Uh, yeah, I don't know where you're the one that went to see a movie about a girl who goes through puberty. So now, uh, should have gone to, all right. Are you guys, uh, no, I should not have gone.

Marc: I saw the first one pirates pick ninth overall Connor Griffin. Uh, And I will tell you, shortstop is that shortstop.

Chris: Yeah, I remember that now because I thought to myself, school or probably I thought to myself, they have a shortstop. His name's O'Neill Cruz. What are they doing?

Steve: They're drafting for 2030.

Chris: OK, thank you very much. Are you guys a little hungry?

Steve: I could go for a snack. You guys are.

Chris: Yeah, OK.

Marc: That time looks like incredible.

Chris: Taste the biscuit. Taste the goodness of the biscuit.

Marc: Taste the honey sauce. Taste the goodness of the biscuit with that honey sauce. Don't get that honey sauce on me. I don't like the way it tastes with my chicken wings.

Chris: All right. This is Trader Joe's snack time. Yes, it is. So what is that? Well, everybody knows I work at Trader Joe's. Great place to work. Great store to buy food at. Wonderful atmosphere. Love the people there. They did not officially sponsor this. They are not an official sponsor of the show, but they did give me permission to do this. So thank you to them for that. What do we do? Well, we have a snack time every week. I bring home a Trader Joe's product and I try it out with the guys and we give our honest opinion. This week, this is another snack. Last week we had everything but the bagel, potato chips. They were awesome. They were good. With the crunchy chili onion mix and sour cream. They were delicious. I had a stomach ache because I finished all of it later that night. You brought out all the stops last week. This week we have Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites. Uh-oh. Yeah, there you go.

Marc: These could go good or bad. I always love the reactions I get. I don't even like mac and cheese. No. This is good. Uh-oh.

Steve: Good, good, good. This might be something Mark doesn't like.

Chris: There they are. Mac and Cheese Bites. They do look good in the bowl. There you go. I have to give it to you. Be careful. They might still be a little hot. Not really. Yep. Okay. So basically they're just, it's deep fried mac and cheese for you health food nuts out there.

Steve: Oh yeah, this is not going to be healthy. But I can already, I already know they're good. I can, I can see the way Schwaber's chowing into it. Pretty good.

Chris: Yeah. These are delicious.

Marc: Maybe a little ketchup would work. How many calories are they?

Chris: I threw the box away.

Steve: You know, it's probably like,

Chris: 75 calories per serving size is three and a half serving sizes. So approximately three of these is considered a serving size.

Steve: Three. So, yeah, you got to figure you're over 200 calories. Three for 225. Somewhere in there. One more.

Chris: Come on, have another one. I made them.

Marc: That's it, though.

Chris: Really easy to make in the air fryer and in my Ninja air fryer 425 at about 12 minutes or something.

Steve: Yeah, I love my Ninja air fryer. It's excellent.

Chris: Schwab is slobbering.

Steve: What's going on over there, Schwabber?

Chris: Where's Sassy? She needs to come over. She was sleeping. Yeah, she's totally sleeping. She's out. Pat off track says Mark is probably lactose adjacent. Oh wow.

Steve: That's a new one. What is lactose adjacent? He's thrown out new terms. I don't know. I don't like this new term.

Chris: I don't like that either. I think that's a, that's gotta be a, Oh well, whatever. Um, okay. So that was Trader Joe's snack time. Go get some Mac bites. Yep. Go get some Trader Joe's Mac and cheese bites. They're pretty damn good. Are you going to pick that up, Schwama? I'm leaving it for your dog.

Marc: Oh, OK. Very nice.

Chris: Very nice, thank you, Trader Joe's. I love these things, by the way. I'm eating tons of them.

Steve: I'm glad I ate a good dinner before I came over, because I would probably eat two more of those.

Chris: I mean, I set the show up for you guys. The first thing these guys do when they walk in now is they go, you got Trader Joe's ready? Are you ready?

Steve: Well, I mean, sometimes you get a little bit behind. Yeah, I'll say. I'll say. So we're just trying to keep you on track.

Chris: All right, gotcha. I have a feeling. Mike Lawrence says, sorry, internet look up. somebody named Danny Boone pitched for the Pirates in 1981 in 1990 throwing 80% knuckleball.

Steve: I appreciate that.

Chris: There you go. Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Lawrence.

Steve: Mike Lawrence. 1981. Danny Boone. That is now that's real trivia, right?

Chris: That is real trivia. Awesome stuff, man. Great contribution. Absolutely love it. John on YouTube. When will TJ's make Taylor Swift dried sushi chips?

Steve: Wow, I love it. I love the idea, John. John's on track there. I don't know. I'm going to say never. Never say never. You put Taylor Swift on something, it's going to sell out. Yeah, true. But yeah, so. I don't know if you're allowed, but hey.

Chris: Pat off track says, good show, boys. Finally, he's back on track. Oh, we got a trophy from Pat. OK. That's what we've always wanted. All right. Now, next thing, next thing we want to talk about here. These comments keep rolling in and I love it. I don't see any on Instagram. Uh, 81 strike year. Uh, and John says he's lactose obtuse. So yeah, here we go off the rails. Thanks Pat for that. Really appreciate it. Okay. Um, what we're doing right now is what we are watching. And what is that? Well, it's what we're watching. So there's millions and millions of shows on the internet now, different kinds of streaming services. And we're three old guys that have a little bit of time on our hands once in a while. So we like to stream stuff and watch stuff. So we're going to talk to you about what we've been watching lately and we'll tell you whether it's good or bad. We'll give you that opportunity to either find something great to watch or avoid something so you don't waste. I mean, How long do you let a show go on before you're like, I'm out? A show or a movie?

Steve: I usually watch the whole thing regardless.

Chris: The whole season or you'll just watch the first show? Let's talk about a season, you know, a show.

Steve: It depends. If the season's like seven seasons, no, I'll like, I'll be out after two if I'm not going to watch it. after two shows or seasons seasons oh wow like in the second season you'll give it two seasons i feel like you've the first season because here's what i did with breaking bad right i watched the first three episodes and i was like people are stupid this is the dumbest show of all time there's no way i'm going to watch eight seasons of this shit depressing as hell Yeah, I'm like these characters are crap and then I and then literally I don't know six months eight nine months go by and I'm like Okay, I'm gonna give it I'm gonna give it some more time and sure enough man You get to like that fifth episode in the first season You are on a roller coaster ride the whole way to the three minute third season No, I thought I thought in the first season before once he like figured out exactly who he was going to be Yeah, that was it man. He just It was like a rocket ship.

Marc: That's why I thought the last episode of season one was the one that did it where he dropped the bomb

Steve: Yeah, that was that was that was that was definitely it but even before that I could tell like he's gonna be a character that I'm gonna want to watch.

Chris: Alright, so that answer was way longer than I thought it was gonna be but I have a better understanding of you now. How about you? How long will you let something go on before you're like, I'm out?

Marc: Maybe like three or four episodes. Yeah, you know something like that. I mean, I'll only go longer. if uh somebody's really imploring me like hey you gotta stick it out for five six seven eight you know or something like that but yeah i'm out i'm out fairly quick so it's all about character development if they don't develop quick

Steve: They gotta be developed by the beginning of the second season.

Marc: Well, not always, though. I mean, there's also just the entertainment value, too. Like, you know, is it entertaining? You know, like, I could watch a series that's action. That's like, look, it's not a great series, right? Right, right. Like, for example, like, you know, there's a good example of that, like, remember Shooter? Yeah. I mean, look, it's not gonna win any awards or anything. Right. It's not great acting, but you know what? Like, every single episode was exciting.

Steve: Oh, by the way, I'm getting, I'm getting texts about the national anthem for the Home Run Derby just being absolutely awful.

Marc: Yeah. It says the lady had four grand.

Steve: I'm getting my ears are bleeding from a guy at work.

Chris: Pat off track says Fonzie was shit in the pilot. Of course he's talking about happy days. But I loved happy days. OK, so what we are watching this week, we're going to start with H.J. again. Again? Yeah, why not? I blew you guys out of the water last time. You did. You did. This is a show on Netflix called My Unorthodox Life, which is… I mean, not my people.

Steve: It's your people. Actually, it's your extreme people. So this is a story about a woman, Julia Hart. It's not a real name. Her real name wasn't Hart. She took the name after she left the Orthodox life. Probably Hartstein. No, no, no. She, like, just changed it at the heart. They didn't even go into the story. It was so dumb. But she was an Orthodox Jew. She lived in this town called Muncie. I guess it must be near New York City. And it's an Orthodox community. So, like, everybody in there is an Orthodox Jew. No, no, no. Like like 10 times like more orthodox. Like it's it's it's the place to be. Anyway, she she felt like she was she wasn't living there. She didn't have any freedom and she wanted to escape. And when she escaped, she couldn't take her kids, blah, blah, blah. So it's about her new life. that she formed in New York City, and trust me, she went off the deep end of being unorthodox. I'm not even going to go into details, you have to watch it. But then eventually, like, she had four kids, you're going to love the kids' names. Mariam, Bat-Shiva, right? Shlomo, and Aron. Lomo. And so they eventually followed her, but her youngest, Aaron, is still wanting to be Orthodox. And there's like this battle about her. No, you need an education. And he wants to be a rabbi. And there's all this drama. Series or movie? It's a series. It's two seasons. Each season is nine episodes. And it's very strange to me because you were raised Catholic. Well, no, I mean, I mean, they do a very good job of like when they use, uh, when they use Hebrew words, they like put it on the screen and they tell you what the words are and you know, and that sort of thing. So you feel like you're in the loop of things, but she's so anti orthodox after she leaves. It's like, it's like almost like she's trying too hard. It's, it's, it's really interesting if you're, if you, if you like the dynamic between like somebody who's like, uh, right. You know, really religious and Orthodox religious and like kind of closed minded. But so she left her husband, but her and her husband are like friends and they still co-parent really well.

Marc: Like does she go out there and like party?

Steve: Oh my god. Yeah, she she's like, uh, she's like a whore essentially I mean, I mean there's no way to do it but but on on top of You read my mind. I mean that's that's where he was going with that That's she that's what she turned into then she found like it and she found an italian man and remarried him and it turns out in season two Some bad things happened in their marriage. I'll let you watch it. Yeah No, no, this is really this is their real life. Okay.

Marc: Yeah, this is their real life Amy had put up on there that you could hear us all just fine.

Steve: Yeah, I know I know so so I would say if you if you like that that tension between like a Religious life and a non religious life and you like whores and you like seeing your mom turn into a whore. Oh

Chris: This show is for you. Absolutely. All right. I'm on it. Sorry, I'll spin. OK, a couple of comments coming in here.

Steve: Of course, it would be really interesting for you and Amy to watch. Probably.

Chris: John Edberg on you would laugh a lot on YouTube said, I tried to watch the judge and couldn't do it. And he's referring to your honor, your honor on Showtime. Uh, if you want, if you saw our show where I, where I recommended it, then I, I appreciate you even trying. So thank you very much. Brian Cranston is typecast for me now. You know, I, I did, and he's referring to your honor, which was on Showtime and it's now on Netflix. Um, it took me a little while to get through that part in my head. That's what you said. But you know, I liked it, but I get it. Um, yeah. And he said he meant your honor. Um, And narrow demo, Steve, says Pat off track. What?

Steve: I think he's saying like Orthodox Jews is a narrow demo.

Chris: Yeah. Thank you.

Steve: It's more about religious and non-religious, Pat. That's the whole world.

Chris: OK, so my unorthodox life on Netflix. The Grand Schwabini is watching. This was season three. You finish season three.

Marc: Finish season three. The Bear. The Bear.

Steve: I've never watched season one. Oh yeah. Have you watched it? Keep me going from the beginning. You have, have you?

Chris: I have not.

Marc: No. Oh, you haven't watched it at all?

Chris: No.

Marc: Oh, okay. Well, I would say that, um, you know, if you don't know what it's about, we'll get to your comment. If you don't know what it's about, obviously it's about, um, a guy who goes to school to become a chef. He becomes a world-class chef. Um, there's a death in the family of somebody who owns kind of like a, uh, like a sub shop and he basically takes the sub shop over and turns it into a world-class restaurant. Um, but this show is really, that's kind of the backdrop to the bigger picture, which is the relationships, uh, this family that he's a part of is just really effed up. Oh man, this sounds great. So it's, you know, it's one of those things where, well, first of all, uh, season one and season two are both great. So they're, they're definitely worth watching. Um, season three, I would say was good. I didn't think it was as good. as seasons one and two, but you have to sort of take a couple things into effect. So part of the reason why this show has been so acclaimed is because, you know, they do try to make it kind of artistic.

Steve: Right. Oh, OK.

Marc: Yeah, I like that. So and usually that's good. And I think in seasons one and two, it was really good. In season three, I felt like it kind of went a little over the edge, a little too much.

Steve: They ran out of money. No, no. It was just tried to get too artsy. Yeah. Like trying a little too hard. Too many whores, you know? No, no, no. Too many bears. No whores. Too many bears. Why is it called the bear? Um, is it, does it have a reason it's called the bear? Cause it doesn't sound like the, the title matches the story.

Chris: Does he make bear sandwiches and bear subs?

Marc: It's a nickname. Gotcha. It's a nickname. Um, but, um, it's good. See the, the, the thing about it is that it, here's what it is. It's a really intense show. I like intense. Okay. It's really intense. Like, so, so sometimes that's awesome. Right. But sometimes like there was one episode, this year, um, this season where like, I can honestly tell you, like it was some of the best acting I've ever seen in my life. Yet at the same time, just excruciating to watch. You know what I mean? You know, so it's, it's kind of like that, but you know, look, it's a great series. I mean, you can't go wrong if, if you watch it, I think you'll like it for sure.

Steve: Is there going to be a fourth season or is it over?

Marc: Yes, there is a fourth and it said right after to be continued.

Chris: Okay. Yes. And John Edberg can't seem to get my unorthodox life out of his mind. Pentecostal chicks who finally got away from their Iron Fist parents were the biggest freaks in Louisiana University. That actually sounds like something Pat off-track would say, but we totally understand. I totally understand what John's getting at. Yeah, I understand what he's getting at, too. Welcome to the team, John. And back to official, Chris Chada says he watched Trainwreck on Netflix about Woodstock 99. He remembered it being a dud, but wow, it got completely out of control. Yeah, I saw that, too. Yeah, we talked about that on the show. We actually did talk about that. Yeah, I watched it and brought it up. Yeah, and then I watched it because you said to watch it.

Steve: Right. And I thought it was equally a train wreck.

Chris: So, The Grand Schwabini, The Bear, season three on Netflix. Now, I'm going to shock you guys. Uh-oh. I am going to shock you guys. Oh, that reminds me. I owe Schwab ten bucks. You do owe him ten bucks. For what? Because I didn't watch a documentary last week. Yeah. Trust me when I tell you Schwab does not need $10. Sure he does.

Steve: He's got to buy flowers for Amy. I'm just going to go on record that I pay my debts.

Chris: There you go. All right. Ten bucks. Okay. I actually went to a movie theater. last night with your wife with my wife.

Marc: You didn't see the puberty movie, did you?

Steve: No, we did. We did not see the puberty. You missed out. Great movie.

Chris: I would be last week. We would be hosting this show in my apartment. Fly me to the moon. If I saw if I made her if I made her see that movie. No, I went to the movie theater and saw The Bike Riders. Have you heard of this movie? Yeah, I have heard of this movie.

Marc: I wanted to see it because it's very Sons of Anarchy, you know, my instinct.

Chris: Right. Right. Starring Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and whoever that Jackie Comer, I guess, is her name. I don't know. I don't know those actors. OK. Well, Austin Butler played Elvis in the Elvis movie. Right. Oh, okay. And then he played. Another movie I didn't see. Then he played the, um, uh, one of the leads in masters of the air. One of the pilots. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I know who you're talking about. Yeah. And, and Tom Hardy, we all know Tom Hardy, multiple roles, Peaky Blinders, the Batman. I know him. Yeah. All that other kind of stuff. And then there was a, there was a hook and the hook was Norman Reedus. And so it's a movie about bikes, motorcycles, and all that kind of stuff. I wonder if you'll tell us if you enjoyed it or not. I'm getting there. I'm giving you all the reasons. Here's what I'm trying to do. I'm giving you all the reasons that we all would have wanted to see this movie. He didn't like it. And I'm going to tell you right now that I am actually a little pissed off. You didn't like it?

Steve: The seats weren't comfortable enough?

Chris: No, the seats were very comfortable. The popcorn was buttered correctly. Did you have a big soda? It was the largest Sprite I've ever drank in my entire life.

Steve: You had everything in place. You had your girl.

Marc: Was it Stripe or was it Starry? But what now they have that now new thing starry. Oh, yes.

Steve: Starry. The drinks are starry. Right. Yeah.

Chris: Right.

Steve: Right. It's no longer Sprite. It's starry.

Chris: No, it said Sprite. I said I'll take a Sprite. You went to an old school. It was it was AMC. This wasn't a drive in. It was down at the it was it was down at the water.

Steve: No, they have starry at that one at the water. Foams having a good session. 14 home runs. We don't care about him. We want to hear about the bike riders. OK, so

Chris: The movie is basically the, um, story of a, in 1965, a college journalism student and photography guy decided to, uh, take pictures and travel around with this, uh, motorcycle club, not gang club out of Chicago called the Vandals. All right. And he was kind of documenting their history. And it started out with, he was also recording the wife of one of the club members, the guy played by Austin Butler. His name's Benny in the movie. So this movie started out, it reminded me of this line from a famous movie that was an awesome movie. Ever since I was young as I can remember, I wanted to be a gangster. Do you remember that movie? If you don't, I can tell you. Casino. No. Goodfellas. Okay. And then, and then bang, you're off. You're off to the races. A two and a half hour music video by Martin Scorsese about the mob. And it's a true story and it's brilliant. When are you going to start talking about the movie? I am talking about the movie. What I'm saying is at first, She they start out like that. Yeah. And it just goes completely downhill from there. It wasn't good.

Steve: No, no fun on the road. No sex. No drugs. Very little of any of that. Yeah. It just a bunch of scenery of people going over mountains on bikes.

Chris: This is where these guys are trying to get me to start the music. And I'm just not going to do it. So, so no, what it was is these, these motorcycle clubs in Chicago were basically started. The guy who started it was played by Tom Hardy. His name in the movie was Johnny and Johnny had a job. He was a truck driver and he watched a Marlon Brando movie with motorcycles and he rider. And he, no, that, that, that, that it was a different movie. He rider was anyway, James Dean, he watched this movie and he decided to start a motorcycle club. So he'd like bought this little, shitty rundown bar and he had friends that love motorcycles and they would go and race and then all of a sudden it became a club and then they would get into, they would get into shit with each other. They would get into fights. It was basically brawling and other clubs. Well then all of a sudden somebody comes in and says, I want to start a chapter. We've heard about you guys and your fun. Mm. So it starts to go and this is in the mid 1960s. So, you know, it's just a group of guys and, and they, they'd like to get into fights and they do some questionable stuff, but they're not trying to make money and they're not running guns and drugs and all those other kinds of stuff. They're just misfits that love motorcycles. And then it's supposed to turn into like, this is how the gang started because these guys would come back from Vietnam. And now you've got drug users that are coming into the gangs and deviants. And they start challenging the older guys that are running the gang, the clubs, and now they become known as motorcycle gangs. And it goes on to your Mayans thing, Schwaber. The guy that was the photographer documenting this literally disappeared in 1969. And then he came back. There's a point in the movie where it just jumps to 1973 and you're like, what the hell is going on? And all of a sudden it's like, she's like, well, I haven't seen you in four years. He's like, well, I want, I want you to tell me what happened to the club. And then you get 45 minutes of everything I just said to you. And you're like, you just basically described everything. Like the story, it was bad. Don't see it. That's all I have to say.

Steve: Well, I guess you just saved me $35.

Marc: Well, I think it cost me $35.

Steve: Listen to that. Chris, you now owe Mark $35.

Chris: If you can just give it, you can just take your 10 as credit. So I owe him 25.

Steve: I was thinking maybe you gave him a $45 bill and he gave you $10 back.

Chris: All right, listen, thanks for watching the Sports Black and Gold Edition all over the world on Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook. And we are going to drop the podcast right after the show. That's right, right after the show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get. You're friggin podcast Bobby with juniors up on the home run derby. Paul Skeens is starting the All-Star Game tomorrow night. Go Buccos. They're at 48 and 48 back to 500 for HGA. The Grand Schwabini. I'm your technical director and I am.

Marc: Now take a good look. Take a good look at Alec Boehm there. There you go. We're looking at Alec Boehm.