EJ: Well thank yeh' kindly, Mr. Kruk. The pleasure is all mine.
JK: And I have to say...that is one awesome bolo tie that you have there. But to get to the actual interview, a lot of people are wondering why you're joining the Green Sox now.
EJ: Well Mr. Kruk, my granpappy had a sayin' of his. You strike when that iron is a' hot. Or said in simple language, you take a good opportunity when yeh' see 'un. After this latest series 'gainst the JELLY QUEEN, I was convinced by mah lucky stars that this team is standing on the doorstep of a Golden Opportunity, if there ever was one. They've got the most momentum right now out of any team in Division Two, and this part of the season is a' good as any to be playing yer best.
JK: Hard to disagree with that. You know, this team really has come a long way. At certain points in the season, you could just feel that this team was completely demoralized. But the bullpen seems to have improved and the offense is now cooking like an industrial sized deep fryer. What do you think has changed since the rather awful start? Here, have another hot dog, sir.
EJ: Thank yeh' kindly. Well, I think some of the recent roster moves have been a big help. Allow me to point out two of them. Firstly, Edgar Martinez Jr has been an excellent addition and I think has met and even exceeded expectations for the team. As you might imagine, he was brought in to be a run scorer, but has four RBIs in four games. That's certainly a bonus. The other thing that helped was bringing in catcher Brent Mayne, who's definitely more defensive oriented. No dis'repec' to Jorge Posada, but with only +5 catcher Posada is much more useful for our team at the Designated Hitter position.
JK: For sure. And it kind of boggles the mind to think about all the offensive weapons the team has aside from Martinez and Posada. There's J.D. Drew, Magglio Ordonez, David Ortiz...it really is a good looking lineup when things are working.
EJ: Tha's right, Mr. Kruk. And its a'workin' now. Why duh you think I jumped on this bandwagon? *smiles*
JK: Some might say you're jumping in when things are the easiest. The remaining schedule is AXN, TYC, MEL. Another hot dog for you, sir.
EJ: Thank yeh' kindly. Tha's right. All winnable games. No dis'respec' to ALLIED_MASTERCOMPUTER, the Ghost of Mao, or Doc Vinjahpoo, they all are fine gen'ral man'gers. But the Tenbil Town Green Sox are one of the only teams at this point of the season that control their own destiny. All we need'a do is win, and then we're in. Like I said a'fore, we can catch that there light'nin' in a bottle and then we just steamroll right over the Pee Wee League. We don' need worry about none a dem high falutin Division One teams until the Championship...an' well I can't talk no big words 'gainst those teams now, so I'll just say that the Green Sox are former champs. We know how the make things happen. They won the champ'in'ship in Season Three.
JK: Very true. So just a last question for you Mr. Jones. Not only are you an unknown commodity, but nobody really knows who any of your new coaches are . Who are they exactly?
EJ: Coupla' frien's o mine. We all go-a way back. Used to have a ball club of our own back in Texas, call ourselves The Good 'Ol Boys. Won a lotta games back in those days. Good times. Plannin' on bringin'em back here to Tenbil Town. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Kruk, it appears that my glass of Wild Turkey here is emm'ty. I thank you fer the interview an look forward to the rest of your commen'try in this episode.
JK: Thank you very much for stopping by and thanks for the insight. Your team is definitely one of the more interesting ones to follow here in the last five games. This week I'll be covering the QEY-STL series, but maybe we'll get a chance to meet the series after when you take on the Tycoons. Anyways folks, because of the interview, we are almost out of time...so lets go through my power rankings, lightning round style!
1. BOB (0) There's a lot of talk about the real championship being in round two of the playoffs. I say not so fast, but you do know that good pitching usually beats good hitting. The Spartans four starters are all All-Star material, so I simply don't see anyone stopping them anytime soon.
3. RED (0) The team showed some heart last week against the Z-Slayers, but wow do they look totally unprepared for the playoffs. Just to get an idea of how precarious they are, they could very well end up sitting in third place of Division 2 by the end of next series.
4. MMD (0) Got very lucky that the JELLY QUEEN unexpectedly got swept by the Green Sox, although the Warriors are still coming in hot and heavy and picked up a game against them. I'm not feeling great about this team now, but they should bounce back this week against the struggling Marauders. Desperate to break a woeful five game losing streak.
5. TEN (+5) The interview above more or less explains it. They have a good schedule down the stretch and are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. But caution; a false move against the Darkpaws will take the wind out of their sails faster than butter melts on toast.
6. QEY (+1) The reigning Division 1 Champs are on the march, and by golly I'm rooting for them. They're much better than their record shows and they have a very doable remaining schedule: STL, AXN, LIN. If anyone deserves that third playoff spot in Division 1, I think it's the Warriors.
7. STL (-1) There were a number of recent disappointments across the league, but none stung more than the Cardinals sweep at the hands of the lowly Darkpaws. Those were games that the Cardinals needed to win, and they simply choked. Now they will probably need to play better than .500 ball to make the playoffs.
8. TYC (0) Despite Mao adding a song about a cult, nothing has changed with this team, so I'm not changing my views. They still could sneak into the playoffs and actually make it far given the weakness of the Pee Wee League. But I don't see much potential for a three-peat. With the Green Sox hungry and the Cardinals pissed off, they're gonna have to work hard either way. Thanks for the hot dogs, by the way, you little punks.
9. LIN (-4) Does this team suffer from a Krukkie Curse? Every time I say good things about them, they fall apart. Since I won't this episode, does that mean that they will finally perform against the Tycoons? They better if they want to stay in the playoff picture.
10. AXN (+2) The Darkpaws played their best baseball of the season this last series against the Cardinals. Too little, too late? Well scarily enough, don't look now but they are only three games out of a playoff spot! Unlikely, but still somehow alive. At this point the most interesting thing will be to see if AM sticks around as GM.
11. MAX (-1) Definitely an amazing effort pulling off the sweep of MMD, but it will be a true miracle if they can keep it going. Nobody is jealous of them facing off this week against the Z-Slayers and their nine game win streak. But who knows, they are only two games back of third place. Maxion artillery is guided by God?
MEL (-1) Sorry Doctor Vindaloo, that shipment of chicken tandoori you sent to my house was nice but it isn't going to change the facts. Your team is tied for last place in the Pee Wee league and your remaining schedule is one of the worst in the league (MMD, RED, TEN). All I can say is good luck!
Well that's all for this episode folks. Thanks again for tuning in. I'd like to thank my guest, as well as sponsors Hebrew National, Wild Turkey Whiskey, and Dr. Vindaloo. See you at the end of Series 10!
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