EP 6 A Deep Dive Into the 2024 MLB Playoffs With Co-host Tyler Flowers

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[00:00:32] Jim Powell: Hello again. And welcome back to fans. [00:00:35] First, a sports podcast. I'm Jim Powell. I'm your host. And joining me today is our co host. [00:00:40] Tyler Flowers and, uh, Tyler, we're gonna get knee deep in this playoff picture now [00:00:45] that everything is set, finally. And, uh, we're gonna, uh, go through all the matchups [00:00:50] and all the teams and get, uh, about as deep as you can get.

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[00:01:11] Jim Powell: I don't know what your thoughts are on Pete Rose, but what's [00:01:15] your reaction?

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[00:01:16] Jim Powell: sad to hear

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[00:01:31] Tyler Flowers: So A little bit of communication with him, but I didn't [00:01:35] really get to watch him first hand growing up or anything, but obviously the numbers are [00:01:40] remarkable and pretty much the best across the board as far as anyone that's ever played the game. [00:01:45] My brief experiences with him and hearing him speak to, uh, players, uh, that I [00:01:50] played with at that time when he was at camp was Super respectful, well [00:01:55] spoken, trying to help the game, help everyone develop, help everyone get better at the game [00:02:00] he apparently

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[00:02:02] Jim Powell: Charlie Hustle passes away, [00:02:05] makes me feel a little old myself. Um, unfortunately, [00:02:10] you know, for the rest of time, when Pete Rose's name is brought up, people are going to [00:02:15] debate whether he should be in the Hall of Fame, should not be in the Hall of Fame. No, I've [00:02:20] never seen any allegations that he ever bet against his team, so his betting was pretty much just for his [00:02:25] own, his own team.

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[00:02:51] Jim Powell: Um, you know, in my mind, I think it's a worthy discussion to have. What do you think? [00:02:55]

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[00:03:25] Tyler Flowers: Um, So it's a little unfair for my generation to have a strong opinion about it. [00:03:30] Um, hopefully it does happen one day though, because the ball player he was on [00:03:35] the field was one of the best, if not the best ever. Uh, [00:03:40] the only unfortunate thing is if, obviously it's taken too long since he just passed, that he won't [00:03:45] be able to see it firsthand.

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[00:03:52] Jim Powell: Well, I agree with you. I think that would be the [00:03:55] right thing to do. Baseball is sometimes very slow to move on such [00:04:00] matters, so I'm not overly optimistic that that's a pending call by MLB, [00:04:05] but hopefully down the road there'll be a bit of a groundswell, especially in light [00:04:10] of the ubiquitous gambling material everywhere you see.

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[00:04:32] Jim Powell: The field is finally set. Uh, [00:04:35] craziness down the stretch. A lot of controversy, I would say, is the best [00:04:40] term I would use on, you know, the Braves and the Mets having to finish the season in playing a [00:04:45] double header. If I'm the Diamondbacks. I would have been very upset with that [00:04:50] because once the Mets won the first game, they were swinging like it was the last day of spring training in the [00:04:55] second game and really had virtually no chance to beat the Braves in that game, which ultimately [00:05:00] eliminated the Diamondbacks.

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[00:05:03] Tyler Flowers: That had to be a very unique [00:05:05] situation. I don't know if that's really ever happened before, at least in my lifetime. Uh, but [00:05:10] I, I was imagining myself if I was in the Diamondbacks, I served their brilliant clubhouse. [00:05:15] Watching the game as a team. Talk about a swing of emotions, you know, you think the Braves are [00:05:20] locking up the first one, and then everything's flip flopping back and forth, and then you're the biggest [00:05:25] Mets fan on the planet for the second one, and then that didn't look great pretty much from beginning to end, [00:05:30] so.

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[00:05:41] Jim Powell: No doubt about it. Um, and as they watch that game, I mean, [00:05:45] strikeout, strikeout, punch out, punch out, KKK.

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[00:06:06] Jim Powell: Unfortunate the way it worked that in, in that regard, I wonder if [00:06:10] they'll take steps with major league baseball to make sure that they never have such a scenario again, if at all possible. [00:06:15]

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[00:06:27] Tyler Flowers: So you'd like to see them maybe build in. [00:06:30] An additional day or something to be able to spread out some games, or I don't know, [00:06:35] maybe we can come up with something before that to not even have a chance to be in this situation. [00:06:40] But it had to be really interesting. I really felt myself feeling bad. I know a few of the DBAX [00:06:45] players still and, uh.

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[00:06:58] Jim Powell: we've all been on that plane [00:07:00] on the flight back for after the final game of the season.

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[00:07:19] Jim Powell: I, [00:07:20] which I understand why I don't blame them really. Um, and that flight had to [00:07:25] be like a million mile March. Oh

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[00:07:55] Tyler Flowers: We ended up not being very good. But then you're playing teams, you know, at the end of the regular [00:08:00] season that those three games matter against them, whether they get in or someone else gets in and like [00:08:05] I was taught just by some of the veterans. I was around coming up like out of [00:08:10] respect for the game and respect for the teams.

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[00:08:27] Jim Powell: You would know this far better than I, being so [00:08:30] close to the team and so close to Major League Baseball in your career.

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[00:08:52] Jim Powell: Now?

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[00:09:14] Tyler Flowers: If I ever did [00:09:15] that around them on a baseball field, and now it's the norm, um, I don't [00:09:20] think that directly correlates to like lack of respect for the game. I think it's just, you know, like the [00:09:25] evolution of man and the evolution of baseball. It's just kind of changing and shifting a little bit for our eyes.[00:09:30]

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[00:09:50] Tyler Flowers: I guess it's

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[00:10:01] Tyler Flowers: did have that one guy, uh, slide into third and he forgot his phone was in his [00:10:05] pocket.

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[00:10:10] Jim Powell: how

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[00:10:11] Jim Powell: is that? Right. That, that, that actually puts our whole [00:10:15] discussion into the nutshell in which it belongs. Um, speaking of, uh, going off in [00:10:20] another direction, let's talk about the playoffs.

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[00:10:41] Jim Powell: San Diego, the Braves, the [00:10:45] Brewers, the Royals, the Tigers, and finally the Mets, the team that [00:10:50] ultimately, um, just barely snuck in. Uh, who [00:10:55] do you, first of all, what's your reaction to the Dodgers and Yankees and Phillies and Houston [00:11:00] being kind of the top four among the betting public? Um, and then who do you think [00:11:05] on down the list has been underrated here and, um, is being [00:11:10] overlooked?

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[00:11:32] Tyler Flowers: And they still dealt with a lot of ups and [00:11:35] downs. Um, but I think his presence there and his personality, and we've seen it a lot [00:11:40] on TV when he was playing, you know, he's a little bit of a comedian, but he's a gamer. He wants to win. [00:11:45] So I think here in that initially, like they're, they're underrated right there.

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[00:12:06] Tyler Flowers: Like, that's, you gotta be dialed in, um, and you gotta win a lot of [00:12:10] games against them in a row. That's, that's gonna be a big challenge. I think the Phillies might be a [00:12:15] little overhyped. You still gotta go with, their starting pitching is pretty strong. [00:12:20] Um, but you've seen a lot of teams be able to handle that starting pitching, [00:12:25] and I feel like their offense is a little more up and down, a little less consistent, uh, [00:12:30] than most of the teams in the postseason right now.

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[00:12:48] Tyler Flowers: I see, uh, [00:12:50] Olsen and Ozuna kind of as our X factors on how the, what, what the outcome [00:12:55] of this first series is for us. And then, of course, we make it through that, and we got to play our [00:13:00] buddies, the Dodgers, right, right away. Um, I don't [00:13:05] really think Kansas City is going to be much of a factor. I kind of like their story throughout the whole season and the youth that [00:13:10] they've brought out there.

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[00:13:31] Tyler Flowers: They sneak past that, then, you know, Cleveland could have a nice little [00:13:35] battle on their hands. But I think it's probably going to come down to the Daughters and the [00:13:40] Yankees.

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[00:13:52] Jim Powell: But do you feel like the Orioles are a dark [00:13:55] horse team? Could they put it together and make a run? They could

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[00:14:10] Tyler Flowers: You know, they had that terrible two week stretch of however many games they kept losing in a [00:14:15] row. And you look at their roster up and down, it's like, man, this, this kid's a player, this is a player, this is a [00:14:20] player. How does this keep happening over and over? I think ultimately their pitching, it's just [00:14:25] isn't enough depth to it to really be considered a strong contender to win the [00:14:30] whole thing this year.

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[00:14:48] Jim Powell: Is it, uh, the, [00:14:50] What, what are, what are the factors that you look for in a team that say, [00:14:55] Hey, this team is, this team is good enough where they could make a run all the way?

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[00:14:59] Jim Powell: You

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[00:15:06] Tyler Flowers: And we've seen lately that sometimes that's almost a better situation without the [00:15:10] time off. But I've always said, if you can get two starters, hot, You can get three [00:15:15] relievers hot and three batters hot. You've got a great shot to make a run and at least get there. [00:15:20] But if you don't have two stars hot, it is hard to overcome some of these lineups.

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[00:15:41] Tyler Flowers: You're seeing the guy with the sub two coming out there nowadays throwing 102 [00:15:45] with nasty sweepers and cutters. And you've got to find a way to [00:15:50] even combat some of the shadows. You know, that's one thing that's always bothered players in the [00:15:55] past is we, we have so many important games in the post [00:16:00] season, or even think about when we did the wild card games as a one game.

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[00:16:16] Jim Powell: right? Small problem. Can't see the ball. Sorry, [00:16:20] coach. No, um, no, that's a great point.

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[00:16:42] Tyler Flowers: Yeah. Yeah. Now 95 is like, [00:16:45] okay, I'm glad this guy's throwing, you know, like, that's like a nice [00:16:50] Sunday day game. The soft throwing starter is now 95. You know, I was [00:16:55] talking to one of my friends the other day, like, I think when I first got into the big leagues, you could see [00:17:00] maybe one guy per staff that could touch triple digits, but they never really [00:17:05] sat there, but they could touch.

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[00:17:30] Tyler Flowers: Obviously, I couldn't do it.

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[00:17:53] Jim Powell: You know, you may not think much of at the [00:17:55] time, but all of a sudden, when you're getting out there, really matching up with a tough opponent in a short playoff [00:18:00] series, every little thing is magnified.

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[00:18:12] Tyler Flowers: You know, you have a couple bad plays. [00:18:15] Your season could be over just because of that. So it is a stressful environment. [00:18:20] Um, the electricity though, like in postseason, I've experienced it a [00:18:25] few times, it's just a whole different animal though. So it really kind of keeps [00:18:30] you locked in and energized. I think.

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[00:18:51] Tyler Flowers: And uh, I think that's why, you know, you think about it, I mean, the best teams are in the [00:18:55] postseason over the course of a long season, right? But I think you also see [00:19:00] quality games Better quality games because of that environment and energy that [00:19:05] everyone brings, which creates that focus for the player on every pitch, every at bat, every [00:19:10] ground ball, every throw catch.

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[00:19:18] Jim Powell: I saw, you know, Matt [00:19:20] Olson, there's been a lot of talk about the, the travel that some of these teams had to endure down the [00:19:25] stretch, uh, right through, you know, the, the last day of the season with the doubleheader on, on that [00:19:30] last Monday.

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[00:19:50] Jim Powell: You forget about the, what little troublesome injuries you've had and [00:19:55] battled through and how tired you might be and how you haven't seen your family for X amount of time [00:20:00] and you, you still go out there and you, and you, in most cases, it seems like players play their best [00:20:05] baseball in the post season.

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[00:20:24] Tyler Flowers: [00:20:25] That's what ends up happening. It's just happens to be, you know, 30 to 38 [00:20:30] year old adults getting that same experience that we used to get when we were. Much younger and [00:20:35] nervous about messing up or anything. You get that butterfly, but now we understand how to use [00:20:40] that and apply it to the game to help us perform even better.

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[00:21:06] Jim Powell: Six, seven, eight years old.

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[00:21:11] Jim Powell: So if you, if you have to be, if I try and pin you [00:21:15] down on who's going to go win the world series or which, I mean, we've already talked about the Yankees [00:21:20] and the Dodgers a little bit. Um, obviously the Braves have a, a really tough [00:21:25] road to go.

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[00:21:32] Tyler Flowers: Yeah, yeah, there's no easy path. I mean, even the [00:21:35] ones that are sitting in position a, they have battles coming for them and [00:21:40] whatever, 4 or 5 days from now, um, and they're not going to be easy.

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[00:22:03] Tyler Flowers: Yeah. And really [00:22:05] kind of introduce themselves to the rest of the world, you know, who really probably don't watch us all the [00:22:10] time other than, uh, Double Enter game, but it's it's going to be fun. This is [00:22:15] the most fun time of year to to watch baseball on TV. Well, yesterday [00:22:20] was pretty cool as well, but, uh, everything coming up right now is going to be exciting.[00:22:25]

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[00:22:25] Jim Powell: mind, it's time to flip the switch on my co host, Tyler [00:22:30] Flowers.

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[00:22:56] Jim Powell: And, uh, you know, it's, it's a, it's a great diversion [00:23:00] for those in baseball where you play day after day after day. And it seems like it's just rinse [00:23:05] and repeat every day. And then all of a sudden you've got fantasy football to talk about the draft and then [00:23:10] the aftermath trades and all that. Uh, how, how big of a factor is fantasy [00:23:15] football in the culture of major league baseball players?

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[00:23:36] Tyler Flowers: It's a long road. It doesn't matter. It can be longer if you're maybe the [00:23:40] White Sox this season, probably wrong season, long days, I'm [00:23:45] sure. But you have to have those kinds of escapes and stuff. You know, I think that's why we still hear about people going [00:23:50] out there to golf on days off and stuff, but you gotta be able to escape.

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[00:24:24] Tyler Flowers: And it [00:24:25] also continues that camaraderie and that family atmosphere that every team tries to create every season. [00:24:30]

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[00:24:42] Jim Powell: Um, it's just not healthy to be fixated on one [00:24:45] thing and one thing only. So I know fantasy football is, is that great diversion that allows you to [00:24:50] clear your baseball side of the brain. At the same time, you're talking about something else and then you come right back to baseball. [00:24:55] It's not like you missed anything.

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[00:25:17] Tyler Flowers: Like you said, it doesn't matter if you're a [00:25:20] professional athlete or not. You got to have some breaks and escapes. Right. Enjoy a little downtime [00:25:25] and not focusing on the one thing that you know, you have to focus on.

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[00:25:41] Jim Powell: So, and by the way, I'll find you on call of duty one day [00:25:45] and we'll, uh, we'll see how that goes for you. Cause I'm not too bad. I like it.

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[00:25:55] Jim Powell: since I was a kid. Same. Same. Yep.

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[00:26:17] Jim Powell: And, um, again, as always, [00:26:20] thank you for your time and your insights. We really appreciate it. Of

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[00:26:24] Jim Powell: [00:26:25] coming up here. Yes, sir. Well, thanks again for joining us for today's [00:26:30] episode of Fans First Sports Podcast. We had a great visit with Tyler Flowers, [00:26:35] gave you a chance to see the curtain get pulled back and see what it's like to be a major league player in a playoff [00:26:40] series or a playoff game or the travel that goes along with it, the pressures, and of course, [00:26:45] uh, the call of duty game back at the hotel when you're finally done for the day.[00:26:50]

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[00:27:15] Jim Powell: At fans first podcast. com. Please keep your submissions to [00:27:20] no more than 45 seconds in length. We want you to be a part of the show. So if you're clever, if you're [00:27:25] funny, if you're insightful, you have a good chance of getting into the get off my lawn segment or [00:27:30] ring the bell. If you do such a good job, you get our praise.

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