What’s the latest news in the MLB from a former player?

I'll bet you that our next guest, who has so many titles, I can't even believe it. He is one of the co-hosts of GameDay Central on Major League Baseball Network. I actually want to get the MLB Central on Major League Baseball Network. He's also the manager of the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic.

Mark DeRosa joins us. First of all, an absolute thrill. I love watching you on TV. Nobody has more enthusiasm for the game. No, seriously, I told the person who set it up that we have been trying to get you on for a long time.

You probably don't know because you would never refuse, but this is a thrill. I'm excited. How are you? I'm doing well. It's funny you see that. My dad and my grandfather have been skilled all the way I watch the game.

I got them to thank for the passion for it. I need you to take like two steps to the left because you were cutting out for a second there and I don't want to have you call back, so we'll try that. First of all, let me just get your take. Mark DeRosa is with us on the rules changes coming in. I talked earlier about the ghost runner on second base. It's a joke because there are no ghost runners.

There's actually a person out there to start extra innings. Did you like it or dislike it when it first came in and how has your opinion changed or not once it has been implemented? Yeah, I think for me it's a situation where as a player I didn't want to be bothered with all the constant rule changes. It wasn't something I thought about. I wasn't worried about pace of play. I wasn't concerned about, hey, we're going over three hours here. I was focused on doing a job.

I wasn't talented enough to take my eye off just being just singularly focused on trying to win the game. Now, since I've retired and with the job I have, I do realize that, man, it's it's an entertainment product and these guys are entertainers and it is demoralizing to sit there for eons and eons to figure out a way to get through the game. So I am totally on board with implementing things and then pulling them back if they don't feel like they make a difference.

They don't feel like they make a difference. I don't have a problem with the ghost runner per se in a regular season. I think you, if, if I was commissioner for a day, I might wait an inning or two to implement it, give them the 10th and 11th to maybe figure it out because I have been in those situations. Everyone's swinging for a Homer. They want to hit the walk off.

They want to be the guy that, that leads their team to victory. So it does become a little bit of a grind there in the 16th, 17th, 17th inning. So I'm all in for change and if it doesn't work, pull it out. Do you like the new base size?

Alex Cora said that the Red Sox manager said they were, they looked like pizza boxes. Yeah. I don't know how big a difference it's going to make to be honest with you. I wasn't a big base dealer. It wasn't part of my game.

So I didn't concern myself with it. I think the biggest thing, if you want it to make first base bigger, just to eliminate that, that injury move for the first baseman, having to go into the line and potentially get his arm bent back. I I'd be okay with that, but we'll see if the stolen bases go up. The shift is the big thing for me. The shift is the big thing for me. Well, I don't like to be told unless every team spending the same amount of dollars, how I'm supposed to beat you or kind of handicapping a team that hasn't, doesn't have as much talent to try and take on a team.

Maybe I can beat you by the way, I deployed my defense. So at first sight, I don't like that. Like being told I can't shift on a second hand though, there are no hits on the ground anymore.

We have gotten, I think if analytics has shown us anything is that the number one value to them is, is the fact that we could put our defense exactly where you like to hit the baseball and to sit there and listen to fans to say, well, just go the other way. It's not that I promise you. It's not that easy.

And most guys are not paid to think that along those terms. So what are their options, right? Right. Get the ball out of the ballpark, both side.

And it becomes a very, a boring product. You're asking guys to do things that they don't normally do. Mark DeRose is with us here from MLB Network and the manager of Team USA.

We're going to get to that in a second. But the other part of the hit, you know, just, just bunt the ball and get on or hit the ball the other way. That's a loss too, because these guys, these guys are, the shift is on for a reason. These guys are pull hitters, long ball hitters.

And if you get them out of their game, you have already won. So I totally understand. I think that if you decide that you want to shift and put, you know, eight guys on one side of the field, you should be allowed to do that.

But it's, it obviously is unsightly. And I think analytics have slowed the game down. All right. Let me talk to you about this side hustle you've got as the manager of Team USA. First of all, you got a pretty good roster. It's a veteran pitching staff to say the least, but holy cow, you have a great, great looking roster.

Yeah. I mean, I cannot wait for March 7th to get here. That'll be our first workout. And I'm just, I'm blown away by all the guys that I've had that are on this roster that I've had a chance to talk to. I've, I've literally spoken to almost everybody that's committed and, and to a man, they couldn't be more fired up to do it. And the roster's just loaded it from a position player standpoint, I can argue it's the greatest collection of us born players that'll ever go into a locker room together. From that perspective, I also understand that there's a job for me to return these guys back to their parent club in one piece. So it will be a delicate dance to try and win this thing and to try and to get these guys ramped up for their regular season. Did you have a harder time, I'm going to guess here that the answer is yes, but have compiling a pitching staff, it does, does seem to be veterans and a lot of relievers. I mean, so how, how hard was it to convince teams to allow some pitchers to go?

Yeah, I think there's certain organizations that truly embraced the WBC and kind of want their guys to take part in it and feel it's good for the game and, and, and growing the game and it could help them expedite getting ready for a full season. Then there's a couple organizations that feel it's completely detrimental from a pitching standpoint to ask these guys to get ramped up in March and then to come back to camp and cool down and then get ramped back up again, which I completely understand. But yeah, it was a grinder to put together the pitching staff. Oh, it has to, has to be, I know you can have pitch limits and all that, but these, I mean, I can't imagine you can have too many pitchers go in more than three innings, but you've got some incredible names. I mean, Clayton Kershaw is on your roster, Adam Wainwright, who can just keep throwing curve balls against anybody and get them out.

So you've got, you've got that talent. What was it like to talk to Pete Alonzo of the Mets? Who's, who's, I mean, so, I mean, up all the time. I think to a man Pete included, everybody's just whatever you need me to do. There hasn't been one guy. I mean, this wholeheartedly, one guy on the roster that has made a demand about playing time, where they're going to hit in the order, how it's going to go, not one. And, uh, that's the thing that's been, been really nice.

Um, I've been powered. I always wanted to be empowered as a player by my GM and my manager, certainly later in my career, ask my opinion about things. Uh, and that's what I've done by trout, the Nolan, Aaron, Otto's Goldie, Trey Turner, Tim Anderson, up and down the line. I have called each and every one of them and try to ask what their expectations are, what makes them tick, why they're doing it, um, how they're going to approach it, what they expect from me. That's how I've always been with, with kind of every team I played on, um, just getting to know how my teammates. So I, I've made great strides to try and allow them to walk in on the seventh and it not be, we're meeting for the first time. Mark DeRose is joining us here before we let you go. And I'm just looking at your roster. You could bat Pete Alonso like eighth, uh, and nobody would really argue because of the talent, uh, that you've got on your roster. Uh, you guys are the defending champs.

Who do you think other than the U S who are the teams to beat? Progressive is America's number one motorcycle insurer. So we understand motorcycles. No, really.

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Quote with progressive and see if you could save with America's number one motorcycle insurer, progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates. Yeah. I said this to everyone. I, I I've never done this before, so I will treat great Britain the same way I will treat Japan. We're going to, I mean, from jump, we're going to try and put them away. Right. Uh, that being said, the Dominican team looks absolutely stacked. Yeah. Japan looks really good. Um, yeah. In our, in our pool play, I will respect everyone, but on paper, Mexico looks like they could be a problem.

Canada always plays the U S tough. So I'm, I, I don't have the luxury of kind of 10 years of managing and, ah, let's see what happens and let's grab. No, I am up all night. Nope.

No pets filled the potential lineups against left, right. Um, how the bullpen will be deployed. So I know what's going to happen. I'm going to go in with, with an idea of what I want to do.

And it's probably going to get ripped up and thrown in the trash in about five minutes. Mark DeRosa, you're, uh, you're awesome. I appreciate your time. Uh, best of luck to you in this. I know you'll have a blast.

And then we'll be watching you all season long on MLB central on major league baseball network. Uh, thank you and good luck. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. If you could save with a leader in RV insurance, progressive insurance company, affiliates coverage, subject to policy terms.