- 6 months ago
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00:00John, we're bringing in our two most frequent guests this week, and I think most timely guests
00:07we can have this week. Our friend Michael Kay with the passing of John Sterling. He's obviously
00:12a person we reached out to. And the Mets have shown some glimmers of light, but it's overall
00:16not been very good. And we needed somebody to sum up where they are. I don't know that we can
00:21do
00:21much better than Ron Darling. No, absolutely looking forward to this. Two of my favorites,
00:26Kay and Darling have been great guests, and we're having them both today. So this is a special show.
00:32Yeah, so obviously we're going to talk a lot about John Sterling, who was important to both
00:39John and myself and Michael Kay's broadcast partner for a decade on the radio. We'll dig a lot into
00:45the Mets. We'll play hit and error at the end if you stick with us on the show with Joel
00:49Sherman and
00:49John Hay. Well, no one is a more frequent guest on our show than Michael Kay, the great broadcaster
01:02from Yes, has his own show on the radio, the Michael Kay show. And it's usually we get to bat
01:08around a lot
01:09of baseball. Unfortunately, Mike, we're here to talk about something else today, the passing of
01:15John Sterling. But first, Mike, thanks as always for joining us. You got it. Thanks, Joel.
01:21John was 87. And he was and for anyone who knew him, we were John and I were lucky enough
01:28to know
01:29him. You knew him at a whole different level. You broadcast games with him for a long time. Mike, I
01:35just
01:35wonder, like you were with us at one point. We were all beat writers in the early 90s covering the
01:41Yankees for various papers. Newsday Post, the Daily News. You made a pretty tough jump into the
01:47booth with John. Take it from there. Like what? That is not a standard. It's what you always wanted
01:53to do. You are always arcing towards there, but it was not a standard jump. Tell us about that jump
02:00and what it meant to do it with John. Well, obviously, as you mentioned, this is what I wanted to
02:05do since I
02:06was nine. And so while I was writing, you guys know, I also was doing the MSG Network postgame
02:12show. So it's kind of getting my my foot in the door, so to speak. And then when Joe Angel
02:17left
02:17the booth with John, they just didn't work well together at all. That that spot opened up and
02:25there were a lot of tryouts and a lot of people that wanted it. And it's funny. I had always
02:29heard
02:30one story until yesterday. And the story was that, you know, there were a lot of people
02:34that were trying out and it came down to five people and a couple of them were players from
02:42what I heard. And so the head of WABC went to John and said, well, which of these five do
02:48you
02:48think works best? He goes, well, I have my ideas, but why don't you why don't you choose? And I'll
02:54tell
02:54you whether or not you made the right choice. So he didn't say who he wanted. And they said, well,
02:59we would go with this guy, Michael Kay. And John goes, that's exactly who I would want.
03:05And then I found out from Susan yesterday that John had gone to George Steinberger and said,
03:10I want this guy, Michael Kay, to work with me if that's OK. You know, I had gotten a relationship
03:15with John when I was a writer. You know, he'd been there three years while I was a writer
03:19and I would go on for rain delays and stuff like that. So we kind of had a rapport.
03:23We joked around. But starting with him was different, Joel. You know, I've told the story before.
03:28You know, the first day I was in the booth, you know, the opening game against the Red Sox
03:32in 1992. He turned to me and he says, as you embark on this new journey of life, I've got
03:38two bits of advice for you. And so I'm thinking, oh, great. He's going to say, talk from the
03:43sternum, whatever the case may be. Save your voice. He said, this is 30 seconds before air.
03:49And he goes to me. Don't ask me my age on the air ever. And I talk to myself a
03:57lot. Don't be alarmed.
03:58And those are good things to know. They really were. So that was the beginning. And but in terms
04:05of how it helped me, Joel, he was an amazing broadcaster. I know he was he was different
04:09than, you know, your standard broadcaster, you know, your cookie cutter. But, you know,
04:14his pacing, his voice, his rhythms, just when he talked and when he didn't talk and how he talked
04:21and how he used that magnificent voice. Those are all things that, you know, I was learning
04:26on the run with. And it was it was great to learn from him.
04:30Yeah, I know you were learning and you'd come from being a writer like we still are. And that's
04:36the job that you wanted. I am curious, though, because we all have egos. And when you're with
04:42him in the booth, he's the star of the show. How was that for you? Because I mean, now obviously
04:47you're an amazingly successful broadcaster with your own show, call and show. And you're, you know,
04:57obviously the star of the Yankee broadcasts now and you have an interview show. No, you are.
05:04How was it for you? I mean, did you did you feel slighted in any sense, not being the star
05:11of the
05:11show? No, not not at all. You know, when I got the Yes Network gig after 10 years with
05:17with John, something that I never saw it and I never thought I was going to, you know, when they
05:22started the Yes Network, I never thought, oh, here's my chance. Never even gave it a consideration
05:27that I would be chosen to be the head play by play guy. And that that was one of the
05:32few times that
05:33John and I had a difficult time. John was really hurt that I left to go to Yes. And I
05:39told John
05:40that if Yes never ever happened, like if MSG had kept the rights and Yes was never made,
05:46I would have been very content, John, John Heyman. I would have been very content 30 years
05:53being John Sterling's sidekick. I really would have been. There wasn't an ego about it. I just felt I
05:58was so fortunate to be even in that position as the second guy that no, no, it didn't. It didn't
06:04come
06:05to that. I never felt that way at all. You bring it up actually is the first time I even
06:09thought
06:09about it. I never thought, well, this is less of a job. It was, it was an important job. Don
06:14did John did six innings of play by play and I did three, but I never thought, well, he's
06:19a, he's a star and I'm Ed McMahon. I would have been fine being Ed McMahon. Ed McMahon made
06:24a nice living with Johnny Carson. You know, Mike, you come from an unbelievable family tree
06:29at, uh, Fordham WFU V. Uh, and I would suspect that from like the Vince Scully down, everybody
06:38is for, as far as you're trained, you're trained classically, right? Like if you watch Mike Breen
06:43do a basketball game, uh, that's from like the Marv Albert school, like you're getting,
06:48he's throwing assists to his color guys. He's setting you up for a score. Who's on the court.
06:54You worked with somebody who was not a classic. I wonder what you, what you think about that,
07:00right? Because the people who loved John, there was very little gray with John, right? The
07:04people who loved him really loved him. And the people who didn't like that style really
07:09didn't like that style.
07:10I was new to it. And, you know, I was not one of these broadcasters who like, um, you
07:16know, fashion myself as this sort of broadcaster, that sort of broadcaster. You know, I liked
07:22Marv Albert growing up, but you know, there were four male voices in my house when I was
07:26growing up, my dad, Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, and Bill White. That was my, my, you know, broadcasting
07:33guys that, that were in my house all the time. But I knew that John was different and I didn't
07:38follow John's lead like that. You know, when I did my, you know, my three innings of play
07:42by play, I played it straighter. Uh, but I think there was room for both. And John was different.
07:48John was one of one, as I said yesterday as well. Um, and you're right. People either
07:53loved him or hate him, but I think more people loved him. More Yankee fans loved him than
07:57didn't love him. Uh, and so I just saw that there were, there were definitely two, two
08:02different ways to skin a cat, so to speak. Uh, John was an entertainer and I came into it
08:07as a journalist. So that first couple of years, Joel, it was funny. I I'd be sitting there.
08:13Um, and you know, I picked up the New York post and you would break a story, right? And
08:20there was something inside of me that I was pissed off. How did I not get that story?
08:24And I said, this is not your job anymore, you idiot. But it just was still in me. So
08:28I always tried to get stuff in the clubhouse and bring it onto the air. So John and I had
08:33different ways that we went about it, but somehow it meshed. But I, I think the reason
08:38that we were successful is something that John told me at the beginning, you know, John got
08:43really upset when the Yankees lost and you could hear it too. Now he was very critical
08:46of them. People call them a Homer, but he criticized them a lot when they didn't, when
08:51they didn't do well. And I looked at him and I said, John, why do you care so much
08:55that the Yankees win or lose? They don't care if we have a good broadcast. And he, and
09:01he said, Michael, my boy, let me tell you. And he goes, if the Yankees win, we'll be
09:07bringing good news into people's homes. And when you bring good news to people, they
09:12like you. And when people like you, you have more job security. That's why I want
09:17the Yankees to win. And you know what? He turned out being right because I think
09:21there's, there's a positive shine on the 10 years we had together because we
09:26broadcasted, you know, four world championships and we, you know, we
09:30broadcasted actually five world series and, and four titles. And we did those
09:34ticker tape parades and the ceremonies at city hall, you know, you kind of get
09:39dragged along in the success. So he was right. If you're a broadcaster, and I
09:43think it happened for Marv Albert too. Marv Albert obviously is incredible and
09:47great, but the fact that he had those two Knick championships and he was the
09:51voice of that, I think that people connect that and they connect the success of the
09:55team to the broadcaster. And I think it does do the broadcaster a lot of favors.
10:00As Joel mentioned, he and I both knew John well, and we love John, but you knew him
10:07at a whole nother level, obviously. And I listened to your show, your radio show
10:13yesterday, and it was quite emotional, but tell me about it. Cause we heard that he
10:18had had a heart attack and now I kind of regret not calling him afterward. He had been
10:24on the show and he was certainly, we were certainly friendly. Tell us about, you know,
10:31the final conversations that you had with John and what his last hope was.
10:36You know, he started having heart problems maybe toward the end of January. And there
10:42was a day that he felt like real, real shortness of breath. And so there's some doctors that
10:48we both know out in Long Island and we've become friends with. And he, you know, John described
10:54what he was feeling. He said, let's, let's get you to the hospital right away. And so he set
10:58him up with the top heart surgeon, uh, out in great neck and, uh, they checked him into
11:05the hospital and they said, it's unbelievable that he essentially in this time when he was
11:10having shortness of breath had what was the equivalent of about 12 heart attacks and would
11:16have killed most men. And, uh, they immediately rushed him into open heart surgery. And, um, you
11:23know, he, he came out of that and I have a doctor friend who was part of the, the group,
11:30um, that
11:31tended to him. And he said, wow, he says amazing how well he's doing. And the main doctor who did
11:38the
11:39surgery said, this is unbelievable. He's doing great. He's going to do, he's going to do fine.
11:43He's going to do well. But my friend said, let's, let's just, you know, pump the brakes a little
11:49bit on all the optimism. This is an 87 year old man who just went through an incredibly difficult
11:55situation. Let's see how it plays out. And he did have some complications. Um, but he was,
12:01you know, I spoke to him a number of times, John, and he sounded like John Sterling, you know,
12:06like three or four days out into the surgery. I spoke to him and he was, he was John, you
12:11know,
12:11he was talking and laughing and being John Sterling. And, uh, and he said the one thing that, uh,
12:18it was frustrating. And, you know, when you're that old and you're, you're bedridden for a while,
12:22he just lost the ability to walk. And that was really frustrating to him. So he was really pushing
12:27it and pushing the, um, the rehab. And I told him, and I said this on the radio show yesterday,
12:32I said, take your time, John, don't push it. You know, his goal is wants to walk his daughter,
12:37Abigail down the aisle. She's getting married this summer. He said, I gotta be able to walk. I've got
12:42to be able to walk. And that's, that's what really drove him. Um, and he was, he was doing physical
12:47therapy, but then, you know, complications of being old. He got some AFib and he got, um,
12:54got some fluid in the lungs. And, um, you know, the last, the last time I spoke to him,
12:59it was the first time that I was really concerned. And I must've been about six days ago. And he
13:05just
13:05didn't sound like himself. And you guys know, you would talk to John Sterling. He was 87. He sounded
13:09like he's 25. He had the most amazing voice. It really was a gift from God. And, uh, he just
13:15didn't
13:15sound right. And I called up Susan. I said, have you spoken to John today? And she said, no,
13:20I said, give me, give him a call and tell me what you think. And then she called me back
13:24like a half
13:25hour later. She goes, that wasn't good. I said, no, no, that, that wasn't good. And, uh, just that
13:30I was girding for the worst. And, um, uh, then his sons who were just unbelievable with him. And that
13:37meant the world to him. You know, he told me several times, I don't know where I'd be without my
13:41boys.
13:41I would have nobody to do this. And they just took total control with all the doctors in the
13:46hospitals. And they got him to a hospital in long, uh, in, um, in the Jersey where he lives.
13:52Then he was starting to have heart failure. So, um, that, that eventually led to the end.
13:57His blood pressure went out of control and, uh, the doctors couldn't bring it down. So I think what
14:02ultimately got him was what gets all of us old age, you know, it was a victim of, you know,
14:06his body started breaking down at the age of 87.
14:08You know, Mike, I'm wondering, uh, you, you did some real beautiful tribute stuff, uh,
14:14last night. It was, it was meaningful enough for me. I think, you know, how much I like basketball.
14:18I had the Knicks on silent and I was watching your game, uh, cause I wanted to see the touches,
14:23uh, that you brought to it. Uh, you did the home run call, uh, in Sterling voice, and then you
14:29like
14:30laid out and let the, uh, the Yankees win thing, uh, play from, from the thing. I wonder,
14:35are you going to continue to do anything, uh, this season or this mark the day and to some degree
14:42life goes on? Um, I don't think I will continue to do it. And then I think it becomes stick
14:49and I
14:49don't, I don't think that's right. And you know, if there was another home run yesterday, Joel,
14:53I wouldn't have done it again. Uh, and I had it in my mind that I was going to do
14:57it for a home run
14:57and it couldn't have been more perfect because if it was Caballero hit the home run, John didn't
15:02have a Caballero call. Right. So, I mean, it was perfect that it was judged because that was in my
15:08mind. I knew his judge's call and, uh, it just, it worked out absolutely perfect. And, you know,
15:15maybe I'll do something on July 4th, which would have been his, uh, his 88th birthday. But, um, I think
15:20what we did yesterday kind of speaks for itself. And I think after that, John would become annoyed,
15:25you know, like, you know, I said on the open of the broadcast, it's, you know, our hearts are heavy
15:30today, but you know, John was a huge sports fan. If John was living last night, he would have had
15:36the Knicks on one TV. He would have the Yankees. He would have the end of the Met game. He
15:40was a real
15:41sports fan. He really knew sports. He watched all football games like Ricky Ricardo, the Spanish
15:46language broadcaster. Uh, he spoke to John like seven days ago. And you know, this is when John started
15:52to take a turn for the worst. And John was just picking apart the Eagles draft picks. I mean,
15:58he knew everything about sports and he read newspapers voraciously. And I said this on the
16:04air yesterday. I think one of the things that led to him, you know, retiring, he just got frustrated
16:10that there weren't newspapers, physical newspapers available on the road anymore. And, uh, you know,
16:15one Christmas, his sons, uh, we were all in a football game at Yankee stadium together, Notre Dame game.
16:20And they came up to me and they said, well, what can we get our dad for, for Christmas? And
16:26I said,
16:26get him an iPad because he's, he's a voracious reader this way. Every single newspaper in the
16:31world would be at his fingertips. And they got him the iPad and he just, he just couldn't bring
16:36himself to do it. You know, he just didn't want to do it. I mean, he still had a flip
16:41phone. You know,
16:41he would carry all of our numbers around on white pieces of paper in his pocket. He didn't know how
16:46to input names and numbers in the phone. So he was a luddite in that way. But if he had
16:51somehow
16:52learned and gotten comfortable using an iPad, I think, I think he could have still been broadcasting.
16:58And I tried to talk, I did try to talk about him retiring because, you know, I think of Bear
17:03Bryant
17:03and I think of Joe Paterno when older people, you know, retire something that is so much a part of
17:10their life. Then, you know, health becomes an issue. And maybe that's just because of age.
17:15But I said, John, the Yankees are bending over backwards for you. They'll do anything for you.
17:20They'll give you any schedule. They, they had cars, pick them up at his home and drive them back.
17:25And he said, Michael, if I could just be in the booth, I would love to do it. This is
17:28easy,
17:29but just getting to the stadium, walking from the car to the, uh, the booth, it just became too much
17:35for him. Travel was out as well. Um, so he just said that that, that was it, but I did
17:40try to talk
17:40him out of it. It's funny that you mentioned, uh, what a luddite he is, uh, when he was on
17:45our show,
17:46uh, he's the only one we sent our fabulous producer, uh, Tommy Hogan, uh, went to his apartment
17:52in New Jersey so he could click the link to get on our show. Uh, it was such a brilliant
17:59man who had
18:00total recall of everything. Uh, it was really some, uh, something to watch. I mean, I'm not good
18:06with, uh, uh, technology, but, uh, it's funny that he wouldn't click the link and, uh, Tommy showed
18:12up at his apartment. It was one of the great thrills. I think at that point in Tommy's life
18:15to be with John, I'll tell you what, all of our engineers, um, John and Joel, you guys knew
18:22Brian Ferguson and Carlos Silva and Jack Maldonado. One of their jobs each year was to go to
18:30his house and program his VCR. So he could take the young and a restless and all the shows that
18:36he wanted. He had no idea how to do that. He knew how to hit play and things like that.
18:41But in terms
18:42of like, you know, starting to VCR, he had no, he had no chance at that. He didn't know how
18:47to do,
18:47uh, uh, DVRs or anything like that. He just, as I said yesterday, he wanted life to be one big
18:54cocktail party. He didn't want complications. He just wanted to be happy. And, uh, all of those
18:59things were complications, which he didn't want to deal with. You know, as a way to wrap this up,
19:03I mean, I've told the story in a couple of different places, but I think it ties all of
19:06us because I didn't include the part that would involve John is, uh, um, my dad, uh, my mom died
19:12on the last day of the 1998 season. Uh, he had gone from his mom to the U S army
19:17to my mom and never
19:19been alone. We were, I was very worried about him. You know, we did the funeral. Uh, and then it
19:23was
19:23like, you know, you, you guys both knew my dad. He was the hardest working man I've ever known.
19:27He just kept saying, you got to go back to work. You got to go back to work. And I'm
19:30like, dad,
19:30I can't leave you alone. And so finally I decided I'd bring him to Cleveland. And in Cleveland,
19:35I've got to say in the worst time of his life, he had one of the best times, John's terrific
19:39wife,
19:40Corrine, you've probably forgotten John, but she took him to the rock and roll hall of fame
19:45that day, which was amazing. And John Sterling and Michael K had my father sit in the booth for three
19:51games in Cleveland. And John was my dad's kind of contemporary age wise. And they talked movies
20:00and Sinatra and of course the Yankees. And my dad would see him every year at spring training from
20:05there on in. And John would treat them like they had served in the army together. And at John's, uh,
20:13uh, retirement, um, uh, which was three years after my father passed, I went and reminded him how much,
20:19I want to tell him how much I appreciated it. And as I began to say it, he went to
20:24me,
20:24Oh, I loved Murray. Like he hadn't talked to me in a long time. It just total recall of my
20:28dad's name,
20:29uh, and saying it. And so like, I would always point out, like when somebody would tell me
20:34something negative about John, I would say John is a humanist and an eccentric. And he also did two
20:42things that we should all do in life. Do exactly what you dream of. And Mike, you know, this,
20:47you've been on our show before. I've said this about you. You are a tribute to it. You dreamed
20:51about being the Yankee broadcaster. What a great accomplishment for a job that hundreds and
20:56thousands of people want that you're it. And John Sterling was that, and he was distinct.
21:01There are a lot of cookie cutters wandering through life aimlessly. And John did exactly what
21:07he wanted the way he wanted to do it. And I think I can't give a, and he did it
21:13as a humanist.
21:14And I could tell you that firsthand with how he treated my father and how you treated my father,
21:19Mike, and how John and his wife treated my father, uh, who meant everything to me. And so this was
21:24a
21:24moment to just, I don't know where that led, but I wanted to say it cause we're all together.
21:30Well, uh, the best thing that I could say about John, I did love you dad. Um, uh, the best
21:36thing I
21:36could say about John, he didn't have a mean bone in his body. Uh, I always, I always described it
21:42to
21:42people that he had an absence of ballast. He had a pursuit of happiness and he didn't want to hurt
21:47anybody. And I got a phone call yesterday, right before I went on the air from Buck Showalter.
21:53And he said, you know what, John wasn't, I said, what he goes, he wasn't mean. He goes,
21:59he would criticize us on the air, but he wasn't mean. He says, I've been the manager of teams
22:04where broadcasters were mean and they took great pleasure in being mean. He goes, that wasn't John
22:11and John wasn't mean. And I think that that's why, um, when he got criticized from, um, the radio and
22:20television columnists in our city, because he wasn't like the classic broadcaster, it hurt him
22:25and he didn't know how to fight back cause he wasn't mean. And, uh, that, that really bothered him
22:30a lot. And, you know, I said this, uh, yesterday when I was on with, um, the afternoon show on
22:35ESPN,
22:37I wish that John was alive yesterday, but the whole world had found out that he, he had passed
22:46because all the accolades and the love and the Yankees having his initials on the back of the,
22:52the, the, the, the, the hat that would have meant such, such a great deal to him that people did
23:00like me. You know, I was different, but people liked me and you know, that that's what got him
23:06through the mean reviews and the fact that he never really got a real shot at the baseball hall of
23:13fame because those people that are voting, they're not going to vote for John Sterling because they're
23:18the classics. You know, they, they, they look for the, you know, the red barbers of the world.
23:22And, you know, John would call not, not, he loved red barber, but John said, I'm not a cookie cutter.
23:28I'm just not a cookie cutter. And boy, in every walk of life and broadcasting and the way he lived
23:33his life, guys, he was not a cookie cutter. Uh, Mike, look, there was nobody, uh, we, we asked you
23:41at a moment's notice, uh, to do this. There's nobody we wanted more. Uh, John obviously was a legend
23:47in his business, in our town, around the Yankees and nobody, uh, knew him, uh, better than you.
23:54And Mike, as always, you're, you're always so kind to join us. And, uh, we know it's a tough time
23:59for
23:59you and for everybody who had such great appreciation and love for John. We always appreciate it. And we
24:04appreciate you joining us on the show. Anytime guys. I appreciate it. Thanks, Mike.
24:13John and I are happy yet again to be joined by one of our most frequent guests, uh, our MLB
24:19network,
24:20uh, partner friends, uh, also, uh, TBS color man. Uh, they've, uh, they're doing, uh, Astros, uh,
24:28Dodgers tonight in Houston. And of course, one of the, uh, main voices on SNY, uh, with, uh, with, uh,
24:36uh, uh, Gary and Keith, uh, Ron Darling, thank you so much for joining us again on the show.
24:41Oh, it's always great guys. Great to see you guys again. Uh, Ron, uh, it was obvious to reach
24:47out to you. Uh, this is obviously not the start the Mets anticipated, uh, want, et cetera. Can I just
24:56start with a broad question? It's 13 and 22. Why do you think we're here? And, and do you think
25:03it's extractable if there's such a word? It's a, it's, it's a great, great question. Um, to let,
25:09I guess your listeners, uh, give a little history of my appearance here. You guys asked me to appear
25:14last week when the Mets were in the middle of everything. And I just didn't feel like I had
25:20any answers for you. Um, it was, um, uh, what did they say? Too soon? It seemed too soon,
25:27um, uh, to really, uh, try to extract Joel, anything, uh, that makes any sense, but I don't
25:35know. I, I, I've given it some thought and I think I've talked to John, uh, in person, um, in
25:40the
25:40meantime, you know, they, they've really done something that's quite unique and that is they've
25:48brought in 12 new players. Um, they've lost a lot of, uh, uh, you know, players that are very
25:54popular, been around for a long time, but they, they brought in 12 kind of new players. I'm not
25:59even including Polanco who's on the injured list. Um, they shuffle their bullpen a lot, but also,
26:06and we haven't talked a lot about this eight new coaches. And I think when, if you thought of any
26:12business in America, a small business that had 40 employees and replaced 24 and in over one year
26:22and hoped that it would just run, uh, even better the next season, uh, that's an interesting kind
26:28of thought, you know? And, and when I think of it that way, um, it makes me feel like it
26:34might be
26:34extractable because at some point, um, especially lately, we've seen some better played baseball.
26:40Um, but boy, they put themselves in quite a bind. The great thing is that baseball is the great wet
26:46rescuer today's baseball, because if you're 500 on August 1st, you're in a race.
26:51So you have to play 10 over in the next, what? 85, 90 games. That's doable.
26:57Yeah. I mean, if you replace 24 out of 40, that's a 60%. That's a lot. That's a big,
27:02a lot of guys that you've replaced. I get why they didn't love what went on last year. That was
27:06quite a
27:08disappointment. And that's a kind word about it. Uh, so I get why they made changes, but
27:14my question is related to that. Uh, they brought in all these guys who really never played in New York.
27:20Uh, you played and starred in New York, uh, and you've played elsewhere as well. Uh,
27:27how big adjustment do you think that is? Uh, and do you think that's part of the issue with this
27:33team
27:33now? Yeah, there's two different ways of playing in New York. Uh, if you start your career in New York,
27:37that's one way, and it's a different way because a lot of the things that are thrown your way,
27:42uh, seemed like this is how business is run. And I think your education is much quicker,
27:48uh, that way. Uh, the second way is to come in, in the middle of your career, uh, to come
27:55from
27:56Seattle, uh, which might have a paper or two and a reporter or two, or to come from Oakland or
28:02to come
28:02from other places. And, um, when you get there, uh, New York is the greatest place to work.
28:08I think in the world, um, whether you're on wall street, uh, whether you're a physician or whether
28:15you're a ball player, it's the greatest place to work. Why? Everyone is grinding. Everyone in that
28:20town is grinding to be great. So if you're of that ilk, then you're in a good place. And if
28:25you start
28:25your career with a New York team, um, then I think you have half a chance, but to come in,
28:31in the middle of your career, I think it's a real culture shock and it takes a little getting used
28:36to, you know, if guys are from Oklahoma and they grew up on a farm, uh, this is not only,
28:41uh, 2026
28:42players, this is 1956 players or 1960 players who, who grew up in a different culture. And all of a
28:50sudden they're, they're in a stuck in the big city, uh, trying to figure out how to take the seven
28:54train
28:54and all that. Uh, there is quite a shock, uh, I think for them. And then, you know, the, the
29:00real
29:00palpable one for them is that how to deal with the criticism, uh, that comes today's baseball world
29:09is viewed different than when I played a guy went over 17. You took notice poor Aaron judge on opening
29:17day. I think he had four K's, right? It was like, you know, he never plays well in a big
29:21game. What?
29:21I didn't know opening day was a big game, but, um, we really do, uh, judge ball players day to
29:28day
29:29now, as opposed to over the longer hall, which, um, in a failure sport, uh, you have easy pickings
29:36every day to criticize, uh, someone somewhere, you know, Ron, just to, to put together that and
29:43something you said previously, cause I wrote this a few days ago. It's like, if I had a thought I
29:47was
29:47going to overhaul the roster nearly as much as David Stearns has, the one thing I wouldn't have
29:52done is then overhaul the coaching staff, which is also having to learn how to deal with New York
29:57besides, you know, do, do these jobs. And they're mostly younger guys. Uh, you know, it really stood
30:02out to me when they, when two pitchers were standing on the field at the same time, uh, earlier this
30:07season, I was at that game and I was like, well, that wouldn't have happened if Jeremy Hefner were
30:10here, right? Like a veteran pitching coach, uh, which, which does lead coach manager. Look, uh,
30:17as, as, uh, votes of confidence go, I'm not thinking that what David Stearns did the other
30:22day was much of anything. He talked to Mets.com and Mets.com only, uh, though everyone else had
30:28reached out to him and someone else might've written a column about it the day before they, uh,
30:32they did it. And he used the term, I don't intend, we don't intend to change the manager. I wonder
30:38how
30:38he'd feel if Steve Cohen said, well, we don't intend to change the president of baseball operations.
30:43That's an interesting PR word. What do you think about the manager and, uh, should he keep doing
30:48this? Is this, it does this fall on a manager when a team plays this poorly? Well, um, a lot,
30:54a lot of great, a lot of great insight there, Joel. And it, it leads me to a lot of
30:58thoughts and
30:59the thoughts are is, you know, I played one at a time and, you know, I don't like to talk
31:04about
31:04how I used to play. I'm just giving this for historical reference. You know, when I played
31:10baseball, people ran the game and they were not very inclusive either. And if you didn't play
31:16or you hadn't been on the field, you were not going to coach and you probably weren't going to
31:20be in the front office. Well, the flip has, it certainly has flipped. Right. And, and I think you
31:27have less baseball people around. I was looking at, and this is in regard to the coaches. I was looking
31:34at a picture of the other day of the 75 Red Sox, um, coaching staff, and they had about 150
31:41years
31:41of experience, uh, in the game, uh, various levels of success. Some were very, uh, great players
31:48and some not so much, but 150 years, just the same. And I think when teams go through tough struggles,
31:57that 150 years on the field really means something. It really does. Uh, are we
32:04smarter now than we've ever been as far as, uh, what we know about today's athlete in the game?
32:11Probably if you are into quantifying and projecting how baseball will go, are we smarter in how to play
32:19the game? Uh, simple like things like running the bases and knowing how many outs there are and all
32:25those kinds of things. I would say no. Uh, but we've really forsaken all that because we, we love the
32:32100 miles an hour, whether you're throwing it or whether you're hitting it. So, um, yeah, I, I just
32:38think that, uh, I think we need a, an, an evaluation of, of how we're looking at the game. If
32:46projections,
32:47and I know, um, David Stearns mentioned this in one of his, uh, um, press conferences is that,
32:54you know, never in any of their projections would they see this happening to a team of, of these kinds
33:00of players? And I understand that. Um, I understand projections, but it is, you know, the human beings
33:06that kind of play the sport and it goes back to John and what he was saying about playing in
33:11New York.
33:11So, um, Mendoza first, uh, Mendoza, you've been around him a lot, Joel. Um, I've been around him a
33:18lot. I know what, um, Aaron Boone said to me about him many, many years ago about how great a
33:27leader
33:27and baseball man he was going to be. I don't think any of that has changed. Uh, the first year
33:32when
33:32they got off to a bad start and he kind of, uh, steadied the ship that was admired. Um, now,
33:39um,
33:40when he, uh, is in the same way, it's not looked on as a strength position or a leadership position.
33:47So it depends on how you look at it. Um, but he's in a position now where everything he touches
33:53is looked at, um, with a fine tooth comb. And I think, uh, the same thing is happening with David
34:00now as well. Um, glad you mentioned Mendoza. We're, we're both, uh, thrilled that he's still there and
34:07they haven't blamed him because as you know, now, uh, 90% of what goes on relates back to what
34:13happens
34:13in the front office anyway. So it would be a little bit odd, just my two cents there to blame
34:18it on
34:18the manager. So I'm glad to see that, uh, Steve Cohen, David Stearns, uh, didn't blame it on the
34:24manager. I think Joel and I both think they did the right thing there. And I think you probably
34:29agree with that as well, but I want to ask you about the clubhouse. You are on a, the wackiest
34:33clubhouse in baseball history, uh, yet it somehow came together and won, uh, one of the greatest
34:39world series ever. Uh, so how do you look at the clubhouse? There's a lot of comments about
34:44the Met clubhouse in retrospect. It was a terrible clubhouse last year. And you know, this year it's
34:50a new group coming together. So it's a little bit different, but we still have, uh, at least I'm
34:55saying this, not you, Lindor and Soto still don't seem to be best friends to me. Although they're,
35:00they're not in the same room right now because certainly Lindor is hurt now. Soto was hurt before.
35:04Tell me, what do you think the impact of a clubhouse is generally? And were people right
35:11to say, well, it was the clubhouse last year, or it could be the clubhouse this year? I don't know.
35:16Well, um, as far as the 86 team, I'm sure the Gas House gang, uh, the Bronx Zoo, uh, the
35:22Phillies
35:22from 93, the A's in the early seventies, they might have an argument that, uh, they could, uh, come
35:27after us in that way. Um, I, I do say, uh, about the 86 team is that, uh, the one
35:33thing everyone in
35:34that clubhouse shared was a genuine love for each other's, uh, way of playing way about going about
35:41the game and a tenacious kind of will to win. Um, that, that separated that clubhouse from any
35:47other, uh, that I played in as far as clubhouses today. Um, it's changed. You guys have been
35:53reporting for many, many seasons and you knew, um, there used to be a time you'd walk into a
36:00clubhouse. You had four or five friends that you could have a conversation players, uh, of
36:06about anything about jeopardy the night before or, or whatever it was. Um, and then kind of filter
36:14into getting what you had to get done to write your column that night. Those days are kind of gone.
36:18You know, um, you almost have to go through the public relations staff to maybe have a sit down
36:23with someone and, and that makes it less organic and a little awkward, uh, for both. I think being
36:30close in the clubhouse is probably the most challenging it's ever been. There's less
36:35conversation, conversation by young people, uh, in the history of our world, you know, they don't have
36:41to, they have everything at their fingertips. So, um, I think it's less meaningful. Uh, would you love
36:47Lindor and Soto to be best friends and, and, and, and, and be the guiding light to, uh, everyone in
36:55that clubhouse? I would love to see that. Um, I don't think it's as important as it is in some
37:02teams. For example, Jose Ramirez, a couple of seasons ago, Terry Francona was still the manager.
37:09So this is a half dozen, maybe eight years ago, six years ago, let's say. Um, he had a very
37:15young
37:15team and he went up to Jose Ramirez and said, Jose, you're a best player. If you play with your
37:21hair
37:21on fire, these kids have a chance to develop into those kinds of players as well. Um, that's who you
37:27want to see in your clubhouses. I don't care if they get along or don't get along. I don't care
37:32if someone is Republican or a Democrat. All I care is that the players who are the most important
37:40play the game the right way, because not only does that work on a day to day basis,
37:46but that works, um, throughout the organization. As time goes on, guys in double A are going to be
37:54saying to themselves, Hey, when I get to the big leagues, I've got to play like this because the
37:59best players play like that. Um, those are the players I'm more attracted to as far as their, um,
38:06their love of the game. You know, Ron, the Mets were 11 under a couple of years ago,
38:11even later than this. Uh, and they got out of it, right? Uh, literally on the last day of the
38:15season, they got into the playoffs. And, uh, I think that this is escapable. Uh, if you play good
38:22baseball to your point, there's a lot of inventory left. That's our sport. And, uh, it's never been
38:27more forgiving with six teams in each league, uh, making it, but I'm sitting, as I'm talking to you,
38:32I'm at Yankee stadium, uh, here and they have the best record in the American
38:36league for a lot of reasons, but one of them is they get a good start every day.
38:40One Aaron judge three run Homer away from either being tied or leading even on their worst day.
38:45Uh, and I'm just wondering, like, I feel like that's the way it's got to be back for the Mets
38:49that it's got to be like Holmes, McLean Peralta has got to be better that what we saw out of
38:54Scott
38:54last start is there. And then you just got to pick a lane, man. Is it stretch out Tobias Myers?
38:59Is it David Peterson? Do you want to try him and I, and just go with it a while. And
39:04I just don't
39:05know how you win at 13 out of 17 and get back into it unless you have good starting pitching
39:10for a while. I wonder what you think. Yeah. A hundred percent. I think that, um, you know,
39:15the, the way the game is, is run today, not run today, but the game, the way it is played
39:20today
39:21is, um, that you've got to develop who are the best teams, the Dodgers. What do they do? Uh,
39:26every fifth day, uh, six days, sorry, they get a really strong start. Um, uh, well, you know,
39:32what are, what are the Phillies do when they were at their best and now they're starting to do it
39:36again? Um, they get a great pitch game night in and night out. A couple of things happen when that
39:43happens is that you're right. Uh, for the Yankees, they're a three run home run away from winning the
39:47game. Uh, with the Mets, the offense will be a little less, uh, certainly less than that as far
39:54as the power is concerned, but it gives them a chance to win every night. And even more importantly,
39:58it stops any of those silly streaks, you know, instead of losing five in a row, uh, you go two
40:06and three in five games because of the starting pitching. So that's the way, uh, through that
40:11window. I think the only way I can equate it is to the 2019 Washington nationals who decided not to
40:18fire their manager when everyone was calling for, uh, his head, Davey Martinez. And each and every
40:25night they had Scherzer and they had a Strasburg and they had, um, so many guys that went out and
40:31gave them quality start after quality start. And they climbed back in it. Um, equate, uh, Soto to,
40:38uh, Harper in those days, that is the only way they'll get back in it. And, um, I think they
40:44have
40:44arms to do it, but they might have to go young. Uh, Scott might, uh, might have to stay in
40:50the rotation.
40:50Uh, Tong might have to really develop and come at the all-star break. Uh, those are the things that
40:56might happen. It might be more like a, like an 84 Mets team, uh, than, um, than the 2026.
41:05You know, as we know, uh, the Mets front office is very into analytics and numbers. They have,
41:11I don't know, dozens of analytics guys and not that many pro scouts. Uh, to me, this would come
41:16under the category of numbers or analytics. And maybe it's just in my mind, you know, uh, Alonzo
41:22played every single day. Nimmo played almost every single day. They brought in guys. One guy has to
41:28be on load management. Another guy has a history of injury. I would think that would be covered under
41:33the umbrella of analytics. I don't know. Am I, am I crazy? I, you know, I shouldn't, shouldn't
41:42more have been more stock have been put in the fact that Nimmo played almost every day and Alonzo
41:47played every day. I mean, maybe it's me. I don't know. No, um, it's not you. Uh, certainly it's not.
41:53I think this had really nothing to do with analytics. Um, my belief anyways, I think it had more to
42:00do
42:00with, um, how you wanted to structure salaries and contracts. And secondly, um, that you wanted to
42:07change the team. You kind of wanted to blow up the team. That's not an analytics kind of deal.
42:12Every team is doing analytics, by the way. Um, I think it just wanted to change the team. And, uh,
42:18if you look at it this way, and this will, this will be in the organization's defense. Um,
42:24every team is chasing the Dodgers. Every team wants to be the Dodgers, you know, sustained success.
42:302019 was Pete's first year. So let's use that in that time, uh, 2019 through
42:372025, the Mets played in 16 post-season games and they were eight and eight. Um, the Dodgers in that
42:45time, uh, played in 75 world series games, won 49 of them and three world championships. So, um,
42:54maybe you can look at it and say, if we're chasing that Holy grail, then these guys aren't getting it
43:00done. Uh, that being said, um, I don't know. There's a lot to be said about guys that go out
43:07there every day. I think the, uh, Atlanta Braves are a team that does that. The Dodgers do that.
43:13I mean, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, uh, Mookie until he got hurt. Those guys play every day. Um,
43:19the difference is the Dodgers have a great talent and great depth and the depth part I think is
43:25underrated by the rest of the league. You know, Ronnie, I, I'd like to think as somebody who,
43:29uh, is, uh, fortunate enough to work with you at the network and talk to you regularly when I'm out
43:35at the ballpark, like you're a man of logic and reason. Uh, is there just something in the water
43:41and flushing? Like, I, I, I, because like, I can't, I, I thought they had this linked with the
43:49Cohn-Stearns-Mendoza thing at it by mid June last year, you know, coming off LCS in 24. And I'm
43:56back
43:56to watching Bo Bichette fill in, fill in your guy, like the guy who I really thought could hit. He's
44:01suddenly Jason Bay or Carlos Bayerga or Roberto Allen. I've seen this movie before. Yeah. Uh,
44:07the movie is also always, every time I think well of them, they underperform. Uh, what, what is wrong
44:13with the men? It's such, it's such an interesting, ethereal kind of question, uh, which has no
44:20answer, but I'll try. Um, I'm asked this all the time and I say, I don't know what you're talking
44:26about. Um, the teams I played for had none of that. Uh, everyone that came to play for that team
44:32got a little better and the superstars were great. At some point, uh, we had the best first baseman
44:37catcher, right fielder, uh, starting pitcher. Um, so I played at a different time, but as
44:43an announcer, I've been around 21 years now, or, um, if I finished the year, uh, not get
44:49DFA'd, it'll be, um, 21 years at the end of the year. And I don't know, like did the, did
44:56the 86 team with those comeback wins and, and it improbable kind of wins like in the game
45:05six and others, uh, did they pull a Robert Johnson crossroads moment where they sold
45:11their soul to the devil for, for that one world championship? I don't know. Like I, I really
45:17felt that, you know, they're honoring the 40th anniversary of the team. And I really thought
45:24that it was going to happen that the Mets and it still could that this was going to be
45:29the Mets year. Remember the, um, 2015, uh, Kansas city Royals on the anniversary of the
45:3485 team, great 85 Royals team. Uh, they win the championship and I was like, maybe they'll
45:40repeat history here in, in Flushing. So to answer your question, that makes no sense that
45:47there's something lurking, but, uh, I'll tell you, I think about it all the time. Uh, when
45:53I, when I'm sitting in that booth and I'm like, what is going on? This makes no sense.
45:59All of these guys are really good. And, um, and you're looking at, at, at just crazy stuff
46:05that happens. Um, but, uh, baseball is, uh, is an unkind kind of, uh, mistress, you know,
46:13um, it will, uh, it'll, it'll make you feel a little, uh, bad about yourself too many times.
46:19It really is amazing. Uh, Brian Cashman is 29th year now as general manager is working on his 29th
46:26winning season in a row. And how do we know it's a winning season? Well, we watched them play. This
46:30is going to be another winning season in that time. The Mets have had 14 losing seasons. And if they
46:36have a losing season, this thing, this time, it'll be more than half of those years. So it is pretty
46:41incredible. I will say this. The Mets had two of the greatest championships, the two of the most
46:45memorable championships, probably the most memorable is the 69 for those of us who were around, but you
46:51guys being second most memorable, still pretty darn good. And we are celebrating the 1986, uh, team
46:58this year, 40th anniversary. I think there's a reunion and, uh, you know, obviously, uh, you're
47:04your own man. You're a little different. Not every player on that team did go to Yale. So you're a
47:09little different than some of the others. Uh, I'm wondering, uh, how are you with all those players?
47:14Are you still in touch with some of them? We know you, unlike myself, who is a writer, uh,
47:19you've written multiple books. And in one of the books, you had some criticism of Lenny Dykstra,
47:24which I did happen to deal with Lenny Dykstra. I found him reprehensible. Uh, I can say that.
47:31Uh, but I'm wondering, uh, how is that reunion going to be for you? How are you with all the
47:35players? Are you and Lenny, uh, patching it up or are you just going to avoid each other? How is
47:40that
47:40going to work? I don't know how it's going to work. Certainly, uh, you know, we're, we're not in
47:45the place that we should be. Um, that being said, I will say that, uh, playing with Lenny Dykstra
47:52was one of the immense pleasures of my life. I can say that, uh, never saw a player with more
47:58confidence, never saw a player, you know, you could argue that he's the greatest post-season player
48:02in Mets history. And that's what, uh, Daniel Murphy hitting seven home runs and other guys who've
48:08really, uh, had a great runs. Um, he just was an amazing player. So I'll leave it at that. Um,
48:15as far as the, the other guys, I see them all the time. Um, and, uh, and that, and that
48:22team is,
48:22um, you know, when you have a championship team, if you ask the guys from the Yankees, you know,
48:27late nineties, 2000, when you have those kinds of teams and we had a lot of success before and after
48:33just did not have, uh, as many championships, um, there's a real love that you have for those guys.
48:39There's a real feeling that every time you see them, you're 25 years old, uh, and, and immortal
48:45again. Um, so yes, I, I can't wait to see them. Um, and, uh, and Lenny and Alex, I have
48:53to figure it
48:53out, but, uh, you know, I, I saw an article, um, in the, in the post, uh, about straw and
48:59Lenny, um,
49:00um, getting together and, and trying to, to help and, uh, um, um, and straw being the leader in
49:06that. I, um, I'm just happy that, uh, that straw's there. Um, hopefully Lenny and straw can form a
49:14great relationship, which they've always had. And I hope, I hope that, uh, health happiness, uh, is on
49:20its way for, for Lenny and, and others. Very nice. Ron, if I could wrap it up and just bring
49:26it again,
49:2740 years forward, uh, for the, for this is, uh, I asked the big question at the beginning,
49:32you know, about like one of those umbrella questions I'll ask it is, do, do you think
49:36they're going to get out of this? Do you think we'll look up on July 1st or August 1st, and
49:41there'll be like 60 and 60 or whatever the number would have to be 55 and 55 where you're like,
49:46oh, we could do something at the trade deadline. And, uh, like we could call up Tong and it will
49:51make a difference. Or does playing this badly this early indicative that no, it probably
49:57just isn't going to fire? Well, unlike the analytics of the game, uh, which I enjoy,
50:02um, I think they would have really helped my career. Um, I am the eternal optimist when it
50:08comes to seasons, uh, uh, much to my dismay to tell you the truth. I think that, uh, I can't
50:16see
50:16a season where I look at it and say, boy, it's off. This is not good or whatever. I'm just
50:22not like
50:23that. I don't think ballplayers are wired like that. Um, even when you're at the end of your
50:28career, um, 1995, I was the end of my career. I thought I was one good start away from turning
50:34it around and getting traded to a contender. Um, that didn't come. And I think I feel the same
50:39way about teams I watch, um, with the Mets is that I just, I pull for them in a way
50:47that I want them
50:49to feel that special feeling you have not only as a team, but as an individual, when you max out
50:56what
50:56you do for a living. So I think I don't look at, I have such a bias. My bias is
51:03that I believe in
51:04the player. I believe in the player coming through and I don't think I could do my job in the
51:09booth
51:10if I didn't believe that because that makes for an awfully long summer. And, uh, being a former
51:16player, I think that's why I have those feelings. Now that's not science and it's probably, uh,
51:23um, not even a, a very analytical look at how baseball should be, but boy, it's sure romantic
51:29one. And I'm going to stay with that. Well, Ron, uh, whatever, uh, the situation is, whether
51:35they get out of it or not, uh, Mets fans are obviously very lucky that the soundtrack of the
51:39season includes you in the SNY booth. And I know, uh, it makes the summer better for John and myself
51:46that we see you at the ballpark. We work with you at the network and we're always so appreciative
51:50that you, when you join us on the show. Well, if they do come back and they're fighting for,
51:55for pole position in September, we'll do this again. Bye guys. Thanks a lot, Ron.
52:09John and I, of course, thank Michael Kay. We thank Ron Darling. John hit or error?
52:14I'm going to say error. I don't know if it's truly an error. It's unfortunate. All these
52:18pitching injuries we're now getting, obviously Tarek Skubel, the latest, uh, the biggest,
52:22best pitcher in baseball, two time defending, uh, Cy Young winner. He was our pick this year.
52:28He's not going to win this year. Uh, they're saying that the elbow surgery, uh, likely, uh,
52:34if you talk to people that, uh, it's a good chance he could be back in, uh, two months or
52:39so,
52:40but you never know with these things. It's a very unfortunate to see him go down. Uh, you know,
52:46the Tigers were one of the threats in the American league now. I mean, they've got like five or six
52:51starting pitchers now out, you know, it's good. They got Fremper Valdez signed, but, uh, they've got so
52:56many starting pitchers out and it's come epidemic again. I was breathing a sigh of relief in spring
53:01training. We weren't getting pitching injuries. We now have Hunter Brown. We have Hunter Green.
53:06We have a crocheting. We have Woodruff, Pavetta, Ryan, Schwellenbach. Uh, it's bad. Uh, and obviously
53:13we know Cole and Rodon are coming back soon. They have been injured, but, uh, they're, they're healthy
53:18now and on their way back, but it's not good. What's going on?
53:21One, two, three in the AL Cy Young last year, Scooble, Crochet, Brown, all on the injured list.
53:26That's not good for our sport. I will say you mentioned, I, cause just cause I wrote about it,
53:30I know I happen to have a little list is, uh, obviously Cole and Rodon. Snell is very,
53:35very close to coming back for Detroit. The good young starter, Troy Melton, Jared Jones from Pittsburgh,
53:41Bryce Miller in Seattle. These are all guys who haven't pitched yet this year. Bryce Miller in Seattle
53:44and, uh, Nick Lodolo is, I believe, starting Friday night, uh, for, for Cincinnati. So there
53:50are some guys who haven't pitched yet this year who are established starters who are getting closer,
53:54especially the two Yankee ones. And that, why don't I use those two Yankee ones, John? Mike,
53:58I'm going to give a hit this week. Uh, I'm going to give it to the Yankees, uh, because I
54:02think we
54:02listened a lot in the off season to the, uh, look, I, I do think that the social media has
54:08made
54:10large segment of fans. They're only happy when they're miserable. You know, I bumped into a
54:14fan leaving the Yankee game the other day and they were like whining to me about Ryan McMahon,
54:19like somebody who noticed me. I'm like, the team hasn't lost since like the middle of April. Like,
54:24what are you talking about? Like, like there's no perfect team. And the complaint in the off season
54:30was about running it back. And, uh, well, they were running back a 94 win team. We saw, we see
54:37on the
54:37other side of the, uh, of the, uh, RFK bridge, you, you can bring in a lot of people, uh,
54:43cohesion
54:44goes out the window, uh, and everybody better play well. And, and the reason I'm making a hit
54:50John, and I bring up, uh, Rodan in, uh, Cole is for a team that is running it back. They
54:56created
54:57an incredible amount of depth. Uh, when you think about who's at triple a, I'm going to include
55:02Dominguez who has spent most of the year at triple a it's Dominguez. It's Volpe. It's, it's Luis
55:08heel. It's Oswaldo Cabrera. By the way, the Yankees have won the AL championship and tied for the
55:12most wins in the American league. The last two years, those four guys had a lot to do with that.
55:16They're all like triple a, right? Not to mention George Lombard jr. Who might actually get the call
55:21before Volpe unless Volpe goes plays. Well, Spencer Jones, who I think might be leading the
55:25international league in, in homers. And when Cole and Rodan are both back, Ryan Weathers or Will
55:31Warren have to go to triple a without another injury. Will Warren has the same ERA as max freed.
55:36Who's great. And Weathers is like a three, one ERA. Yeah. The, the, the, the hit is for a team
55:44that
55:44ran it back, which I never believed, but ran it back. A, they're really good, but B, they have
55:50depth for a team that kept it together. Yeah. I'm glad because we've given them short shrift over
55:54the last few weeks, uh, obsessing over the Mets. I think it's probably understandable the way things
56:00were going. They didn't have the worst record in a major league baseball up until last night.
56:05As we do this, uh, the Yankees have been fantastic. Uh, they're running it back is
56:09really worked. Uh, they built in more athleticism, more depth. Uh, you know, Rosario is a nice depth
56:16piece. Uh, he's been great. Uh, he's been more than a depth piece. Uh, Caballero is obviously now
56:21way more than a depth piece. He's there starting shortstop. Uh, they have a fantastic team at triple
56:26A. I mean, Spencer Jones has got to be the most patient man on earth. Uh, he's 25 at this
56:32point.
56:32I mean, he's killing it in triple A, but there really isn't quite room for him barring injury.
56:40Uh, they have been pretty fortunate on the injury front, but they've been very smart about the way
56:44they've done things. Uh, it's been a great performance. Um, you know, Bellinger has been
56:49terrific. You know, you can look at it and say, well, he shouldn't be the second highest paid player.
56:53I saw a list where he's the second highest paid player. I think that includes endorsements or
56:57whatever, uh, things to Otani. Uh, so, uh, but Bellinger has been, uh, great. Uh, judge has been
57:05as he is always fantastic. Uh, this team is exceptional and the rest of the American league
57:12looks fairly mediocre at this point, except for the rays who are surprising us all, including myself.
57:18Once again, uh, they are a prohibitive favorite as they say at this point in the American league
57:25and deservedly. So, uh, of course, around here, John, we don't need depth in producer. We just
57:30need Tommy Hogan. Uh, this was a real juggling act this week. Thank you as always, uh, Tommy for
57:35everything you do, Apple, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, please download rate review.
57:41It all helps the show that as those watching the New York post sports, uh, YouTube page,
57:46uh, and continue to stick with us on the show with Joel Sherman and John Heyman.