Latest / Foul Territory / Carlos Rodón on Aaron Judge’s injury, Schlittler’s rise + Jim Salisbury discusses Philly October fears

Transcript

Carlos Rodón on Aaron Judge’s injury, Schlittler’s rise + Jim Salisbury discusses Philly October fears · Foul Territory

• 0:12
  Speaker 1: All right, Krauts' favorite time of the year.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Jim, we get to talk Phillies blowing it down the
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: stretch and their bullpen falling apart. And I'm sure the
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Phillies show has touched on this a lot. The latest
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: episode is, how can the Phillies fix the bullpen before October? Well, Jim,
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: they got about one week before.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: They can fix this.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: So I don't know if sending a Ryan Kirkering down
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: was the answer, but that's what they started with. What's
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: the fix to the Philly conundrum, which is their bullpen?
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: And it has been for years now.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: It has been. If you look at the last two Octobers, guys,
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: an ERA of over eight and a half with five
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: blown saves the last two Octobers. And that's just in
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: eight games. So how do you fix it here before October?
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: You pray a lot and you pray that Zach Wheeler
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: and Christopher Sanchez in games one and two go seven
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: plus each time in an era where We see a
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: lot of teams, you know, go to that bullpen early
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: in the postseason. I think the Phillies are going to
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: try to stretch out those two big starters and have
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: them be sort of their own bridge to the eighth
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: and ninth inning to Johan Duran and probably the setup guy, rookie,
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: untested rookie, Alex McFarlane, who's done a pretty good job.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: But the bullpen is more than just a conundrum. It
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: is a It is a weakness. In the month of September,
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: third worst ERA in Major League Baseball at five and
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: a half. And it's been a struggle all year out there.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: I mean, the irony is they finally fixed, at the
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: trade deadline last year, finally fixed the closer issue. But
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: many issues leading up to it, guys.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: So you said Alex McFarlane steps in, possibly. as the
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: eighth inning guy. Is there a scenario or is there
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: a lane that you see Jose Alvarado, who has been
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: a little bit better, getting significant outs? Or has he become,
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: at this point this season, has he become the guy
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: who maybe will get the seventh, eighth, ninth hitter out
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: if they're right-handed hitters because he can't get lefties out
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: this year?
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: I think he will get the ball at times and
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: get chances. And at that point, I think it becomes,
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: is he the hot hand if he keeps getting it?
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: His overall results have been pretty good lately in that
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: he's walking off the mound and getting high fives. But
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: it might be a little fool's gold, Kratzy, because in
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: his last 12 outings, last 12 games, he's allowed just
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: one run. But in that time, 17 base runners, 12 hits,
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: 5 walks. So, you know, he's kind of pitching around minefields. Results,
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: bottom line, good. But you worry about all those base
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: runners and how it's going to turn for you. But
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: not a lot out there in terms of the old
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: circle of trust. Duran, McFarlane, we'll see on Alvarado. We're
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: going to see... And the two big questions are, will
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: they augment that bullpen? I expect them to do so
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: in some way, shape, or form. Will they augment through
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: the starting rotation? I think you could see Andrew Painter
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: go out there. Never really done it, but we'll see.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: And I also think you could see Jesus Lozardo go
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: out there Obviously, he's on the I.L. with a tender shoulder,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: but he was able to throw on Sunday, and they
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: feel like they have the inflammation out of there. Whether
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: or not he can start, go deep, I don't know.
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: But if he gets the clearance health-wise to pitch, you
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: might see him as sort of a weapon out of
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: that bullpen, which would be a nice weapon potentially. but
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: he better be a hundred percent, percent healthy. Cause I
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: think it's a little bit risky for a guy who's
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: been down with the shoulder only because as you guys know,
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: I mean, relievers have to hit the gas pedal really hard,
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: really quick. And, um, with a tender shoulder, who knows
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: how that will work out. You have a big investment
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: in this guy in the future. You better be careful
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: with them, but the clock is ticking here on this nucleus,
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: on this team, on its post-season hopes. Um, On the
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: flip side, you've got to do everything you can to win.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Jim, I have two questions after what you just said. One,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: how the heck does Lozardo ever get hit? I mean,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: he's throwing 100-mile-an-hour turbo sinkers with a little cutter that's
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: like 93 that has tons of– I don't understand how
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: he can ever get hit.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: That's my first question, and especially from a lefty.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: And then my second question is, do they want to
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: really do that with Lozardo after the year he's had?
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: I mean, he's one of the best starting pitchers in baseball,
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: and he goes down with the shoulder, and shoulders are tricky, tricky.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: We always say, Kratz and I always say, if you
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: get a shoulder, that's a problem. But they really do
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: that to Lizardo and say, hey, you're going to throw
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: the seventh inning and three hitters, and he's going to go, okay.
• 5:47
  Speaker 5: I'm ready.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: That's been my big question. Ruben Amaro and I have
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: talked about that. Todd's lucky as well on our podcast.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: Just about, I mean, you know, you're going to come
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: out and just fire him immediately. I do think their
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: medical staff is very good.
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: Excellent.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: And if there's any doubt in their mind that he
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: can't do it, I don't think they're going to allow
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: him to do it. So maybe he becomes a starting
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: option in the second round. We're going to find out
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: a lot more here over the next five or six
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: days as that information continues to flush on out of there,
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: as his flat grounds become bullpen sessions. I don't think
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: they're going to do anything to jeopardize him going forward.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: Like I said, they have a big financial investment in him.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: I also think he's a smart enough guy not to
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: jeopardize his future, but if at all possible, then you
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: might have to give it a shot. Cause like I said,
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: stakes are really high as for how he gets hit.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: I don't know what a year he had from June
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: 10th until the time he went on the IL a
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: week ago today.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: No, no, no. I'm talking about Alvarado. I don't know.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: I know how I was. Hey, since Lizardo doesn't get it.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: I want to know how Alvarado gets hit because.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: That dude throws 100 turbo bowling ball sinkers with a
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: nasty cutter from the left side, and the lefties just
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: are like, no problem, I'll square this guy up.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Alvarado, the stuff is big. It's not as big
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: as it was, but, you know, his problem is, I think, strikes.
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: That's been his major problem. But he does tap dance
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: around some stuff. So if he could get on a
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: hot streak, it would really help them a lot.
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: All right, you said on your show, boy, this really
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: reminds me of the 2022 Phillies. You know, they just
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: so they snuck in.
• 7:44
  Speaker 5: Do you believe that?
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Because I was on the radio.
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: I was on the radio for the Phillies that year,
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: and I felt like they were on a crescendo that
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: season to get into the playoffs. And yes, they snuck
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: by the Cardinals. Yes, it was an error, I think,
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: by Tommy Edmond or somebody at second base. But I
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: felt like they were playing really well. This year feels
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: like they're limping into the playoffs. And there was question
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: marks then as there's question marks now.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: I thought they kind of limped in in 22. I'd
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: have to go back and look. But they had a
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: really tough road trip leading up to it. Put together
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: a couple wins in Washington. And then a big win
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: on a Friday night in Houston to get there. And
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: then they limped in. You know, if it was– that
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: was 22. If it was 21– They don't even get
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: in the postseason because there was only five wildcard teams.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: So they were only in there because there was the
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: extra wildcard team. And then they did get hot. They
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: kind of stole that first win in St. Louis. Didn't
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: really hit in that two-game series, but they stole one.
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: And then they got a big hit from Harper to
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: win that second game. But never did I feel like
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: they were clicking on all cylinders going into that postseason.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: I felt like there were question marks, and I feel
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: like there were big question marks with this team from
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: the inconsistent offense to the double, triple, bullface question mark bullpen.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: That said, the 22 team got hot coming out of St. Louis,
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: and you never know. Maybe this team can get hot.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: I think a lot of it lies with those two
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: big starters, Wheeler and Sanchez, maybe the possibility of getting
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Lizardo back. And thank goodness Aaron Nola has been really
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: good for two plus months because they're going to need
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: him as well.
• 9:38
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: And they ran into a poo poo starting rotation of
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: the Padres and they made it to the world series,
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: but it all took a big swing by Harper, which
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: is what I'm going to talk about. The offense. It's
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: one of those things that you say, Oh man, the bullpen,
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: terrible bullpen, terrible. And the offense is over here. Like,
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: I guess they're not really talking too much about us.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: Have you seen any glimpses of hopes or is it
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: going to be a Schwarber Harper home run or a
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: bomb RBI and other than that they weren't really don't
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: got much yeah that's.
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: About what they have been that's their history for a
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: few years now with the exception being August of this
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: year when they did so much right offensively from seeing
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: pitches to getting on base, they had the highest on
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: base percentage in the majors in that month. The hit
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: was runners in scoring position. They hit situationally and it
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: showed in their record 21 and seven in August, they
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: had a great month and their offense just clicked everywhere.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: You know, I think it was somewhat a reaction to
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: Louisa Rye is coming on, and I think maybe his
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: selectivity and his energy rubbed off on a few people.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: Certainly Bryce Harper had a fantastic month. But in a
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: lot of ways, they go when Bryce goes. And they
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: go when Turner goes. And that's been infrequent this year
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: as far as Turner. And they go when Schwarber goes.
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: Boehm has been an RBI guy now for two and
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: a half months. but off to that terrible start. But lately,
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: I think you can make a case he's been maybe
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: their best player for the last few weeks. But it
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: certainly would help if they could get a hot Bryce Harper,
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: a hot Trey Turner, and a hot Kyle Schwarber, because
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: those guys really make him go. There's a big drop-off.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: Once you get to that middle of that lineup, down,
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: like boom on down.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Can I just ask a question?
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: You didn't even mention a guy who was an all-star
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: this year and was leading the league in hitting for
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: about two months.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Brandon Marsh.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Have you ever seen anyone just disappear the way Brandon
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: Marsh has? He might not even start in the postseason.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: And he was, you can make an argument, was their
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: best hitter early in the year.
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: Oh, he was. At one point, he was the majors'
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: leading hitter. You know, it's really confounding. You know, I
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: just see a hitter that's not nearly as confident. And
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: going back to some old ways of chasing... I also
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: think he's being pitched a lot tougher. I think, you know,
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: that streak he had, which actually dated back to the
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: previous season, he was really good for like a calendar year.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: And I think the pitching woke up to him and said, okay,
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: this guy's a tough out. And he, all of a
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: sudden he can begin being pitched a lot differently and
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: a lot tougher. And he has not adjusted with it. He,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: at one point, Early in his time here, last year
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: he was a platoon guy. This year he was playing
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: every day. He was playing against lefties. He was hitting lefties.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: But this deep, deep second half slump, he's back to
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: being a platoon player again. So they really, really miss him.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: As you know, having a bat like that, an extra
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: bat in that lineup, really lengthens things. And it's just
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: not there right now. And it's been kind of tough
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: to see. Because he was so good in that first half,
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: playing himself onto the all-star game was a great story.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: And it just hasn't happened for him. So I don't
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: know if it's going to happen here in the next
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: few weeks, but they certainly could use him if it does.
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: All right. Last question for me about the offense. Is
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: the base running something that won't come up in the playoffs?
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: Because teams don't build teams around base running. They build
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: teams around homers and, oh, it doesn't matter in the playoffs.
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: Their base running has been what it has been, probably
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: statistically one of the worst base running teams that we've
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: seen in a long time. Can they make an adjustment,
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: or is this just who they are? Because you only
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: have a week left.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: Well, they had a spate of base running mistakes about
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: two weeks ago, early in this month, where it was
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: like every night. you were like sitting there waiting for
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: the next base running blunder. And these were not ordinary
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: base running blunders. They were costing them games. We haven't
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: seen him as much in the last few days. In fact,
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Trey Turner made a couple of great base running plays
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: first night in New York Thursday night to help them
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: win that ball game. So I don't know if they're
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: going to rear their head. They ran the bases poorly
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: last October. They didn't play good defense. They didn't get
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: good bullpen work. They blew leads. All the things you
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: can't do in the postseason. They didn't make enough contact.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: So any one of those shortcomings, as you guys know,
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: can rear its head at any time in October in
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: a tight ball game and bounce you from a series.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: So has the poor base running been flushed? We'll find out.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: But if they have one bad night on the base
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: paths in a close game, That might be the run
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: that gets you knocked out. Just like defense. All year long,
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: defense has been an issue. They need to play. If
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: they're going to go where they want to go, they
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: need to play their best three weeks of baseball all season.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: I don't know if they can do that. They need
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: to replicate August. Can they do that?
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: We'll find out. It's the beauty of the postseason. It's very.
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: A team can get hot and do things. But when
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: you see the flaws that the Phillies have, it can
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: influence your faith in how you believe they're going to
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: come out of it.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: Well, maybe they can hang around people that do all
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: the exact same things that you're saying they're not doing.
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: And they play Milwaukee Brewers for three days. Is there
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: anything that you'll be able to glean from that series?
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: gleaning from like looking at because they're not going to
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: face Miz and even when Miz threw he threw three
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: innings last night and you know so you're looking at
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: a team that's trying to make sure they solidify that
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: top spot which looks locked in but also get ready
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: is there anything you can glean from playing the best
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: team in a national league here down the stretch well
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: I think even I.
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: Guess Milwaukee is still technically playing for the best record
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: in baseball, though. They have it. What are they up to?
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: I think, um, yeah, up to, so, I mean, I
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: think Milwaukee is going to play. They're not going to
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: throw Ms or anybody like that, but, uh, I don't
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: think Murphy's a guy who's going to like totally, you know,
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: coast and let his team coast. So I want to
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: see good at bats. I want to see good defense.
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: I want to see wheels look like wheels. He's, had
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: four really good ones. He had that six-game slump from
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: late June to basically most of August. And his last
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: four have been really, really good. So you want to
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: see him continue to shine. You want to see Nola
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: have another good one. You want to see if Alvarado
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: can have a couple good ones here. So I think
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: there's things to glean, not necessarily measuring yourself against the Brewers,
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: just you know your own team. You know when you're clicking.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: They need to do things the right way. They need
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: to have good at-bats, play good defense, run the bases
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: like you talked about, and go into the postseason with
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: a little confidence. They haven't played well lately, and they've
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: cost themselves probably. There's a good chance they might have
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: cost themselves a chance to open up at home, maybe
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: against the Cubs. As it stands today, They could be
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: going back to Atlanta where they've, you know, Atlanta's 9-4
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: against them this season. They could open up in Atlanta
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: against Chris Sale, who's dominated them this year. And that's
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: because they have slipped to the final seed in the
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: National League. Only a game out of moving up. So
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: we'll see how this final week shakes out. But there
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: are reasons the Phillies need to play good. One, to
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: show themselves they can play good and go into October
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: on a roll. And two, possibly avoid a matchup with Atlanta,
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: which can be difficult based on what we've seen this year,
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: but who knows? 22 and 23, they beat the Braves,
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: and they weren't favored in either series. They beat the
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: Braves in the postseason both times, so who the heck knows?
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: You've got to play the games.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: Jim, that was going to be my question.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: How important is it for them not to, for them
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: to host, to host these, you know, they were forever,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: it was like they were the four seed, right, the
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: one wild card. Now, Then they slipped to the two seed.
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: And now they're all the way down there at the
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: three seed. How important is it for them to get
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: these games in Philadelphia with the crowd behind them, cheering
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: and getting raucous?
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: And, you know, like you said, maybe avoid the Braves.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: Although in the last, you know, the postseason recently, it
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: hasn't really mattered to them. So how important would it
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: be for them to get these games at home?
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: Well, they've struggled a little bit here at home the
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: last couple of Octobers, but I don't care. I'd much rather...
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: you know, if I'm them, I'd much rather play at
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: home where you have, you know, a raucous fan base where,
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: you know, the reputation precedes itself. You know, when the
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: opposing team comes in, they know they're going to hear it.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: They know this is a tough place to play. I
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: think it can be beneficial, even though, like I said,
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: they've struggled the last two years at home, but I'm
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: not sure they're going to get it. I'm not sure
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: they're going to get it because they haven't done enough lately.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: But there are six games left, and it is stacked
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: up close enough where you just never know. But going
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: into Atlanta will not be easy, and not because it's
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: Truist Field and not because they've struggled there this year,
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: more so because In the three-game series, Chris Sale is
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: daunting in game number one.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: That's fair.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: That's fair.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: By the way, plus if they had at home Eric
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Craston try to get free tickets from the guys at
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: the Phillies show, he.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: Might be able to make a game if we let him.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: If we let him.
• 20:24
  Speaker 5: If.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: It's a big if, though, Jim.
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of ifs that have to happen in
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: order for Craston to be able to go to a
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: Phillies game.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: So, for the best.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Phillies coverage in the world, I'll say it, I'll say
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: it right there on the podcast platform or pretty much anywhere.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Tune into the Phillies show with Jim, Todd Zielecki, and
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: Ruben Amaro Jr.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: For the best Phillies content. Like I said, it's the
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: best in the game.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: If you haven't listened to it, they have the best
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: logo in our logo game also.
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: I have to admit.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: We love the Phillies show. Jim, thank you so much. Cratch,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: clinching post-season burst. Geez, a lot of teams have already clinched.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: You know what that means? Seat geek.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: You can start playing ahead and start buying your post-season tickets.
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: On seat geek.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: Just because you're not a fan of those teams, though,
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: doesn't mean that these last games of the season aren't
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: going to be electric. It doesn't matter who you're playing.
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: You're playing the worst team, the game matters. You're playing
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: the best team, the game matters. You've got to get
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: on seat geek and look ahead for when your team's.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: In the home. Find the seat you want. If it's green,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: it means a good deal.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: If it's red, eh, not so much, but you might
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: love the seat and you might love the angle and
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: you might get a foul ball. So go on SeatGeek,
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: find the game you want, find the matchup you want,
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: and go watch the game because it's Major League Baseball
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: and it matters down the stretch.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Pennant Fever is on.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: You can use the code TERRITORY10 for 10% off your
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: next set of MLB tickets at SeatGeek. That's 10% off
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: MLB tickets with promo code TERRITORY10. Make sure you click
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: the link in the description to download the app and
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: have the code automatically added to your account so you.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Can use it later.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: Towing the rubber, let's welcome Yankee starting pitcher and Roberto
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: Clemente nominee, Carlos Rodon. One of my favorite people to
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: talk to. He's always been one of my favorite people
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: to talk to. Always very genuine with his time and
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: awesome to talk to. So, Carlos, first of all, do
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: you want to talk Yankees first? Do you want to
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: talk Roberto Clemente first? Do you want to talk about
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: you first? Which one do you want to talk about?
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: Whatever keeps everyone engaged. How about that?
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: Okay, let's start with the Yankees and then we'll get
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: to your charity because we've talked about this before and
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: I love what you do and We're going to spend
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: a lot of time on that.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: How about this?
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: We spend less time on the Yankees because I'm sure
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: all Yankees people are tired of answering Yankees questions. So
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: we'll start with that, keep it short, and then we'll
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: go into your charity and all the work you and
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: your wife do.
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: How's that?
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: Perfect. Thank you.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: Okay, perfect.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Are you going to rub Aaron Judge's calf every day
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: until it gets better?
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: Whatever works. If I have to give up my calf,
• 22:50
  Speaker 5: I'll do whatever we need for him to be on
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: the field.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Goat's milk.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: It wasn't that little giants didn't they rub Goats milk
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: into his thighs every night?
• 23:01
  Speaker 5: I don't know. Maybe if it works, we'll try it.
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: When you see your star, your captain, go down like that,
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: talk about what the locker room is like in the
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: sense of you care for him, yes.
• 23:16
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: But what everybody always says, you got to go out
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: and play the next day. You can't be like, hey–
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: is Aaron judge coming out here? Like, is he, you
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: guys know he's not in there. How do you guys
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: surround him? But how do you guys also like ask questions? Like,
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: how's it feeling? How, how like into it are you?
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: Or are you just like, when we see him in
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: the lineup, we see.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Him in the lineup.
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 23:36
  Speaker 6: I mean, it's one of those things where, like you said,
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: even we have to go out and play regardless, um,
• 23:41
  Speaker 6: with or without them, which sucks.
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: Cause you know, to us and to me, he's the
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: best player in the world, the best hitter in this league.
• 23:48
  Speaker 6: And when you don't have that caliber of bat in
• 23:50
  Speaker 6: the lineup, it, uh, it makes it a little harder
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: to win games because, you know, he produces runs at a,
• 23:55
  Speaker 6: at a big clip.
• 23:57
  Speaker 5: You know, it sucks, you know, for him personally.
• 24:01
  Speaker 6: And I've been in a situation where you're on the
• 24:04
  Speaker 6: aisle for a while, you come off and you go
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: back on. It's just a, it's a frustrating, it's a
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: very frustrating process because all you.
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: Want to do is play.
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: I mean, all you want to do is compete and, and,
• 24:16
  Speaker 6: you know, to win games for your team. And, him
• 24:19
  Speaker 6: not being able to be in the lineup. I mean,
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: I'm sure it's excruciating for him to not be able
• 24:23
  Speaker 6: to play in this moment. And, you know, you don't
• 24:26
  Speaker 6: walk on eggshells, but it's one of those things where
• 24:30
  Speaker 6: everyone understands, you know, where he's at and you don't,
• 24:33
  Speaker 6: you don't ask them, you know, sometimes you do, you know,
• 24:36
  Speaker 6: how you feel, maybe checking in, but like you said,
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: he'll be in the lineup.
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: And when he's in the lineup, you know, he's, he's
• 24:41
  Speaker 5: there to do damage and hopefully it's soon.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: Carlos, before I, before I ask you my next question,
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: I know where you are. You're in that little office
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: outside of Aaron Boone's office. Is Zillow so mad because
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: I've never seen anyone in that chair except for Zillow.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: And people don't know Zillow is the PR person for
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: the White Sox. No one I've ever, I've never, every
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: time I've been in that room, Zillow has been in
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: that chair.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: So is he lost? He doesn't know where to go
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: right now while you're sitting in his chair.
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: Oh no, it's an off day. So, well, we're not
• 25:11
  Speaker 6: playing today. I'm sure he's at home or whatever. So I've, uh,
• 25:14
  Speaker 6: kind of taking.
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: Over the office. I'm sure if he watches this, he'll
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: see me in here and we'll have some words or something.
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: Sorry.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: I think I said he's PR for the White Sox. Sorry.
• 25:21
  Speaker 6: No, I'm sorry.
• 25:22
  Speaker 5: He's Yankees. It's okay. Yeah.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: I still picture you as a White Sox. You always
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: been a White Sox. I appreciate that. Yeah. You know
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: what though?
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: I thought there'd be like a force field around that
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: chair where like he had to have a, he had
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: to punch in a code or anyone else to sit
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: in it. So that's, that's pretty awesome that you got
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: to sit in the, in the throne of Zillow, the
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: PR master of the Yankees.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: So, So thanks, by the way, thanks for coming in
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: on off day, even, even better.
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: So no, I was here already. So, but thank you.
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: Thanks for having me. Okay.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: I appreciate it. And it let's talk. I know judge
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: is a huge part. Stanton's obviously missing the whole, most
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: of the year, right?
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: For you guys.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: How good has been rice and some of the other
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: guys that have stepped up though, right? Like, like Ben
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: rice has been amazing, right? Caballero has done his part.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: Volpe since he's come back has done his part, right?
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: It's like every day. It's not just this year. It
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: hasn't been just judge and Stan hitting home runs. It's
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: kind of been a, Everybody in different times has done
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: different things, and some of the new guys you've brought
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: in have been amazing also.
• 26:16
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, Ben has built on off the year
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: he had last year.
• 26:19
  Speaker 6: There was a lot of upside, obviously, with the power
• 26:22
  Speaker 6: that he showed early on last year. And he was just,
• 26:27
  Speaker 6: you know, it seems like he became comfortable. He became comfortable.
• 26:30
  Speaker 6: You know, he had a good idea of what he
• 26:32
  Speaker 6: wanted to do at the plate. And, you know, the
• 26:36
  Speaker 6: swing speaks for itself. I mean, you see the power numbers.
• 26:39
  Speaker 6: You know, the OPS is up there.
• 26:40
  Speaker 5: I mean, we're talking, what do we have? 39 homers.
• 26:43
  Speaker 5: There it is.
• 26:44
  Speaker 6: 39 homers.
• 26:45
  Speaker 5: Um, you know, a lethal left-handed bat.
• 26:47
  Speaker 6: And then, you know, we had some couple of guys, obviously,
• 26:50
  Speaker 6: like you said, Volpe coming back up, you know, um,
• 26:54
  Speaker 6: it's playing a great second base, a position change in
• 26:57
  Speaker 6: the middle of the season or at the end of
• 26:58
  Speaker 6: the season, swinging the bat. Great. Now, um, Lombard has
• 27:01
  Speaker 6: been really good for us as well. And then, uh,
• 27:05
  Speaker 6: the one guy that really has stood out to me
• 27:07
  Speaker 6: is Spencer Jones. Um, plugged him in in center field, uh,
• 27:13
  Speaker 6: left on left. He's been really great. Uh, which I
• 27:15
  Speaker 6: don't know if all of us were, obviously we expect
• 27:18
  Speaker 6: him to be, you know, have big power at the,
• 27:21
  Speaker 6: at the plate, but left on left, the, uh, the
• 27:23
  Speaker 6: abilities had left on left.
• 27:24
  Speaker 5: Has been, uh, I guess beyond at least what I
• 27:28
  Speaker 5: was thinking. So, I mean, he's, he's put.
• 27:30
  Speaker 6: Together some great at bats, obviously throughout the last months. And,
• 27:33
  Speaker 6: you know, he's got 11 homers, 11 homers now. Um,
• 27:37
  Speaker 6: And he's kind of more of like a five-tool player
• 27:39
  Speaker 6: to me. I mean, Spencer Jones, I mean, there's a
• 27:42
  Speaker 6: high ceiling for him. He's got a lot of ability.
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: So I'm excited to see what he becomes for us.
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: Everybody sees the Yankees as like, you know, buttoned up,
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: no beards. Now you guys got the beards. It feels
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: like you guys are a little bit more relaxed in
• 27:57
  Speaker 4: that sense.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: How do you guys treat the rookies?
• 28:00
  Speaker 4: Because teams that want to win the World Series, I
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: always feel like treat rookies differently than teams who are like,
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: you got veterans are kind of pissed at their life.
• 28:09
  Speaker 4: And then they're like, Oh man, like I want to,
• 28:12
  Speaker 4: how do the Yankees, because you just spoke about two,
• 28:15
  Speaker 4: two veterans. I mean, two yet two rookies that are
• 28:18
  Speaker 4: going to have big spots for you in this postseason.
• 28:22
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 28:22
  Speaker 6: I mean, look, we're there's, you know, there's a little
• 28:25
  Speaker 6: bit of playfulness with our young guys, but all in all,
• 28:28
  Speaker 6: we want those guys to be comfortable. I mean, playing
• 28:31
  Speaker 6: for the New York Yankees and playing in the Bronx
• 28:33
  Speaker 6: can be, it can be a bit heavy, but it
• 28:36
  Speaker 6: comes with the territory.
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: And all of us love it. But, you know, whatever
• 28:40
  Speaker 5: to make those.
• 28:40
  Speaker 6: Guys comfortable, especially, you know, the guys that play every day,
• 28:44
  Speaker 6: the position players that need to step up in the
• 28:45
  Speaker 6: lineup and produce every day as.
• 28:48
  Speaker 5: Comfortable as we can make them and just make them
• 28:52
  Speaker 5: feel welcome here. I think that's our biggest thing.
• 28:54
  Speaker 6: It's nothing insane. It's, you know, it's not like it
• 28:57
  Speaker 6: used to be 15, 20 years ago or the, you.
• 28:58
  Speaker 5: Know, did a hazing or you got to do this,
• 29:03
  Speaker 5: you got to do that. I think the biggest thing
• 29:05
  Speaker 5: is just getting them comfortable and playing.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: Wait, didn't you dress them up not long ago? Didn't
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: you guys dress up the rookies?
• 29:12
  Speaker 5: Yeah, see, a little bit. Just a little. Not much,
• 29:14
  Speaker 5: you know. A little here and there. Sprinkle it in.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: That's fair. That's fair. Yeah, there was a little bit.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: I saw you dressed them up as, like, Mario character.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Or Sesame Street. Was it Sesame Street?
• 29:24
  Speaker 6: No, we did, like, more of, like, I don't even, like,
• 29:28
  Speaker 6: more of a Bavarian, like, almost Oktoberfest style outfit.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Okay, that's fair. that's fair i like that i like
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: that but um.
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: What is it what does this sound like to i
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: don't know how to even ask this question because it's
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: crazy to me but like schlittler now is number one
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: right and then you have cole and then you have
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: freed you're in a rotation where you're the fourth guy
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: is that's like um because you were you've been so
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: good for so long and then you look up and
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: you're like man i.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: I'm the fourth guy in this rotation? First of all,
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: did you see it coming with Cam?
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: And then second of all, did you ever look back
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: and think, man, I'm going to be in a rotation
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: that's good enough to where I'll be the fourth guy, possibly?
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: I mean, look, I don't mind it. Whatever helps us win.
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: With Cam, last year, obviously, he had a really good
• 30:19
  Speaker 5: half a season. And obviously, you.
• 30:22
  Speaker 6: Could see the ability with the explosive fastball, swing and miss.
• 30:28
  Speaker 6: the biggest thing is he's a guy that controls his own,
• 30:30
  Speaker 6: you know, low walk numbers. I mean, the whip's low,
• 30:34
  Speaker 6: he's always attacking. And then, you know, this year he
• 30:36
  Speaker 6: built off that once again, another guy, you know, like
• 30:38
  Speaker 6: Ben Rice, he, he built off his, his half season
• 30:41
  Speaker 6: last year and just ran with it. I mean, he's
• 30:44
  Speaker 6: been dominant. One of the better seasons from a starting pitcher.
• 30:49
  Speaker 6: I mean, in a long time, I don't know, I
• 30:52
  Speaker 6: don't have numbers to compare other starting pitchers that have
• 30:55
  Speaker 6: had seasons that like that the last 10 years, but, um,
• 30:59
  Speaker 6: I'm sure there's a few and there's names that we know,
• 31:01
  Speaker 6: but he's.
• 31:02
  Speaker 5: Been, uh, he's been an ace. He's been a true ace. And, um,
• 31:06
  Speaker 5: it's just good to see those guys just.
• 31:08
  Speaker 6: Get comfortable with, you know, where they're at their surroundings
• 31:11
  Speaker 6: and just produce at such a young age produce here
• 31:14
  Speaker 6: in pinstripes, which is, is really hard to do for,
• 31:17
  Speaker 6: you know, any player at any age.
• 31:18
  Speaker 5: So, I mean, those two guys have truly.
• 31:21
  Speaker 6: They've kind of Without Aaron around and G around, they've
• 31:25
  Speaker 6: kind of carried us and kept us in this position
• 31:27
  Speaker 6: to compete. So, you know, obviously we're grateful for them.
• 31:32
  Speaker 6: And as far as my role, you know, it's nice
• 31:34
  Speaker 6: to have, you know, Cam Sliller at the head with
• 31:36
  Speaker 6: Max and G and just me showing up behind.
• 31:39
  Speaker 5: It makes it easy for me just to go out
• 31:41
  Speaker 5: there and pitch. So it's nice.
• 31:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a nice luxury to have. But I question,
• 31:49
  Speaker 4: now we've seen him get trolled in the last– I
• 31:52
  Speaker 4: don't know, probably last month, even an umpire trolled Aaron
• 31:57
  Speaker 4: Boone's post game, you know, where he's here. Can you
• 32:01
  Speaker 4: explain to us what it is? Or can you say like,
• 32:05
  Speaker 4: do the guys talk about it? Will you all do
• 32:07
  Speaker 4: it as a team sometime where you're trolling Booney?
• 32:11
  Speaker 5: I have no idea.
• 32:12
  Speaker 6: It was brought to my attention from cam himself. Cause
• 32:15
  Speaker 6: cam kind of does the same thing when he does
• 32:17
  Speaker 6: it just to, just to be funny, you know, kind
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: of just to rage bait him. But, I have no
• 32:23
  Speaker 6: idea what it means or what it signifies.
• 32:25
  Speaker 5: I don't even know.
• 32:25
  Speaker 6: I don't even think he's really looking at anybody in
• 32:28
  Speaker 6: the stands. I think it's just, I have no idea.
• 32:32
  Speaker 5: I'm sure he is. He says he's looking at someone,
• 32:34
  Speaker 5: but I have no idea what's going on there. Okay.
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: Can you explain it? Cause I don't even know what
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: y'all are talking about right now.
• 32:40
  Speaker 6: It's like the Gabe ends and he he'll like, look up.
• 32:43
  Speaker 6: Sometimes it's like third deck on the, anytime we win
• 32:47
  Speaker 6: and he'll do like this thing, like, like this or something.
• 32:50
  Speaker 6: I don't even know what it is.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 32:52
  Speaker 5: No point. No point.
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 32:55
  Speaker 4: It's a whole thing. Adam Hamari even did it like
• 32:57
  Speaker 4: the whole, the whole crew. And they were all, they
• 32:59
  Speaker 4: were all smiling about it.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: And they were.
• 33:01
  Speaker 4: Like, and even Casey Dykes, the assistant hitting coach, he
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: was out and there, you know, they all stand out.
• 33:10
  Speaker 4: It's a, it's a good, it's a good shtick. And
• 33:12
  Speaker 4: I love anytime somebody tries to like rage bait, as
• 33:15
  Speaker 4: you said.
• 33:15
  Speaker 5: But yeah, I love that.
• 33:17
  Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah.
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: I'm going to have to look for that now. Does
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: he point to different people in the stand? At home, it's.
• 33:27
  Speaker 6: Like over first base. Maybe it's second deck. Over the
• 33:30
  Speaker 6: first base dugout, kind of angled.
• 33:33
  Speaker 4: Family section.
• 33:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah, family section usually. On the road, it's usually right
• 33:40
  Speaker 5: behind the dugout. I don't even know where he was looking,
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: to be honest. That's no idea.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: That's so great. I love that hook. Next time I
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: do a game, I'm going to just look at him
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: and go like, and see what he says.
• 33:51
  Speaker 5: Two from the boots.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: Or no, when we have our meeting in that room
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: that you're in right now, I'm just first, I'm like,
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: when he, cause you, what, what Booney does when you
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: sit down with him in the room, he sits in
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: the blue chair.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: That's to, well, on the screen, it's to that.
• 34:06
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: That's what, yeah. The little blue chair.
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: Sits there and he just looks at you and he
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: crosses his legs and he kind of puts his arms
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: like this and he just goes, well, what do you got?
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: So next time I'm just going to go, I got that.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Let's see what he does.
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, he's awesome. He's awesome to interview. I love
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: talking to Booney. He's one of the all-time because he
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: gets that we have a job to do, and he
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: understands that because he did it. So let's go to
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: you a little bit. Let's talk about you and your foundation.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: You're the Roberto Clemente Award nominee for the Yankees. This
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: is not your first time being nominated, is it?
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: This is my second time. Last year as well.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, that's awesome.
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: And for people that don't know, You and your wife
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: have a mission to support couples facing infertility and pregnancy
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: loss by providing financial assistance and resources to afford IVF,
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: and that's in vitro fertilization for people who have a
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: hard time getting pregnant. I'm just going to let you
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: talk about it, what you and your wife do, the
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: amazing job you all have done, and then we're going
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: to go from there.
• 35:08
  Speaker 5: Yeah, so this started a few years ago. Well, three now.
• 35:16
  Speaker 6: We knew at a young age that we wanted to
• 35:19
  Speaker 6: help people, but we didn't know what avenue we were
• 35:22
  Speaker 6: going to take. We knew we wanted to help, give money,
• 35:24
  Speaker 6: whatever we could, time, whatever it was. And when we
• 35:29
  Speaker 6: started trying to have kids, we were struggling. Ashley had
• 35:32
  Speaker 6: a few miscarriages, and obviously that affected her greatly. And
• 35:36
  Speaker 6: for me, it was one of those things where I
• 35:39
  Speaker 6: felt like I had no control over the situation, didn't
• 35:41
  Speaker 6: really know what to do. because I just wanted to
• 35:44
  Speaker 6: fix it, which was frustrating. And there really wasn't much
• 35:47
  Speaker 6: I could do. Um, we started on our journey of infertility. We,
• 35:50
  Speaker 6: you know, met with a few doctors, um, but we
• 35:53
  Speaker 6: were fortunate. We were blessed that we're able to have
• 35:55
  Speaker 6: willow naturally. And eventually we ended up having three kids
• 35:59
  Speaker 6: in the end. Um, and that kind of hit us.
• 36:02
  Speaker 6: That's when we knew, you know, what route we wanted
• 36:04
  Speaker 6: to take to help people. And so we started, you know,
• 36:07
  Speaker 6: the Carlos for Don foundation and the willow grant a
• 36:10
  Speaker 6: few years ago. to, uh, raise money for infertility, people
• 36:13
  Speaker 6: that struggle for infertility. Um, and we basically give out
• 36:16
  Speaker 6: grants to those families that want to have children. And
• 36:19
  Speaker 6: that's led us here now three years down the road
• 36:22
  Speaker 6: where we've had three galas. And this year we raised
• 36:25
  Speaker 6: over a million dollars. Um, we've helped 41 families right now.
• 36:29
  Speaker 6: We have 15 babies on the way. I think we've
• 36:31
  Speaker 6: had not us, but the families that we've helped have
• 36:34
  Speaker 6: had three children thus far. So, you know, a lot
• 36:37
  Speaker 6: of good has, has come from this. Um, And we're fortunate.
• 36:40
  Speaker 6: We're fortunate that we have the Yankees behind us, letting
• 36:43
  Speaker 6: us use their platform to push us forward to help
• 36:45
  Speaker 6: these people, these families.
• 36:46
  Speaker 5: That want to have children.
• 36:49
  Speaker 6: And, you know, one of the greatest, most beautiful things
• 36:52
  Speaker 6: in life is to start a family and help people
• 36:56
  Speaker 6: grow that family.
• 36:57
  Speaker 5: That's what we're here for. So thanks for giving us
• 36:59
  Speaker 5: the opportunity here.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt.
• 37:02
  Speaker 4: Thanks for doing this. This is such a special foundation
• 37:07
  Speaker 4: that you started.
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: What is the.
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: what is the best way for people to get involved
• 37:12
  Speaker 4: besides just giving money, but what's the best way to
• 37:16
  Speaker 4: get involved in this foundation?
• 37:18
  Speaker 6: So the road on foundation.org, um, we have grant cycles
• 37:23
  Speaker 6: that happen throughout the year. We announce them, you know,
• 37:25
  Speaker 6: through our, uh, through our socials. Um, and basically if
• 37:30
  Speaker 6: you know someone that, you know, is struggling with infertility
• 37:33
  Speaker 6: and who needs help with the cost, you can go
• 37:35
  Speaker 6: to the road on foundation.org. We usually have, uh, grant
• 37:39
  Speaker 6: cycles that come up, uh, throughout the year. And, uh,
• 37:44
  Speaker 6: that's pretty much it, you know, obviously giving money is great,
• 37:47
  Speaker 6: but you know, maybe.
• 37:48
  Speaker 5: There's people that, you know, that need help and they
• 37:50
  Speaker 5: can take that route as well.
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: So someone whose family has been affected by this, uh,
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: I know how important IVF is. I have a lot
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: of friends, a lot of family that have been through this, uh, and,
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: and how expensive it can be and how expensive it
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: can get. Cause it doesn't always work the first time.
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: Sometimes it takes multiple rounds. in order to get there.
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, people that want to have children and then
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: they can't, sometimes they can't do it naturally that have
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: to go through this. Until you know someone that goes
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: through this, you really don't understand the cost, not only financially,
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: but emotionally and mentally of what it puts people through.
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: So for you and your wife actually to do this
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: is absolutely incredible. I hope that everyone will go to
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: the little QR code on the bottom of the corner
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: of the TV screen.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: Just click on it.
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: If you can give a dollar, $ 5, $ 2, whatever you
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: can give, 50 cents, it all helps. And it goes
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: to a great foundation, and it goes to something that
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: we need in this world, quite frankly. People helping people and,
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: you know, talk about all you want, but people helping
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: people is great.
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: Here it is. How to vote.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: Takes less than a minute. Click on the link. It's
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: like Carlos Rodon, New York Yankees. You can vote for
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: him to win the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award. He's the
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: nominee for the Yankees. By the way, before we let
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: you go, I just want to hit on this a
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: little bit more. What would the Roberto Clemente Award mean
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: to you? I know the work that you do is
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: so special, right? But I know like Adam Wainwright has
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: won this and he's talked about, I see him all
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: the time and he talks about how cool it is
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: to win this award. If you were able to win
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: this award, besides the fact that, you know, it brings
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: light to your foundation, what would it mean to your
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: family and to all the people you help?
• 39:27
  Speaker 6: Well, listen, you know, this, uh, first of all, it
• 39:30
  Speaker 6: would be an honor, you know, the biggest thing is,
• 39:34
  Speaker 6: you know, it's not just, you know, just me.
• 39:38
  Speaker 5: Uh, my wife actually has a lot to do with
• 39:40
  Speaker 5: this as well.
• 39:40
  Speaker 6: She's, uh, she's the quarterback of this and together, you know, we,
• 39:44
  Speaker 6: we make it what it is. And like I said,
• 39:47
  Speaker 6: winning this award for me, you know, obviously be an honor,
• 39:49
  Speaker 6: but it's a reflection of, uh.
• 39:52
  Speaker 5: Of our family.
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: And, you know, for us, I think it's something that
• 39:57
  Speaker 6: we want our kids to see so that they, as
• 40:00
  Speaker 6: they grow older and they become adults, we want them
• 40:03
  Speaker 6: to help people as well, whatever avenue they take, um,
• 40:07
  Speaker 6: just helping people, whatever it is. Um, I think that's
• 40:11
  Speaker 6: what we'd be most proud of that our children, if
• 40:13
  Speaker 6: we were to win this down the road, they'd said, Oh,
• 40:16
  Speaker 6: My dad and mom won the Roberto Clemente Award, whatever
• 40:20
  Speaker 6: year it was.
• 40:20
  Speaker 5: And hopefully it.
• 40:24
  Speaker 6: Gives them the opportunity to help people down the road. Obviously,
• 40:31
  Speaker 6: it's a reflection of our family and the people that
• 40:34
  Speaker 6: have helped not only me throughout my life, whether it's coaches, teachers,
• 40:37
  Speaker 6: obviously my parents, Ashley's parents as well, her teachers, her family.
• 40:42
  Speaker 5: So it's not just an honor for me. It's an
• 40:44
  Speaker 5: honor for our whole family.
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: Well, we talked to you in New York and now
• 40:48
  Speaker 4: when you talk today, you said Ashley's kind of like,
• 40:51
  Speaker 4: she's the quarterback, she's the head of this. When you
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: get the trophy, when you get the Roberto Calente trophy,
• 40:56
  Speaker 4: because everybody needs to go and vote, is she going
• 40:59
  Speaker 4: to put it in her trophy case or will it
• 41:02
  Speaker 4: be like a family centerpiece?
• 41:05
  Speaker 5: In the middle, in the middle, in the middle.
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: In the middle.
• 41:07
  Speaker 5: It means a lot to me too.
• 41:10
  Speaker 3: It does.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: I'm sure it does.
• 41:12
  Speaker 4: But, you know, I mean, as a player, you put
• 41:14
  Speaker 4: in a lot of work to play and like, when
• 41:16
  Speaker 4: your wife is involved with something, you want to get
• 41:18
  Speaker 4: behind that the way that she gets me or our
• 41:21
  Speaker 4: wives get behind us when we play, because you are
• 41:24
  Speaker 4: really the center of attention. And with this, I think
• 41:26
  Speaker 4: it's cool that she's really, you know, taking the bull
• 41:29
  Speaker 4: by the horns for this.
• 41:31
  Speaker 5: Yeah. She loves it.
• 41:32
  Speaker 6: It's, it truly is a labor of love. I mean,
• 41:34
  Speaker 6: she puts a lot of time and effort in this,
• 41:36
  Speaker 6: you know, we're on the couch. Some nights we're leading,
• 41:38
  Speaker 6: we're reading over, we're reading over just little memos of people,
• 41:44
  Speaker 6: hoping for a grant and, you know, we have to
• 41:46
  Speaker 6: make decisions on who gets a grant and what, which
• 41:49
  Speaker 6: kind of makes it hard because, you know, if we could,
• 41:52
  Speaker 6: we'd give everyone a grant. And, um, you know, it's
• 41:55
  Speaker 6: a labor of love, like I.
• 41:56
  Speaker 5: Said, and it's, uh, she loves to do, I love
• 41:59
  Speaker 5: to do it.
• 41:59
  Speaker 6: And, you know, we're, we're grateful that we, we get
• 42:01
  Speaker 6: to be, we're able to do this for people.
• 42:03
  Speaker 5: So.
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: That's awesome.
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: It's, it's, it's really, it's amazing. You know, what would
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: be the best thing ever for you and your wife, Ashley?
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: is if you did win this award, because they give
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: it away in the World Series, if you were playing
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: in the World Series, and then you got to get it,
• 42:19
  Speaker 2: and then you could walk in the dugout and say, look, guys,
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: look what you guys did.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: We all did this. We all get to share it.
• 42:25
  Speaker 5: That would be way cooler if that was the case, yeah.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: I think they do a game four, though, so you
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: might be the starting pitcher.
• 42:32
  Speaker 5: So, yeah. Very likely, yeah.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: Just throwing it out there. No, Carlos, awesome.
• 42:41
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us. Like I said,
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: you've always been awesome to me. You've always been one
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: of my favorites to talk to whenever I get to
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: see you. So thank you for everything you've done on
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: and off the field for your family and for other families.
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: And if you want to find out more about this foundation,
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: scan the QR code on the screen, vote for Carlos Rodon.
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: Or if you find another cause on this, there's 29 other,
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: every team has a Roberto Clemente nominee if you find
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: another cause that someone is trying to help vote for
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: them just go and get involved uh do the right
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: thing help other people so thank you carlos uh we'll
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: be right back