Latest / Yankees Pod / The Homestretch Of The New York Yankees Season W/ Keith McPherson

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The Homestretch Of The New York Yankees Season W/ Keith McPherson · Yankees Pod

• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: All right, we are back on Yankees Pod.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry we missed you last week.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: We had a little scheduling conflict.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: But the man, the myth, the legend, Keith McPherson, host of the Keith McPherson show, you see him at Yankees Stadium.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: You see him on TV.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: He's everywhere.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Keith is back.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Keith, how are we doing today?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good, man.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, good time to have me on, especially after we beat the Braves.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: We got this off day, and I have been trying to preach to people that there has been a shift in the Yankees universe.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Refresh your information.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: This team has slightly changed.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to continue to evolve, and they're not at their final form.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is not their final form.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Give them some time to take, and uh, let's take some time to talk about it now.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, I was gonna start with George Lombard Jr.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: and we'll get to that.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I wanted to start because we're starting positive.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: We're starting positive.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: I want to start with the rotation.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: They face the Atlanta Braves.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: You have Freed, Cole, Schlitter lined up.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's gonna be the postseason lineup in any other way.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: And they go out and perform versus the Atlanta Braves, who's a very good National League ball club.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, how are we feeling about this rotation heading into September, heading into October?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think we got the best going.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think we got the best three guys going.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you look at Derek Scoobel and his short uh couple starts for the Dodgers, he doesn't look so comfortable over there.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't look so good over there.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And he was even in an interview talking about I'd love to go back to Detroit.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to sign and play there for the rest of my career.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So um there was a uh a thought that I had on WFAN where someone's like, you know, who's better?
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, maybe School, Yamamoto, Snell, Glass now, Roki Zazaki.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: But no, right now the Yankees look to have the strongest three starters, a former Cy Young winner in Cole, a World Series champion in Max Fried, and the favorite for this year's Cy Young and Cam Schlitzer.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta feel good about that.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Those guys can go six, seven innings and not give up more than one or two runs, maybe a couple solo shots.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Cole has started to actually return to form, maybe even better form than we saw.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: He had a few bumps in a road, but that's expected coming back from Tommy John and feeling some stuff out.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Freed is still building up to being what he's gonna be, and Cam Schlittler is just a monster.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: He's just a beast, he's just mowing guys down.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm not worried about him.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not worried about his innings limit or how many innings he's pitched in his career.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: He's got it locked in.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm excited about the Yankees pitching staff.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I think.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't think there's really a wrong answer, but I think right now, if we were giving somebody the ball for game one, I think he it's gotta be Cam Schuttler.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Just the way that he's performed all season long and his health.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: I do think that he gets the ball ball game one.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: I probably go free two, cold three, just because of the injury history.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on that?
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm giving Cam the ball game one.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um it depends on matchups and who we actually face and what the thought is.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like if if we're in a wild card series, which we feel like we're we're gonna be in because Tampa doesn't stop winning.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I think if it's a three-game wild card, you go Cam first, depending on if you win or lose.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know, if you win, I'm probably throwing Cole the next day, try and you know, win that in two games.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Usually those wildcard series are one in two games, but it doesn't matter.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: You can't go wrong with with uh with with Fried or Cole.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's just do you want, you know, do you want to pitch, you know, um, you know, it doesn't matter.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: You you can't go wrong.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's no there's no exact science.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think like I said, it's it depends what team you're facing and how you want to pitch them.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's interesting too, because Carlos Rodon, we forgot about him.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, still a very competent pitcher.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: And uh shout out to Ryan Weathers and Will Warren, who, you know, obviously we didn't expect much of them, but Weathers has been great.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, these guys, you know, they're ERAs teetering around four, and you know, they're just doing a really good job.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have Clark Schmidt who's looming.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, it's good to have a big three, and yeah, the other guys are gonna do really well, and we're gonna need those guys in the bullpen.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna need Weathers out of the bullpen.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna need Rodone out of the bullpen if we do have those short series.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because unfortunately, at the trade deadline, I personally didn't love what the Yankees did.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: They added two bats, they had Luis Garcia Jr., which is great.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: A little confusing because he is a first baseman and we have two guys already.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: But what were your thoughts overall on the on the uh deadline?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: I was disappointed.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: I was deflated.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: I went live at five o'clock, at five o'clock, thinking that we were gonna get our catcher and a relief pitcher as the finishing moves, as the like, you know, uh at the buzzer moves like Cashman does.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And when Jack Curry tweeted out the Yankees are done, it's Luis Garcia Jr.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: and Heliot Ramos.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, so we got two platoon players, we got two guys that are gonna end up on the bench, we got two guys that don't fill holes, that don't satisfy needs.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess it does satisfy a need.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: I had to you know go to sleep and sleep on it the next day and talk myself into it and say, let's look on the bright side.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted two bats.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Granted, I wanted a catcher and I wanted like Luisa Rias.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like I wanted Ryan Jeffers and Luis Rice, but we got the two bats.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted right-handed bats.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is what it is.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: You end up getting um Luis Garcia Jr., who is the top slugger, uh, arguably the best hitter that was moved at the deadline, and you get Heliot Ramos, who is serviceable, and obviously you needed him with Belly going down and you know, them sending Dominguez down.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: You needed a um MLB caliber outfielder, and and so you know, that's what they did.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And what I'll say is Cashman doesn't just make moves to make moves, he he's very set on his prices and what's a match and what's not a match.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: He even said that they don't have as many prospects to move as they did in the past, and that they weren't just gonna do stuff for the sake of doing stuff.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: They know help is on the way, Rodon, Clark Schmidt, Belly coming back, Stanton.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: I guess at some point here he's doing BP already, and then Judge whenever it happens.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So it was an underwhelming deadline.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: I gave it a D.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: I won't say it was an F a failure because you did get two bats, and that changes this lineup, two guys with high batting average, um, you know, better OPS than we have.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: So immediately, you know, the lineup has changed with those guys and George Lombard, and that was the thing, right?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: They they they were waiting to call up George Lombard, break glass in case of emergency.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: The emergency was a mid-deadline where the fans were all upset saying, This isn't it, this isn't what we wanted.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: We needed more.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: You had clear holes to fill and you didn't fill them.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they said, Here he comes, here's George Lombard Jr., the moment you've all been waiting for, and it completely changed the focus and the tone of the fan base that Tuesday night.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's what I was tweeting out uh last Monday night or Tuesday, whatever it was when the trade deadline happened.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, don't worry, they're gonna they're gonna wait.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: Lombard's coming up August 3rd.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Don't everybody worry.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's like they're they're they're playing with our emotions.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, they don't get anyone big.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Don't worry.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: This is the kid that you wanted for the last nine months.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Here he is, August 3rd.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: So it is interesting.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: The one thing about the Ramos, the Iliad Ramos uh acquisition makes me nervous about Aaron Judge because they did go out and get another outfielder.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: I know belly's hurt.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: It just I'm worried.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really worried about Aaron Judge's health.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because you know, we're seeing Giancolo standing in batting practice.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: He'll be back soon, and Bellinger is running, he's not running the base pass yet, but he'll be back soon, too.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: It just seemed like I don't know where Judge's timetable is.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: We've always said September, and you know, I think the Yankees are 27 and 27 since uh Judge has gone out.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: So they're staying afloat.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: They're staying afloat, no doubt about it.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: And if Andrews can come back this season, whether it is September, I'll be positive about this team.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: I just get concerned about those ribs and his health.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: But if he comes back, I think this team is as good as any in the American League, even though the Tampa Bay Rays are six games up.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I thought signing another outfielder or trading for another outfielder was a quiet um, you know, move by Cashman to say, I don't know if Judge is coming back.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if he comes back, I don't know if we're throwing him in the outfield.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: We need another outfielder, you know, um, not just because Belly got hurt, but because, you know, Judge has this rib injury, and now he's got multiple injuries that he sustained from playing the outfield, whether it was running into the wall with the toe or back in I think 2020, um, him diving and having the rib issue.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: And now having the rib issue again, um, I think it was an insurance move.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was like, hey, let's get another outfielder that's a you know decent hitter, not the greatest outfielder, and it's an insurance play in case Judge doesn't come back.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: But Judge said he's coming back, he said that was always the plan.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, the day after we see him hand in the air, smiling, celebrating George Lombard Jr.'s home run.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: He tells the media that he's starting to resume workouts and running and some activity.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm trying to rush it, but I know they're not gonna rush it.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I said I need him back by September 8th when we start that homestand against the Rockies.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: I need him back by September 8th.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how many at bats does he need?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: How many games does he need?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, he I feel like he's he's gonna need at least a month to ramp up, and that's less than a month.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: They just came out with the um the postseason dates.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like the postseason starts late September.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we gotta we gotta get going.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, he's gotta come back and be ready to at least swing the bat and be in the lineup and be a threat at DH.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: But then yeah, you got four guys that could possibly DH.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll see how it plays out.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, again, I'm not worried, I'm not worried as much about the ramp up period with Aaron Judge.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like at least he's you know, he's a consummate professional, so like maybe he is at least in the cages, just seeing the ball.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I would know I'm never worried about, I'm only worried about his health.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe we should have a rule with Aaron Judge where he's just not allowed to dive for baseballs anywhere.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like, dive forward for baseballs, you know, slide for baseballs.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, he's just such a big human being.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what's gonna happen, bro.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be like a deciding factor in a game.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, remember when they put Stanton in right field and we're like, oh, well, it helps the lineup because we didn't stand in the lineup, and it's like, yeah, that ball gets hit in the gap, he can't get there, he can't run.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that ball is gonna drop in in front of him, he can't get there, he can't run.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: If it's if we put Judge out there with this uh precaution, if we put Judge out there with this rule that you don't go full tilt, ball will find you.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: And like, I think it was the Red Sox last year.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: They're running.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're running on Stanton, they're running on Judge's arm when Judge had the elbow injury because that's part of the scouting report.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, right fielder can't run for the ball.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Right fielder's not gonna crash into the wall, he's not gonna dive for balls.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right fielder's got a bad elbow.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you got the green light on the base pass if that ball gets hit to him and you're trying to advance or go to home.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's just the way baseball works.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: But um, we'll see, man.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that the healing progresses.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know what pisses me off?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: I said this too recently.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: We're in New York.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's 2026.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: They gotta have the best doctors and healing procedures.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's gotta be some type of food he can eat, some tea he could drink, some type of chamber he can sleep in, some type of like they gotta have something.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how did it go from May 31st and being out to now we're in August, about to reach mid-August, and there's not much healing?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And Judge is a massive guy.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just I don't know, I don't have the answers, but I feel like he should be further along right now.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you gotta send him to Germany, like the old NBA players, right?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Where they do the blood spinning and whatever.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: No, you know what it is?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was thinking about it too.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: His ribs, like, ribs are obviously like a huge part of your body, and he's so big.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: I just think this is like one massive rib that's like cracked, honestly.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, but I've I've been talking with a lot of people, like we have he has to be back because most likely there's not gonna be a season next year, or if there is a season, it's gonna be a shortened season.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Probably not gonna play baseball till like July, let's just say.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: So um, I think he's gonna do everything in his powers, even if he is not 100%, just to be out there, like almost as a decoy.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: I know if uh everything finds you in baseball.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: And as far as the diving thing, dive in the postseason.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just talking about regular season going forward.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: One of 162, let the ball bloop in, whatever.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, all right, let's get to the main story.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: George Lombard Jr.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: He has injected life into this team.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: He hits a home run, he hits another home run, two home runs, four walks in his first uh four games.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's like the first time in Yankees history that a young guy has done that.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: What do you have you seen from him that you like?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he's not overmatched, he's got a great eye, a great awareness of the strike zone, plate discipline, um, which is crazy because it's just like I don't know.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: I I tell people I went to Somerset to see him last year, and I don't think he did anything in the two games that I saw him play, like at the plate.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like he wasn't hitting home runs.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if he was working walks.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: He was either grounding out, striking out, or popping out.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he he I feel like he took a big leap in this offseason in this year.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: He was tearing up double A.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: They moved him to AAA, and he continued there.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: He had a um a hand injury.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: He was on the IL, he came back, and they sent him up, and and he belongs.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: My the most impressive thing is that stage is so big.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: 41 plus thousand, 41,000 plus show up to see his debut.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: The lights are bright.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's New York, it's a night game, all of this hype surrounding him, and he just went out there and played his game.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: He's a pro.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: He's the son of a pro.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Some people got it, some people don't.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's effortless.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: The defense, let's speak on that.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: We haven't seen a slick fielding shortstop like this in years.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I won't even say Jeter was like this slick.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe when he was younger, Didi.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't I don't know.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like obviously, you know, Glaber they tried to play there, that didn't work.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um Volpe, we've got a ton of low lights in the Volpe era.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Even Caballero had made some mistakes.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: This kid is a natural.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: The ball gets hit that way, he's got a vacuum in his glove.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Right or left, he's getting it.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: And he got tested right away in his debut.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Turning double plays.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm getting excited for double plays now, not worried about are we gonna turn the double play now?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like getting a double play now, I'm pumped up.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's an exciting moment that I know that they're gonna turn the double play.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: In the past, it was like peril and and and fright.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: And ah, what's gonna happen?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Is Volpe gonna, you know, bobble this, or is Volpe gonna, you know, not turn it in time?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is it gonna be late to second?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Or are they gonna airmail the throw?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, I have a lot of confidence in George Lombard Jr.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: He looks apart, and you realize he grew up in clubhouses.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: He grew up on the field.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is regular to him.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is what he was supposed to do.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is their family business.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's a picture floating around from the 2018 All-Star game with him and his little brother and Aaron Judge.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, he ends up getting drafted by the Yankees not long after that.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And now he's teammates with Aaron Judge, and I hope Aaron Judge comes back to play with the young kid.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: We've got one in this young rookie.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: It has nothing to do with Volpe or Dominguez or Andujar or Clint Frazier or Greg Bird or whoever people want to throw out there.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Gary Sanchez, this is different.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: This kid belongs.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: And the biggest thing that I took away from all the reports about him was after they won the series, the second game against the Braves, the team goes in there to eat and he's quizzing his teammates on Grant Holmes, the pitcher that they're gonna face on Sunday.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that means he's a professional.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: He's already turned the page and he said, We're on to the next day.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start, you know, um quizzing guys so that we can pass the test on Sunday.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't, but it shows where his head is at.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: As is as a young guy, his head is in the right place.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: He could just be smiling ear to ear, looking around.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yay, Yankees Stadium.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: I made it.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's business, it's it's very business, um, dialed in and focused.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we need from the shortstop of the New York Yankees, even at 21 years of age.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: There are two things this weekend that I looked at that I was like, okay, we got a guy.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: There was a ball hit to the third baseline, and he grew he went to his right, he took the ball, and it's like he slung it.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: He slung the ball and it looked so effortlessly, and it was just beautiful.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: And the other one was when he challenged the pitches back to back.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you were watching that.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, Chris Dale.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Very, very, very savvy, like veteran move where the ball was six, four inches low.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't crazy egregious, but he went back to back, challenged both plays.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Boone looked like he was gonna lose his mind on the umpire, like making the this kid challenge.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, he just looked like he looks like he's got it.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: And another thing, we don't talk about it as much in baseball, but the way the kid runs the bases just injects like we got guys like Stanton and Judge and Ben Rice who just clog on the bases.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: But man, George Onbai Jr.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: flying, and another guy, Spencer Jones, who helped win the baseball games uh versus the Braves.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: He was unbelievable as well.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: He hit a triple, he's flying.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: You see his speeds around the bases, his sprint speeds.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, they're you know, all the stat nerds are coming up and talking about his sprint speed.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we need from these guys.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm happy that Spencer Jones is still on this team.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm happy the Yankees didn't trade him away for a reliever or something like that.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on Spencer Jones going forward?
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, he's kind of in competition with Trent Christian right now.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'll work back from what you said and then I'll get to Spencer Jones.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: With the challenge system, we've watched guys like Jazz Chisholm and Caballero use the challenge system almost as like they're spiteful, like, I'm not striking out.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take a look at that.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, come on, bro.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are we doing?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: George Lombard Jr.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: as a rookie has experience using that challenge system, I think, for the last two or three years because they were testing it out in the minors, I think, since 2023.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I mean, he's accustomed to it, and they obviously trust him, and and he won.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it was just so impressive to see it against Chris Sale and the conviction he had, and he was right.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: The second part about his sprint speed, like he sparked that rally Friday night.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Friday night, you see Jazz Chisholm get pinch hit four, and he takes off his uniform.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: He he goes into the tunnel, goes into the clubhouse, takes off his uniform and pouts, comes back with a t-shirt on.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like this guy went to his locker, got a t-shirt, and came out like the game was over because he wasn't in it.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then in the ninth inning, his speed, George Lombar Jr., I'm speaking of uh a glacius has the errant throw, and then this kid is running, and now we're all of a sudden like, you know, he's on third base, and we're like, okay, we got life, right?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's the kid sparking this.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then the last thing about Spencer Jones, as I said, I went out to Somerset um for two games.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: They were in the lineup together.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Spencer Jones and um George Lombar Jr.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: They they're they're close, they're buddies, they've played a lot of games together in double A and AAA, and I feel like Spencer Jones seeing his buddy on this level, it gives you a partner, it gives you somebody like you know that that you're you're familiar with that's doing this with you, and it helped.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Old timers Day turned into young timers day.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Those new young guys were the guys that stole the show, and it was so refreshing to see Spencer Jones come along because he's been sent up, he's been sent down, he's struggled.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: But Friday night, he had two balls that he hit hard, but not hard enough.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was saying weight room.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: He's got to hit the weight room, he's got to do some push-ups.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: He was he two balls that that could have gone out that it was just a little bit short.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Then he put bat the ball the next day, and he was a big part of us, you know, winning and taking the series on Saturday.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very encouraged with Spencer Jones, and I even am gonna take it a step forward.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Spencer Jones is our future center fielder.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: He should be getting reps in center field now.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, Trent Grisham, thanks for the memories and the clutch homers like he had in that last game Sunday.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he had some moments here, but he's had more bad moments than good.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to give him the qualifying offer.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: He's reverted back to what he always was.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's not gonna have another 34 home runs this year.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are we waiting on?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: Are we trying to justify the 22 million?
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna try and squeeze?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Everything out of Trent Grisham, he has to be the leadoff hitter every time he's in the lineup.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, I'm not married to him at center field.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also not married to him as the leadoff hitter.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think we need to try something else.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: And something else would be batting um Trent Grisham anywhere else.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't care if it's Heliot Ramos or Luis Garcia, those two new guys leading off.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm completely against George Lombard leading off.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: But in center field, I'm ready to see Spencer Jones play center field.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: When Belly comes back, it's Belly and left, Spencer Jones in center field, Heliot Ramos in right.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: They won't play Trent Grisham anywhere else but center field.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't do it in 2024 when Verdugo was stinking up the place.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: They refused to put Trent Grisham in left field.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: He's just a center fielder to them.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: His defense in center field is lacking now.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're watching balls go over his head.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's not getting the right break on the ball anymore.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: I just think it's expired.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: The return on investment with Trent Grisham that we got when we were paying him$5 million in 2025 was great.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: They doubled down on it and paid him$22 million this year.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's over.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a wrap.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you do get Belly back, Stanton back, Judge back, who's got to go?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, who are you sending down?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're not sending Lombard down.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Spencer Jones keeps this up, hitting home runs in both Chicago ballparks and playing good deep.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: You're not spending sending Spencer Jones down.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Someone's got to go.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm taking it there, bro.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like Trent Grisham is gonna be a candidate to be cut.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you do make a lot, a lot of good points there.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: And they didn't just double down on Trent Grisham, they quadrupled down on Trent Grisham.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: And which was so infuriating to me because I still have quote treating.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what are we doing?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: The Yankees thought that he wasn't gonna take the offer.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like they like they can say what they want.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't, he wasn't gonna take the offer.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, uh I do thank God the rosters expand in September because they're you're right.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's a lot of like I like Spencer Jones that more than I like uh Trent Grisham.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: The thing I like about Spencer Jones too, he's hitting well versus lefties.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's showing that he can hit versus lefties right away.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we know how much this Yankees team liked Platoon, Platoon, Platoon, Platoon, but it it infuriates me a little bit with the Trent Grisham move.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: $22 million for Trent Grisham.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Ryan McMahon,$16 million a year.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: There's just like things where you look at the GM and you're like, man, it could have gone better.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: But we're full steam ahead.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: We got two months left.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: How's your overall look on this team?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Can this team get it done?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Or do you think there's just too many holes?
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: And by the way, before I ask you that last question, I just want to put it on record that I am jinxing the Boston record uh Red Sox.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: I am jinxing the Boston Red Sox.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: It had to be said, it had to be said.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: I tweeted it, but it's time.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: Red Sox, congratulations on winning the World Series.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Give them a little golf clap.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: There it is.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: There it is.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: There it is.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, sorry about that.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just I said I had to do it before.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate your service.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm right there with you.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yankee fans were handing them the World Series last like Wednesday, Thursday.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm noticing that on online, and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, stop.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: I had a tweet because somebody was like, um, like, this looks like uh another Red Sox World Series team, and I put out a tweet saying, like, I don't expect them to keep this up for three months.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then right after that, they lose three games in a row.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Or actually, they they they won the first game against the A's, but then they lost Saturday, Sunday, and they lost last night.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're they got an L3, and now we have a two-game um separation from them, which is needed.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll say this how do I feel about the Yankees in the you know the next six weeks of the season?
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's put up or shut up time, it's crunch time.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: I had a post where I was like, make me a believer.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I always have to like say, well, you can't predict baseball and the ball can bounce anyway, and who knows what's gonna happen?
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: No, I want to have conviction, like these Red Sox fans had for a month and a half that they were the greatest team ever, right?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like I want to have conviction like that we can hit, that this new lineup is better, that we are getting healthy, that our pitching is the best in baseball, that we should win the American League.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like, go out there and hit and pitch and make the plays defensively.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Boone, you make the right calls on who's gonna pinch it, who's gonna come out of the bullpen, and let's ride.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's now or never.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: We are going into a lockout.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's now or never.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Cole, Stanton, Judge, they are aging out.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's now or never.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: The American League is weak.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the the Dodgers just had a seven-game losing streak.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe there's some chinks in their armor, maybe they're not as mighty as we thought.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if they are the team that comes out of the National League to meet us in the fall classic, like I want to run it back.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it wasn't like they just absolutely smoked us in 2024.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was closer than it seemed.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to see them rally around this new energy with George Lombard, Luis Garcia Jr., Heliot Ramos.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: I want to see Stanton, you know, Judge Belly come back in whatever order they come back.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Rodan is coming back, Clark Schmidt is coming back.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Make some moves with your bullpen and the rotation, whether they're moving Ryan Weathers or Will Warren into the bullpen.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Do what you got to do to shore this thing up.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you look at the schedule, like I want to sweep against the Mariners.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: The Rays just swept the Mariners.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Mariners don't know what they're doing anymore.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: They're selling off.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: They're, you know, they're trying to bring guys in.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Then go up to Toronto and exercise some demons.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Toronto sucks this year.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Go up there and take two out of three from them in a house of horrors.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Then go down to our home away from home, Yankee Stadium South, and bully on the the Orioles, who, you know, now Gunnar Henderson wants out.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: They traded Adley Rushman.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Go down there and take two out of three or sweep them.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Then the Blue Jays come home, or the blue we come home and the Blue Jays come to us.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a crucial homestand in the dog days of August.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: We've got three against the Blue Jays.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, Cody Bellinger will be back on the 21st for Cody Bellinger bobblehead night.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Take three two out of three from the Blue Jays.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then you got the Astros for three, their first place team, bully them and show that you're not worried about them and the passes in the pass.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then four games set against the Red Sox, where you have a double header.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you expect to win at least one of those games in a double header.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Take two of those other games and take that series.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: I just I don't know.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is it.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is the month.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think if you if you you set yourself up this month, the teams that you're gonna face in in September, the Angels, the Rockies, the Mets, the Twins, the Orioles, like you'll be you'll be sitting in a good spot.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe when you have those four games against Tampa, which also feature a doubleheader, it'll be close enough in the standings, like two or three games where you can swing that and maybe you can win first place.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's a super optimistic take.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: I know for a team that only scores two runs, that's super optimistic.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: But we're fans, that's how we're supposed to be, right?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to be uh glass half full, looking at the bright side of things, but they got to prove it, they gotta get it done, they gotta make us believers.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: Heath McPherson, consummate professional, knows ball, he knows ball.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: One thing we gotta say before we leave, again, thanks for coming on.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: As always, you're the best.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta pray for Aaron Judge's rib.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, as crazy as it sounds, the entire season looms on one man's rib.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: So everybody out there say a prayer for Aaron Judge.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Thank God for George Lombard Jr.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: and the kids for showing some sort of life because in the dog days of summer, baseball can get a little boring.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: I hate to say it, but it's true.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: Keith, thank you so much for coming on.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, prayers up.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's what Judge needs.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: There's no uh holistic methods or green tea or uh sleeping chamber.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: We all just gotta pray that he heals up.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: And the last thing I wanted to add was you know, shout out to Austin Wells.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have made Austin Wells the whipping boy.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now Trent Grisham is the whipping boy, even Jazz some.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: But if you look at Austin Wells in his last seven games and his last 15 games, he has started to hit better.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe him surviving the trade deadline has woke something up in him.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's gonna face off against the other guy that's most affected by the world baseball classic, two catchers and Cal Raleigh and Austin Wells, who have had terrible seasons after competing in the WBC.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: I hope Wells continues, and I hope these guys figure out how to hit and how to string together hits and not just rely on the home run and give our starting pitchers some run support.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: You're the man.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime you need me, you know I got you.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go, Yanks.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's push towards this postseason and see what happens.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: All right, everyone.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: You heard the man.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Have a great day.