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00:01It's a drive by Gary Dawson, Charles Chisholm goes deep.
00:09Hello and welcome to the Pinstripe Post.
00:10My name is Ryan Sampson, but he's the star of the show, Joel Sherman.
00:13Today is Monday, April 13th.
00:15The New York Yankees are coming off a sweep in a bad way,
00:18getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays down in Tampa
00:20and losing two out of three to the A's.
00:23Since the last time we spoke to Joel, they've lost five in a row
00:26and we're here to talk about it.
00:27As always, before we get to any of that, though,
00:30on a Monday morning, Joel Sherman, how are you doing today, sir?
00:33Good. I was actually at the Met game yesterday afternoon
00:35when the Yankees lost their fifth in a row.
00:37The Mets also lost their fifth in a row.
00:40And the lead to my column was,
00:41I'm old enough to remember when New York baseball was thriving.
00:45That was last Tuesday.
00:47Both teams were in first place.
00:49We were doing positive shows about the Yankees here,
00:52writing positively about the Mets.
00:55And now the A's, who don't play in Oakland anymore,
00:59are briefly playing in a minor league park,
01:01or may probably end up in Vegas,
01:03if I'll believe it when I see that stadium totally built.
01:06Well, for a week, they came here and felt like home.
01:08The A's, the Vagabond A's came in here and won five out of six
01:12against the two New York teams.
01:13Amazingly, they closed out both series,
01:15winning one nothing against both New York teams.
01:18Uh, uh, look, I, I, I know we'll get into it all,
01:23but why don't I use the Mets as the example of how long a season is?
01:27Uh, I know we won't have anything close to logic, uh, step into our way,
01:32but the 2024 Mets were 11 games under 500 after over two months of the season
01:39and went to the NLCS.
01:41That's so we're into June last year.
01:44They got to June 13th as the best team in the majors.
01:46I know a baseball columnist in town who looks a lot like me,
01:50who wrote that they had finally kind of figured out the sustainability model,
01:55right owner, right top executive in David Stearns, right manager in Mendoza.
01:59And from that point forward, they were one of the worst teams in the sport.
02:02And I still don't know how they missed the playoffs and they missed it.
02:05It is an incredibly long season.
02:07I assume everyone possibly with the exception of the Dodgers is going to go
02:13through big lulls this season and both New York teams are going through it.
02:17Now, is it indicative of something?
02:19It might be, but my suspicion is these are two good teams.
02:24Um, I still think the Yankees are actually a very good team,
02:27but, uh, we're probably going to dig into a lot of stuff about why they've lost
02:32five in a row and what, what it all could mean.
02:35But, uh, I would suspect this Ryan, even if they end up winning,
02:40let's make a number 94 games again, they'll probably have another five game losing streak
02:44someplace along the way where you and I will be breaking down why they look terrible.
02:48Uh, I think both New York teams, uh, are good.
02:52I think the Mets are in a little dangerous place cause they're out West without Soto
02:55and have to play the Dodgers now.
02:57And they've got a bad vibe about them.
02:59Uh, and you don't want to like lose too much contact, but again, they were 11 games
03:04under 500, more than 60 games into the season, two years ago and got to the sixth game of
03:09the NLCS.
03:10So anyway, I'm off my soapbox about how long the season is and now let's kill the Yankees.
03:16Well, it's well said, Joel.
03:17And I think that's what a lot of Yankees fans are searching for right now is, is, is this
03:22indicative of the, this team right now is the first, you know, however many games we talked
03:27about, I think nine games sample size, is that more indicative of the team or is this
03:30last six games more indicative of the team?
03:33Look, it's 15 games in a long 162 game season.
03:37Uh, I think, can I, can I make a generalized statement, Ryan?
03:40I hate to cut you off, but like, so to me, I feel like this is an early part of
03:45a boxing
03:45match.
03:46We're in round one of a heavyweight fight, which when I was a kid used to last 15 rounds,
03:50they last 12 now, and we've got a long, long way to go, but you are watching the feeling
03:55out process.
03:56And if I were a Yankee fan, uh, there would be two things that would greatly concern me
04:03about the team right now.
04:05Number one is the thing you worried about coming into the season, which was the length of the
04:09bullpen.
04:10And I think now you even have to worry about like, they've, they've really had to push
04:14David Bednar, uh, uh, early.
04:18Um, I think he's going to at best be a John wetland S closer, which means there's going to
04:23be a lot of tight rope walking.
04:25And, uh, you know, I was in, I was, I covered a Yankee team.
04:29My last Yankee team that I covered the 1995 Yankees, Buckshaw Walter put them on ice during
04:34the post season, uh, because he didn't think he could handle the Mariners and he stopped
04:39being the closer.
04:39And then the next year he was the world series MVP, John wetland and the Yankees one.
04:43So, uh, you know, I think David Bednar has a good fortitude and generally good stuff.
04:48And he's lost a couple of miles an hour on his fastball.
04:51I think he absolutely does not trust his fastball.
04:53I have real questions about the ball.
04:55I'm curious who bird and a Hedrick are, uh, uh, Carlos LeGranje has not gotten off great
05:00as far as throwing strikes in the minor leagues.
05:02I thought he was going to be part of the answer at some point this season.
05:06We'll see if that ultimately happens, but the thing that we thought could be the soft
05:10spot on the team, I think is a worry.
05:14The other one is the game got sped up in Tampa Bay, uh, in St. Petersburg and the Yankees
05:21look like crap dealing with a faster game.
05:24They were unhinged by Chandler Simpson in particular.
05:27Uh, this was a team I, I believe, and I still believe is much better defensively than the last
05:34few incarnations of the team.
05:36Nevertheless, the game got faster and the Yankees looked bad.
05:39And to me, uh, I know we'll probably talk a lot of lineup stuff, but I, I, I actually
05:46believe this about the lineup, Brian.
05:48I think Aaron judging is an historically great player.
05:51And if Aaron judge had hit well for the last, for the first three weeks of the season, the
05:54Yankees would be 13 and two.
05:56Uh, if jazz Chisholm, who I assume will be at least a 25, 25 guy had hit well early this
06:01season, the Yankees would probably be 12 and four, you know, uh, 12 and three, they would
06:07be better.
06:07Like, like, I know we're going to talk about guys at the back of the lineup and what do
06:10you do about it, but they need their, their big guys to hit.
06:14And judge has some superficial numbers, but hasn't really hit in big, big spots.
06:19Like we expect him to and judge and, and, and, um, jazz hasn't hit at all.
06:24And I still think the Yankees are going to average five runs and score 800 runs this year.
06:28So to me, as I'm watching the, the, the feeling out process early this season, uh, of this
06:35long, long heavyweight fight that is the season, uh, the bullpen and what I thought the Yankees
06:42had improved the greater two on defense.
06:44And I did not like what it looked like when the game sped up on them over the weekend in
06:50Tampa Bay.
06:51The, the rays who historically have gotten under the Yankees skin by playing in that
06:55way, got under the Yankees skin.
06:57They played their style.
06:59The Yankees didn't hit the ball out of the park enough and they swept the series.
07:02So anyway, again, I got on my soapbox there.
07:04I didn't mean to cut you off, but those are the two that I'm, I'm watching a lot.
07:08And I, again, I'm happy to talk about the lineup.
07:11I know we will.
07:12It is not nearly the concern to me that the other two issues are.
07:16No, look, I, I, I think you're making very astute observations there.
07:20It's true in what you're saying.
07:21The bullpen we can talk about in a little bit, Brett Hedrick is getting used and abused
07:25right now, which I find interesting, but, uh, the way that the rays were attacking them
07:30on the base pass was definitely concerning.
07:31They could not hold a runner on if they tried to.
07:34Um, the other thing to note about this Yankees team is they are Oh, and six to start the
07:38year, Joel in one run games, which is pretty crazy that they've gotten off to that bad of
07:42a start.
07:42The Yankees did not play well over the weekend.
07:45They did it.
07:45One thing I will say about one run games is we have learned historically.
07:49They're very fickle.
07:50Uh, the other one, I'll tell you something.
07:53I mentioned this, I believe on MLB network the other day, um, back when I, I want to say
07:59I was still a beat guy.
08:00So this is probably the early nineties.
08:02Maybe, maybe I'm just a young columnist.
08:04It's the mid nineties.
08:05Billy Bean was running a famously of money ball was running the A's, um, um, uh, front
08:13office.
08:14And the Yankees were in probably one of these periods when they had already turned into a
08:19good team where they were losing close games.
08:22And Billy was part of what I over the years have called like my, my office of logic.
08:27I have like 10, 15 people I would call like at a moment like this, where, you know, you
08:31want to make sure what you write isn't overly emotional and you want to kind of like talk
08:36to what you think of the smart people in the game.
08:38And he said, Joel, when you're good, you lose close games.
08:42I said, what?
08:42He said, when you're good, that's what you do.
08:44He said, when you win, you win big and you win close, but you lose close.
08:49You don't lose big.
08:51Like the Yankees have been one hit away from being undefeated essentially at this point,
08:57right?
08:57Like they're, they're losing close games.
08:59And that's really how, when you think about why run differential matters is over the,
09:03the Yankees are still in their division.
09:06I think they're plus 21.
09:07The only other team in the division that's plus, I think the Orioles are plus one.
09:10So like the Yankees are following a model.
09:13I think of a good team, which is they win big and win close and they lose close.
09:17Now they've lost these close games, which I think again, have exposed some stuff on defense
09:23in the bullpen, which is again, why I'm looking at that stuff more than anything.
09:29Uh, because I feel like they've, yes, they've been a hit away, but like the bullpen could
09:36have held some games and didn't, the defense could have been tighter against Tampa and wasn't.
09:41And so like, while I think the offense will get better and will average five, and then we'll
09:49have a whole other discussion if they'll hit in the post season or not.
09:52These, this group of players, if they get there, I, the, the areas that these are the areas
09:58when they lose close games that I am looking at though.
10:02The most overt thing is, Hey, if, if McMahon just gets a hit or why didn't he pinch hit
10:09this guy?
10:10And like, I think they're going to score the other areas are the ones that are not as certain
10:17for me.
10:18That's underst.
10:19I, that's understandable.
10:20I hear you.
10:20Let's, let's stick on the defensive part and let's talk about the big elephant in the
10:24room, which is jazz Chisholm, his play on a Saturday when he has the chance with a double
10:29play bases are loaded and extra innings.
10:31He can't feel the grounder to second cleanly.
10:34He can't tag the runner.
10:35That's running to second.
10:36He tries to throw to first.
10:38There's no play.
10:39They score.
10:40Tampa Bay wins the game.
10:41His post game comments, quite alarming, raised a lot of the red flags and what he said, not
10:46really understanding the situation, understanding the rules of tagging the player and then throwing
10:51the first would have caused double play.
10:53He says he thought he could actually throw to first and potentially tag back at second
10:57Joel.
10:58It was an inexcusable play.
10:59It was an inexcusable explanation after the game, but I want to hear your take on jazz
11:05Chisholm and where he is going right now in this contract year.
11:09It's been a troubling 15 game start for jazz Chisholm overall.
11:14Yeah, look, uh, Ryan, we've done this show for at least parts of three years now.
11:20And so we were doing it when the Yankees traded for Chisholm and I know everyone was pretty
11:24much over the top about it.
11:26And then he hit a bunch of home runs and I was the negative Nancy the whole time saying,
11:30I don't like the trade.
11:32I don't like the player that much.
11:34Uh, it has nothing, you know, it's interesting.
11:37I think Boone said something really interesting.
11:39He talked about how smart jazz is.
11:41And I do.
11:41I think jazz is one of the smart.
11:43If you talk to jazz Chisholm, you walk away and you know, you've talked to a smart guy,
11:46but I don't know that it translates on the field.
11:49Well, uh, you know, under kind of like, like making good decisions, uh, on both sides of
11:56the ball and on the bases.
11:58Uh, um, he is, he is always going to be among the most talented players on the Yankees and
12:05in the whole sport.
12:06Uh, he is capable of some of the stuff he's talked about.
12:10I don't know that he'll ever get the 50 50, but he's certainly capable of 30 30.
12:14And there's not a heck of a lot of guys who could do that.
12:16Uh, we've seen it.
12:18Uh, I suspect at some point this year, he'll go on a run.
12:22Uh, his stolen bases are already up.
12:24He'll get to the, those easy as he stays healthy.
12:27I think the ball will go out of the ballpark for him and a lot of other Yankees as the
12:30season
12:30goes along.
12:31But the question is, if you believe in the concept of winning player or not, and I do,
12:36is he a winning player?
12:38And I think we've certainly seen a lot of stuff over his, you know, part of 24, all
12:43of 25, couple of weeks of 26 to say that, like, like he can win it and he can lose
12:50it.
12:51He's that kind of guy.
12:52And, uh, I think for a team with great championship aspirations, it's a player, you know, look with
13:00everything that went wrong against Toronto last year, you know, if he fields the ball and
13:04makes a, you know, there was a ball in that, right.
13:07What was it game four?
13:08You know, it just like, when's it going to come?
13:12And I look, I think it was a tough chance the other day.
13:15It's on turf, uh, runners moving lots going on.
13:19I think he was screened by Cody Bellinger in a strange situation with a fifth infielder.
13:24So, you know, but was he also well thought out?
13:28Like, like he, one of the things you have to be thinking to yourself is if I get a ball,
13:32can I, Yandy Diaz is slow.
13:35Can I, can I do a tag and an out?
13:37Like, you've got to be thinking about how do I get out of this inning?
13:41Like, like what's the speed of the ball that I must go home?
13:44What's the speed of the ball where I could get to?
13:46And you certainly have to know the rule, which is you've got to eliminate the force before
13:51you could throw to first base.
13:52Otherwise the run's going to score.
13:53And so, um, you know, look, he, he, he's going to go on a run soon where everyone, you
14:02know, the fickle who kind of like move in and out and, you know, break up with their significant
14:07other, then start dating again, then break up and start dating again.
14:10Like, that's what we do with these, a lot of baseball players.
14:13Like I jazz is sitting with zero homers.
14:18I think he'll hit 30.
14:19Like the weather will get warm.
14:21Jazz will get hot as long as he plays 145 games.
14:24And so he's going to have a run soon where he hits the ball.
14:27The question is when you're playing for everything, when you're playing for everything, is he a
14:34guy you want?
14:34And I, I think he's, and I think because of that, he ends up being, we've, we've talked
14:39a lot about his free agency because like, bless him.
14:42Like most guys are not honest.
14:43He talked to reporters about his free agency, uh, gave a price range.
14:49He thinks he belongs in.
14:50And my, like, it only always takes one, like, you know, it doesn't matter what the second
14:59place was for Pete Alonso, which my reporting and suspicion says was not close to five at
15:05155, but a team offered five at 155.
15:09What's it matter what the second place is?
15:11So maybe there'll be a team that will jump out big for Chisholm.
15:15Um, but I think the sport is aware of him.
15:20I think the Yankees probably offered him around a little, this off season and the fact that
15:26he's so talented and they didn't hear what they wanted to hear in return would suggest
15:32that the league is saying, making a statement about him.
15:35Well, it's interesting talking about the playing for everything, the Yankees in the post
15:40season.
15:40That's the most important thing here.
15:44Jazz's comments this past week about playing in the cold and how he doesn't like playing
15:49in the cold and it's tough to play in the cold.
15:50All I could think about Joel is what happens in October when it gets cold again and we're
15:55past the summer months.
15:56How are you going to handle that?
15:58It's already not been a great showing for him in the post season.
16:01So am I crazy to think that maybe this guy just isn't made like you're talking about
16:05for playing in the cold months and playing in the, in the most important games in October?
16:10I don't know if it's going to work out here for him this year with the Yankees.
16:14Yeah.
16:17It's just in my mind that when the Yankees last won the world series in 09, the ALCS in
16:23New York was brutal cold.
16:25Like you feel like Yankee stadiums, one of the last fully outdoor press boxes.
16:31And there's a little bit of a wind tunnel on that level also.
16:33So you get it in the box.
16:34So like whatever they're feeling outside, if you're staying and I, I, I'm among those
16:38who believe if you're covering the game, you've got to brave the elements and sit in the press
16:43box for nine innings and watch the game.
16:45And I I'm bringing it up because I remember the, I think one of them was Eric Ibar and I'm
16:50struggling to remember who the shortstop was on those angels teams, but they were, they
16:55were dressed as if they were going to have to climb Everest, uh, in those games.
17:01And I mean, it was legitimately like, like, I'm almost not even talking about their toughness
17:05or anything.
17:05It was freezing for those games in New York, but their two middle infielders were like
17:11so bundled up.
17:12And I remember, I want to, I hope I'm giving credit to the right person.
17:17Uh, I think Ian O'Connor, who now works for the athletic and is a friend of mine was sitting
17:23near me and he said something like, look at those guys.
17:25They're never going to win.
17:27Like the, the elements are already beating them.
17:29Yeah.
17:30Uh, and I thought, wow, what an astute thought about it because it's like, it was clear.
17:34Like the angels kind of wanted a little bit.
17:36Some of them wanted no part of the fight.
17:38It felt like, like they couldn't deal with how, how it was.
17:41And look in September and especially October, if the Yankees go far, it's going to be cold
17:46here.
17:46It gets real cold.
17:47Like, I don't think we're building it, you know, a retractable dome in the next six months.
17:51And I don't think the weather patterns, which whatever's going on with our weather patterns,
17:55I don't want to turn it into a political show or a science show, but like, I don't think
17:59it's, I think I assume it's going to be very cold in October.
18:02Right.
18:03And so, uh, yeah.
18:06So, uh, you know, you gotta be able to like part of being a pro is you gotta deal with
18:14it
18:14all.
18:15Um, and, and I'm always vexed by this, Ryan, cause on one hand we scream for honesty.
18:23Like I want guys to be honest and jazz, man, he is honest.
18:28He's honest, but like the honesty is also revelatory.
18:32So it's like a vexing situation.
18:34Like you don't want to punish somebody for not clicheing you to death and not bullshitting
18:39you to death.
18:40On the other hand, you are kind of judged by what comes out of your mouth.
18:45And, uh, it's some interesting stuff every once in a while.
18:48Yeah.
18:49I just thought it was, uh, it was a tough bless him.
18:51I I'll take the honest guy every day of the week.
18:54It gives us a good story to talk about, right?
18:56Every time, especially, like I said, in those post game.
18:58And also we deal with too much bullshit in our life at every level of our life.
19:02It's nice when people don't do that to us.
19:05Yes.
19:05This job is hard enough on the writers to get a good answer, a good quote.
19:08And every job, like, you know, you call the electric company and they're bullshitting
19:13you with whatever you're like, like it's good not to deal with bullshit.
19:17I completely agree with you.
19:18Uh, well, look, while the Yankees are swept, uh, you talked about the offense.
19:23I do want to ask you about, ask you about the lineup.
19:25Uh, obviously there was a lot of panic and freaking out about Gritchick and his at-bats,
19:31uh, why he wasn't getting pinch hit for also real quick, before we get to any of that is
19:35Paul Goldschmidt hurt.
19:36Why isn't he getting any opportunities here over the weekend?
19:39Well, if you had this, I was in New York watching the game on Saturday and I actually
19:48sent a text to Greg Joyce and, uh, uh, you know, facetiously, facetiously, I hate to even
19:56say it in a pub.
19:57I'm not going to say it.
19:58I asked him if something had occurred to go Paul Goldschmidt that had made him incapable
20:05of taking the at-bat because I quite frankly didn't understand why he wouldn't be taking
20:11that at-bat, uh, or by the way, like I would have even done JC Ascara and at least had
20:17the
20:17lefty righty.
20:18You got Rice on the field if you need the backup catcher later in the game.
20:23Uh, so I, I didn't get it.
20:27And, and look, I, I read again, let's see if I do a little Joel story time.
20:32Um, and so I used to do a weekly, like our show on New York one that was kind of
20:39like
20:39at about the same time, uh, with, with a good friend of mine, Steve Cangellosi and I had
20:43gone to college together.
20:45We started doing a show on Thursday night of New York baseball, uh, thing.
20:49And I remember it was like during the dynasty, a caller called in and I realized then I was
20:56like, I don't know why it struck me all of a sudden.
20:57And then the internet was not the internet then what it is now.
21:01And he was like, when are they going to give up on Louis Soho?
21:04And I was like, you are worried about Louis Soho.
21:08I said, this team's going to win a hundred games.
21:10What are you talking about?
21:11Like, you know, where you could really worry about deck chairs on the Titanic.
21:15And I was like, oh, a lot of fans are only going to be happy if they're miserable and
21:21baseball's tough.
21:22And somebody is always not going to be going well.
21:25You're not going to have 26 going well.
21:28Uh, having said that I would assume Gritchick's rope is not a particularly long one.
21:35Uh, Volpe will be back probably by the end of the month.
21:39The, the good news in all of this.
21:42And again, the storm is coming on this.
21:44Also, the Yankees still have not taken on an injury.
21:48It's like amazing.
21:49They're only in season roster move was to remove Cade Winquist because he wasn't going to play
21:54for the team, but since the beginning of spring training, they knew four guys were going on
21:58the IL.
21:59They have not made another IL move.
22:01Uh, if that continues, the Yankees going to have to make a decision.
22:05Is this decision for Volpe?
22:07If everyone stays healthy, is it a scara and rice becomes the backup catcher?
22:12And then Goldschmidt plays a little more, or is it Gritchick?
22:17And then, uh, Caballero and Rosario become the right hand hitting outfielders, uh, under
22:24the, you know, along the way.
22:27And if it's both at some point, does Jason Dominguez, who's gotten off very, very strongly
22:32at, uh, AAA, does he eventually do it?
22:36I'm, he hasn't had a lot of at bats, but I did notice it was like, I mean, really, you
22:40took a small sample size going into yesterday.
22:43I was just curious.
22:43I think he was two for five left handers with a Homer.
22:47So, you know, I'm sure the Yankees want to see a lot more at bats against lefties.
22:50If he's hitting lefties, he's a much better option than Gritchick because he also can hit
22:57lefty and take good at bat for somebody.
23:00He can run.
23:01He's stealing bases down there also.
23:03So like at some point he's going to do it and look, I will throw open this possibility
23:08also.
23:09One of the things, and you know, this is one of those guys also.
23:12I I've never loved Trent Grisham as a player.
23:15Okay.
23:16I think, but, but Trent Grisham did the kind of best thing you could do in sports last
23:22year.
23:23He won a job.
23:25Dominguez was a starting outfielder and Grisham outplayed him.
23:29And by the end of the year just became obvious.
23:31The Yankees had the most productive outfield pretty much in baseball with Bellinger, Grisham
23:35and judge.
23:36He just outplayed him.
23:37There is nothing to say that Dominguez can't outplay Grisham at some point this year.
23:43I still believe Dominguez will get a shot.
23:46The Yankees will have injuries at some point.
23:48And if the Dominguez who has played the first three weeks, by the way, in cold weather at
23:53AAA and produced, uh, if he comes up and hits, he'll again, the Yankees are playing for everything.
24:02Uh, Grisham played over a younger player.
24:06If that was the Rockies or the White Sox, that wouldn't have happened.
24:09Like, like the Yankees had to play the guy who's playing the best, uh, and Grisham was
24:15playing the best.
24:16Will Dominguez ultimately do that?
24:18I actually think they have an interesting short-term one, or maybe it's not that interesting.
24:23Uh, Paul, Paul DeJong has a opt-out on April 27th.
24:26Uh, and if you, you notice it's, and again, I never know what AAA numbers mean because
24:32most guys who succeed in the minors struggle up here.
24:36Like Carson Bench lit it up last year, uh, you know, in the minor leagues, he's having
24:41trouble this year.
24:42Uh, it's, it's a, as big a jump as it's ever been, but DeJong for about the last eight to
24:4810 days has really started to hit down there.
24:51I would suspect he's going to opt out on April 27th.
24:54If the Yankees don't bring them up because he probably can fit in as somebody's backup
24:58infielder among the 30 teams.
25:01So in the short term, again, could the Yankees decide they'd rather have DeJong as the righty
25:09hitter, take Grichak off the roster.
25:13And again, then you're living with Rosario and, um, Caballero as the backup righty, uh,
25:21hitting outfielders feeling out process.
25:23It's not a lot of at bats for Grichak, but the one thing to point out is Grichak who
25:28historically was really good against lefties.
25:31It was not as good last year.
25:32Now the Yankees insisted to me that the underlying numbers, you know, his swing percentages in
25:38the zone, out of the zone, hitting the ball hard against lefties was the same.
25:42And he just was kind of unlucky, but he hasn't been unlucky this year.
25:45He's just been bad in the amount of at bats he's had.
25:48He's looked overmatched.
25:50And, um, we already saw the Mets swallow 1.75 million with Luis Garcia, because again,
25:57they're a team playing for everything.
25:58And you kind of like, if you believe that Luis Garcia isn't going to make it to the finish
26:03line, then it's just a date that you're going to swallow it.
26:05Right.
26:05And I think that's what the Mets did.
26:07If you come to the belief that Randall Grichak isn't going to make it to the finish line,
26:11then just trying to squeeze the extra days to feel like you wasted less money is stupid
26:16to me.
26:16I look, you know how I felt.
26:18I always thought having Cade Winquist on the roster wasn't smart.
26:21No, because I was just, he's never going to make the six months, but he just wasn't.
26:26He also wasn't used.
26:28And you're, you're basically, I don't feel like, I know people talk about that.
26:31I don't feel like there was an obvious place.
26:33They lost the game because I'm not talking about that, Joel, but it's more like you're,
26:36you're, you're missing another arm in your bullpen.
26:38You're playing a man short.
26:40Like, is that a smart thing to do where you're putting more leverage on your other arms when,
26:44Hey, it's always good.
26:45Well, they were playing, they were playing close games.
26:47Again, the good news for the Yankees is they're good enough to play close games.
26:50And he was trying to find an easy landing spot for the guy's debut.
26:55I think if he knew, Hey, we're not going to play a blowout for a while, he would have gotten
27:01him into a close game early and just seen what it looked like and dealt with the ramifications
27:05if it was a blowout.
27:07And then after a while, when it didn't happen, he's like, okay, like, like now I might as well
27:12just wait for the blowout.
27:13And it just didn't come.
27:14Yeah.
27:16Interesting note about Dominguez.
27:17He's actually played two games in center field at AAA this year.
27:20So you see that there are trying to maybe get him some, some playing time there at center.
27:26I wonder if that's like, you're talking about with Trent Grisham, like continue to earn your
27:30playing time there.
27:31And if, if he does go down with an injury, Dominguez maybe could have that opportunity to
27:36get called up.
27:37So, but yeah, not been a great start for Gritchick.
27:39The other thing we should, we should hit the note, hit the nail on the head here is McMahon.
27:44Uh, I, obviously it, it is as bad as bad as you can have as a start.
27:48Um, I thought it was interesting yesterday.
27:51The rays clearly like, Hey, Austin Wells, one pitch.
27:55We're going to, we're going to walk you intentionally walk you.
27:57Let's, we'll take the matchup against McMahon.
27:59He grounds out on the first pitch.
28:01Doesn't even really give a competitive at bat there.
28:03Uh, what is your, what is your take on Ryan McMahon?
28:06Is this just, Hey, they're going to live and die with the nine hole hitter being, you
28:10know, the type of hitter he is right now.
28:13Yeah, look, uh, again, this is less than three weeks.
28:17I suspect Ryan McMahon will be what he's been, which is a below average offensive player, but
28:23better than this.
28:24Uh, you know, like the Yankee exchange for him was 650 OPS and 20 homers and great defense.
28:33Like he's far from 20 homers and 650.
28:37Now 650 is below average means you're going to have an 80 something OPS plus you're going
28:41to be more than 10% below league average, but when the rest of the lineup is getting
28:46you to 800 runs and you're popping 20 homers to at least make yourself a threat, you're
28:52something it can't be 300 or a 400 OPS.
28:57And that's what it's been early this season, maybe even less than that.
29:00Maybe it's in the 200s for all I know.
29:02Uh, uh, and you know, he still continues to have generally a good eye.
29:09I, he is a very strange offensive player for me because he just swings and misses at more
29:17hittable pitches than any other Yankee by a lot to me.
29:21Uh, he does not square up pitches that it seems to me he should be have be fully on the
29:26attack with.
29:27Um, it could be that it's just not going to be good enough.
29:31Uh, I still feel like the most important thing, if you have enough offense, every place else
29:37and you have freed and ultimately rod on in your, your rotation is you just can't mess
29:42around at third base.
29:44You know, like some degree, the Yankees might've lost the game yesterday because I'm on Rosario
29:48double clutched on a ball, you know, and it's, is you got, you gotta be able to feel the ball
29:54there.
29:55Um, having said that it's not been good.
29:58It's been worse.
29:59It's it's the expectation is below average.
30:03This has been subterranean below average.
30:06And so what do you give it?
30:08Do you give it another month to see if like when warm weather comes, you get on a little
30:12run at home where maybe as power shows up some, you know, they're going to give more
30:18rope here.
30:19Nobody, nobody's playing particularly well in the American league or the American league
30:23East.
30:24And, and can I throw that something else in?
30:26It was a wonky few days here.
30:30Like again, a week ago, uh, John Heyman and I on our podcast had on Matt Arnold because
30:37the brewers were flying again over the weekend.
30:39The brewers got swept by the Washington nationals.
30:41Um, the blue Jays won the American league championship last year.
30:47It was every Yankee fan knows they got swept over the weekend by Minnesota.
30:50Now, Minnesota and Washington have gotten off better than we expected.
30:54I think we still expect that they're going to both lose 85 to 95 games, probably this
31:00year.
31:00Both of those teams, you know, baseball strange that way.
31:04There's some wonky stuff.
31:05You know, the Mets just got swept by the A's, uh, at home.
31:09Look, the Yankees got lost two out of three to the A's as well.
31:12Right.
31:12So, I mean, yeah.
31:13So, so, but we've seen some wonky stuff here early and nobody's playing well in the American
31:17league.
31:18It's a way of saying, I think it's a thing that's come up often when we've done the shows
31:21over the years, Ryan, it's very easy to get myopic about the team you're talking about
31:26and the team you're a fan of.
31:28Right.
31:28So you're looking at the Yankees and the question isn't, do they have problems?
31:33They do.
31:34Every team has problems.
31:35Do they have less than everyone else?
31:37And do they have ways of shrinking the problems as the season goes along, either from the
31:42minor leagues or by having collateral to go out and make trades, uh, wire with things,
31:47uh, uh, history of improving players as the season goes along, you know, the Yankees have
31:53shown for 30 plus years, they know how to play the regular season and get to a certain number
31:57of wins.
31:58So when the wonky stuff happens, I generally think they'll figure it out.
32:04Um, but like, there's no way to defend McMahon's offense early this season or really until the
32:12Homer Austin Wells's offense, which I thought was going to be better.
32:15Also, you know, I was encouraged by what I saw in the WBC where in big moments, he was
32:20a man on, on a team of offensive juggernauts.
32:24He was a man on that team.
32:26And I thought that spoke well for him, you know, aside from Ben Rice, a little
32:33of Stanton and, and Bellinger, they're not, I, again, judge has walks in homers, but just
32:40not a lot of impact early this year.
32:44Um, so I'm, uh, you know, like I still, that's not the area I I'm being repetitive.
32:51It's just not right.
32:52You're not as concerned about the lineup.
32:54I hear you.
32:55I think Ryan McMahon ultimately will hit 17 homers and have a 645 OPS and hit ninth and
33:02be pinch hit for in every big spot between now and the last game, the Yankees play this
33:06year.
33:06Yeah.
33:06So look, that's, that's the interesting part too, is because you're talking to me about,
33:11you know, how do the Yankees assess themselves and how do they address concerns or issues when
33:15it's becoming a real concern or issue with the McMahon thing?
33:19They're not just in it for this year.
33:21They're in it for next year as well for 16 million.
33:23Right.
33:23So Yankees fans like myself are always going to be like, Ooh, are they going to be prepared
33:27to eat this next year?
33:28Don't you think Ryan, one of the things we see with big teams now is big teams have dead
33:37money on their, their, their ledger.
33:39Like almost every team does like, so, you know, Hicks became LeMayu LeMayu will probably
33:45become McMahon.
33:46I mean, I, I'll tell you, I think one of the miracles in all this, I thought at some point
33:50all of it would become Stanton and Stanton would be dead money.
33:54And to his credit, Stanton has continued to re when he's healthy enough, remain a really
34:01viable offensive player and help them.
34:04So like they're, they're, they're a year plus to the finish line on Stanton.
34:08And also I thought that would, but I just think if you went and look, I mean, there was
34:13a couple of years ago where the Mets had like $80 million in debt than like, I just think
34:17it's the reality.
34:18If you're playing in these pools, you're signing contracts and extending them out.
34:23So you're paying less per year and understanding on the back end, you might have to take a big
34:28swallow.
34:29Right.
34:29But that was part of the McMahon trade, right?
34:30Like they took all that money on and said, yes, we'll take this.
34:33The other thing I'll say though, is, is I have to act in reality now because of the way
34:37Hal has commented and the way we've discussed about the Yankees payroll and how it, I know
34:43it's always at the top.
34:44I know it's always at the top, but they, they do take into account like, Hey, this dead money
34:48is going to count for us big time.
34:50Like we're going to be operating on this budget.
34:52Mayhew was part of their decision-making this year.
34:55Whatever will be dead, we'll be part of it.
34:57But whatever losses they've taken on this year, I don't think they're really a financial
35:02thing, right?
35:04Like the Yankees are third in the majors and payrolls.
35:06And, and I always encourage, this is again, something you and I talk about and I'm being
35:10repetitive is like, there's not, you know, a store on 51st and Madison where you get things
35:17like, like, like within, I was texting with one of my buddies.
35:21Who's like you, a big Yankee fan.
35:24And, uh, he was complaining and he was like this.
35:27And I said, weren't you the guy who told me that if they don't sign a my, they're not even
35:32trying.
35:34And he goes, what I go, remember my answer to you back then was you've never seen a my lift
35:40his arm.
35:40And you're saying that house cheap.
35:43If he doesn't go inside him, well, a my has pitched badly and now might is have to go on
35:48the IL starting pitching is the strength of the Yankees.
35:51So it's like, it's in the off season.
35:54I hear how the Yankees have to sign 50 guys for a 26 man roster.
35:58And by the way, the Mets now live in this world under Steve Cohen also, where it's, why
36:01did you do this?
36:02Why don't you do that early on this season?
36:04I did play the game a little bit like, okay, say they had a little more to spend.
36:11What would they have done?
36:13Like, it isn't like there's some obvious person who was available.
36:17I mean, I guess you can make a Bregman point, but I don't think Bregman's broken out well
36:21this year.
36:21No, uh, in terms of third base, I don't know if there was many options there.
36:25Uh, you know, obviously all Yankees fans will cry to the moon about the Kyle Tucker thing,
36:30but that was never a reality because they were in on Grisham and they ended up bringing
36:33him back Cody Bellinger, which is what they needed to do.
36:35Um, but I think the McMahon thing is just interesting because they are in for him next year.
36:40Like we said, uh, how long of that Lee, it's a longer leash than obviously what Gritchick's
36:44going to get here over the next, it's a longer leash because, because the, the upside of,
36:49of, of McMahon makes him like major league average of third base because he's well above
36:56average, uh, as far as defense, the best version of him is well above average.
37:01He's, he's a two to three war player when he is right.
37:05We saw him play shortstop last week too, for the first time.
37:08Also, if you're a ninth place hitter is a two to three war player, that's pretty good.
37:14Like it's imperfect because what he doesn't do, he doesn't do with the highest levels.
37:19It's going to have a very low batting average.
37:21He's going to have a very high strikeout percentage, but the best version of him fields well above
37:26average walks well above average and homers slightly above average.
37:31And so that is an average player who is your ninth place hitter.
37:35If he gets there, will he get there?
37:38The first two and a half weeks haven't been encouraging.
37:41It's a long season.
37:43And I think if we were going to gamble on it, we would say, I bet you his OPS begins
37:52with
37:52a six by the end of the season, which takes him to that acceptable area as your ninth place
38:00hitter, bringing the other stuff he brings, which is a little bit of on base percentage,
38:05a little bit of power and a lot of defense.
38:07Yeah, look, he's obviously not off to a good start at all, four for 35.
38:12His OPS is in the three, I think it's in the 300s or even less than that.
38:16It's not been a good at all.
38:18Let's talk about real or unreal.
38:20Let's switch over to that part of the show.
38:22So we saw the first start of Luis Hill for the 2026 season, Friday night against the Rays.
38:28He goes four innings, gives up three runs, two strikeouts, three walks, gave up a homer.
38:36Talk to me, Joel, about what we saw from Luis Hill.
38:39He did not generate much swing and miss, if at all, on his fastball or sinker.
38:45That is supposed to be his best pitch, I would say, is the velocity and how he's supposed to
38:49get high velocity from that pitch and get hopefully some swing and miss from that.
38:54What did you think of Luis Hill's start on Friday, real or unreal, and what we're seeing
38:58so far from him?
39:00So I would say, again, like if I were trying to make some real in this feeling out period,
39:07what would concern me?
39:08He would concern me because he came back lesser.
39:11And we've seen there's been a lot of pitchers who've lost velocity early this season.
39:17I was at the Met game yesterday, and by the way, the results were great.
39:21And so maybe with craft, Sean Minaya can pitch with four miles of power, less fastball than
39:26he had even last year when I think he was down a little from the year before.
39:30You know, he's lefty.
39:31He comes from a funky angle.
39:34You know, he has some craft.
39:36If you've talked to Sean Minaya, he's whip smart.
39:38He could probably figure things out as things go along.
39:41I think people like Luis Hill and Camilo Duvall are throwers, and if they lose velocity, I
39:50think it's significant and not really sure survivable for what they do because the walk
39:57numbers are going to be high for both guys.
39:59So they have to have the strikeout pitch as a way to bail them out of base runners.
40:04I also think that he'll, in both spring training and now, like, there's going to be some homer
40:10susceptibility, and again, walks and homers become multiple run homers, which are killers.
40:20That's one I assume once Rodon is healthy, he ends up back at AAA to see if he can rediscover
40:29the guy we saw in the first half of the 2024 season.
40:32It could be that the first half of the 2024 season was an anomaly, was as good as it's
40:39ever going to be, and it was great.
40:42I mean, good enough to get him Rookie of the Year by the end of the year, good enough to
40:45fill in for Garrett Cole for those first, like, 10 weeks of that season while Cole was
40:51out and helped a team that would ultimately win the American League Championship.
40:55So he was very valuable and very good.
40:57We just have not seen that guy again.
41:01And I am just wondering, in this age of ever-increasing velocity, can you empty the tank, even as a
41:13young pitcher, to the point where you lose something?
41:15Because I am noticing there is a lot of pitchers who are down multiple miles per hour early this
41:22season, some of them that is survivable for Duval, for Hill.
41:32And I think even because I don't think he trusts this fastball, I wonder about Bednar also in
41:38that category, if they're going to deal with less, what it means.
41:44Like, if Garrett Cole comes back with less fastball off of Tommy John surgery, now he was throwing
41:49hard in spring, so maybe it will be fine.
41:52But I would believe in the guy's craft and his pitching intellect.
41:57Like, he'll figure some stuff out.
41:59Um, I'm not sure about, like, the Bednar-Davall-Hill combo.
42:05Though, you know, Bednar's, like, you know, splitter curve, like, gives him some weaponry.
42:13Still got to be able to throw your fastball and trust it.
42:16Uh, and I feel watching the game, like, he's running away from it.
42:21Yeah, uh, he's obviously pitched himself into a lot of trouble.
42:25Uh, there's definitely been contact on his fastball.
42:27There's also been, uh, he just, he gets into really tricky, dirty situations as men on base
42:33and always makes them, like, really, uh, testy situations.
42:36As for Luis Hill, I thought it was really, like, it was tough.
42:39Like, he lost a lot of control on the fastball, and you could tell he was overthrowing his slider.
42:45Like, I think he dirted a couple of them where it was like, you know, he just doesn't have
42:48consistent form in his delivery, it felt like.
42:51So, I was wondering, is this really someone that we can trust going forward as a starting pitcher?
42:57Because I really do like Luis Hill.
42:58Like, I think he has, like, potential if he's, if he reaches that full potential.
43:02Because we saw it in 2024, like you said.
43:04It's just unfortunate that first start did not go well.
43:06The Rays were on top of him there.
43:08Uh, and the Rays overall...
43:10I actually think...
43:10I think there's a similarity between him and Jason Dominguez, where it wouldn't be the worst thing
43:16in the world if two weeks from now, if Rodan's ready to come back, whatever that period of
43:21time is, if Hill went down there and kind of worked on this, away from, like, like, he's
43:28living in a place now where there's a mandate on every start.
43:32Hey, what's going on?
43:33So, it's like, like, I'm watching it with even Sean Minaya, like, you know, with the
43:37questions they have, where's your philosophy?
43:38Where's your philosophy?
43:39You know, and this is a much more, you know, mature player and experienced guy.
43:44And this is really, you know, beloved T-May, very good with reporters, etc.
43:49And, you know, he's having to deal with, like, each time he pitches.
43:53And by the way, he's doing it in relief.
43:55Like, he's getting asked this double whammy question.
43:58Hey, are you upset that you're still in relief when you were assigned to be a starter?
44:02And where the heck is your velocity?
44:04And, like, Luis Hill's going to have to deal...
44:07Unless, like, things click all of a sudden.
44:10And is he pitching Tuesday for the Yankees?
44:12Is he your Wednesday?
44:14Let me look at the schedule starters.
44:15I think he's got the Angels someplace in here early in the week.
44:18Yeah.
44:19Tonight is Warren.
44:21And then tomorrow will be Weathers.
44:25And then Wednesday is going to be Heal.
44:29Yeah.
44:30So, you know, maybe it will click in on Wednesday.
44:33Who knows?
44:35The weather is supposed to warm up.
44:37Yeah, it's supposed to be nice this week in New York.
44:39You know, so maybe that will help, you know, both the Yankee offense and Hill, you know, being at home.
44:49But I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world when Rodon is ready to come back.
44:54If Hill goes down there and could ever get on a 6-8 start run of, oh, velocity's back, slider's
45:04back, and now you're ready to do something.
45:08Because it feels like, just feels like he's been trying to recapture something while he's being judged over and over
45:15in the major leagues.
45:16And that's a really, really hard thing to do for the most seasoned player.
45:22And he is not the most seasoned player.
45:25No, no, he's certainly not.
45:27Joel, let's switch over to Joel's notebook.
45:29The Angels are coming to town.
45:31Mike Trout, obviously, is trying to...
45:33Talked a good Angels story already with the scuba wear that they were wearing in October of all time.
45:38That was great.
45:39That was great.
45:40It was actually...
45:40Okay, I'll give you more Angels.
45:41What else do you want from the Angels?
45:42No, I was going to say it was actually Howie Kendrick at second for that series as well.
45:46So you talk about eyeball short.
45:46And Eric Eyeball was the short stuff.
45:48Yeah.
45:49So, but let's talk about Mike Trout.
45:51Look, Trout, New Jersey native.
45:54He's dealt with a ton of injuries the last couple years with his knee.
45:57You got to speak to him this spring training before the season started and how he's trying
46:02to approach this year.
46:03Obviously, he didn't play in the World Baseball Classic for the Team USA.
46:06He was on the team three years prior to that.
46:09What more can you share about Mike Trout and when he's coming to New York here and how he's
46:13trying to basically survive the whole season and stay healthy?
46:18Yeah, you know, I go to Arizona every year.
46:21I try to make sure I stop in front of Mike Trout's locker at some point.
46:25You know, you want to talk, there's an historically great player.
46:28Mike has always been really kind with his time and his insights.
46:32I thought he was particularly introspective this year when we chatted for like 10, 12
46:37minutes early one morning at their facility.
46:42The reason I went to see him, I did it at a very specific time.
46:46Team USA was training for the World Baseball Classic about three and a half, four miles away
46:53from Diablo Stadium where the Angels train.
46:58And I was like, I thought this was interesting.
47:02I hate to use the word sad.
47:04You know, three years earlier, he had been the captain and the face of Team USA.
47:08This time around, he couldn't even get the insurance to be part of the team.
47:13And it was almost like the baseball world had gone on without Mike Trout, who three years
47:19beforehand is like, I mean, he is today, right?
47:22He's going to be a no-brainer Hall of Famer.
47:25But I'm not sure if I've, you know, Ernie Banks was this when he played.
47:31He was the great player who never played in the postseason throughout.
47:36You know, he had 500 homers, beloved player.
47:39Let's play two, he's famous for saying, but you know, the Cubs went all those years without
47:43making the playoffs and he was a Cub for his whole career.
47:46And he never played in a playoff game.
47:48Mike Trout played in three playoff games, lost them all in 2014, was a very young player.
47:56I believe he was the MVP that year.
47:58Forgive me, it's not in front of me.
47:59I think he went like one for 10 or something in that series.
48:03They haven't gone back.
48:04The Angels are the longest drought, active drought in baseball.
48:10And I think it deprives the fans, the national fans, of seeing an historically great player
48:17in his prime, which is probably now gone, in the great showcase.
48:22And it's deprived trout of like the thing that most great players get a chance to do, which
48:30is prove themselves or not prove themselves in these big moments where the world's watching
48:36and try to win a championship, which, you know, I doubt if he, you know, and look, he's
48:42condemned himself to this to some degree.
48:43He signed two long-term contracts with the Angels who have kind of, you know, had revealed
48:49what they've revealed about how they're run for a long time.
48:52So if he wanted to get out, he could have gotten out.
48:54He's never kind of publicly asked for a trade.
48:56I'm not sure he's that tradable unless they eat a lot of money now.
49:01In spring training, I did find it interesting.
49:03He had talked how much he had worked on his legs in the offseason.
49:06He had clearly lost some weight.
49:08He was going to play center field again.
49:10He was like, I'm just so much more comfortable and athletic playing center field.
49:13And he said, it's not like I feel like less wear and tear in center than right.
49:16And he didn't really want to be a DH.
49:19And so we want to play center field again.
49:21And look, I think the sport would be better if Mike Trout were playing big games.
49:26Just like it feels like the chance to see him play big games in his prime is past.
49:31And one of the things I always think about Ryan is like when him and Bryce Harper came
49:35up at about the same time, and there was a little bit of this Harper Trout or Trout Harper.
49:41And I think early on, everybody was trapped.
49:45You know, he won three MVPs right away.
49:48When he didn't win, he finished second pretty much all the time.
49:51It was so clear what a great player he is.
49:53But like for a high high, Trout is better than Harper.
50:00But I would take Harper's career seven days a week and twice on Sunday because me personally,
50:06I couldn't play a career and not play big game.
50:10And Bryce Harper's played, A, played a ton of big games and B, played great in the postseason.
50:16It's part of his history is that he's done that.
50:21Like, I just value winning and playing the big games and going for championships.
50:27And ultimately, Bryce Harper hasn't won one, you know, winning championships.
50:31Like, it's just like I would take a lot of guys' careers over greater players.
50:36Like, I love Kyle Schwarber's career.
50:40I love Nathan Evaldi's career because, like, they've played great at big moments without even being the greatest players in
50:48the game.
50:49Plus, like, we're not going to pull a tin cup around for either of those guys.
50:54They've made hundreds of millions of dollars also.
50:57It's just Trout.
50:58Trout is very singular.
50:59I think you kind of read a little line.
51:01It was the line in my column.
51:03It's like Daniel Day-Lewis playing dinner theater in Iowa.
51:06Like, he's just been off Broadway.
51:08And out of our consciousness â I mean, so out of our consciousness that the World Baseball Classic just went
51:13on.
51:14And, like, I'm with this guy who three years before was Mike Trout.
51:19He was the captain.
51:20He was judged three years before.
51:22And now he's just some guy getting ready for a team we think is going to be not very good.
51:26And that's the thing, right?
51:28Can he stay healthy?
51:28That's the thing.
51:29It's the team he plays for.
51:30It's the franchise that he plays for.
51:32And that's part of the fascinating â
51:34But â and look, you know, like, do you want to give him credit?
51:37Because, like, what Mike will tell you, and he's told me multiple years, and he told me this year, is
51:40when I win, I want it to be in the place where I put in all the blood, sweat, and
51:45tears.
51:45Like, I have investment here.
51:47I don't want to chase the shiny object.
51:50So, like, on one hand, that's noble.
51:52On the other hand, it's futile because there's nothing that the Angels writ large as a management team organization has
52:01shown over the last decade to suggest it's going to get out of its own way and succeed.
52:07And so, to me, like, at some point, you owe it to your career, if you're the great player, to
52:14be like, get me out of here.
52:16And certainly don't sign â and who am I to say the second contract was worth about $450 million.
52:22So he's taking care of multiple generations of Trout, and he's going to the Hall of Fame.
52:28Is it possible I care more about his legacy than he does to that extent?
52:34Like, or the fandom in America, the baseball fans care more?
52:38Maybe because, like, he's had a shot to get out, and he valued other things.
52:44I don't want to knock those other things because, A, they're noble, and, B, he's going to the Hall of
52:48Fame and going to make over a half a billion dollars in his career.
52:51Yeah.
52:51So he's taken care â he's checked a lot of boxes that a baseball player wants, but to me, it
52:58feels both self-deprived, like he hasn't fully gotten everything,
53:03and that the people who love baseball around the world, like Otani played with him, which is, like, again, amazing.
53:13Can you imagine having Otani and Trout in the prime?
53:15And forget about making the playoffs.
53:17They never even finished above 500 with those two.
53:19It's crazy.
53:20But Otani got out.
53:21He's been with the Dodgers two years, and not only has he won the two years, but you can't be
53:27a biggest star now because he's played on that stage that even â
53:31like, it's almost like it took the two years with the Dodgers for everyone to go, wow, Otani, when he
53:36was doing it for the Angels, but it was dinner theater in Iowa.
53:40Mm-hmm.
53:40You know, and so, like, I kind of wish he had gotten out, and we would have seen him play
53:50Broadway.
53:51And I don't mean, like, people are going to say, oh, of course you want to see everyone come there.
53:54I'm talking metaphorically, Chicago, the Dodgers, hell, like, he's from not far from Philly, Philadelphia, like someplace else where we
54:06would have gotten a shot, like, to see the great player on the biggest stage.
54:11And I think it's bad for him and certainly bad for the sport.
54:15Well, Yankees fans get to see him up close and personal.
54:18This three-game set here in New York and the Bronx, it's always fun to see Mike Trout play if
54:22you get the chance in person, even in the current, you know, spot he is and how he's â
54:26I mean, he's actually not enough to a bad start this year, but he's, in my opinion, always fun to
54:31watch, and he's a great player to watch, and like you said, all the time.
54:34Can I tell you something that, like, always stuck with me is â so my dad, rest his soul, was
54:41a huge baseball fan, loved the baseball.
54:46And my mom died young, and after my mom died, I talked to my dad on the phone every day
54:51until my dad passed.
54:54And invariably, we ultimately talked about baseball, especially in baseball season.
55:00And I'd always ask, like, Dad, like, what are you going to do today?
55:03And if the Yankees were playing in Anaheim, he goes, oh, I'm going to take a nap.
55:06I want to watch Trout play tonight, you know, with a 10 o'clock start on the East Coast.
55:10And, like, it sticks with me.
55:13Like, my dad, who was a big baseball fan, he wanted to make sure â you know my dad who
55:16saw Mantle and Maze and a little bit of DiMaggio because, you know, games weren't on TV.
55:22He was alive, obviously, when DiMaggio played, but, like, you know, he didn't see him a lot.
55:26But he saw Mantle and Maze a ton and, you know, the other great players.
55:32And he would just â he'd always say to me, Trout stands with these guys.
55:37He's with these guys.
55:38Like, the young version of Trout stands with these guys.
55:40And it stuck with me that a real baseball fan like my dad would be like, I'm taking a nap
55:44because I want to watch Mike Trout play tonight.
55:45And it feels like everyone could have gotten to see him play in October, and we just haven't.
55:51It's well said, Joel.
55:53Well said.
55:53Thank you again for sharing your insight, stories.
55:56We talked about weather.
55:57We talked about â not politics.
55:59We talked about the Yankees, obviously, and the troubles they're going through right now.
56:03We'll see how they handle the Angels.
56:04They got the Royals after that.
56:06And then next week they're going to Fenway for the first time this season.
56:09Joel Sherman, that's an episode.
56:11We appreciate you as always.
56:12And we'll catch you next week, man.
56:15Thanks, Ryan.
56:16All the best.
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