1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,160 One what's happened everybody, welcome back to BT only special 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,760 guest today talk some Yankees who are rocking and have a lot 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:08,240 of things going for them right now. 4 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,480 And of course that is that is going to be done with the voice 5 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,480 of the Yankees. My buddy, I've known him for a 6 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,720 long time and I always tell him, dude, you're going to be in the 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,000 Hall of Fame someday and he always resists it. 8 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:21,840 So I stopped saying it. But we ought to talk some shop 9 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,520 right now and get into a multitude of Yankee issues, many 10 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,080 of which are good. Michael, welcome back to the 11 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,080 show. How you doing, brother? 12 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:29,640 What's happening? I'm great. 13 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,479 Brandon, how you doing? I'm doing outstanding, I really 14 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:33,880 am. It has been a it's been a lot of 15 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,760 fun, man. So it's crazy too, because the 16 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,360 it's things aren't really perfect for the Yankees in terms 17 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,280 of, you know, whether it's third base, whether it's center field, 18 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,040 whether it's Jazz up until the last week or so playing well. 19 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,760 But they're pitching has masked so much and Rice and Judge has 20 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,760 helped as well. Just big picture. 21 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:56,680 Let's start here. Are the Yankees where you 22 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,000 thought they would be? Are they a step ahead? 23 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:00,880 Early assessment of the Yankees, Mike. 24 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,599 Well, I, I thought that the biggest problem was going to be 25 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,840 the bullpen and I think that's still a work in progress. 26 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:08,840 The bullpen that's going to finish the season is not the 27 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,080 bullpen that we're seeing now. I thought, I thought the hitting 28 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,320 one through 9 would be a little bit better, but I think we're 29 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:17,200 being picky. They lead the major leagues at 30 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:19,080 home runs, which is what they're built to do. 31 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,840 Their their starting pitching has been phenomenal, Brandon, 32 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:23,480 and it's only going to get better. 33 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:25,560 I mean, you're going to get back Cole, you're going to get back 34 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,560 Rodan. And they're going to be at least 35 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,680 two or three pitchers that are going to be really chapped that 36 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:32,200 they're not in the starting rotation. 37 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,320 So is that fifth guy going to be Warren? 38 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:36,320 Is it going to be Weathers? Is it going to be Omar 39 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:38,240 Rodriguez? They're in pretty good shape 40 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:39,760 right now. Yeah, they are. 41 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:41,880 And you know, let's at least get the Rodriguez stuff out of the 42 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:42,640 way. You could tell. 43 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:44,760 And Kony was talking about this yesterday when I was watching 44 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:46,880 the game. He conceals the ball well. 45 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,080 He's got 5 or 6 pitches. He's got a plus repertoire. 46 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:52,520 Of course the kid was nervous. He didn't really have the strike 47 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,520 zone command early, but do you think, or at least do the do 48 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,880 that you think that the Yankees think that his stuff is 49 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:02,680 projectable enough to trust him in higher leverage situations if 50 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,720 he does come out of the pen down the road? 51 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:07,760 I, I don't think that they look at him as out of the pen, 52 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,759 Brandon, I think they would look at Legrande as out of the pen 53 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:12,920 because he throws 103 miles an hour. 54 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:17,000 So that's swinging missed stuff. And although Rodriguez has that, 55 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,000 I still think they project him to be really a top flight 56 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,040 starter. I don't know if he's going to be 57 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,800 here once we're done, you know, comes back. 58 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,640 So this might just be a a toe in the water to see how he he does. 59 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:32,480 But I don't think they look at him as a reliever at this point. 60 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,280 I think they look at guys like Weathers and Legrande more as 61 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:37,960 relievers. OK, so let's go there. 62 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:39,920 So I know that you're really close with Jack Curry. 63 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:41,840 That means phenomenal baseball. Source. 64 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,200 Great guy. I think he's brilliant. 65 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:45,640 And, you know, he's connected to the Yankees. 66 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:47,800 So when he says something, it's obviously going to be, you know, 67 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,640 rooted in truth, or at least what they're thinking. 68 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:53,280 Now let's push this forward and this would be optimal. 69 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,040 And baseball, most funny, you never know. 70 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,520 But optimally speaking, in in any order, you know, Freed, 71 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,200 Schlittler, Cole Rodon, based on their resume, based on the 72 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:04,760 salaries, those are locks, right? 73 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,360 As I was going for starters, as I was going through this really 74 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,280 over the last month or so, projecting what's going to 75 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,600 eventually come. I I love the way Weathers has 76 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,960 looked some games here, but I didn't think they wanted 77 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,120 necessarily have 60% of their rotation lefties, which they 78 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,200 would if Weathers was in there. And I do like Will Warren. 79 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,400 Is it more the lefty or is it more they just like Warren stuff 80 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,400 better? Do you think that maybe 81 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,920 Weathers, which is why Warren might be that fifth guy I. 82 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,600 I think you're you're kind of looking at it differently than 83 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,720 they probably are. I think they're looking at the 84 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,560 guy who stuffed translates better to the bullpen. 85 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,200 I think they love Weathers. They think Weathers is a really 86 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,400 good starter and has starter stuff. 87 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,840 But you know, left-hander throwing 9798 miles an hour. 88 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,000 That would be pretty good coming out of the bullpen. 89 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,000 Warren is more of your, you know, typical starter. 90 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,280 I, I think we, I don't think we give him the proper respect. 91 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:01,440 He he's really good. I mean, he made 33 starts last 92 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,040 year as a rookie and that was a year ahead of schedule. 93 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,920 And I think he's much better Brandon this year than he was 94 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,920 last year and he's 3 and O. So these I hate when people say 95 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,920 good problems because problems are problems because it's still 96 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,160 going to cause some angst with somebody. 97 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,839 But it is a pleasant dilemma to have when you have too many 98 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,040 arms. You really the the Yankees have 99 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,080 started producing arms would say have not done it at this rate 100 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,560 before. Rodriguez when he was acquired 101 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,160 from the Red Sox was not supposed to be that guy. 102 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:32,280 Legrande was not supposed to be that guy. 103 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,840 Guy Ben Hess is not supposed to be that guy. 104 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,720 And they've got guys now that not only are they Major League 105 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,320 ready branded, but those could be the guys that they use if 106 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,320 they want to trade for a high end reliever at the at the trade 107 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:44,000 deadline. Yeah. 108 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,760 It's funny that you lead me to the trades here. 109 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,640 And OK, so you know, whether it's third base and there's so 110 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,640 many factors here, whether it's Volbee, which we'll get to, 111 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:53,600 whether it's Lombard, which we'll get to. 112 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:59,240 I mean, to me, Michael with the pitching, I love Boone. 113 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,120 I, I can't, I can't stand that. He writes Grisham's name is the 114 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:03,400 lead off hitter. I just can't stand it. 115 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,960 So I, I can't stand it. I look at the Yankees being and 116 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,560 I don't mean Ricky Henderson type of lead off hitter or Jeter 117 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,440 or even Nabi. But if they could get a 118 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:16,320 legitimate lead off hitter 2026 version and then go judge to or 119 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,760 rights to and then flip the, you know, the belly. 120 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,400 Now you get the 1st 5 or 6 hitters. 121 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,040 That is a World Series lineup. Do you do you think that they're 122 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,880 thinking on some level big bat, big addition, not just relief? 123 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,520 So you want them to acquire a lead off guy trade wise? 124 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:36,840 Well, OK, so let's break this down. 125 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:38,640 Where would you put him? What position would he play? 126 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,760 I'd put him at left field if I could get my hands on now. 127 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,080 I don't know if they'll trade him if I could get Stephen Quan. 128 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,520 I do that right. I put Quan in left. 129 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,600 I put belly at first. Rice is my DH and Stanton's 130 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:51,640 tough, tough. I stay at, you know, playing 131 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:53,320 idea. I understand he's going to run 132 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,720 into some moon shot at some point, but in terms of contact 133 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,360 rate and all the other numbers that really matter to me, that 134 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:00,800 would be the best version of the Yankees. 135 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:03,240 And by the way, they are sneaky athletic. 136 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,920 You've said this a lot. Yankees run more than they used 137 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,120 to. 4th in stolen bases. You had somebody like Quan who 138 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,440 can also run. I mean, we're cooking with the 139 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,600 World Series team here, Mike. That's my opinion. 140 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,680 Yeah, I, I think it's going to be tough to get a guy like Quan. 141 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,080 I'm sure they've investigated before because that central is 142 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,840 still wide open. Let let me ask you this. 143 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,280 What, why? Why do you dislike Grisham so 144 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:28,640 much? I know he's hitting in the 145 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,120 hundreds, which is not what they want, but he does run into home 146 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,840 runs and he gets on base a lot. He walks a lot. 147 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:40,040 So I, I talked to Boone about it over the winter and I said, 148 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,880 well, why what, what kind of why don't you have a real lead off 149 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,360 guy And he goes, well, what's a real lead off guy, Mike? 150 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:48,560 I said, oh, Ricky Henderson, he goes, Oh, you. 151 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,480 So you chose the greatest one of all time. 152 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,400 They, they aren't available. So I, I think they're 153 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:54,960 comfortable with Grisham. I really do. 154 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,600 I think they're comfortable with Grisham. 155 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,320 So I don't think they're going to move heaven and earth. 156 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,960 I think if they make a big deal, Brandon, it's going to be 157 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,080 foreclosure. OK, all right. 158 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,440 Now, I would I would disagree with their logic there, but I I 159 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:07,920 certainly respect the way you laid out. 160 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,240 Yeah, I've told this to Boone too, and it gets pissed at me 161 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:12,760 when I say that he's not a lead off bidder. 162 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,920 Now, by the way, I'm not I don't have an issue with Grisham 163 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,720 playing. I just look at whether it's the 164 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,320 Dodgers and listen, the Dodgers at the standard. 165 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,320 So maybe it's just unfair to always bring them up. 166 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,560 But I don't look at that first slot. 167 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,760 I don't want Grisham getting in the way of Ben Rice and Judge 168 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:31,840 and Bellinger getting high leverage at bats. 169 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,720 If he's playing and he's batting 7th, I got no problem. 170 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:36,920 If he's batting 6th, I got no problem. 171 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:42,040 But also last year Michael was the outlier to his career. 172 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,680 He's been a 195 hitter basically every year. 173 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,960 And here we are again. So last year to me, kind of an 174 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:50,800 anomaly. And if I'm trying to win a World 175 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,960 Series, I'm not hedging a bet on an outlier like, but that's 176 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,000 just, I know it. I know I simplify it. 177 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,320 I make it easier than it probably is, but I've been 178 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:01,920 consistent with this. I do not want him batten first. 179 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,200 I just don't. I'd rather have Ben Rice Batten 180 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,640 first, Mike. Well, I mean, if, if you really 181 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,360 want to be totally honest about it, the best lead off guy on the 182 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,880 team would be judge. You know, he gets on base at 4, 183 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,920 you know, 45% of the time and you know, give you a 1 nothing 184 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,360 lead in the beginning. But I've had Brandon, the the 185 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,960 argument that you just presented at high decibels with people in 186 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,120 the Yankee organization about Grisham. 187 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:28,560 I said, you know, he's never done this before. 188 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:29,880 They said we've unlocked something. 189 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:32,760 This he's he's going to be this guy all the time. 190 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,000 I said, OK, you know, time will tell because I, I've made it 191 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,360 very well known. I at the time, I was against the 192 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,000 qualifying offer of 22 million. And they said it's, it's only 193 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,440 for one year, blah, blah, blah. But you know, that could have 194 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:45,840 been money that you spent somewhere else. 195 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,960 But he's, he's better defensively than he was last 196 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:50,520 year. So I could see what they were 197 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,360 saying that the hamstring certainly bothered him. 198 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,680 But the batting average is what, last time I looked yesterday, it 199 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:58,560 was like 170, something like that. 200 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:00,680 That's not good enough. So he's got to be better than 201 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:02,520 that. But the one thing he does is the 202 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:04,760 lead up guy, he takes a lot of pictures. 203 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,680 So Rice is seeing a lot of pictures from the on deck circle 204 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:10,120 judge the same thing. And he does walk a lot. 205 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:12,680 So his batting average is low, but I think his on base 206 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:16,240 percentage is in the three. So again, they're going to look 207 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,440 under the hood of all these numbers to justify this. 208 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,320 But right now the offense is pretty decent and I think it's 209 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,640 going to get better because I think Jazz is going to get 210 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,520 better, too. You're right, he's right around 211 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,400 170. But if you extrapolate deeper, 212 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:33,200 and I was doing this on my show before, 89 total of bats this 213 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,840 year, 69 of which have come from the lead off spot, he's sitting 214 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:36,920 in $1.30. He's a lead off hitter. 215 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,040 But we don't need to beat this to a bloody pulp. 216 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:40,840 You know, I know how you feel about this. 217 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,520 We got to feel the same way. But what matters is how the 218 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:48,440 Yankees feel quickly on this and couple and I said a right-handed 219 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:50,040 Randy Johnson, but I don't love it. 220 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:52,200 Some people said a young Curt Schilling, I don't love it. 221 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,360 Do you have an early player comp for Cam Schlittler? 222 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,480 No, I, I really don't. I just, I just know he's 223 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:01,200 special. And the only thing I will tell 224 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,040 you, Brandon, the only thing that derails this guy is if, God 225 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,960 forbid, he gets injured. I don't see the league catching 226 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,440 on them. He's getting by right now, 227 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:14,640 throwing 85% fastballs now, different fastballs, but 85% 228 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:16,720 fastballs. He's got the ability and the 229 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,280 aptitude to develop another pitch if he has to. 230 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:22,840 But David Cohen, who I go to for stuff like this, said you don't 231 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,120 even go there until you have to. He goes right now. 232 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:27,480 The league is not catching up with this guy. 233 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:31,080 I can't think of a cop. I think, you know, we were 234 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:35,520 getting on the plane yesterday and I remarked to my producer, 235 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,760 Troy Benjamin, I said this guy is huge. 236 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:40,560 People don't realize how big this guy is. 237 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,840 Like, I'm 64 and he towers over me. 238 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,520 He just comes out you, you know, he's on top of you and he 239 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,960 delivers the ball and he's got a fearlessness. 240 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,760 And I don't know if you saw the postgame interview that Meredith 241 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:57,600 did with the Austin Wells the day that Schlittler pitched in 242 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,840 in Arlington, He said that 6th inning was the best inning he's 243 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:03,760 ever thrown. And if you remember, he had 244 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,680 first and 2nd and nobody out. And that's usually the time, you 245 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,040 know, you you watch a lot of Yankee games. 246 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,280 That's usually the time that Boone's going to start matching 247 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,440 up in the bullpen. He let this guy stay out there 248 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,200 and this guy reached back and was throwing 9899. 249 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,160 They had no chance. That was an impressive inning. 250 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:22,640 That tells you what this kids all about. 251 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:26,400 But in terms of comps, I, I, he's, he's kind of a Unicorn to 252 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:27,840 me. I I can't find a comp. 253 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,240 If you had me neither. If you had to take a pick here 254 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,440 and, and obviously you watch him more, even though you know, 255 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:34,760 doing what you do for a living, you watch the Mets when you can. 256 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:37,280 McClain or Schlittler, pure stuff. 257 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,520 Who do you think is is more dominant? 258 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,720 I think it could be Schlittler, and I love McClain. 259 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:46,480 I mean, I've loved McClain since the first time that I saw him. 260 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,440 I don't like the fact that he doesn't really give you as much 261 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:52,720 length as Schlittler. So if you want to have a 262 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,000 tiebreaker, that could be it. And and Schlittler sitting at 263 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,160 9899 free and easy. So I I think just from results 264 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,160 you got to go with Schlittler. Do you agree? 265 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,160 I do agree it's close and I love McClain. 266 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,960 Like McClain is there like everything about him and and by 267 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,360 the way, the fact that McClain was a hitter, I think that's a 268 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,320 real asset, you know, because he just right it, it adds to the 269 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:15,840 mental role of the decks because you know, he hit in college and 270 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,080 he was a pretty high level hitter. 271 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:18,600 So it's definitely not a detriment. 272 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,320 It's, you know, in addition to plus stuff mentally, I think 273 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,760 he's there too. And they both have slow 274 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:25,520 heartbeats. I mean it, they're both 275 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,440 phenomenal. I do think Schlittler by a tick, 276 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,760 but that time will tell. All right, ma'am, I was watching 277 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,320 a clip yesterday of you, Mike. And if you don't even know the 278 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,800 answer yet, then then I don't. But I want to work through the 279 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,600 thought process here. You seem genuinely, certainly 280 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,200 intrigued, but even a little confused as to what you think is 281 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,120 going to happen with Anthony Volpe. 282 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,920 What do you think should happen? And contrast that to what you 283 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:51,880 think that the Yankees will actually do. 284 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:58,200 What I think should happen is as long as they're winning, I would 285 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:03,440 not put the pressure on him nor put him in the crosshairs of the 286 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,440 fans because as you know, baseball is an ebb and flow 287 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,000 sport. There's there's going to be a 288 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,720 market correction. The Yankees are not playing 800 289 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,400 ball all year. So they just come off a road 290 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:15,720 trip where they're seven and two. 291 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:21,000 So wait until they they lose a couple of games and Caballero 292 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:26,240 gives you an O for 15 because, you know, Yankee fans, a lot of 293 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:29,440 them are just waiting. They're lying in wait for Volpe 294 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:31,760 to mess up. And he does not need that 295 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,040 pressure. And I'm not one of those people. 296 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,680 And I don't know if you are. I don't buy into that nonsense. 297 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:40,360 You don't lose your job because of injury. 298 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,480 Because if that was the case, you know, Drew Bledsoe would 299 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:44,880 have been the quarterback of the Patriots. 300 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,000 You do lose jobs because of injury if somebody plays better 301 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,240 than you. I think that the thing that has 302 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,200 really stunned the Yankees is how good Caballero has been 303 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:59,080 defensively. He's plus 6 + 6 defensive run 304 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:00,560 save. You know where that is in 305 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:03,320 baseball. That's best of all shortstops in 306 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,720 baseball. He overtook Bobby with Junior, 307 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:07,400 who's a reigning Gold Glove winner. 308 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:12,920 He's got a very good arm, he's got extraordinary range and he's 309 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,040 got he's got a quick twitch motor. 310 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:20,400 So what I would do, I would wait and have Anthony wait until 311 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,440 something goes awry. Not that you're rooting for it 312 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,560 to go awry. And if it never goes awry, well 313 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,960 then they got a tough decision. I don't know what the Yankees 314 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,640 are thinking. Brian had said at the beginning 315 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,680 of the year, the last time he spoke was that when when Volpe 316 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:38,320 comes up, he's going to be the starting shortstop. 317 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,400 But that was when they were struggling. 318 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,160 Now they're playing great and they have the best record in the 319 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,360 American League. So I don't know if that's 320 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,160 changed. And the thing that jumped out at 321 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,680 me was I was sitting there as Boone was doing his pre game 322 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,920 press conference and I've never heard him talk like this where 323 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,560 he kept saying we'll see, we'll see. 324 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,480 He didn't. He didn't try to put out the 325 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,000 fire or anything like that. And when he was pressed on 326 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,120 Volpe, he kept saying, hey, we'll see. 327 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,080 So that tells me that they're going to wait and see. 328 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,120 I thought, I thought Boone handled that well nowadays, like 329 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,760 back in the day when when we were younger like you just maybe 330 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:16,280 reading the paper, like what so and so is doing at AAA Columbus. 331 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:19,040 Like now you just go on Twitter and you get to see Lombards 332 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,280 plays at Somerset before he got and we'll get to him in a 333 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,520 minute. More extensively, Volpe 2A and 334 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,840 and some of the plays he's made, both good and bad, I do. 335 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:29,760 I don't want to geek out too much because I'm not a hitting 336 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,560 coach, but his swing does look a little flatter, which is 337 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:38,040 producing some more line drives. My fear about Volpe, right, is 338 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,920 that he had so many things to work on from a mechanical point 339 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,160 of view, right? Because he was getting long and 340 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:45,960 loopy and he was just a mess mechanically. 341 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,400 But with a jacked up shoulder, you couldn't really put the time 342 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,040 in during the winter to really alter those mechanics. 343 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,120 But get his swing looks a little different. 344 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,360 Does it look different to you and and and to the Yankees? 345 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,080 I don't know what it feels like to the Yankees. 346 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,400 They they have not discussed it at all. 347 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,480 It looks a little flatter. This is something that Willie 348 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,240 Randolph has been talking about for years. 349 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,120 He does not like the loop and the swing. 350 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,320 But I don't think that that's the fault of Volpe. 351 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,440 I think that's the the Yankees teach launch angle. 352 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,560 I would like him. I want him on base 35% of the 353 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,480 time, not 30%. And I believe in Anthony Volpe, 354 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,000 Brandon, I'm not one of the guys that's giving up on him. 355 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:24,400 I think he could be a really good player for the Yankees. 356 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,280 So if he could come up and hit 250 and have an on base 357 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:32,040 percentage of 350, then you know, he's he's a borderline All 358 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,760 Star kind of prospect. But you know, it's getting late 359 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,040 early, as Yogi used to say, this is his fourth year. 360 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,080 So somebody asked me the other day, is his leash a little 361 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,840 shorter? And I said it's still long, but 362 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,280 it's shorter than it was. I don't even think it's long 363 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:47,480 anymore for a lot of the reasons that you said. 364 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,000 I mean, it's now year 4 first round. 365 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,160 Pick a local. There's good energy there. 366 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,400 There's bad energy there. Like it's going to be very 367 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,080 interesting to see what they do now. 368 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,840 Listen, is there a chance I'm just, I'm just not a Jazz guy. 369 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,040 I don't believe in him. I do think his energy is 370 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:05,920 sometimes good for this team. Yankees have been historically 371 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:07,760 very corporate. Nobody knows that more than you. 372 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:09,680 And you get a little bit of a loose wire. 373 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,680 That's a good thing. Kind of keeps everything a 374 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,319 little modern, a little loose there. 375 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,000 But he's just a Mace cadet too much for me, right? 376 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:18,760 Do you think that there's a chance at all this year? 377 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:25,480 We see some variation of Volpiat second and Lombarded short or 378 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,240 Volpiat Second and Caballero at short. 379 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:31,840 Is that remotely possible? This year, no. 380 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,160 This year is Jazz Chisholm's the second baseman, barring injury. 381 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:39,080 Now, you know, when Jazz said no in spring training, that is 382 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,720 going to go 5050 and expected a contract of like $30 million a 383 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,840 year for 10 years, I said, well, he's going to talk himself out 384 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,240 of being a Yankee. So I think what you just said, 385 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,280 the scenario you painted, that could be next year. 386 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,080 And and also Lombard could play third too. 387 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,360 So there's a lot of variations that the Yankees could play 388 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,000 with. And I think that the Yankees in 389 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,160 their dream scenario, their dream scenario is Caballero 390 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,760 plays everywhere and plays every day, but plays everywhere. 391 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,360 So I think that's that's a one saving grace for Anthony, where 392 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:13,280 Anthony could still come up and be the shortstop and Caballero 393 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,680 play third. One day he'll play center, he'll 394 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:17,800 play left. One day they'll move Bellinger 395 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,200 to center. They've got AII know that Boone 396 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,280 loves the makeup of this team and he can really be a mad 397 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:24,960 scientist, which he's always wanted. 398 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,440 He's got a legitimate bench with a lot of legitimate options on 399 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,120 it. And he said that last year 400 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,360 during the playoffs, which is why he was so despondent when 401 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,080 they got knocked out by Toronto. And I appreciated his 402 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:36,880 transparency. He's like, this is the best team 403 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,600 we've had. And you get Rosario, crushes 404 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,360 lefties. Not a great fielder, but crushes 405 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:42,760 lefties. Cabbie came in. 406 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,960 Now, a lot of the bullpen moves have not worked out. 407 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,720 But there was an infusion of players like back in the day, 408 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,640 whether it was Chubby Davis or Tim Reines or Justice, who 409 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,680 played more frequently. But you know Cecil like they 410 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,640 Andy Fox, Stankiewicz like they always had. 411 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,120 A. Daryl absolutely. 412 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,560 The Yankees bench, besides last year, the second-half on has 413 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,760 been wretched. It's like they've ignored it and 414 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,440 it really didn't give Boone a lot of options in terms of 415 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,040 maneuverability. So I always think that I'm not 416 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,880 saying that that that he's Miller Huggins, Aaron Boone, but 417 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,000 I think some of the criticisms that come his way have been 418 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,960 unjustified because I don't think he was given a lot of 419 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,840 options to to show that he's adaptable to new lineups and new 420 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,480 variations, right. Would you agree? 421 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,320 I would agree. And I, I believe that he's got a 422 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:29,880 lot of toys to play with this year. 423 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,640 He really does. And one thing I've noticed and 424 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,040 I, I have not noticed in a while, I don't mean this in in a 425 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:37,920 pejorative way. I think the Yankees are 426 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:43,280 operating this year in a ruthless fashion where they are 427 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,480 doing stuff like, OK, you're not playing McMahon, you're 428 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,120 struggling. You're sitting on the bench for 429 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,640 five days. They never used to do that 430 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,560 because now they have options. Louise Hill, you're going to 431 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,040 pitch to a 60 or 8, you're going down. 432 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,720 I mean, they keep doing stuff like that. 433 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:03,760 They are sitting down a guy like Goldschmidt because Rice is 434 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,600 playing great and just because Goldschmidt, some veteran and 435 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,480 might be going to the Hall of Fame, they're not succumbing to 436 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,120 that. I just think there's a 437 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:14,200 ruthlessness. To the way they are running this 438 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,080 team, and I think that's good. I think that's a positive 439 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,120 because they look at this team that's good. 440 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:21,200 They think this team's good enough to win the World Series 441 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,800 and they're not letting feelings or emotions get in the way of 442 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:25,560 it. They're just not. 443 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,600 I think it's really good. I also think it's long overdue. 444 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,880 I mean, it's what the Yankees always used to do, which is what 445 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,480 has really, you know, led to a lot of resentment or animosity 446 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,560 or or negative energy toward the Yankees have been built these 447 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:41,920 last X amount of years. Like the one thing when people 448 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:43,960 say Hal doesn't want to win, that's bullshit. 449 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,520 It's unfair, it's ridiculous. He spends a lot of money. 450 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,120 He also was only worth about 1.6 billion. 451 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:50,520 Some of these other guys are worth 20. 452 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,680 Bill, like the disparity in money. 453 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,400 I don't think Yankee fans necessarily calculate that the 454 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:57,360 Rogers group, the Dodgers, Cohen. 455 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,760 So the Yankees don't make money necessarily the way they used. 456 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,920 Well, I mean they're profitable, but the gap that they want once 457 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:05,080 enjoyed is not what it used to be. 458 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,240 So I do think Hal gets shredded unnecessarily. 459 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:13,280 So I've always said this, of course they want to win, but too 460 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,080 many times, the last X amount of years, it never seemed like they 461 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,880 like it was their oxygen, like they needed to win, like George 462 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,680 needed winning as his oxygen. And what you just said, hey, 463 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,880 he'll get lost. McMahon sit down like they are 464 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,400 ruthless. My question is why is it taking 465 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,440 so long to get back to that? Well, I just think that they 466 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,440 have a, a deeper team now. I, I think, I think you hit it 467 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,120 before, Boone didn't have many options when people were 468 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,000 struggling in the last couple of years. 469 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,000 But McMahon struggling, you got a really good player in Rosario 470 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,320 who played a a better third base than I thought he would. 471 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,280 When they when they had Grichik and they let him go, that was a 472 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:53,400 ruthless move. And that might turn out to hurt 473 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,760 them because the same day Dominguez gets hurt, it could 474 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,920 have helped to have a guy like Grichik, but against left 475 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:02,120 handers. They sat down Grisham. 476 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,880 They never sat him down last year and he's never hit lefties 477 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:07,240 all that well. And they played, they played 478 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,680 Grichett in those games. So I'm just seeing stuff that I 479 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,120 I have not seen in in in many, many years. 480 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:15,000 And I think they've always wanted to win. 481 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,640 I think you've hit it on the nose when it comes to Hal. 482 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,680 I just think it's a knee jerk reaction because he's not George 483 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,840 Steinbrenner. He doesn't nobody's George 484 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,160 Steinbrenner. George Steinbrenner was a 485 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,480 different breed. Hal Steinbrenner wants to win. 486 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,440 And when you talk about the disparity and personal fortune, 487 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,480 right? You look at the disparity and 488 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,240 payroll, it's not as much as a disparity in personal fortune. 489 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:39,440 So the Yankees have a $350 million payroll, the Mets have a 490 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:44,760 370, and the Dodgers have A380. Well, Guggenheim Partners, they 491 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,960 could spend whatever. Steve Cohen has $22 billion in 492 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,600 personal fortune. And as you said, Hal's probably 493 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:55,840 in the $1.52 billion range, but they're, they're pretty close to 494 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,720 payroll. So I, I say this to all Yankee 495 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,320 fans that call my show. If he didn't want to win, then 496 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,440 he would have a 250 payroll where a team would be 497 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:06,880 competitive. He doesn't have to spend the 498 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,040 extra 100 million. He wants to win. 499 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,200 I think people see his loyalty to Craftsman and they say, well, 500 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,840 he doesn't want to win. But I think that what we've seen 501 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,680 in the first month of the season, Brandon, not to take a 502 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,440 shot at the Mets. Everybody wants to RIP on Brian 503 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,880 Castman, right? How's David Stearns doing 2 504 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,120 years in a row with a 350? It's not it's that easy to be a 505 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:30,640 great GM. It's not that easy to feel the 506 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,560 team that has a chance to win the World Series every single 507 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:35,160 year. I know you're not the biggest 508 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,600 fan of Brian. Brian's a pretty damn good GM. 509 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,320 Yeah, and compared to Stearns is the fucking best GM of all time. 510 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,520 Jesus, David Stearns is a disaster. 511 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,240 I mean, Mike, and it's not a shot at the Mets, but you do a 512 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,960 talk show as well. And we're sensitive to, hey, I 513 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:51,600 lost my job X amount of years ago. 514 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,520 So there's a sensitivity to it. How you keep running Mendoza out 515 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,360 there, There's there's got to be an expiration point, even if 516 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,120 it's on optics in terms of we're not going to accept this. 517 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,680 How much longer if this keeps up, can they have Mendoza as the 518 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:05,640 manager? I mean it's. 519 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,480 Well, you know, well, I don't. First of all, I don't think it's 520 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:14,200 Mendoza's fault. But as you said, but if you if 521 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:19,160 you fire Mendoza, then it's all on Stearns because Mendoza was 522 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,080 Stearns personal pick. Stearns didn't have the decency 523 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,600 to talk to Buck Showalter. He had Billy Eppler do it. 524 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,520 You fired a borderline Hall of Fame type manager without ever 525 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,040 talking to him. Then you lost out on Craig 526 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:33,240 counsel who you thought was a sure thing. 527 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:35,760 And then you did this. I give them credit. 528 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,960 They they did their due diligence and this was his pick. 529 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,360 Well, if you fire Mendy now, now it's all on you. 530 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,760 Now it's all on you. At what point will Steve Cohen 531 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,120 run out of patience with David Stearns and his machinations? 532 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,440 Well, that was my next thing. It's like, OK, I I get it. 533 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,080 Like as long as Mendoza is there, Stearns has a little 534 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:58,480 cover. But if I'm Cohen like I I would 535 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,720 I would usurp that power and say, I don't care what you 536 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,240 think. We're firing Mendoza and your 537 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:06,560 ass is next. Like I that's. 538 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,400 Well, the the interesting thing I I don't know how much of a 539 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,200 relationship you have with Carlos. 540 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,680 He's really, he's the best. Brandon, you would love him. 541 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,800 He's just the best. And I think he has an 542 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,880 unbelievable relationship with Steve and Alex Cohen and he has 543 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,520 an unbelievable relationship with David Stern. 544 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,800 So if they get rid of him because of these optics of them 545 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,200 losing these against terrible teams, they're going to have to 546 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:34,360 swallow hard because it's not going to be an easy call for 547 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,760 them to get rid of a good man who was good enough, a good 548 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,480 enough manager to take them to game six of the NLCS. 549 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,200 He didn't all of a sudden get dumb. 550 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,840 Yeah, but I don't think I and I've and I've said because I 551 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,000 don't know him at all, but I've heard he's a really good person. 552 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,080 Yeah, I've heard that. So I, you know, again, I try to 553 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,760 thread that needle of not being insensitive and doing my job, 554 00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:57,600 but I don't think he's a good manager. 555 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:58,800 I don't think he was good last year. 556 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:00,360 I don't think he handles the bullpen well. 557 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:02,440 The Mets. There's been an absence of 558 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,840 fundamentals, whether it's running through stop signs, like 559 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,520 to me, when Vientos rent. Now, this is not emblematic of 560 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,720 everything, but it's symptomatic of something when you've got a 561 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,200 player, let's face it, who's not even that good in Vientos who 562 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,000 thinks that he can run through the stop sign. 563 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,840 All right, you run through the stop sign, then the game amens. 564 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:22,600 You got a little cool down period and you're asked about it 565 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,720 and you're like, I'm going to always trust my instincts. 566 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:25,920 You're basically saying, fuck you. 567 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:27,640 I do. I'm going to do whatever I want. 568 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:31,800 And to me, you then write his name in the lineup the next day. 569 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,240 That is a poor reflection of the culture of the Mets. 570 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,200 So he might be a great guy. I believe you. 571 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,720 But I'm not saying it's all his fault because the roster stinks. 572 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:42,840 There's just there's a lot wrong with the Mets. 573 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,400 I want to at least get a quick read on that. 574 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:45,880 I know you got your show coming up. 575 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,480 I don't want to take all your time quickly on Ben Rice. 576 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:52,520 This is obviously real. Every advanced number, you know, 577 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:54,640 it's all red. If you're a big baseball savant 578 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,360 guy like I am, and I know that you obviously dip into that Kony 579 00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:59,280 as well. Probably not O'Neill, but Tony 580 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:01,760 loves that stuff. You you know that you know that 581 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:07,120 Ben Rice is legit. I mean, this is he is, is he 582 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:10,680 going to hit 40 home runs? I mean, where are we going with 583 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,760 Ben Rice? Well, Tony asked me on the air 584 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,120 yesterday what would be my over under for judge and Rice for 585 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:22,960 home runs and I said 97 1/2. So I I mean, you got a pencil 586 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,520 and judge what for for 55, right? 587 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,040 I was going to. Say 55. 588 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:28,240 Yeah. All right. 589 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:32,200 So I, I think that I think that Rice can approach 40. 590 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,160 He could he could approach 40. He's not good. 591 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,360 Every ball he hits, Brandon is on the nose and you know, don't 592 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,800 blink. He also hits lefties quite well. 593 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,920 So that's why that's how you you're not seeing Goldschmidt 594 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,440 anytime soon. The No, I agree the Yankees have 595 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,560 had a lot of I'm listening, you know, Donnie's my guy and 596 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,520 Donnie's one-of-a-kind there. But Tino was a very good 597 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:54,120 defensive right-handed first baseman. 598 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,800 Mark to share was a great defensive first baseman when he 599 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,560 was still in his prime. Can Rice get, and I know he's 600 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:01,360 made strides, he already looks better. 601 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,360 Can he get to a point where he's slightly above average 602 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,480 defensively at first base if he's not already there? 603 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,040 Because I do think he's gotten a little bit better. 604 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,560 He has gotten better. He didn't make a play on a hard 605 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,440 hit ball when he was in yesterday that that hurt 606 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:17,480 Rodriguez, But I'm not going to blame him on that. 607 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,800 I think he will get better because he's smart. 608 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,680 He works really, really hard. He got he has an unbelievable 609 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,240 attitude and he's not letting that Dartmouth graduate, you 610 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,120 know, degree go to waste. So I think he's smart enough and 611 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:32,360 wants to be great enough that you know, because he, you know, 612 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:35,680 this Brandon, watching him, he changed the way he hit when he 613 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,520 came to the camp last year. All of a sudden the ball was 614 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,160 just jumping off his bat, so he went to work. 615 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,520 This is a guy that works and I think he will be a serviceable 616 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,240 first baseman whether or not he becomes a Mattingly or a Chino. 617 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,320 I mean, those that's tough. Those guys are some of the best. 618 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,040 So I think he'll be a serviceable first baseman, which 619 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,600 is all they need. He'll be. 620 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,560 Moving Giambi that's. That's true. 621 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,240 And, and and Luke Voit would be better than him. 622 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:05,520 Yeah. Will you be better than Jim 623 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,160 Spencer? Here's an old name for you. 624 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:10,160 Bob Watson, well be better than Watson. 625 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,520 Spencer was really good. If he could be even with 626 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:14,400 Spencer, they'll sign up for that. 627 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,680 All right, last thing. So, you know, it's not like, 628 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,400 again, when we were growing up, when you you would go to AAA and 629 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:21,880 you'd have to prove yourself there. 630 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,320 The new launch point for the young stars in baseball's AA. 631 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,560 When you crush AA, you're, you're, you're going. 632 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:33,000 So Lombard, if he hits well in AAA, they're not going to keep 633 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,120 him down there for five months. I mean, if he hits, we're going 634 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,720 to see him this year, right? There's a chance, and you know, 635 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,960 I talked about the ruthlessness of of 2026, they would never 636 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,920 have called up Lombard at the end of April to go to AAA 637 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,480 because they like to marinate their prospects. 638 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,120 They don't rush them up. They just don't. 639 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:53,840 They never really have. So the fact that he got moved up 640 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:55,640 shows you what they think of him. 641 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,880 He was defensively Major League ready last year, but the bat 642 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:01,800 wasn't there. And you know what, This guy went 643 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,680 and went to work over the winter, changed a little bit of 644 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,040 of his approach and he looked great. 645 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:09,760 I talked to Scott that says he looks like a different hitter. 646 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,640 So if he could bring that up to the next level, somebody is 1 647 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,400 misstep away from losing their job. 648 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,640 That's how good this guy is. Big picture, do you think you 649 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,040 know 2-3 years, is he playing short or is he playing third 650 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,080 short, right? I think that if Volpe reaches 651 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,440 the the heights they think he could, he stays at at short. 652 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,520 If if Jazz is gone, I think Volpe because of the arm would 653 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,680 probably go to 2nd and then and Lombard could play short, but 654 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,440 the Lombard could also play third too. 655 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:42,600 So they have a lot of options with this guy and, you know, and 656 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,840 just talking to him a couple of times, we had him on the the 657 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,760 Hotstar show on yes, he's really, really smart. 658 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,160 He's a really smart guy and he wants to be great too. 659 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,800 So I think you have to have that desire to be great. 660 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:55,760 I think he has that. Yeah, I agree. 661 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,240 Even when they told him he was getting the call to AAA when he 662 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,040 was in the manager's office, he's like, yeah, I'm just going 663 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:01,440 to get a lift. And I think he was playing a 664 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,760 double header the next game he was going to lift. 665 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,720 And he's just, he seems like a worker and you know, he's got 666 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:08,480 the wreck was a talent. All right, we're going to let 667 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,520 you bounce. So the other day, I don't know 668 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,920 if it popped up on Facebook for Jim, but then it again, it 669 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,400 wouldn't have popped up now or or she just stumbled across it. 670 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,680 I want to flash up a picture for you, J Rod, look at this picture 671 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,400 and this. What year did you get married, 672 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:22,600 Mike? Was it 2011? 673 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,520 2020. You don't. 674 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:32,000 Know yeah 20/11/2011. Dude, I mean, you had to think 675 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,360 about it. Brendan, I'm old dude. 676 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,000 I got married old, so these things don't come to me right 677 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,560 away at 2011. Look at that picture. 678 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,720 I mean if I I think I had 6 scotches in me at that point 679 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:45,480 because I. Oh, you were so hammered. 680 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:45,960 Look at you. I. 681 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,400 Was I was wasted, I bumped into Coney dancing with Coney and his 682 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,640 girl, doing shots with Tony. What? 683 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,280 And I said, besides my wedding, which you were invited to but 684 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,880 you couldn't come to because of the Yankees playoffs, that 685 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,280 wedding right there was the best wedding that I've ever been to. 686 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,320 It was awesome, bro. You can get that down, Jay, but 687 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,120 look at that, that picture, Mike, look at that. 688 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,720 It's a long time ago and I mean, you haven't aged, I've aged a 689 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:13,480 lot. But yeah, everyone that that 690 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,360 went, we're so blessed that they said they had such a great time. 691 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:18,960 I wish that we could enjoy it. You know, when you're when 692 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,320 you're the people that got married, you don't really enjoy 693 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,520 the wedding like that. But yeah, the fact that 694 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,440 everybody loved it. I so we just have our 15th 695 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,400 wedding anniversary. I said, Jodie, if we could make 696 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:30,880 it to 30, which I don't know if I will. 697 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,000 Likewise, let's do it again at the Plaza. 698 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:34,640 Let's have the same 300 people there. 699 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:36,240 Oh my God. But, you know, would you have 700 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,200 Giuliani do it again? No, I might not. 701 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:43,720 I don't know. You going to roll in him? 702 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,120 No, I I don't think I'd roll that way either. 703 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:48,960 I maybe, maybe I'll have my kids do it. 704 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:50,400 That would be a fun thing there. You go. 705 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:51,760 By the way, how's your sons baseball? 706 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:55,160 Is he still catching? He's catching, he's pitching 707 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,000 yesterday he played for he was so upset yesterday. 708 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,840 How how great is this world? I'm on the bus to go to the 709 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,880 airport in Dallas and there's a thing called game changer, which 710 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:11,000 I'm sure you know, and I'm, I'm watching the game and the bus 711 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,200 And he he was talking to me this morning. 712 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:17,480 I haven't seen them in 10 days. And he said, Dad, I got picked 713 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,880 off and I watched. I got picked off a second. 714 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,480 I never in my life thought I'd never get picked off a second. 715 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,960 But then Jody said she was there and she said the coach kept 716 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:29,000 saying get a big elite and he didn't see the guy sneaking in. 717 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,600 So the coach took the blame. But Charlie wears it and I think 718 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:37,000 he's too emotional. In a game of failure, it's hard 719 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,400 to be emotional. I keep trying to tell him, Dad, 720 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,000 I never thought I'd get picked off, but it's just so fun to be 721 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,960 on the journey with him. It really is. 722 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,640 By the way, I would like to know maybe you send me the video. 723 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,080 I want to see who's more culpable because if the now did 724 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,520 the shortstop come in or is it the second baseman because the 725 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,440 third base coach, she's got to get shortstop. 726 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,040 It was the first base coach that was telling bigger lead. 727 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,480 Bigger lead because they. Steal a lot and so. 728 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:05,120 Charlie kept going on and I think the shortstop sneak in, 729 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,239 but then CC, who like really knows the rules almost too much. 730 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:12,400 He goes, dad, It was a balk. The the pitcher took a a step 731 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:13,920 toward home plate before he threw. 732 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,719 He's supposed to spin and throw. So once you take a step toward 733 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:17,960 home plate, you can't throw the segment. 734 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,040 I said, Charlie, these umpires are learning too. 735 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,560 They're making 50 bucks a game. I mean YouTube what I'm 736 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:25,360 basically making a show on YouTube. 737 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:30,920 I mean, all right, I'm I'm going to let you go as always, so 738 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,639 generous with your time, man. You know I love you and you know 739 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:36,000 I love watching you and it's amazing. 740 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,600 I've, I've been saying this about Michael forever. 741 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,120 It's amazing to me. And I do this with St. 742 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:40,920 John's. But St. 743 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,040 John's is not like not the viewership of the Yankees. 744 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:45,840 You can text Michael and I know I'm not the only one. 745 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,880 Like Greca, some of your other buddies, Jody, I'm sure you text 746 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:50,400 this dude dirty. He gets right back to you. 747 00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:52,960 And it's not like he gets back to you during the commercial. 748 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:55,760 He writes back to you. Here's the Tutu to Grisham, you 749 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,000 know, in between the inning because I texted you the other 750 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:02,840 night about Jim Mason and I did not well, the I did not know who 751 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,840 is that Yankee and and I was and I never heard of the guy. 752 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,280 And you were like, I'm stunned. I I got to take the Li never 753 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:11,520 heard of this dude. I never heard of Mason. 754 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,760 The funniest thing about the texting Brandon is Lupica has a 755 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:17,880 line because Lupica will text me every now and he goes. 756 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,600 You text Michael when the ball leaves the bat and he gives you 757 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,280 back the text before it's caught. 758 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,600 It's not a lie, man, you are you are a ninja with that. 759 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,120 So hey, keep it up. Yanks look great. 760 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,320 We'll get you on couple of months down the road, give you 761 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:35,600 give you an updated state of the Yankees and things could be so 762 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,800 different. Call back obviously Rd. don't 763 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:42,200 Rd. that Volpe Dominguez what's going on at third base, Lombard. 764 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:44,320 So good start. A lot of baseball to go. 765 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:46,200 As always, you know, I appreciate your time. 766 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,440 Thank you buddy. Of course, good luck with this, 767 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:49,600 Brandon. Thanks, man. 768 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:52,640 Great stuff, Mike. That was awesome. 769 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:54,480 You got it. I'll talk to you soon. 770 00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:55,160 Have a great.