September 29, 2026 • 48 mins
Dan looks back at Monday night's contest with Case Keenum leading the Bears to a victory over the Eagles. Dan also peeks into the beginning of the MLB postseason. Chris "Mad Dog" Russo joined the show to go more in depth about the baseball playoffs as well as some football analysis. Former Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto stopped by to provide his expertise along with who he likes entering October.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Going into the game with Case Keenum, much was made
that he hasn't played a lot, hasn't started a game
in over a thousand days, and got in there and
looked comfortable. Ben Johnson's one of the great play callers.
I can call a great play. You have to produce
the great play. And Case Keenum, 11 for 11 when
(00:26):
Philadelphia blitzed him. Philadelphia has not created a turnover yet
this season. Jalen Hurts, subpar performance. Well, the entire Philadelphia
Eagles offensively and defensively. I didn't know if the Bears
could play good enough defense. Case Keenum, I thought, OK,
he can kind of keep it close there. But and look,
(00:51):
Case Keenum played well, but there could have been at
least two, maybe three pick sixes there with him. Philadelphia
just didn't take advantage of this. Jalen Hurts got injured.
Andy Dalton comes in, throws a pass, throws an interception.
And that changed the complexion of the game. That doesn't
mean the Bears wouldn't have won anyway, but they did
(01:13):
so in impressive fashion, winning it by 20. And so
this is his first start since Christmas Eve of 2023.
A couple of touchdown passes. So now he's won. with
seven different teams. That ties him with Ryan Fitzpatrick for
the most in NFL history. Stab of the Day, brought
(01:43):
to you by Panini America, the official trading cards of
the program. Here is Case Keenum after an incredible performance
last night.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
That's a kid, and you're dreaming about it, you know,
that you feel like you can. I don't know if
you think about the week that it takes, the work
that it takes in the offseason to clean up your
diet and work extremely hard to get your body back
to where it needs to be, you know, to go
through a training camp as the three to get a
shot again to do it like this. I mean, yeah,
you dream of it.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
That's why I'm still here.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
And he had his family there. This was a big moment,
38 years of age.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
And as decorated as any college quarterback in history, he
holds all the records with touchdown passes, with passing yards.
And he started his first week at Houston. They let
him throw the ball, and he put up prodigious numbers.
But you start to look at now what's going to happen.
(02:39):
Caleb Williams probably out for a month. You got Majan,
who will be cleared. But do you stay with Case Keenum?
You probably do, at least for another week. All right,
we'll get to a poll question. We got our play
of the day and, of course, stat of the day
brought to you by Panini America. I don't know what
this means, but the last four teams to win the
(03:00):
Super Bowl all started out 2-1. Seahawks last year, Eagles
in 2024, Chiefs in 2023, Chiefs in 2022.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
The current 2-1 teams.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Bears, Browns, Ravens, Lions, Giants, Jags, Broncos, Eagles, Steelers, Bengals,
and the Seahawks. The Steelers and the Browns play on
Thursday night. Philadelphia, who I picked to go to the
Super Bowl, they just looked like they were mailing it in.
(03:32):
Like they looked lethargic. They didn't look like there was
any energy. Now, Jalen Hurts, he's not a rah-rah guy.
He's not Tom Brady. But they, you know, you can't
just waltz through this division and you got the Rams
coming up with your next game.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
That's one of those Rams can't lose three games. Not
this early.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
The team that people actually were speculating, analysts who were saying,
you know, they could go undefeated. I go, no, they can't.
I mean, technically they could, but no, nobody's going undefeated.
But here you have that matchup coming up. And, you know,
these schedules for some of these teams are just you're
trying to survive. And that is a huge win for
(04:16):
the Bears without Caleb Williams that you beat the Eagles.
I'm looking for blame. So is Nick Sirianni. Here's the
Eagles head coach.
Speaker 6 (04:27):
I think we all have to own that loss right there.
I don't think anybody coached well. I don't think anyone
played well. It was a true team loss. And when
it's a true team loss, you know, I have to
look at myself first. Like, we weren't ready to coach.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
We weren't ready to play.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
And that ultimately starts and ends with me.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
Coach, when did you know you weren't ready to coach,
ready to play? Like, I hate that.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I hate that answer. You know, it all starts with me,
and I just didn't get him ready to play. Break
that down a little further for me, coach.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Yes, Todd.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
And why aren't you ready?
Speaker 5 (05:02):
There's only 17 games.
Speaker 7 (05:03):
And if you're lucky, maybe another game or two in January,
when are you going to be ready?
Speaker 5 (05:07):
There's not 162 games. Hey, this just crept up on us.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I didn't know we had a game Monday night.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
I'm man.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I didn't know case Keenan was still in the league.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
I'll be damn. You know, you can put that on me.
We just weren't ready to play.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (05:20):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
They, I can't imagine Philadelphia radio, which usually isn't friendly
to begin with today. Uh, Boy, looking at the Eagles,
and that defense is supposed to be stout. They have
no turnovers. Also, you've got the Phillies in the playoffs,
so that's good for everybody. Hockey's getting ready to start.
(05:40):
LeBron showed up with his new haircut, looking fresh.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
I like it.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
He finally let it go, all right? Now, Marvin, explain
that to me of guys who will paint their hair.
Speaker 8 (05:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (05:55):
LeBron should have come home and he should have joined
us a long, long time ago. So the hairline, a
lot of guys, they've been going to like Turkey to
try to get hairline reconstruction. Oh, but I thought they
paint their hair. Oh, that they do also. We call
it the Carlos Boozer.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
Carlos Boozer.
Speaker 10 (06:13):
Yes.
Speaker 9 (06:14):
He was one of the originators.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
Like kind of like shoe polish.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
It looked like.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, he didn't look good with his head shaved. Yeah,
I don't think so. Scottie Pippen, another one. Not everybody
looks like Michael Jordan with their head shaved. But yeah,
LeBron showed up looking fresh. And I said this prior to,
I think, the start of the playoffs. If the Knicks
didn't win, then I thought that there was an opening
(06:43):
for LeBron to join the Knicks. And then we find
out that he did toy with that idea. Look, I
was told by a friend of his, but he said, look,
I think it's far-fetched, but this is a topic that
we have had. And this is a while ago. We go,
you know, don't rule out the Knicks. And I said, well,
(07:04):
it could be like Curt Schilling with the Red Sox of, hey,
I can come in and be a hero for the
rest of my life.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
They'll build a statue here. And I thought if the
Knicks didn't win, LeBron would have gone there.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Now that they've won, you can't go there. Now you
are in Philadelphia. All righty, what's poll question for the
first hour of the program?
Speaker 11 (07:26):
Well, we actually have a little snark from Marvin in
the poll department. Who should retire after last night? Case
Keenum after a great performance on Monday Night Football or
Andy Dalton after throwing an interception in the end zone
on his only pass attempt?
Speaker 5 (07:42):
That one's tough. That one was tough.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
And you got Jalen Hurts, who I don't know why
he wasn't allowed to go back in the game. I
didn't see or hear the ruling on that. I just
saw that he was peeking out of the tent, and
then he looks and sees that interception. Man, these quarterbacks
got to understand. These defenders, and it's really tough to
(08:06):
play defense now, and you saw that bang-bang play on
the sidelines.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Get out of bounds. I put this on the quarterbacks.
Get out of bounds. Slide.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Do not leave it in the hands of somebody else.
And you saw that. That could have been costly. We
saw that certainly with Dante Moore in Oregon. You know,
we know the hit was bad, but get down just
so you take away any possibility of taking on those hits.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
All righty.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Any other poll questions today? Yeah, we may as well
use one from Todd, too. Okay.
Speaker 12 (08:43):
Which are you most excited for, the start of the
MLB playoffs today, the start of the NHL season today,
two days before NFL and college football returns, or exactly
three weeks from the NBA tip-off?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
No, it's got to be baseball because of the urgency.
Now it's three games, best of three, and back to
back to back. I think it starts out, you know,
this is where you go, oh, my God, that's right.
We we can't afford it. This feels sudden death. This
is like, OK, you got to go out there and win.
(09:16):
And if you don't now, all of a sudden you
get down one. Now you have must win situations there.
And I like it. I don't know if Mad Dog
likes it. I think he's not big on the three
game series, but he'll join us coming up here.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
But I do like it. I think it's fun that.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
You know, maybe you weren't following baseball day to day.
Now you're following baseball day to day. And I think
that's a fun aspect of this.
Speaker 5 (09:41):
Yes, Marv.
Speaker 9 (09:42):
And I think in a wildcard round, it helps that
there's two division matchups with the Phillies and the Braves
and the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
So that helps also.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, but you don't want to see those matchups that early,
but I get it. You know, Red Sox, Yankees feels
like it should be a little.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Further down the road. Aaron Judge, I think, is going
to try to play. And Cam Schlittler.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Careful.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
You got to be careful with that one. Your Cy
Young winner, Cam Schlittler.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Yes, Todd. It's like sometimes they have that great Sweet
16 matchup.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
And it's like, that should be an Elite Eight or
a Final Four game.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
One of these teams is now going to be done.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
They have no chance of getting past the Sweet 16.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
Yes, Paul.
Speaker 13 (10:20):
Yeah, like UNC versus Duke in the first or second round.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Way too early.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
You start to think about what happened yesterday with the
Giants getting J.J.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
McCarthy. And, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
The quarterbacks who've gone through Minnesota, when you think about
almost that domino effect of what happened, who they had,
you take a chance on J.J. McCarthy, you get rid
of Sam Darnold, and he wins the Super Bowl. So
that whole, you took a chance on J.J. McCarthy, you've
(10:54):
had Daniel Jones in there, now you've got Carson Wentz
and Kyler Murray, and they're not very good, but... J.J. McCarthy,
who I think had, what, 10 starts? He wasn't I mean,
you're not good enough to hold on to him to go,
you know what? Down the road, this could be a
real valuable quarterback or, you know, he's still young, but
(11:16):
you got rid of him. And then all of a sudden,
you know, that kind of domino effect led to Sam
Darnold winning a Super Bowl. Carson Wentz and Kyler Murray,
the numbers aren't very good, but they're good enough to
keep them undefeated. McCarthy went 6-4 as a starter. I
know I've been probably a little tougher on J.J. McCarthy,
(11:40):
but I don't even know the kid. We might have
had him on. I just know what I saw. And
then having, you know, a source who said, I don't
have a first-round grade on him.
Speaker 5 (11:51):
And every time I watched him play, it.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Felt like he was just the quarterback on a really
good team that ran the ball and had great coach
and a great defense. I just didn't see him making
all the throws. That doesn't mean he can't have... How
many of these quarterbacks have had a resurgence in other places?
Speaker 5 (12:10):
And maybe J.J. McCarthy will get that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I did think it was interesting that the Giants brought
him in, and what role did Jim Harbaugh have with
John Harbaugh bringing in J.J.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
McCarthy?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
What's this mean for Jackson Dart moving forward?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Um.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
That could be a little tricky, a little awkward. J.J.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Didn't do well in the quarterback room, reportedly, with Kyler Murray.
And now you've got Jackson. Does he know his place?
Speaker 5 (12:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
When you're that young and you're a higher draft pick
than the guy you're going to be sitting in there
with eventually, all right, you take a chance. Fifth-round draft pick.
All right.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
I don't think the Giants are mailing it in.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
I think they still view it now like, lose one
of their better defenders, or their best defender, and now
you bring in J.J.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
McCarthy. Okay. Yeah, Paul.
Speaker 13 (13:05):
The awkward thing is, what if J.J. McCarthy starts in
a couple weeks and plays pretty good? Plays enough to
make him in the conversation. Is that a good thing?
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, I think if he plays well, it's a good thing.
That's a good problem to have. I just don't know
if J.J. McCarthy is going to be playing anytime soon.
And if he does, it'll be because Jameis Winston struggled.
All right, we'll settle on a poll question. 877-3DP-SHOW. We'll
talk to Christopher Mad Dog Russo. He'll join us coming up.
(13:38):
But you start to look at this.
Speaker 7 (13:40):
J.J.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
McCarthy, 10th overall pick. He was going to be the starter.
Then Sam Darnold took over. Darnold, 4,300 yards passing, 35 touchdowns,
12 picks. They went 14-3. Two bad losses to end
the regular season and the postseason.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
The Vikings... went to.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
McCarthy the following season, let Darnold walk, and then he
won a Super Bowl. The same season, the Vikings signed
Daniel Jones, then let him go in favor of McCarthy.
So they let Daniel Jones go and Sam Darnold go.
And now you don't have anything to show. And this
is where you attach a front office to a bust
(14:17):
draft pick.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Maybe J.J.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
McCarthy should never have been taken that high. He did
not draft himself. This, to me, is a team bust,
not necessarily the quarterback.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Yes, Marvin?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yeah, in real time, J.J.
Speaker 9 (14:32):
McCarthy kind of felt like Craig Krenzel of Ohio State,
where he was just a quarterback on a really good team.
I didn't see anything that stood out that said first-round
draft pick, let alone top 10.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yeah, everybody talked about his arm strength. Oh, he's got
arm strength. You need to have touch. He didn't strike
me as, now he can make the throws, but I
needed to have somebody who had more than a fastball.
And it didn't appear that he did. Still young, still
an opportunity. Maybe he gets that. Maybe he gets it
in New York. Having Jim Harbaugh's brother there to coach him,
(15:05):
maybe that'll help as well.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (15:17):
Stugatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with Stugatz
and the Bear. We do it two times a week,
every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college football season.
You can expect a little bit of this. Will Stein,
the head coach at Kentucky, joins us. Open bar at
a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
Will or will not?
Speaker 4 (15:35):
No.
Speaker 14 (15:35):
Will not.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Catch up on steak. Will or will not? Will or
will not?
Speaker 12 (15:41):
Will not.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Thank you. A little bit of this.
Speaker 7 (15:44):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (15:54):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Right.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
And a whole lot of this. Listen to college football
with Stugatz and the Bear on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Christopher Mad Dog Russo, Mad Dog Unleashed on Sirius XM,
Channel 82, host on ESPN's First Take. Playing hurt, you
had shoulder surgery?
Speaker 8 (16:27):
I did, Danny, August 27th. I hurt my rotator cuff.
I didn't hurt it. I teared it, tore it.
Speaker 10 (16:34):
I did it on May 1st, hitting a forehand. I asked,
I went, my tennis buddies found me a surgeon, went
to the surgeon. I said, can you get me through
the summer so I can play golf? Because it doesn't
hurt swinging clubs and my kid comes in to play tournaments.
He says, yeah, I'll do that. So I did it
on August, surgery, August 27th. Six weeks in an elbow brace.
(16:58):
I've been in and out of that. I had no pain,
which everybody was shocked about. The surgeon, Catherine Vedassi, did
a phenomenal job. No pain, no pills, except for Tylenol.
I did that PRF, where they do the blood, they
spin the blood, and they put it in your shoulder.
Speaker 8 (17:14):
I did that twice. That seemed to really help.
Speaker 10 (17:17):
Make a long story short, I start the rehab process
October 8th.
Speaker 8 (17:21):
She did tell me that she should be able to
get me.
Speaker 10 (17:24):
Back on a tennis court You know, maybe, you know,
she definitely said by April 1st, maybe a little earlier
than that. But I had to do it 66 years
of age. She said, if you don't do it now,
I can't help you in five years. So I had
to get it done. Annoying, brace, recliner, you know, sleep
on your back.
Speaker 8 (17:42):
You know, it's annoying.
Speaker 10 (17:44):
You can't drive, you know, things like that. But it's
something that I had to do, Danny.
Speaker 8 (17:48):
So I did it. What are you going to do?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
How would you do against John McEnroe?
Speaker 10 (17:53):
You know, I played Johnny Mac once as a gag
because I paid a certain amount of money for a charity.
So I played him. This is probably, it's got to
be 25 years ago. And he wasn't playing hard and he,
you know, didn't really care. And then I brought up
our little buddy Lendl when he lost to him in
84 when he had the French Open final and he
(18:14):
should have won. Had a two sets to love lead,
two sets to one with a break and a fourth.
Lendl hadn't won a grand slam yet. And then I
ended up losing and I brought that match up. And
from that point on, he destroyed me.
Speaker 8 (18:24):
He didn't let me win a point. So from that standpoint.
Speaker 10 (18:27):
But I also play doubles with him because he loves doubles.
You know, and I've hit with his brother, Patrick, too.
Speaker 8 (18:33):
I mean, I stink.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
I can't.
Speaker 8 (18:35):
I wouldn't win a point.
Speaker 10 (18:36):
But, you know, he's fun to play with because he's
got that hook left serve. So, I mean, he just
hooks it. And he had court. You can't get the
damn ball back. He takes you completely out of the court,
which is fun.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
All right. We got baseball here.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Where do we stand on the three-game series, the best
of three, to open up wild card?
Speaker 8 (18:56):
Yeah, I like it, Danny. Much better than a one game.
Speaker 10 (18:59):
I hate, and I heard you talking about it before,
it's asinine the way they do it.
Speaker 8 (19:03):
They should recede.
Speaker 10 (19:04):
The fact that in the American League, the Yankees, Red Sox,
and Tampa are in one bracket, and the White Sox, Houston,
and Cleveland is in the other. So one of those
three is going to make the ALS, ACLS, the championship series.
Speaker 8 (19:20):
Is beyond stupid.
Speaker 10 (19:21):
And in this day and age, for baseball to have
such a faulty playoff format, and I've been on this
theme forever, it's not the first time, is mind-boggling. The Yankees,
the Tampa should not have to play the Yankees or
Red Sox in a divisional series. I mean, they should
play the team with the worst record once we get
past the wildcard round. But having said that, I do
like the wildcard series. I like the idea that you
(19:42):
could have 12 games in three days. You know, I
don't love the fact, and you can't do anything about it,
I don't love the fact that the Cubs run at
10 o'clock at night. You know, that's tough to say.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to
hang in there and watch that whole game. But you
definitely like it, Danny. You know, NBC and Peacock have
the games this week. I think you're going to have
I think the Phillies Braves is a good series. I
(20:04):
think Yankees Red Sox will probably go three games away.
I like the Yankees, but I think it will go three,
you know, White Sox, Houston and anybody series. And I
think obviously the what's the other series in the American League?
Speaker 8 (20:17):
I'm forgetting top of my head.
Speaker 10 (20:19):
Well, the Yankees and the other National League Series Cubs
Padres could go three games.
Speaker 8 (20:22):
I think you might have a good week. Amazing baseball.
Speaker 10 (20:24):
I really do.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
It's the Dodgers and everybody else.
Speaker 8 (20:30):
Yeah, I think that you listen, you would agree.
Speaker 10 (20:34):
I think the thing that worries you a little bit
about the Dodgers is that is history. You know, the
fact that no National League team has ever won three
championships in a row scares me.
Speaker 8 (20:45):
That's the history of baseball. I mean, the Yankees have
done it three or four times.
Speaker 10 (20:48):
The A's did it when you and I were kids
in 72, 73, 74.
Speaker 8 (20:52):
But there's never been an NL team to win three
in a row.
Speaker 10 (20:56):
And the Dodgers in the last couple of years have
had a couple of series where they could have lost.
Speaker 8 (21:01):
Could have lost to Toronto. Could have lost to the
Phillies last year. Certainly could have lost to.
Speaker 10 (21:05):
San Diego the year they beat them in the fifth game.
And sometimes the ball does, you know, the ball bounces
the other way. So that would worry me a little
bit about L.A. They're also going to have to beat
Philly and Atlanta and then maybe Milwaukee.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
No Otani pitching.
Speaker 10 (21:20):
Their ninth inning is a little shaky because Diaz, you know,
I don't think they're going to use him there. You know,
Snell's always hurt. They've got old players, older players. So
I would take the field, Dan, myself, and I think
I would do that only because I'm a little worried
about the history of the three straight in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Yeah, and if you go back to last year, I mean,
Toronto came within an inch from winning the World Series.
And I don't know what this says about what could
happen in the offseason, but you had the Mets with
the highest payroll, missed the playoffs. Blue Jays, the fifth highest,
they missed the playoff. Three of the lowest payroll rosters, Tampa,
(22:00):
White Sox, Cleveland, all made the playoffs. What does that
mean for the offseason where everybody wants a salary cap?
Speaker 10 (22:09):
I think that's an excellent point. I think that will
play into it. If you get a Milwaukee-Tampa World Series,
people are going to say, hold on now. We got
a Milwaukee-Tampa World Series. Why do we need a salary cap?
By the same token, the player association in one of
their proposals to the commissioner's office said they did not
want any kind of.
Speaker 8 (22:30):
Ceiling floor at all.
Speaker 10 (22:33):
They were just moaning and groaning about how these teams
don't spend money.
Speaker 8 (22:36):
Well, hold on now. I mean, maybe they're doing it.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
The right way.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
I mean, the fact that Tampa, Milwaukee, you mentioned the
White Sox, they don't spend $ 100 million on payroll and
they're winning.
Speaker 8 (22:44):
That tells you something, too.
Speaker 10 (22:47):
Listen, baseball would say, I think there's the last bottom
15 payroll team.
Speaker 8 (22:52):
To win a World Series was the 2015 Royals. And
I believe it's 79%.
Speaker 10 (22:59):
Of Final Four teams in the last two decades, I
believe it's 79%, have been.
Speaker 8 (23:08):
So-called big market teams.
Speaker 10 (23:10):
Last year, for instance, outside of Milwaukee, Toronto, the Dodgers,
these were all big market teams. And I think, you know,
the Red Sox and the Yankees are big market teams.
That's going to be interesting how it's going to play out.
That labor thing, you and I, will be all over
once we get to November, December 1st. I do think
(23:30):
that Manfred will figure something out. I do think it
might be until mid-March. But I do think they'll figure
out a way to play the 162-game schedule next year.
I do think they're going to have a tough American
League because I think that the White Sox and Houston
and Cleveland, that combination– is going to be struggling. And
if they ever get a Tampa Cleveland ALCS on TBS,
(23:53):
I mean, that is going to be, I don't know
who's going to watch that. I mean, so I think
they need the Yankees or Red Sox, specifically Yankees, in
the worst way to get to the ALCS.
Speaker 8 (24:03):
And if they don't, they're in big trouble. They got
the Dodgers. That will carry them some in the NL.
Speaker 10 (24:09):
But I do think the American League, if it's not
the Yankees, ratings-wise, they're going to be in trouble.
Speaker 8 (24:13):
I really do.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Christopher Mad Dog Russo, host of Mad Dog Unleashed on
Sirius XM 82, host on ESPN's First Take, normally on Wednesdays.
Stay with me on this. We make a big deal,
and rightfully so, with Shohei Ohtani, pitching and hitting. Can
we look at Josh Allen with, you know, throwing and running? Like,
(24:35):
he's doing two things at a very high level. Should
he get extra credit that he's a great quarterback? But
he's also going to end up with 125 rushing touchdowns
when it's all said and done, Chris.
Speaker 8 (24:50):
Yeah, that's an excellent point.
Speaker 10 (24:52):
I think he right now, I know he didn't play
well this past week, but I think right now, and
I know Mahomes, and he's got three Super Bowls, and
I love Mahomes too, but I think right now, pound
for pound, he's the best quarterback in football. And I
think running has got a lot to do with it.
Because as you said, they have a lot of design runs.
You know, those third and twelves, he runs for first downs,
(25:14):
which kills a defense. You know, he's actually a better
runner than he is actually a thrower. I mean, you know,
I got a little more confidence. He's like a linebacker.
And I agree with you 100%. I think that that
is a big plus in his game. Now, we've had running,
you know, Roger Staubach was a great runner. It's not
like he's the first, but his design running there, Danny,
is tremendous. And he's so tough to bring down. I mean,
(25:36):
and he never gets hurt. I mean, he never misses
a game, this guy. I mean, and he takes a
beating and he never misses a game.
Speaker 8 (25:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (25:45):
And, you know, Buffalo, you know, maybe this is their year.
I mean, they got the new stadium. There's a spark
to their play. Their defense made a play in week
one against Houston, which they normally never do. They didn't
play well last week against the Chargers and still they
had five turnovers and still figured out a.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
Way to win.
Speaker 10 (26:02):
You know, they get Kansas City at home.
Speaker 8 (26:06):
So that home field, you know, maybe, you know, maybe
this is their year finally.
Speaker 10 (26:09):
I mean, sooner or later, Dan, you would think if
you make the Atlanta Braves, you know, if you make
the playoffs every year, one of those.
Speaker 8 (26:18):
Years, you're going to get lucky.
Speaker 10 (26:19):
The ball is going to bounce your way and you're
going to win a Super Bowl. You know, Atlanta won
the playoff, made the playoffs, what, 15, 16 years in
a row. They only got one championship, but they got
a championship. And you get the idea that sooner or later, Allen,
you know, they're going to get a call from, You know,
the catch last year against the Bills, which was negated
and they called it an incomplete. One of those days
(26:41):
that call is going to go their way, you know, and,
you know, and they get a call like that. So
I don't know if this is the year, but I
get the impression there's a little something going on with
the Bills after three weeks.
Speaker 8 (26:52):
You got to see a lot more. Injuries are so important.
We all know that. You got to make sure you stay,
you know, stay healthy. Look at the poor Giants.
Speaker 10 (26:59):
You've got to make sure you can stay healthy and
not get the commanders with Daniels. It goes on and on.
The Bears, maybe to a certain degree. You have to
stay healthy with your best players. But I do get
the impression that the Bills have a chance. And you're
right about Allen. He gets a lot of extra points
for the way he runs.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
I agree with that 100 percent.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
Analytics is such a big part of all sports here.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
What I still come back to and I don't understand
is you have poor clock management. with some teams and
some coaches. And, you know, the Jets lost because of
clock management against Green Bay. Dallas lost, I think, because
of clock management. I mean, if Dak, you know, connects,
you know, to pick it, they score the touchdown, then
(27:40):
it's a moot point. But understanding what a team can
do with seven seconds, if you put it into the
end zone, I'm watching in real time and I go,
just squib it. Worst case scenario, they throw a desperation
pass 70 yards. Where did you stand on the Cowboys?
Speaker 8 (27:59):
100%.
Speaker 10 (28:01):
They should have run out the clock more at the
two-yard line so the game would be ended on either
a tie or a win. I guess he missed a
KC Buffalo game a few years ago when McDermott made
the same mistake, and then Mahomes got the field goal
to force overtime.
Speaker 8 (28:16):
How in the world?
Speaker 10 (28:17):
His excuse was, Schottenhammer, well, he kicked two balls out
of bounds earlier, and they started at the 40, so
we told him to kick it out of the end zone.
It's only a five-yard difference. Thirty five to 40. What
are you doing? That was so stupid.
Speaker 8 (28:32):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 10 (28:33):
Make him field the ball. Take two or three seconds
off the clock minimum. And then they can't get the
two plays off. I mean, unbelievably dumb. You're a thousand
percent right now. I'm not sure if I agree with
you about Glenn losing the game. against Green Bay. Poorly handled.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
I don't know about losing.
Speaker 10 (28:49):
I mean, I don't know if they would have made
that big a deal in the regulation with that extra possession.
Speaker 8 (28:54):
But I am with you a thousand percent.
Speaker 10 (28:57):
And also going foot on fourth down, what is Ben
Johnson doing last night early in the game at 7-0
going foot on fourth and three with the third string quarterback?
Kick the field goal. And then in week one against Carolina,
he goes for it on fourth and one at his
own 20-yard line.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
I mean, punt.
Speaker 10 (29:12):
I mean, as it turns out, he didn't get it,
and Carolina tied the game up. These coaches, they're almost
too brazen. They're almost too cocky with how smart they are.
That they get themselves and they box themselves in a corner.
The fourth down, let's go for it on fourth down
every single time is one.
Speaker 8 (29:29):
And you're right.
Speaker 10 (29:30):
It is incredible that, you know, we're sitting at home,
fans like you and me, you know, who are telling
them what to do with how to handle the clock.
And they don't know what they're doing. And the other
issue is these officials. This is ridiculous with these. The
two penalties that are really coming to play the first
three weeks of the year that have been killers. are
(29:52):
the pass interferences and the late hits with the quarterbacks.
I mean, that Ram game was a joke. Now, the
Rams put themselves in that situation. That's not a defensive
pass interference when the guy intercepted the ball on the
Denver last drive. I mean, that is an absolutely horrific call.
Watson threw an interception late in the game. They called it,
(30:13):
you know, where his helmet was slapped when a guy
was trying to block the pass, the defensive lineman intercepted.
And it came down and I understand they got to
protect the quarterback. But those two penalties have been so
punitive and such a huge factor.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
In the beginning of this game, beginning of these games.
And I tell you, look at the Scott Novak crew.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Every time he officiates a game, whether it's Minnesota, Tampa
this week, he did the Green Bay Jet game when
there was about 300 yards and penalties. He thinks everybody
wants to see him make balls. I mean, Scott, we don't,
we're not interested.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
All right.
Speaker 10 (30:44):
I mean, I understand, you know, if it's blatant, you
got to call it. There's got to be a little
more leeway. And I think the officiating has been a
major problem, Danny, in the first couple of weeks of
the season.
Speaker 8 (30:54):
I really do.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
Would you hire Tony Romo if you're a network?
Speaker 10 (30:58):
That's a very interesting call. I would not, not because
of this, what Wisconsin, I don't think Romo's that good. So,
I mean, to me, Romo, I mean, he's way too
spontaneous and, He gets in the way of the game
too much.
Speaker 8 (31:12):
I don't think Romo's a great analyst.
Speaker 10 (31:15):
So to me, the fact that they paid him $ 17 million,
which is absurd, that's a contract that McManus would like
to have back, I guarantee it.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
And I don't know what CBS is going to do.
Speaker 10 (31:26):
A lot of people thought that after this Rio game,
that maybe the new president over there, Burstyn, would do
something and make a decision. But remember, he hired Watt.
So Watt is his guy.
Speaker 8 (31:41):
And Romo isn't. So, I mean, maybe, you know, they're
just kind of holding out.
Speaker 10 (31:47):
I mean, they can't put Romo on the fifth team.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
I mean, if you're going to bring him back, you
got to bring him back with Nance, don't you?
Speaker 10 (31:52):
What are you going to do? You're going to bring
him back and demote him? I mean, that looks, that
to me looks actually worse. Are you going to put
Romo on the fifth? I'll give you a game. You know,
you're going to put them on, you know, what's allowed,
you know, the Titan Jaguar game. I mean, I mean,
I mean, I'm not sure if you can do that.
So I think CBS is in a huge quandary there.
They're going to have to pay him. You know, I mean,
(32:13):
it's a civil thing.
Speaker 8 (32:14):
It's not criminal.
Speaker 10 (32:16):
So if they decide to get rid of him, I mean,
maybe they reach some sort of, you know, buyout, but
they're going to have.
Speaker 8 (32:22):
To pay him something. So I don't know.
Speaker 10 (32:24):
I don't know if CBS has made up their mind yet.
So that's a very interesting question. I should ask you
that question. You worked at a network for years.
Speaker 8 (32:32):
I didn't.
Speaker 10 (32:33):
So you would know that better than me. But I
think that's a major dilemma that CBS is dealing with
right now.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Yeah, I thought, Tony, the further he got away from
the game as far as a player, the worse he got,
because that's when you have to do your homework. And
it didn't feel like he was doing his homework. I
think he was we bought into, you know, his shtick,
his style. But then that doesn't work when you actually
need to break down. You know, he would say, oh,
(32:58):
43 and 57. You know, he wasn't giving names there.
I think Watt gave Jim Nance an enthusiastic boost in
that game. Jim had energy in that game because of J.J.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
Watt.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
And he's just learning now. So I think he's doing okay.
And I think they like that you have J.J.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Watt.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
You've got a Hall of Famer in there with the
great Jim Nance. But I would not bring Tony back.
And if I did, I'd make him earn his way back.
And I don't know if he's willing to do that.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
Excellent point.
Speaker 10 (33:33):
Nance has to work very hard, and he's got to
tilt the broadcast to Romo, because Romo's hard to work with.
Speaker 8 (33:41):
He talks a lot. He talks right next to the play.
Speaker 10 (33:44):
He's all over the place, and he can't do a
traditional broadcast.
Speaker 8 (33:49):
Watt, who's been OK. I agree.
Speaker 10 (33:51):
I mean, he's not been Merlin Olsen, but he's been
OK to start the year. He's just getting his career going.
I mean, you know, it's only his second year doing this,
but he's got some personality. He's got a lot of
personality and they seem to get along. So I do
agree with you. I think that probably I would lean
to what you said and I would leave everything alone
right now and let Watt do the games himself.
Speaker 8 (34:14):
With Nance.
Speaker 10 (34:14):
Plus, if you bring Romo back and put him with
Nance and you've got to move Romo, then you've got
to move Watt down to Iron, then you've got to
move Tucker down to this.
Speaker 8 (34:20):
I mean, it's a disaster.
Speaker 5 (34:21):
Domino, yeah.
Speaker 10 (34:22):
Yeah, so, I mean, I think that's part of it, too.
Speaker 8 (34:24):
So I think CBS will probably do what you just said.
Speaker 10 (34:27):
Leave it alone and figure out some sort of package
to pay Romo off.
Speaker 8 (34:31):
I agree with you, 100%.
Speaker 5 (34:32):
Good to talk to you. Enjoy the baseball.
Speaker 8 (34:34):
Love you, Danny.
Speaker 5 (34:34):
Thank you, dog. You're the best. Okay, buddy. Christopher Mad
Dog Russo.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
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. We
got baseball today and tonight. The Yankees will be playing
without Aaron Judge as we bring in Joey Votto. He
serves as an inside the pitch analyst.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
He'll be looking at the wild card matchup that starts
at 2 Eastern today and tomorrow.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
NBC and Peacock and three game series. Where do you stay? Whoa,
look at you with a shirt and tie on.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
Not bad, huh?
Speaker 5 (35:14):
Looking good. Did you just get a haircut?
Speaker 4 (35:17):
Yesterday, I stopped at great clips on my trip down.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
Couldn't you do that on your own? I mean, there's
not a lot of hair.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
I could. I could. I like that pushback.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
Where do you stand on a three-game series to open up?
Speaker 14 (35:32):
It's tough, especially when you win the division. I don't
like it for the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies. Probably
I'm taking care of the Braves Phillies today. And I
think the Phillies love this scenario. You play a seven
game series with a team as good, as deep as
the Braves.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
You've got your hands full. I think this is best
case for Philadelphia.
Speaker 5 (35:50):
Explain to me Kyle Schwarber's swing.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
Wow. Good question.
Speaker 14 (35:56):
It's almost like he's one of those boxers that just
throws hooks inside of a telephone booth and And he's
going to knock you out.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
He's like Butterbean. He's like Butterbean. He's the Butterbean of baseball.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
There is just I love watching him at the plate.
I just he he knows he knows his window. Now,
he doesn't know it like Bonds, but nobody knew it
like Bonds. But he's he's got that window there where
you go. If you make a mistake there, he'll make
you pay for it. How tough is it to get
like in your mind, I'm going to stay away from
(36:32):
that pitch outside or up high or it's just I'm
looking here and that's all I'm looking for.
Speaker 14 (36:39):
I won't complicate it too much, but the simpler and
quicker your swing, the more you can make a decision,
the more it feels like a conscious kyle swing is
very short very tight he doesn't move very much and
the hardest thing to do and as a hitter is
to not move and for the ball to go far
(37:00):
most guys need to move run jump towards the pitcher
they need to create extra extra momentum towards the pitch
he doesn't he just stands.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
There and turns why you left-handed swings look better than
right-handed swings.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
That's a good question.
Speaker 14 (37:19):
I think because we have a tendency to have more
of an uppercut to our swing, which is more aesthetically pleasing.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
That would be my best guess.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
But then a left-handed shooter looks smoother than a right-handed shooter.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
Now we're talking Chris Mullen, aren't we?
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:35):
I don't have an answer for that. I can just
tell you that, generally speaking.
Speaker 14 (37:39):
We face a lot of right-handed pitching, and we see
a lot of right-handed sliders, which go down. So to
match that, we have this slight uppercut to our swing,
which looks a bit more like a Nike swoosh type
of flourish.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
It's more aesthetically pleasing than a right-handed swing.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
The Yankees without Aaron Judge means what for that lineup?
Speaker 14 (38:00):
You're leaning on Schlittler. You're leaning on Cole. I can't
stand it, and I don't think he's going to be back.
If he can't play now, he's clearly– not going to
be useful throughout the entirety of the playoffs. If they
do happen to go deep into the playoffs, if you're
hurt and you can't play, and I watched a bunch
of his live at bats yesterday and you can't play
in the first series, how what's he going to be? 50%, 75%
(38:24):
come the, the ALCS or the world series. It's a huge,
it's a huge hit to that roster because their offense
is mediocre at best. They may be one of the
bottom five offensive offenses in all of baseball without Aaron judge.
Speaker 4 (38:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
But if you try to play with an injury, then
you change your swing. Have you had to do that
where you got to compromise?
Speaker 14 (38:47):
Too many times in my career. Aaron's a big man
with long levers. So these small little adjustments he has
to make because of his health. is going to show
up down the line in a swing. He has to
be healthy and has to be strong to be anywhere
near at his very best. But the good thing about
Aaron is he's so good that him at 75% is
(39:08):
better than basically the entire league.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
The best team playing today is who?
Speaker 14 (39:16):
The Los Angeles dollar Dodgers, but I don't have, I mean,
in the wild series, no, in the wild, excuse me.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 14 (39:21):
The Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Braves. Great, great bullpen, great lineup,
long lineup to have an answer on right and left.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
Solid defense.
Speaker 14 (39:31):
Tonight's starter is in the in the conversation for best
best pitcher in the game.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
Excuse me. Today's starter in Chris Sale is in the
conversation for best pitcher.
Speaker 14 (39:39):
In the game.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
How did you do against Chris Sale?
Speaker 4 (39:43):
Not good.
Speaker 14 (39:43):
I faced him in spring training in Glendale, Arizona at
the Chicago White Sox when he used to pitch for
the White Sox. And they have this batter's eye that's
as narrow as can be. And he has this style
where he comes from the side. He throws very hard
and he's got a slider that starts behind you. And
(40:04):
the ball wouldn't come out of the batter's eye. So
it would come out of the sun. The sun would
be right behind the batter's eye. So every time he'd
throw a ball, it would come out of the sun.
So it was a combination of Chris Sale and the Almighty.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
When he was with the White Sox, he was must-see TV.
I loved what, but, you know, he had that dip
for about, what, four years where he disappeared? It's like
Kurt Warner.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Kurt Warner had an unbelievable start with the Rams, then
kind of disappeared, then came back with the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
That's now comparison. But Chris Sale went from.
Speaker 14 (40:42):
Similar to Kurt Warner, went from being a what could
have been to a clear Hall of Fame guy.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
He won the Cy Young after taking all those years off.
How do you do that?
Speaker 14 (40:51):
How do you take that much time off and win
the Cy Young right away? And he's still in the
contention for a Cy Young guy if there wasn't a Mizorowski,
if there wasn't a Sanchez.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
He is Joey Votto, former Reds first baseman. Spent 17
years in the show, as they like to say, part
of NBC's coverage of the wildcard round. Tougher to face
in their prime Verlander or Scherzer?
Speaker 4 (41:16):
It's a good question. Two of the greats.
Speaker 14 (41:17):
I was fortunate enough to face the trio of Kershaw,
Verlander and Scherzer a lot.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Scherzer was better at having the big, big game.
Speaker 14 (41:27):
He had the explosive fastball and the strikeout slider, which
explains his 20 strikeout game.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
But for me, Verlander was the tougher matchup.
Speaker 14 (41:36):
He was that old school coming over the top with
like typical mechanics, the big hundred mile an hour fastball
and a great slider. I would say Justin Verlander was
the better pitcher between the two.
Speaker 5 (41:50):
What about if I throw in Kershaw?
Speaker 14 (41:53):
Kershaw is one of the greats of all time. Kershaw is,
for me, the best pitcher I'd ever faced. You know,
CeCe Sabathia was the toughest matchup, but only because I
thought he would beat me up if I ever said anything.
It was more like alpha beta relationship between CC and I,
whereas Kershaw was just the best, best slider, best fastball.
(42:15):
But no, you know, if you were to ask a
bunch of right-handed hitters about Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer,
they would say that's their toughest matchup. And I can't
tell you how many guys have said, wow, Scherzer's too
much for me or wow, Verlander's too much, or I
can't hit that slider.
Speaker 4 (42:29):
That's the reputation these two guys had.
Speaker 5 (42:31):
But how often do hitters go to the plate and
they know they don't have any chance? Too often, far
too often.
Speaker 14 (42:40):
And that's what I think I'm worried about today with
the Phillies-Braves matchup. I think the Phillies may feel like
they don't have a really good... I don't think they're
in a good place against Chris Sale today. There's a
lot of times, especially in the back half, back third
of your career, where you're just tricking everybody. You want
the check. You want the uniform. You want to make
the flight. You want to show up at those five-star hotels.
(43:02):
But you have to pretend like you're an authority in
the batter's box. But you know you're going to get dominated.
Speaker 4 (43:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (43:09):
Do you ever close your eyes and swing? No, I
was a good hitter, Dan. I know you were. I,
you know, just kind of.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
No, never, never, never, never.
Speaker 14 (43:19):
I was, I was, I, I was always at my
peak in terms of focus and effort until the wheels
fell off.
Speaker 12 (43:25):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
But you never had one of those John Kruk all-star
moments with Randy Johnson where you're.
Speaker 5 (43:33):
Like, let me bat right-handed. I got no shot.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
When I faced CeCe, I always felt like.
Speaker 14 (43:44):
Hit me with his left fist and so there was
a lot of times where I was intimidated by him
because he was such an intimidating figure on the mound
so there's plenty of occasions where I felt like I
was just standing in the batter's box as a pitch.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
As a batting dummy and he would get as.
Speaker 14 (44:00):
I could get through their back he was my Randy
Johnson to John Crux Randy you know to John Crux.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
I think you were getting towards saying this but you
don't have the Dodgers winning this year Is that what
you said?
Speaker 14 (44:11):
No, I don't have them winning this year. I think
the Brewers are going to get to the World Series.
I don't know how the average fan feels about that.
I've heard a lot of people gripe about the Dodgers
and their domination, their era. Baseball is really difficult in
a seven game series. And I think that the brewers
have enough, especially with the very best and clearly, clearly,
(44:33):
clearly very best pitcher in all of the game throwing
at least twice in that series. I have the brewers
small market, one of the smallest, if not the smallest
market in the sport, making it to the world's world series.
The problem may be, especially if the rays make it who,
I mean, who's going to watch if that's the case.
Speaker 4 (44:50):
So I'm, I'm a little concerned about this year's playoffs
for that reason.
Speaker 5 (44:55):
How much longer can Mizorowski throw?
Speaker 2 (44:58):
He had over 1,000 pitches that were over 100 miles
an hour.
Speaker 5 (45:03):
How sustainable is this?
Speaker 14 (45:05):
Randy was throwing– Chris Sale today, he's throwing 100. It
can go as long as he stays healthy. As long
as he stays healthy. He is the perfect pitching prospect
for this to carry deep into his 30s.
Speaker 4 (45:18):
He's our Randy Johnson. He's our Walter Johnson. Yeah.
Speaker 14 (45:24):
He's that big right-handed power pitcher that's setting off. He's
our Bob Gibson. He's our Bob Feller. He is just
that modern power, power pitcher. And in a game where
the game is power pitching, he's head and shoulders above.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
The difference between a manager in the regular season and
the postseason and a three-game series, like how important are
these managers in a three-game series as opposed to a
seven-game series?
Speaker 14 (45:49):
That's an interesting question because nowadays in the major league
regular season, these managers are managing as if it's the
playoffs each game because they want to bank each win.
The two managers that are managing today, both Walt Weiss
and Don Mattingly, are the replacements. My best guess is
both of them want to showcase that they're a part
(46:09):
of the game. They're probably going to make an impact.
Do I think managers, you're asking the wrong person here.
You're asking the wrong person because I don't think managers
make that much of a difference, but I think they
like make having their fingerprint on the game. So I
could see them trying in a three game series to
make adjustments.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
Do they matter? I'm not sure.
Speaker 5 (46:29):
So you don't buy into Tony La Russa was a genius.
Speaker 4 (46:34):
No, I don't. Albert Pujols, Mark McGuire. Yeah.
Speaker 14 (46:39):
All these manager geniuses that make all these chess move decisions,
but then they're throwing out literally the best player in
the game.
Speaker 4 (46:48):
God bless them.
Speaker 14 (46:49):
They make an impact, but there's a reason why Juan
Soto makes $ 51 million and the manager of the team
makes $ 2.
Speaker 4 (46:55):
5 million.
Speaker 5 (46:57):
How do you like that Juan Soto deal?
Speaker 4 (47:00):
I think.
Speaker 14 (47:01):
I think that there's a chance he's going to opt
out and get a bigger one if you can believe it.
I think he's a worthy, he's one of the few
players that's worthy of it.
Speaker 4 (47:10):
He's one of the great hitters of all time.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
Yeah, but what else does he, Joey?
Speaker 4 (47:14):
Yeah, it's a fair question.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
Nobody's showing up to, yeah, they're not showing up to
see him.
Speaker 14 (47:21):
No question about it. They show up for the winning team.
He's a part of winning. I don't know what to say.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
How many must-see guys? How many must-see guys are there
in baseball right now?
Speaker 14 (47:32):
Shohei Otani, Aaron Judge, Mizorowski, and now Pete Crow Armstrong.
That's the four. That's the four must-sees. And then guys
fluctuate in and out, but those are the four must-see guys.
Maybe fringe Eli De La Cruz, but he's on not
a strong team. So the four guys that are must-see.
Speaker 5 (47:54):
Yeah. Is that enough for a league, though?
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Like when you look at becoming bigger, you only got
four must see guys in the sport.
Speaker 14 (48:06):
Just depends on when I think about baseball, I think
having more of a personality like college football. So to
answer your question, I worry more about the teams, the
cities than I do about the stars, even though I'm
star biased. That's a great question, but my answer to
that question is it's a problematic thing. I think that's
(48:28):
Major League Baseball's responsibility to promote the Stars more.
Speaker 5 (48:31):
Good luck today.
Speaker 4 (48:33):
I appreciate that. Thank you.
Speaker 5 (48:34):
And thanks for joining us, as always. Always, Dan. Thanks.
That's Joey Votto.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Going into the game with Case Keenum, much was made
that he hasn't played a lot, hasn't started a game
in over a thousand days, and got in there and
looked comfortable. Ben Johnson's one of the great play callers.
I can call a great play. You have to produce
the great play. And Case Keenum, 11 for 11 when
(00:26):
Philadelphia blitzed him. Philadelphia has not created a turnover yet
this season. Jalen Hurts, subpar performance. Well, the entire Philadelphia
Eagles offensively and defensively. I didn't know if the Bears
could play good enough defense. Case Keenum, I thought, OK,
he can kind of keep it close there. But and look,
(00:51):
Case Keenum played well, but there could have been at
least two, maybe three pick sixes there with him. Philadelphia
just didn't take advantage of this. Jalen Hurts got injured.
Andy Dalton comes in, throws a pass, throws an interception.
And that changed the complexion of the game. That doesn't
mean the Bears wouldn't have won anyway, but they did
(01:13):
so in impressive fashion, winning it by 20. And so
this is his first start since Christmas Eve of 2023.
A couple of touchdown passes. So now he's won. with
seven different teams. That ties him with Ryan Fitzpatrick for
the most in NFL history. Stab of the Day, brought
(01:43):
to you by Panini America, the official trading cards of
the program. Here is Case Keenum after an incredible performance
last night.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
That's a kid, and you're dreaming about it, you know,
that you feel like you can. I don't know if
you think about the week that it takes, the work
that it takes in the offseason to clean up your
diet and work extremely hard to get your body back
to where it needs to be, you know, to go
through a training camp as the three to get a
shot again to do it like this. I mean, yeah,
you dream of it.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
That's why I'm still here.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
And he had his family there. This was a big moment,
38 years of age.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
And as decorated as any college quarterback in history, he
holds all the records with touchdown passes, with passing yards.
And he started his first week at Houston. They let
him throw the ball, and he put up prodigious numbers.
But you start to look at now what's going to happen.
(02:39):
Caleb Williams probably out for a month. You got Majan,
who will be cleared. But do you stay with Case Keenum?
You probably do, at least for another week. All right,
we'll get to a poll question. We got our play
of the day and, of course, stat of the day
brought to you by Panini America. I don't know what
this means, but the last four teams to win the
(03:00):
Super Bowl all started out 2-1. Seahawks last year, Eagles
in 2024, Chiefs in 2023, Chiefs in 2022.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
The current 2-1 teams.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Bears, Browns, Ravens, Lions, Giants, Jags, Broncos, Eagles, Steelers, Bengals,
and the Seahawks. The Steelers and the Browns play on
Thursday night. Philadelphia, who I picked to go to the
Super Bowl, they just looked like they were mailing it in.
(03:32):
Like they looked lethargic. They didn't look like there was
any energy. Now, Jalen Hurts, he's not a rah-rah guy.
He's not Tom Brady. But they, you know, you can't
just waltz through this division and you got the Rams
coming up with your next game.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
That's one of those Rams can't lose three games. Not
this early.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
The team that people actually were speculating, analysts who were saying,
you know, they could go undefeated. I go, no, they can't.
I mean, technically they could, but no, nobody's going undefeated.
But here you have that matchup coming up. And, you know,
these schedules for some of these teams are just you're
trying to survive. And that is a huge win for
(04:16):
the Bears without Caleb Williams that you beat the Eagles.
I'm looking for blame. So is Nick Sirianni. Here's the
Eagles head coach.
Speaker 6 (04:27):
I think we all have to own that loss right there.
I don't think anybody coached well. I don't think anyone
played well. It was a true team loss. And when
it's a true team loss, you know, I have to
look at myself first. Like, we weren't ready to coach.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
We weren't ready to play.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
And that ultimately starts and ends with me.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
Coach, when did you know you weren't ready to coach,
ready to play? Like, I hate that.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I hate that answer. You know, it all starts with me,
and I just didn't get him ready to play. Break
that down a little further for me, coach.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Yes, Todd.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
And why aren't you ready?
Speaker 5 (05:02):
There's only 17 games.
Speaker 7 (05:03):
And if you're lucky, maybe another game or two in January,
when are you going to be ready?
Speaker 5 (05:07):
There's not 162 games. Hey, this just crept up on us.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I didn't know we had a game Monday night.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
I'm man.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I didn't know case Keenan was still in the league.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
I'll be damn. You know, you can put that on me.
We just weren't ready to play.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (05:20):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
They, I can't imagine Philadelphia radio, which usually isn't friendly
to begin with today. Uh, Boy, looking at the Eagles,
and that defense is supposed to be stout. They have
no turnovers. Also, you've got the Phillies in the playoffs,
so that's good for everybody. Hockey's getting ready to start.
(05:40):
LeBron showed up with his new haircut, looking fresh.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
I like it.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
He finally let it go, all right? Now, Marvin, explain
that to me of guys who will paint their hair.
Speaker 8 (05:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (05:55):
LeBron should have come home and he should have joined
us a long, long time ago. So the hairline, a
lot of guys, they've been going to like Turkey to
try to get hairline reconstruction. Oh, but I thought they
paint their hair. Oh, that they do also. We call
it the Carlos Boozer.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
Carlos Boozer.
Speaker 10 (06:13):
Yes.
Speaker 9 (06:14):
He was one of the originators.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
Like kind of like shoe polish.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
It looked like.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, he didn't look good with his head shaved. Yeah,
I don't think so. Scottie Pippen, another one. Not everybody
looks like Michael Jordan with their head shaved. But yeah,
LeBron showed up looking fresh. And I said this prior to,
I think, the start of the playoffs. If the Knicks
didn't win, then I thought that there was an opening
(06:43):
for LeBron to join the Knicks. And then we find
out that he did toy with that idea. Look, I
was told by a friend of his, but he said, look,
I think it's far-fetched, but this is a topic that
we have had. And this is a while ago. We go,
you know, don't rule out the Knicks. And I said, well,
(07:04):
it could be like Curt Schilling with the Red Sox of, hey,
I can come in and be a hero for the
rest of my life.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
They'll build a statue here. And I thought if the
Knicks didn't win, LeBron would have gone there.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Now that they've won, you can't go there. Now you
are in Philadelphia. All righty, what's poll question for the
first hour of the program?
Speaker 11 (07:26):
Well, we actually have a little snark from Marvin in
the poll department. Who should retire after last night? Case
Keenum after a great performance on Monday Night Football or
Andy Dalton after throwing an interception in the end zone
on his only pass attempt?
Speaker 5 (07:42):
That one's tough. That one was tough.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
And you got Jalen Hurts, who I don't know why
he wasn't allowed to go back in the game. I
didn't see or hear the ruling on that. I just
saw that he was peeking out of the tent, and
then he looks and sees that interception. Man, these quarterbacks
got to understand. These defenders, and it's really tough to
(08:06):
play defense now, and you saw that bang-bang play on
the sidelines.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Get out of bounds. I put this on the quarterbacks.
Get out of bounds. Slide.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Do not leave it in the hands of somebody else.
And you saw that. That could have been costly. We
saw that certainly with Dante Moore in Oregon. You know,
we know the hit was bad, but get down just
so you take away any possibility of taking on those hits.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
All righty.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Any other poll questions today? Yeah, we may as well
use one from Todd, too. Okay.
Speaker 12 (08:43):
Which are you most excited for, the start of the
MLB playoffs today, the start of the NHL season today,
two days before NFL and college football returns, or exactly
three weeks from the NBA tip-off?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
No, it's got to be baseball because of the urgency.
Now it's three games, best of three, and back to
back to back. I think it starts out, you know,
this is where you go, oh, my God, that's right.
We we can't afford it. This feels sudden death. This
is like, OK, you got to go out there and win.
(09:16):
And if you don't now, all of a sudden you
get down one. Now you have must win situations there.
And I like it. I don't know if Mad Dog
likes it. I think he's not big on the three
game series, but he'll join us coming up here.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
But I do like it. I think it's fun that.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
You know, maybe you weren't following baseball day to day.
Now you're following baseball day to day. And I think
that's a fun aspect of this.
Speaker 5 (09:41):
Yes, Marv.
Speaker 9 (09:42):
And I think in a wildcard round, it helps that
there's two division matchups with the Phillies and the Braves
and the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
So that helps also.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, but you don't want to see those matchups that early,
but I get it. You know, Red Sox, Yankees feels
like it should be a little.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Further down the road. Aaron Judge, I think, is going
to try to play. And Cam Schlittler.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Careful.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
You got to be careful with that one. Your Cy
Young winner, Cam Schlittler.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Yes, Todd. It's like sometimes they have that great Sweet
16 matchup.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
And it's like, that should be an Elite Eight or
a Final Four game.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
One of these teams is now going to be done.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
They have no chance of getting past the Sweet 16.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
Yes, Paul.
Speaker 13 (10:20):
Yeah, like UNC versus Duke in the first or second round.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Way too early.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
You start to think about what happened yesterday with the
Giants getting J.J.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
McCarthy. And, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
The quarterbacks who've gone through Minnesota, when you think about
almost that domino effect of what happened, who they had,
you take a chance on J.J. McCarthy, you get rid
of Sam Darnold, and he wins the Super Bowl. So
that whole, you took a chance on J.J. McCarthy, you've
(10:54):
had Daniel Jones in there, now you've got Carson Wentz
and Kyler Murray, and they're not very good, but... J.J. McCarthy,
who I think had, what, 10 starts? He wasn't I mean,
you're not good enough to hold on to him to go,
you know what? Down the road, this could be a
real valuable quarterback or, you know, he's still young, but
(11:16):
you got rid of him. And then all of a sudden,
you know, that kind of domino effect led to Sam
Darnold winning a Super Bowl. Carson Wentz and Kyler Murray,
the numbers aren't very good, but they're good enough to
keep them undefeated. McCarthy went 6-4 as a starter. I
know I've been probably a little tougher on J.J. McCarthy,
(11:40):
but I don't even know the kid. We might have
had him on. I just know what I saw. And
then having, you know, a source who said, I don't
have a first-round grade on him.
Speaker 5 (11:51):
And every time I watched him play, it.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Felt like he was just the quarterback on a really
good team that ran the ball and had great coach
and a great defense. I just didn't see him making
all the throws. That doesn't mean he can't have... How
many of these quarterbacks have had a resurgence in other places?
Speaker 5 (12:10):
And maybe J.J. McCarthy will get that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I did think it was interesting that the Giants brought
him in, and what role did Jim Harbaugh have with
John Harbaugh bringing in J.J.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
McCarthy?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
What's this mean for Jackson Dart moving forward?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Um.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
That could be a little tricky, a little awkward. J.J.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Didn't do well in the quarterback room, reportedly, with Kyler Murray.
And now you've got Jackson. Does he know his place?
Speaker 5 (12:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
When you're that young and you're a higher draft pick
than the guy you're going to be sitting in there
with eventually, all right, you take a chance. Fifth-round draft pick.
All right.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
I don't think the Giants are mailing it in.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
I think they still view it now like, lose one
of their better defenders, or their best defender, and now
you bring in J.J.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
McCarthy. Okay. Yeah, Paul.
Speaker 13 (13:05):
The awkward thing is, what if J.J. McCarthy starts in
a couple weeks and plays pretty good? Plays enough to
make him in the conversation. Is that a good thing?
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, I think if he plays well, it's a good thing.
That's a good problem to have. I just don't know
if J.J. McCarthy is going to be playing anytime soon.
And if he does, it'll be because Jameis Winston struggled.
All right, we'll settle on a poll question. 877-3DP-SHOW. We'll
talk to Christopher Mad Dog Russo. He'll join us coming up.
(13:38):
But you start to look at this.
Speaker 7 (13:40):
J.J.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
McCarthy, 10th overall pick. He was going to be the starter.
Then Sam Darnold took over. Darnold, 4,300 yards passing, 35 touchdowns,
12 picks. They went 14-3. Two bad losses to end
the regular season and the postseason.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
The Vikings... went to.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
McCarthy the following season, let Darnold walk, and then he
won a Super Bowl. The same season, the Vikings signed
Daniel Jones, then let him go in favor of McCarthy.
So they let Daniel Jones go and Sam Darnold go.
And now you don't have anything to show. And this
is where you attach a front office to a bust
(14:17):
draft pick.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Maybe J.J.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
McCarthy should never have been taken that high. He did
not draft himself. This, to me, is a team bust,
not necessarily the quarterback.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Yes, Marvin?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yeah, in real time, J.J.
Speaker 9 (14:32):
McCarthy kind of felt like Craig Krenzel of Ohio State,
where he was just a quarterback on a really good team.
I didn't see anything that stood out that said first-round
draft pick, let alone top 10.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yeah, everybody talked about his arm strength. Oh, he's got
arm strength. You need to have touch. He didn't strike
me as, now he can make the throws, but I
needed to have somebody who had more than a fastball.
And it didn't appear that he did. Still young, still
an opportunity. Maybe he gets that. Maybe he gets it
in New York. Having Jim Harbaugh's brother there to coach him,
(15:05):
maybe that'll help as well.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (15:17):
Stugatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with Stugatz
and the Bear. We do it two times a week,
every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college football season.
You can expect a little bit of this. Will Stein,
the head coach at Kentucky, joins us. Open bar at
a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
Will or will not?
Speaker 4 (15:35):
No.
Speaker 14 (15:35):
Will not.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Catch up on steak. Will or will not? Will or
will not?
Speaker 12 (15:41):
Will not.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Thank you. A little bit of this.
Speaker 7 (15:44):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (15:54):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Right.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
And a whole lot of this. Listen to college football
with Stugatz and the Bear on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Christopher Mad Dog Russo, Mad Dog Unleashed on Sirius XM,
Channel 82, host on ESPN's First Take. Playing hurt, you
had shoulder surgery?
Speaker 8 (16:27):
I did, Danny, August 27th. I hurt my rotator cuff.
I didn't hurt it. I teared it, tore it.
Speaker 10 (16:34):
I did it on May 1st, hitting a forehand. I asked,
I went, my tennis buddies found me a surgeon, went
to the surgeon. I said, can you get me through
the summer so I can play golf? Because it doesn't
hurt swinging clubs and my kid comes in to play tournaments.
He says, yeah, I'll do that. So I did it
on August, surgery, August 27th. Six weeks in an elbow brace.
(16:58):
I've been in and out of that. I had no pain,
which everybody was shocked about. The surgeon, Catherine Vedassi, did
a phenomenal job. No pain, no pills, except for Tylenol.
I did that PRF, where they do the blood, they
spin the blood, and they put it in your shoulder.
Speaker 8 (17:14):
I did that twice. That seemed to really help.
Speaker 10 (17:17):
Make a long story short, I start the rehab process
October 8th.
Speaker 8 (17:21):
She did tell me that she should be able to
get me.
Speaker 10 (17:24):
Back on a tennis court You know, maybe, you know,
she definitely said by April 1st, maybe a little earlier
than that. But I had to do it 66 years
of age. She said, if you don't do it now,
I can't help you in five years. So I had
to get it done. Annoying, brace, recliner, you know, sleep
on your back.
Speaker 8 (17:42):
You know, it's annoying.
Speaker 10 (17:44):
You can't drive, you know, things like that. But it's
something that I had to do, Danny.
Speaker 8 (17:48):
So I did it. What are you going to do?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
How would you do against John McEnroe?
Speaker 10 (17:53):
You know, I played Johnny Mac once as a gag
because I paid a certain amount of money for a charity.
So I played him. This is probably, it's got to
be 25 years ago. And he wasn't playing hard and he,
you know, didn't really care. And then I brought up
our little buddy Lendl when he lost to him in
84 when he had the French Open final and he
(18:14):
should have won. Had a two sets to love lead,
two sets to one with a break and a fourth.
Lendl hadn't won a grand slam yet. And then I
ended up losing and I brought that match up. And
from that point on, he destroyed me.
Speaker 8 (18:24):
He didn't let me win a point. So from that standpoint.
Speaker 10 (18:27):
But I also play doubles with him because he loves doubles.
You know, and I've hit with his brother, Patrick, too.
Speaker 8 (18:33):
I mean, I stink.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
I can't.
Speaker 8 (18:35):
I wouldn't win a point.
Speaker 10 (18:36):
But, you know, he's fun to play with because he's
got that hook left serve. So, I mean, he just
hooks it. And he had court. You can't get the
damn ball back. He takes you completely out of the court,
which is fun.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
All right. We got baseball here.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Where do we stand on the three-game series, the best
of three, to open up wild card?
Speaker 8 (18:56):
Yeah, I like it, Danny. Much better than a one game.
Speaker 10 (18:59):
I hate, and I heard you talking about it before,
it's asinine the way they do it.
Speaker 8 (19:03):
They should recede.
Speaker 10 (19:04):
The fact that in the American League, the Yankees, Red Sox,
and Tampa are in one bracket, and the White Sox, Houston,
and Cleveland is in the other. So one of those
three is going to make the ALS, ACLS, the championship series.
Speaker 8 (19:20):
Is beyond stupid.
Speaker 10 (19:21):
And in this day and age, for baseball to have
such a faulty playoff format, and I've been on this
theme forever, it's not the first time, is mind-boggling. The Yankees,
the Tampa should not have to play the Yankees or
Red Sox in a divisional series. I mean, they should
play the team with the worst record once we get
past the wildcard round. But having said that, I do
like the wildcard series. I like the idea that you
(19:42):
could have 12 games in three days. You know, I
don't love the fact, and you can't do anything about it,
I don't love the fact that the Cubs run at
10 o'clock at night. You know, that's tough to say.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to
hang in there and watch that whole game. But you
definitely like it, Danny. You know, NBC and Peacock have
the games this week. I think you're going to have
I think the Phillies Braves is a good series. I
(20:04):
think Yankees Red Sox will probably go three games away.
I like the Yankees, but I think it will go three,
you know, White Sox, Houston and anybody series. And I
think obviously the what's the other series in the American League?
Speaker 8 (20:17):
I'm forgetting top of my head.
Speaker 10 (20:19):
Well, the Yankees and the other National League Series Cubs
Padres could go three games.
Speaker 8 (20:22):
I think you might have a good week. Amazing baseball.
Speaker 10 (20:24):
I really do.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
It's the Dodgers and everybody else.
Speaker 8 (20:30):
Yeah, I think that you listen, you would agree.
Speaker 10 (20:34):
I think the thing that worries you a little bit
about the Dodgers is that is history. You know, the
fact that no National League team has ever won three
championships in a row scares me.
Speaker 8 (20:45):
That's the history of baseball. I mean, the Yankees have
done it three or four times.
Speaker 10 (20:48):
The A's did it when you and I were kids
in 72, 73, 74.
Speaker 8 (20:52):
But there's never been an NL team to win three
in a row.
Speaker 10 (20:56):
And the Dodgers in the last couple of years have
had a couple of series where they could have lost.
Speaker 8 (21:01):
Could have lost to Toronto. Could have lost to the
Phillies last year. Certainly could have lost to.
Speaker 10 (21:05):
San Diego the year they beat them in the fifth game.
And sometimes the ball does, you know, the ball bounces
the other way. So that would worry me a little
bit about L.A. They're also going to have to beat
Philly and Atlanta and then maybe Milwaukee.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
No Otani pitching.
Speaker 10 (21:20):
Their ninth inning is a little shaky because Diaz, you know,
I don't think they're going to use him there. You know,
Snell's always hurt. They've got old players, older players. So
I would take the field, Dan, myself, and I think
I would do that only because I'm a little worried
about the history of the three straight in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Yeah, and if you go back to last year, I mean,
Toronto came within an inch from winning the World Series.
And I don't know what this says about what could
happen in the offseason, but you had the Mets with
the highest payroll, missed the playoffs. Blue Jays, the fifth highest,
they missed the playoff. Three of the lowest payroll rosters, Tampa,
(22:00):
White Sox, Cleveland, all made the playoffs. What does that
mean for the offseason where everybody wants a salary cap?
Speaker 10 (22:09):
I think that's an excellent point. I think that will
play into it. If you get a Milwaukee-Tampa World Series,
people are going to say, hold on now. We got
a Milwaukee-Tampa World Series. Why do we need a salary cap?
By the same token, the player association in one of
their proposals to the commissioner's office said they did not
want any kind of.
Speaker 8 (22:30):
Ceiling floor at all.
Speaker 10 (22:33):
They were just moaning and groaning about how these teams
don't spend money.
Speaker 8 (22:36):
Well, hold on now. I mean, maybe they're doing it.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
The right way.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
I mean, the fact that Tampa, Milwaukee, you mentioned the
White Sox, they don't spend $ 100 million on payroll and
they're winning.
Speaker 8 (22:44):
That tells you something, too.
Speaker 10 (22:47):
Listen, baseball would say, I think there's the last bottom
15 payroll team.
Speaker 8 (22:52):
To win a World Series was the 2015 Royals. And
I believe it's 79%.
Speaker 10 (22:59):
Of Final Four teams in the last two decades, I
believe it's 79%, have been.
Speaker 8 (23:08):
So-called big market teams.
Speaker 10 (23:10):
Last year, for instance, outside of Milwaukee, Toronto, the Dodgers,
these were all big market teams. And I think, you know,
the Red Sox and the Yankees are big market teams.
That's going to be interesting how it's going to play out.
That labor thing, you and I, will be all over
once we get to November, December 1st. I do think
(23:30):
that Manfred will figure something out. I do think it
might be until mid-March. But I do think they'll figure
out a way to play the 162-game schedule next year.
I do think they're going to have a tough American
League because I think that the White Sox and Houston
and Cleveland, that combination– is going to be struggling. And
if they ever get a Tampa Cleveland ALCS on TBS,
(23:53):
I mean, that is going to be, I don't know
who's going to watch that. I mean, so I think
they need the Yankees or Red Sox, specifically Yankees, in
the worst way to get to the ALCS.
Speaker 8 (24:03):
And if they don't, they're in big trouble. They got
the Dodgers. That will carry them some in the NL.
Speaker 10 (24:09):
But I do think the American League, if it's not
the Yankees, ratings-wise, they're going to be in trouble.
Speaker 8 (24:13):
I really do.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Christopher Mad Dog Russo, host of Mad Dog Unleashed on
Sirius XM 82, host on ESPN's First Take, normally on Wednesdays.
Stay with me on this. We make a big deal,
and rightfully so, with Shohei Ohtani, pitching and hitting. Can
we look at Josh Allen with, you know, throwing and running? Like,
(24:35):
he's doing two things at a very high level. Should
he get extra credit that he's a great quarterback? But
he's also going to end up with 125 rushing touchdowns
when it's all said and done, Chris.
Speaker 8 (24:50):
Yeah, that's an excellent point.
Speaker 10 (24:52):
I think he right now, I know he didn't play
well this past week, but I think right now, and
I know Mahomes, and he's got three Super Bowls, and
I love Mahomes too, but I think right now, pound
for pound, he's the best quarterback in football. And I
think running has got a lot to do with it.
Because as you said, they have a lot of design runs.
You know, those third and twelves, he runs for first downs,
(25:14):
which kills a defense. You know, he's actually a better
runner than he is actually a thrower. I mean, you know,
I got a little more confidence. He's like a linebacker.
And I agree with you 100%. I think that that
is a big plus in his game. Now, we've had running,
you know, Roger Staubach was a great runner. It's not
like he's the first, but his design running there, Danny,
is tremendous. And he's so tough to bring down. I mean,
(25:36):
and he never gets hurt. I mean, he never misses
a game, this guy. I mean, and he takes a
beating and he never misses a game.
Speaker 8 (25:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (25:45):
And, you know, Buffalo, you know, maybe this is their year.
I mean, they got the new stadium. There's a spark
to their play. Their defense made a play in week
one against Houston, which they normally never do. They didn't
play well last week against the Chargers and still they
had five turnovers and still figured out a.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
Way to win.
Speaker 10 (26:02):
You know, they get Kansas City at home.
Speaker 8 (26:06):
So that home field, you know, maybe, you know, maybe
this is their year finally.
Speaker 10 (26:09):
I mean, sooner or later, Dan, you would think if
you make the Atlanta Braves, you know, if you make
the playoffs every year, one of those.
Speaker 8 (26:18):
Years, you're going to get lucky.
Speaker 10 (26:19):
The ball is going to bounce your way and you're
going to win a Super Bowl. You know, Atlanta won
the playoff, made the playoffs, what, 15, 16 years in
a row. They only got one championship, but they got
a championship. And you get the idea that sooner or later, Allen,
you know, they're going to get a call from, You know,
the catch last year against the Bills, which was negated
and they called it an incomplete. One of those days
(26:41):
that call is going to go their way, you know, and,
you know, and they get a call like that. So
I don't know if this is the year, but I
get the impression there's a little something going on with
the Bills after three weeks.
Speaker 8 (26:52):
You got to see a lot more. Injuries are so important.
We all know that. You got to make sure you stay,
you know, stay healthy. Look at the poor Giants.
Speaker 10 (26:59):
You've got to make sure you can stay healthy and
not get the commanders with Daniels. It goes on and on.
The Bears, maybe to a certain degree. You have to
stay healthy with your best players. But I do get
the impression that the Bills have a chance. And you're
right about Allen. He gets a lot of extra points
for the way he runs.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
I agree with that 100 percent.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
Analytics is such a big part of all sports here.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
What I still come back to and I don't understand
is you have poor clock management. with some teams and
some coaches. And, you know, the Jets lost because of
clock management against Green Bay. Dallas lost, I think, because
of clock management. I mean, if Dak, you know, connects,
you know, to pick it, they score the touchdown, then
(27:40):
it's a moot point. But understanding what a team can
do with seven seconds, if you put it into the
end zone, I'm watching in real time and I go,
just squib it. Worst case scenario, they throw a desperation
pass 70 yards. Where did you stand on the Cowboys?
Speaker 8 (27:59):
100%.
Speaker 10 (28:01):
They should have run out the clock more at the
two-yard line so the game would be ended on either
a tie or a win. I guess he missed a
KC Buffalo game a few years ago when McDermott made
the same mistake, and then Mahomes got the field goal
to force overtime.
Speaker 8 (28:16):
How in the world?
Speaker 10 (28:17):
His excuse was, Schottenhammer, well, he kicked two balls out
of bounds earlier, and they started at the 40, so
we told him to kick it out of the end zone.
It's only a five-yard difference. Thirty five to 40. What
are you doing? That was so stupid.
Speaker 8 (28:32):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 10 (28:33):
Make him field the ball. Take two or three seconds
off the clock minimum. And then they can't get the
two plays off. I mean, unbelievably dumb. You're a thousand
percent right now. I'm not sure if I agree with
you about Glenn losing the game. against Green Bay. Poorly handled.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
I don't know about losing.
Speaker 10 (28:49):
I mean, I don't know if they would have made
that big a deal in the regulation with that extra possession.
Speaker 8 (28:54):
But I am with you a thousand percent.
Speaker 10 (28:57):
And also going foot on fourth down, what is Ben
Johnson doing last night early in the game at 7-0
going foot on fourth and three with the third string quarterback?
Kick the field goal. And then in week one against Carolina,
he goes for it on fourth and one at his
own 20-yard line.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
I mean, punt.
Speaker 10 (29:12):
I mean, as it turns out, he didn't get it,
and Carolina tied the game up. These coaches, they're almost
too brazen. They're almost too cocky with how smart they are.
That they get themselves and they box themselves in a corner.
The fourth down, let's go for it on fourth down
every single time is one.
Speaker 8 (29:29):
And you're right.
Speaker 10 (29:30):
It is incredible that, you know, we're sitting at home,
fans like you and me, you know, who are telling
them what to do with how to handle the clock.
And they don't know what they're doing. And the other
issue is these officials. This is ridiculous with these. The
two penalties that are really coming to play the first
three weeks of the year that have been killers. are
(29:52):
the pass interferences and the late hits with the quarterbacks.
I mean, that Ram game was a joke. Now, the
Rams put themselves in that situation. That's not a defensive
pass interference when the guy intercepted the ball on the
Denver last drive. I mean, that is an absolutely horrific call.
Watson threw an interception late in the game. They called it,
(30:13):
you know, where his helmet was slapped when a guy
was trying to block the pass, the defensive lineman intercepted.
And it came down and I understand they got to
protect the quarterback. But those two penalties have been so
punitive and such a huge factor.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
In the beginning of this game, beginning of these games.
And I tell you, look at the Scott Novak crew.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Every time he officiates a game, whether it's Minnesota, Tampa
this week, he did the Green Bay Jet game when
there was about 300 yards and penalties. He thinks everybody
wants to see him make balls. I mean, Scott, we don't,
we're not interested.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
All right.
Speaker 10 (30:44):
I mean, I understand, you know, if it's blatant, you
got to call it. There's got to be a little
more leeway. And I think the officiating has been a
major problem, Danny, in the first couple of weeks of
the season.
Speaker 8 (30:54):
I really do.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
Would you hire Tony Romo if you're a network?
Speaker 10 (30:58):
That's a very interesting call. I would not, not because
of this, what Wisconsin, I don't think Romo's that good. So,
I mean, to me, Romo, I mean, he's way too
spontaneous and, He gets in the way of the game
too much.
Speaker 8 (31:12):
I don't think Romo's a great analyst.
Speaker 10 (31:15):
So to me, the fact that they paid him $ 17 million,
which is absurd, that's a contract that McManus would like
to have back, I guarantee it.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
And I don't know what CBS is going to do.
Speaker 10 (31:26):
A lot of people thought that after this Rio game,
that maybe the new president over there, Burstyn, would do
something and make a decision. But remember, he hired Watt.
So Watt is his guy.
Speaker 8 (31:41):
And Romo isn't. So, I mean, maybe, you know, they're
just kind of holding out.
Speaker 10 (31:47):
I mean, they can't put Romo on the fifth team.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
I mean, if you're going to bring him back, you
got to bring him back with Nance, don't you?
Speaker 10 (31:52):
What are you going to do? You're going to bring
him back and demote him? I mean, that looks, that
to me looks actually worse. Are you going to put
Romo on the fifth? I'll give you a game. You know,
you're going to put them on, you know, what's allowed,
you know, the Titan Jaguar game. I mean, I mean,
I mean, I'm not sure if you can do that.
So I think CBS is in a huge quandary there.
They're going to have to pay him. You know, I mean,
(32:13):
it's a civil thing.
Speaker 8 (32:14):
It's not criminal.
Speaker 10 (32:16):
So if they decide to get rid of him, I mean,
maybe they reach some sort of, you know, buyout, but
they're going to have.
Speaker 8 (32:22):
To pay him something. So I don't know.
Speaker 10 (32:24):
I don't know if CBS has made up their mind yet.
So that's a very interesting question. I should ask you
that question. You worked at a network for years.
Speaker 8 (32:32):
I didn't.
Speaker 10 (32:33):
So you would know that better than me. But I
think that's a major dilemma that CBS is dealing with
right now.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Yeah, I thought, Tony, the further he got away from
the game as far as a player, the worse he got,
because that's when you have to do your homework. And
it didn't feel like he was doing his homework. I
think he was we bought into, you know, his shtick,
his style. But then that doesn't work when you actually
need to break down. You know, he would say, oh,
(32:58):
43 and 57. You know, he wasn't giving names there.
I think Watt gave Jim Nance an enthusiastic boost in
that game. Jim had energy in that game because of J.J.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
Watt.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
And he's just learning now. So I think he's doing okay.
And I think they like that you have J.J.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Watt.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
You've got a Hall of Famer in there with the
great Jim Nance. But I would not bring Tony back.
And if I did, I'd make him earn his way back.
And I don't know if he's willing to do that.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
Excellent point.
Speaker 10 (33:33):
Nance has to work very hard, and he's got to
tilt the broadcast to Romo, because Romo's hard to work with.
Speaker 8 (33:41):
He talks a lot. He talks right next to the play.
Speaker 10 (33:44):
He's all over the place, and he can't do a
traditional broadcast.
Speaker 8 (33:49):
Watt, who's been OK. I agree.
Speaker 10 (33:51):
I mean, he's not been Merlin Olsen, but he's been
OK to start the year. He's just getting his career going.
I mean, you know, it's only his second year doing this,
but he's got some personality. He's got a lot of
personality and they seem to get along. So I do
agree with you. I think that probably I would lean
to what you said and I would leave everything alone
right now and let Watt do the games himself.
Speaker 8 (34:14):
With Nance.
Speaker 10 (34:14):
Plus, if you bring Romo back and put him with
Nance and you've got to move Romo, then you've got
to move Watt down to Iron, then you've got to
move Tucker down to this.
Speaker 8 (34:20):
I mean, it's a disaster.
Speaker 5 (34:21):
Domino, yeah.
Speaker 10 (34:22):
Yeah, so, I mean, I think that's part of it, too.
Speaker 8 (34:24):
So I think CBS will probably do what you just said.
Speaker 10 (34:27):
Leave it alone and figure out some sort of package
to pay Romo off.
Speaker 8 (34:31):
I agree with you, 100%.
Speaker 5 (34:32):
Good to talk to you. Enjoy the baseball.
Speaker 8 (34:34):
Love you, Danny.
Speaker 5 (34:34):
Thank you, dog. You're the best. Okay, buddy. Christopher Mad
Dog Russo.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
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. We
got baseball today and tonight. The Yankees will be playing
without Aaron Judge as we bring in Joey Votto. He
serves as an inside the pitch analyst.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
He'll be looking at the wild card matchup that starts
at 2 Eastern today and tomorrow.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
NBC and Peacock and three game series. Where do you stay? Whoa,
look at you with a shirt and tie on.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
Not bad, huh?
Speaker 5 (35:14):
Looking good. Did you just get a haircut?
Speaker 4 (35:17):
Yesterday, I stopped at great clips on my trip down.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
Couldn't you do that on your own? I mean, there's
not a lot of hair.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
I could. I could. I like that pushback.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
Where do you stand on a three-game series to open up?
Speaker 14 (35:32):
It's tough, especially when you win the division. I don't
like it for the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies. Probably
I'm taking care of the Braves Phillies today. And I
think the Phillies love this scenario. You play a seven
game series with a team as good, as deep as
the Braves.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
You've got your hands full. I think this is best
case for Philadelphia.
Speaker 5 (35:50):
Explain to me Kyle Schwarber's swing.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
Wow. Good question.
Speaker 14 (35:56):
It's almost like he's one of those boxers that just
throws hooks inside of a telephone booth and And he's
going to knock you out.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
He's like Butterbean. He's like Butterbean. He's the Butterbean of baseball.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
There is just I love watching him at the plate.
I just he he knows he knows his window. Now,
he doesn't know it like Bonds, but nobody knew it
like Bonds. But he's he's got that window there where
you go. If you make a mistake there, he'll make
you pay for it. How tough is it to get
like in your mind, I'm going to stay away from
(36:32):
that pitch outside or up high or it's just I'm
looking here and that's all I'm looking for.
Speaker 14 (36:39):
I won't complicate it too much, but the simpler and
quicker your swing, the more you can make a decision,
the more it feels like a conscious kyle swing is
very short very tight he doesn't move very much and
the hardest thing to do and as a hitter is
to not move and for the ball to go far
(37:00):
most guys need to move run jump towards the pitcher
they need to create extra extra momentum towards the pitch
he doesn't he just stands.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
There and turns why you left-handed swings look better than
right-handed swings.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
That's a good question.
Speaker 14 (37:19):
I think because we have a tendency to have more
of an uppercut to our swing, which is more aesthetically pleasing.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
That would be my best guess.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
But then a left-handed shooter looks smoother than a right-handed shooter.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
Now we're talking Chris Mullen, aren't we?
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:35):
I don't have an answer for that. I can just
tell you that, generally speaking.
Speaker 14 (37:39):
We face a lot of right-handed pitching, and we see
a lot of right-handed sliders, which go down. So to
match that, we have this slight uppercut to our swing,
which looks a bit more like a Nike swoosh type
of flourish.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
It's more aesthetically pleasing than a right-handed swing.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
The Yankees without Aaron Judge means what for that lineup?
Speaker 14 (38:00):
You're leaning on Schlittler. You're leaning on Cole. I can't
stand it, and I don't think he's going to be back.
If he can't play now, he's clearly– not going to
be useful throughout the entirety of the playoffs. If they
do happen to go deep into the playoffs, if you're
hurt and you can't play, and I watched a bunch
of his live at bats yesterday and you can't play
in the first series, how what's he going to be? 50%, 75%
(38:24):
come the, the ALCS or the world series. It's a huge,
it's a huge hit to that roster because their offense
is mediocre at best. They may be one of the
bottom five offensive offenses in all of baseball without Aaron judge.
Speaker 4 (38:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
But if you try to play with an injury, then
you change your swing. Have you had to do that
where you got to compromise?
Speaker 14 (38:47):
Too many times in my career. Aaron's a big man
with long levers. So these small little adjustments he has
to make because of his health. is going to show
up down the line in a swing. He has to
be healthy and has to be strong to be anywhere
near at his very best. But the good thing about
Aaron is he's so good that him at 75% is
(39:08):
better than basically the entire league.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
The best team playing today is who?
Speaker 14 (39:16):
The Los Angeles dollar Dodgers, but I don't have, I mean,
in the wild series, no, in the wild, excuse me.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 14 (39:21):
The Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Braves. Great, great bullpen, great lineup,
long lineup to have an answer on right and left.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
Solid defense.
Speaker 14 (39:31):
Tonight's starter is in the in the conversation for best
best pitcher in the game.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
Excuse me. Today's starter in Chris Sale is in the
conversation for best pitcher.
Speaker 14 (39:39):
In the game.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
How did you do against Chris Sale?
Speaker 4 (39:43):
Not good.
Speaker 14 (39:43):
I faced him in spring training in Glendale, Arizona at
the Chicago White Sox when he used to pitch for
the White Sox. And they have this batter's eye that's
as narrow as can be. And he has this style
where he comes from the side. He throws very hard
and he's got a slider that starts behind you. And
(40:04):
the ball wouldn't come out of the batter's eye. So
it would come out of the sun. The sun would
be right behind the batter's eye. So every time he'd
throw a ball, it would come out of the sun.
So it was a combination of Chris Sale and the Almighty.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
When he was with the White Sox, he was must-see TV.
I loved what, but, you know, he had that dip
for about, what, four years where he disappeared? It's like
Kurt Warner.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Kurt Warner had an unbelievable start with the Rams, then
kind of disappeared, then came back with the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
That's now comparison. But Chris Sale went from.
Speaker 14 (40:42):
Similar to Kurt Warner, went from being a what could
have been to a clear Hall of Fame guy.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
He won the Cy Young after taking all those years off.
How do you do that?
Speaker 14 (40:51):
How do you take that much time off and win
the Cy Young right away? And he's still in the
contention for a Cy Young guy if there wasn't a Mizorowski,
if there wasn't a Sanchez.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
He is Joey Votto, former Reds first baseman. Spent 17
years in the show, as they like to say, part
of NBC's coverage of the wildcard round. Tougher to face
in their prime Verlander or Scherzer?
Speaker 4 (41:16):
It's a good question. Two of the greats.
Speaker 14 (41:17):
I was fortunate enough to face the trio of Kershaw,
Verlander and Scherzer a lot.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Scherzer was better at having the big, big game.
Speaker 14 (41:27):
He had the explosive fastball and the strikeout slider, which
explains his 20 strikeout game.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
But for me, Verlander was the tougher matchup.
Speaker 14 (41:36):
He was that old school coming over the top with
like typical mechanics, the big hundred mile an hour fastball
and a great slider. I would say Justin Verlander was
the better pitcher between the two.
Speaker 5 (41:50):
What about if I throw in Kershaw?
Speaker 14 (41:53):
Kershaw is one of the greats of all time. Kershaw is,
for me, the best pitcher I'd ever faced. You know,
CeCe Sabathia was the toughest matchup, but only because I
thought he would beat me up if I ever said anything.
It was more like alpha beta relationship between CC and I,
whereas Kershaw was just the best, best slider, best fastball.
(42:15):
But no, you know, if you were to ask a
bunch of right-handed hitters about Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer,
they would say that's their toughest matchup. And I can't
tell you how many guys have said, wow, Scherzer's too
much for me or wow, Verlander's too much, or I
can't hit that slider.
Speaker 4 (42:29):
That's the reputation these two guys had.
Speaker 5 (42:31):
But how often do hitters go to the plate and
they know they don't have any chance? Too often, far
too often.
Speaker 14 (42:40):
And that's what I think I'm worried about today with
the Phillies-Braves matchup. I think the Phillies may feel like
they don't have a really good... I don't think they're
in a good place against Chris Sale today. There's a
lot of times, especially in the back half, back third
of your career, where you're just tricking everybody. You want
the check. You want the uniform. You want to make
the flight. You want to show up at those five-star hotels.
(43:02):
But you have to pretend like you're an authority in
the batter's box. But you know you're going to get dominated.
Speaker 4 (43:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (43:09):
Do you ever close your eyes and swing? No, I
was a good hitter, Dan. I know you were. I,
you know, just kind of.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
No, never, never, never, never.
Speaker 14 (43:19):
I was, I was, I, I was always at my
peak in terms of focus and effort until the wheels
fell off.
Speaker 12 (43:25):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
But you never had one of those John Kruk all-star
moments with Randy Johnson where you're.
Speaker 5 (43:33):
Like, let me bat right-handed. I got no shot.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
When I faced CeCe, I always felt like.
Speaker 14 (43:44):
Hit me with his left fist and so there was
a lot of times where I was intimidated by him
because he was such an intimidating figure on the mound
so there's plenty of occasions where I felt like I
was just standing in the batter's box as a pitch.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
As a batting dummy and he would get as.
Speaker 14 (44:00):
I could get through their back he was my Randy
Johnson to John Crux Randy you know to John Crux.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
I think you were getting towards saying this but you
don't have the Dodgers winning this year Is that what
you said?
Speaker 14 (44:11):
No, I don't have them winning this year. I think
the Brewers are going to get to the World Series.
I don't know how the average fan feels about that.
I've heard a lot of people gripe about the Dodgers
and their domination, their era. Baseball is really difficult in
a seven game series. And I think that the brewers
have enough, especially with the very best and clearly, clearly,
(44:33):
clearly very best pitcher in all of the game throwing
at least twice in that series. I have the brewers
small market, one of the smallest, if not the smallest
market in the sport, making it to the world's world series.
The problem may be, especially if the rays make it who,
I mean, who's going to watch if that's the case.
Speaker 4 (44:50):
So I'm, I'm a little concerned about this year's playoffs
for that reason.
Speaker 5 (44:55):
How much longer can Mizorowski throw?
Speaker 2 (44:58):
He had over 1,000 pitches that were over 100 miles
an hour.
Speaker 5 (45:03):
How sustainable is this?
Speaker 14 (45:05):
Randy was throwing– Chris Sale today, he's throwing 100. It
can go as long as he stays healthy. As long
as he stays healthy. He is the perfect pitching prospect
for this to carry deep into his 30s.
Speaker 4 (45:18):
He's our Randy Johnson. He's our Walter Johnson. Yeah.
Speaker 14 (45:24):
He's that big right-handed power pitcher that's setting off. He's
our Bob Gibson. He's our Bob Feller. He is just
that modern power, power pitcher. And in a game where
the game is power pitching, he's head and shoulders above.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
The difference between a manager in the regular season and
the postseason and a three-game series, like how important are
these managers in a three-game series as opposed to a
seven-game series?
Speaker 14 (45:49):
That's an interesting question because nowadays in the major league
regular season, these managers are managing as if it's the
playoffs each game because they want to bank each win.
The two managers that are managing today, both Walt Weiss
and Don Mattingly, are the replacements. My best guess is
both of them want to showcase that they're a part
(46:09):
of the game. They're probably going to make an impact.
Do I think managers, you're asking the wrong person here.
You're asking the wrong person because I don't think managers
make that much of a difference, but I think they
like make having their fingerprint on the game. So I
could see them trying in a three game series to
make adjustments.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
Do they matter? I'm not sure.
Speaker 5 (46:29):
So you don't buy into Tony La Russa was a genius.
Speaker 4 (46:34):
No, I don't. Albert Pujols, Mark McGuire. Yeah.
Speaker 14 (46:39):
All these manager geniuses that make all these chess move decisions,
but then they're throwing out literally the best player in
the game.
Speaker 4 (46:48):
God bless them.
Speaker 14 (46:49):
They make an impact, but there's a reason why Juan
Soto makes $ 51 million and the manager of the team
makes $ 2.
Speaker 4 (46:55):
5 million.
Speaker 5 (46:57):
How do you like that Juan Soto deal?
Speaker 4 (47:00):
I think.
Speaker 14 (47:01):
I think that there's a chance he's going to opt
out and get a bigger one if you can believe it.
I think he's a worthy, he's one of the few
players that's worthy of it.
Speaker 4 (47:10):
He's one of the great hitters of all time.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
Yeah, but what else does he, Joey?
Speaker 4 (47:14):
Yeah, it's a fair question.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
Nobody's showing up to, yeah, they're not showing up to
see him.
Speaker 14 (47:21):
No question about it. They show up for the winning team.
He's a part of winning. I don't know what to say.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
How many must-see guys? How many must-see guys are there
in baseball right now?
Speaker 14 (47:32):
Shohei Otani, Aaron Judge, Mizorowski, and now Pete Crow Armstrong.
That's the four. That's the four must-sees. And then guys
fluctuate in and out, but those are the four must-see guys.
Maybe fringe Eli De La Cruz, but he's on not
a strong team. So the four guys that are must-see.
Speaker 5 (47:54):
Yeah. Is that enough for a league, though?
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Like when you look at becoming bigger, you only got
four must see guys in the sport.
Speaker 14 (48:06):
Just depends on when I think about baseball, I think
having more of a personality like college football. So to
answer your question, I worry more about the teams, the
cities than I do about the stars, even though I'm
star biased. That's a great question, but my answer to
that question is it's a problematic thing. I think that's
(48:28):
Major League Baseball's responsibility to promote the Stars more.
Speaker 5 (48:31):
Good luck today.
Speaker 4 (48:33):
I appreciate that. Thank you.
Speaker 5 (48:34):
And thanks for joining us, as always. Always, Dan. Thanks.
That's Joey Votto.
Hosts And Creators
Todd "Fritzy" Fritz
Dan Patrick
Patrick "Seton" O'Connor
Paul Pabst
Marvin Prince
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