September 9, 2026 • 34 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon welcomed in longtime MLB Insider Jon Paul Moroi. The guys chatted about Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Plus, all the latest from around the diamond!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight,
10 p.m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To 2 a.m.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Eastern, 7 to 11 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Find your local station for the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every night
on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hello, welcome inside our To The Jason Smith Show with
my best friend, Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Well-dressed hobo.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Check out our YouTube channel for the show. Just search
Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again, that's Jason Smith Show.
Hit the subscribe button, then 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. We put new videos up for you
all the time. Mike and I love putting out this
content every single night, especially... On NFL Eve.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, you don't even have to do that Eve, Eve
thing anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
No, it was Eve, Eve yesterday. It was Eve Plum
the day before that.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Nice. It was... George Glass. Sure, sure. But by this
time tomorrow... Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
We'll probably be early in the fourth quarter of Patriots-Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Just think about that, man. Oh, it's so wonderful. Great.
Long wait is over. Hope springs eternal.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
And by the end of Sunday night, people will be
either ecstatic or they'll hate their lives.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So we'll have more NFL throughout the show. We gave
you our picks for opening night tomorrow night. Again, you
can find that in the Best of podcast. But two
new developments in the college football story that I promise
you is going to go away.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
No, never.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
By the time we get to this weekend, the Western
Michigan-Michigan one-second scandal clock story will be gone. It's going
to burn hot, but then we're going to get to
the second weekend, as we said last night. Okay, it's
Western Michigan and Michigan, week one. Western Michigan's not going anywhere. Michigan,
they need to win their games to make the playoff.
They look like they're terrible. This wasn't, you know, 10th
(02:12):
week where Michigan beats Penn State and suddenly there's a
domino effect and one team is out of the tournament.
This will go away. Now it's still hot, hot, still hot,
just like the temperature across the country. It's still hot,
but by the time we get to this weekend, it
will be gone. But the good news for us is
we still have big stories and big developments on it today.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yeah, it's not the weekend yet. They haven't kicked off
the next week yet.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So earlier today, and I love this part of the
story because you just know there was a conversation. The
Mac put out a statement saying, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, wait.
We were a little too early on. Everything is fine
and there was nothing untoward.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
We were too nice.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Michigan getting the win on the Hail Mary. Everything is fine.
We don't want to cause any waves. Apparently something was done,
either something wasn't done to the Macs or Western Michigan's satisfaction,
or there was a conversation where it was, hey, you
got to have our backs, all right? No one's going
to make you Big Ten commissioner there, okay? So now
(03:14):
the Mac had to put out a statement saying, hey,
we would like the NCAA to reverse the outcome of
the game and give the win to Western Michigan.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I like that. Ah, okay.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
I'll, I'll, I'll file that under the category of things
that sound great, but will not happen. And in fact,
the NSA has already said, we're not going to overturn
the final of this game.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Like I get it.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You want to get, we want to make it look
like we're standing up for it. It's like, Oh, I,
you know, if you needed me, I would have given
you a ride to the airport.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
I text you like seven times. You ever texted me back. Well,
what I really did. was I waited for you to
not text me and text somebody else, get a ride.
Then I called you to say, hey, what's going on? Oh,
I needed a ride to the airport, but you're already going. Oh, hey,
I would have done that for you. That's kind of
what the Mac is doing. Oh, hey, hey, now we'd
like you to get rid of the result and give
Western Michigan the win. Oh, you mean after it's all
(04:02):
done and finished and we've moved on and it's Tuesday? Yeah,
thanks for nothing.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Now, I didn't expect them to quite go all the
way out on this end of the pendulum, right on
this giant swinging ride. But I was disappointed with the
initial response. Like, it was just way too accepting.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I'm like, ah, what are you going to do? It's like, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, it's like all the schools in Michigan exist to
prop up the University of Michigan, which is the biggest
moneymaker in the state. Hey, even though we're Western Michigan,
we're a separate conference, separate team. We all exist to
make sure Michigan, the University of Michigan, does as well
as it can. That's kind of what it looked like
after the game was over. Or if they protested too much,
(04:42):
would the check not clear?
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
Is that the problem? We're not getting our money? 1.3 million,
you don't get it now because you didn't stand up
for us. But that's what it seemed like right after
Western Michigan saying nothing untoward was done.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
What are you going to do? It's so bad.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Hey, we understand the University of Michigan is a big moneymaker, man.
Everybody exists in Michigan to serve the University of Michigan, right?
I tell you all the time. Here in L.A., every
third person is wearing an L.A. Dodger hat, right? Something Dodgers, T-shirt, shorts,
it's Dodgers. They are a Dodgers town. We're a Dodgers town.
We're a baseball town. Michigan, every third person is wearing
(05:20):
something University of Michigan. It is the biggest thing in
the state. It's bigger than the Tigers. It's bigger than
the Red Wings. It's bigger than the Pistons. I mean,
lots of bigger than the Pistons. No other colleges really matter.
The University of Michigan is the number one college. moneymaker,
sporting team, people that don't go there, support the University
of Michigan.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Doesn't matter. Can you imagine growing up in Illinois and
going like, yeah, I'm Northwestern, but you're all wearing Illinois gear? No,
you're not. Everybody wore Notre Dame gear.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That doesn't happen in Michigan. That doesn't happen. So that's
kind of what it felt like was that, well, in
the end, we're all in for Michigan. I'm borrowing that
from Rich Rodriguez. We're all in for Michigan. So yeah,
we're okay with none of this happening. I really expected
the back to come up and go, hey, wait a minute.
We got screwed here. The clock hit zero. We didn't
get this.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
What's going on?
Speaker 4 (06:09):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
We're all good.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Like this is all, oh, now you're happy. If I'm
Western Michigan, I tell the Mac now, oh, now forget it.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Beat it. We're leaving.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
When all these conferences expand, we're going to go join
someplace else because you did not have our backs at all.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Blank you, Mac. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm saying
you wait.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
We go win the big, when we go win whatever
championship we win, figure skating, and Western Michigan is there
because they're like a power. Yeah, we're not going to
hold up Mac sports.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
No, no, no, no, no. We're all in for ourselves.
Thanks for nothing.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
And I want my draft picks back. The Mac is
like when all of you are lifting a couch to
move it and the one person who fake lifts, I'm
not really carrying this at all.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I'm just standing there. Like, that's the Mac. Oh, three
days later. Hey, we really like you to give the
win to Western Michigan.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Really?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Come on, man. Have more guts than that. They said
pretty please. Have more guts than that. They put it
in a nice font. Ah, it's a load of crap.
Good letterhead. What a load of crap. Sent a bundt
cake alongside with it. I mean, come on. Hey, Michigan,
we did really well.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Will you continue to play our teams in the MAAC
and continue to get them $ 1. 3 to $ 1. 5 million? Will
you keep doing that? Will you keep doing that for us? Hey,
we got your back, buddy. I'm helping you out over here. Like,
I'm embarrassed that it took four days for the MAAC
to say, hey, we really don't think things were done right.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Like, what? What?
Speaker 5 (07:27):
You had that full night that you could have just
gone insane and you sat there like someone took your dog.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
We fought hard, played well. It's like, no, you played
a great game.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
You had the opportunity to bang the drum right there
to have this protocol further explained to really expose all
of the conversations you're having on the sideline as you're
waiting for this to be adjudicated and everything else. And
you kind of went meekly into the night. And then
you're going to send out the corporate letterhead on a
(08:03):
Tuesday after everything's long done and people are moving on.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
To insert team here. We're moving on. It's NFL Eve,
for crying out loud.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I know.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
The rankings got updated. I mean, all of these things. Oh,
now you're coming. Now you're coming. Oh, thanks. Appreciate it, Mac.
Appreciate it coming. That's fantastic. Things I couldn't use yesterday.
That's great. That's great.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Now?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Really? Now you're showing up? Oh, okay. I got here
as soon as I can.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
It took them three days to realize that the sanctity
and the fabric of the college football world was being
torn us under.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
The best gift for this would be the scene from
the beginning of one battle after another where the revolutionaries
are all talking about what they're doing. It's Tiana Taylor
and Wood Harris. and Leo is running up, hey, hey, hey,
I'm here. Okay, the explosives guy is here. Yeah, here
you go. He's like, I want to see it, hear
everybody talking about it, and he's the Mac.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I'm running up. Yeah, I'm sorry I'm really late, but
I'm here. Yeah, I'm here.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
What are we going to do? What do we got
going on? Oh, thanks for showing up for nothing for us.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Well, he got there at the wire, you know. But
the other story, and this is late-breaking over the course
of the last, I would say, half hour or so. Now,
I'm going to explain this to you because there's a
lot of big words in here. The NCAA is issuing
a new guidance to establish a standard timing protocol that
ensures consistency in the administration of all college football games.
(09:29):
This in the wake of Michigan's controversial win over Western Michigan. Yeah,
that was some good legalese right there, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Basically, the.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Memo from the NCAA is saying that the official time
for all college football games is the in stadium game clock.
That's going to be the official time now, uh, because
the worst part of it, and quite honestly, it needs
to be that because the worst part of this was
the fact that the clock hit zero. Then they went
back and put a second back on, right? Because, if
(10:00):
this happens in stadium right let's just say because we've
talked about instances where the clock is at oh one
before the night the 2009 big 12 championship game there's
a michigan michigan state game 25 years ago with the
clock stayed at one second If Michigan throws that Hail
Mary and it's knocked out of the end zone and
one second is still on the clock somehow in the game,
(10:23):
in stadium camera.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Then it's not that big a deal. It's, oh, there
really should have been another second.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
It was a slow start. There should have been a
little bit of lag time. Why was there no lag time?
But if that one second stayed up there, this is
not nearly the deal we say it is.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
It's more of a curiosity. Oh, look at that.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
But still, you need to stop the Hail Mary. You
need to do a better job. And that would have
been the conversation. But the fact that it hit zero
and then it got put back on, That's the whole thing.
So now what the NCAA wants to do is eliminate
that where the in-stadium game clock is the official time clock.
That's what it's going to be. So this is the
best way to figure that out. And in the future, okay.
(11:07):
But I see a whole new slew of problems where
can you get it down to the second, down to
the hundredths of a second?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Can you do that?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Because what Michigan had was less than half a second
left on the clock by the time they did it.
So I see that they're solving one set of problems,
but they're potentially opening up some new problems.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
But it's still the display versus reality in some cases, right?
So ESPN got a copy of the memo from National
Coordinator of Officials Ron Snodgrass. And this was approved by
their secretary rules editor. But it says when a replay
review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the
(11:44):
replay official decision will be based on the embedded game
clock contained within the program feed. Okay, now we're getting
inside baseball. If the broadcaster is unable to provide an
embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game
clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
So basically it breaks down like this. It's the official
in-stadium game clock. If there is a question, they will
go to the broadcast to see if that is the
way they're going to see the time left, the time
on the clock, the time not on the clock.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
This is where we get to our tenths of seconds
and whatever else.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
But it's now known to everybody that this super secret
clock exists.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
This is a super secret clock. We're in 2026 and
we have super secret clocks. Like, I wonder, was there
even a super duper secret clock? Like, if this clock
didn't have the second on it for Michigan, would there
be another door they could open and say, oh.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Hey, you have the... Yes, I actually have. Four seconds
left on the clock for Michigan. Oh, four seconds? Yes,
that's the official super duper secret clock answer.
Speaker 5 (12:51):
Our clock administration is kind of like the Winchester Mystery
House up in the Northern California where they kept adding
doors on. It was a great movie. with Helen Mirren.
I've been there.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I did that during a Halloween season. Steps that go
nowhere and door.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Little doors and all of a sudden like, Hey, I'm
walking down a hall. No, I'm not. I'm running into
this mini door.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
I mean, look, I, I, I, I like the fact
that this is what the NCAA is doing. And I
like the fact they're looking to solve this problem. And again,
If it was just the case of if they had
left the one second on, why couldn't it all sync up?
They brought on this problem themselves.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
But they said they synced it all up, except for
that we didn't know that clock with the tense existed.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
And I'm always a fan of, hey, if nobody's got
a problem, we don't need to go crazy on it.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Nobody would have had a problem if that clock hit zero.
Nobody would have. It's not like Kyle Whittingham's going to,
I thought we had a second left.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
He's not going to run on the field and go,
there's one second left, there's one second left. No, it
would have been, man, I just lost my big house
debut at home. They want me fired. I should have
retired instead of taking this game. Who told Whittingham to
say that, though?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That's what I... Like, yeah, I thought there was one second. Like, where?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
One does not look like a zero. I got fuzzy eyes, man,
and I can't see a lot of things. I'm not
confused as zero to one.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
If I was the official and they buzzed down to
me after the game was over and everybody's on the
field celebrating, hey, Jason, I think there's actually maybe like
less than a third of a second.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
No, we're good. Pack up, guys. Go home. Pack up.
We're good. The game's over. The game ends. And everything
would have been fine.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
That's why this is so unnecessary, because nobody would have
complained had the clock just hit zero. Michigan wouldn't have complained.
Western Michigan wouldn't have complained. We'd have had a big upset,
different story. But that's what I would have said. I
would have said, yeah, no, we're good, guys. But I
think there's a third. Guys, guys, guys, we're good.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
The field.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
They're storming the field now. Western Michigan is storming the field.
I mean, it's a Western Michigan storming the field.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It's over. The game's over. No one cares.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
The important question. How's your wife doing? She is ready
for the next game.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Okay, good.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
She's ready for it, but I don't know that she's
ready for the result because I've.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yet to talk to her about the game and tell
her what she should be in for. Exactly. But she's
ready for the next game.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Exit out by the Fresca X at Swollen Dome. Jason Smith,
Mike Harmon live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Coming
up next, judges back. Otani is out. All kinds of
baseball drama. Special guest to break it all down with us.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
That's next. Jason and Mike, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
All rise.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Fox Sports Radio, the Jason Smith Show with my best friend,
Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Well-dressed hobo.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
The return of Aaron Judge. The non-return of Shohei Otani.
The two biggest stars in the sport look like they're
going in opposite directions health-wise. Joining us now on the
hotline to break it down, nobody better than MLB Network
and Fox Sports Radio baseball insider extraordinaire. He's on Twitter
at John Marossi. It is the Pope, John Paul Marossi.
(15:57):
John Paul, I want to remind you, because I'm reminding
everybody tonight, especially people I know in the state of Michigan,
set your clocks back one second tonight before you go
to bed, just so you know.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
There is no time limit on this interview, and just
as importantly, Remember, we do have an individual pitch timer
in baseball, but there is no clock. The game is
not over until we say it is. To quote Belushi there,
I do believe that game on Saturday, we thought for
(16:32):
about 48 hours or so that it had gone away,
and then the Macs came out with a statement today, oh,
we are just in the early days. of trying to
parse through all that transpired there. And you can only
imagine how I watch that game as the son of
a proud Western Michigan University grad and the spouse of
(16:54):
a Michigan grad. Caught in the middle, my friends. It's
a story that has now captivated the nation. You know
what else is going to captivate the nation? If Michigan
ends up losing by a score that's less august than
27 to 20. This weekend of the Sooners, they got
to get this offense going. They got to get that
(17:16):
going a little bit that they don't. The Sooners, I believe,
will be prevailing at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
So being caught in the middle as you are, as
soon as that Hail Mary came down and Michigan caught it,
if I was you, I would have stood up, grabbed
my keys, and said, okay, I'm running to the store
to get some things.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I'll be back. You guys figure it out amongst yourselves.
I'll be back.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
Well, here's the thing. So my amazing bride, she was asleep.
She had gone to bed long before that happened. My
mom was watching the game, not physically in the same
place as me, so I was texting with her, trying
to keep her spirits up a little bit. So I really,
if Western had won, to be honest, this is the
(17:57):
blessing of not having gone to either school, I would
have been happy for them to have a signature win.
And in some ways, they... they won in the, in
the realm of public perception. I think they handled it
the right way. They were the better team. And so as,
as the public judges it, you know, it's, it's in
(18:17):
a strange way, it's different, but somewhat similar to the,
to the Armando Galarraga perfect game, right? In some ways
that perfect game is remembered more fondly than other perfect
games that happened right around the same time, just because
he was, wronged in the end. And I think that
(18:38):
in some small way, Western and the perception of the
program and the athletic department might actually be a little
bit brighter because of what happened. If they had just
won the game, it's, oh my gosh, they beat Michigan.
Now it's, they should have beaten Michigan. They were wronged
in the process. And there will now be, I believe,
(19:00):
more people around this world wearing Western Michigan University football
shirts than perhaps if they had actually won the game.
I really believe that that is a possibility here. And listen,
they'll be a force to be reckoned with in the
Mid-American Conference this season, without a doubt. I'm not so
sure if you get the same about the Wolverines and
(19:20):
the Big Ten, but we'll know a lot more after
Underwood has a chance to play against the Sooners on
Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah, I'm already waiting for the car versus car matchup
when they face Notre Dame, but we got plenty of
time before we get to that, JP. Aaron Judge makes
his triumphant return to the field today. Pitching the order
of the day, of course, Schlittler with another massive performance.
But Aaron Judge coming back. No minor league rehab. No,
(19:48):
straight to business. What do we expect? these next couple weeks?
How long is it going to take him to ramp?
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Mike, it's a great question. I think he'll be ready
relatively soon. I realize that he's been off for a
long time. Aaron Judge has a swing that works. He
always has. It's not a slump-proof swing because no one
has one of those except maybe Tony Gwynn or Ichiro
in his prime. But he's not going to rush back
(20:17):
until he's ready to go. And it sure seems like
he's ready to go. Now, the important thing, I want
all Yankee fans to not get too worried about this.
Aaron Boone is going to be pulling him out of
games a little bit early just to make sure that
you rest him up because Any major league player will
tell you, especially an outfielder and sometimes an infielder too,
(20:37):
that just standing on your feet for all those innings,
it takes a toll. It doesn't sound like it would,
but it does. And so I think that Aaron needs
to take some time to work fully back to that.
It's just a much better and deeper lineup when he's
in it. And in an American league that is so well-balanced,
(20:58):
a Yankee lineup with an effective Aaron Judge– has as
good of a chance to win this league as any
other team in the AL.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I'll go a step further. I think Aaron Judge coming
back is what we've been waiting for. What team is
going to now rise up? He comes back early part
of September. Enough time to get in the rhythm. We
know how good their starting pitching is. You know what
a difference he is to that lineup. I expect the
Yankees to be in the World Series now. I mean,
the fact you didn't need him to come back. They
didn't come back. You would come back healthy. He was
(21:27):
cleared for baseball activities two and a half weeks ago. So,
you know, they didn't rush him back. Like I expect
the Yankees to now go on a run and be
in the World Series.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
That's a very reasonable take. I would concur with you.
The fascinating thing about this along those lines is that
one very plausible result is that the Yankees and Red
Sox meet in the first round. And that's where exactly
it would be right now if we got started. And
(21:56):
that to me is just so interesting because if we're
being honest, and the Astros have played better baseball recently.
But the two hottest teams in the American League, especially
if you imagine a world in which a judge gets going,
it's the Red Sox and Yankees. That, to me, is
the winner of that. If that's a wildcard series, the
best of three, that happens while the two top seeds
are just watching. Maybe it ends up being perhaps the
(22:21):
Rays and the White Sox, let's say, to watch that
first round. Then the winner of that series ends up becoming...
arguably the front-runner in the American League because they're just
right now in a very flawed American League. They're as
complete as any team could be. And then on the
National League side, I'm sure we'll get more into this
(22:41):
here with Otani, but the Dodgers are, of course, the
favorites until someone proves otherwise. But when you look at
how well the Braves and Phillies competed over the weekend,
the Padres are still a very dangerous team. There's a
lot of ball clubs right now, and the Cubs and
Brewers certainly stand out. What a classic game they played tonight.
(23:04):
As you acknowledge that the Yankees are as favored as
anyone else to win the American League, if you give
me Dodgers versus the field right now, I take the
field by a pretty comfortable margin. And I think a
lot of it's because of just the quality of baseball
that we're seeing right now in the National League. And
then Ohtani's absence and lack of clarity on exactly when
(23:25):
he's going to come back.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah, that is the curiosity.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
Obviously, we're here in L.A., J.P., because he's out of
the lineup once again, made a return for a day.
I guess the positive side is something's awakened both Tommy
Edmund and Teoscar Hernandez.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Very possible. And I think that with respect to Ohtani...
In some ways, they're liberating him from having to worry
about the pitching side. He clearly wants to do both.
It's been something that he has done since he was
a teenager. It was part of the reason and the
rationale why he came over to the U.S. when he
did and how he did and what his idea would
(24:04):
be when he got here. He's checked every box that
a mortal player could check. And I think his body
right now is telling him, if not, not never, but
just not, right now in terms of when he can
actually come back and pitch. You saw the tone of
resignation in his voice through interpreter Will Ireton the other day.
(24:28):
It just looks to me like it's just not going
to happen. It's not just the bicep, it's the knee.
And the other piece of it, too, that we have
to remember is this is a 50-50 player. And part
of his... overall skill set and value is on the bases.
And that just hasn't been the same component this year,
(24:49):
which I do think further opens the door for Pete
Cor Armstrong to win the MVP. I believe that PCA
will win it. There's just so much talent there that
PCA has. And listen, Otani at his peak obviously is,
he stands alone, but he's not at his peak right now.
And I think the entire idea for him not playing tonight,
or at least not starting tonight, was just to help
(25:11):
him get as rested as he can be for what
the Dodgers hope, but can't be too sure, but they
hope will be yet another long October.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Well, the thing is, John Paul, with Otani is that
we're moving towards him not pitching anymore because it's clear
that his body cannot withstand the rigors of being a
starting pitcher in Major League Baseball and continuing to bat.
At some point, they're going to make him a closer,
and they'll figure out the final innings if he gives
up a lead, and you'll figure out losing.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
The spot in the batting order.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
It's not that big a deal to figure out, but
we're close to maybe 65, 70 innings a year is
what he can do, and if that doesn't go, then...
he's not going to pitch anymore because his bat is
just too valuable. We're slowly going to see him pitch
less and less and less until we just don't anymore.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
It's fair. And remember, he's a free player from the
standpoint of the count. So if he's listed as a
two-way player, that behooves organizations to have that player that
can do both. And as shown, he can do both.
And so I agree with you that there is an
intermediate step. It doesn't have to be all or nothing
(26:20):
in the sense of a starting pitcher or a DH only.
Only is obviously in air quotes because he's still a
great player even when that is his job. So I'm
with you. I would just slightly amend the statement to
say we are very likely seeing the end of him starting,
but not the end of him pitching. And it's also
(26:41):
possible that if he ends up going through this progression–
and building up his ability to just at least stay
in the game that long and get healthy again, closing
is probably the most plausible option for a variety of reasons.
We touched on this last week, the ability to enter
the game. Yeah, you lose your DH, but if it's
(27:03):
the ninth inning, you're not so worried about it because
the game's probably going to end. And by the way,
Dave Roberts is not going to use him unless it's
a very specific situation. when it's in the ninth inning. Again,
that's a 2027 question, not for 2026. But that is
what this looks like to me, is that he's going
to be a DH only, at least for now, and
they may have to rethink the entire concept when they
(27:26):
show up for spring training in 2027.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
That's a long process from there, but we've got something
more immediate for you, JP. As we do each and
every year, we start getting your picks. Lions, six and
a half or seven point favorites against the Saints this week,
over under 49 and a half.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
What's the pick?
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Okay, here we go. The Detroit Lions will win this
football game 28, not 27. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
New year, new score.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
New year, new man.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
New year, new JP. Detroit, 28 to 20. So I've
got 48 points right there on the over-under. So just
barely under, I believe. And yes, I've got Detroit 28 points.
New Orleans, 20. Let's have a great season, my friends.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
He's on Twitter, at John Marossi, at John Marossi, MLB Network,
here with us at Fox Sports Radio. John, Paul, thanks
as always. We'll talk to you next week, and enjoy.
Hopefully there are no clock snafus against Oklahoma this weekend.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
Let's hope it's resolved before the final second, and I'll
tell you what, one of the other teams that my
grandmother devoted Notre Dame fans, they look real good on Sunday,
so they do not be surprised if they end up
being the number one team at some point this season.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
All right, there goes John Palmaros and he's all ready
to go.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m.
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Fox Sports Radio, the Jason Smith Show with my best
friend Mike Harmon. Once upon a time not long ago
where there was a 12-team playoff that wanted to be 24.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Outside of.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Western Michigan and Michigan and LSU now not going to
play the pro players. Ah, it's like we didn't have
enough college football this week. Let's jam it all in
before the NFL starts.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
We got one more day. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
There is now a 24-team college football playoff on the table.
According to ESPN, leaders of the college football playoff agreed
to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN. that could
potentially result in a 2014 playoff field that could begin
as soon as next year. Now, do I like 24?
(29:48):
I like it better than 12. I don't like it
as much as 16. 16, I think, is the perfect number.
But when money is at stake and now all the
conferences have been told, With more teams. You will make
more money. You will have a better chance to get
more teams into the playoff. Everybody gets fat if you
(30:10):
go from 12 teams to 24.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Oh, I didn't know. You explained it to me that way.
That I didn't know.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
They held up one card that had a picture of
like four little stick figure guys. And they're waving at
each other. Then they held up the next one and
they look happier.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
And there's 12 of them.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
And then they grabbed the next one that had a
dollar sign. And then it had a picture of 24
of them all grinning from ear to ear. And that's
how we get to it.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
I mean, I look at college football and I go, like, understand,
how do you go forward as a sport?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
The 2014 playoff is the biggest.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
No, really, a 16-team playoff is perfect because then you're
getting the top two teams from each of the power conferences.
You're getting some wild cards. And that's the perfect number. 24, yeah, okay,
a little bit too much because then you're looking at
teams with four losses, maybe five. But if they have
a really good resume, they stay in.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So I do. Big fan base that'll travel.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Yeah, but 24 is better than 12 because 12, you're
still leaving teams out and you still have not figured
out the process of how do you deal with a
team that makes it to their conference championship game and loses.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
And that's their third loss. Well, wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
The other teams with two losses didn't make it. So
you need to add more teams. The bottom line is this,
whether you like it, don't like it, it's happening.
Speaker 4 (31:22):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
They're not, you're not going to keep pushing for 24 teams.
If this was going to be a dead issue, this
is the third or fourth time in the last two years,
since we've expanded to 12 that, and it expanded playoff
past this has been on the table, right?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
It's like when Roger Goodell wants something in the NFL,
he's going to get it. He talked for years about going, well,
we added a game to the schedule. Well, we go
to a 17-game schedule. Well, we go to a 17-game schedule.
This tells you I'm not letting it go. This is
a piece of meat in a Doberman's mouth. I'm not
letting it go until you allow me to eat this
piece of meat, right? Roger Goodell wasn't going to rest until...
We got that 17th game, and now I'm pretty sure
(31:58):
we'll be at 18 games.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
Hey, he's got four more years to get that 18,
maybe those 20 altogether.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
This is going to happen. Will it happen for next year?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Probably.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I can't believe you're going to get everybody together saying, hey,
we're not going to go to a 2014 player for
next year. The fact that they want it, they know
the money is there, ESPN's there, a 30-day window.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Again, this is the third or.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Fourth time this has been thrown out there as a
negotiating tactic where we're going to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
This is not going to die.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
This is not going to be so, okay, well, clearly
nobody wants a 2014 playoff, so we're not going to
have it. No, this is still out there until everybody
says yes. It's like, I'm going to continue to put
this out there until you, I'm going to wait. It's
like the guy in your fantasy league who won't stop
making you trade offers until you trade with him.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And then you're like, okay. Will you go away if
I make a trade with you? Yes.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Okay, I can't keep waking up every day to text
from you going, what about this trade?
Speaker 2 (32:46):
What about this trade? What about this trade?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
I'm going to say yes just to make you go away. Like,
that's what this is. Like, we're going to keep throwing
expanded playoff out there until you agree. And with this
30-day window to make this happen, there's no way this
doesn't happen. They wouldn't be at the table. Both sides
wouldn't be at the table if this wasn't a possibility.
We're getting 2014.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
If nothing else, we're going to 16. We're getting more.
That's really all it comes down to. You can keep
putting the pie in the sky. In our ideal world,
we want 24. Well, but if we have to settle
for 16 for a year or two while you get
used to this, we'll do it. But either way, I
do like, as you were talking about that fantasy trade thing,
you started to make a fist. As if you wanted
to punch somebody. Use those tactics on you in multiple
(33:30):
leagues in years past. But all of that to say,
it's the way of the world, right? If you can
keep building your product and we watch the realignment and
the changes and folks calling for the relegation of Rutgers
after their loss and all of those things. that you
got the one marketable piece of real estate is live
(33:54):
sporting events. And with so many entities coming up with
giant piles of cash going, yeah, we need another game.
This is your way to solve it and make everybody
happy and fat and cover the development costs for those
pilots that don't get picked up.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
And the best part is, is that if you are
a fan of a power four team in any of the...
You have a chance to make the playoffs. But that's it.
You don't have to win it like you used to
be like, ah, I got no shot. You can have it.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Hey, what an outlier year. We went nine and three.
You have a chance to make the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
That's it. Everybody's got a chance now.
Speaker 5 (34:29):
Syracuse and jelly.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Yes, yes. Peanut butter and jelly.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
Playoff.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Let's have it. Let's go. Everybody's got a chance. That's
the best news. That's the best part of it. I
gave you hope. I'm a terrible person. Coming up next, we.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Get back into a big NFL story on NFL Eve.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Keep it right here. The Jason Smith Show with my
best friend, Mike Arman. This is Fox Sports Radio.
Thanks for listening to the Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight,
10 p.m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To 2 a.m.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Eastern, 7 to 11 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Find your local station for the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every night
on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hello, welcome inside our To The Jason Smith Show with
my best friend, Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Well-dressed hobo.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Check out our YouTube channel for the show. Just search
Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again, that's Jason Smith Show.
Hit the subscribe button, then 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. We put new videos up for you
all the time. Mike and I love putting out this
content every single night, especially... On NFL Eve.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, you don't even have to do that Eve, Eve
thing anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
No, it was Eve, Eve yesterday. It was Eve Plum
the day before that.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Nice. It was... George Glass. Sure, sure. But by this
time tomorrow... Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
We'll probably be early in the fourth quarter of Patriots-Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Just think about that, man. Oh, it's so wonderful. Great.
Long wait is over. Hope springs eternal.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
And by the end of Sunday night, people will be
either ecstatic or they'll hate their lives.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So we'll have more NFL throughout the show. We gave
you our picks for opening night tomorrow night. Again, you
can find that in the Best of podcast. But two
new developments in the college football story that I promise
you is going to go away.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
No, never.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
By the time we get to this weekend, the Western
Michigan-Michigan one-second scandal clock story will be gone. It's going
to burn hot, but then we're going to get to
the second weekend, as we said last night. Okay, it's
Western Michigan and Michigan, week one. Western Michigan's not going anywhere. Michigan,
they need to win their games to make the playoff.
They look like they're terrible. This wasn't, you know, 10th
(02:12):
week where Michigan beats Penn State and suddenly there's a
domino effect and one team is out of the tournament.
This will go away. Now it's still hot, hot, still hot,
just like the temperature across the country. It's still hot,
but by the time we get to this weekend, it
will be gone. But the good news for us is
we still have big stories and big developments on it today.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yeah, it's not the weekend yet. They haven't kicked off
the next week yet.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So earlier today, and I love this part of the
story because you just know there was a conversation. The
Mac put out a statement saying, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, wait.
We were a little too early on. Everything is fine
and there was nothing untoward.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
We were too nice.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Michigan getting the win on the Hail Mary. Everything is fine.
We don't want to cause any waves. Apparently something was done,
either something wasn't done to the Macs or Western Michigan's satisfaction,
or there was a conversation where it was, hey, you
got to have our backs, all right? No one's going
to make you Big Ten commissioner there, okay? So now
(03:14):
the Mac had to put out a statement saying, hey,
we would like the NCAA to reverse the outcome of
the game and give the win to Western Michigan.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I like that. Ah, okay.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
I'll, I'll, I'll file that under the category of things
that sound great, but will not happen. And in fact,
the NSA has already said, we're not going to overturn
the final of this game.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Like I get it.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You want to get, we want to make it look
like we're standing up for it. It's like, Oh, I,
you know, if you needed me, I would have given
you a ride to the airport.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
I text you like seven times. You ever texted me back. Well,
what I really did. was I waited for you to
not text me and text somebody else, get a ride.
Then I called you to say, hey, what's going on? Oh,
I needed a ride to the airport, but you're already going. Oh, hey,
I would have done that for you. That's kind of
what the Mac is doing. Oh, hey, hey, now we'd
like you to get rid of the result and give
Western Michigan the win. Oh, you mean after it's all
(04:02):
done and finished and we've moved on and it's Tuesday? Yeah,
thanks for nothing.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Now, I didn't expect them to quite go all the
way out on this end of the pendulum, right on
this giant swinging ride. But I was disappointed with the
initial response. Like, it was just way too accepting.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I'm like, ah, what are you going to do? It's like, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, it's like all the schools in Michigan exist to
prop up the University of Michigan, which is the biggest
moneymaker in the state. Hey, even though we're Western Michigan,
we're a separate conference, separate team. We all exist to
make sure Michigan, the University of Michigan, does as well
as it can. That's kind of what it looked like
after the game was over. Or if they protested too much,
(04:42):
would the check not clear?
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
Is that the problem? We're not getting our money? 1.3 million,
you don't get it now because you didn't stand up
for us. But that's what it seemed like right after
Western Michigan saying nothing untoward was done.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
What are you going to do? It's so bad.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Hey, we understand the University of Michigan is a big moneymaker, man.
Everybody exists in Michigan to serve the University of Michigan, right?
I tell you all the time. Here in L.A., every
third person is wearing an L.A. Dodger hat, right? Something Dodgers, T-shirt, shorts,
it's Dodgers. They are a Dodgers town. We're a Dodgers town.
We're a baseball town. Michigan, every third person is wearing
(05:20):
something University of Michigan. It is the biggest thing in
the state. It's bigger than the Tigers. It's bigger than
the Red Wings. It's bigger than the Pistons. I mean,
lots of bigger than the Pistons. No other colleges really matter.
The University of Michigan is the number one college. moneymaker,
sporting team, people that don't go there, support the University
of Michigan.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Doesn't matter. Can you imagine growing up in Illinois and
going like, yeah, I'm Northwestern, but you're all wearing Illinois gear? No,
you're not. Everybody wore Notre Dame gear.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That doesn't happen in Michigan. That doesn't happen. So that's
kind of what it felt like was that, well, in
the end, we're all in for Michigan. I'm borrowing that
from Rich Rodriguez. We're all in for Michigan. So yeah,
we're okay with none of this happening. I really expected
the back to come up and go, hey, wait a minute.
We got screwed here. The clock hit zero. We didn't
get this.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
What's going on?
Speaker 4 (06:09):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
We're all good.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Like this is all, oh, now you're happy. If I'm
Western Michigan, I tell the Mac now, oh, now forget it.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Beat it. We're leaving.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
When all these conferences expand, we're going to go join
someplace else because you did not have our backs at all.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Blank you, Mac. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm saying
you wait.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
We go win the big, when we go win whatever
championship we win, figure skating, and Western Michigan is there
because they're like a power. Yeah, we're not going to
hold up Mac sports.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
No, no, no, no, no. We're all in for ourselves.
Thanks for nothing.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
And I want my draft picks back. The Mac is
like when all of you are lifting a couch to
move it and the one person who fake lifts, I'm
not really carrying this at all.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I'm just standing there. Like, that's the Mac. Oh, three
days later. Hey, we really like you to give the
win to Western Michigan.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Really?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Come on, man. Have more guts than that. They said
pretty please. Have more guts than that. They put it
in a nice font. Ah, it's a load of crap.
Good letterhead. What a load of crap. Sent a bundt
cake alongside with it. I mean, come on. Hey, Michigan,
we did really well.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Will you continue to play our teams in the MAAC
and continue to get them $ 1. 3 to $ 1. 5 million? Will
you keep doing that? Will you keep doing that for us? Hey,
we got your back, buddy. I'm helping you out over here. Like,
I'm embarrassed that it took four days for the MAAC
to say, hey, we really don't think things were done right.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Like, what? What?
Speaker 5 (07:27):
You had that full night that you could have just
gone insane and you sat there like someone took your dog.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
We fought hard, played well. It's like, no, you played
a great game.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
You had the opportunity to bang the drum right there
to have this protocol further explained to really expose all
of the conversations you're having on the sideline as you're
waiting for this to be adjudicated and everything else. And
you kind of went meekly into the night. And then
you're going to send out the corporate letterhead on a
(08:03):
Tuesday after everything's long done and people are moving on.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
To insert team here. We're moving on. It's NFL Eve,
for crying out loud.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I know.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
The rankings got updated. I mean, all of these things. Oh,
now you're coming. Now you're coming. Oh, thanks. Appreciate it, Mac.
Appreciate it coming. That's fantastic. Things I couldn't use yesterday.
That's great. That's great.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Now?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Really? Now you're showing up? Oh, okay. I got here
as soon as I can.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
It took them three days to realize that the sanctity
and the fabric of the college football world was being
torn us under.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
The best gift for this would be the scene from
the beginning of one battle after another where the revolutionaries
are all talking about what they're doing. It's Tiana Taylor
and Wood Harris. and Leo is running up, hey, hey, hey,
I'm here. Okay, the explosives guy is here. Yeah, here
you go. He's like, I want to see it, hear
everybody talking about it, and he's the Mac.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I'm running up. Yeah, I'm sorry I'm really late, but
I'm here. Yeah, I'm here.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
What are we going to do? What do we got
going on? Oh, thanks for showing up for nothing for us.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Well, he got there at the wire, you know. But
the other story, and this is late-breaking over the course
of the last, I would say, half hour or so. Now,
I'm going to explain this to you because there's a
lot of big words in here. The NCAA is issuing
a new guidance to establish a standard timing protocol that
ensures consistency in the administration of all college football games.
(09:29):
This in the wake of Michigan's controversial win over Western Michigan. Yeah,
that was some good legalese right there, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Basically, the.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Memo from the NCAA is saying that the official time
for all college football games is the in stadium game clock.
That's going to be the official time now, uh, because
the worst part of it, and quite honestly, it needs
to be that because the worst part of this was
the fact that the clock hit zero. Then they went
back and put a second back on, right? Because, if
(10:00):
this happens in stadium right let's just say because we've
talked about instances where the clock is at oh one
before the night the 2009 big 12 championship game there's
a michigan michigan state game 25 years ago with the
clock stayed at one second If Michigan throws that Hail
Mary and it's knocked out of the end zone and
one second is still on the clock somehow in the game,
(10:23):
in stadium camera.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Then it's not that big a deal. It's, oh, there
really should have been another second.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
It was a slow start. There should have been a
little bit of lag time. Why was there no lag time?
But if that one second stayed up there, this is
not nearly the deal we say it is.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
It's more of a curiosity. Oh, look at that.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
But still, you need to stop the Hail Mary. You
need to do a better job. And that would have
been the conversation. But the fact that it hit zero
and then it got put back on, That's the whole thing.
So now what the NCAA wants to do is eliminate
that where the in-stadium game clock is the official time clock.
That's what it's going to be. So this is the
best way to figure that out. And in the future, okay.
(11:07):
But I see a whole new slew of problems where
can you get it down to the second, down to
the hundredths of a second?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Can you do that?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Because what Michigan had was less than half a second
left on the clock by the time they did it.
So I see that they're solving one set of problems,
but they're potentially opening up some new problems.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
But it's still the display versus reality in some cases, right?
So ESPN got a copy of the memo from National
Coordinator of Officials Ron Snodgrass. And this was approved by
their secretary rules editor. But it says when a replay
review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the
(11:44):
replay official decision will be based on the embedded game
clock contained within the program feed. Okay, now we're getting
inside baseball. If the broadcaster is unable to provide an
embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game
clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
So basically it breaks down like this. It's the official
in-stadium game clock. If there is a question, they will
go to the broadcast to see if that is the
way they're going to see the time left, the time
on the clock, the time not on the clock.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
This is where we get to our tenths of seconds
and whatever else.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
But it's now known to everybody that this super secret
clock exists.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
This is a super secret clock. We're in 2026 and
we have super secret clocks. Like, I wonder, was there
even a super duper secret clock? Like, if this clock
didn't have the second on it for Michigan, would there
be another door they could open and say, oh.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Hey, you have the... Yes, I actually have. Four seconds
left on the clock for Michigan. Oh, four seconds? Yes,
that's the official super duper secret clock answer.
Speaker 5 (12:51):
Our clock administration is kind of like the Winchester Mystery
House up in the Northern California where they kept adding
doors on. It was a great movie. with Helen Mirren.
I've been there.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I did that during a Halloween season. Steps that go
nowhere and door.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Little doors and all of a sudden like, Hey, I'm
walking down a hall. No, I'm not. I'm running into
this mini door.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
I mean, look, I, I, I, I like the fact
that this is what the NCAA is doing. And I
like the fact they're looking to solve this problem. And again,
If it was just the case of if they had
left the one second on, why couldn't it all sync up?
They brought on this problem themselves.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
But they said they synced it all up, except for
that we didn't know that clock with the tense existed.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
And I'm always a fan of, hey, if nobody's got
a problem, we don't need to go crazy on it.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Nobody would have had a problem if that clock hit zero.
Nobody would have. It's not like Kyle Whittingham's going to,
I thought we had a second left.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
He's not going to run on the field and go,
there's one second left, there's one second left. No, it
would have been, man, I just lost my big house
debut at home. They want me fired. I should have
retired instead of taking this game. Who told Whittingham to
say that, though?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That's what I... Like, yeah, I thought there was one second. Like, where?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
One does not look like a zero. I got fuzzy eyes, man,
and I can't see a lot of things. I'm not
confused as zero to one.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
If I was the official and they buzzed down to
me after the game was over and everybody's on the
field celebrating, hey, Jason, I think there's actually maybe like
less than a third of a second.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
No, we're good. Pack up, guys. Go home. Pack up.
We're good. The game's over. The game ends. And everything
would have been fine.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
That's why this is so unnecessary, because nobody would have
complained had the clock just hit zero. Michigan wouldn't have complained.
Western Michigan wouldn't have complained. We'd have had a big upset,
different story. But that's what I would have said. I
would have said, yeah, no, we're good, guys. But I
think there's a third. Guys, guys, guys, we're good.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
The field.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
They're storming the field now. Western Michigan is storming the field.
I mean, it's a Western Michigan storming the field.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It's over. The game's over. No one cares.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
The important question. How's your wife doing? She is ready
for the next game.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Okay, good.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
She's ready for it, but I don't know that she's
ready for the result because I've.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yet to talk to her about the game and tell
her what she should be in for. Exactly. But she's
ready for the next game.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Exit out by the Fresca X at Swollen Dome. Jason Smith,
Mike Harmon live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Coming
up next, judges back. Otani is out. All kinds of
baseball drama. Special guest to break it all down with us.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
That's next. Jason and Mike, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
All rise.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Fox Sports Radio, the Jason Smith Show with my best friend,
Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Well-dressed hobo.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
The return of Aaron Judge. The non-return of Shohei Otani.
The two biggest stars in the sport look like they're
going in opposite directions health-wise. Joining us now on the
hotline to break it down, nobody better than MLB Network
and Fox Sports Radio baseball insider extraordinaire. He's on Twitter
at John Marossi. It is the Pope, John Paul Marossi.
(15:57):
John Paul, I want to remind you, because I'm reminding
everybody tonight, especially people I know in the state of Michigan,
set your clocks back one second tonight before you go
to bed, just so you know.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
There is no time limit on this interview, and just
as importantly, Remember, we do have an individual pitch timer
in baseball, but there is no clock. The game is
not over until we say it is. To quote Belushi there,
I do believe that game on Saturday, we thought for
(16:32):
about 48 hours or so that it had gone away,
and then the Macs came out with a statement today, oh,
we are just in the early days. of trying to
parse through all that transpired there. And you can only
imagine how I watch that game as the son of
a proud Western Michigan University grad and the spouse of
(16:54):
a Michigan grad. Caught in the middle, my friends. It's
a story that has now captivated the nation. You know
what else is going to captivate the nation? If Michigan
ends up losing by a score that's less august than
27 to 20. This weekend of the Sooners, they got
to get this offense going. They got to get that
(17:16):
going a little bit that they don't. The Sooners, I believe,
will be prevailing at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
So being caught in the middle as you are, as
soon as that Hail Mary came down and Michigan caught it,
if I was you, I would have stood up, grabbed
my keys, and said, okay, I'm running to the store
to get some things.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I'll be back. You guys figure it out amongst yourselves.
I'll be back.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
Well, here's the thing. So my amazing bride, she was asleep.
She had gone to bed long before that happened. My
mom was watching the game, not physically in the same
place as me, so I was texting with her, trying
to keep her spirits up a little bit. So I really,
if Western had won, to be honest, this is the
(17:57):
blessing of not having gone to either school, I would
have been happy for them to have a signature win.
And in some ways, they... they won in the, in
the realm of public perception. I think they handled it
the right way. They were the better team. And so as,
as the public judges it, you know, it's, it's in
(18:17):
a strange way, it's different, but somewhat similar to the,
to the Armando Galarraga perfect game, right? In some ways
that perfect game is remembered more fondly than other perfect
games that happened right around the same time, just because
he was, wronged in the end. And I think that
(18:38):
in some small way, Western and the perception of the
program and the athletic department might actually be a little
bit brighter because of what happened. If they had just
won the game, it's, oh my gosh, they beat Michigan.
Now it's, they should have beaten Michigan. They were wronged
in the process. And there will now be, I believe,
(19:00):
more people around this world wearing Western Michigan University football
shirts than perhaps if they had actually won the game.
I really believe that that is a possibility here. And listen,
they'll be a force to be reckoned with in the
Mid-American Conference this season, without a doubt. I'm not so
sure if you get the same about the Wolverines and
(19:20):
the Big Ten, but we'll know a lot more after
Underwood has a chance to play against the Sooners on
Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah, I'm already waiting for the car versus car matchup
when they face Notre Dame, but we got plenty of
time before we get to that, JP. Aaron Judge makes
his triumphant return to the field today. Pitching the order
of the day, of course, Schlittler with another massive performance.
But Aaron Judge coming back. No minor league rehab. No,
(19:48):
straight to business. What do we expect? these next couple weeks?
How long is it going to take him to ramp?
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Mike, it's a great question. I think he'll be ready
relatively soon. I realize that he's been off for a
long time. Aaron Judge has a swing that works. He
always has. It's not a slump-proof swing because no one
has one of those except maybe Tony Gwynn or Ichiro
in his prime. But he's not going to rush back
(20:17):
until he's ready to go. And it sure seems like
he's ready to go. Now, the important thing, I want
all Yankee fans to not get too worried about this.
Aaron Boone is going to be pulling him out of
games a little bit early just to make sure that
you rest him up because Any major league player will
tell you, especially an outfielder and sometimes an infielder too,
(20:37):
that just standing on your feet for all those innings,
it takes a toll. It doesn't sound like it would,
but it does. And so I think that Aaron needs
to take some time to work fully back to that.
It's just a much better and deeper lineup when he's
in it. And in an American league that is so well-balanced,
(20:58):
a Yankee lineup with an effective Aaron Judge– has as
good of a chance to win this league as any
other team in the AL.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I'll go a step further. I think Aaron Judge coming
back is what we've been waiting for. What team is
going to now rise up? He comes back early part
of September. Enough time to get in the rhythm. We
know how good their starting pitching is. You know what
a difference he is to that lineup. I expect the
Yankees to be in the World Series now. I mean,
the fact you didn't need him to come back. They
didn't come back. You would come back healthy. He was
(21:27):
cleared for baseball activities two and a half weeks ago. So,
you know, they didn't rush him back. Like I expect
the Yankees to now go on a run and be
in the World Series.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
That's a very reasonable take. I would concur with you.
The fascinating thing about this along those lines is that
one very plausible result is that the Yankees and Red
Sox meet in the first round. And that's where exactly
it would be right now if we got started. And
(21:56):
that to me is just so interesting because if we're
being honest, and the Astros have played better baseball recently.
But the two hottest teams in the American League, especially
if you imagine a world in which a judge gets going,
it's the Red Sox and Yankees. That, to me, is
the winner of that. If that's a wildcard series, the
best of three, that happens while the two top seeds
are just watching. Maybe it ends up being perhaps the
(22:21):
Rays and the White Sox, let's say, to watch that
first round. Then the winner of that series ends up becoming...
arguably the front-runner in the American League because they're just
right now in a very flawed American League. They're as
complete as any team could be. And then on the
National League side, I'm sure we'll get more into this
(22:41):
here with Otani, but the Dodgers are, of course, the
favorites until someone proves otherwise. But when you look at
how well the Braves and Phillies competed over the weekend,
the Padres are still a very dangerous team. There's a
lot of ball clubs right now, and the Cubs and
Brewers certainly stand out. What a classic game they played tonight.
(23:04):
As you acknowledge that the Yankees are as favored as
anyone else to win the American League, if you give
me Dodgers versus the field right now, I take the
field by a pretty comfortable margin. And I think a
lot of it's because of just the quality of baseball
that we're seeing right now in the National League. And
then Ohtani's absence and lack of clarity on exactly when
(23:25):
he's going to come back.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah, that is the curiosity.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
Obviously, we're here in L.A., J.P., because he's out of
the lineup once again, made a return for a day.
I guess the positive side is something's awakened both Tommy
Edmund and Teoscar Hernandez.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Very possible. And I think that with respect to Ohtani...
In some ways, they're liberating him from having to worry
about the pitching side. He clearly wants to do both.
It's been something that he has done since he was
a teenager. It was part of the reason and the
rationale why he came over to the U.S. when he
did and how he did and what his idea would
(24:04):
be when he got here. He's checked every box that
a mortal player could check. And I think his body
right now is telling him, if not, not never, but
just not, right now in terms of when he can
actually come back and pitch. You saw the tone of
resignation in his voice through interpreter Will Ireton the other day.
(24:28):
It just looks to me like it's just not going
to happen. It's not just the bicep, it's the knee.
And the other piece of it, too, that we have
to remember is this is a 50-50 player. And part
of his... overall skill set and value is on the bases.
And that just hasn't been the same component this year,
(24:49):
which I do think further opens the door for Pete
Cor Armstrong to win the MVP. I believe that PCA
will win it. There's just so much talent there that
PCA has. And listen, Otani at his peak obviously is,
he stands alone, but he's not at his peak right now.
And I think the entire idea for him not playing tonight,
or at least not starting tonight, was just to help
(25:11):
him get as rested as he can be for what
the Dodgers hope, but can't be too sure, but they
hope will be yet another long October.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Well, the thing is, John Paul, with Otani is that
we're moving towards him not pitching anymore because it's clear
that his body cannot withstand the rigors of being a
starting pitcher in Major League Baseball and continuing to bat.
At some point, they're going to make him a closer,
and they'll figure out the final innings if he gives
up a lead, and you'll figure out losing.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
The spot in the batting order.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
It's not that big a deal to figure out, but
we're close to maybe 65, 70 innings a year is
what he can do, and if that doesn't go, then...
he's not going to pitch anymore because his bat is
just too valuable. We're slowly going to see him pitch
less and less and less until we just don't anymore.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
It's fair. And remember, he's a free player from the
standpoint of the count. So if he's listed as a
two-way player, that behooves organizations to have that player that
can do both. And as shown, he can do both.
And so I agree with you that there is an
intermediate step. It doesn't have to be all or nothing
(26:20):
in the sense of a starting pitcher or a DH only.
Only is obviously in air quotes because he's still a
great player even when that is his job. So I'm
with you. I would just slightly amend the statement to
say we are very likely seeing the end of him starting,
but not the end of him pitching. And it's also
(26:41):
possible that if he ends up going through this progression–
and building up his ability to just at least stay
in the game that long and get healthy again, closing
is probably the most plausible option for a variety of reasons.
We touched on this last week, the ability to enter
the game. Yeah, you lose your DH, but if it's
(27:03):
the ninth inning, you're not so worried about it because
the game's probably going to end. And by the way,
Dave Roberts is not going to use him unless it's
a very specific situation. when it's in the ninth inning. Again,
that's a 2027 question, not for 2026. But that is
what this looks like to me, is that he's going
to be a DH only, at least for now, and
they may have to rethink the entire concept when they
(27:26):
show up for spring training in 2027.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
That's a long process from there, but we've got something
more immediate for you, JP. As we do each and
every year, we start getting your picks. Lions, six and
a half or seven point favorites against the Saints this week,
over under 49 and a half.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
What's the pick?
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Okay, here we go. The Detroit Lions will win this
football game 28, not 27. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
New year, new score.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
New year, new man.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
New year, new JP. Detroit, 28 to 20. So I've
got 48 points right there on the over-under. So just
barely under, I believe. And yes, I've got Detroit 28 points.
New Orleans, 20. Let's have a great season, my friends.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
He's on Twitter, at John Marossi, at John Marossi, MLB Network,
here with us at Fox Sports Radio. John, Paul, thanks
as always. We'll talk to you next week, and enjoy.
Hopefully there are no clock snafus against Oklahoma this weekend.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
Let's hope it's resolved before the final second, and I'll
tell you what, one of the other teams that my
grandmother devoted Notre Dame fans, they look real good on Sunday,
so they do not be surprised if they end up
being the number one team at some point this season.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
All right, there goes John Palmaros and he's all ready
to go.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m.
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Fox Sports Radio, the Jason Smith Show with my best
friend Mike Harmon. Once upon a time not long ago
where there was a 12-team playoff that wanted to be 24.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Outside of.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Western Michigan and Michigan and LSU now not going to
play the pro players. Ah, it's like we didn't have
enough college football this week. Let's jam it all in
before the NFL starts.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
We got one more day. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
There is now a 24-team college football playoff on the table.
According to ESPN, leaders of the college football playoff agreed
to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN. that could
potentially result in a 2014 playoff field that could begin
as soon as next year. Now, do I like 24?
(29:48):
I like it better than 12. I don't like it
as much as 16. 16, I think, is the perfect number.
But when money is at stake and now all the
conferences have been told, With more teams. You will make
more money. You will have a better chance to get
more teams into the playoff. Everybody gets fat if you
(30:10):
go from 12 teams to 24.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Oh, I didn't know. You explained it to me that way.
That I didn't know.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
They held up one card that had a picture of
like four little stick figure guys. And they're waving at
each other. Then they held up the next one and
they look happier.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
And there's 12 of them.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
And then they grabbed the next one that had a
dollar sign. And then it had a picture of 24
of them all grinning from ear to ear. And that's
how we get to it.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
I mean, I look at college football and I go, like, understand,
how do you go forward as a sport?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
The 2014 playoff is the biggest.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
No, really, a 16-team playoff is perfect because then you're
getting the top two teams from each of the power conferences.
You're getting some wild cards. And that's the perfect number. 24, yeah, okay,
a little bit too much because then you're looking at
teams with four losses, maybe five. But if they have
a really good resume, they stay in.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So I do. Big fan base that'll travel.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Yeah, but 24 is better than 12 because 12, you're
still leaving teams out and you still have not figured
out the process of how do you deal with a
team that makes it to their conference championship game and loses.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
And that's their third loss. Well, wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
The other teams with two losses didn't make it. So
you need to add more teams. The bottom line is this,
whether you like it, don't like it, it's happening.
Speaker 4 (31:22):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
They're not, you're not going to keep pushing for 24 teams.
If this was going to be a dead issue, this
is the third or fourth time in the last two years,
since we've expanded to 12 that, and it expanded playoff
past this has been on the table, right?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
It's like when Roger Goodell wants something in the NFL,
he's going to get it. He talked for years about going, well,
we added a game to the schedule. Well, we go
to a 17-game schedule. Well, we go to a 17-game schedule.
This tells you I'm not letting it go. This is
a piece of meat in a Doberman's mouth. I'm not
letting it go until you allow me to eat this
piece of meat, right? Roger Goodell wasn't going to rest until...
We got that 17th game, and now I'm pretty sure
(31:58):
we'll be at 18 games.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
Hey, he's got four more years to get that 18,
maybe those 20 altogether.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
This is going to happen. Will it happen for next year?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Probably.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I can't believe you're going to get everybody together saying, hey,
we're not going to go to a 2014 player for
next year. The fact that they want it, they know
the money is there, ESPN's there, a 30-day window.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Again, this is the third or.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Fourth time this has been thrown out there as a
negotiating tactic where we're going to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
This is not going to die.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
This is not going to be so, okay, well, clearly
nobody wants a 2014 playoff, so we're not going to
have it. No, this is still out there until everybody
says yes. It's like, I'm going to continue to put
this out there until you, I'm going to wait. It's
like the guy in your fantasy league who won't stop
making you trade offers until you trade with him.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And then you're like, okay. Will you go away if
I make a trade with you? Yes.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Okay, I can't keep waking up every day to text
from you going, what about this trade?
Speaker 2 (32:46):
What about this trade? What about this trade?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
I'm going to say yes just to make you go away. Like,
that's what this is. Like, we're going to keep throwing
expanded playoff out there until you agree. And with this
30-day window to make this happen, there's no way this
doesn't happen. They wouldn't be at the table. Both sides
wouldn't be at the table if this wasn't a possibility.
We're getting 2014.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
If nothing else, we're going to 16. We're getting more.
That's really all it comes down to. You can keep
putting the pie in the sky. In our ideal world,
we want 24. Well, but if we have to settle
for 16 for a year or two while you get
used to this, we'll do it. But either way, I
do like, as you were talking about that fantasy trade thing,
you started to make a fist. As if you wanted
to punch somebody. Use those tactics on you in multiple
(33:30):
leagues in years past. But all of that to say,
it's the way of the world, right? If you can
keep building your product and we watch the realignment and
the changes and folks calling for the relegation of Rutgers
after their loss and all of those things. that you
got the one marketable piece of real estate is live
(33:54):
sporting events. And with so many entities coming up with
giant piles of cash going, yeah, we need another game.
This is your way to solve it and make everybody
happy and fat and cover the development costs for those
pilots that don't get picked up.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
And the best part is, is that if you are
a fan of a power four team in any of the...
You have a chance to make the playoffs. But that's it.
You don't have to win it like you used to
be like, ah, I got no shot. You can have it.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Hey, what an outlier year. We went nine and three.
You have a chance to make the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
That's it. Everybody's got a chance now.
Speaker 5 (34:29):
Syracuse and jelly.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Yes, yes. Peanut butter and jelly.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
Playoff.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Let's have it. Let's go. Everybody's got a chance. That's
the best news. That's the best part of it. I
gave you hope. I'm a terrible person. Coming up next, we.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Get back into a big NFL story on NFL Eve.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Keep it right here. The Jason Smith Show with my
best friend, Mike Arman. This is Fox Sports Radio.
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!