July 10, 2026 • 38 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon debated if it’s time to move on from Christian Pulisic. Jon Paul Morosi joins the show to talk about the World Cup and MLB. And how the heck have the Commanders not retired No. 44 for John Riggins??
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hello, Welcome in side hour two the Jason Smith Show
with my bas.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Friend Mike Harmon. This time it counts.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the show.
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search Jason Smith Show on YouTube and subscribe. Well another day,
I'll tell you that nobody more excited for football season
(00:58):
to start than the US men national team.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Fair? Are we just gonna get beat.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Around the head every single day until teams report for football? Yes,
that's what's happening. Uh. The aftermath of the loss to
Belgium got even crazier today and We'll get to the
Christian Polisic part of it in a couple of minutes,
because there's something we're really not talking enough about with
regards to Polisic. But something I saw that was that
(01:24):
I thought was so interesting today was seeing ESPN had
a big breakdown of one of their experts, Uh, what
went wrong for the United States in the game against
Belgium and what their overall grades are in certain perspectives,
not just coaching gray defense grade, but what was there
great for the attack? What was it great for preparation
(01:45):
going in? And you know, I mean, and it's interesting,
and I'm going, okay, because I want to see goes
all different, you know, perspectives on what people think. But
the thing that stuck out to me the most was
what the person writing the article wrote about what they
were told by by a fellow coach anonymously. Right, you
(02:06):
heard Carly Lloyd say on Fox that she felt the
United States lost the game against Belgium before the game started, Right,
They came out with no energy, they looked terrible, and
Belgium just you know, ran the table from the beginning.
And in the article, it was the coach who was
anonymous was quoted that watching the United States warm up,
I've never seen a worse warm up before a game
(02:29):
than the United States flat uninterested. They looked awful, and
they carried that into the game and that's why they started.
And I thought that was so interesting because you know,
coaching as long as I have, soccer is so different
than any other sport in that when I was coaching softball,
(02:52):
you'd see teams warm up great and teams warm up badly,
and it was zero indication of how they played like
I had. I had my team. Sometimes we warmed up
awesome and I'm like, yeah, we're ready to go, and
then all of a sudden, it's five to nothing after
the second inning, and I'm like, what happened to us?
What happened? And certain times I'll see another team warm
up while we're doing our one, and I look at
the other team and I'll see what the how the
picture is throwing and what they're hitting, and they're just
(03:13):
hitting lasers and they're station to station there, and I
and you would say, wow, they look like they're ready
to play, and then we wind up winning the game
eight one. Right, So softball, I've never really seen any
sort of correlation between how a team warmed up and
how they played right. So sometimes it's it's about your
If your picture warms up good and your picture's throwing great,
doesn't matter. But I've never able to say, well, hey,
(03:37):
don't worry, you know, I always tell I always tell
the girls the same thing, like if they may finish
warm up, we get to the dugout first, and they
would say, uh boy, look at that boy. They're really
warmed Well, that girl's really big and she's hitting the
ball here. They're doing this, and I always say the
same thing. Takes more than a can of paint to
make it a thunder road, right like, and they're like,
what did I go? Eventually you'll see grease, But I'm like,
you know it, just because they look good doesn't mean they're.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Gonna go great.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Reference But no, no, everybody's seeing grease point, everybody's seeing Greece.
Uh So softball, there's zero, literally zero correlation. You know,
all the games I've ever coached, sometimes they warm up great,
sometimes they don't. Sometimes the other team, but in soccer,
I would always watch the other team warm up, and
every game, I can tell you every single game I
(04:21):
knew the kind of game that we were in for.
After watching the team warm up, if I saw if
they were warming up and they were sharp, and they
were powerful, and they were on their kicks, I would say, Okay,
this is gonna be a tough game. They're gonna take
it to us right to the beginning. And I was right.
If I saw them warm up a little bit loosely,
I would say, Okay, here's the defenders warming up. They're
a little bit loose. We're gonna be able to get
(04:42):
after them. We're gonna be able to get after them
on the ball. We're gonna pressure them, pressure their defenders.
Watch them warm up, right, Who was watching your team war?
So I know I know my team were I know
I know my team, I see I see them enough,
so I would watch it and I would always say
and I was always right. I was always right. I
knew games. If my team didn't warm up great, ago,
we're coming out of this gate badly. And I got
a really pick them up before the game, going, hey,
are we ready to play? Because they're gonna take it
(05:02):
to us right out of the gate, right and they're
gonna get a goal in the first two minutes. If
you're not ready to go. Soccer I always knew because
there was just you can tell why a team how
ready they are for this game, because it's it's about
the frame of mind when you start with running and
the physicality. There is nothing else you have to worry
about starting soccer outside of your effort. When you are
(05:25):
starting a game, it is about your effort. Right with baseball, hey,
the pitcher is great, okay, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:31):
And football, if the quarterback's great, what are you gonna do,
if the offensive line is blowing open holes? What are
you gonna do? But soccer, the beginning of the game
is all about your effort where you are. And I
again I owe every single game it's gonna be a
tough game. This is gonna be a game we're gonna
we're gonna roll over them. This is they're gonna be
They're gonna be vulnerable here, They're not vulnerable here. And
to see that and it just I just shake my
(05:53):
head and I go and this is where for Pochatino,
who I thought, that's such a great job. I'm like,
this is on you, Like this is the one thing
I can say, all right, you want to talk about poach. Okay,
the guys are flat, and that really is unbelievable, but
it happens. You gotta get them. You got to grab
their attention so they know coming out of the gate,
this team, this is the bleeping World Cup.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Man.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Fifty million people are watching this game and you're warming
up like we're getting ready to play a friendly in Canada, right,
I mean, what are we doing? What's going on?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
What are we doing?
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Like?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
What's going on? You have to find a way to
get their attention, whether it's before the game or something,
or find a way because you can't just get on
the field and and have the team start the game
that way right like they were out of the game
very early because of their lack of effort and their
lack of focus and being flat. And I can't believe that.
That's gotta be something that the coaching staff saw. It's
(06:48):
got to be something they say, Hey, our warm ups
are in great, man, we gotta do something here a
little bit. Okay, let's make sure we're foot whatever it is. Mentally,
what you need to talk to a player, You talk
to your captain. You gotta talk to Tim Reim. Hey, Tim,
first of all, want to tell you, Hey, you're you're
in for a bad game. Just you know, just you know,
try to try to do the best and don't freeze
whatever it is. You got to find a way to
make sure that they are at peak performance ready for
(07:10):
the game. And I'm sorry, but that's a yes. The
players should be motivated. I don't know how you're not
motivated to play that way in the World Cup when
you're at that level. But this generation has always had
a problem playing flat in big games. The polistic generation
has always had a problem being flat. Why are they
so flat? Why is Anthony Robinson this? Why is Desk this?
(07:31):
How are how are they all playing this way? But
that's when you're a coach. Okay, I see this problem
and I got a rectified and it was not rectified
that that to me was the biggest fail. It doesn't
matter when you get on the pitch with Belgium and
you see that they're a better team and they're executed
a little bit better. Okay, but you damn sure can
control your effort in in the beginning of the game
and make sure you are mentally ready to play. And
(07:53):
and that was we talked about the mental aspect of
this game. And that's where the United States fell the
most short was mentally playing this game.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, we talk about showing up and showing up. That's it.
That's all you can control.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
I just know for many years, you know, all of
the youth soccer and different teams and watching it. There
were days where you'd watch the warm up and be like, yeah,
you know, it's the middle of the afternoon. We had
to drive two hundred miles to come to this game,
and everybody arrived at a different time. This this is
going to start ugly, but they'll snap into it. Hopefully
(08:24):
they don't give up the early early goal and fall
out early. But for the United States, I mean, everybody
went out of their way for excuse making in that
thirty six hours leading up to kickoff. Right of Oh,
if it goes bad and it became all the political thing, ah,
the referees are going to be out. Oh it's us
against the world. It's always us against the world. If
you're not been paying attention for low of these many years,
(08:47):
no matter what it is, that has been the case.
But for this group of individuals, and I like that
you made it the Polisic era, holistic generation. Well it
is he's at in America. I mean Pepsi was the
choice of anything. It's a reason, it's a reason why
I'm done with I told you I'm done with the
Golden Generation. That's time to retool around that the three
(09:10):
stud players you got, Balligan and Tillman and Freeman and
find your next group. Right, I'm done, like even And
to get into the politic part of this now, is
that obviously his injury bone bruise that.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Is going to keep him out for a while. That
story comes out today and obviously we knew Polisic was
dinged up because he had the bad step he comes
out of the game after the third goal for Belgium.
Forget the on and off field hate that he's been
getting the last couple of days from basically everybody. Right,
this is a guy that needs a vacation. Go somewhere
were there's no phone.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
But he just had them.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Now he can rust now, now you can Afore, he's
had a lot of missteps both on the field, what
he has talked about, the opinions of him. All of
that is legitimate, right, all of that. We you've heard that,
you know, you've you've for the last twenty four to
thirty six hours. That's all you've heard about. You've gotten
stories from former US Men's star players saying, ah, you know,
(10:04):
he's not the greatest guy. He doesn't shake hands with
the analysts before the game. He's not somebody that's really approachabe.
You've heard of all of that, right, And all of
that is legitimate, right, all of that is legitimate for
Christian Polisic. But what needs to be talked about more
is that. Okay, again, here it is another game where
Policic got hurt and he missed a lot of the game,
(10:26):
and now he's going to be out for a little while, like, no, whatever,
and forget about the aspect of the Oh, how injured
is he? Really? Is this just an excuse to try
to get more publicity? No, no, no, Whether it is or not,
it doesn't matter because what's not being talked about enough
with Polisic is that his entire career, he has not
been able to stay healthy. Go back to twenty twenty
(10:46):
he's not been able to stay healthy. Right, he has
had alternating injuries for the past six years. Right, go
back to twenty twenty twenty two, the fine and hamstring
problems that that that dogged him for a long time,
Right the pelvic can two usion he got on the
goal against Iran, Right that, hey, we won a game
in the World Cup, and now hurting him out, okay,
And now you want to talk about him getting hurt
(11:07):
twice in this World Cup. Right, you had the bone berus,
now you had the calf injury. He's been limited with
games he has played overseas because he just can't stay healthy.
And that's just as big a problem. But no one's
focusing on that because obviously the sexiness of the story.
If I can't believe we lost and I want blood.
But one of the other reasons why hey turn the
(11:28):
page on this on Polisic in this generation, but this
is a polistic thing, is that you can't count on
him and you need to be able to count on
your players. And there's lots of guys in the last
ten fifteen years you thought, okay, this could be a
really good player for World Cups, and then they get
hurt and then they're gone, like Josie Altabe.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Altador is a great example.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Right right alongside with him, they were going to be contemporaries,
and that was the stack. He couldn't stay healthy, and
for Polisic, we talked about it after the loss on Monday, right,
the stub goes for the can't into uh the opponent's
foot and then he ultimately comes off the pitch and
can't play through. And I was saying micro fracture all
(12:08):
these other things, and you know, you, you all can
decide on where you come down on this being released
today of their trying to uh back off and put
up a little fort around the around Polisic in his feels,
uh to to save a little bit a face after
the attack that's been out here. But you were the
(12:29):
face of it, all right, You weren't the captain. Which
is a whole other discussion point that has been raised
throughout all of this is that's not a guy that
was elected captain by either of these coaches. And now
it would appear that it's done and if he's around,
he plays a secondary role going forward.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
I mean, if if I thought that there would be
a case of he'll get healthy, but you've seen the
times to be healthy, right, I mean, he just and
when it's big games and he can't stay healthy, all right,
like that that's just as big a deal as all
the other things. We talk about him in the underachieving, but.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
It becomes the mental and physical thing.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
To your point earlier about warm ups and being ready holistic,
I mean, can you fight through it? Can you play?
Play and give give another twenty minutes? Because most of
these games, that's all you're asking.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, I mean when when he's missing one hundred and
fifty days half the year in Europe half the time.
Now you simply get to a point with a player
when they have an injury history where if they're hurt early,
you say to yourself, Okay, you get hurt here a
little bit, but it's the riggers of the game. He's
(13:39):
got to get used to the pounding and it's going
to get better. Then okay, then he's back. But then
he gets hurt again, and you go mmmm, all right,
you know now he's injured. But boy, hopefully he's able
to put this injury stuff behind him. He's still young enough.
But then you get hurt the third time and it's okay,
we're not we can't count him anymore. And that's really political.
(14:01):
I mean for two years he was hurt off and
on earlier in the twenties, then he was heard a
couple of years ago. Now he's certain. Now it's like, Okay,
you can't. You can't count on him, You just can't.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
He didn't play shit for half a game though.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You can't play minutes. Can't play minutes, man, He guy
can't play it more than half the game, right, I
mean that's why why the Golden Generation?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
But moving on from Polisic, the guy can't say that
part is not being talked about enough. Exit out about
a Fresca exit swalling down. The Jason Smith Show with
My best friend Mike Harmon. Coming up next, John Paul
Morosi stops by MLB Network Insider extraordinary, Oh my goodness,
how many problems do the Yankees have? We'll get a
big trade deadline preview. Keep it right here, Jason to Mike.
(14:40):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with My best.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Friend Mike Harmon, Well Dressed Hobo.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
You miss any today's show, be sure to catch podcast.
Just search Jason Smith and Mike Harmon wherever you get
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Wherever you gets your podcasts, you'll find today's full show
and a besta version posted right after we get off
the air. Joining us now on the hotline of man
(15:18):
who is uniquely qualified for many things. Right now, he's
uniquely qualified to talk about the Major League Baseball trade deadline,
what is next for the Yankees, what we could see
next in the World Cup, MLB Network insider extraordinaire, World
Cup reporter, all around good guy, still trying to get
a meeting with the Pope. It is John Paul Morosi,
(15:38):
John Paul, it's happening, man, How are you?
Speaker 4 (15:41):
I'm doing great, my friends. I think what we're gonna
see a whole lot of between now and the end
of the World Cup is Imbape and Benballe and Les Blue.
Because I just don't see anyone beating France. That's my
That's not exactly a hot take, but I have not
seen anybody out there that's better than France right now. No.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Look, we talked about that the beginning of the show,
that of all the best, look, we look like we're
in a collision course of Argentina and England and Spain
and France. Everybody else has problems, right, Hey, Spain's defense
is terrific. I have a lot of goal but they
can't score. Right. England is scoring, but their defense is leaky.
Argentina needed every bit of officiating help to get by Egypt.
(16:25):
But France has no problems at all. I mean, France
did You're seeing the best roster, You're seeing the best players,
and they started the World Cup and they looked like
they were peaking and they're still peaking now. And it
may just be a very boring next couple of weeks
with France winning and you know, two nothing, you know,
three nothing, two to one, and that's kind of how
it's going to go.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Well. I will say this that this World Cup has
taught us not to expect ennything boring about the beautiful
game or this particular tournament. That even when results happen
that you expect, they often transpire and unfold in extraordinary ways.
And that was certainly the case when you look at
(17:07):
Argentina vi. Cabo Verde, and even even the game today
France over Morocco. The way the French won it was
of course, goal was at halftime, and then just their
extraordinary skill took over the Imbappe goal. I'm sure most
people listening to us right now have seen it, but
the degree of difficulty. There was a defender right in
(17:29):
front of Killian and Bappe at that time. He was
right in front of him. He just bent the ball
around him in a way that almost defies physics, gravity
and anything that humans are supposed to be able to do.
And then he tucks it right inside the post. I mean,
it is an unsavable shot. He cannot be guarded, he
cannot be controlled or stopped. He's elite, and of course
(17:53):
if he runs up against Messi, which would just be extraordinary. Theaters,
there's this World Cup, and again I realized our nation
is crashed out early, at least by our standards right
now and our expectations. But there is still so much
great to go. And by the way, I love it
that the US, I mean, I don't love it that
(18:15):
the US lost, but I love the way that we're
responding to it, which is in such a fashion that
tells us that it matters that we care about this,
that what happens at the Olympics in two years will matter,
and the Copa America will matter, and qualifying for the
next World Cup will matter. So I love it. I
love the passion. You know me, I'm a passionate guy,
(18:36):
and so to see the soccer fandom and debate and
hot takes. Hey man, sign me up for this all
the time. This is far preferable to most other things
that we can discuss right now, unless we're talking about
the plight of the New York Yankees, in which case
I'm all in. We can talk about any time.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Let's talk about all of that outside of a guy
named Ben Rice and maybe cloning him, issues with the
pitching staff. You've got Aaron Judge talking a little out
of school. Is he's on the comeback trail? I mean,
they won today and they're still well above five hundred,
but certainly not the season anticipated. What do they do
with the deadline?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Man, they have got some work to do. And I
think that it's at least at least one bat, one
significant bat. Is it Taylor Ward from within the American
League East? I think he would help. He's certainly one
name to watch. The issue is there's not really an
(19:35):
abundance of position players impact position players available right now.
It's a market that is a little heavier on the
pitching side of things. And certainly you could argue, well,
I believe that the Yankees should add a little bit
of pitching help too, But you look at a team
like the Nationals, for example, They've got some bats to trade,
(19:58):
but they're not really motivated to trade DJ Abrams or
James Wood would is the better fit. I just don't
know if the Yankees have enough prospects that would that
would entice the Nationals to make that move. And if
you believe that Lombard is your future shortstop, are you
really gonna block him right now? With with Abrams? I
(20:21):
love Abrams, but are you gonna layer in someone right
over the top of a guy that you believe is
your future, unless, of course, you are fearful of promoting
Lombard in the way that you promoted Volpi. And we've
seen how the Vulpi thing has played out, which is
not good. And all this back and forth. Did he
refuse to play second base? Did he not refuse to
play second base? Uh, it's it's an interesting time if
(20:44):
i'm if I'm advising Volpi, Not that anyone's asked my opinion,
he's in a spot where he's he has to do
whatever he can to get on the field. Now. He's
been playing shortstop lately, but quite simply look at his
his batting average is in his four years of Major
League baseball two poh nine, two three two twelve to
(21:06):
forty two. Yon Basis has gone up this year markedly
because at least he's walking, but he's got one home run.
So it's to me, they're they're a team that, yes,
in name, they're the New York Yankees, that they've got
the uniform and the ballpark and everything else, but when
you take Judge out of the equation, they're not a
(21:28):
scary team to face right now. And that's not really
not Aaron Boone's fault. It's not Judge's fault. He got hurt.
But you look around and this is not what I
would describe as a dynamic lineup. They have got some
work to do to support the guys they've got, And
count me among those who are wondering exactly what is
(21:49):
in store for the Yankees at the deadline and beyond,
because we're just not seeing a team that is scaring
other ball clubs right now now.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Speaking of that's a big word, John Paul, that you
throughout they're scared, because when did the Yankees turn into
this scared franchise. They're afraid to make moves, They're afraid
to trade their prospects, They're afraid to move on from
their prospects when they haven't played well. They're just I mean,
not even the team that they were when you say
twenty twenty five years ago where they were, but not
even the team like ten years ago where they would
(22:19):
at least take some big swings.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Now.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I feel like they're just afraid to do anything now
because they're paralyzed by indecision. And if we make the
wrong move and the guy we trade out turns into
a star, it's going to be the worst thing in
the world. Like, when did the Yankees just start operating
in this scared fashion.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
It's a good question, and I think it's happened over
time if you look at it. Brian Cashman's been a
pretty bold GM and making any number of moves over
the years. At the time he initially acquired Chapman that
was controversial. He's made bold and controversial statements when it
(22:56):
comes to Alex Rodriguez over the years and he had
to handle and the later years of Jeter's career, which
wasn't always easy. Posada's career wasn't always easy. A lot
of different things He's handled with a degree of candor
and decisiveness. But you're right, it does seem as though
in some ways the Yankees have been a little bit
(23:18):
too cautious. And also take for example, Spencer Jones, and
we can debate was he ever a guy that would
have brought back the players that you needed. Spencer Jones
is not twenty one, he's twenty five, and he's played
a little bit at the major league level thirty games
there the one hundred played appearances, and basically with Spencer Jones,
(23:41):
the numbers at the major league level reinforce the concern
people had about him in the minor leagues, which is
he strikes out too much. He's averaging more than one
strikeout per game play right now with two home runs
at the major league level. So I'm looking at this
lineup in this team, and obviously they've got, when he's healthy,
the best pure offensive player in the game. I believe
(24:04):
an Aaron Judge Bellinger has had an okay year Grisham's
had a solid year. Cabrierra has done what you expect
him to do, but he shouldn't be batting in the
middle of a lineup. So it's just a team that
has been I believe, whether it's analytics or a change
in ownership philosophy, or not wanting to extend themselves too
(24:25):
much because they're concerned about what sort of salary cap
might be coming down the line in the future. It's
a great question, but I'm seeing the same thing. They're
just not as decisive of an organization as they used
to be, and they're gonna potentially pay for it with
yet another year without a title. Guys, it's been since
(24:45):
two thousand and nine. That is an eternity for the
New York Yankees, and I just don't see that drought
ending here in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
JP with an eye toward the trade deadline and further
off in the horizon the potential of the labor dispute,
how much activity do we see over the next couple
of weeks for.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
The trade deadline and where is Dreek Schoob going.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
It's a great question. So, first of all, I increasingly
I think Terry School might be staying with the Detroit Tigers.
That they're twenty one and twelve since the first of June,
best record in the American League over that time span,
and they keep getting more and more confident. I actually
had a conversation with Terrek after its start earlier this
week on Tuesday, so forty eight hours ago. Was talking
with him, and he seemed pretty confident that this team
(25:31):
is going to keep playing well and keep forcing the
front office to keep this group together. And right now,
I believe it. Last checked their three and a half
games out of a playoff spot, So as lot as
they have been and as awful as they played in May,
they're right back in this thing. And if they can
finish at five hundred, which I think is certainly within
the RAMA possibility, they're right there in the conversation for
(25:54):
a playoff Berth. So it may not be the most
the most logical course to take if to the Tigers,
but I believe they can keep schooble and make a
run of this thing. So I think he stays put.
But I do think one of the interesting things that
I'm going to be looking for, Mike is how many
teams I think there are some out there that giants
(26:15):
come to mind that are not playing well that might
look for a way to unload a little bit of
money because they're concerned about if they might run up
against whatever the new salary cap is. Obviously a lot
of us expect if it comes into play, it's going
to be a more graduated time where it takes a
few years to roll it out. But if you've got
(26:36):
a contract and move now is not a bad time
in the movement because being able to clean up your books,
entering a potential work stoppage, and whatever the new future
looks like, that might be a pretty wise way of
going about it.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
So do you see any change to the deadline? Do
you see deals happening earlier deals happening not at all,
because of you know, teams might be afraid of the
unknown of what the next labor situation could be.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Yeah, it's a good point. I think that we will
still see a relatively normal, normal amount of behavior and activity.
It's interesting that theoretically, I think that what we're talking
about with labor relations et cetera, puts more ideas on
the table, And I do think when more ideas are
(27:22):
on the table, you do see teams getting more creative.
That being said, a deadline's a deadline, and a deadline
for the new normal, and whatever the new pay structure
of the game is going to be is still a
long time away from now whenever it's going to happen.
And if I know anything about covering Major League Baseball
for two decades, the people in charge of teams, they
(27:44):
don't make choices until about a half a second before
the deadline. About whatever the deadline is, They're going to
take this thing to the limit. And of course right
now they're mostly focused on the draft, and they should be.
It's a big deal in the industry. But I do
think that we will have a relatively normal amount of activity.
It'll be concentrated probably in the final week before the deadline,
(28:07):
and I don't think that we will see any any
dramatic uptick in moving because of the CBA situation. It
will be I expect a standard level of activity, which
which I like, sign me up for a normally busy, frenetic,
hectic deadline day and lead in and giving us the
three of us plenty of times to discuss such matters
(28:30):
here in the weeks ahead.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Now I know there's a lot of hand ringing right now.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
JP that a number of starters that won't be available
for the All Star Game because of their scheduled pitch day.
So let's just talk about Misowski versus Skeens for a moment.
Shall we early Sunday morning? How about we get after
it seven and eight with his three five eight e R.
Paul skens Sky is falling when he gives up two
or few two or fewer runs in almost every Startkean.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Is interesting, Mike, because there does seem to be a
little bit more labor in his in his delivery right now.
It's it's it's not quite as easy and as fluid
as it's always been. And and my colleague Mark Durosa
broke it down recently on on m WILLB Network about this.
So I think that schemes, it's probably not the worst
(29:19):
thing that he won't be pitching in the in the
All Star Game for him, for his sake, obviously, we
all want to see him, and we want we all
want to see him his but I think that's a
pretty good it's a pretty good little break for him,
and I think that'll be wise. I'll be really curious
to see guys if the Pirates back him off a
little bit coming out of the break and maybe slot
him into a little bit of a later position in
(29:41):
the post break rotation to give him even a little
bit more time off. The Pirates. They're still in it.
The Reds have fallen away, the Reds will be and
should be sellers, but the Pirates are still in this thing.
The other matchup for Sunday, to get your popcorn ready
for this one, the Phillies in Detroit for Interleague. Zach
Wheeler against Scooble. How about that to end the first half,
(30:05):
So a good test of whether the Tigers can sustain
their momentum. Of course, Kevin mcgonagal, the Philly Airy Area native,
will be playing against the Phillies, which will be a
lot of fun, so tune in. I mean there's I
love the World Cup too, and we got it. We
gotta keep the interest experience, but I'm gonna I'm on
the hard cell here for Genes in the mizz and
(30:26):
then Wheels and Trek. We got some pretty good pitching
matchups to conclude the first half.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
He's on Twitter at John Morosi, that is at John Morosi,
MLB Network Insider extraordinair. John Paul is always appreciate it,
my friend. We'll talk to you next week, unless Sturgey
starts offloading players, then we're calling you back.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
You call me anytime, you guys. I love you, Love
the conversation and appreciate the chance to talk about the
beautiful game and the national pastime with both of you.
As always talk to you.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific,
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
The Jason Smith Show with my bass friend Mike Harmon.
Boy do we add a couple of crazy stories come
in your way in about twenty minutes, Tell Allen that.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
The Mets sucking.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
We just beat the Royals two out of three and
the Royals are in first place in the Al Central.
Wow you believe that when I said that, didn't?
Speaker 4 (31:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
No, they actually have the worst record in baseball. Yeah, yeah,
there you go. But finally, today we've heard in a
way from the Warriors in their reaction to potentially Lebron
James joining them.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
We had reports the last couple of days from Shams
Tarani of ESPN that Lebron's down to three teams Cleveland,
Miami and Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Everybody else can still put in a voicemail.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yes, just because you're on that list doesn't mean you
can't call Rich Hall and put in a voicemail ninety
nine cents a minute. Yeah, just Rich, stop picking up
the phone. You want me to leave a voicemail. But
the very beginning when Lebron announced that he was leaving
the Lakers, Golden State was a very potential hot destination
because the allure of playing with Steph Curry and Draymond
(32:13):
and maybe a d would be there the traveling road
show of Guys over thirty five. It would be fantastic,
jokes wrote themselves. They're still third on the Calshi list.
But we've never heard anything from the Warriors since that
came out. Wait, why did we hear from Steve Kerr?
Speaker 4 (32:27):
I heard?
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well, finally we heard from Steph Curry today, who talked
about it and addressed the potential of Lebron playing with
Golden State. I want Lebron to play golf with me.
Is that your Steph Curry?
Speaker 5 (32:44):
That's your.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Say?
Speaker 6 (32:48):
More so, I'm interested to just play golf with Lebron.
We handle the basketball stuff. But I want to see
the golf Lebron free agent. He's out here really grinding
on the game. But I'm sure we obviously would love
to play together. We hopefully it happens, but you know,
he's deserved the opportunity in the right to take his
time with the decision.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Yeah, Frostburger, I think yours was better. That was pretty good.
That that was pretty good. Uh So here's Steph Curry.
He has acknowledging the allure of playing with Lebron. But
you know, we'll see. But let's see how it goes.
This is not what you would expect Steph Curry to
say if he really wanted to play with Lebron, if
(33:30):
that could Lebron, you don't have to worry about tampering,
You don't have to worry about anything. You want to win,
right If you're Steph Curry, you want you don't want
to sit here and go Man, the last ten years
of my career are gonna suck because no one's coming
here to play. If you really wanted to play with Lebron, James,
the answer to, hey what about Lebron, Hey we got
a place for him. We're excited Lebron can come here.
He can make a joke about how hey we could
(33:52):
use our our heat bomb together. Whatever we can all get,
he can set you say something.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
Pebble Beach, I got a swing guyack and help him
with this golf thing.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Yeah, I mean he can move in with me, right, like,
you know it's fine. Wasn't Pat Croachey didn't he move
in with people when he was doing that TV show
for a while. Uh, that's what you say if you
really want Lebron but instead you get Steph Curry going, yeah,
the golf. Lebron is a guy I want to talk
about all. Yeah, this is Steph Curry saying without really saying, yeah, thanks,
(34:25):
but the time has passed for us to play together,
right maybe because you do not. You know, if you're
Golden State, you need people to come play. Free agency
is over. It's over.
Speaker 6 (34:35):
Man.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
You could potentially be getting Lebron James who would want
to show up. And that's how you say it. Now.
Obviously he probably knows they're not going to get him,
because that could be part of it. But still, if
he hasn't signed with anybody yet, and you know he's
talked before about it, don't you say even if it
comes apart as a joke. You say, hey, come on,
I got I got stuff for you can come here, X,
Y and Z everything else. But to hear him say
(34:58):
it that way, I don't think Steph wants to play
with Lebron. I don't think he has any desire to
play with Lebron James, because once you heard the Warriors
name last week, there was the first out of anybody's mouth.
You got nothing from Draymond. You have nothing from Curry,
You got nothing from from from Curry and these all
ties again, don't have to worry about tampering or anything else.
You could say whatever you want because he's opting out.
(35:19):
He's a free agent, and you heard nothing from the Warriors.
I don't think they ever had any desire to partner
up with him at any point.
Speaker 5 (35:26):
Well with Draymond, he's an unrestricted free agent. That's his guy.
And you know the whispers are that wherever Lebron is,
Draymond's right there with him. Right again, going back to
that Donovan Mitchell contract, money left on the table, there's
enough for two of us and Bronni that will we'll
come through. But for Steph, Curry, Steve Kerr, whomever, else.
(35:49):
Not a lot of opportunity, right, I mean, I don't know.
Holy Moly, is that in production right now. That wouldn't
be airing.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
They don't do.
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Those shows live. His mini golf show, he wouldn't have that.
I don't think he's doing any podcasts. But he showed
up for the golf tournament this weekend and did some press,
and that's what you get. I would have expected that
over the course of a week plus he would have
had a better statement to it, at a better endgame.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
I don't I don't know that it means he didn't
want to play with him.
Speaker 5 (36:17):
I think it just a kind of danced around the
idea of well, it's just not gonna happen. But rather
than just saying it categorically, this is as mealy mouthed
as you're gonna get.
Speaker 4 (36:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
But but I mean, if you really want, there's other
ways to make it work out. The money could be
worked out. Remember, Draymond didn't take that money hoping that
it would be for Lebron to come here like everything
was there and now suddenly it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Like what I.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
Mean, though Draymond might be out the door and step
might be sitting on an iron thrown of his own hair,
going I finally got rid of everybody.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
And I know we make fun of Rich Paul for
trying to push the market for Lebron games where there
really isn't that great a market. But honestly, I wonder
how many teams just really want him. I wonder if
is this is his three teams? Is it hot interest
from the Heat, is it hot interest from the Sixers,
or is the best interest kind of a lukewarm interest
(37:08):
from Cleveland, where yeah, we'll take you because we understand
the good it can be for both sides. It helps you,
it helps us. Like honestly, if you said to me,
is there any interest in Lebron James across the league?
I would say probably not because it's the end of
free agency and Rich Paul can say anything he wants to.
But if Lebron James really was that sought after, somebody
would have signed him. By now, somebody would have signed him.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (37:31):
I think it comes back to I mean, like he
wants to dictate when he makes an announcement whatever, So
take that as it will. But for all of it,
there's far more than how much money he's gonna take.
He's got to accept his role on the on the team,
and like I've said all along, I don't believe he
was okay being third with the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Exit out bout of Fresca, exit swollen down the Jason
Smith Show with my best friend Mike Carma. We got
more on Lebron James plus the craziest story out of
the NBA today. Want to hear it? That's next, Jason
to Mike Fox.
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hello, Welcome in side hour two the Jason Smith Show
with my bas.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Friend Mike Harmon. This time it counts.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the show.
Just search Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again, that's Jason
Smiths Show. Hit the subscribe button. After you've done that,
tap the thumbs up icon, comment away whether you agree
or disagree, let us know what you think. Again, just
search Jason Smith Show on YouTube and subscribe. Well another day,
I'll tell you that nobody more excited for football season
(00:58):
to start than the US men national team.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Fair? Are we just gonna get beat.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Around the head every single day until teams report for football? Yes,
that's what's happening. Uh. The aftermath of the loss to
Belgium got even crazier today and We'll get to the
Christian Polisic part of it in a couple of minutes,
because there's something we're really not talking enough about with
regards to Polisic. But something I saw that was that
(01:24):
I thought was so interesting today was seeing ESPN had
a big breakdown of one of their experts, Uh, what
went wrong for the United States in the game against
Belgium and what their overall grades are in certain perspectives,
not just coaching gray defense grade, but what was there
great for the attack? What was it great for preparation
(01:45):
going in? And you know, I mean, and it's interesting,
and I'm going, okay, because I want to see goes
all different, you know, perspectives on what people think. But
the thing that stuck out to me the most was
what the person writing the article wrote about what they
were told by by a fellow coach anonymously. Right, you
(02:06):
heard Carly Lloyd say on Fox that she felt the
United States lost the game against Belgium before the game started, Right,
They came out with no energy, they looked terrible, and
Belgium just you know, ran the table from the beginning.
And in the article, it was the coach who was
anonymous was quoted that watching the United States warm up,
I've never seen a worse warm up before a game
(02:29):
than the United States flat uninterested. They looked awful, and
they carried that into the game and that's why they started.
And I thought that was so interesting because you know,
coaching as long as I have, soccer is so different
than any other sport in that when I was coaching softball,
(02:52):
you'd see teams warm up great and teams warm up badly,
and it was zero indication of how they played like
I had. I had my team. Sometimes we warmed up
awesome and I'm like, yeah, we're ready to go, and
then all of a sudden, it's five to nothing after
the second inning, and I'm like, what happened to us?
What happened? And certain times I'll see another team warm
up while we're doing our one, and I look at
the other team and I'll see what the how the
picture is throwing and what they're hitting, and they're just
(03:13):
hitting lasers and they're station to station there, and I
and you would say, wow, they look like they're ready
to play, and then we wind up winning the game
eight one. Right, So softball, I've never really seen any
sort of correlation between how a team warmed up and
how they played right. So sometimes it's it's about your
If your picture warms up good and your picture's throwing great,
doesn't matter. But I've never able to say, well, hey,
(03:37):
don't worry, you know, I always tell I always tell
the girls the same thing, like if they may finish
warm up, we get to the dugout first, and they
would say, uh boy, look at that boy. They're really
warmed Well, that girl's really big and she's hitting the
ball here. They're doing this, and I always say the
same thing. Takes more than a can of paint to
make it a thunder road, right like, and they're like,
what did I go? Eventually you'll see grease, But I'm like,
you know it, just because they look good doesn't mean they're.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Gonna go great.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Reference But no, no, everybody's seeing grease point, everybody's seeing Greece.
Uh So softball, there's zero, literally zero correlation. You know,
all the games I've ever coached, sometimes they warm up great,
sometimes they don't. Sometimes the other team, but in soccer,
I would always watch the other team warm up, and
every game, I can tell you every single game I
(04:21):
knew the kind of game that we were in for.
After watching the team warm up, if I saw if
they were warming up and they were sharp, and they
were powerful, and they were on their kicks, I would say, Okay,
this is gonna be a tough game. They're gonna take
it to us right to the beginning. And I was right.
If I saw them warm up a little bit loosely,
I would say, Okay, here's the defenders warming up. They're
a little bit loose. We're gonna be able to get
(04:42):
after them. We're gonna be able to get after them
on the ball. We're gonna pressure them, pressure their defenders.
Watch them warm up, right, Who was watching your team war?
So I know I know my team were I know
I know my team, I see I see them enough,
so I would watch it and I would always say
and I was always right. I was always right. I
knew games. If my team didn't warm up great, ago,
we're coming out of this gate badly. And I got
a really pick them up before the game, going, hey,
are we ready to play? Because they're gonna take it
(05:02):
to us right out of the gate, right and they're
gonna get a goal in the first two minutes. If
you're not ready to go. Soccer I always knew because
there was just you can tell why a team how
ready they are for this game, because it's it's about
the frame of mind when you start with running and
the physicality. There is nothing else you have to worry
about starting soccer outside of your effort. When you are
(05:25):
starting a game, it is about your effort. Right with baseball, hey,
the pitcher is great, okay, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:31):
And football, if the quarterback's great, what are you gonna do,
if the offensive line is blowing open holes? What are
you gonna do? But soccer, the beginning of the game
is all about your effort where you are. And I
again I owe every single game it's gonna be a
tough game. This is gonna be a game we're gonna
we're gonna roll over them. This is they're gonna be
They're gonna be vulnerable here, They're not vulnerable here. And
to see that and it just I just shake my
(05:53):
head and I go and this is where for Pochatino,
who I thought, that's such a great job. I'm like,
this is on you, Like this is the one thing
I can say, all right, you want to talk about poach. Okay,
the guys are flat, and that really is unbelievable, but
it happens. You gotta get them. You got to grab
their attention so they know coming out of the gate,
this team, this is the bleeping World Cup.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Man.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Fifty million people are watching this game and you're warming
up like we're getting ready to play a friendly in Canada, right,
I mean, what are we doing? What's going on?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
What are we doing?
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Like?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
What's going on? You have to find a way to
get their attention, whether it's before the game or something,
or find a way because you can't just get on
the field and and have the team start the game
that way right like they were out of the game
very early because of their lack of effort and their
lack of focus and being flat. And I can't believe that.
That's gotta be something that the coaching staff saw. It's
(06:48):
got to be something they say, Hey, our warm ups
are in great, man, we gotta do something here a
little bit. Okay, let's make sure we're foot whatever it is. Mentally,
what you need to talk to a player, You talk
to your captain. You gotta talk to Tim Reim. Hey, Tim,
first of all, want to tell you, Hey, you're you're
in for a bad game. Just you know, just you know,
try to try to do the best and don't freeze
whatever it is. You got to find a way to
make sure that they are at peak performance ready for
(07:10):
the game. And I'm sorry, but that's a yes. The
players should be motivated. I don't know how you're not
motivated to play that way in the World Cup when
you're at that level. But this generation has always had
a problem playing flat in big games. The polistic generation
has always had a problem being flat. Why are they
so flat? Why is Anthony Robinson this? Why is Desk this?
(07:31):
How are how are they all playing this way? But
that's when you're a coach. Okay, I see this problem
and I got a rectified and it was not rectified
that that to me was the biggest fail. It doesn't
matter when you get on the pitch with Belgium and
you see that they're a better team and they're executed
a little bit better. Okay, but you damn sure can
control your effort in in the beginning of the game
and make sure you are mentally ready to play. And
(07:53):
and that was we talked about the mental aspect of
this game. And that's where the United States fell the
most short was mentally playing this game.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, we talk about showing up and showing up. That's it.
That's all you can control.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
I just know for many years, you know, all of
the youth soccer and different teams and watching it. There
were days where you'd watch the warm up and be like, yeah,
you know, it's the middle of the afternoon. We had
to drive two hundred miles to come to this game,
and everybody arrived at a different time. This this is
going to start ugly, but they'll snap into it. Hopefully
(08:24):
they don't give up the early early goal and fall
out early. But for the United States, I mean, everybody
went out of their way for excuse making in that
thirty six hours leading up to kickoff. Right of Oh,
if it goes bad and it became all the political thing, ah,
the referees are going to be out. Oh it's us
against the world. It's always us against the world. If
you're not been paying attention for low of these many years,
(08:47):
no matter what it is, that has been the case.
But for this group of individuals, and I like that
you made it the Polisic era, holistic generation. Well it
is he's at in America. I mean Pepsi was the
choice of anything. It's a reason, it's a reason why
I'm done with I told you I'm done with the
Golden Generation. That's time to retool around that the three
(09:10):
stud players you got, Balligan and Tillman and Freeman and
find your next group. Right, I'm done, like even And
to get into the politic part of this now, is
that obviously his injury bone bruise that.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Is going to keep him out for a while. That
story comes out today and obviously we knew Polisic was
dinged up because he had the bad step he comes
out of the game after the third goal for Belgium.
Forget the on and off field hate that he's been
getting the last couple of days from basically everybody. Right,
this is a guy that needs a vacation. Go somewhere
were there's no phone.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
But he just had them.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Now he can rust now, now you can Afore, he's
had a lot of missteps both on the field, what
he has talked about, the opinions of him. All of
that is legitimate, right, all of that. We you've heard that,
you know, you've you've for the last twenty four to
thirty six hours. That's all you've heard about. You've gotten
stories from former US Men's star players saying, ah, you know,
(10:04):
he's not the greatest guy. He doesn't shake hands with
the analysts before the game. He's not somebody that's really approachabe.
You've heard of all of that, right, And all of
that is legitimate, right, all of that is legitimate for
Christian Polisic. But what needs to be talked about more
is that. Okay, again, here it is another game where
Policic got hurt and he missed a lot of the game,
(10:26):
and now he's going to be out for a little while, like, no, whatever,
and forget about the aspect of the Oh, how injured
is he? Really? Is this just an excuse to try
to get more publicity? No, no, no, Whether it is or not,
it doesn't matter because what's not being talked about enough
with Polisic is that his entire career, he has not
been able to stay healthy. Go back to twenty twenty
(10:46):
he's not been able to stay healthy. Right, he has
had alternating injuries for the past six years. Right, go
back to twenty twenty twenty two, the fine and hamstring
problems that that that dogged him for a long time,
Right the pelvic can two usion he got on the
goal against Iran, Right that, hey, we won a game
in the World Cup, and now hurting him out, okay,
And now you want to talk about him getting hurt
(11:07):
twice in this World Cup. Right, you had the bone berus,
now you had the calf injury. He's been limited with
games he has played overseas because he just can't stay healthy.
And that's just as big a problem. But no one's
focusing on that because obviously the sexiness of the story.
If I can't believe we lost and I want blood.
But one of the other reasons why hey turn the
(11:28):
page on this on Polisic in this generation, but this
is a polistic thing, is that you can't count on
him and you need to be able to count on
your players. And there's lots of guys in the last
ten fifteen years you thought, okay, this could be a
really good player for World Cups, and then they get
hurt and then they're gone, like Josie Altabe.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Altador is a great example.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Right right alongside with him, they were going to be contemporaries,
and that was the stack. He couldn't stay healthy, and
for Polisic, we talked about it after the loss on Monday, right,
the stub goes for the can't into uh the opponent's
foot and then he ultimately comes off the pitch and
can't play through. And I was saying micro fracture all
(12:08):
these other things, and you know, you, you all can
decide on where you come down on this being released
today of their trying to uh back off and put
up a little fort around the around Polisic in his feels,
uh to to save a little bit a face after
the attack that's been out here. But you were the
(12:29):
face of it, all right, You weren't the captain. Which
is a whole other discussion point that has been raised
throughout all of this is that's not a guy that
was elected captain by either of these coaches. And now
it would appear that it's done and if he's around,
he plays a secondary role going forward.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
I mean, if if I thought that there would be
a case of he'll get healthy, but you've seen the
times to be healthy, right, I mean, he just and
when it's big games and he can't stay healthy, all right,
like that that's just as big a deal as all
the other things. We talk about him in the underachieving, but.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
It becomes the mental and physical thing.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
To your point earlier about warm ups and being ready holistic,
I mean, can you fight through it? Can you play?
Play and give give another twenty minutes? Because most of
these games, that's all you're asking.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, I mean when when he's missing one hundred and
fifty days half the year in Europe half the time.
Now you simply get to a point with a player
when they have an injury history where if they're hurt early,
you say to yourself, Okay, you get hurt here a
little bit, but it's the riggers of the game. He's
(13:39):
got to get used to the pounding and it's going
to get better. Then okay, then he's back. But then
he gets hurt again, and you go mmmm, all right,
you know now he's injured. But boy, hopefully he's able
to put this injury stuff behind him. He's still young enough.
But then you get hurt the third time and it's okay,
we're not we can't count him anymore. And that's really political.
(14:01):
I mean for two years he was hurt off and
on earlier in the twenties, then he was heard a
couple of years ago. Now he's certain. Now it's like, Okay,
you can't. You can't count on him, You just can't.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
He didn't play shit for half a game though.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You can't play minutes. Can't play minutes, man, He guy
can't play it more than half the game, right, I
mean that's why why the Golden Generation?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
But moving on from Polisic, the guy can't say that
part is not being talked about enough. Exit out about
a Fresca exit swalling down. The Jason Smith Show with
My best friend Mike Harmon. Coming up next, John Paul
Morosi stops by MLB Network Insider extraordinary, Oh my goodness,
how many problems do the Yankees have? We'll get a
big trade deadline preview. Keep it right here, Jason to Mike.
(14:40):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with My best.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Friend Mike Harmon, Well Dressed Hobo.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
You miss any today's show, be sure to catch podcast.
Just search Jason Smith and Mike Harmon wherever you get
your podcasts. Follow the podcast rated five stars, provide a
review again. Just search our names, Jason Smith, Mike Harmon.
Wherever you gets your podcasts, you'll find today's full show
and a besta version posted right after we get off
the air. Joining us now on the hotline of man
(15:18):
who is uniquely qualified for many things. Right now, he's
uniquely qualified to talk about the Major League Baseball trade deadline,
what is next for the Yankees, what we could see
next in the World Cup, MLB Network insider extraordinaire, World
Cup reporter, all around good guy, still trying to get
a meeting with the Pope. It is John Paul Morosi,
(15:38):
John Paul, it's happening, man, How are you?
Speaker 4 (15:41):
I'm doing great, my friends. I think what we're gonna
see a whole lot of between now and the end
of the World Cup is Imbape and Benballe and Les Blue.
Because I just don't see anyone beating France. That's my
That's not exactly a hot take, but I have not
seen anybody out there that's better than France right now. No.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Look, we talked about that the beginning of the show,
that of all the best, look, we look like we're
in a collision course of Argentina and England and Spain
and France. Everybody else has problems, right, Hey, Spain's defense
is terrific. I have a lot of goal but they
can't score. Right. England is scoring, but their defense is leaky.
Argentina needed every bit of officiating help to get by Egypt.
(16:25):
But France has no problems at all. I mean, France
did You're seeing the best roster, You're seeing the best players,
and they started the World Cup and they looked like
they were peaking and they're still peaking now. And it
may just be a very boring next couple of weeks
with France winning and you know, two nothing, you know,
three nothing, two to one, and that's kind of how
it's going to go.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Well. I will say this that this World Cup has
taught us not to expect ennything boring about the beautiful
game or this particular tournament. That even when results happen
that you expect, they often transpire and unfold in extraordinary ways.
And that was certainly the case when you look at
(17:07):
Argentina vi. Cabo Verde, and even even the game today
France over Morocco. The way the French won it was
of course, goal was at halftime, and then just their
extraordinary skill took over the Imbappe goal. I'm sure most
people listening to us right now have seen it, but
the degree of difficulty. There was a defender right in
(17:29):
front of Killian and Bappe at that time. He was
right in front of him. He just bent the ball
around him in a way that almost defies physics, gravity
and anything that humans are supposed to be able to do.
And then he tucks it right inside the post. I mean,
it is an unsavable shot. He cannot be guarded, he
cannot be controlled or stopped. He's elite, and of course
(17:53):
if he runs up against Messi, which would just be extraordinary. Theaters,
there's this World Cup, and again I realized our nation
is crashed out early, at least by our standards right
now and our expectations. But there is still so much
great to go. And by the way, I love it
that the US, I mean, I don't love it that
(18:15):
the US lost, but I love the way that we're
responding to it, which is in such a fashion that
tells us that it matters that we care about this,
that what happens at the Olympics in two years will matter,
and the Copa America will matter, and qualifying for the
next World Cup will matter. So I love it. I
love the passion. You know me, I'm a passionate guy,
(18:36):
and so to see the soccer fandom and debate and
hot takes. Hey man, sign me up for this all
the time. This is far preferable to most other things
that we can discuss right now, unless we're talking about
the plight of the New York Yankees, in which case
I'm all in. We can talk about any time.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Let's talk about all of that outside of a guy
named Ben Rice and maybe cloning him, issues with the
pitching staff. You've got Aaron Judge talking a little out
of school. Is he's on the comeback trail? I mean,
they won today and they're still well above five hundred,
but certainly not the season anticipated. What do they do
with the deadline?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Man, they have got some work to do. And I
think that it's at least at least one bat, one
significant bat. Is it Taylor Ward from within the American
League East? I think he would help. He's certainly one
name to watch. The issue is there's not really an
(19:35):
abundance of position players impact position players available right now.
It's a market that is a little heavier on the
pitching side of things. And certainly you could argue, well,
I believe that the Yankees should add a little bit
of pitching help too, But you look at a team
like the Nationals, for example, They've got some bats to trade,
(19:58):
but they're not really motivated to trade DJ Abrams or
James Wood would is the better fit. I just don't
know if the Yankees have enough prospects that would that
would entice the Nationals to make that move. And if
you believe that Lombard is your future shortstop, are you
really gonna block him right now? With with Abrams? I
(20:21):
love Abrams, but are you gonna layer in someone right
over the top of a guy that you believe is
your future, unless, of course, you are fearful of promoting
Lombard in the way that you promoted Volpi. And we've
seen how the Vulpi thing has played out, which is
not good. And all this back and forth. Did he
refuse to play second base? Did he not refuse to
play second base? Uh, it's it's an interesting time if
(20:44):
i'm if I'm advising Volpi, Not that anyone's asked my opinion,
he's in a spot where he's he has to do
whatever he can to get on the field. Now. He's
been playing shortstop lately, but quite simply look at his
his batting average is in his four years of Major
League baseball two poh nine, two three two twelve to
(21:06):
forty two. Yon Basis has gone up this year markedly
because at least he's walking, but he's got one home run.
So it's to me, they're they're a team that, yes,
in name, they're the New York Yankees, that they've got
the uniform and the ballpark and everything else, but when
you take Judge out of the equation, they're not a
(21:28):
scary team to face right now. And that's not really
not Aaron Boone's fault. It's not Judge's fault. He got hurt.
But you look around and this is not what I
would describe as a dynamic lineup. They have got some
work to do to support the guys they've got, And
count me among those who are wondering exactly what is
(21:49):
in store for the Yankees at the deadline and beyond,
because we're just not seeing a team that is scaring
other ball clubs right now now.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Speaking of that's a big word, John Paul, that you
throughout they're scared, because when did the Yankees turn into
this scared franchise. They're afraid to make moves, They're afraid
to trade their prospects, They're afraid to move on from
their prospects when they haven't played well. They're just I mean,
not even the team that they were when you say
twenty twenty five years ago where they were, but not
even the team like ten years ago where they would
(22:19):
at least take some big swings.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Now.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I feel like they're just afraid to do anything now
because they're paralyzed by indecision. And if we make the
wrong move and the guy we trade out turns into
a star, it's going to be the worst thing in
the world. Like, when did the Yankees just start operating
in this scared fashion.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
It's a good question, and I think it's happened over
time if you look at it. Brian Cashman's been a
pretty bold GM and making any number of moves over
the years. At the time he initially acquired Chapman that
was controversial. He's made bold and controversial statements when it
(22:56):
comes to Alex Rodriguez over the years and he had
to handle and the later years of Jeter's career, which
wasn't always easy. Posada's career wasn't always easy. A lot
of different things He's handled with a degree of candor
and decisiveness. But you're right, it does seem as though
in some ways the Yankees have been a little bit
(23:18):
too cautious. And also take for example, Spencer Jones, and
we can debate was he ever a guy that would
have brought back the players that you needed. Spencer Jones
is not twenty one, he's twenty five, and he's played
a little bit at the major league level thirty games
there the one hundred played appearances, and basically with Spencer Jones,
(23:41):
the numbers at the major league level reinforce the concern
people had about him in the minor leagues, which is
he strikes out too much. He's averaging more than one
strikeout per game play right now with two home runs
at the major league level. So I'm looking at this
lineup in this team, and obviously they've got, when he's healthy,
the best pure offensive player in the game. I believe
(24:04):
an Aaron Judge Bellinger has had an okay year Grisham's
had a solid year. Cabrierra has done what you expect
him to do, but he shouldn't be batting in the
middle of a lineup. So it's just a team that
has been I believe, whether it's analytics or a change
in ownership philosophy, or not wanting to extend themselves too
(24:25):
much because they're concerned about what sort of salary cap
might be coming down the line in the future. It's
a great question, but I'm seeing the same thing. They're
just not as decisive of an organization as they used
to be, and they're gonna potentially pay for it with
yet another year without a title. Guys, it's been since
(24:45):
two thousand and nine. That is an eternity for the
New York Yankees, and I just don't see that drought
ending here in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
JP with an eye toward the trade deadline and further
off in the horizon the potential of the labor dispute,
how much activity do we see over the next couple
of weeks for.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
The trade deadline and where is Dreek Schoob going.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
It's a great question. So, first of all, I increasingly
I think Terry School might be staying with the Detroit Tigers.
That they're twenty one and twelve since the first of June,
best record in the American League over that time span,
and they keep getting more and more confident. I actually
had a conversation with Terrek after its start earlier this
week on Tuesday, so forty eight hours ago. Was talking
with him, and he seemed pretty confident that this team
(25:31):
is going to keep playing well and keep forcing the
front office to keep this group together. And right now,
I believe it. Last checked their three and a half
games out of a playoff spot, So as lot as
they have been and as awful as they played in May,
they're right back in this thing. And if they can
finish at five hundred, which I think is certainly within
the RAMA possibility, they're right there in the conversation for
(25:54):
a playoff Berth. So it may not be the most
the most logical course to take if to the Tigers,
but I believe they can keep schooble and make a
run of this thing. So I think he stays put.
But I do think one of the interesting things that
I'm going to be looking for, Mike is how many
teams I think there are some out there that giants
(26:15):
come to mind that are not playing well that might
look for a way to unload a little bit of
money because they're concerned about if they might run up
against whatever the new salary cap is. Obviously a lot
of us expect if it comes into play, it's going
to be a more graduated time where it takes a
few years to roll it out. But if you've got
(26:36):
a contract and move now is not a bad time
in the movement because being able to clean up your books,
entering a potential work stoppage, and whatever the new future
looks like, that might be a pretty wise way of
going about it.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
So do you see any change to the deadline? Do
you see deals happening earlier deals happening not at all,
because of you know, teams might be afraid of the
unknown of what the next labor situation could be.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Yeah, it's a good point. I think that we will
still see a relatively normal, normal amount of behavior and activity.
It's interesting that theoretically, I think that what we're talking
about with labor relations et cetera, puts more ideas on
the table, And I do think when more ideas are
(27:22):
on the table, you do see teams getting more creative.
That being said, a deadline's a deadline, and a deadline
for the new normal, and whatever the new pay structure
of the game is going to be is still a
long time away from now whenever it's going to happen.
And if I know anything about covering Major League Baseball
for two decades, the people in charge of teams, they
(27:44):
don't make choices until about a half a second before
the deadline. About whatever the deadline is, They're going to
take this thing to the limit. And of course right
now they're mostly focused on the draft, and they should be.
It's a big deal in the industry. But I do
think that we will have a relatively normal amount of activity.
It'll be concentrated probably in the final week before the deadline,
(28:07):
and I don't think that we will see any any
dramatic uptick in moving because of the CBA situation. It
will be I expect a standard level of activity, which
which I like, sign me up for a normally busy, frenetic,
hectic deadline day and lead in and giving us the
three of us plenty of times to discuss such matters
(28:30):
here in the weeks ahead.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Now I know there's a lot of hand ringing right now.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
JP that a number of starters that won't be available
for the All Star Game because of their scheduled pitch day.
So let's just talk about Misowski versus Skeens for a moment.
Shall we early Sunday morning? How about we get after
it seven and eight with his three five eight e R.
Paul skens Sky is falling when he gives up two
or few two or fewer runs in almost every Startkean.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Is interesting, Mike, because there does seem to be a
little bit more labor in his in his delivery right now.
It's it's it's not quite as easy and as fluid
as it's always been. And and my colleague Mark Durosa
broke it down recently on on m WILLB Network about this.
So I think that schemes, it's probably not the worst
(29:19):
thing that he won't be pitching in the in the
All Star Game for him, for his sake, obviously, we
all want to see him, and we want we all
want to see him his but I think that's a
pretty good it's a pretty good little break for him,
and I think that'll be wise. I'll be really curious
to see guys if the Pirates back him off a
little bit coming out of the break and maybe slot
him into a little bit of a later position in
(29:41):
the post break rotation to give him even a little
bit more time off. The Pirates. They're still in it.
The Reds have fallen away, the Reds will be and
should be sellers, but the Pirates are still in this thing.
The other matchup for Sunday, to get your popcorn ready
for this one, the Phillies in Detroit for Interleague. Zach
Wheeler against Scooble. How about that to end the first half,
(30:05):
So a good test of whether the Tigers can sustain
their momentum. Of course, Kevin mcgonagal, the Philly Airy Area native,
will be playing against the Phillies, which will be a
lot of fun, so tune in. I mean there's I
love the World Cup too, and we got it. We
gotta keep the interest experience, but I'm gonna I'm on
the hard cell here for Genes in the mizz and
(30:26):
then Wheels and Trek. We got some pretty good pitching
matchups to conclude the first half.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
He's on Twitter at John Morosi, that is at John Morosi,
MLB Network Insider extraordinair. John Paul is always appreciate it,
my friend. We'll talk to you next week, unless Sturgey
starts offloading players, then we're calling you back.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
You call me anytime, you guys. I love you, Love
the conversation and appreciate the chance to talk about the
beautiful game and the national pastime with both of you.
As always talk to you.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific,
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
The Jason Smith Show with my bass friend Mike Harmon.
Boy do we add a couple of crazy stories come
in your way in about twenty minutes, Tell Allen that.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
The Mets sucking.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
We just beat the Royals two out of three and
the Royals are in first place in the Al Central.
Wow you believe that when I said that, didn't?
Speaker 4 (31:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
No, they actually have the worst record in baseball. Yeah, yeah,
there you go. But finally, today we've heard in a
way from the Warriors in their reaction to potentially Lebron
James joining them.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
We had reports the last couple of days from Shams
Tarani of ESPN that Lebron's down to three teams Cleveland,
Miami and Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Everybody else can still put in a voicemail.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yes, just because you're on that list doesn't mean you
can't call Rich Hall and put in a voicemail ninety
nine cents a minute. Yeah, just Rich, stop picking up
the phone. You want me to leave a voicemail. But
the very beginning when Lebron announced that he was leaving
the Lakers, Golden State was a very potential hot destination
because the allure of playing with Steph Curry and Draymond
(32:13):
and maybe a d would be there the traveling road
show of Guys over thirty five. It would be fantastic,
jokes wrote themselves. They're still third on the Calshi list.
But we've never heard anything from the Warriors since that
came out. Wait, why did we hear from Steve Kerr?
Speaker 4 (32:27):
I heard?
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well, finally we heard from Steph Curry today, who talked
about it and addressed the potential of Lebron playing with
Golden State. I want Lebron to play golf with me.
Is that your Steph Curry?
Speaker 5 (32:44):
That's your.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Say?
Speaker 6 (32:48):
More so, I'm interested to just play golf with Lebron.
We handle the basketball stuff. But I want to see
the golf Lebron free agent. He's out here really grinding
on the game. But I'm sure we obviously would love
to play together. We hopefully it happens, but you know,
he's deserved the opportunity in the right to take his
time with the decision.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Yeah, Frostburger, I think yours was better. That was pretty good.
That that was pretty good. Uh So here's Steph Curry.
He has acknowledging the allure of playing with Lebron. But
you know, we'll see. But let's see how it goes.
This is not what you would expect Steph Curry to
say if he really wanted to play with Lebron, if
(33:30):
that could Lebron, you don't have to worry about tampering,
You don't have to worry about anything. You want to win,
right If you're Steph Curry, you want you don't want
to sit here and go Man, the last ten years
of my career are gonna suck because no one's coming
here to play. If you really wanted to play with Lebron, James,
the answer to, hey what about Lebron, Hey we got
a place for him. We're excited Lebron can come here.
He can make a joke about how hey we could
(33:52):
use our our heat bomb together. Whatever we can all get,
he can set you say something.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
Pebble Beach, I got a swing guyack and help him
with this golf thing.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Yeah, I mean he can move in with me, right, like,
you know it's fine. Wasn't Pat Croachey didn't he move
in with people when he was doing that TV show
for a while. Uh, that's what you say if you
really want Lebron but instead you get Steph Curry going, yeah,
the golf. Lebron is a guy I want to talk
about all. Yeah, this is Steph Curry saying without really saying, yeah, thanks,
(34:25):
but the time has passed for us to play together,
right maybe because you do not. You know, if you're
Golden State, you need people to come play. Free agency
is over. It's over.
Speaker 6 (34:35):
Man.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
You could potentially be getting Lebron James who would want
to show up. And that's how you say it. Now.
Obviously he probably knows they're not going to get him,
because that could be part of it. But still, if
he hasn't signed with anybody yet, and you know he's
talked before about it, don't you say even if it
comes apart as a joke. You say, hey, come on,
I got I got stuff for you can come here, X,
Y and Z everything else. But to hear him say
(34:58):
it that way, I don't think Steph wants to play
with Lebron. I don't think he has any desire to
play with Lebron James, because once you heard the Warriors
name last week, there was the first out of anybody's mouth.
You got nothing from Draymond. You have nothing from Curry,
You got nothing from from from Curry and these all
ties again, don't have to worry about tampering or anything else.
You could say whatever you want because he's opting out.
(35:19):
He's a free agent, and you heard nothing from the Warriors.
I don't think they ever had any desire to partner
up with him at any point.
Speaker 5 (35:26):
Well with Draymond, he's an unrestricted free agent. That's his guy.
And you know the whispers are that wherever Lebron is,
Draymond's right there with him. Right again, going back to
that Donovan Mitchell contract, money left on the table, there's
enough for two of us and Bronni that will we'll
come through. But for Steph, Curry, Steve Kerr, whomever, else.
(35:49):
Not a lot of opportunity, right, I mean, I don't know.
Holy Moly, is that in production right now. That wouldn't
be airing.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
They don't do.
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Those shows live. His mini golf show, he wouldn't have that.
I don't think he's doing any podcasts. But he showed
up for the golf tournament this weekend and did some press,
and that's what you get. I would have expected that
over the course of a week plus he would have
had a better statement to it, at a better endgame.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
I don't I don't know that it means he didn't
want to play with him.
Speaker 5 (36:17):
I think it just a kind of danced around the
idea of well, it's just not gonna happen. But rather
than just saying it categorically, this is as mealy mouthed
as you're gonna get.
Speaker 4 (36:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
But but I mean, if you really want, there's other
ways to make it work out. The money could be
worked out. Remember, Draymond didn't take that money hoping that
it would be for Lebron to come here like everything
was there and now suddenly it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Like what I.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
Mean, though Draymond might be out the door and step
might be sitting on an iron thrown of his own hair,
going I finally got rid of everybody.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
And I know we make fun of Rich Paul for
trying to push the market for Lebron games where there
really isn't that great a market. But honestly, I wonder
how many teams just really want him. I wonder if
is this is his three teams? Is it hot interest
from the Heat, is it hot interest from the Sixers,
or is the best interest kind of a lukewarm interest
(37:08):
from Cleveland, where yeah, we'll take you because we understand
the good it can be for both sides. It helps you,
it helps us. Like honestly, if you said to me,
is there any interest in Lebron James across the league?
I would say probably not because it's the end of
free agency and Rich Paul can say anything he wants to.
But if Lebron James really was that sought after, somebody
would have signed him. By now, somebody would have signed him.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (37:31):
I think it comes back to I mean, like he
wants to dictate when he makes an announcement whatever, So
take that as it will. But for all of it,
there's far more than how much money he's gonna take.
He's got to accept his role on the on the team,
and like I've said all along, I don't believe he
was okay being third with the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Exit out bout of Fresca, exit swollen down the Jason
Smith Show with my best friend Mike Carma. We got
more on Lebron James plus the craziest story out of
the NBA today. Want to hear it? That's next, Jason
to Mike Fox.
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Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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