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00:01It's a drive by Danny Dawson, Charles Chisholm goes deep.
00:09Hello and welcome to the Pitchtripe Post.
00:10My name is Ryan Sampson, but he's your star of the show, Joel Sherman.
00:13Today is Monday, September 14th.
00:14Joel, the New York Yankees take the Subway Series against the New York Mets,
00:17two out of three.
00:18They swept the Colorado Rockies since the last time we spoke to you.
00:21And we're here to break it down about Cam Schlittler's performance,
00:24Aaron Judge getting some at-bats in.
00:26Ben Rice looks really good at the plate.
00:28We're going to talk about it all today on today's episode.
00:30But before we get to any of that, as always on a Monday morning,
00:33how are you doing today, sir?
00:36I'm good.
00:37You know, this is the time of year again I realize, you know,
00:39people I'm sure are really best in the NFL, especially yesterday.
00:44I generally miss the first half of the season, right?
00:47You go through the Super Bowl.
00:48Then the first week after the Super Bowl is usually the GM meetings.
00:51And the GM meetings usually start on a Sunday.
00:54And that's like the first time I'm like people are gathered around a bar
00:57on a Sunday watching a Sunday night football game.
00:59And then I get the second half of an NFL season.
01:02I mean, I see games, obviously.
01:04I saw like the Giants last night because the Mets and Yankees played a 130 game.
01:08But you get it in bits and pieces as opposed to everyone else is kind of like,
01:13oh, did you?
01:14So anyway, it's good for me.
01:15I've never played fantasy or anything like that.
01:18So it helps me when I have limited time.
01:21But it was a fun, interesting weekend at Yankee Stadium.
01:27You know, the Yankees took two out of three.
01:29I think it was kind of a must that they took two out of three.
01:33And to at least keep some Hail Mary that they could win the division alive.
01:38They've opened up a little bit on Boston.
01:41If they just play well down the stretch, they should lock that up.
01:45And then it will be a, you know, they'll have a tough question.
01:48Like how many games behind Tampa Bay?
01:51Say it's five.
01:54And, you know, then you got to win four.
01:57And still make up a game on the last weekend.
01:59Like, do you just kind of pull back and say, this is our reality.
02:03You got the home wild card.
02:05Because like Clark Schmidt's going to come back in the next few days.
02:08I think they have some hope that Ryan Weathers, maybe that last series of the year,
02:12and maybe not even then, but for the postseason, comes back.
02:15And, you know, you're just going to want to put them in a game when you want to put them
02:19in a game.
02:19You're going to want to back off Hedrick and Blackburn.
02:24You know, maybe see a little more Schreiber, who's been interesting in a short period here.
02:29And figure out some stuff, first base DH, how you're going to play it.
02:33Does Chisholm get back?
02:34Does Grisham get back?
02:35So I'm sure we're going to talk about all this.
02:37But I just think that they're in an interesting position for what does the number have to be
02:43going into that Tampa series, which is four games in three days,
02:48to kind of say, we're going to treat this like it's already the playoffs
02:52because there's such value in finishing first and avoiding the best two out of three.
02:57Yeah, there's some good notes there and nuggets from you, Joel,
03:01about where the Yankees are positioned for the playoffs here.
03:03The Tampa Bay Rages continue to win.
03:06And Junior Caminero, that walk-off home run to clinch a playoff spot, that was awesome.
03:09That guy is a freak.
03:11But for the Yankees' purposes here in this discussion, it is going to be about that decision of ultimately,
03:18what do we do with Cam Schluter?
03:19Because he's lined up to pitch two more times, it looks like, just because of the way the season is
03:24right now.
03:24You know, how do they work him?
03:26Do they pull him back right before to line him up for that game one of the wild card?
03:30Because you would figure he's probably going to be your game one starter.
03:33There's definitely questions here to answer.
03:34But I think, Joel, before we get to any of that, like, I think it's interesting that what we saw
03:41on Saturday against the lefty,
03:44because I think that's ultimately where we're heading towards, right?
03:46If the Yankees are going to face the Red Sox, they're going to be throwing a ton of lefties at
03:50them.
03:51And I wonder, Saturday, did the Yankees show their cards a little bit?
03:55Now, Jazz Chisholm, we don't know if he's going to come back.
03:57Like, obviously, he could play a huge factor in this.
04:00But did they show their cards about how they're going to play versus a lefty in the lineup?
04:05Because you didn't see Ben Rice or Luis Garcia.
04:08And I wonder, was that just because the judge playing the DH spot there?
04:12How do you see that playing out with the Yankees versus a lefty?
04:18So, I think that it's going to matter who the lefty is.
04:23And, you know, you should know, and maybe you do, it isn't just left-right anymore.
04:31It's like, who can handle velocity?
04:33Who can handle velocity at the top of the zone?
04:35Who's a good low ball hitter?
04:37Who's good against finesse?
04:38So, I think that, you know, my suspicion is that Sonny Gray doesn't start against the Yankees.
04:46In a three-game series, and you see Toll, Bennett, and Suarez, you know, in some order, I would think
04:53Toll first.
04:54Because he's been kind of their best, and he always has bedeviled the—always.
04:59He's been around a short time like Schlittler.
05:01But to the Yankees, he's been like Schlittler.
05:03He's bedeviled them.
05:05So has Bennett.
05:06And I think that there's probably some thoughts about it.
05:10I think I was pretty clear before.
05:12I think one of the reasons the Yankees played a little better in the short period is they're playing clean
05:15again in the field.
05:17I would play defense.
05:21I, look—
05:22Which means Goldschmidt at first, right?
05:24So that's ultimately the best—
05:26Or Garcia.
05:26Or Garcia.
05:27I think Garcia's a good first baseman.
05:30And I am not afraid to play all my lefties against the lefties and hope—you know, you're playing your games
05:37at Yankee Stadium, which is, you know, you saw yesterday.
05:40Ben Rice hit a homer that's a homer in six ballparks yesterday.
05:42One of them is Yankee Stadium.
05:44Your lefties could park a ball left on left.
05:47I play my best guys and my best defense.
05:52That—and the thing that allows you to do is the Red Sox are also loaded with lefty relief pitchers.
05:59And if you want a saving at bat for Elio Ramos, for Ahmad Rosario, you can do that.
06:07You're going to get a right on left at bat without subjecting their gloves to the field.
06:13And, like, how—is it really worthwhile to get two or three?
06:17To me, I would try to be—I think I've said this before.
06:21I'd play the defense.
06:23And the reason I mention pedigree is at some point, I believe Aaron Judge will start hitting again.
06:29He's Aaron Judge.
06:30If he does, you'll probably score runs, whoever the starting pitcher is.
06:36And then you already have your best defense in the game.
06:40If you have to chase against lefty pitching, Ramos and Rosario are sitting on the bench.
06:46And then you just make your defense worse to chase the offense later in the game.
06:50But, like, it's—the Yankees are just playing, like, a cleaner game.
06:56And in the playoffs especially, I think you just—it's got to be 27 outs that you allow.
07:03And I would play 27 outs.
07:06I don't feel like I get so much more out of Rosario that I would play him over McMahon, even
07:12left on left.
07:13And I know McMahon's a bad hitter, and I know he's bad against lefties.
07:16I also have seen him get a lot of big hits.
07:19And if he popped one left on left in a playoff game, would you go, oh, I never saw that
07:25coming?
07:25I mean, I just—I would just play the defense.
07:29Yeah, I think it makes sense what you're saying.
07:32The thing I'm focused on is because of what we've seen from Ben Rice the last weekend and last week
07:37plus.
07:3938 home runs, Joel.
07:40This guy is on pace now for what looks like 40 home run season.
07:43And you have mentioned—again, you haven't said he's Kyle Schwarber, but if he could be the Yankees version of Kyle
07:49Schwarber,
07:49where he's in that leadoff spot and he can get on base, and you know it's going to come a
07:54high strikeout,
07:55but if he could pop 40 home runs every year as that first-base DH platoon type of guy,
08:01it was a damn good find by the Yankees.
08:03I think Rice is going to play all the games.
08:07The question is, does Garcia play first or Goldschmidt?
08:10And I think that's going to be digging down into the numbers, the arm angles, etc.,
08:17about, like, who does Luis Garcia Jr. hit best left on left?
08:22Is there any lefty that Goldschmidt doesn't handle well?
08:26Because, again, you know, if you want to start Garcia, you could—and you have—go look at the Red Sox roster,
08:34which, by the way, by the playoffs could include Garrett Crochet in the bullpen.
08:39They're going to throw so many lefties at the Yankees that who—whichever righty is on the bench,
08:46except for Ali Sanchez probably, is going to get at-bats in a close game, especially a close game of
08:53the Yankees' trail.
08:55And if they then have to play not with Goldschmidt but worse defense to try to attack an at-bat
09:01later in the game,
09:02I think that will happen.
09:04But I would just be like, we've got really good starting—if I were the Yankees, I'd say,
09:09we have really good starting pitching, and I believe Aaron Judge sometime in the next two weeks will start hitting
09:13because he's Aaron Judge, and I believe in pedigree.
09:16And if both of those—I have both of those things, I feel like I could get a lead in my
09:21home ballpark with my lefty hitters.
09:25Remember last year, the Yankees became the—I think the second—forgive me if I'm wrong on this,
09:30but I think they became the second team ever that had like six left-hand hitters or five left-hand
09:36hitters,
09:36all have six, seven, eight—I forget what the number was—homers left-on-left.
09:41I think it was six homers left-on-left in the same lineup.
09:45I think the 2019 Rangers or something.
09:47I was looking at it again the other day.
09:50In your ballpark, you could go left-on-left.
09:54And like you could—like Ben Rice could strike out twice and lift a three-run homer off of Jake Bennett.
10:00Right.
10:01And I would not run away from that.
10:04And if you think Garcia matches up relatively well left-on-left, I mean, I think I'd go with Goldschmidt
10:11at first,
10:12Rice, DH-ing, and have Garcia for some targeted at-bats.
10:18And to like double switch in.
10:20I think that's how I would go against lefties.
10:23And that's not easy to do because Garcia has really hit.
10:26Yeah.
10:27But he's not as good against lefties as Rice.
10:29And Goldschmidt still remains very good plus the defense.
10:34And so, I just—I think that's how I'd go.
10:37That would be the toughest one for me.
10:39It would not be tough for me to put Ramos and Rosario on the bench to begin a game.
10:44No, I completely understand that.
10:45I would play the defense.
10:47I completely understand what you're saying, Joel.
10:48And that would be a tough decision for Boone and Cashman to make with Rice and Garcia
10:52because, like you said, Garcia's hitting well.
10:54And we saw a little bit also on Friday, which I thought was an interesting move late in the game.
11:01Garcia gets on base.
11:02They pinch run for him with Caballero.
11:04And then they bring in Goldschmidt for the defense after that.
11:07It was just fascinating how Boone was willing to churn through multiple bench pieces right there in that one spot.
11:13And you're going to see, I think, that in the playoffs, how aggressive it could be.
11:16I think that that's in play in the playoffs.
11:17It would be good if Jose Caballero ever steals a base again for him.
11:23It's not as big a threat as it seems like it is, except for that you get the speed where
11:27you feel like if there's a double in the gap, he scores.
11:31Or he goes first to third.
11:32Or he scores on a medium range fly ball to the outfield with less than two outs.
11:37So you want to make that exchange.
11:39But his stolen bet, I think he's got like one since the middle of August, a stolen base.
11:45He's been caught a couple of times.
11:46It's not been that special.
11:49And by the way, in the postseason, when teams are really focused, they really drill down on the running game.
11:56They change their looks more.
11:59So it's harder to do it.
12:01But still, you've got to always go for the speed because it's not just the stolen base.
12:05It's the ball that lands someplace.
12:06And you want to make sure you maximize every 90 feet.
12:09100%.
12:10You mentioned Judge.
12:11And if he can be the Aaron Judge that you expect, what have you seen from him this last week?
12:16And getting game action now that he's been back almost every day.
12:20Yeah, Major League Baseball, the pitching has never been better, more varied, more understanding of what stuff beats a hitter.
12:29And trying to, you know, grab onto the train as it's running, that's 60 miles an hour isn't easy.
12:41And Aaron Judge is trying to kind of get his timing back in real time.
12:47I think it's probably the right thing that he didn't do a rehab assignment because, again, it's oftentimes these rehab
12:55assignments, if you go look, there's like the pitchers are out there.
12:58And they know it's Aaron Judge and there's a lot of walks because, you know, it's some guy who's going
13:03to be a plumber in 10 months and he wants to go back home and say, you know, struck out
13:08Aaron Judge.
13:08And so it's, you know, it's not quite what you want for it.
13:15And still, I think if it was June, you'd probably send them for a week down there because within the
13:21week you get enough at-bats to feel like, okay, you missed three months, you got in the batter's box.
13:28Maybe you could kind of catch up to the train now.
13:30But with so little time left, I think he's going to do it all up here.
13:34And I just go back to he's Aaron Judge until the day he's not that clearly guy.
13:40I believe he's 10 at-bats, 20, whatever the number is away from being himself again.
13:46You know, if it was perfect for the Yankees starting at about the Tampa series, he'd be fully Aaron Judge
13:54and carry that right into the postseason because they're not getting where they want to get.
14:00Unless they get the full Aaron, you know, like at this moment, they need the full Aaron Judge and they
14:06need the full Gary Cole.
14:07Yeah.
14:07Right.
14:08Those are those have been their their their 10 pole guys for about the last six, seven, eight years.
14:15You know, you kind of put in the ground, hey, he's the ace.
14:19He's the best hitter.
14:20He's the best hitter in the game.
14:24And right now, both are struggling.
14:27And to get from here to the Canyon of Heroes, they need both guys not to be struggling.
14:32And so Cole's got a start or two left this season because he's going to start a playoff game.
14:38He's Garrett Cole.
14:39So, again, it goes back to pedigree.
14:41Like, ultimately, Aaron Boone's going to put the ball in his hand because it's Garrett Cole.
14:44Now, if this continues, will he have a short leash?
14:48And can Carlos Rodon be warming up in the first inning of a playoff game?
14:52Sure.
14:52You know, like, I'm assuming he's the fourth starter in a three game series.
14:57So, like, I guess, you know, that was that was my other question to get to the Garrett Cole of
15:02it all.
15:02Like, he struggled mightily the last couple starts here, giving up a ton of home runs.
15:07Carlos Rodon.
15:07I don't think Rodon will start.
15:09But he's looked amazing.
15:10His last couple of starts.
15:11Yeah, it's it's Garrett Cole.
15:13Cole, I think he's going to start his, you know, I think Schlittler, Freed, and Cole are going to start
15:17the games.
15:19The difference will be a very, very short leash for Cole, which historically he wouldn't have.
15:26And, you know, the danger point becomes, I would assume Cole's game two.
15:32Again, this is just assumption.
15:34Right.
15:35Schlittler, Cole, Freed in game two.
15:40And if that's the case, you know, like somehow Schlittler loses a two to one game because Peyton Toll has
15:45really owned the Yankees.
15:46And now it's on call and you got to have like an incredibly short leash.
15:51You know, it's again why you can't give up on winning the division because it's like winning that round of
15:57the playoffs without ever being in it.
15:59Right.
15:59And avoiding that danger zone.
16:02Clearly, the Rays and the Yankees have been the two best teams in the league this year.
16:06Uh, the Yankees could be out of the playoffs in, in under 48 hours, uh, or they could win the
16:14world series.
16:15Um, both are in play and the upside of it gets a lot more possible.
16:23If Cole and judge get their act together in the next two weeks, cause they're Garrett Cole and Aaron judge
16:28and they're great players when they're right.
16:29No doubt, Joel. Uh, since Aaron judge's return, he's played in five games. He's three for 17, all singles, the
16:35three hits, uh, and six strike a nine strikeout.
16:38Sorry. In that time, obviously we're waiting to see if he can get that pop back and it, hopefully that
16:43will answer some of those concerns.
16:45I think we all still have, or not concerns, but questions about, you know, the full healing of that, that,
16:51that rib, right?
16:52Because that will affect your power. You would assume if he's not fully healed, but he says he's asymptomatic.
16:58But I'd watch some BP, you know, it hasn't been a lot. He was out on the field one day
17:03and he was not having any, and I understand the ball's coming 65 miles an hour, but like he's launching
17:10it.
17:10So I know the power is there. I think this is about timing. Um, maybe whenever the Yankee season ends,
17:18you know, we'll hear a different thing.
17:20He has to actually go in for surgery or, Oh, this was worse than we let on, you know, the
17:26truth always comes out in the aftermath as opposed to honesty up front.
17:31Uh, but, uh, I, I saw him at batting practice launch. So I'm going to assume this is timing.
17:37All right. That's good to hear Joel. And that's something I had a question about just myself, because I think
17:41that does play into the Aaron judge, what you expect to see of him.
17:44If he's launching balls and BP, then that makes me feel better about, Hey, it's just a matter of getting
17:48more reps. Cause you know, more than anyone, like it's about getting that timing down.
17:52Like you're saying, uh, so Garrett Cole of it all, like you said, he's got to get right.
17:56The guy that is right right now is Cam Schlittler. And yesterday was a, another gem of an outing from
18:03Cam Schlittler.
18:04Who's putting together that Cy Young campaign this year. I think if you talk to him, the Cy Young is
18:09in the back burner.
18:10He cares more about winning the division. He cares about where this team goes in the playoffs just because of
18:14his mentality and the way he speaks to you guys in the media.
18:19What more can you say about this guy though? It's just continuing dominance. Every time he takes the ball, Joel,
18:25I got us.
18:26Like if it's a one, one in the series and game three in the series, I'm going to pitch a
18:30gem for you guys to give you a real chance to take this series.
18:33And that's what he did yesterday.
18:35First of all, you know, one of the things I think is high level bullshit is when a player says
18:40he's not thinking about something that he obviously is thinking about.
18:43And by the way, like, why wouldn't he like what human being would now, now can you compartmentalize and understand
18:51that the most important thing is the game ahead of you and that the award will come if I take
18:56care of it.
18:56But, you know, you can't be this close to winning something as prestigious as a Cy Young and say, oh,
19:02I'm not thinking about it at all.
19:04Like, like that would make you inhuman.
19:07So I never do that. Like, oh, all he cares about is winning the division.
19:10Yeah. Like, is his priority list good? I'm sure his priority list is good.
19:14But like, like the idea that you can't want two things, I want to win the division, win the World
19:18Series and win the Cy Young.
19:19Like, I want to be greedy. He's this close to it.
19:22He obviously even ebbed further away from see, you know, like cease had an excellent day yesterday.
19:28He gave up one run in five innings.
19:30The other guy gave up one hit in six, you know, like, like Schlittler has outpitched him, not by a
19:36ton, but by enough with more innings than cease and some real like dominant numbers on the road.
19:44He had had some trouble at home.
19:45I think in his last five starts, he's given up three runs in 33 in the third innings at home.
19:50So forget that.
19:51I compared him to like a cyborg, like the Terminator.
19:54He just like whatever thing you think, like he just keeps adding, like it started from when he was a,
20:00what, a seventh round draft pick and throwing 90 miles an hour.
20:03Like he just keeps getting better and better.
20:05I do think like, like Jordan, Michael Jordan-esque, he loves to create chips on his shoulders.
20:12The chip on the shoulder yesterday was the chance of let's go Mets and Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
20:17So he built that up as his pissed off thing and wanted to shut it up.
20:21So he shut it up by shutting out the Mets.
20:25He's, look, he's spectacular.
20:27And if you ask me, what is the, the, the, you know, the superlative, you know, in my lifetime, 1978
20:38season by Guidry is the best Yankee season I've ever seen pitched.
20:42And I've won other Cy Youngs, like Gary Cole won a Cy Young.
20:45Uh, but I, you know, Pettit had great years.
20:50Cone had great years.
20:51El Duque had great years.
20:53They all had great years.
20:54You know, Clemens had great years.
20:55And I, I think Clemens won his last side with the, did he win a side with the Yankees?
20:59I think so.
20:59Right.
21:00I think he did.
21:00Yeah.
21:01I think he did.
21:02Uh, but if not, he certainly had great year.
21:05I think with Guidry, uh, he actually won one in, sorry, I was going to say, uh, Clemens did win
21:13one in 04 with the Astros for the national league, but he won one in 2001 with the Yankees.
21:17So the second to last one.
21:20Yeah.
21:21So like, this is right there with Guidry for the best start to finish dominant, the balls in his hand,
21:30how you sense a team feels when the ball's in his hand for a guy who's not even two full
21:35seasons into his major league career and shares a rotation with Garrett Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodan.
21:41He's the man, uh, and he's earned it, uh, it's just good.
21:48He clearly is not bothered by pressure, New York.
21:54It all makes him want it more, uh, and short of two real clunkers down the stretch, he's going to
22:06win the Cy Young and deservedly so.
22:09And, you know, obviously the MVP thing kind of got thrown open this weekend.
22:14I don't think he's going to win the MVP.
22:16I think Jordan Alvarez is going to win the MVP.
22:18I think Junior Camonero is going to finish second.
22:21So you could start talking about like, does he belong third, uh, on a ballot or someplace in there?
22:27I generally think for a pitcher, I I'm more on Aaron judge's side.
22:33I think the Cy Young is the pitching MVP kind of way.
22:36Who's the best pitcher in the sport.
22:39Uh, and I would dare say if you have, he's not only been the best, I, I think he's been
22:45the most valuable pitcher.
22:47Uh, you know, he, as, as you've watched, you know, Rodan and Cole didn't start the season.
22:54Freed's been on the IL twice.
22:55Uh, he's been the sturdy guy protecting the pen.
23:01He's winning day.
23:02I think the Yankees are, is he 30 starts into the season?
23:06I think they're 20 and 10 31 starts.
23:08Yeah.
23:09Yeah.
23:09Like, like they, they're like 10 over in his starts.
23:13Uh, he's, and, and there's been dominance.
23:17It's, it's no runs or one run, what, 21 times this year in 31 starts.
23:24It's, it's a great pitching year.
23:28Like if up close, the best one I ever saw was good in, in 85, uh, it's not that, uh,
23:36but it's kind of near Guidry.
23:39Uh, and which means cause Guidry.
23:42So it's near Guidry, which means it's in the history of the Yankees, which is more than a hundred year
23:47history.
23:48It's one of the three or four best ever maybe, uh, which is really saying something.
23:54Yeah.
23:54I mean, you're, you're saying it all right now.
23:56We're a sevens round pick who was drawing 90 miles an hour, like four years ago.
24:00It's, it's incredible what he's continued to do.
24:03Uh, and, and he just, like you said, he's been there, their ACE, their, their go-to guy.
24:10Uh, he has allowed no more than one run.
24:13And like you said, 21 of his 31 starts, uh, in the last 110 years,
24:17only three pitchers age 25 or younger have had more in a season.
24:21That's Blake Snell, Dean chance in 1964 and Babe Ruth in 1916.
24:26He's in the, he's in that type of company right now in terms of,
24:29Can I throw in one other thing?
24:30Yeah.
24:31Like, like I mentioned that the tent poles for this era in Yankee baseball have been Cole and judge.
24:38You ask how it regenerates and they keep the winning going.
24:42Well, Ben Rice and Schuttler help answer some of that.
24:45You know, they don't do it alone, but like Schlittler's an ACE and Rice might be Kyle Schwarber.
24:53And if you, like, as you think, like how, especially if you start running into a salary cap error,
25:00how do you keep the winning going?
25:03Well, you better have some homegrown guys who you have under control.
25:08And maybe in a salary cap world, you get under control long-term, uh, to keep a number, a number.
25:16And, and I just, it's, it's, you know, we didn't see judge coming and judge like at the end of
25:23that kind
25:23of core four is gone.
25:24Now, how are they going to keep the winning going?
25:26Well, judge showed up as, you know, one of the best players in their history, you know,
25:32if Schlittler is going to show up as one of the best pitchers in their history, it's a way to
25:37kind of, you know, I, I get it.
25:40I know the most virulent, loud Yankee fans don't like the idea of just talking about the winning seasons and
25:47the
25:47contention and high level, never playing meaningless games.
25:52I do think it's incredibly valuable.
25:54I think what the Yankees have done over the last 35 years is remarkable, uh, and hard to sustain and
26:01to sustain it.
26:03Aaron judge has to show up out of no place.
26:05Cam Schlittler has to show up out of no place.
26:07You know, Ben Rice has to show up out of no place.
26:09And then you kind of add around it.
26:11Uh, and if you do that, well, you keep winning.
26:14Uh, and they've won for like, they've stayed out of the meaningless portion of the program for three and a
26:22half decades.
26:22It's pretty impressive for sure.
26:25Joel, uh, and Schlittler, you hope can join that long list of Yankee greats that can continued success and build
26:33their foundation upon.
26:34Cause if they found him, like you said, in the seventh round, the Cy Young guy and build around that
26:39is the rotation with, you know, guys like Garrett Cole, who are towards the latter years of their career.
26:44I think Max Freed, obviously you're hoping to pay, you know, hoping to have him for the next couple of
26:48years be in his prime.
26:49I think that could be a really nice building block for their starting rotation.
26:52Let's switch.
26:53And I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll say this if I can, one other thing, which is, you know, we forget that
26:59it isn't only players who get better, like executives could get better.
27:03Uh, and I think if you look considering the amateur draft, I'll, I'll, I'll give you a line from somebody
27:12who's been involved in the amateur draft, not a non-New York person for well over 30 years.
27:18He says the domestic game right now is not good enough.
27:22He goes, what we have, if you go to a, and scout a lot, you got a lot of left
27:27fielder, second baseman in DHs playing shortstop, third base and center field.
27:32They're not going to do that in the major leagues.
27:34We are not blessed in the domestic game to have enough total athletes who are also really good baseball players.
27:41And therefore the draft falls off the cliff.
27:45Once you get through the handful of guys, the Yankees consistently draft like 25th and later, the last time they
27:53had a top 10 pick in the draft, they took some kid named Jeter in 1992, right?
27:58Just some, they've been 16th or later since 1994.
28:03So not never in the first half of the draft, usually in the second half.
28:07And I think for a long time, Damon Oppenheimer and his group were not, were at best average and probably
28:14below average.
28:15But over the last five to seven years, if you put Yankee drafts, especially considering like who they don't have
28:21access to, it's like the Yankees don't have access to Carson Benj.
28:26He's drafted well before them.
28:27They don't have access to Pete Crow Armstrong.
28:30He's drafted well before their pick.
28:31When you consider what's left and that down the stretch, they're playing a catcher, second baseman, shortstop and center fielder,
28:42the middle of the diamond are all first round draft choices of theirs, right?
28:46And all of them have assets and blemishes, which they should have for where they draft them in the amateur
28:53draft.
28:53But they are major leaguers.
28:55Go look at what's drafted in the five picks before and the five picks after them, and you'll get an
29:01idea that they've done it.
29:02Plus Schlitler, plus Rice, plus Will Warren.
29:05You know, like I was pointing this out about Will Warren and Zach Thornton, for example, with the Mets.
29:11You know what those kind of draft picks allow you to do?
29:14Get out of the freaking Frankie Montas business.
29:17Yeah.
29:17Both teams did it, right?
29:19Both teams invested too much in Frankie Montas because you're like, who's going to be our number four or five
29:24star?
29:24So you put money and or prospects in to get him.
29:28If you develop a bunch of Will Warrens and Zach Thorntons, and it always is better internally.
29:35Your fan base likes it better when it's internally, but also internally means that guys get used to your world,
29:42like a lot of media, a lot of fan care, et cetera, by being in those first one or two
29:47or three spring trainings before they break through.
29:50But they're around it in St. Lucie.
29:52They're around it in Tampa.
29:54And so when they step into the clubhouse in New York, it's not like they're used to the culture.
30:00They're used to the scrutiny.
30:02The top prospects are getting grilled by reporters in Tampa and St. Lucie.
30:08So this has been the best thing that happened in New York baseball this year has kind of been the
30:14blossoming of young players from the system, both systems.
30:17Like in a bad Met year, that's the good story.
30:20And in a very good Yankee season, again, you know, Rice and Schlittler becoming stars and Jones and Lombard making
30:28it to the majors and maybe being the shortstop and center fielder of the future.
30:33While, you know, Will Warren continue to prove he's a sturdy back end starter where maybe Volpe's a second baseman.
30:40Wells is still a well above average defensive catcher who, you know, I still think should hit a little more.
30:46He hasn't. But it's a lot from where they draft.
30:50And I think it's a credit that they got better at it.
30:55Like managers get better. Base coaches get better.
30:57It isn't just the third baseman gets better.
31:00People in their jobs, if they care and try new practices and go through things, I would give Damon Oppenheimer
31:08and his group real great credit for about the last five to seven years of what they produce in the
31:13draft,
31:14especially when you consider how many trades they've made over the last like five, six years.
31:19And a lot of that is the collateral from the draft.
31:22You know, Luis Garcia, the two big guys in that trade, the young guys in those trades, the double A
31:30pitchers are like fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth round draft choices.
31:34Who, between the mechanism of drafting and development, built up to something to get a year and a half of
31:40Luis Garcia, which is a good outcome.
31:42It's probably a good outcome for Washington, but it's certainly a good outcome for the Yankees for where they, you
31:48know, the group of players they traded.
31:50Yeah, no doubt, Joel.
31:52And I think all this, again, equates to can't say enough good things about Cam Schultzler, can't say enough good
31:58things about Ben Rice and the seasons they're putting together.
32:01And it's a reflection of what the Yankees front office has been able to put together this season.
32:06I want to switch over to the bullpen because right now, I think you would agree.
32:10The three most trusted guys are Bednar, Hedrick and Blackburn.
32:13And that is how they have used those three guys as the seventh, eighth inning and ninth inning guys.
32:18Uh, Brett Hedrick, Joel, this guy where he's coming out of nowhere really for them.
32:24And he has now stranded 43 runners this season out of 48 inherited runners.
32:28That's tied.
32:29That is actually the most stranded inherited runners by any pitcher this season.
32:35So he leads all major league baseball in stranding the most amount of runners when he inherits them.
32:40And in terms of scoreless appearances in Yankees history, history, Brett Hedrick is now the fifth on the list
32:47with the most appearances in a season in Yankees history, giving up no runs.
32:52That goes with Tom Gordon in the first in 2004.
32:55Mariano Rivera tied with him in 04 as well.
32:58Then you have Boone Logan in 2012, David Robertson in 2011, and now Brett Hedrick in 2026
33:03with 62 scoreless appearances in Yankees history all time.
33:08It's incredible that what they're still able to do, right?
33:11Like we talked about the bullpen and how much concern, and there's still concerns about the Yankees bullpen.
33:15And like, let's not fret about that.
33:17But the fact that Hedrick was taken off the scrap heap, Joel, and he's turned into this for them this
33:25season.
33:26You just got to give credit to the guys up there in the front office.
33:30We're like, yeah, we'll find these guys out of nowhere and we'll develop bullpen pitchers that can shut down opponents
33:35and be counted on all season long.
33:39Yeah, you know, this is, again, something the Yankees do very well.
33:43You know, Clay Holmes, Luke Weaver, Tim Hill, Jake Cousins, Paul Blackburn, Brett Hedrick.
33:51You know, it's like this is, you know, and I know from talking to agents that if it's a toss
34:00-up,
34:00my guy can go to A or B and the Yankees or B, and it's this kind of guy who
34:06needs to, like,
34:08maybe he's making the transition from start or maybe he's a guy who's had some success in the major leagues,
34:12but he throws too many pitches and he's going to get – there's a few teams that are really good
34:17at this,
34:18and the Yankees are a team that's really good at cleaning up a guy's stuff and being like,
34:23here's what you do well, here's the part of the strike zone where you get killed,
34:29and here's what we think we can do for you.
34:34And if I would have told you on March 27th you have a choice,
34:41Hedrick and Blackburn don't last the season with the Yankees or they finish the season as two of the 15
34:47most valuable relief pitchers in baseball, I think that would have been an easy choice in March.
34:53And yet here we are. It's a great success story.
34:56And I think it's made easier by the fact that Bednar's been really good.
35:01And so it kind of gives you that – there's that guy.
35:07And you know oftentimes the 7th and 8th inning, you're working through the top of the lineup.
35:12But I think when you work backwards, you know, the greatest example, of course, is Rivera.
35:20Right? Like, it's so much easier to build your bullpen.
35:23Yeah.
35:24When in this – it's the most uncertain job in the sport.
35:27It's the most flammable, fungible job.
35:31It changes all the time.
35:32To have a consistent closer, you say, like, bang.
35:37And I could tell you there's 20, 30, 50 great reasons why the Yankees were a dynasty from 98 to
35:442000.
35:45But always to me, number one is Rivera.
35:49To me, number one is Rivera.
35:51But part of it is in a sport where there's no consistency in that job, it wasn't just Rivera.
35:58Mendoza, Nelson, and Stanton pitched great in front of him.
36:04And so the other team often was thinking, do we have 15, 18 outs to win a game today?
36:12And the Yankees spent two months not scoring runs.
36:16And they got very good starting pitching.
36:19And in the games they could win, you needed to kind of have enough runs to win before you got
36:26to the 6th inning.
36:27Because Hedrick, Blackburn, and Bednar really shut it down.
36:31Now, the exchange for that was they threw incredibly often and never threw a pitch not under extreme duress.
36:43And so you mentioned Tom Gordon, who was really good for the 0-4 Yankees.
36:50But by the playoffs, he was, like, one of the reasons the Yankees didn't beat the Red Sox in 0
36:55-4, they blew that 3-0 lead, was, like, Quantrill and Gordon were just done by the ALCS.
37:06And, you know, couldn't get anybody, you know, like, it became an issue.
37:10I mean, we saw Friday night, Joel, like, it was a little bit with Hedrick.
37:13You could see, like, the Mets were all over his every pitch.
37:17And you kind of wonder, like, is he out of gas a little bit, right?
37:21Yeah.
37:22Yeah.
37:22But Boone said something interesting before the game yesterday.
37:25He said, you know, at this time of year, we tend to think every bad outing is about that a
37:30guy's tired.
37:32And he goes, sometimes it's just a bad outing.
37:34And then both guys went out and pitched well.
37:36Yeah.
37:37Especially Hedrick.
37:38I thought he had his stuff fully back yesterday.
37:42So, like, is it a bad – I'll say this is.
37:46And I'll say it's something I learned from Bobby Valentine, and I believe, which is Bobby used to really protect
37:54relief pitchers.
37:56And he'd get – the game had started to moneyball a little bit even before moneyball in the late 90s,
38:02early 2000s.
38:04And Bobby was ahead of the curve about, like – you know, back then, Ryan, it wasn't uncommon for a
38:10relief pitcher to pair in three straight, four straight, five – like, they really pitched a lot.
38:15And it was the idea, well, oh, you know, like, nobody put much thought in it.
38:18He's got his – his arm feels great, he told me.
38:21He's in the game.
38:21And Bobby used to say all the time, I'm not letting him pitch today, and there'll be games that Mets
38:27may lose.
38:28And they'll be like, why isn't, like, Turk Wendell pitching – you know, whoever, like, pitching today.
38:32And his theory was, if you exhaust the pitcher, like, to the point where they're arm-weary, they don't regenerate
38:43in the same season.
38:44And I think that is true.
38:46Like, if you hit that wall – and so I know that Boone has said a few times, like, that
38:51they've reset a little bit over about the last 10 days where they haven't gone as often.
38:56And like I said, I think definition might help them, like, back off, even if the definition is they're going
39:04to finish second in the division.
39:07But I feel like if the guy hit the wall, you're never going to see the best of him again.
39:13Now, have those guys hit the wall?
39:14I don't know.
39:16No, but they have not been as crisp consistently over, say, the last three weeks as they were for about
39:24a two-, three-month period from, like, May through July, May through early August,
39:30where the Yankees are playing death matches every day because they can't score.
39:34Right.
39:34And those guys were valuable.
39:38Were they the most valuable player?
39:40No, but they'd be on the short list.
39:42If you were drawing up most valuable Yankees of 2026, you know, like, they're on it.
39:49Oh, yeah.
39:50Edrick has to be on that.
39:52Yes.
39:52And I just think – and, you know, you can't go back.
39:56You needed to win those games.
39:57Yeah.
39:58They might be in playoff danger if they were winning those games because they were not scoring at all.
40:03No doubt.
40:04You know, they're winning 2-1, 3-2.
40:07And so I understood what Boone was doing.
40:10Was there a price paid?
40:12Maybe.
40:13And it's why I think that – and I don't know that we'll get the full answer in two weeks,
40:17but I do think Clark Schmidt's important.
40:19Well, he's making the trip to Minnesota, right, this week.
40:21I think he'll get – my suspicion is tomorrow.
40:25It's a suspicion, aggregators, as opposed to a fact.
40:30I think that they – you know, he threw Saturday.
40:32I think they want to travel today, be there, say, Clark, go play catch.
40:38How do you feel?
40:40Boom.
40:40And then I think he'll probably be in a formula, which is to say, hey, you've got the sixth today.
40:49You've got – and then maybe starting against Tampa, he's going to be used like Michael King was, which is
40:56go get two innings.
40:59Right, and attack probably the heart of the lineup, too, when the big part of the lineup is coming up.
41:05He's got good stuff and extreme confidence, a little like Michael King.
41:10Yeah.
41:10Who was a confident kid, and Clark Schmidt is really confident.
41:18And so I think it's important.
41:21I think they need to – they didn't get that arm at the deadline.
41:26Would they have gotten a better arm than John Schreiber?
41:28I don't know.
41:30Like, most of this fails, so maybe Schreiber is actually going to help them.
41:35Or Fulmer.
41:36Or Fulmer, yeah.
41:37I don't know, but – and remember, Will Warren is going to be a bullpen guy, and he's pitched really
41:46well for about three, four weeks now, Will Warren.
41:49You think they're going to continue to piggyback him off Max Freed for these next couple starts?
41:55Well, I think they need both of them, right, because they sent Elmer Rodriguez down.
42:02Right.
42:02So I think that Warren's got to start and Freed's got to start.
42:06Okay.
42:08And, you know, the question will become, what do they do in that doubleheader against Tampa Bay?
42:13Right.
42:14And –
42:15You know, in or around it.
42:16Maybe they use two stars, but you're going to have to – someplace in or around that, there's got to
42:21be a starter brought up.
42:26Elmer Rodriguez, back, somebody, or you've got to bring up some arms and bullpen a day.
42:31Right.
42:32And they don't have a lot of arms down there because they had a lot of arms that they could
42:35consider bringing up.
42:37Bradley Hanner wouldn't be here.
42:38And Luis Heal has been kind of in the back end of the bullpen, just like they haven't used him
42:43as – yeah.
42:45He's a mop-up guy right now, and I don't think there's enough time to build trust with him.
42:50Yeah.
42:50And then the other thing you mentioned earlier in the show is the Ryan Weathers factor in this whole bullpen
42:55equation
42:56because if you have Schmidt from the right side, Weathers you would think potentially could be that guy from the
43:01left side.
43:01But it's – again, you're dealing with an injury of the pitching arm.
43:05You get a little weary of like, hey, we're just going to throw you right into –
43:10it kind of gives me flashbacks, Joel, of the whole Nestor Cortez World Series thing where it's like,
43:15are you sure you're doing the right thing here?
43:17Should we push the gas on this guy?
43:18Like how do they manage that?
43:21So it's the right question, I believe, Ryan.
43:26But like sometimes – you're a fan of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the movie?
43:31Yeah, I am.
43:32Like you're standing on the cliff's edge.
43:35Hundreds of guys with guns are charging at you or a 125-foot drop into the thing.
43:41Like, well, this way you'll definitely die.
43:46This way you'll probably do.
43:48I'm going to go with probably.
43:49Yes.
43:50Right?
43:50And so the question is going to become, do you believe in Ryan Weathers' arm over –
43:57like at this point, Tim Hill has given up like 11 homers.
44:01Yeah.
44:01And what's bizarre is his ground ball rates have stayed really – like he's turned into Camilo Duval.
44:08Like a lot of the rate stuff still looks exactly like him, but he's getting hurt with homers.
44:15Yeah.
44:15And in a big spot where it's going to be fifth inning and suddenly you need a – you know,
44:23two of the three hitters are going to be lefties.
44:25And I could say Ryan Weathers or Tim Hill.
44:29And I'm going to be like, that weighs the Army and that weighs the 125-foot cliff.
44:34I think the 125-foot cliff is Ryan Weathers.
44:37And I think it's really going to be that because – I don't know if you heard it because I
44:41asked the question in the –
44:43I hardly ever ask questions in press conferences because I don't want to give it away, but to our good
44:48friends at Yes and all the aggregators.
44:50But –
44:53Well, I did hear your comment to Aaron Boone about the A-Rod.
44:56That was quite the funny thing going around on social media.
44:59Joel Sherman making a little quip at Aaron Boone.
45:03Yeah, well, he walked in limping and then he was like a little like clandestine about it.
45:11And so I just said, last time this happened to you, Alex Rodriguez showed up in our lives, you know.
45:16So like – because if anybody remembers in the offseason between 04 and 05 – I'm sorry, 03 and 04,
45:22he played pickup basketball, blew out his knee, was going to miss the season.
45:26And the Yankees needed to find the third baseman in a hurry.
45:28And Brian Cashman happened to sit next to Alex Rodriguez at the BBWA Awards dinner and was like – suddenly
45:38a light bulb went on.
45:40And he said, I wonder if this guy could play third base.
45:42And so that's how it did.
45:43So he was limping.
45:45Yeah, made a little thing yesterday.
45:46Anyway, so I think whether – so the question I asked was, Boone answered a question kind of squirrely about
45:56when Weathers would return.
45:58So I said, is the clock going to be that like he's going to return in enough time for the
46:05playoffs, but the playoffs only?
46:06Like in other words, that's – I think we're that close because all he's doing this week is getting off
46:14the mound.
46:15Yeah.
46:15And there's only two weeks of baseball.
46:17Right.
46:17Like, you know, usually it's a couple of times off the mound, live batting practice a few times.
46:22Simulated.
46:22Then you go on a rehab, which he's not going to – the minor league seasons are going to –
46:26are sort of over and then mainly over in the next two weeks.
46:30Like, you know, you could set up simulated games, but I just think the best I think you could hope
46:39for with Weathers is he gets into one of the three games against Baltimore at the end of the season.
46:43Right.
46:44Where you say – and that's where definition would help again.
46:49Like, if the Yankees need the three games against Baltimore, they can activate Weathers, but they then want to be
46:56like, we better be up 5-1, 6-1, or down 7-1.
47:00And then we'll do this because it would be hard to bring them into a must game.
47:05But to your point, they did it with Cortez.
47:07And I still think that in general that was the right move because I always believed in Cortez's heart.
47:15Like, that he was not afraid of a big moment.
47:19You know, Tim Hill was pitching well at that time.
47:21Yeah, but you praised Tim Hill all along too.
47:23Like, you said that guy's not afraid of the ball too.
47:26Well, I always thought the big problem was, and he admitted the next day,
47:28that he should have just stuck with Weaver for one more inning.
47:31That was the mistake.
47:33It started the ball rolling towards Jake Cousins.
47:36That was the problem in that game.
47:38But anyway, that's old history for them.
47:41The bigger thing is I would be shocked if Ryan Weathers pitched more than one,
47:48maybe two times in the regular season.
47:51And I think the door is open that he just is available for the playoffs.
47:59And then the question is, is he even available for the wildcard round?
48:03Or do you say, okay, now go down to Tampa because we could set up simulated games down in Tampa.
48:08And if the Yankees advance, then you're on the roster for the division series.
48:16You know, Tampa Bay, and you're going to see some Liam Hicks at bats here.
48:20Yeah, it's a fair point, Joel.
48:22And it's something we'll pay attention to to see how Weathers reacts this week,
48:26throwing off the mound, and if they can work his way back into being an equation in the bullpen.
48:32And we've gone this whole episode without talking about probably one of the bigger storylines that happened.
48:36But if there's so much, Joel, that goes into a season, I think you understand that more than anyone.
48:41And, you know, there's 9-11, the 25th anniversary, Subway Series against the Mets.
48:47But Anthony Volpe came up and played second base after the Jashism injury.
48:51And he hits a grand slam.
48:53And he steals a couple bases.
48:54And you're like, okay.
48:56And we saw what he did at AAA.
48:58Like, it was impossible not to see what he did at AAA.
49:01But AAA is AAA.
49:04We have discussed numerous times.
49:06We think Anthony Volpe is a better second baseman.
49:09We know he's not a good shortstop defensively with the arm.
49:13Talk to me, Joel.
49:14With the Jashism injury, it's unknown when he'll come back.
49:17They shut him down for 7 to 10 days from baseball activities.
49:20With Volpe now up, and as that righty bat instead of the lefty bat with Jash,
49:25is this a potential future with Lombard at short and Volpe at second going past this season?
49:32Right?
49:32I'm asking you that part.
49:33But then also in the immediacy, does he provide what you need right now?
49:40So, a few things.
49:42AAA pitching isn't good.
49:43It's worse this time of year.
49:45So, think about what this time of year is, Ryan.
49:47It's attrition.
49:49But it's also promotion, right?
49:51Rosters kind of expand.
49:53Guys are getting brought to the major leagues.
49:55So, you have to fill out your AAA roster by bringing guys up from single-A and double-A.
49:59You've probably shut down your best prospects because they've hit innings caps.
50:04So, I'm not discrediting that Anthony Volpe hit well at AAA.
50:09It's better than not hitting well at AAA.
50:11But, like, in that same time period, Max Schumann hit great at AAA.
50:18And you could say, wow, bring up Max Schumann.
50:20Look, he's hitting great at AAA.
50:21So, I want to – there's a grain of salt, especially this time of year, hitting a AAA.
50:27But better to do it than to struggle.
50:31Right.
50:31Right?
50:32Jason Dominguez struggled against the same pitching down there.
50:36So, better to hit always than not hit.
50:40The other thing is, passionate Yankee fans have a certain feeling about Volpe.
50:47I get it.
50:48But you should know that the industry, non-Yankee teams have not – many who I talk to have not
50:56given up on Volpe.
50:57They think he's a good player.
50:59They do not think he's a first-round savior.
51:02They think he's a good baseball player who would help winning because he can do a variety of things well.
51:11And many of them think the Yankees screwed up his hitting early in his career by changing his approach and
51:21feel like if he got back to the full-field approach more, which I think he's doing a little more
51:28of now,
51:29that he could go back to being a 725 OPS middle infielder who could run and field, that's a major
51:37leaguer.
51:38Yeah.
51:39It's not – the kid from New Jersey grew up loving Derek Jeter.
51:43He's a Yankee shortstop.
51:44He could be a good – so, if you're in the – could he be a good major league second
51:50baseman for the New York Yankees?
51:53I believe that.
51:54I still wonder if he's better off getting out of here and taking the last of whatever that remnant is.
52:01As much as he wants it to work here, I just always wonder, like, what would it look like standing
52:06next to Bobby Witt in Kansas City
52:08or, you know, Kevin McGonigal in Detroit, you know, where there's an established shortstop.
52:16Nobody's, like, thinking, like, oh, is he going to play – he's the second baseman.
52:20It's outside of this market.
52:22I just always – I think the best of him would happen there.
52:27But I don't think the Yankees are doing it as a giveaway.
52:30Like, oh, the Volpe thing is done.
52:32Because I think they see the same thing that the industry sees, which is stop thinking about what you wanted
52:40him to be
52:41and start thinking about what he could be.
52:44And the comparison I've made a bunch this year is I think he could be Caleb Durant.
52:48That's what I was going to ask you is, can he be the Caleb Durant?
52:50And Caleb Durant, to me, is a good to a slightly above average or even above average major league player.
52:58The total war on a guy like Durant is going to be, like, three to four war.
53:01Like, because by the time you do all the defense and the base running and then he pops 15 homers
53:06and hits 30 doubles
53:07and you're like, wow, that was a really good season.
53:11I think that there are really good season possibilities for Anthony Volpe.
53:18I think that step one, there were two pressure points.
53:23Step one was shortstop.
53:24Step two is New York.
53:26He is off of shortstop.
53:28I think that is liberating for him as much as he wanted it to work at that position.
53:32I also think it would be liberating for him outside New York as much as he wants it to work
53:37in New York.
53:38But if you told me that he'd be the second baseman next year and that he'd be Caleb Durant
53:46and have a three to three and a half war with 15 homers and 24 steals and a 710 OPS.
53:56And, you know, like, where you look and go, not a superstar, but, you know, it really helped winning.
54:03I think that's possible.
54:06That's, I fully believe that.
54:08And I just wonder, like, with the hole they will have at second base next year,
54:14I think the Yankee people are definitely looking at this as that full tryout.
54:18Like, hey, this could be our potential middle infield for the next five years.
54:22Ryan, can I throw in one other thing?
54:24Yeah.
54:24By the time we play baseball next year, there may be a salary cap.
54:28Right.
54:28And so the answer can't be anymore what the answer has been from George Steinbrenner to today.
54:35Go get the expensive guy on the market.
54:37It will not be legal.
54:40Right.
54:41To do it.
54:42So if you're not answering some to many of your questions, we could, you know, I would encourage,
54:49I'm sure many Yankee fans are also Knick fans.
54:52Right.
54:53Like, you better get some stuff from your Landry Shamitz, your Tyler Koleks, your, your Didier,
55:01you know, like, Daddy A's.
55:03Like, like, those are guys you need to at least sprinkle around the stars and be helpful or more.
55:14That's the world we might be going.
55:15I believe even if there's no salary cap, I think there'll be more punitive taxes.
55:21Right.
55:22Like, like MLB settlement isn't going to be like, well, let's just keep it all the same.
55:26They're going to want to try to put more onus on the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, et cetera, to not
55:34just spend willy nilly at the top of the market.
55:37And as we know, Hal Steinbrenner already doesn't want a $300 million payroll.
55:42It's going to hurt a lot more to have it, even in whatever the next system is.
55:47One will be illegal to have it.
55:49The other will be more painful, I think, would be the outcome of a new CBA.
55:53And so your answers have to keep coming.
55:57I think that's why this was such a valuable year for the Mets in a bad year and a Yankee
56:02and a good Yankees in a good year.
56:04You know, it's not hard now to imagine.
56:06I think Spencer Jones might be a good major league player or even more than that for a minimum wage
56:12next year.
56:13That George Lombard might be a starting shortstop for minimum wage next year.
56:18That's incredibly valuable in in the world where we're likely heading.
56:23Yeah.
56:23And Ben Rice is your DH first base platoon.
56:27Right.
56:27And, you know, Volpe's a guy.
56:29He would be a second year arbitration.
56:31Right.
56:32But based off of this, he isn't going to make much more money than he made this year, which is
56:36probably like, I don't know, three million, whatever he was about this year.
56:39It's not going to be substantially more.
56:42So, you know, you've got to get internal answers and or turn guys who were on the scrap heap, Blackburn,
56:51Hedrick, into low cost answers.
56:53Because the answer isn't just going to be, you know, like this is for, you know, food for thought.
57:02There are going to be offseason shows we do coming up.
57:04Like, do you give the qualifying offer to Jazz?
57:07Do you give the qualifying offer to Bednar?
57:10What if they both say, yes, I've just put another 46, 47, 48 million dollars onto a payroll when you
57:16need to cut, not add.
57:18I think we all know the Jazz answer there.
57:20I think, yeah.
57:21I think we know the Jazz answer.
57:23But I wonder how different Jazz is than Grisham.
57:27Right.
57:28We probably knew the Grisham answer.
57:30Except for they gave him the qualifying offer and he took it.
57:33Yeah.
57:34Yeah.
57:34He did.
57:35And so, you know, like, is that like lesson learned?
57:38Like, hey, let's live without the extra draft pick for offering the qualifying offer.
57:44But I don't think it's a, even in that situation, I think they might and will with Bednar.
57:50Oh, yeah.
57:51You should.
57:51And so, you know, that's going to be one year, 23, 24 million.
57:57And so you better, like, if you're layering that in, even though you're going to get out of money, right?
58:03You're getting out of Grisham's money.
58:05You're getting out of Chisholm's money.
58:06But, like, you're still a year away of getting out of Stanton.
58:09You know, like, one of the good things, like, people don't even think about, you're out of LeMayu's money.
58:14They're paying LeMayu this year.
58:15So, like, that goes away.
58:17$15 million on the books goes away that goes towards calculating the luxury tax or a salary cap.
58:25So, but you're going to carry probably Stanton's dead weight next year.
58:30Right.
58:30One way or the other.
58:32So, anyway, those are shows I'm sure we're going to do later on.
58:38But just in the big picture, Volpe helps potentially solve a problem at the right price also.
58:46And so it would be really good for him and them.
58:50If he has a really good last two weeks, he might, Jazz might not beat the clock.
58:56And he might be the second baseman game one against Boston in two weeks.
59:05It's fun watching him back there at second.
59:08And it's fun to picture, like you said, the future that could happen here.
59:13But, Joel, I appreciate you hopping on here for Pinstripe Post.
59:16As always, giving us your insight, giving us your analysis, your funny quips, your history, all of it, as always.
59:23And we're looking forward to catching up with you next week.
59:25For all those Yankees fans, don't forget to hit that like and subscribe button on the New York Post Sports
59:29YouTube channel.
59:29You can catch Joel later this week on the show with him and John Heyman.
59:34And as always, thank you, Joel.
59:37Thanks, Ryan.
59:37And always thanks to everybody who watches.
59:40We appreciate you.
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