July 15, 2025 • 27 mins
Colin is back giving his thoughts on the relationship between LeBron James and the Lakers and why he doesn’t see the 4-time champion getting traded anytime soon. He argues Jalen Hurts getting ranked 9th by NFL execs is spot on and proves it based on how the Eagles played down the stretch on their way to winning the Super Bowl. Plus, he talks to Fox Sports MLB analyst Alex Rodriguez about the All Star game and why baseball is as good right now as it has ever been.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sportsradio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app
by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Here we go.
(00:21):
It is a Tuesday. It is great to be here again.
A little cesta, a little sabbatical. Jmax filling in more
than capably and appreciate that we are ready to go.
The All Star Game is tonight. We have Cal Rawley.
I grew up a Mariners fan. I wanted to be
the voice of the Mariners. At some point the organization
(00:42):
did not agree, so I ended up doing this. A
Rod joins us as well tonight. So it's All Star
Game night, home run derby NBA stuff. NFL camps are
getting quick to open very soon. Around the corner. Jmat,
good to be back, Good to see you. Yeah, great
to have you back, big fellow excited for today. All right,
So here's a story that's been simmering and sort of hovering,
(01:03):
like those like those upas those UFOs over New Jersey were.
Remember that for about a three week trial, kind of
hovering over what are they? That's what I feel. The
Lebron trade rumors are like nobody's quite sure what they are,
what they mean, they're out there. I think maybe it's
a plane. I don't buy them. I do not buy
the Lebron trade rumors. Here's why. The best contract you
(01:28):
can have in professional basketball is a superstar in his prime. Sga, Jokisch, Luca.
Those are the guys that win in May and June.
Rookie contracts are nice. Best contract, superstar in his prime.
Sga wins a title, Yokich wins the title. The second
best contract to me is a highly productive player with
(01:51):
a lot of seasoning who is still good, probably out
of his prime, and he has an expiring contract. And
that's Lebron. This is it. They can play with it.
Leverage to the Lakers. They can move him with the
trade deadline. They could move him now I wouldn't, So
why would you get rid of that? I mean, he
(02:11):
was twenty four eight and eight last year. He was
All NBA Second Team. He was sixth in MVP voting.
That's the highest in years. He's highly productive and he's
capable of helping you in a playoff series. I'm not
trading that away. And by the way, his agent Rich
Paul has acknowledged publicly. Yeah, Lebron knows it's Lucas team,
(02:32):
So there's no real angst with Lebron James. He knows
it's Lucas team. They're going to take care of him first,
he'll get a new deal. So I don't buy the
trade talks. Also, you know this is the time of
the year, it's hey, how do I fill my three
hour show? How do I fill my column? I don't
buy it now. I do believe they will transition out
of this potentially if things go south, But why now
(02:56):
and why today? Remember the Lakers got better. There's a
lot of reasons to be hopeful. I do not believe
they are going to be as good as Houston. I
don't think they're Oklahoma City. I don't think they were
as good as Dallas. But JJ Reddicks in year two,
he'll be better. Browny's had a good summer league. He
may contribute. Luca's gonna be in great shape, and they're
(03:17):
better at center. I don't love DeAndre Ayton. He's allergic
to defense. Always sees himself as a one. He's more
of a three to a four, and a championship level team.
He'll probably be a three or a four for the Lakers.
We'll see. But that team's not a very good defensive team.
And to win a championship, Oklahoma City just proved you
can do it with defense. So the Lakers are going
to be very interesting this upcoming season, and they're gonna
(03:39):
be very good. They're not gonna win a title. They're
not going to hoist a trophy. They're not gonna be great.
Lebron's passed his prime, Austin Reeves can be picked on defensively,
DeAndre Ayton's moody, never happy and doesn't defend, and Luca
he'll be in good shape. But but you know you're
not getting much defense there either. But in Kobe's last year,
(04:02):
they were uninteresting and won seventeen games. They were awful.
So this is not a bad place to be very
good and very interesting. So I don't buy the trade rumors.
Hosts have to fill space. I think at the trade deadline,
as Chris Brussard said yesterday, things could be interesting if
it goes south.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think he starts the season with the Lakers Now,
if for some reason it goes terrible, would they try
to move him at the deadline, maybe get him to
a team with a chance to do something in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, something like that. But I don't see it going terrible.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
They weren't playing good basketball, and that was on the fly, right,
That was when a roster.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Not built around Luca. It was on the fly.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Lebron had to all of a sudden adjust to be
in the second guy offensively, and they still played good basketball.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So you would expect them to be better.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
They will be better. They won't be great, but they'll
be good and interesting. Why move off that now? All right?
Tonight's the All Star Game home run derby Champ from
the Mariners. Cal Rawley will be joining us one hour
from now, a rod bottom of the hour. So Baseball
made a decision which I totally agree with. Actually two
they're going to have. He's only had five appearances, He's
(05:19):
four and one, he's six seven. The kid throws absolute
heat from the Milwaukee Brewers Jacob Mizerowski, they call him
miss and they decided only five appearances, Hey, we're getting
him into the All Star Game. And the purists have grumbled,
but they always take themselves way too seriously. Baseball's also
(05:39):
going to use the ABS system in the All Star
Game tonight. They used it in spring training, it's being
used in the minor leagues, and they're going to experiment
with it. It's very quick. When I initially heard about it,
I didn't like it, but it actually is fast, succinct,
not a huge replay fan. I understand. In football, with
only seventeen games, she got to get it right. But
(06:01):
they're gonna do both. Baseball strange. So when I was
a kid growing up, it had all sorts of personality.
Al Roboski, Mark Fiedrich, Pete Rose, Mickey Rivers. It was
all sorts of personality. Then it went through this weird
twenty year span where it took itself way too seriously,
way too rigid, way too beholden. The writers, broadcasters, everybody
(06:23):
took it so seriously and the sport got really dull,
and you heard about unwritten rules, and there was a
way to play the game, those two unwritten rules. Rob
Manfred is unwriting the unwritten rules. He's getting rid of them.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
He's going to.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Experiment with a kid tonight the ABS system, and I'm
sure purists don't like it, but he's called a phenom.
You know what gets me to a television A phenom
not statistically superior player for the Phillies. Phenom gets me
to a television set. I don't care if it's a
phenom golf Caitlin Clark came into the league. Phenom gets
(07:03):
me to a TV set. I don't care if it's
a musical artist. The kid is six seven averages ninety
nine miles an hour on his fastball. He's probably gonna
go in middle innings, and I can't wait. Those unwritten
rules never made any sense, Like there are certain unwritten
rules in society we all understand, like when you go
to the bathroom, wash your hands before you come out,
(07:23):
or if you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth. But
you can't bunt to break up a no hitter.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
My job has not put you in the record books.
My job is to not elevate your legacy. It's a
two nothing game, three nothing game. You lead, guy in
front of me walk steal second. I'm bunning to get
him on eighth inning. I don't care. That's a you problem.
Remember the other one in baseball. You can't steal a
base leading big. I mean, I guess if it's fourteen
(07:53):
nothing or you can't stare at a home run, why
not you couldn't get me out? Throw be more wicked,
get the splitty over what evs? Rob Manfred's like, no,
let's have fun. It's baseball. This is called an All
Star game. And this kid's a star, he's a phenom.
(08:14):
He gets us to a television. Baseball got into real
trouble when it got really precious and really beholden to history. Guys,
we used to memorize baseball cards. That's what we did
at seventeen. Kids don't collect them. They don't collect them.
They don't run to the drug store in your local
town to get that piece of gum and you know
(08:37):
that baseball card. It's all over. I mean even the
industry of trading baseball cards, with few exceptions, nobody cares anymore.
So I love what they're doing. Rob Manfred said, speed
the game up. Every swing he's taken has worked everyone.
You don't have to love them. All Star game, not
all stats, not all superior production. For a guy that's
(09:01):
not getting us to a TV. I love it. I
think it's great. And here's Dave Roberts.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
The All Star Game should be the best the game's
best players. It's about the fans and what the fans
want to see. So for this young kid to be
named All Star, I couldn't be more excited for him.
He is thrilled to be here. I'm gonna get him
in there probably the fifth of the sixth inning, something
like that, the seventh, and it's going to be electric.
(09:30):
So the fans, the media, you're gonna love it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Tonight. Is a celebration. It's not determining home field advantage.
Don't be precious, don't be pious. Baseball did that for
about twenty years. They got really weird. And by the way,
the Savannah bananas right, like that thing is on fire right,
Why it's selling out? The fans are telling you, Yeah,
(09:55):
we go to the ballpark to have a beer with
friends and have fun. This kid is not in this
All Star Game tonight. If they don't put mis in,
what's getting me there? It matters six seven throws heat
I want to watch all right. J mac nick Saban
rumored to be headed back another roomor I don't buy
(10:16):
the college football will address that. The NFL execs came
out with a quarterback list yesterday that I absolutely loved.
That probably drove you crazy.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Of course you love it.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Of course no Rock Perty in the top ten, of
course you love it. I gotta look at eleven through fifteen.
I didn't see him there either, but whatever, I don't
want to rub it in this morning. Oh boy, oh
he robbing grenades early, okay.
Speaker 6 (10:39):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio Appy.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
It's me Rock Parker.
Speaker 7 (10:51):
Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker for
twenty two minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the
biggest name the newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe
in analytics or the Ie test, We've got all the
bases covered. New episodes dropped every Thursday, So do yourself
a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob
(11:13):
Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
All right, welcome back, Alex Rodriguez joining us in about
ten minutes. All Star Game tonight on Fox. So you
know I'll be honest. I golfed a lot. I hung out, biked, walked,
hung out with the dogs, did not read a lot
or watch a lot of sports some but one of
(11:40):
the things that jumped out to me over the last
ten to eleven days was that NFL executives, coaches and scouts,
many of them through the years have been very helpful
to me and learning this game and sourcing this game,
released their top ten quarterback So this is the people
that draft them, the people that coach them, the people
(12:01):
that select them, the people that scout them. And it
went in this order. Mahomes, Allen Burrow, Lamar, Jayden Daniels,
Matt Stafford, Justin, Herbert Goff, Jalen Hurds, Baker Mayfield, and
I almost reached out to Jmack, but I didn't want
to get him all riled up. That's about as close
to my list as you can get. Now, believe it
or not, you're probably saying, well, what about Baker Mayfield. Well,
(12:23):
after a second good year in Tampa, he's closer to
ten than fifteen. I probably go CJ. Stroud at ten
because his size and accuracy, but he didn't have a
great year. A lot of that was his receivers all
got hurt, his left tackle didn't play well. But none
of this bothers me. Now. The reaction on Jalen Hurtz,
(12:45):
who you know, wins the Super Bowl being nine, was
predictable by his coach, Nick Seriani that said, you know,
this is a bunch of nonsense. I can't believe it,
and that's what a coach should do. But here are
three undeniable truths. Take a deep breath. According to PFF,
the Eagles offense was top ten in everything pass blocking,
run blocking, rushing, receiving, yet they were twenty first and
(13:09):
actually passing. Jalen Hurts is responsible for that. Oh. By
the way, eleven of us thirty two total touchdowns came
on rushes of one or fewer yards. Take out the
tush push. He had the same number of touchdowns as
Bryce Young and number three. After a week five by
and a philosophical reset by the OC, they passed the
(13:30):
ball less than any team in the NFL at twenty
four times a game. So you know, if your company,
you know, goes to one of those off site weekend
retreats and has a philosophical reset and they come back
and they decide, listen, employee, we're going to use you
less and they're more successful. That seems to be a
(13:52):
pretty striking correlation. So bottom line, the organization literally had
a philosophical Brady and Tampa and Bruce Arians had this.
Remember like late in the season, they never lost. After that,
they had a reset and Tom was going to take
more control of the offense than Bruce Arians. They didn't
lose again, They beat Atlanta a couple times, they won
all their playoff games, and Tom hoisted another trophy. So
(14:15):
the Eagles basically they had one of those philosophical resets,
and what they decided was, this offense is great as
long as we passed the ball fewer times. That's a correlation. Now,
I don't have a problem putting in Jalen Hurts to
my top ten. I think he has great moments, great character,
great leadership, great power. I think pound for pound, he's
(14:38):
the strongest player in the NFL, certainly strongest quarterback. I
like him a lot, but I don't think any GM
sees him as an elite passer. I don't think any
GM saw Lamar Jackson initially as an elite passer, but
he has really developed. I still think Jalen Hurts on
third and seven from the pocket. I don't have great
vibes all the time. I really don't, but I I
(15:00):
do think he has great moments character and leadership and
toughness and durability. Here here's Matt Hasselbeck on the show
yesterday saying he's undervalued by the league.
Speaker 8 (15:11):
I think he's definitely in that six to ten, but
you could make the argument that he should be at
number six. And I think why I say that, You know,
people don't give him enough credit for the quarterback sneak,
Like they just don't like they think, like, oh, it's
just a quarterback sneak. It doesn't count as just like
a free play. We should make it illegal. That is
a real weapon that he uses. And like so like
(15:32):
sometimes it's maybe easy to gloss over some of some
of the other stuff because he's not you know, he's
staying in the pocket. He's not bolting. A lot of
young quarterbacks just bolt outside the pocket. He stays in
the pocket, he doesn't flinch.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
You're not gonna get a ton of credit for a
quarterback sneak, like he's the best at it. But it's
like giving a baseball hitter a lot of credit because
he's the league's best bunter. That's not getting into the hof.
You got to do more than that each year. Rod
could do that, but he had a great arm, hit
for power, and was uniquely gifted. He could also bunts
(16:06):
if you wanted him to. That's not really the point.
And so my thing what Jalen Hurts is he is
viewed fairly. And in my career doing this, I have
found that athletes after they've been in a professional sport
for five years are all fairly judged. By the time
you've been in it ten years, and Hurts isn't there yet.
Everybody knows your brand very early in Aaron Rodgers' career,
(16:28):
super talented, a little aloof can be prickly, great talent.
Is he a great leader? I think that's fair. It's
not a criticism, it's what he is. Even at a
golf tournament. Oh prickly Aaron and Aaron that's okay. But
the idea that after all these years in Philly, you know,
people just don't understand what he is. I think we
(16:50):
all know what he is. Great kid, great leader, great talent,
strong as strong.
Speaker 6 (16:54):
Gets for that position, but he's not a top five guy.
Be sure to catch live a day of the Herd
weekdays and noon Easter. Not a Empacific.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Fourteen time All Star, a three time MVP twenty two
years an icon absolutely beginning to end. Alex Rodriguez at
the All Star Game is now joining us live. Okay,
so you made your All Star debut. You were twenty
years old. I red you know, you obviously would not
remember this. I remember being in the Mariner locker room
years and years and years ago, and you were, you know,
(17:24):
you'll talk of the team, and I was like, he's
like fourteen years old. Look at that kid.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
He's a kid.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
So you go, let's talk about MS. So I have
no problem putting him in the All Star Game. He's
a phenom. Let's not get precious. I want to see
a phenom the kids six seven throws heat. I'm for it.
I am all for it. Go back to you being
an All Star at twenty. Were you overwhelmed by it? Oh?
Speaker 9 (17:47):
My god, Colin and hello, I was so overwhelmed that
when I when I saw Kyle Ridkin for the first time,
my childhood hero. You know, he was like he was
like a statue was all. He had, like little gray hair,
he had these blue eyes and that was like, Oh
my god, that's my hero and I'm his teammate, And
that was the neatest part. It was in the old
(18:08):
Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and it was it was quite fun.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yeah, all Star games are interesting. You're facing the best
of the best. A lot of it is where are
the shadows? What who do you face? Your second at bat?
Your mindset there is there's not a time you're almost
like on Broadway. You're kind of performing like it's a
really different environment. Go go to your bats? Is the
all like like you face some like peer pressure, but
(18:35):
you don't face outcome pressure. Did you like All Star games?
Speaker 4 (18:40):
I love them?
Speaker 9 (18:41):
And look, this was a celebration of all your hard work,
dedication one thing has made to the major leagues.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
But to be one of sixty or sixty.
Speaker 9 (18:48):
Five guys that are the best players in the world
in the best league in the world, it was a
treat and it was an honor. I remember coming in
two thousand, we were playing right here in Atlanta for
the All Star Game. I had hurt my knee and
I didn't make it and Derek went in might to
replace me and he won the MVP.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
But I remember staying.
Speaker 9 (19:07):
At home so bummed and sad that I couldn't be
at the All Star Game. Ifn Look, if you don't
play in the World Series, that's the most exposure you're
going to get.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
And you're showing off for the national.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
Fans, for the global front fans, and also for the
community of baseball, but especially your colleagues and the other
seven hundred and forty nine players.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
So there's a lot of interesting stories about this season.
One of the ones that's fascinating. I've always said it's
hard to go into prolonged slumps. With hockey and basketball
game the game moves too quickly. You don't have time
to overthink a misshot. You get another shot in fourteen seconds.
But in baseball and golf, you got a lot of
downtime to think about that seven iron that went sideways,
(19:49):
or you know that at bat where you got fooled.
And so Raffie Devers goes from the Red Sox they
suddenly they're on fire. He goes to San Francisco. He
is punching out like he is struggling, And I think
a lot of it is when you're called like, oh,
he's the savior, he is what I think it's in
(20:11):
his head. Take me to that, because you added one
slump in your career. I remember in the playoffs, not many,
but some. I think this get in San Francisco. I
think it's I think it's upstairs with him. What do
you see?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Well, first it suggesss Boston.
Speaker 9 (20:26):
Sometimes when you clear what's perceived as a stressful situation
and you clear the big brother, then it puts the
owners and responsibilities on the other twenty five guys in
that locker room, and everyone says, all right, there's a
sigh of relief.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
We've cleared the deck. Now is on us? Big Brother's gone.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
So I mean, I remember when Griffy left, we went
on the next year to the playoffs, when we brought
in Mike Cameron and Freddie Garcia and Seattle. You remember
those years, and then I left and they got even better.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Right, So it's not normal.
Speaker 9 (20:55):
But you have a Rod and Griffy leaving back to
back years and the team keeps getting better and better.
So there's something that's happening with the Red Sox on
the Devers. Remember he started the year really slow. In
his first twenty five at bats, he had like twenty
punch outs and it takes him a little bit to go.
He's also a streaky hitter, but he's a guy that's
been his whole career basically from Dominica Republic to fur
(21:17):
Myers to Boston. Now he goes all the way west.
So he's going from east to west. Adjustment number one.
He's going from American League East that he spent his
whole career in to National League West. And instead of
being hot and in Boston in the summer, is a
little bit cooler in San Francisco. So there's a lot
of adjustments you get used to. The ballpark is going.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
To take him a minute.
Speaker 9 (21:37):
I think he's going to hit, but hopefully this could
be a win win for both of them. But right now, Colin,
you're right, it's more mental than anything else when you
think about an adjustment.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
So you know, the Dodgers have done this over the
last several years. They have like a June or July.
They I don't know if it's distracted. They often it
feels like they're setting up their pitching for August and September,
and they've a ton of injuries. In fact, part of
their payroll, the advantages they've gone out and acquired guy
guys on the mound with some pitching injuries that they
(22:08):
don't need the volume in the regular season. They're looking for,
you know, in the postseason. So some of what they're
going through I think is fairly predictable. Two and seven
in their last nine go to the most talented team
you ever played for. Did you ever have a two
and seven streak? What are the players talking about? Because
you have all stars everywhere?
Speaker 9 (22:28):
Yeah, I mean, the Dodgers are such an anomaly and
they're such a unicorn. They're really the best run franchise
in the sport today. Two thousand and nine, we won
the title of the New York Yankees when we beat
the Phillies. We got off to a horrific start that year.
In April, we were actually in last place, and then
somewhere around I came back from a hip surgery somewhere
(22:51):
in early May and Colin we probably played seven hundred baseball,
not seven to fifty. We were almost unbeatable, but we
were really bad in April. The Dodgers play different game, right.
They have more resources than everybody, They have more talent.
They're Amazon, their Google, their Apple, they're their top of
their game, and they're signing as many people as possible,
leaning on their resources, and they're making a bet whether
(23:13):
that's so tany getting ready as they ramp them up,
or they're hoping that of the twenty five pictures they
have that eight or nine good pitchers are healthy October first,
and that's really the only thing they're.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Playing for, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I think Rob Manfred deserves credit well. I said this earlier.
When I was a kid growing up, baseball had wild personalities.
Pete Rose and Mark Fidrich and Al Raboski and Mickey Rivers.
I mean, there was just there were It was wild.
There was just all sorts of personalities, and then they
went through a period some of it you dealt with
where there's a way to play the game. It got
(23:47):
a little precious, a little beholden the history. It's like, guys,
the reason we all love Ken Griffy. It was fun.
The hats on backwards, it's fun. And I think baseball
is doing that again, one of them. I've been very
pro Rob Manfred. I didn't initially like the idea of
the ABS system. I'm like, okay, I can barely tolerate
(24:10):
NFL replay. I just like keep the game moving. But
then I've watched it and it's pretty quick, so I'm
kind of like begrudgingly moving toward Okay, let's do it.
How do you land on it if you talk to
players about it?
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 9 (24:28):
I'm a big Rob Manford fan, and I think he
deserves a lot of credit.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
Little Sino Handily.
Speaker 9 (24:33):
I mean, with the changes he's made the last two
or three years to really save our game. He probably
belongs in Cooperstown. But the reason why I like this
colin technology has made the game better. Anytime you make
players and umpires more accountable, it's a great thing. Going
back ten years that strike you see right there on
the screen, eighty three percent of the time, the umpires
(24:55):
were getting it right ten years ago. Today the numbers
balloons in ninety seven. So is a much better quality,
much better game, much better accuracy. All those things are good.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Now.
Speaker 9 (25:05):
The application of it, we have to go see how
it works. I know he's they've been doing it in
the minor leagues. I am really looking forward to tonight
to see how that plays out because I'm a little
bit on the fence, but I'm more pro because I
think Rob Manford deserves some credit. He's built some equity
here of the last three or four years with his changes,
and I think the game has it gets from the
curse of being so married to their history. I think
(25:28):
some of the other leagues have really pushed the envelope.
And look, I'll give you one example, because this one
bothers me. I love the kid from Milwaukee being there
as we started this conversation.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
He's only had five stars fined.
Speaker 9 (25:39):
But if this is a game of stars and entertainment
and you have partners like Fox, Juan Soda needs to
be in Atlanta because there's no one I'd rather have
on the set. And you can't tell me there's sixty
players or sixty stories more compelling than Juan Soda, who's
had a phenomenal June. He was a Player of the
Month Back in the day, I watched Larry Bird and Magic.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
I could care less if they had a bad first
half or an average of profession I.
Speaker 9 (26:03):
Want to see Burd and Magic in the All Star
Game every year a year, and then you're out.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Yeah, you and I agree. Finally, having been in Major
League Baseball, a former number one pick Texas, it's the
Yankees it's a broadcaster, it's the Mariners. Now you're a
co owner of an NBA team, The cultures are totally different.
Whereas the NFL is all about the shield, baseball is
all about the ten year contract, the NBA is kind
(26:28):
of all about the superstar. Just tell me, having watched
the NBA now a co owner, is there anything that
surprised you about it? Is there anything as somebody that
knows sports about as well as anybody I know as
a former player, that is, the culture's different, more fun,
more interesting, captivating. Where are you with that?
Speaker 9 (26:47):
Well, the history's much different, Colin, It's been I've been
part of Major League Baseball now for over thirty years,
and I've had some highs and I've had some lows,
but I've learned a lot of lessons along the way.
What's interesting about the biggest difference is that, you know,
we had Marvin Miller as a players Union, Then we
had Don fear as ahead, then we had Michael Wiener.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Now we have Tony Clark.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (27:10):
You know, from the minute you come into the big leagues,
the enemy has been owners. Players and owners have really
had a really long, tough relationship. Where in the NBA
owners love love the players. The players have a really
good relationship with the owners, and that's been the biggest
difference that I've seen firsthand.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, Alex Rodriguez, Fox, major League Baseball analyst tonight the
All Star Game in Atlanta. Great seniors. Always appreciate you
giving us some time.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
You got it. Thank you.
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sportsradio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app
by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Here we go.
(00:21):
It is a Tuesday. It is great to be here again.
A little cesta, a little sabbatical. Jmax filling in more
than capably and appreciate that we are ready to go.
The All Star Game is tonight. We have Cal Rawley.
I grew up a Mariners fan. I wanted to be
the voice of the Mariners. At some point the organization
(00:42):
did not agree, so I ended up doing this. A
Rod joins us as well tonight. So it's All Star
Game night, home run derby NBA stuff. NFL camps are
getting quick to open very soon. Around the corner. Jmat,
good to be back, Good to see you. Yeah, great
to have you back, big fellow excited for today. All right,
So here's a story that's been simmering and sort of hovering,
(01:03):
like those like those upas those UFOs over New Jersey were.
Remember that for about a three week trial, kind of
hovering over what are they? That's what I feel. The
Lebron trade rumors are like nobody's quite sure what they are,
what they mean, they're out there. I think maybe it's
a plane. I don't buy them. I do not buy
the Lebron trade rumors. Here's why. The best contract you
(01:28):
can have in professional basketball is a superstar in his prime. Sga, Jokisch, Luca.
Those are the guys that win in May and June.
Rookie contracts are nice. Best contract, superstar in his prime.
Sga wins a title, Yokich wins the title. The second
best contract to me is a highly productive player with
(01:51):
a lot of seasoning who is still good, probably out
of his prime, and he has an expiring contract. And
that's Lebron. This is it. They can play with it.
Leverage to the Lakers. They can move him with the
trade deadline. They could move him now I wouldn't, So
why would you get rid of that? I mean, he
(02:11):
was twenty four eight and eight last year. He was
All NBA Second Team. He was sixth in MVP voting.
That's the highest in years. He's highly productive and he's
capable of helping you in a playoff series. I'm not
trading that away. And by the way, his agent Rich
Paul has acknowledged publicly. Yeah, Lebron knows it's Lucas team,
(02:32):
So there's no real angst with Lebron James. He knows
it's Lucas team. They're going to take care of him first,
he'll get a new deal. So I don't buy the
trade talks. Also, you know this is the time of
the year, it's hey, how do I fill my three
hour show? How do I fill my column? I don't
buy it now. I do believe they will transition out
of this potentially if things go south, But why now
(02:56):
and why today? Remember the Lakers got better. There's a
lot of reasons to be hopeful. I do not believe
they are going to be as good as Houston. I
don't think they're Oklahoma City. I don't think they were
as good as Dallas. But JJ Reddicks in year two,
he'll be better. Browny's had a good summer league. He
may contribute. Luca's gonna be in great shape, and they're
(03:17):
better at center. I don't love DeAndre Ayton. He's allergic
to defense. Always sees himself as a one. He's more
of a three to a four, and a championship level team.
He'll probably be a three or a four for the Lakers.
We'll see. But that team's not a very good defensive team.
And to win a championship, Oklahoma City just proved you
can do it with defense. So the Lakers are going
to be very interesting this upcoming season, and they're gonna
(03:39):
be very good. They're not gonna win a title. They're
not going to hoist a trophy. They're not gonna be great.
Lebron's passed his prime, Austin Reeves can be picked on defensively,
DeAndre Ayton's moody, never happy and doesn't defend, and Luca
he'll be in good shape. But but you know you're
not getting much defense there either. But in Kobe's last year,
(04:02):
they were uninteresting and won seventeen games. They were awful.
So this is not a bad place to be very
good and very interesting. So I don't buy the trade rumors.
Hosts have to fill space. I think at the trade deadline,
as Chris Brussard said yesterday, things could be interesting if
it goes south.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think he starts the season with the Lakers Now,
if for some reason it goes terrible, would they try
to move him at the deadline, maybe get him to
a team with a chance to do something in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, something like that. But I don't see it going terrible.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
They weren't playing good basketball, and that was on the fly, right,
That was when a roster.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Not built around Luca. It was on the fly.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Lebron had to all of a sudden adjust to be
in the second guy offensively, and they still played good basketball.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So you would expect them to be better.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
They will be better. They won't be great, but they'll
be good and interesting. Why move off that now? All right?
Tonight's the All Star Game home run derby Champ from
the Mariners. Cal Rawley will be joining us one hour
from now, a rod bottom of the hour. So Baseball
made a decision which I totally agree with. Actually two
they're going to have. He's only had five appearances, He's
(05:19):
four and one, he's six seven. The kid throws absolute
heat from the Milwaukee Brewers Jacob Mizerowski, they call him
miss and they decided only five appearances, Hey, we're getting
him into the All Star Game. And the purists have grumbled,
but they always take themselves way too seriously. Baseball's also
(05:39):
going to use the ABS system in the All Star
Game tonight. They used it in spring training, it's being
used in the minor leagues, and they're going to experiment
with it. It's very quick. When I initially heard about it,
I didn't like it, but it actually is fast, succinct,
not a huge replay fan. I understand. In football, with
only seventeen games, she got to get it right. But
(06:01):
they're gonna do both. Baseball strange. So when I was
a kid growing up, it had all sorts of personality.
Al Roboski, Mark Fiedrich, Pete Rose, Mickey Rivers. It was
all sorts of personality. Then it went through this weird
twenty year span where it took itself way too seriously,
way too rigid, way too beholden. The writers, broadcasters, everybody
(06:23):
took it so seriously and the sport got really dull,
and you heard about unwritten rules, and there was a
way to play the game, those two unwritten rules. Rob
Manfred is unwriting the unwritten rules. He's getting rid of them.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
He's going to.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Experiment with a kid tonight the ABS system, and I'm
sure purists don't like it, but he's called a phenom.
You know what gets me to a television A phenom
not statistically superior player for the Phillies. Phenom gets me
to a television set. I don't care if it's a
phenom golf Caitlin Clark came into the league. Phenom gets
(07:03):
me to a TV set. I don't care if it's
a musical artist. The kid is six seven averages ninety
nine miles an hour on his fastball. He's probably gonna
go in middle innings, and I can't wait. Those unwritten
rules never made any sense, Like there are certain unwritten
rules in society we all understand, like when you go
to the bathroom, wash your hands before you come out,
(07:23):
or if you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth. But
you can't bunt to break up a no hitter.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
My job has not put you in the record books.
My job is to not elevate your legacy. It's a
two nothing game, three nothing game. You lead, guy in
front of me walk steal second. I'm bunning to get
him on eighth inning. I don't care. That's a you problem.
Remember the other one in baseball. You can't steal a
base leading big. I mean, I guess if it's fourteen
(07:53):
nothing or you can't stare at a home run, why
not you couldn't get me out? Throw be more wicked,
get the splitty over what evs? Rob Manfred's like, no,
let's have fun. It's baseball. This is called an All
Star game. And this kid's a star, he's a phenom.
(08:14):
He gets us to a television. Baseball got into real
trouble when it got really precious and really beholden to history. Guys,
we used to memorize baseball cards. That's what we did
at seventeen. Kids don't collect them. They don't collect them.
They don't run to the drug store in your local
town to get that piece of gum and you know
(08:37):
that baseball card. It's all over. I mean even the
industry of trading baseball cards, with few exceptions, nobody cares anymore.
So I love what they're doing. Rob Manfred said, speed
the game up. Every swing he's taken has worked everyone.
You don't have to love them. All Star game, not
all stats, not all superior production. For a guy that's
(09:01):
not getting us to a TV. I love it. I
think it's great. And here's Dave Roberts.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
The All Star Game should be the best the game's
best players. It's about the fans and what the fans
want to see. So for this young kid to be
named All Star, I couldn't be more excited for him.
He is thrilled to be here. I'm gonna get him
in there probably the fifth of the sixth inning, something
like that, the seventh, and it's going to be electric.
(09:30):
So the fans, the media, you're gonna love it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Tonight. Is a celebration. It's not determining home field advantage.
Don't be precious, don't be pious. Baseball did that for
about twenty years. They got really weird. And by the way,
the Savannah bananas right, like that thing is on fire right,
Why it's selling out? The fans are telling you, Yeah,
(09:55):
we go to the ballpark to have a beer with
friends and have fun. This kid is not in this
All Star Game tonight. If they don't put mis in,
what's getting me there? It matters six seven throws heat
I want to watch all right. J mac nick Saban
rumored to be headed back another roomor I don't buy
(10:16):
the college football will address that. The NFL execs came
out with a quarterback list yesterday that I absolutely loved.
That probably drove you crazy.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Of course you love it.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Of course no Rock Perty in the top ten, of
course you love it. I gotta look at eleven through fifteen.
I didn't see him there either, but whatever, I don't
want to rub it in this morning. Oh boy, oh
he robbing grenades early, okay.
Speaker 6 (10:39):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon Eastern n a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio Appy.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
It's me Rock Parker.
Speaker 7 (10:51):
Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker for
twenty two minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the
biggest name the newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe
in analytics or the Ie test, We've got all the
bases covered. New episodes dropped every Thursday, So do yourself
a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob
(11:13):
Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
All right, welcome back, Alex Rodriguez joining us in about
ten minutes. All Star Game tonight on Fox. So you
know I'll be honest. I golfed a lot. I hung out, biked, walked,
hung out with the dogs, did not read a lot
or watch a lot of sports some but one of
(11:40):
the things that jumped out to me over the last
ten to eleven days was that NFL executives, coaches and scouts,
many of them through the years have been very helpful
to me and learning this game and sourcing this game,
released their top ten quarterback So this is the people
that draft them, the people that coach them, the people
(12:01):
that select them, the people that scout them. And it
went in this order. Mahomes, Allen Burrow, Lamar, Jayden Daniels,
Matt Stafford, Justin, Herbert Goff, Jalen Hurds, Baker Mayfield, and
I almost reached out to Jmack, but I didn't want
to get him all riled up. That's about as close
to my list as you can get. Now, believe it
or not, you're probably saying, well, what about Baker Mayfield. Well,
(12:23):
after a second good year in Tampa, he's closer to
ten than fifteen. I probably go CJ. Stroud at ten
because his size and accuracy, but he didn't have a
great year. A lot of that was his receivers all
got hurt, his left tackle didn't play well. But none
of this bothers me. Now. The reaction on Jalen Hurtz,
(12:45):
who you know, wins the Super Bowl being nine, was
predictable by his coach, Nick Seriani that said, you know,
this is a bunch of nonsense. I can't believe it,
and that's what a coach should do. But here are
three undeniable truths. Take a deep breath. According to PFF,
the Eagles offense was top ten in everything pass blocking,
run blocking, rushing, receiving, yet they were twenty first and
(13:09):
actually passing. Jalen Hurts is responsible for that. Oh. By
the way, eleven of us thirty two total touchdowns came
on rushes of one or fewer yards. Take out the
tush push. He had the same number of touchdowns as
Bryce Young and number three. After a week five by
and a philosophical reset by the OC, they passed the
(13:30):
ball less than any team in the NFL at twenty
four times a game. So you know, if your company,
you know, goes to one of those off site weekend
retreats and has a philosophical reset and they come back
and they decide, listen, employee, we're going to use you
less and they're more successful. That seems to be a
(13:52):
pretty striking correlation. So bottom line, the organization literally had
a philosophical Brady and Tampa and Bruce Arians had this.
Remember like late in the season, they never lost. After that,
they had a reset and Tom was going to take
more control of the offense than Bruce Arians. They didn't
lose again, They beat Atlanta a couple times, they won
all their playoff games, and Tom hoisted another trophy. So
(14:15):
the Eagles basically they had one of those philosophical resets,
and what they decided was, this offense is great as
long as we passed the ball fewer times. That's a correlation. Now,
I don't have a problem putting in Jalen Hurts to
my top ten. I think he has great moments, great character,
great leadership, great power. I think pound for pound, he's
(14:38):
the strongest player in the NFL, certainly strongest quarterback. I
like him a lot, but I don't think any GM
sees him as an elite passer. I don't think any
GM saw Lamar Jackson initially as an elite passer, but
he has really developed. I still think Jalen Hurts on
third and seven from the pocket. I don't have great
vibes all the time. I really don't, but I I
(15:00):
do think he has great moments character and leadership and
toughness and durability. Here here's Matt Hasselbeck on the show
yesterday saying he's undervalued by the league.
Speaker 8 (15:11):
I think he's definitely in that six to ten, but
you could make the argument that he should be at
number six. And I think why I say that, You know,
people don't give him enough credit for the quarterback sneak,
Like they just don't like they think, like, oh, it's
just a quarterback sneak. It doesn't count as just like
a free play. We should make it illegal. That is
a real weapon that he uses. And like so like
(15:32):
sometimes it's maybe easy to gloss over some of some
of the other stuff because he's not you know, he's
staying in the pocket. He's not bolting. A lot of
young quarterbacks just bolt outside the pocket. He stays in
the pocket, he doesn't flinch.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
You're not gonna get a ton of credit for a
quarterback sneak, like he's the best at it. But it's
like giving a baseball hitter a lot of credit because
he's the league's best bunter. That's not getting into the hof.
You got to do more than that each year. Rod
could do that, but he had a great arm, hit
for power, and was uniquely gifted. He could also bunts
(16:06):
if you wanted him to. That's not really the point.
And so my thing what Jalen Hurts is he is
viewed fairly. And in my career doing this, I have
found that athletes after they've been in a professional sport
for five years are all fairly judged. By the time
you've been in it ten years, and Hurts isn't there yet.
Everybody knows your brand very early in Aaron Rodgers' career,
(16:28):
super talented, a little aloof can be prickly, great talent.
Is he a great leader? I think that's fair. It's
not a criticism, it's what he is. Even at a
golf tournament. Oh prickly Aaron and Aaron that's okay. But
the idea that after all these years in Philly, you know,
people just don't understand what he is. I think we
(16:50):
all know what he is. Great kid, great leader, great talent,
strong as strong.
Speaker 6 (16:54):
Gets for that position, but he's not a top five guy.
Be sure to catch live a day of the Herd
weekdays and noon Easter. Not a Empacific.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Fourteen time All Star, a three time MVP twenty two
years an icon absolutely beginning to end. Alex Rodriguez at
the All Star Game is now joining us live. Okay,
so you made your All Star debut. You were twenty
years old. I red you know, you obviously would not
remember this. I remember being in the Mariner locker room
years and years and years ago, and you were, you know,
(17:24):
you'll talk of the team, and I was like, he's
like fourteen years old. Look at that kid.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
He's a kid.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
So you go, let's talk about MS. So I have
no problem putting him in the All Star Game. He's
a phenom. Let's not get precious. I want to see
a phenom the kids six seven throws heat. I'm for it.
I am all for it. Go back to you being
an All Star at twenty. Were you overwhelmed by it? Oh?
Speaker 9 (17:47):
My god, Colin and hello, I was so overwhelmed that
when I when I saw Kyle Ridkin for the first time,
my childhood hero. You know, he was like he was
like a statue was all. He had, like little gray hair,
he had these blue eyes and that was like, Oh
my god, that's my hero and I'm his teammate, And
that was the neatest part. It was in the old
(18:08):
Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and it was it was quite fun.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yeah, all Star games are interesting. You're facing the best
of the best. A lot of it is where are
the shadows? What who do you face? Your second at bat?
Your mindset there is there's not a time you're almost
like on Broadway. You're kind of performing like it's a
really different environment. Go go to your bats? Is the
all like like you face some like peer pressure, but
(18:35):
you don't face outcome pressure. Did you like All Star games?
Speaker 4 (18:40):
I love them?
Speaker 9 (18:41):
And look, this was a celebration of all your hard work,
dedication one thing has made to the major leagues.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
But to be one of sixty or sixty.
Speaker 9 (18:48):
Five guys that are the best players in the world
in the best league in the world, it was a
treat and it was an honor. I remember coming in
two thousand, we were playing right here in Atlanta for
the All Star Game. I had hurt my knee and
I didn't make it and Derek went in might to
replace me and he won the MVP.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
But I remember staying.
Speaker 9 (19:07):
At home so bummed and sad that I couldn't be
at the All Star Game. Ifn Look, if you don't
play in the World Series, that's the most exposure you're
going to get.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
And you're showing off for the national.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
Fans, for the global front fans, and also for the
community of baseball, but especially your colleagues and the other
seven hundred and forty nine players.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
So there's a lot of interesting stories about this season.
One of the ones that's fascinating. I've always said it's
hard to go into prolonged slumps. With hockey and basketball
game the game moves too quickly. You don't have time
to overthink a misshot. You get another shot in fourteen seconds.
But in baseball and golf, you got a lot of
downtime to think about that seven iron that went sideways,
(19:49):
or you know that at bat where you got fooled.
And so Raffie Devers goes from the Red Sox they
suddenly they're on fire. He goes to San Francisco. He
is punching out like he is struggling, And I think
a lot of it is when you're called like, oh,
he's the savior, he is what I think it's in
(20:11):
his head. Take me to that, because you added one
slump in your career. I remember in the playoffs, not many,
but some. I think this get in San Francisco. I
think it's I think it's upstairs with him. What do
you see?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Well, first it suggesss Boston.
Speaker 9 (20:26):
Sometimes when you clear what's perceived as a stressful situation
and you clear the big brother, then it puts the
owners and responsibilities on the other twenty five guys in
that locker room, and everyone says, all right, there's a
sigh of relief.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
We've cleared the deck. Now is on us? Big Brother's gone.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
So I mean, I remember when Griffy left, we went
on the next year to the playoffs, when we brought
in Mike Cameron and Freddie Garcia and Seattle. You remember
those years, and then I left and they got even better.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Right, So it's not normal.
Speaker 9 (20:55):
But you have a Rod and Griffy leaving back to
back years and the team keeps getting better and better.
So there's something that's happening with the Red Sox on
the Devers. Remember he started the year really slow. In
his first twenty five at bats, he had like twenty
punch outs and it takes him a little bit to go.
He's also a streaky hitter, but he's a guy that's
been his whole career basically from Dominica Republic to fur
(21:17):
Myers to Boston. Now he goes all the way west.
So he's going from east to west. Adjustment number one.
He's going from American League East that he spent his
whole career in to National League West. And instead of
being hot and in Boston in the summer, is a
little bit cooler in San Francisco. So there's a lot
of adjustments you get used to. The ballpark is going.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
To take him a minute.
Speaker 9 (21:37):
I think he's going to hit, but hopefully this could
be a win win for both of them. But right now, Colin,
you're right, it's more mental than anything else when you
think about an adjustment.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
So you know, the Dodgers have done this over the
last several years. They have like a June or July.
They I don't know if it's distracted. They often it
feels like they're setting up their pitching for August and September,
and they've a ton of injuries. In fact, part of
their payroll, the advantages they've gone out and acquired guy
guys on the mound with some pitching injuries that they
(22:08):
don't need the volume in the regular season. They're looking for,
you know, in the postseason. So some of what they're
going through I think is fairly predictable. Two and seven
in their last nine go to the most talented team
you ever played for. Did you ever have a two
and seven streak? What are the players talking about? Because
you have all stars everywhere?
Speaker 9 (22:28):
Yeah, I mean, the Dodgers are such an anomaly and
they're such a unicorn. They're really the best run franchise
in the sport today. Two thousand and nine, we won
the title of the New York Yankees when we beat
the Phillies. We got off to a horrific start that year.
In April, we were actually in last place, and then
somewhere around I came back from a hip surgery somewhere
(22:51):
in early May and Colin we probably played seven hundred baseball,
not seven to fifty. We were almost unbeatable, but we
were really bad in April. The Dodgers play different game, right.
They have more resources than everybody, They have more talent.
They're Amazon, their Google, their Apple, they're their top of
their game, and they're signing as many people as possible,
leaning on their resources, and they're making a bet whether
(23:13):
that's so tany getting ready as they ramp them up,
or they're hoping that of the twenty five pictures they
have that eight or nine good pitchers are healthy October first,
and that's really the only thing they're.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Playing for, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I think Rob Manfred deserves credit well. I said this earlier.
When I was a kid growing up, baseball had wild personalities.
Pete Rose and Mark Fidrich and Al Raboski and Mickey Rivers.
I mean, there was just there were It was wild.
There was just all sorts of personalities, and then they
went through a period some of it you dealt with
where there's a way to play the game. It got
(23:47):
a little precious, a little beholden the history. It's like, guys,
the reason we all love Ken Griffy. It was fun.
The hats on backwards, it's fun. And I think baseball
is doing that again, one of them. I've been very
pro Rob Manfred. I didn't initially like the idea of
the ABS system. I'm like, okay, I can barely tolerate
(24:10):
NFL replay. I just like keep the game moving. But
then I've watched it and it's pretty quick, so I'm
kind of like begrudgingly moving toward Okay, let's do it.
How do you land on it if you talk to
players about it?
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 9 (24:28):
I'm a big Rob Manford fan, and I think he
deserves a lot of credit.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
Little Sino Handily.
Speaker 9 (24:33):
I mean, with the changes he's made the last two
or three years to really save our game. He probably
belongs in Cooperstown. But the reason why I like this
colin technology has made the game better. Anytime you make
players and umpires more accountable, it's a great thing. Going
back ten years that strike you see right there on
the screen, eighty three percent of the time, the umpires
(24:55):
were getting it right ten years ago. Today the numbers
balloons in ninety seven. So is a much better quality,
much better game, much better accuracy. All those things are good.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Now.
Speaker 9 (25:05):
The application of it, we have to go see how
it works. I know he's they've been doing it in
the minor leagues. I am really looking forward to tonight
to see how that plays out because I'm a little
bit on the fence, but I'm more pro because I
think Rob Manford deserves some credit. He's built some equity
here of the last three or four years with his changes,
and I think the game has it gets from the
curse of being so married to their history. I think
(25:28):
some of the other leagues have really pushed the envelope.
And look, I'll give you one example, because this one
bothers me. I love the kid from Milwaukee being there
as we started this conversation.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
He's only had five stars fined.
Speaker 9 (25:39):
But if this is a game of stars and entertainment
and you have partners like Fox, Juan Soda needs to
be in Atlanta because there's no one I'd rather have
on the set. And you can't tell me there's sixty
players or sixty stories more compelling than Juan Soda, who's
had a phenomenal June. He was a Player of the
Month Back in the day, I watched Larry Bird and Magic.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
I could care less if they had a bad first
half or an average of profession I.
Speaker 9 (26:03):
Want to see Burd and Magic in the All Star
Game every year a year, and then you're out.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Yeah, you and I agree. Finally, having been in Major
League Baseball, a former number one pick Texas, it's the
Yankees it's a broadcaster, it's the Mariners. Now you're a
co owner of an NBA team, The cultures are totally different.
Whereas the NFL is all about the shield, baseball is
all about the ten year contract, the NBA is kind
(26:28):
of all about the superstar. Just tell me, having watched
the NBA now a co owner, is there anything that
surprised you about it? Is there anything as somebody that
knows sports about as well as anybody I know as
a former player, that is, the culture's different, more fun,
more interesting, captivating. Where are you with that?
Speaker 9 (26:47):
Well, the history's much different, Colin, It's been I've been
part of Major League Baseball now for over thirty years,
and I've had some highs and I've had some lows,
but I've learned a lot of lessons along the way.
What's interesting about the biggest difference is that, you know,
we had Marvin Miller as a players Union, Then we
had Don fear as ahead, then we had Michael Wiener.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Now we have Tony Clark.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (27:10):
You know, from the minute you come into the big leagues,
the enemy has been owners. Players and owners have really
had a really long, tough relationship. Where in the NBA
owners love love the players. The players have a really
good relationship with the owners, and that's been the biggest
difference that I've seen firsthand.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, Alex Rodriguez, Fox, major League Baseball analyst tonight the
All Star Game in Atlanta. Great seniors. Always appreciate you
giving us some time.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
You got it. Thank you.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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