September 10, 2026 • 29 mins
Rob and Kelvin provide up-to-the-minute analysis of the San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams game in Australia, and argue whether the Los Angeles Clippers screwed up by giving away Chris Paul’s #3 jersey to Bradley Beal. Plus, we break down all the biggest baseball headlines in this week’s edition of Foul or Fair with MLBBro.com managing editor JR Gamble.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Odd Couple Podcast. Be sure
to check us out live every weekday from 7 p.m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To 10 p.m.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Eastern, 4 to 7 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for the Odd Couple at foxsportsradio.com or
stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by
searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
All right, hour number three here on The Odd Couple,
Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel.
That's right, you can watch us right now. Again, search
Odd Couple FSR on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button. You
can do the thumbs up icon, that and much more. Again,
you can watch us right now on our very own
(00:53):
YouTube channel. Just search Odd Couple FSR and subscribe. Also,
in about 28 minutes, J.R. Gamble, managing editor of MLBSquad.com.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
We'll do that. And last call. So a lot to
get to in this final hour of the program. Rob G.,
we got Clippers news, huh?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
We do.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
We also have an NFL game going on, Rob Parker,
that we've got to talk about first.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
3-0.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
On Netflix, 3-0. The Australia Niners taking on the Los
Angeles Rams because they've been there for a week. They've
claimed the territory.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Australia Niners.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
And so far, the sleep experts who said get there
a week early, it's better for your body clock, are
looking like they're being proven right because winding down the
first quarter- And the San Francisco 49ers look exponentially better
than the Los Angeles Rams. Rams at this point are
one of three on third down, 24 total yards through
(01:50):
just about 13 minutes of gameplay action. Maybe showing up
60 minutes before the game started wasn't a good idea.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I don't know where they got that advice from. As
somebody who flew there who wasn't playing football, I just...
It is a monster flight.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Oh, my.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
And I don't care how great, oh, they got this
great charter and everybody's stretched.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Out or whatever.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It has nothing to do with it. It's not just
about leg room. It's what the flight takes out of you.
It's not just leg. They're talking about, oh, they got
this great charter and everybody. It's not like they're going
to be sitting in coach.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
That's not the... You're in air for 14 hours.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
Coach, private, don't matter. It don't matter.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
It's in the air. It takes something out of you.
I've been world traveler. I've been everywhere.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
Crazy. What's crazy, Rob? is to answer your question. You're like,
I don't know where they got this from. They sent people,
15 people over two years, had gone there several times
and monitored their body. All right, well, what was it
like if we get there at noon? What was it
like if we get there at night? What if we sleep? Well,
when did you go to sleep? When did you feel
more like yourself? Like they've been studying this For two
(03:04):
years to figure it all out, and I feel like
at the end of the day, you're never going to
figure it out. It's going to suck. You're there. You're off,
but you've got to play a game, and it's the
first game, so you're already a little jittery and just
off-centered because it's the first game of the season already.
I think it's going to be not a great game.
(03:25):
Maybe the fourth quarter will open up some. Just because, again,
it's the first game, you're jittery, you're excited. You don't
do preseason. Really, the Rams were key in that whole
not doing the preseason with your starters. And now you're
out there in literally halfway across the world. I just, yeah, it...
And we talked about it earlier, not to rehash it,
but just I don't get what the NFL, what are
you trying to prove? I understand you want to make
(03:45):
the game more global. As big as it is in America,
it's not the biggest thing when it comes globally at all.
So I understand that.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Australia is off the map.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
You're not going to have a team there, so there's
no reason to sell tickets in Australia. There's just no reason.
Like you're not going to get a team there. I
don't care if you want to do something internationally.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Australia will not get a team. So can we stop?
Speaker 5 (04:08):
And here we are again. And where is it now?
Is it a game in China next? I'm dead serious.
A game in Japan? I absolutely can see them trying
to do a game in Tokyo. You know, and again,
if you're the players, enough is enough. It's already the
most difficult sport. You and I sit up here. We
talk to former players all the time. How brutal it
(04:30):
is on the body. How bad travel is. Ephraim talked
about a great point. You just mentioned how hard it
is to travel. across the ocean, that far. Well, imagine too,
you're a lineman of either defense or offense or a player,
you being beat up all game, that does so much
to inflammation to the body, that air pressure that you're
(04:52):
dealing with for 14, 16 hours, Rob, you're dealing with
air pressure. That's what, dude, when I had surgery, And
I'm sure if you had to, like, they tell you
you can't travel because of the air pressure and you
have dental surgery because it could, like, open a wound. Like,
it's brutal on your body if you're going through things already.
So to just have 53 men and be like, oh,
(05:12):
you'll be all right. I know you just played the
most brutal sport we have in America, but go travel 14, 16.
You'll be all right. Man up. That's just wild to me.
All right.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Dynamite analysis there, Rob Parker. I love what you're bringing
to the table today.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
What are you talking about?
Speaker 7 (05:30):
I made my point.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
So much enthusiasm here on a TV theme song Thursday.
We are keeping an eye on this football game, of course.
Still 3-0 San Francisco. Big news, though, in the NBA
involving the team of the summer, none other than the
Los Angeles Clippers. I'm not talking about the cap circumvention.
I'm not even talking about the Department of Justice getting
(05:52):
involved in Kawhi Leonard's finances. What I'm talking about is
in the overnight hours, Wednesday into Thursday, the Clippers team
website decided that they would start selling unbeknownst to the
rest of us Bradley Beal jerseys with the number three
on them. In case you didn't know, the only Clippers
(06:16):
player worth talking about that's worn number three is one
Chris Paul. And according to Chris Paul, they told him
even after things ended badly there a few months ago
at the start of the season. No one's ever going
to wear that number again. We are going to retire
your number, Chris Paul. And not even a year later,
Bradley Beal, who showed up there, had a cup of
coffee and a sweet roll, is the new number three
(06:40):
in Clipperdom.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Rob Parker.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I have no issues with it. The Clippers can do that.
Chris Paul, like, can you win? If you won a championship...
I'll buy that, that that guy's number should be retired.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Chris Paul.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Had to rub the organization so bad that they took
a flight at night to come to him to tell
him that he was off the team and get your
stuff and you're done. There's a lot of issues when
it comes to Chris Paul, the way he talked about
the organization and whatnot. If you don't win, like seriously,
(07:22):
a championship and you're derogatory or bad mouth the organization,
I just don't see what you're expecting. If you want
a championship, you cement yourself there and then hopefully you can,
you know, work. with that player and decide, you know,
(07:42):
you want to do something special for him. I just
can't believe they said to him, oh, nobody.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Will ever wear that number again.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Did you, Kelvin, the way that he was dispatched, dumped,
like in the middle of the night, like you got
to get out of here. They said, Chris Paul, you're
a cancer. And he said, no, I'm a Capricorn. I
was born in January. But you get my point. Like
(08:10):
that's what they said to him. No, we're not going
to wait until the end of the season. We're not
going to give you an exit video. We're not going
to shower you with gifts. Can you pack your stuff
and get out? That's the guy you're holding a jersey
for so that you can have a– ceremony and, and
(08:32):
Jersey retirement. I'm not saying they can't make up down
the road and they, you know, they figure it out
or something, but I'm sorry. I just can't. Uh, I
don't have an issue with them. Uh, given that number up.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
I'm glad you said that last part. Cause that's actually
my starting point. Sometimes Rob, you got to have foresight
and you already know you're going to make up with
Chris Paul and, There's going to be some redemption tour and,
you know, bygones be bygones. He was just competitive. We
were competitive. We were just trying to win. So to me,
sometimes as an organization, you got to have some foresight
to say, look, we're not an organization that's beloved. We
(09:09):
don't have this great history of amazing players. He's arguably
your best player you've ever had. I mean, Elgin Baylor's
up in there. Blake was obviously up there. But in
my opinion, it's Chris Paul. Kawhi was as far as talent,
but not really anything to really, you know, hang your
hat on. as far as his tenure. So to me,
it's Chris Paul. And I look at it as... Look,
(09:31):
we got a chance to start to build on something, right?
We got a new place. We got our new home.
And obviously, we're going through investigations. Obviously, our former owner
was terrible in Donald Sterling. Obviously, nobody really wanted us
in Staples Center all those years. So now, to me,
I'm looking at it as a chance to build something new.
Chris Paul, you're going to be the first number up there.
(09:51):
And into a dome. I understand we're not necessarily seeing
eye to eye. However, you played your heart out. We
had some good times with you. There was a little
bit left to be desired for sure, but you were great.
You were MVP candidate and all stars and all that
good stuff with us when you were there. Let's start
with him. Let's build a foundation. Let's make being a
(10:13):
Clipper mean something, right? If you're a Laker, once a Laker,
always a Laker. If you're the Knicks, you got Knicks
who barely, like, you don't even think of them as
a Knick. They're going to every dang old postseason game
because once a Knick, always a Knick. Welcome back. Except
Charles Oakley. And all that good stuff. And so to me,
I would want to build that. Let's start having it
where being a Clipper means something. Being a part of
(10:35):
this organization means something. And who better to start with
than our captain, our leader, our guy? Again, I'm not
saying everything was hunky-dory and we saw eye to eye,
but Chris Paul was our guy. And to me, that's
an obvious way to say, let's build upon something so
that I can start building creating a Clipper culture and
being happy that you were part of this franchise. And
to me, just honoring your best player over the last
(10:57):
20 years.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I don't think you know anything about his reputation in
the NBA. I really don't think you know anything about
Chris Paul's reputation.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
I do. And we talked about it. And we actually
agreed that he rubs guys the wrong way.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
It's not good.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
And the idea, the way that they even asked him
to get lost tells you a lot. Seriously, if you
are going to retire a guy's number, he's a part
of your franchise, and you might be saying the time
has come, you need to retire. There's a way of
doing it without it being in the middle of the
night and you come to tell a guy, okay, dude,
pack your stuff up. You got to get out of
(11:31):
here now. I mean, seriously.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But that ain't the most well-run organization either. Ain't like
he's some pristine organization that is trying to say we
don't like Chris Paul.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
But you're acting like Chris Paul hasn't done anything in this.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I'm just saying.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Listen, we talked about it then when the whole thing
happened to go to tell him. We both said Chris
Paul's been called dirty. He has had dirty plays. I
will sit here and agree. Chris Paul, plenty of people
have spoken out. about how he rubbed it. Most recently,
Big Baby Davis is out of jail, out of prison, whatever.
And he's been doing all the pods, all the rounds.
(12:07):
And one of the things he talked about was he
said Chris was our guy and he was the leader
of the team, but he said he never was able
to really put his arm around DeAndre and Blake and say, hey,
young guys, this is how you do it. This is,
you know, come on, tighten up, let's do this. He
said it was just, it was, he just didn't galvanize
the team. And I, so I'm with you. I'm not,
(12:29):
that's why I said, I'm not saying everything was hunky-dory
and peachy perfect, but, If you're going to start with somebody,
that's the guy to start with to say, hey, we
want to start some type of legacy where being a
Clipper means something, being a part of this organization means something,
and there's some type of lasting legacy.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Let it be a Pelican. Let the Pelicans do it.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
Well, yeah. Well, dang. Pelican, Hornet, where would he be?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Hornet, whatever it is. Let them do it.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Yeah. He's been on a million teams.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That's an interesting one.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Actually, would he go to the Hornets? Which I know
they're the Pelicans now. I don't know how that would work.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
I mean, just the idea of a guy who's potentially
going to be in the Hall of Fame and for
you to come in the middle of the night to
tell him to get lost. I just think that there's
something there that's more than just the Clippers doing something wrong.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (13:14):
I'm agreeing that it might have been water and vinegar
or vinegar. They weren't going hand in hand. But To me,
I'm looking at, as a business person, I'm looking at Forsythe. Like,
all right, look, our fan base loved him. He's arguably
our most beloved, famous guy that we had. You know,
maybe with him, Blake, wherever you want to look at it.
And I will be looking at it, Rob, as I
(13:37):
want to get him, Blake, De'Andre, Jamal Crawford, kind of
that core group.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
They didn't win anything there. I mean, like you retired one.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
It's almost like when you see college football and you
see guys who formerly played, even if they didn't win
a national championship, that was there. They're back on the sideline.
They're a part of the organization. You know, they're helping out.
They're showing up. They're doing some speeches. Like, I would
look at it like that. There's no Clipper culture at all,
and I would eventually want to start to build it.
That's all I'm saying, Rob. I'm not saying he was,
you know, Joe Dumars of a guy, if you will,
(14:08):
around the organization, but I'm just saying.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
877-99 on Fox, 877-996-6369.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Did the Clippers screw up?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
By giving away Chris Paul's number three jersey to Bradley Beal.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
We'll continue that conversation next with you.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
And that's what I gave it to Rob Bradley Beal.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
It is The Odd Couple, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington. Weekdays at 7 p.m. Eastern,
4 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube. And you can
be a part of it.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Pay attention.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit
that subscribe button. And smash that notification bell. And catch
all the videos from your favorite shows.
Speaker 7 (14:51):
Two pros.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
And a cup of joe dan patrick colin coward doug
gottlieb covino and rich the odd couple with rob parker
and kelvin washington the jason smith show with mike harman
and the ben maller show fox sports radio on youtube
subscribe hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
Well i don't know stop it robin rob robert lee
parker jr the 36th If you don't stop.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I don't know what this is.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Joker's wild.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Joker's wild. There we go. Very nice.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
What was that? I don't even know that. What is that?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
It's a game show.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Oh, they was grooving though. Whoever was on the band, Alex,
they weren't playing around.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That was a 70s game show, right? It's so good. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
That ain't no, they wasted that. That was a banger.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
That needs to be a jazz flute too. He was like,
so good.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
They weren't playing around with that. Odd Couple, Rob and
Kelvin on a TV thing. So on Thursday, what flute?
Speaker 7 (15:43):
Oh, boy.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Foul! We're fair. Coming up with J.R. Gamble in a
handful of minutes here. Stream us live wherever you happen
to be in the iHeart app. Catch us live in
all your favorite Fox Sports Radio shows 24-7. A new
and improved app. Just search Fox Sports Radio in the app.
Stream us live all day, every day. And be sure
to select Fox Sports Radio as one of the presets
in the iHeart app. It's always going to pop up
at the top of your screen. We've got Last Call
(16:06):
coming up a little bit later as well. So still
a lot left in this hour. 877-99 on Fox. Chris Paul.
His number three, giving up to Bradley Beal, of all people.
It's not like the Carmelo Joker situation. We're like, all right, hey,
that's Joker. You know, Carmelo, you know. 877-99 on Fox.
Let's take some calls, Rob.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
All right, Adam in D.C. You're on the Odd Couple
Fox Sports Radio. What's up, Adam?
Speaker 6 (16:29):
My God, my favorite radio show. And you know what
I think about when I.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Think about the Clippers?
Speaker 6 (16:34):
I think, foul! Because you know what, man?
Speaker 5 (16:37):
The only reason why they even got.
Speaker 6 (16:38):
The reason why Chris Paul's even on their team, guys,
rest in peace to David Stern, but remember he vetoed
the trade? He's supposed to be a Lakers. And as
a Lakers fan, can you imagine, like I was telling
Rob G., Can you imagine what we missed out on?
And then think about the second run of this fluke thing.
I know we're talking about Chris Paul. Was this Paul
PG-13 thing? He was supposed to come to us, but
he went to the Clippers. And we've seen what happened
(17:00):
with that whole Kawhi area. So it's straight up a
no-go for anything that went on with the Clippers, man.
Don't celebrate nothing. You only got there because we got Vito.
He should have been a Laker in the first place.
Just go on back to what y'all used to be,
second rate.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Love y'all guys.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
Talk to y'all later, man.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
All right, Adam.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
That's still a weird veto, man. No, it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
That was the only asset that the franchise had, and
they were trying to sell it.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
It was weird.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
The league owned the Pelican.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
The league owned the Hornets, whatever they were, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
And they didn't want to attract a buyer. You couldn't
strip it, so that's why they did it. It made
total sense to me why they did it.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
But I also can have a marquee franchise in the
Lakers sitting there with.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Kobe and Chris Paul.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
And I'm getting Pau Gasol back and Lamar Odom and
a bunch of pigs.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
It's the value of the other organization. It made sense.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
No, it did not make any sense to me. That's
your opinion. I thought it's just like we've never seen
it before, never seen it again. Again, I understand they
were the owners of the team, but they veto in leagues?
I don't like that. It's happened before in sports.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Charlie Finley sold three of the greatest Oakland A's that
were ever around.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
He sold three of them.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And baseball vetoed all the sales because he was selling
them for money, not for players. And he vetoed it.
And the A's had won, you know, a number of
World Series, including three in a row.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
But at least that was some shady goings on. No,
it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
He had every right to sell the players. It wasn't
in the best interest of baseball. Just like the NBA
didn't think it was in the best interest of the NBA.
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (18:36):
Yeah, David Stern, he missed on that one. He was
Dwight Howard at the free throw line with that one
over me. The only, to put a button on the
conversation was CP3. Matter of fact, is Montee there? Because
that's her squad. Montee, your thoughts. I mean... Chris Paul,
I don't know, did you hear my point? Was Rob
said he doesn't mind and give it up. My whole
(18:58):
thing was he's been your best player. I understand he
was probably ornery at times and didn't get along. But
you got to start building something. You want to have
it where dang it, being a Clipper meant something. Bring
guys back, you know, former players. And who better to
really start that off than with Chris Paul, in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsportsradio.com. And
within the iHeartRadio app, search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
File! or fair with J.R. Gamble. MLBbro.com.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
It was a big week in the big leagues. Is
it foul or is it fair? And now from MLBbro.com,
here's J.R.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
Gamble. That's right. It's foul or fair.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Here on the R Couple Fox Sports Radio, a segment
we go around the diamond. It's got all the biggest
headlines in Major League Baseball, in order to do so properly,
I'm going to bring in a real expert, a guy
who is single-handedly carrying an entire website dedicated to black
and brown Major Leaguers with no help whatsoever from the
man who's prominently listed on the masthead. None other than
(20:11):
my guy, J.R.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Gamble.
Speaker 7 (20:14):
It's the little guys that make the machine go.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
What up, man?
Speaker 7 (20:19):
What's up, fellas? Kelvin Robb back again with the iCouple.
Speaker 5 (20:24):
Oh, yeah. Ready to do it. Let's go.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
My favorite thing about today's show is I can say
whatever I want about Rob. He's not going to say
anything back because he's already, like, not here. So this
is great.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
You know what?
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Listen, the last 30 minutes of the show, Rob G.,
I got to take advantage of that, too. I got
to just start making up stuff, just going crazy at
him right now.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Hey, have your way. You can have your way with it.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
That's right. Burger King, have it your way. All right, guys,
I got three baseball topics because J.R. is the star
of the segment. He gets the first crack at every
single one. So let's get to it. ESPN's Jeff Passan,
friend of the show, friend of the podcast, friend of
the USC journalism class, said today on his weekly Intel
column that if Tarek Skubal is able to secure a
(21:03):
deal before the lockout, key thing here, before a salary
cap gets implemented. He could be looking at upwards of
$ 500 million in free agency. Guys, Schumel's going to be
30 in November. So is it foul or fair to
say that paying him that much money would be a
mistake by whoever does it?
Speaker 7 (21:25):
Foul!
Speaker 2 (21:26):
That is a foul ball.
Speaker 7 (21:29):
Well, you pay what the market demands, for one. And
these numbers shouldn't surprise us anymore. They're just going to
go up and up and up. That means the owners
are making money hand over fist. And when you pay someone,
you have an idea about what you expect to get
for that money, right? So if he fits whatever you
expect to get, then $ 500 million is not too much.
Salary cap or no salary cap. School is worth that money.
(21:49):
That's the going rate for a grade-A pitcher with Cy
Young Awards and such, right? His age is pretty much
irrelevant because if he's healthy, he's going to be– Very
serviceable for at least four more great seasons. So pitching
is too hard to come by Major League Baseball to
put a price tag on one of the premier arms
of the last decade.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I'm going to say fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
$ 500 million is ridiculous for a pitcher. He's already had
a number of surgeries. He's not healthy all the time,
and he's a great pitcher. You've got to be careful
with that, and arms and whatnot. I think that's a
ton of money for a pitcher. Isn't it Yamamoto who
got $ 300 million?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
That was the max? Are you going to almost double his?
Speaker 1 (22:29):
$ 500 million?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
I think it'll be four, but I don't think it's
going to be five.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Four, five, six, seven. Defer it.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
I think it's foul. That is a foul ball. For
29 other teams, Rob, I actually think it's fair. I'd
be with you. But specifically with the Dodgers, they just
don't seem to care. They're like, hey, you get up.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
You know their owner is under investigation, right?
Speaker 5 (22:58):
I do know that, but they keep spending money.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yeah, we'll see about that. We'll see how that goes.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
But I'm just answering as of today. I get your point.
But I'm saying as of running.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
He might be in jail. I'm just saying.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
The way they've been running business, this makes for them
as just par for the course. Is it worth it?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
No.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Will it work out?
Speaker 5 (23:14):
We'll see. But that's just how the Dodgers have operated. Now,
29 other teams, I'm thinking with you. I think it's fair.
I think they'd be like, man, all right, at a
certain point, that's just too much money to spend for
one player.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
You know, they call Rob Parker the Mark Walter of
baseball media.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I'll be in jail too.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
He might be investigated for tax evasion at some point
pretty soon. Keep it a while. All right, here we go. See,
you can't say anything because he's already not here.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Alex, you need that receipt.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Question number two.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
I'm still looking for NFL receipts, Rob G.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Paper receipts, bro.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
Rob still writes his receipts on a napkin. That's right.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Not him.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Just sign it real quick. You're not doing nothing. Just
sign it. Say that you came with me. The Chicago
Cubs offensively, this is a fun fact, first in runs,
first in homers, first in on-base percentage, first in slugging,
even more impressively, defensively, the highest fielding run value in
the stats history. I don't know how long it goes back,
but it seems like a long time. Problem is, even
(24:10):
with all that good numbers... They're bottom three in pitching war.
So here it is, J.R. Foul or fair, say the
Cubs pitching will have them one and done in the postseason.
Speaker 7 (24:24):
I'm not a mind reader, but foul.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
That is a foul ball.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Maybe not one and done, you know, because despite that
war that you spoke of, they have been able to win, what,
81 games this season. They're in the wildcard hunt. And
postseason baseball is not the regular season, so stranger things
have happened. If they can maintain that offense, put some
runs across, I feel like they'll be in a position
to win games. Bullpen performance is unpredictable, so if a
(24:51):
couple of their pitchers get hot, they could easily advance
past the first round of the playoffs, you know, win
a wildcard game. I don't see why that would be
beyond a stretch of imagination.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I'm going to say fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Only because in the postseason, it's about pitching and defense.
And if you don't have starting pitching, it's really hard
to advance. And their pitching is okay. It's not great.
The offense is great. I just think you need pitching.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Right.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
But if they're going against a team whose pitching is
not that great as well, then the Dodgers, no.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
I think it's one episode. I think it'd be fair then, right?
Speaker 3 (25:32):
It's a fair ball.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
The pitching could make them one and done. And I
think that's very true because, listen, at the end of
the day, it gets tighter in the postseason. We know that.
The strategy starts to change, and you got to be
able to go out there and pitch and also have
some games where you can win 2-1, 1-0. It happens
like that at times. So to me, the pitching ultimately
(25:55):
can cost you. Because I look at the opposite. You
mentioned the Dodgers. Dodgers offense didn't give them jack. And
yet they won a whole World Series.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
You ready for this?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
The Blue Jays outscored the Dodgers in last year's seven-game
World Series.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
And who won?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Because they had the pitching when they had to get
the outs that they needed.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
So the offenses go away. Pitching is what wins. That's
all I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Agreed.
Speaker 7 (26:17):
Agreed. We're just talking about one series here.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, I'm giving you an example, though. That's all.
Speaker 7 (26:22):
Because I'm thinking the Cubs are going to play a
team that's similar to them.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
The Dodgers could be a wild card. The Dodgers could
be a wild card. That's all I'm saying. It could be.
Speaker 7 (26:33):
They could.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
All right, last one. Fowler, Fair, J.R. Gamble sitting in
with the odd couple.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
Here we go.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
The Athletic surveyed 99 anonymous active Major League players and
83 of them said they'd be cool playing for a
manager who never played pro ball, which is very interesting
considering that the Giants, under Tony Vitello, famously never played
or managed above college before this season, are on pace
for their worst season in a decade.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Is that what it is? Yeah, it's been bad.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
It's terrible.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
It's all bad. JR, foul or fair to say the
anonymous players are wrong about this one?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
And the proof is in the pudding. I'm not sure how...
But that's the problem, fellas. I'm not sure most of
these guys know what a good manager or a manager
who can really make a difference with the experience and
intelligence is until they actually play for one. A lot
of these guys, they play for analytics, guys. They don't
play for really good managers. Being an elite manager doesn't mean,
(27:36):
you know... You have played for a manager on the
level of, say, a Dusty Baker. You wouldn't know until
you played for one of them guys where they understand
every aspect of the game. Not many pro sports, to me,
hire coaches and managers, fellas, who never played. It happens.
But baseball, I feel like it requires a deep understanding
of the game and also the temperament it takes to
(27:56):
play the game. Those little nuances are very important. And
feel is so important. And it's hard to come by
if you've never played. I'm just saying.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Yeah, I'm going to say fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
And I'm going to say fair because you don't have
to make it to the major leagues. And I think
that's Rob G in that, like making it to the
major leagues. So you could have been a minor league player.
You were never good enough to get to the big leagues.
Most managers aren't great players. It's not like Ted Williams
was a terrible manager with Washington.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
And great players often don't make great managers or whatever,
or coaches, as we've seen. But I think the Tony
Vitello thing is different where he wasn't in the major
leagues at all, you know, like had no connection. But
you don't have to be a pro player to be
a pro baseball manager to me.
Speaker 5 (28:44):
I'm going fair.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
It's a fair ball.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
And I would argue MLB is different than NFL, NBA.
I don't think you have to be a pro player
in NBA, even if it's overseas or anything, to be
a good coach.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Bill Belichick didn't play in the NFL, and neither did
Greg Popovich.
Speaker 7 (28:59):
But his family, he played in college, and his father
was one of the leading offensive minds.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
We're not saying– we're saying pro. And I'm saying you
don't have to be a pro to have been good
at NFL, NBA as well. I mean, Brad Stevens was
not running around on somebody's NBA court. And so I
think baseball, I think, is a little bit different. You'd
want some type of, as you mentioned, nuance, some type
of understanding, some type of feel. It's a very much
(29:27):
feel game. So I would prefer you to have had
some type, even if you just had eight years in
the minors, but you got that. You know what it's like.
So I would prefer that in baseball more than even
the other big pro sports.
Speaker 7 (29:37):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
All right.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
And that's Fowler Fair.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
Appreciate you, bro. We'll do it again next week.
Speaker 7 (29:45):
See you next week, fellas.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Thanks.
Thanks for listening to the Odd Couple Podcast. Be sure
to check us out live every weekday from 7 p.m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To 10 p.m.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Eastern, 4 to 7 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for the Odd Couple at foxsportsradio.com or
stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by
searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
All right, hour number three here on The Odd Couple,
Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel.
That's right, you can watch us right now. Again, search
Odd Couple FSR on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button. You
can do the thumbs up icon, that and much more. Again,
you can watch us right now on our very own
(00:53):
YouTube channel. Just search Odd Couple FSR and subscribe. Also,
in about 28 minutes, J.R. Gamble, managing editor of MLBSquad.com.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
We'll do that. And last call. So a lot to
get to in this final hour of the program. Rob G.,
we got Clippers news, huh?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
We do.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
We also have an NFL game going on, Rob Parker,
that we've got to talk about first.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
3-0.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
On Netflix, 3-0. The Australia Niners taking on the Los
Angeles Rams because they've been there for a week. They've
claimed the territory.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Australia Niners.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
And so far, the sleep experts who said get there
a week early, it's better for your body clock, are
looking like they're being proven right because winding down the
first quarter- And the San Francisco 49ers look exponentially better
than the Los Angeles Rams. Rams at this point are
one of three on third down, 24 total yards through
(01:50):
just about 13 minutes of gameplay action. Maybe showing up
60 minutes before the game started wasn't a good idea.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I don't know where they got that advice from. As
somebody who flew there who wasn't playing football, I just...
It is a monster flight.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Oh, my.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
And I don't care how great, oh, they got this
great charter and everybody's stretched.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Out or whatever.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It has nothing to do with it. It's not just
about leg room. It's what the flight takes out of you.
It's not just leg. They're talking about, oh, they got
this great charter and everybody. It's not like they're going
to be sitting in coach.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
That's not the... You're in air for 14 hours.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
Coach, private, don't matter. It don't matter.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
It's in the air. It takes something out of you.
I've been world traveler. I've been everywhere.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
Crazy. What's crazy, Rob? is to answer your question. You're like,
I don't know where they got this from. They sent people,
15 people over two years, had gone there several times
and monitored their body. All right, well, what was it
like if we get there at noon? What was it
like if we get there at night? What if we sleep? Well,
when did you go to sleep? When did you feel
more like yourself? Like they've been studying this For two
(03:04):
years to figure it all out, and I feel like
at the end of the day, you're never going to
figure it out. It's going to suck. You're there. You're off,
but you've got to play a game, and it's the
first game, so you're already a little jittery and just
off-centered because it's the first game of the season already.
I think it's going to be not a great game.
(03:25):
Maybe the fourth quarter will open up some. Just because, again,
it's the first game, you're jittery, you're excited. You don't
do preseason. Really, the Rams were key in that whole
not doing the preseason with your starters. And now you're
out there in literally halfway across the world. I just, yeah, it...
And we talked about it earlier, not to rehash it,
but just I don't get what the NFL, what are
you trying to prove? I understand you want to make
(03:45):
the game more global. As big as it is in America,
it's not the biggest thing when it comes globally at all.
So I understand that.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Australia is off the map.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
You're not going to have a team there, so there's
no reason to sell tickets in Australia. There's just no reason.
Like you're not going to get a team there. I
don't care if you want to do something internationally.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Australia will not get a team. So can we stop?
Speaker 5 (04:08):
And here we are again. And where is it now?
Is it a game in China next? I'm dead serious.
A game in Japan? I absolutely can see them trying
to do a game in Tokyo. You know, and again,
if you're the players, enough is enough. It's already the
most difficult sport. You and I sit up here. We
talk to former players all the time. How brutal it
(04:30):
is on the body. How bad travel is. Ephraim talked
about a great point. You just mentioned how hard it
is to travel. across the ocean, that far. Well, imagine too,
you're a lineman of either defense or offense or a player,
you being beat up all game, that does so much
to inflammation to the body, that air pressure that you're
(04:52):
dealing with for 14, 16 hours, Rob, you're dealing with
air pressure. That's what, dude, when I had surgery, And
I'm sure if you had to, like, they tell you
you can't travel because of the air pressure and you
have dental surgery because it could, like, open a wound. Like,
it's brutal on your body if you're going through things already.
So to just have 53 men and be like, oh,
(05:12):
you'll be all right. I know you just played the
most brutal sport we have in America, but go travel 14, 16.
You'll be all right. Man up. That's just wild to me.
All right.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Dynamite analysis there, Rob Parker. I love what you're bringing
to the table today.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
What are you talking about?
Speaker 7 (05:30):
I made my point.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
So much enthusiasm here on a TV theme song Thursday.
We are keeping an eye on this football game, of course.
Still 3-0 San Francisco. Big news, though, in the NBA
involving the team of the summer, none other than the
Los Angeles Clippers. I'm not talking about the cap circumvention.
I'm not even talking about the Department of Justice getting
(05:52):
involved in Kawhi Leonard's finances. What I'm talking about is
in the overnight hours, Wednesday into Thursday, the Clippers team
website decided that they would start selling unbeknownst to the
rest of us Bradley Beal jerseys with the number three
on them. In case you didn't know, the only Clippers
(06:16):
player worth talking about that's worn number three is one
Chris Paul. And according to Chris Paul, they told him
even after things ended badly there a few months ago
at the start of the season. No one's ever going
to wear that number again. We are going to retire
your number, Chris Paul. And not even a year later,
Bradley Beal, who showed up there, had a cup of
coffee and a sweet roll, is the new number three
(06:40):
in Clipperdom.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Rob Parker.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I have no issues with it. The Clippers can do that.
Chris Paul, like, can you win? If you won a championship...
I'll buy that, that that guy's number should be retired.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Chris Paul.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Had to rub the organization so bad that they took
a flight at night to come to him to tell
him that he was off the team and get your
stuff and you're done. There's a lot of issues when
it comes to Chris Paul, the way he talked about
the organization and whatnot. If you don't win, like seriously,
(07:22):
a championship and you're derogatory or bad mouth the organization,
I just don't see what you're expecting. If you want
a championship, you cement yourself there and then hopefully you can,
you know, work. with that player and decide, you know,
(07:42):
you want to do something special for him. I just
can't believe they said to him, oh, nobody.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Will ever wear that number again.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Did you, Kelvin, the way that he was dispatched, dumped,
like in the middle of the night, like you got
to get out of here. They said, Chris Paul, you're
a cancer. And he said, no, I'm a Capricorn. I
was born in January. But you get my point. Like
(08:10):
that's what they said to him. No, we're not going
to wait until the end of the season. We're not
going to give you an exit video. We're not going
to shower you with gifts. Can you pack your stuff
and get out? That's the guy you're holding a jersey
for so that you can have a– ceremony and, and
(08:32):
Jersey retirement. I'm not saying they can't make up down
the road and they, you know, they figure it out
or something, but I'm sorry. I just can't. Uh, I
don't have an issue with them. Uh, given that number up.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
I'm glad you said that last part. Cause that's actually
my starting point. Sometimes Rob, you got to have foresight
and you already know you're going to make up with
Chris Paul and, There's going to be some redemption tour and,
you know, bygones be bygones. He was just competitive. We
were competitive. We were just trying to win. So to me,
sometimes as an organization, you got to have some foresight
to say, look, we're not an organization that's beloved. We
(09:09):
don't have this great history of amazing players. He's arguably
your best player you've ever had. I mean, Elgin Baylor's
up in there. Blake was obviously up there. But in
my opinion, it's Chris Paul. Kawhi was as far as talent,
but not really anything to really, you know, hang your
hat on. as far as his tenure. So to me,
it's Chris Paul. And I look at it as... Look,
(09:31):
we got a chance to start to build on something, right?
We got a new place. We got our new home.
And obviously, we're going through investigations. Obviously, our former owner
was terrible in Donald Sterling. Obviously, nobody really wanted us
in Staples Center all those years. So now, to me,
I'm looking at it as a chance to build something new.
Chris Paul, you're going to be the first number up there.
(09:51):
And into a dome. I understand we're not necessarily seeing
eye to eye. However, you played your heart out. We
had some good times with you. There was a little
bit left to be desired for sure, but you were great.
You were MVP candidate and all stars and all that
good stuff with us when you were there. Let's start
with him. Let's build a foundation. Let's make being a
(10:13):
Clipper mean something, right? If you're a Laker, once a Laker,
always a Laker. If you're the Knicks, you got Knicks
who barely, like, you don't even think of them as
a Knick. They're going to every dang old postseason game
because once a Knick, always a Knick. Welcome back. Except
Charles Oakley. And all that good stuff. And so to me,
I would want to build that. Let's start having it
where being a Clipper means something. Being a part of
(10:35):
this organization means something. And who better to start with
than our captain, our leader, our guy? Again, I'm not
saying everything was hunky-dory and we saw eye to eye,
but Chris Paul was our guy. And to me, that's
an obvious way to say, let's build upon something so
that I can start building creating a Clipper culture and
being happy that you were part of this franchise. And
to me, just honoring your best player over the last
(10:57):
20 years.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I don't think you know anything about his reputation in
the NBA. I really don't think you know anything about
Chris Paul's reputation.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
I do. And we talked about it. And we actually
agreed that he rubs guys the wrong way.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
It's not good.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
And the idea, the way that they even asked him
to get lost tells you a lot. Seriously, if you
are going to retire a guy's number, he's a part
of your franchise, and you might be saying the time
has come, you need to retire. There's a way of
doing it without it being in the middle of the
night and you come to tell a guy, okay, dude,
pack your stuff up. You got to get out of
(11:31):
here now. I mean, seriously.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But that ain't the most well-run organization either. Ain't like
he's some pristine organization that is trying to say we
don't like Chris Paul.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
But you're acting like Chris Paul hasn't done anything in this.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I'm just saying.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Listen, we talked about it then when the whole thing
happened to go to tell him. We both said Chris
Paul's been called dirty. He has had dirty plays. I
will sit here and agree. Chris Paul, plenty of people
have spoken out. about how he rubbed it. Most recently,
Big Baby Davis is out of jail, out of prison, whatever.
And he's been doing all the pods, all the rounds.
(12:07):
And one of the things he talked about was he
said Chris was our guy and he was the leader
of the team, but he said he never was able
to really put his arm around DeAndre and Blake and say, hey,
young guys, this is how you do it. This is,
you know, come on, tighten up, let's do this. He
said it was just, it was, he just didn't galvanize
the team. And I, so I'm with you. I'm not,
(12:29):
that's why I said, I'm not saying everything was hunky-dory
and peachy perfect, but, If you're going to start with somebody,
that's the guy to start with to say, hey, we
want to start some type of legacy where being a
Clipper means something, being a part of this organization means something,
and there's some type of lasting legacy.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Let it be a Pelican. Let the Pelicans do it.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
Well, yeah. Well, dang. Pelican, Hornet, where would he be?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Hornet, whatever it is. Let them do it.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Yeah. He's been on a million teams.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That's an interesting one.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Actually, would he go to the Hornets? Which I know
they're the Pelicans now. I don't know how that would work.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
I mean, just the idea of a guy who's potentially
going to be in the Hall of Fame and for
you to come in the middle of the night to
tell him to get lost. I just think that there's
something there that's more than just the Clippers doing something wrong.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (13:14):
I'm agreeing that it might have been water and vinegar
or vinegar. They weren't going hand in hand. But To me,
I'm looking at, as a business person, I'm looking at Forsythe. Like,
all right, look, our fan base loved him. He's arguably
our most beloved, famous guy that we had. You know,
maybe with him, Blake, wherever you want to look at it.
And I will be looking at it, Rob, as I
(13:37):
want to get him, Blake, De'Andre, Jamal Crawford, kind of
that core group.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
They didn't win anything there. I mean, like you retired one.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
It's almost like when you see college football and you
see guys who formerly played, even if they didn't win
a national championship, that was there. They're back on the sideline.
They're a part of the organization. You know, they're helping out.
They're showing up. They're doing some speeches. Like, I would
look at it like that. There's no Clipper culture at all,
and I would eventually want to start to build it.
That's all I'm saying, Rob. I'm not saying he was,
you know, Joe Dumars of a guy, if you will,
(14:08):
around the organization, but I'm just saying.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
877-99 on Fox, 877-996-6369.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Did the Clippers screw up?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
By giving away Chris Paul's number three jersey to Bradley Beal.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
We'll continue that conversation next with you.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
And that's what I gave it to Rob Bradley Beal.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
It is The Odd Couple, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington. Weekdays at 7 p.m. Eastern,
4 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube. And you can
be a part of it.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Pay attention.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit
that subscribe button. And smash that notification bell. And catch
all the videos from your favorite shows.
Speaker 7 (14:51):
Two pros.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
And a cup of joe dan patrick colin coward doug
gottlieb covino and rich the odd couple with rob parker
and kelvin washington the jason smith show with mike harman
and the ben maller show fox sports radio on youtube
subscribe hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
Well i don't know stop it robin rob robert lee
parker jr the 36th If you don't stop.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I don't know what this is.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Joker's wild.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Joker's wild. There we go. Very nice.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
What was that? I don't even know that. What is that?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
It's a game show.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Oh, they was grooving though. Whoever was on the band, Alex,
they weren't playing around.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That was a 70s game show, right? It's so good. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
That ain't no, they wasted that. That was a banger.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
That needs to be a jazz flute too. He was like,
so good.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
They weren't playing around with that. Odd Couple, Rob and
Kelvin on a TV thing. So on Thursday, what flute?
Speaker 7 (15:43):
Oh, boy.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Foul! We're fair. Coming up with J.R. Gamble in a
handful of minutes here. Stream us live wherever you happen
to be in the iHeart app. Catch us live in
all your favorite Fox Sports Radio shows 24-7. A new
and improved app. Just search Fox Sports Radio in the app.
Stream us live all day, every day. And be sure
to select Fox Sports Radio as one of the presets
in the iHeart app. It's always going to pop up
at the top of your screen. We've got Last Call
(16:06):
coming up a little bit later as well. So still
a lot left in this hour. 877-99 on Fox. Chris Paul.
His number three, giving up to Bradley Beal, of all people.
It's not like the Carmelo Joker situation. We're like, all right, hey,
that's Joker. You know, Carmelo, you know. 877-99 on Fox.
Let's take some calls, Rob.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
All right, Adam in D.C. You're on the Odd Couple
Fox Sports Radio. What's up, Adam?
Speaker 6 (16:29):
My God, my favorite radio show. And you know what
I think about when I.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Think about the Clippers?
Speaker 6 (16:34):
I think, foul! Because you know what, man?
Speaker 5 (16:37):
The only reason why they even got.
Speaker 6 (16:38):
The reason why Chris Paul's even on their team, guys,
rest in peace to David Stern, but remember he vetoed
the trade? He's supposed to be a Lakers. And as
a Lakers fan, can you imagine, like I was telling
Rob G., Can you imagine what we missed out on?
And then think about the second run of this fluke thing.
I know we're talking about Chris Paul. Was this Paul
PG-13 thing? He was supposed to come to us, but
he went to the Clippers. And we've seen what happened
(17:00):
with that whole Kawhi area. So it's straight up a
no-go for anything that went on with the Clippers, man.
Don't celebrate nothing. You only got there because we got Vito.
He should have been a Laker in the first place.
Just go on back to what y'all used to be,
second rate.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Love y'all guys.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
Talk to y'all later, man.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
All right, Adam.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
That's still a weird veto, man. No, it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
That was the only asset that the franchise had, and
they were trying to sell it.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
It was weird.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
The league owned the Pelican.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
The league owned the Hornets, whatever they were, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
And they didn't want to attract a buyer. You couldn't
strip it, so that's why they did it. It made
total sense to me why they did it.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
But I also can have a marquee franchise in the
Lakers sitting there with.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Kobe and Chris Paul.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
And I'm getting Pau Gasol back and Lamar Odom and
a bunch of pigs.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
It's the value of the other organization. It made sense.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
No, it did not make any sense to me. That's
your opinion. I thought it's just like we've never seen
it before, never seen it again. Again, I understand they
were the owners of the team, but they veto in leagues?
I don't like that. It's happened before in sports.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Charlie Finley sold three of the greatest Oakland A's that
were ever around.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
He sold three of them.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And baseball vetoed all the sales because he was selling
them for money, not for players. And he vetoed it.
And the A's had won, you know, a number of
World Series, including three in a row.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
But at least that was some shady goings on. No,
it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
He had every right to sell the players. It wasn't
in the best interest of baseball. Just like the NBA
didn't think it was in the best interest of the NBA.
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (18:36):
Yeah, David Stern, he missed on that one. He was
Dwight Howard at the free throw line with that one
over me. The only, to put a button on the
conversation was CP3. Matter of fact, is Montee there? Because
that's her squad. Montee, your thoughts. I mean... Chris Paul,
I don't know, did you hear my point? Was Rob
said he doesn't mind and give it up. My whole
(18:58):
thing was he's been your best player. I understand he
was probably ornery at times and didn't get along. But
you got to start building something. You want to have
it where dang it, being a Clipper meant something. Bring
guys back, you know, former players. And who better to
really start that off than with Chris Paul, in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsportsradio.com. And
within the iHeartRadio app, search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
File! or fair with J.R. Gamble. MLBbro.com.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
It was a big week in the big leagues. Is
it foul or is it fair? And now from MLBbro.com,
here's J.R.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
Gamble. That's right. It's foul or fair.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Here on the R Couple Fox Sports Radio, a segment
we go around the diamond. It's got all the biggest
headlines in Major League Baseball, in order to do so properly,
I'm going to bring in a real expert, a guy
who is single-handedly carrying an entire website dedicated to black
and brown Major Leaguers with no help whatsoever from the
man who's prominently listed on the masthead. None other than
(20:11):
my guy, J.R.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Gamble.
Speaker 7 (20:14):
It's the little guys that make the machine go.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
What up, man?
Speaker 7 (20:19):
What's up, fellas? Kelvin Robb back again with the iCouple.
Speaker 5 (20:24):
Oh, yeah. Ready to do it. Let's go.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
My favorite thing about today's show is I can say
whatever I want about Rob. He's not going to say
anything back because he's already, like, not here. So this
is great.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
You know what?
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Listen, the last 30 minutes of the show, Rob G.,
I got to take advantage of that, too. I got
to just start making up stuff, just going crazy at
him right now.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Hey, have your way. You can have your way with it.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
That's right. Burger King, have it your way. All right, guys,
I got three baseball topics because J.R. is the star
of the segment. He gets the first crack at every
single one. So let's get to it. ESPN's Jeff Passan,
friend of the show, friend of the podcast, friend of
the USC journalism class, said today on his weekly Intel
column that if Tarek Skubal is able to secure a
(21:03):
deal before the lockout, key thing here, before a salary
cap gets implemented. He could be looking at upwards of
$ 500 million in free agency. Guys, Schumel's going to be
30 in November. So is it foul or fair to
say that paying him that much money would be a
mistake by whoever does it?
Speaker 7 (21:25):
Foul!
Speaker 2 (21:26):
That is a foul ball.
Speaker 7 (21:29):
Well, you pay what the market demands, for one. And
these numbers shouldn't surprise us anymore. They're just going to
go up and up and up. That means the owners
are making money hand over fist. And when you pay someone,
you have an idea about what you expect to get
for that money, right? So if he fits whatever you
expect to get, then $ 500 million is not too much.
Salary cap or no salary cap. School is worth that money.
(21:49):
That's the going rate for a grade-A pitcher with Cy
Young Awards and such, right? His age is pretty much
irrelevant because if he's healthy, he's going to be– Very
serviceable for at least four more great seasons. So pitching
is too hard to come by Major League Baseball to
put a price tag on one of the premier arms
of the last decade.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I'm going to say fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
$ 500 million is ridiculous for a pitcher. He's already had
a number of surgeries. He's not healthy all the time,
and he's a great pitcher. You've got to be careful
with that, and arms and whatnot. I think that's a
ton of money for a pitcher. Isn't it Yamamoto who
got $ 300 million?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
That was the max? Are you going to almost double his?
Speaker 1 (22:29):
$ 500 million?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
I think it'll be four, but I don't think it's
going to be five.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Four, five, six, seven. Defer it.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
I think it's foul. That is a foul ball. For
29 other teams, Rob, I actually think it's fair. I'd
be with you. But specifically with the Dodgers, they just
don't seem to care. They're like, hey, you get up.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
You know their owner is under investigation, right?
Speaker 5 (22:58):
I do know that, but they keep spending money.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yeah, we'll see about that. We'll see how that goes.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
But I'm just answering as of today. I get your point.
But I'm saying as of running.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
He might be in jail. I'm just saying.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
The way they've been running business, this makes for them
as just par for the course. Is it worth it?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
No.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Will it work out?
Speaker 5 (23:14):
We'll see. But that's just how the Dodgers have operated. Now,
29 other teams, I'm thinking with you. I think it's fair.
I think they'd be like, man, all right, at a
certain point, that's just too much money to spend for
one player.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
You know, they call Rob Parker the Mark Walter of
baseball media.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I'll be in jail too.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
He might be investigated for tax evasion at some point
pretty soon. Keep it a while. All right, here we go. See,
you can't say anything because he's already not here.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Alex, you need that receipt.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Question number two.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
I'm still looking for NFL receipts, Rob G.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Paper receipts, bro.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
Rob still writes his receipts on a napkin. That's right.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Not him.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Just sign it real quick. You're not doing nothing. Just
sign it. Say that you came with me. The Chicago
Cubs offensively, this is a fun fact, first in runs,
first in homers, first in on-base percentage, first in slugging,
even more impressively, defensively, the highest fielding run value in
the stats history. I don't know how long it goes back,
but it seems like a long time. Problem is, even
(24:10):
with all that good numbers... They're bottom three in pitching war.
So here it is, J.R. Foul or fair, say the
Cubs pitching will have them one and done in the postseason.
Speaker 7 (24:24):
I'm not a mind reader, but foul.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
That is a foul ball.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Maybe not one and done, you know, because despite that
war that you spoke of, they have been able to win, what,
81 games this season. They're in the wildcard hunt. And
postseason baseball is not the regular season, so stranger things
have happened. If they can maintain that offense, put some
runs across, I feel like they'll be in a position
to win games. Bullpen performance is unpredictable, so if a
(24:51):
couple of their pitchers get hot, they could easily advance
past the first round of the playoffs, you know, win
a wildcard game. I don't see why that would be
beyond a stretch of imagination.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I'm going to say fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Only because in the postseason, it's about pitching and defense.
And if you don't have starting pitching, it's really hard
to advance. And their pitching is okay. It's not great.
The offense is great. I just think you need pitching.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Right.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
But if they're going against a team whose pitching is
not that great as well, then the Dodgers, no.
Speaker 5 (25:29):
I think it's one episode. I think it'd be fair then, right?
Speaker 3 (25:32):
It's a fair ball.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
The pitching could make them one and done. And I
think that's very true because, listen, at the end of
the day, it gets tighter in the postseason. We know that.
The strategy starts to change, and you got to be
able to go out there and pitch and also have
some games where you can win 2-1, 1-0. It happens
like that at times. So to me, the pitching ultimately
(25:55):
can cost you. Because I look at the opposite. You
mentioned the Dodgers. Dodgers offense didn't give them jack. And
yet they won a whole World Series.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
You ready for this?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
The Blue Jays outscored the Dodgers in last year's seven-game
World Series.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
And who won?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Because they had the pitching when they had to get
the outs that they needed.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
So the offenses go away. Pitching is what wins. That's
all I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Agreed.
Speaker 7 (26:17):
Agreed. We're just talking about one series here.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, I'm giving you an example, though. That's all.
Speaker 7 (26:22):
Because I'm thinking the Cubs are going to play a
team that's similar to them.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
The Dodgers could be a wild card. The Dodgers could
be a wild card. That's all I'm saying. It could be.
Speaker 7 (26:33):
They could.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
All right, last one. Fowler, Fair, J.R. Gamble sitting in
with the odd couple.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
Here we go.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
The Athletic surveyed 99 anonymous active Major League players and
83 of them said they'd be cool playing for a
manager who never played pro ball, which is very interesting
considering that the Giants, under Tony Vitello, famously never played
or managed above college before this season, are on pace
for their worst season in a decade.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Is that what it is? Yeah, it's been bad.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
It's terrible.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
It's all bad. JR, foul or fair to say the
anonymous players are wrong about this one?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
And the proof is in the pudding. I'm not sure how...
But that's the problem, fellas. I'm not sure most of
these guys know what a good manager or a manager
who can really make a difference with the experience and
intelligence is until they actually play for one. A lot
of these guys, they play for analytics, guys. They don't
play for really good managers. Being an elite manager doesn't mean,
(27:36):
you know... You have played for a manager on the
level of, say, a Dusty Baker. You wouldn't know until
you played for one of them guys where they understand
every aspect of the game. Not many pro sports, to me,
hire coaches and managers, fellas, who never played. It happens.
But baseball, I feel like it requires a deep understanding
of the game and also the temperament it takes to
(27:56):
play the game. Those little nuances are very important. And
feel is so important. And it's hard to come by
if you've never played. I'm just saying.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Yeah, I'm going to say fair. It's a fair ball.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
And I'm going to say fair because you don't have
to make it to the major leagues. And I think
that's Rob G in that, like making it to the
major leagues. So you could have been a minor league player.
You were never good enough to get to the big leagues.
Most managers aren't great players. It's not like Ted Williams
was a terrible manager with Washington.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
And great players often don't make great managers or whatever,
or coaches, as we've seen. But I think the Tony
Vitello thing is different where he wasn't in the major
leagues at all, you know, like had no connection. But
you don't have to be a pro player to be
a pro baseball manager to me.
Speaker 5 (28:44):
I'm going fair.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
It's a fair ball.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
And I would argue MLB is different than NFL, NBA.
I don't think you have to be a pro player
in NBA, even if it's overseas or anything, to be
a good coach.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Bill Belichick didn't play in the NFL, and neither did
Greg Popovich.
Speaker 7 (28:59):
But his family, he played in college, and his father
was one of the leading offensive minds.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
We're not saying– we're saying pro. And I'm saying you
don't have to be a pro to have been good
at NFL, NBA as well. I mean, Brad Stevens was
not running around on somebody's NBA court. And so I
think baseball, I think, is a little bit different. You'd
want some type of, as you mentioned, nuance, some type
of understanding, some type of feel. It's a very much
(29:27):
feel game. So I would prefer you to have had
some type, even if you just had eight years in
the minors, but you got that. You know what it's like.
So I would prefer that in baseball more than even
the other big pro sports.
Speaker 7 (29:37):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
All right.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
And that's Fowler Fair.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
Appreciate you, bro. We'll do it again next week.
Speaker 7 (29:45):
See you next week, fellas.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Thanks.
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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!