Jason Licht Speaks on Mike Evans Leaving Plus Mailbags on Bucs Running Backs, Rays Wins & More

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All right, we got some important mailbag questions coming up in a minute.

But let's start with what was kind of a press gaggle,

not a press conference, if you will, is just maybe a half a dozen reporters

if that with Jason Light who sat down with us at one book place on Wednesday afternoon.

And it's the first time we've had a chance to talk to Jason really since the combine

and since free agency started.

More importantly, since Mike Evans chose the San Francisco 49ers over the Buccaneers

to continue his career and the relationship between Mike and Jason has been very close

since he became his first ever draft pick back in 2014 out of Texas A&M, number seven overall.

Obviously, has had an unbelievable Hall of Fame worthy career.

12 straight, 1,000 yard seasons, I believe it was 11 straight, 1,000 yard seasons.

And last year he was injured and Jason has always been close to Mike personally

as well as professionally.

And there were some insights that clearly it was an emotional time for Jason

losing Mike Evans to the 49ers and I think what came across was a couple of things.

One, and I thought this was interesting.

He said that the offer the Bucs made Mike Evans was quote significantly higher

than the deal he wind up signing with the 49ers and that it was only the Bucs first offer.

So that's where they started was significantly higher than where they may have even ended up.

Which just goes to show that Mike's mind was made up.

Absolutely, for whatever reason, whether it's and there's the narrative of is it Todd Boles or

was it, you know, he didn't think they can win the Super Bowl or is it they drafted a Mecca Bucca

and he's not going to get as many catches, not much of the offense going through him

because you've got a stacked wide receiver room or whether it was just, you know what,

I've got a couple years left and I just want to try something new and it may it may be a combination

of all of that to be honest. Yeah, and that's sort of where Jason landed.

I think when we talked to him for about a half hour at one Buc place on Wednesday and he addressed

all those. Obviously, I did think it was interesting though, you know, that sort of back and forth.

And these are guys that obviously very close to families are close and we know what Mike has

done throughout the community, but there was correspondence between the two of them in particular,

like Jason and Mike through text messages mostly. He still hasn't spoken to him since he signed

within the 49ers, which I found interesting. They've texted each other a few times, but I think

there came a point pretty early in the free agency period when he got to free agency where there

was little or no correspondence at all, like it was just simply, you know, we made an offer,

didn't hear back, boom, he's with the 49ers. I think that's kind of how it went down if I could

piece this together. But he said, you know, much like Mike has said that he feels that ultimately he

was just looking for a different challenge and we know contractually, you know, it was reported,

you know, 42.4 million dollars as much as 60 withincentives, but only 14.3 million was guaranteed.

Well, Mike's going to cost 13 million against the Bucsari cap even now that even though he's not

on the team. So 14.3 guaranteed is really nothing. And Jason said, you know, Mike means everything

to me. He's meant everything to the entire organization. Obviously, he's the best offensive player

we ever had. He said, so it's always tough. But he goes, that one, that one was really tough.

And he said, we made a significantly higher offer. And that was just the first offer. And, you know,

there also was, now, you know, again, Jason acknowledged it. Look, very few players are damn

marino or very centers, right? There are some players that only play with one organization. He was

in Miami when marina was there. When he first started his career, I think is a scout. And

then there's the other side where you have the Peyton Manning's and Manning's was a little bit

different because of his injury and they drafted Andrew Luck. But, you know, there's tons of guys,

Jerry Rice and others that moved on to other teams that were iconic players for their original team.

So this is not, you know, he hoped, Jason said he hoped that Mike would be a one helmet player,

as he called him. And certainly didn't go that way. He has not gotten over the disappointment

of losing. And I can tell you that it's still very fresh for Jason Light. And you can understand

that. We know how he was kind of busted up last year, you know, with the broken clavicle. He came

back, had that big game against Atlanta, the 29, 28 lost the Balkans, 132 yards. And then we all

remember, you know, the third and 28 in him sort of screaming, you know, about that. And Jason

addressed that too. And he, he said, he kind of scoffed at the notion. He said sort of like,

you know, I've seen that theory, but that's not it. You know, a lot of people were frustrated.

Micro's frustrated as competitive as he is. But probably the person that was the most frustrated

in that particular instance was Todd. That had zero to do with it. I don't know that I buy

the zero to do with it. I don't know that it was maybe first or second on his reasons for leaving

the Buccaneers. But I don't think zero is the calculus either. I don't think it's those two plays.

That's right. That's fair. I think it's the defense as a whole, but may have an impact. Like,

you know, I mean, those were two bad plays and they gave up, you know, 14 and 14. And I said

it was first down. Right. But there was lots of other plays you could have gone through the whole

season, like, and opportunities. And, you know, that the defense just wasn't, we all know it wasn't

good enough last year. You know, they weren't going to, they weren't going to compete for a Super Bowl

with the way that defense was playing for, for whatever reason. And, you know, I don't,

those two plays there, maybe the moment you look at and go, this is how bad the defense was,

or, you know, it's an easy one to point to. But I don't think there's one moment that

that encapsulates, you know, Mike's leaving because of one thing. Like, it just doesn't,

that doesn't add up. It doesn't mean it's not a factor. Like I said, I think it's the defense as

a whole. When you start evaluating, can you win a Super Bowl here? That's in the calculus,

right? There's a lot, you know, from the quarterback to the offense to the coach to the deep. Sure,

you got to look at everything. It's not just one thing for sure. You're looking at everything,

you know, especially if you've got two or three years left, maybe you might look at the division

too, though, Mike, because I don't know if you checked out the West or not, but man, it's a pretty

good team's out there. But they also went to the playoffs and took Seattle to the wire. All three

of them went. Yeah, the same press conference. Yeah, but he said it's press. He thinks he's the

missing piece to get him over the top. Yes. That's what he said. Yeah. So even in a tough division,

they're already competing and winning what was it? 12 games last year, whatever it was. Yeah. Like,

so it's not like they won seven last year, trying to compete with the Seahawks and Rams. No, they

won 12. Right. Like they're there. You know, can they replicate it? We'll see. And, you know, every

season's different. You never know what happens. But he feels he's the missing piece to get him.

Maybe that extra winner to get home feel when the division and then, you know, take your chances

in the playoffs. Ironically, the box beat San Francisco in Tampa last year, but that was without

Brock party. And it took a big effort for them to do that. Here's the thing that

really struck me in it. And it was been discussed before. But the more Jason talk, the more it

became apparent that that that yes, he wanted a new challenge. The family apparently was on board

with that too. But he kept bringing up the fact that Mike kept bringing up the fact that

that receiver room is crowded. And crowded might not be the right word, but loaded with talent.

And Mike constantly would would remind anyone, especially Jason, that, you know, look, man,

like those guys, you know, they're, they're great. Like, you know, drafting a Mecca Buka in the

first round in 2025. And then you got Chris Godwin, Jaylen McMillan. Also took Tez Johnson,

who did some great things. A Buka was the AP offensive rookie, the year finalist, 68,

63 catches, 938 yards, six touchdowns. And like said, he goes, you know, we all know Mike is not

a selfish guy. And he loves his receiver room so much. He talked about it often. This is just

going to give more opportunity for all of them. And you know, Chris, obviously, Jay Mecca and Tez,

he made some solid points. I wasn't saying you're right. Go ahead. But I just think there's such

an affection for those guys. I think that did weigh into it a little bit. I think it weighed into

it a lot. I think that Mike knew and Jason later acknowledged that, you know, Mike is a guy that,

you know, has done a lot, but still is somebody who is very conscious of how many catches he needs

to get to a thousand, right? Like there are still mile posts. The Jerry Rice, he will forever be

tied with 11 straight 1000 yard seasons, but he'd like to have more, right? Going forward. So

whether it's a thousand catches, whatnot, he made it clear that Mike understands there's more

mouths to feed here. He's not going to be the number one option all the time. And if Baker plays the

way he's supposed to under Zach Robinson's offense, which which Mike was actually, you know,

according to Jason was kind of, you know, good with, that the ball is going to find other people,

lots of other people, right? And so maybe in his final years, he wouldn't get that number of

targets to achieve those things that are important to him. And I've always, you know,

is unselfish as he is. And as a receiver, believe me, I've been in this like a long time covering

these guys, that that position is all about throwing the damn ball. It just is. And Mike has never

been that guy. If you win, you'll never hear Mike say anything about how many targets he had,

how many catches he had, turns out usually when they won, he was a big part of it. So it wasn't really

something he had to lobby for. When he wasn't getting catches, though, you could read his body

language on the field. Oh, no question. Because they probably weren't winning like my am. He wouldn't

say it in the press. He wouldn't say it, you know, I mean, he's not that type of guy. But as a receiver,

you have to want the ball. Absolutely. And when you're not getting it, it's frustrating. And that's

very frustrating. When you have a lot of receivers, it's one thing quarterbacks will tell you, like,

you got to start feeding ever, you got to find a way to feed everybody, but still make the right

plays, right? I mean, they're going to take the defense away from where the ball's going. Yeah.

But if they're going to take Mike Evans away every play, you still got to find a way to feed him

occasionally. No question. That's yeah. That's on the offensive coordinator to create those

opportunities to get your guy going, right? Get him off. Like that was always the deal. Like it's

not not my job to get the ball to me. It's your job to get the ball to me. Even if even if coverage

may say it should go somewhere else, you still have to get me involved and get me involved early. So

that I stay in the game mentally and every other way. And I think like I just think back to,

you know, even after the Atlanta game, when he had a bunch of targets, yeah, like 12 targets, he

cut six for one 32. But then we go to Miami a few weeks later, he only had two targets in the

game. He caught both passes to and they lost that game after they, you know, obviously,

should have wanted an inferior opponent. And Mike was allowed in the locker room afterwards.

And he was what he was loud about was losing. And I know what bothered him was he didn't get

chance to make plays to help them win. And to be honest, two targets in a loss like that probably

bothers him more than third and 28. Absolutely. Absolutely. Because the defense, I mean, he's

pulling for the defense once the defense would be great. But that's not his side of the ball. Like

right. He wasn't going to help them. Right. Getting two targets in a game that you lost.

Oh, you should have won. That probably bothers him more than third and 28. No question. I agree

with you. And in that game, Jaylen, Jay, Jaylen Macmillan had over a hundred yards receiving.

And it was only his third, maybe second or third game back since his neck injury. So again,

the ball was going somewhere. And Baker didn't play particularly well. Another fourth quarter

interception, you know, he missed the deep throat of Jaylen and so on. But those things are really

what I think as much as anything, it's like, look, they got a lot of guys here, man. You know,

and they're going to continue to feature these guys. And these guys are going to naturally take

bigger, bigger roles. I don't want to fade the black. I know I can still do this at a high level.

I know I can be that guy. Like he said, to take a team like San Francisco and I can be that missing

piece. But here, I'm a big piece, maybe the biggest, but they have other pieces and they need

stuff on defense, they need stuff elsewhere. But if I go to San Francisco with that quarterback and

that offensive play collar and that tied in and center, et cetera, et cetera, and their defense

and Christian McCaffrey, you know, I can make this team get over the top. And I don't, I feel like

he didn't feel like he was going to do that here. It's really weird, right? It's like the greatest

offensive player of all time, not that they were phasing him out, per se. But he wasn't going to be

the option that he was in the past. And I think he wanted he wanted that on his back. I think he

has things he wants to achieve, especially the winning Super Bowl, et cetera. But I think it was

about, hey, and I even asked Jason at one point, I said, if you don't draft a mecca book in the

first round, last year, is Mike Evans still here? And he goes, maybe so.

And it doesn't mean that's the wrong pick last year. No, I don't think you, I don't necessarily

think it was time will tell. I mean, you know, we'll see. Yeah. But it wasn't the most of, I mean,

the biggest need was obviously for an edge rusher, which they signed Hassan reddick thought they

hope to address. The biggest need was for an inside linebacker, but they didn't know,

survived the Dennis was not going to be able to hold that down. And they didn't know that Mike

Evans, or I'm sorry, that Levante David would injure his knee and, and, you know, not play well.

So they had other, they had other needs beyond receiver. They took the best player they could. But

regardless of Mike, who obviously is, you know, going to be 33 in August, you also have Chris

Godwin, who is entering his 10th year. Whatever Mike stayed or left, the bucks are going to have to

begin the process of replacing the two best receivers in the history of the franchise.

They can't play forever. Well, and that's what the Ameka Buka pick was. That was starting to

replace. Absolutely. Absolutely. No, you didn't know Mike was going to leave the next season. But

that's all part of the, sure, you know, in the NFL, it's what have you done for me lately? And

you're not getting younger and, you know, you got to keep getting, you got to keep drafting

and developing. Exactly. So one, one, because the contracts are cheaper and two, because players

get older and, you know, aren't as effective anymore. Exactly. No, it's, it's a pretty interesting

stuff. You can check it out in the 10 Bay Times on Tempevay.com. But, you know, overall, it just seems

like, you know, money that there really wasn't a lot once Mike made up his mind that he could achieve

his goals and experience something new. You know, that's, that's the other part of it. Like,

this is going to be his last chance at free agency. He didn't, you know, he obviously always

resigned here. Fourth contract is like, hey, it's kind of now or never. And so, so he took it.

But check that out in the 10 Bay Times, 10 Bay.com. We got your mail back questions coming up in

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unlimited plan. All right, we got a few mail bag questions in time for those as we wrap up

the evening here. Let's get started. Okay, Chuck and West Palm Beach at Tweet us. He says

this 2026 bucksies and feels like the last year of a grudin Allen where ownership is prepared

for a franchise reset like it did with Rahim and Dominic. As a media insider, what is the vibe at

one buck? Well, it's hard to really get a handle on that to be honest with you. I would say this

that the few conversations I did have during free agency. I wouldn't say there was a poll cast

across it, but I think there was a realism that it wasn't going to be a spectacular free agent ride.

In other words, they were kind of in it for some edge rushers, but what they were really

not looking forward to was what happened. I mean, they lost Mike Evans.

They did not want Mike Evans to leave this team and for good reason. I mean, one, he showed he had

a lot of juice left when he came back from the broken clavicle and had that 130 yard game.

And then he brings so much energy to any game. And you can absolutely, if you're Zach Robinson,

I mean, you wanted that dude, because yeah, do you have an abundance of receivers? Sure you do.

But you know what? Look what happened last year. At one point, you look out there and it's a

mecca Buka and you know, a rookie, you know, in Test Johnson. Like that was it, you know,

and then startling sharp and guys like that. So you can't have enough of a good thing.

And I think that, you know, that was sort of sort of what they were, you know, kind of dreading

a little bit about free agency. But no, I think, you know, going back to, you know, post John

Groot and like, Drew Groot is last year. They were all in obviously. And John was just the opposite.

They were going, John was beating them up for free agents every year quarterbacks, you know,

Chris Simms, the Jeff Garcia to whoever. And receivers and offensive linemen, he could not get

enough veteran players in here. And they were nine and three. And they went to Carolina,

who was also nine and three. I think at the time, and they got absolutely waxed. And they

went one more game didn't do it. And you know, missed the playoffs. And they lost to, you know,

the then Oakland Raiders. And Jamarcus Russell, who didn't meet anybody. And so when that happened,

the Glazers knew that John was going to be back at it again, you know, banging down the door

for free agents. And again, it was, man, you had been purchased. They had a ton of debt.

But more importantly, they had three uncapped years because of the labor situation. There's

a poison pill when they didn't get that extended by a certain time. Then there was no sour cap.

And that meant you could spend a billion dollars or one dollar. There was no floor. There was no

top. So the Glazers just said, screw it. We're not going to sign free agents. And they didn't.

But more than that, they got rid of Groot and they got rid of Bruce Allen, right? And they made

Mark Dominic the GM. They made Rahim Morris the coach and they cut Derek Brooks and they cut

Ork Don and they cut Kato June and they cut all these players. And you've not seen that, right?

We did see Mike Evans Lee, but that was Mike's choice, okay? Could they have blown him away and

convinced him to stay? I would imagine they tried. I don't think it was about money. But we're not

quite there yet. Now, if you tell me that they go out there this year and it just falls apart,

then yeah, if you're looking at a regime change, you're looking at coaching change. Yeah, you could

definitely see a few veterans, you know, be cut a drift. But a lot of their guys are core guys

that are already signed. You know, the Tristan Wurfs and the Antoine Winfield juniors and the

Luke Gettikeys and you know, these kind of guys and even for that matter, we'll see what they do

with Baker Mayfield. But like, you know, you have core guys that are going to be here for years to

come. And they're not, you know, they're still either in their first

pre-agent contract or, you know, after their rookie deals, they're still young players in their prime.

So, you know, when it happened before, there was a realization that we've gotten old as a football

team. You know, we've just gotten really old and really expensive. And these guys were at the

end of their careers and they were just cut loose. And some of them went on, you know, like work done

into Atlanta. But Derek Brooks never played again. And you know, SAP went to, went to the

Raiders and Lynch went to Denver and made four probals. But they broke up the band. I don't sense

that they're breaking up the band just yet. I think it's more about, I guess, I guess they don't

feel like the team is at the spot where they're quite like going to go for it, like they're all in.

And I do think that there's more, there's a, I do think there's a deeper reason here,

sort of why they're being cautious. I do know that philosophically, they're not big

pre-agent spenders anyway, right? Obviously, they did it when Brady was here. It didn't matter

because they're, you know, Tom Brady, right? You've got one or two years to try to get something

done with him. I think they're just going to continue to build this team the way they always have

through the draft, you know, add some pre-agents here or there. Does it not feel like they're going

for it? Yeah, it feels like they're not going for it. It does. But that doesn't mean they can't win

this division. You know, again, if you told me, okay, you know, handicap this division, who's

going to win one through whatever? You'd be like, well, Carolina won it last year. They're better

than they were a year ago. You know, Atlanta has a new coach and they do have talent, but I'm not

sure exactly how the quarterback thing's going to work itself out with two and penics and a new coach.

And then New Orleans was coming on really strong at the end of the year, but they're still, you know,

probably a year away from from really challenging maybe. I mean, I think they challenged last year. Look,

they finished strong, but it's not a division where you wouldn't say, well, these guys can't win it.

I still think, in fact, I know, if you look at the odds in Las Vegas, the bucks are favorite to

win the South again, even with all the changes in the free agency and everything that just transpired.

The bucks are the pick for the NFC South. And I don't disagree with it. So it's not quite the

scorched earth that they did, you know, when they brought in Raheem Morris, which was also not a

coincidence that they they took a guy on the staff and made him a head coach. And he was one of the

lowest paid coaches in the NFL is his first job, you know, same thing with the GM. He was in the

building too, right? So they didn't go outside and hire some some pricey guy. They said, you be coach,

you be GM. And oh, by the way, your first order of business is the cut Derek Brooks. How would you

like that for the first day on the job? So it's not the scorched earth yet. Now a year from now,

we'll see, right? We'll see how Baker may, how they feel about Baker may feel, you know,

he's the $60 million quarterback. We'll see how they feel about a lot of the head coach and the GM

and all of that. I still think they're trying to win. And are they going for it like they had Tom

Brady? No, they're not. I mean, they're not. And frankly, maybe neither should they, right?

Like a lot of this has to do with two, like how much better do your younger players get, right?

Like we've seen some guys that have some tendencies that, you know, could be going,

Tai Chi Smith could become a pro bowl player, you know? Antoine, we feel junior hasn't in them.

Can he come back to that? You know, Zion McCallum had his moments, but last year kind of fell

down a bit, you know, has all the athletic ability in the world. B2V is still a problem for most teams.

You know, Yaya Diabi has shown some flashes. He just needs help. Like it's not as if

all is lost. It's still the best offensive line I've seen him have, you know, since, I don't know,

I think it's actually better than what they had in the Super Bowl in many ways.

Um, so I don't, I don't quite sense it's there yet. I do think though that

it's also not, you know, winning at any cost. I mean, there definitely is a reason why they're not

going woolly nilly to free agency and things like that. I don't, I don't think they sense that

they're quite where they need to be to do that. Um, that's not to say, you know, I mean, Jason's

not a big trading deadline guy, but if they got off to a great start and it wasn't just, you know,

last minute comebacks and they felt like they were a dominant team. Maybe they'd do something

at the break too. But no, it's, I know what you're saying and, and I can see why you would feel that

way, but don't look at free agency as the biggest barometer of whether they think they're all in or

not, you know, Kansas City hasn't done much. I guarantee you they think they can win a Super Bowl.

You know, look, look around the league. Some of the better teams have lost players, you know,

and they're just trying to keep their head above water because some of their best players have

gone on to other teams. Um, and that happens when you're a good team. You can't pay everybody.

So they're kind of, they're kind of in that mix where, look, if we can just

maintain what we have, okay, have a little bit better year being consistent, build our defense back,

you know, fill those, those holes we had on defense. And in this division, nine, ten,

maybe as much as 11 wins, you're going back to host a playoff game. And I'm here to tell you,

if you can do that, if you can get an internment, you have a chance. And I think that's sort of what

they believe their team is right now. All right, Ren asked since the Bucks replaced a bigger running

back with a Bucky size back, who's going to run between the tackles for those tough yards?

Is Tucker going to get roughly 10 carries a game now? Because Bucky nor Gainwell can take that

consistent beating, thoughts? Yeah, it is true that Gainwell is not as big as Richard White.

And he's more Bucky sized, if you will. Now, I would say this, John Tucker was their best short

yardage in goal line back a year ago, you know, even though he's not big in terms of height, like,

you know, he runs with leverage and he moves guys backwards. So he's become a little bit of that

hammer that they that they use in those situations. They used them that way last year too.

It wasn't Rashad. To me, Rashad's value was as a third down back receiver, you know, past

protector, like those, that was his forte to me. This guy Gainwell can block. I've watched him. He

can block. He's not afraid to stick his head in there. Bucky has gotten better at that as well.

But do you want to run these guys, you know, bang him up in there, you know, 30 times a game? No,

I think it's going to be a committee. I think Gainwell is a more efficient runner. He averaged

4.7 yards of carry. You know, you know, you look at who he's replacing. I mean, heck, you're under

4 yards of carry, you know, and with with white. So I mean, I think this is a more efficient back

caught 72 passes last year. You didn't get that out of white, you know, so you'll have to do it a

different way. They don't have a big back. That's what you're looking for. If you're looking for it

and that's not to say again, you know, you can find those guys and lower rounds, free agency,

undrafted free agents like you can go get yourself a hammer if you really want one.

But what they're looking for is efficiency. And if you've got a good offensive line,

that's where it starts, right? If you can move people off the line of scrimmage, believe me,

all those guys can run between the tackles, you know, they're not they're not small in terms of,

you know, and not being able to hold up to NFL hits and things like that. I do think that they

got to be smarter with Bucky. I think it got to a point last year where they were like, okay,

you're you're a lead back. So we're just going to ride you a little bit. And I don't think he's

going to hold up because Bucky runs like he like he's bigger than he is. And I think that's

how you get your shoulder hurt, you know, like you can't drive people off the line of scrimmage. Like

that that line has to move. And last year their guards were so bad last year with Bredison out

with, you know, Cody Mock going down. I know those other guys came in there, did the best they

could, but there was so much penetration and those guys got destroyed inside. And you know,

that that does not make your running backs healthier when you're getting hit like that that many

times in the backfield. So yes, it's a good observation. Gain will is more Bucky Irving size than

than he is for shot white. But I think they like Tucker in short yardage. And I would say

wait and see if they add another back, maybe a bigger statured back to that if they have to.

Okay, less wrote us. He says, Rick, it's time for our annual all-too-early race prediction.

This year is tough with all that's happened, but I just don't see enough offense or bullpen arms

for this team to compete against an improved AL East. So a good start, but only 80 wins. What say you?

Yeah, you know, I don't know that I'm ready yet.

100 losses. 100 losses. I'll say that they're not going to lose 100. I'll never get over that.

They may have won close to 100 that year when I said it. I don't I don't think that they're,

I don't think they're going to lose 100. Does that mean I think that they're going to make the playoffs?

I think that's going to be difficult. Somewhere between

78 and 82, 82 wins, maybe. So 517. About a 500 team. Yeah, I would say north or south by a few games.

I don't see them, you know, are they going to get 10 games of a 500 and make the playoffs or

5. I don't I don't see that. I think they'll be doing well to try to just, you know, hit that

mid 500 mark and see if they can push it north or south, hopefully north, a few games. But

is this team going to win 85 90? No. Are they going to win 65? No. I think they're going to be,

you know, somewhere between 75 and 500, you know, like, which is what 82 wins, right? So

that's to me, that's who they are. I don't know what, what makes it different. I don't know who

would have to just take off with the pitching, have to just be lights out with, would you have to

get Caminero become the MVP and hit 55 home runs? Like, you know, Jonathan Aronda hits 40. Like what?

I think they, I think they need a lot of luck with health. Like they did, they're starting pitching

last year actually was really healthy. And that's what kind of kept them in for a while. It was,

yeah, you know, they need that again this year. You know, you know, it was, it was the same five

starters going over and over last year. Right. You know, I don't think they have a ton of depth in

starting. They usually find bullpen arms and figure it out. It's going to be kind of by committee

and that the offense worries me. But in the trop, you know, the pitching and defense will mean more

than it did last year. It will. And so, you know, like, do I expect Caminero to get 45 home runs

again? I don't think so. I think we have a lot, but I think in the trop compared to Steinbrenner.

And I don't know if he's got as much protection in the lineup either.

But, you know, I he'll have a good season. I think there's a lot of unknowns. I agree with you.

I think it's that 80 to 84 win mark. But they stay healthy.

Can get up to 88 89. That's fighting for a playoff spot.

Or could be could be. Yeah. I mean, I think they'll hover around it. Like, you know, it could

come down where they do the last month, where they're the last three weeks. You know, I don't think

they're going to be one of these teams where you're like, you know, at the end of the all-star break,

you're writing them off. I mean, I think they'll find a way to stay relevant. The L East is always

tough, man. You got the Yankees, you know, Boston's better. Like there's yeah, well, Baltimore's

invested Toronto just went to the World Series last year. Yeah. Boston's improving Yankees kind of

didn't do a lot. No, they did not, but did they have to? Yeah. You know, they're always going to

be a tough out. So I mean, it's the division. It's, you know, but do I think that they'll hang

in there with their pitching and defense? Yeah. I think the ballpark will play better for them

defensively. I think you'll see maybe not as many home runs on their end.

Um, Caminaro, I'm not going to put any limitations on that dude, man. He's just flat out nasty.

He's, he's, I think he's him. I just think that guy's just unbelievable. I'm, I'm big on Caminaro.

And I'd like to see you'd love to see him in big games and in late September early October.

Well, speaking of that, then Tommy had emailed us. Yeah. He asked what's more likely to happen

this season? Junior Caminaro hits 50 homers or Chandler Simpson steals 60 bases.

I think it's Chandler Simpson given that choice. Um, but could he hit 50? Yeah. He could. Oh, yeah.

He had 45 last year. So that's what I mean. I mean, I think he's, if I'm not mistaken, you know,

they, I think Mark Tompkin kind of quietly asked him like what you're, you know, sort of what you're,

your number, you know, if you have one, you know, just on your own mind, I think he was thinking

more like 30 for himself. He should say 74. I mean, what he, yeah, right? I mean, why, but he,

he kind, I don't think he expected to do quite what he did. Yeah. Um, but, you know, expectations

are something that you have to live with too. But I'm just telling you, man, this guy, he just

hits the ball so hard, you know, and yeah, the ballpark won't play as well as it did. It's time,

Brenner probably. Um, but he only plays half his games there. So, you know, doesn't mean you can't

hit it out of any park, including Yellowstone, right? So, um, I, I, I don't know, man, it's, uh,

I think they're going to be a rent. I would say the 500 mark North or South by a few games. That's,

that's kind of what I think their realistic goal would be. If they do, if they exceed that,

Kevin Cashwin's manager of the year again, GM of the year comes to, you know, all of that,

right? If you, if you're competitive in that division with, with what you're going, what, what,

you're running out there because they're clearly, I want to say it was like a, like a bake sale,

you know, or a sell off, but they did lose some players. You know, Brenner Lau is not on this

baseball team. He could help them, right? So, I mean, and that's the race way. So they,

they lost some power. They lost, they lost some home runs. They lost some, some bats. Um,

and that was intentional, right? And the new owners come in and, yep, they want to be,

have their best ball club when they go to the new ballpark. So all of that's part of this, but

none of those guys are going to, going to concede. And as long as you can pitch and play defense,

which I think they can do, and, and they just have it in their DNA and their competitive as hell.

And I think they have the best young hitter in the game.

All right. Big night in sports. Obviously, USF going, uh, March madness, babies. Awesome. We

get USF. No, don't wait for tonight. That's, that's this afternoon. So this afternoon,

that's right. Oh, not tonight. Okay. What time? One 30, I'm sorry. Yep. Okay. So hopefully you,

you listen to this podcast early and you got it and did miss the game or the tip off. Um,

Vancouver though, that one is on the West Coast. That's a night game with the lightning,

correct? That's a 10 o'clock, uh, 10 o' eight puck drops. So, uh, and we are one week away from

opening day with the Tampa Bay Rays. You can hardly believe that. Wow. Um, make sure you get on

down to Brightening Bootique International Plaza mall. Check out the beautiful watches they have.

NFL watches all 32 teams. While supplies last watches for your wife and girlfriend as well.

It is Brightening Bootique. Let them know you heard about it right here on Sports Day Tampa Bay.

Thanks for listening. Borschtie, Burson, Montgomery, Stroud, the Tampa Bay Times. Have a great day,

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