Mariners lose to Chicago after a rain delay, is Dan Wilson pinch hitting too much? George Kirby is back tomorrow in Houston! Angel Reese vs Caitlyn Clark out drawing Juan Soto's return to the Bronx on Sunday Night Baseball? How? Hitting to all Fields.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'll say this for the Chicago White Sox, for a
team that has been the worst team in baseball for
the last few years, they have a pretty good pitching staff.
And I mean, I'm like watching him, like, wow, this
team's really getting it done. You look at them, and
they lost Garrett Crochet. Maybe theyre ace to the Boston
(00:20):
Red Sox, and last night, I mean, kudos to then.
You just gotta tip your hat. It's just one of
those games that I'm shaking my head. I'm like, man,
this is not like the Mariners team that I've seen
the last couple of days. But and there was a
point there in the top of the eighth, I believe
(00:42):
it was bases loaded for Mitch Garver. He took a
first strike, okay, fine or whatever, got to full count
and we're getting there and then and the ump was
sporadic all night long. He was I mean, I admitted,
I mean, he just wasn't great. I don't think many
(01:03):
of them are, but this guy was certainly no exception
to the rule. And you can't do a Carlos Beltron
and leave your bat on your shoulders. At basically Game
seven of the two thousand and six National League Championship Series.
You gotta swing, and the pitch was pretty decent, and
(01:26):
he didn't swing there. And then and then Julio comes
up and I believe he flied out there, grounded out
one or the other. And I'm just saying to myself, Oh, well,
that's it. They're not gonna win this game. That was
their chance. I thought they were gonna pull it off.
It didn't happen, just didn't happen. So there was something
there for me. And I'm watching this game and I'm like,
(01:48):
you know, hey, I didn't see the team that I
saw the games against San Diego the night before. When
Julio hit the Grand Slam just wasn't different. It was different.
It just looked it to me.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, I think it. There are some games. Obviously you're
not gonna win Go one hundred and sixty two and zero,
but there are some games where you kind of question
the effort a little bit. I think the fact that
there was a little bit of a rain delay isn't
an excuse, and that kind of points to the coaching
a little bit. I think for most of the game,
the Mariners didn't look like they expected to play nor
(02:25):
wanted to play, so and I get it. It's it's
a rainy, windy, cold Chicago. I guesst a terrible team.
You're in a two hour rain delay basically, but you
get paid to play baseball. And I saw too many
just terrible at bats in multiple situations. And you know,
even the Randy Rose Arena ball out to deep left
(02:46):
field kind of just jogging to cut it off. Guy
takes second base when it should have been an easy single.
There was just too many of those moments yesterday.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, it's and listen, I mean they're pros too, even
though they might not have played like at the last
couple of years. Those guys are getting paid as well.
But their pitching staff is surprise, Like their starting pitching
isn't that bad? I mean, and Houser comes in yesterday
and I'm like, wow, I mean this guy, former Brewer,
(03:15):
former met comes in last night, I believe, if I'm
not mistaken, was his first start of the year and
looked amazing. Six strong inning, solid shut out, only a
two k's, but that's all he needed. And you know,
it's it's just one of those games that I'm like,
(03:35):
why is Mitch Garver there? If you're not going to
swing the bat, then maybe Dan Wilson should have pinched
it for him there. I don't know. He just went
up there and he was a statue at the plate.
Well he was the pinch hitter, that's true, your ride,
he was, and they had already pinched it so they
didn't have many guys left at that point. But I mean,
why is he not swinging.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Because he can't hit right now? Unfortunately?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Ough, that was tough. That was a tough one. It's
and I'm like, man, that was just oh god, I
just I wanted them to get the sweep in Chicago.
Not gonna happen. They can still take care of the
series today with on the rubber game and win the
series going in to Houston against the Astros, a four
(04:22):
game series, which is going to be absolutely huge. I
know it's may I get it, But to me, we
all know what happened last season. You had a ten
game lead in June and that thing dwindled down more
and more and more and then you can never count
the Astros out. So it just was one of those
(04:45):
ugly games. And yeah, you're right, the rain delay just
kinda sort of did it as well. The whole thing
just it just felt like an icky game. You know
what I feel bad for There are die hard White
Sox fans in Chicago. That is a funeral for a ballpark.
I mean, that is that is brutal. That that I mean,
(05:05):
it's just like there, you know, and I understand why
would you go when you have the worst product in baseball?
I understand why the fans won't go, But man, that
is tough to watch, really tough to watch. And but
all in all, uh, this team and you look at
last night's game and listen it. I mean they're four
(05:26):
and one on the ten game road trip. The game
was delayed for an hour and a half. But Cam
Boozer and I thought, remember Cam Boozer gave up the
Grand Slam to Julio the night before. I'm like, all right,
here's the time to get him. But he struck out
Garver and then he retired Julio on the fly ball.
And it's just like, man, that's that was a tough
(05:49):
one because that's when that game last night looked like
the twenty twenty four Mariners, didn't it, right?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah, and that's fair, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
It looked like that, that looked like that twenty twenty fourteen.
That you know one and I listen. I mean, they
only had four hits in the game last night, just
couldn't get it done situational. But that to me was
the eighth inning, and that inning when they couldn't drive
the run in and at least tie the game fly
ball something. I'm like, oh, all right, you know what,
(06:22):
just not your night, just not your knight. But the
White Sox, surprisingly enough, their starting pitching isn't as bad
as you know, you would think they would be for
a team that lost over one hundred and twenty games
last year. They think it'd be so bad, I mean,
and they lost Crochet, their start, like their ace to
the Red Sox. So they'll try to get it done today,
(06:43):
Logan Evans on the mound, to try to win two
out of three. Hopefully they can do that. Here's the
good news, though, hasn't thrown a pitch on a major
league diamond against live bullets all season long. And finally
George Kirby is coming back to the lineup and he's
(07:06):
going to be starting in the first game against the
Astros this weekend. And that to me right then and
there is like all right then, hopefully, and I don't
expect him to be in mid season form. There's gonna
be a lot of russ there. I'm not expecting him
to come out and throw eight shutout innings or a
no hitter. But one thing I will say is that
(07:29):
that's a huge shot in the arm, pun intended. And
then you're hoping Logan Gilbert comes back. But how big
is that for Kirby coming back.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I think it's it's huge because, especially in a very
important series in Houston, you got I think it's George
Kirby tomorrow, and then you got Emerson Hancock Friday, Brian
will on Saturday, Luis Castill, you on Sunday. You have
four guys you feel pretty confident in a big series.
I think that with George Kirby coming back, you can
(07:59):
now say it's okay to expect the Mariners to win
three out of those four games. I think that's a
good goal for the week especially, and you got to
win today. You got to put you last night out
of your mind a little bit. You know, those games happened.
But it only is a bump in the road if
you make it a bump in the road, right, If
you turn it into a losing streak. That's not what
we want at this point in the season. So I
think it's huge that the Mariners get this one today
(08:19):
and then go win three out of four in Houston.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, I mean that would be ideal. I mean at
that point and then you're talking about it, you know
right there, eight and two road trip, Yeah, that's huge.
I mean I would have been I would have been
satisfied with a five and five road trip. Eight and two. Wow, Yeah,
that would be that would be something, And you feel
pretty good with what you've got coming up. But I'm
just just to even see and I'm like, wow, they
(08:43):
even said he's gonna be pitching tomorrow night, five to ten,
first pitch in Houston, four game series, Like, just that
to me, right there will be the huge tell of
and just I think even if he doesn't come out
and he'd doesn't have his a game, just to have
him back and knowing that he's gonna be in that
(09:05):
rotation every fifth day, just from a psychological standpoint for
the team, that is going to be something that you
just need him. I mean, he's a guy and you
know before the season, you saw it, you know in
spring training all right, he's not going to start the year.
And here we are and we're almost in June. It's
almost been it's pretty much been two months and now
(09:26):
he's back and you just can't say enough. So yeah, Kirby, Hancock,
WU and Castillo. Yeah, that's that's gonna be. That's exactly
what you want.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Well, And one thing that Kirby does in coming back
is he won't have situations like we had last night
where you had to go an opener and then a
bulk guy, you know, and not send a pitching was
any problem last night?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I think you have one run, you should expect to
win the game.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
But you're gonna put less stress on that bullpen from
having to go through those days where you don't really
know who's starting, how long they're gonna go. So I
think having Curry back just gives you one more guy
to have you trust at this point. Logan Evans, we'll
see what he does today, and I wouldn't put it
(10:10):
like this isn't just a for sure gimme win today.
Shane Smith has been dealing for the White Sox. Like
you said, the pitching has been good.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I was the pitching. So they almost not even close
in terms of the lineup, but like they almost sort
of look like the Mariners from last year, like where
their pitching is really good, but they just can't they
can't hit.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I think it's more that because they're so bad. They're
so historically bad. They set the record for most losses
in a major league season last year, so you would expect, okay,
from that type of team, you'd expect their pitching to
be historically bad as well.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
It's not the case. It's more average.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And because that's so much better than every other aspect
of their team, it stands out a lot.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
It does. No, it's a good point. And just to
get him back, and then we don't have an exact,
definitive date on when Logan Gilbert will be coming back,
but I could say this that when you get him,
that to me is like, if you want to look
at it from a college football standpoint or a college
basketball standpoint, it's like getting two five star portal transfers
(11:11):
during the season and you're like, oh wow, yeah, I
mean yeah, our teams, yeah, we just yeah, this is great,
this is awesome. So all in all, you know, I
just I wonder if Dan Wilson last night he maybe
he pinch it too much. Yeah, I mean that seems
to be where, you know, and I don't know why,
(11:31):
I just I just couldn't when Garver left the bat,
even if the other than the pitch hitting him or
being over his head, that was in the strike zone.
That was a good called third strike. You got to
take a swing at it. You don't go down looking.
You always go down swinging at the very least. And
I know he can't hit, but you're definitely not gonna
hit if you don't swing at the freaking ball.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And the biggest I think development of that is it's
not the Mitch Garver at bat. It's more of the
fact he had to pinch it for Jorge Blanco once
again against a left handed pitcher. The fact, like Horae
Planco has been your best hitter all season long, he's
definitely come down a little bit in the last couple
of weeks. He's not the one dot two ops guy
that we saw in March in April, but he's still
I'd say you're probably your best hitter, maybe Cal maybe Julio.
(12:16):
You kind of put those three shout Randy at sometimes
not last night, though, but those those kind of four
or five guys are the guys that you trust to
kind of carry this line up a little bit. The
fact that you can't leave in one of your best
hitters against it. All it takes is putting in any
sort of left handed pitcher to get one of your
best hitters out of the game is a problem. It's
a problem they have to address. I don't know if
(12:36):
it's an injury thing. I don't know if it's a
comfort factor thing that he just can't sling the bat
right handed right now.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
It's a problem because you're seeing it every night, every
single time. Whoever the Mariners are playing against are just
using their left handed pitcher to get Horry Polanco out
of the game as soon as possible.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah, it's kind of like what teams do for a while,
and the NBA what they've done in the playoffs, the Celtics,
and then prior to that, the Pistons where they follow
this guy, Mitchell Robinson on the Knicks and they call it,
you know, hack a Mitch and he goes a free
throw line and he misses free throws and that why
can't he hit left handed pitching? Though? What's the biggest
issue for him.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Supposedly there's an injury with his oblique that prohibits him
from swinging from the right side of the plate. I
asked Chris Crawford on our post game show last night,
tune in if you can on the Lockdown Mariner's postcast,
like is there a reality where he could swing left
handed versus left handed pitching? And he kind of nicks
that right away, saying, if you've been swinging right handed
(13:33):
against left handed pitching for your entire life, because he's
a switch hitter, obviously, right, it is impossible to adjust
on the fly against major league pitching. It's so much
different than a lot of people expect. So it's not
just something like, oh, I'm just going to swing left
handed this time against left handed pitching. You're always used
to the armslot coming from the opposite side, so.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So it'd be like a guy who was playing right
guard and then moving to left tackle right exactly right,
So it completely throws you off. Yes, exactly. Wow, Yeah
that makes sense. Hmm all right. Yeah, So that was
a tough loss last night, but you can win two
out of three. Get it done. I will say this
now for everybody here in Seattle, you better start buying
(14:13):
your Jalen Brunson jerseys because Minnesota has no chance in
this series. I saw it last night. They were up
in the first quarter, in the first half, and then
the guy who's I would say, one of the top
three or four players in the world, Anthony Edwards ant man,
turn in a camp man and he didn't score a
(14:34):
single point in the fourth quarter of a conference finals game.
And I hate to say it, but Oklahoma City's a wagon.
They're not losing. They're not losing to Minnesota. They could
lose to the Knicks. Highly doubt the Pacers. But start
buying your Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns jerseys because this series,
(14:55):
then the Western Conference is going to be over very quickly.
It's going to be over probably within five games at
the most. You just saw it last night. And here
was the thing that bothered me even most after the game.
Anthony Edwards is at the postgame press conference next to
Julius Randall. They asked him, hey, you stop driving towards
(15:22):
you know, the second half, and you just you just
stopped driving. What happened? He said, yep, And he just
it was almost like they asked him about him getting
a parking ticket, Like he just was so nonchalant, so whatever,
I don't care. He just said, yep, yep, yeah, they
cough my lanes. And that's all he said. Yep, they
(15:44):
did a great job. They cough my lanes. I'm like, listen,
if you're going to be a winner in this league,
you've got to sacrifice everything. And you can't just be
so whole hum about losing a Game one that your
team was winning the entire first half and then you
knew Okase was gonna go on when their patent did
(16:06):
eighteen to two runs. That's what they did and they
ended up winning the game by twenty six points. And
I can just say this about ant Man overrated doesn't
have it right now. He's not him. He's not Jokic,
he's not Steph in terms of being taking that next step.
(16:27):
He's not Yannis. He's not Kyrie Irving, who's won a
title and was the reason the Cavs won a title
in Game seven on the road at Golden State. He's
not him yet. And the only thing I saw last
night and said, you know what, I know it's a
seven game series. I know it's not March madness a
(16:47):
single elimination. But they're not. They'll be lucky to win
one game. They'll be lucky to win a game. They
don't have it. They just don't have it. Ant Man,
something is lacking right now, and he acted like he
just couldn't care less after the game, which is something
that you don't want to see. But the t Wolves,
(17:09):
no way, not in this series. Absolutely not just in
They actually have a team that's gonna be on hard
knocks this year and it's not the University of North Carolina.
It will be the Buffalo Bills. According to Adam Schefters,
the Buffalo Bills will be getting narrated by Ray Donovan
(17:31):
aka Leave Schreiber coming up. So that's cool. I don't
ever remember the Bills being oh yeah, they were with
Rex Ryan, That's right, they were all right. So this
is the best rivalry in sports and we need it.
The numbers don't lie, and neither do I. Next on
(17:52):
MJ and the Midday Sports Radio ninety three to three
kjr FM, how about this. The Fever blew out the
Chicago Sky thirty five point blowout, and it averaged more
viewers than Sunday Night Baseball. Between the Mets and Yankee
subway series with Juan Soto making his first return against
(18:16):
his former team in the Bronx Yankee Stadium. Think about that,
Think about that that everybody is if Now you know
I've said I like Angel Reese. I also think Clark
is great as well, But I want a rivalry where
(18:37):
so many athletes aren't just bff's banana boat buddies like Lebron,
James Carmelo, Anthony Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade. It's nice when
you have a rivalry and where it's and obviously there's
no love loss between both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese
(19:02):
or vice. I mean, listen, this went back to College
Iowa and LSU. I know Angel Reese is nowhere near
the player right now in the NBA that Caitlin Clark is.
But you're think about this. If I'd said to you
ten years ago, a regular season w NBA game on
(19:25):
a Saturday in May would pull in more viewers than
Sunday Night Baseball. And not just any Sunday night baseball game.
We're not talking Diamondbacks, Royals, right are Pirates, Twins. We're
talking subway series, Mets, Yankees and you have more stars
(19:47):
there than you do on an Oscars or Grammy's Red Carpet.
Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Jan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonzo.
They outrated Sunday Night Baseball. Think about that. I mean
(20:08):
that to me is all you need to know. And
I'm here for all of it. I love it. I
wish we had more of it in sports. I'm not
saying everybody has to get together and not everybody has
to have fisticuffs after games or anything, but it's nice
to have a little bit of a throwback to yesteryear
(20:31):
when teams hated each other, like talk to Bob Ryan yesterday, Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Pistons, Pistons, Lakers, Knicks, Pacers,
which is going to be renewed again in just over
five and a half or actually six hours. All of that.
(20:53):
We finally have it, and it's great to see. I
love it. I mean, the Sky and Fever can't play enough.
They can't play enough, and the NBA, the NHL, Major
League Baseball, and the NFL, all four of them need
(21:15):
to look at this and say, wow, this seems to
be like magic Bird two point zero. So right now.
I like it. I love it, and I'm sure and
obviously there's a lot of people out there who do too.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah, it's wild because I think in the baseball world,
because I'm pretty close in those circles, that Subway series
was huge. It was a huge deal, right and if
anyone kind of paid attention to that, you saw the
reaction that Won Soto got when he went back to
Yankee Stadium. That was fun. I'm a huge one Soda fan.
By the way, He's struggled a little bit to begin
(21:49):
this season, but I think he'll be fine overall.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
But the problem is, you can't you can't be like
watching a ball thinking it goes out, yes, and watching
it hit the monster, not running it out. Those are
the things that aren't excusable. Well, and that's not like him.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I know.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
He normally is a pretty hustle guy. Like he's the
guy who plays the game the right way, and that's
one of the reasons the Mets gave him as much
money as they did. But now, on top of that,
the fact that a WNBA game, which is a big game,
it's the biggest game in the WNBA. Angel Clark or
a Angel Clark, Angel race versus Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
No, by the way, you pretty much can do it
pretty much. They're almost intertwined. They're so synonymous with each
other you can almost.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Call me yeah, like almost, you know, when you do
the first and last name mixed up together.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
But the fact that that's outdoing probably the one of
the bigger matchups and most anticipated matchups and all of
baseball kind of shows how much of a problem baseball
has with marketing its product. I really think that's the
bigger issue here. I think the WNBA is doing a
good job of building up like lean into the rivalry,
lean into it, and baseball, for whatever reason, stays this
regional sport. I understand on some level. But like the
(22:57):
star power that's starting to come up now, there's a
lot of guys are fun to watch, easy to root for.
It's it's weird. But I don't know if you had
any reaction to the booze that he got in.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Oh yeah, but that was that was to be I mean,
that was predictable that you knew that was gonna happen.
I mean, obviously the Yankee fans are but heard over
him choosing the cross town team because you know, for forever, forever,
decades and decades, everybody went to the evil Empire. Well,
now the Mets are now the big money spenders, and
(23:28):
the Yankees they do things with a little bit more
of a careful financial like sort of an economically feasible approach.
And I don't have a problem with that. They've kind
of done it. Listen, how Steinbredder is not his dad, George.
He's not going to go out and give Kyle Farnsworth
nineteen million dollars in overpay for Jarrett Right and a
(23:49):
washed Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown and Gary Sheffield. They're
not doing that anymore. They're they're gonna do it, and
they did. But to the Yankees' credit, they gave them
an offer that wasn't much less than the Mets did.
What the Mets did is give him more in terms of,
all right, what do you want for your family? For
(24:11):
sweet seats at home, We're gonna have personal security for you.
We're gonna have that for you on at home and
on the road for your family where any game they
want to go to, you are taking care of. And
Steve Cohen's wife, Alex Cohen, I believe is her name,
she was the one who came out and she's she said,
this is a family environment. Any Yankees didn't treat it
(24:32):
like that. And that's ultimately they said why because there
wasn't that much of a difference if you looked at
I think the Mets paid them, if I'm not mistaken,
the offers were within twenty million dollars. When you're talking
about seven hundred and sixty five, what's twenty million to us?
It's it's oh wow, to changed our life forever and
you know, and generational wealth and our family for like
(24:56):
the next sixty years. But but so that was the
reason why. But yes, they are leaning into it, and
justifiably so. I wish in the NBA we had that.
I wish we don't have it. Now. You're gonna see
it today when the Knicks play the Pacers. You're gonna
see a little bit of it because they played last
(25:19):
year in a really hard fought seven game series. One
of the things I'm not a fan of TNT their
last ever playoff series they're ever gonna do in the NBA.
They're losing all of the NBA package next year. Letting
Reggie Miller call this the series, I mean This is
an issue I have and I'll tell you why. Imagine
(25:41):
if the Seattle Seahawks have a huge NFC Divisional playoff game,
or maybe in the NFC Championship game, and let's say
it's versus the San Francisco forty nine ers. But you
know what for this game Fox who already asked Tom Brady,
They're gonna bring in Malcolm Butler. I mean, like then
(26:03):
they become the focal point. Like Reggie Miller now is
the focal point and he and it's gonna be a
lot about him when it should be about the guys
on the court now, TNT, will their ratings be higher
because Reggie Miller's calling the games? Probably will be. I
get it from why they're doing it. I just don't
like it from that standpoint. I can't stand it, and
(26:25):
I think it's bad that that would just be like
where if Malcolm Butler's calling a Seahawks playoff game, it's
almost trolling, and it feels like that's what TNT's doing
at Reggie Miller. Don't like it. Yeah, it just feels
like it's ugh and not even just being a Knicks fan.
It's just it's like, now, Reggie Miller is gonna take
(26:47):
away from the series, and he did last year when
he was when they were playing the next He's like, oh,
the Boogeyman's coming to town. And it's like, here we
go again, Here we go again. All right, fine, I
think it's it's better. I would have liked to see.
You know, if you want to let Kevin Harlan do it,
I'm a problem with it. I know he's a team
with Reggie Miller, but bring in Grant Hill. But no,
(27:09):
they're gonna let Reggie Miller do it, and it's gonna
take away a little bit from the series, and he's
gonna become and the Knick fans are gonna be chanting
f you Reggie all night long. And that's what it's
gonna be. But hey, you pick this, this is what
you want. Be careful what you wish for because you
just might get it. And they're gonna get it. I
(27:30):
I you know, but Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark. It's a
great thing for sports. Unfortunately, I wish they played every week.
They don't, so it's gonna be far and few in between.
And then you can look at the WNBA's ratings when
they're not playing each other, and they will pay in comparison,
They're not gonna beat Sunday Night baseball. That's also another
(27:51):
reason why maybe ESPN is getting rid of baseball after
this year they're done. It doesn't rate high on a
national level. Locally and the most local markets albeing it
regional sport, it ranks higher. I heard I read somewhere
it ranks higher Baseball does than the NBA does in
(28:11):
local markets, which I was shocked about. So the Red
Sox outrate the Celtics, which I find that hard to believe,
but apparently that's the case. Plus there's one hundred and
sixty two games when the NBA there's only eighty two.
But yeah, shocking. Everybody does song parodies and this one
(28:32):
next is enough to make your skin crawl. But it's
so bad, is it good? Well, you'd be the judge
of that. Next on MJ in the midday hitting to
All Fields on Sports Radio ninety three to three KJR
at them, Yeah, I don't. I think that was sort
of mocking the Knicks on that one. But that was painful.
(28:55):
That was painful to listen to. Just it was I mean,
Ryan he rhymed. I guess right, it was just sort
of like, I don't think that was done in a
complimentary way from just listen. I think that was done
to make fun of Nicks fans and whatever. But it's fine,
(29:15):
it's all good. It's all in good fun, right, can't
make fun of people. People get a little bit thin skinned,
thin things, you know. But Jalen Brunson's in a big
time market, major market, and you know, I don't think that. Yeah,
it didn't really seem like that was something that's complimentary. Oh,
(29:37):
but it is. It is what it is. I thought
it was funny, but I'm like, yeah, I don't know,
don't Yeah. I want rivalries, man, and and what we're
gonna see I think coming up in this series starting
today at four thirty or five o'clock actually local time,
is gonna be something that we don't see in sports.
(30:01):
Is gonna be a rivalry. And these two teams they
went at it last year seven games. I wish there
was more of that now. You have regional rivalries obviously
you dub versus Oregon, and anything could be volleyball, could
be badminton, could be esports. That's it. They hate each other.
That's what I want. I want that more and more
(30:22):
in sports, and you just don't see it. And I'm wondering,
is this the age that maybe everyone has gone a
little bit soft? You know, I don't get it. I
just don't get it. But I want to see it more.
And I think in this series we're gonna see it.
Doesn't look like we're gonna see much in that Minnesota
Oklahoma City series, and I, oh God. And last night
(30:45):
I was hoping. In the first half, I'm like, oh,
this is their night. Man. They came out to play,
they got a game plan. And then the second half,
third quarter started and they punched him right in the
mouth and Minnesota had no answer. And that's bad. I mean,
what hockey rivalries do we see right now? Besides the
Toronto make beliefs versus playoff utility every year, what do
(31:07):
we see there? What hockey run? Is there a hockey
rivalry right now that is just encompassed the sport encapsulated everything.
I don't see one, do you?
Speaker 3 (31:19):
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Maybe the Battle of what Ontario when Toronto took on
to Ottawa in the first round, but Ottawa hasn't been
great in the last couple of years, so this was
their first kind of real good season in that rivalry
in a long time, to be honest. No, maybe there's
a little bit of the Florida Boston rivalry, especially now
(31:40):
they're Brad Marshans on the on Florida.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Here's the thing, though, the Bruins suck now, so there's
no rivalry. No, I mean Florida Florida seems to be
They've taken the mantle from the Lightning right. They're a wagon.
They're a wagon, and I'm like, are they going to
make another run?
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Might win it all again?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Oh? I do too, I do too. I mean, I
don't you know, I'm interested in that Edmonton Dallas series
financial reasons. I know you are personal vendetta against the Oilers.
I don't. I don't hate that you hate watched It's fine,
you know. I Oh God, I need the Oilers to
win that series, man, really need that to have. I like,
(32:18):
I'm nervous though. That's a I mean, you talk about
a wagon. The Dallas Stars are a wagon. They are,
and they have that the home ice advantage in that series.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, And honestly, the Oilers are too, and so is Florida.
I think Carolina is probably the odd man out or
the odd team out in this final four of the
hockey playoffs. But I could see any of three of
those four teams winning at all. But it's gonna be
who's playing Florida at this point, because I don't see
Carolina moving on to the finals at all.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
No, No, did you see that they've lost thirteen straight
conference finals games dating back to two thousand and nine. Yeah,
two thousand and nine when they played I believe the
Penguins with Sidney Crosby and Malkin. I mean, that's that's
a long time.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Well, I don't know if I'm trying to think of
the NBA or even baseball equivalent of that team, because
they're the team that's always in the playoffs. They like
they're they're so consistent every single year but just can't
get over that championship hump. And I just can't think
on the tip of my tongue who that equivalent would
be in the NBA or baseball that don't necessarily do
(33:21):
the full on like we're going for it this year.
They just are consistently. They're they're Jerry Depoto's dream, basically
fifty four going to the playoffs every year but never
winning at all.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
For the Yeah, yeah, I know. I wonder did John
FORZN thinks about that. He was the former voice of
the Carolina Hurricanes and and hard for Whalers. Yeah, that's interesting.
I we just don't see. And even in I'm thinking
about the NFL right now, what Chiefs Eagles they meet
in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yeah, those teams are in championship windows for sure. Right
it's like the tier right below that that the team
just can't get over the hump. Maybe the Vikings maybe.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
But who's who's the right the Detroit I mean the Lions.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Yeah, maybe.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
And then the thing is that we don't have that anymore.
We had that for a long time. I mean back
when Ray Lewis was playing. Every time the Ravens played
the Titans, it was must see TV ray Lewis versus
Eddie George and at the time the Lake great Steve McNair.
We had it. I don't see that right now now.
I know the Hawks and the forty nine ers, but
(34:26):
I mean, does it have the passion that it did
in twenty thirteen and twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Nah, definitely not. Definitely not because both teams haven't been
good at the same time. Like really good at the
same time right then, So I mean the Niners had
I mean, honestly, you could say the Seahawks at this
point too, because they're kind of that team since the
since the window closed in twenty fourteen twenty fifteen, they've
been pretty consistent. They've gone to the playoffs almost every year.
I think they've only missed three in the last ten
years or something like that. But they definitely are not
(34:53):
in like a championship window. I would say they're not
a team that most people think are going to be
Super Bowl champions at any time soon. So I think
that's the X are actually a pretty good compa's for
the Carolina Hurricanes, to be honest, like they The point
is it's those teams that just don't necessarily get over
that hump to get into a championship window, and it's
it's tough. That's that's where we're at right now.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Yeah, yeah, it's uh. Somebody said Ravens Bills. Yeah, yeah,
I would say that's probably in the NFL right now.
Ravens Bills is the closest thing we have to a
hated rivalry. And of course, when you have the AFC
North Black and Blue Division, Steelers Ravens, like that is
(35:36):
a big rivalry Steelers Bengals use But but I think
in terms of yes, I'll go Ravens Bills. Okay, that's
about the closest thing that we have. Okay, And they're
right there. They're there. They're on the verge of the
Super Bowl, and neither one of them can get quite
past that. Uh hey from to two oh six. Hey,
thanks a lot, Mark, My dog just howled the entire
(35:58):
time you played that. Yeah, yeah, you know, Jeff, it
sounds like you're the one singing it. I thought that too.
Can we hear a little bit about that again? I
thought that did sound like me. That's funny, that's fine,
that's not me. No, that it's I'm worse than that.
I'm worse than that, all right. Coming up next, NFL
(36:18):
players can now play in the Summer Olympics in flag football.
Is this a good or a terrible idea? Whereas Charles
Parker would say torrible? Next on MJ in the Midday
Sports Radio ninety three three kJ R F M
I'll say this for the Chicago White Sox, for a
team that has been the worst team in baseball for
the last few years, they have a pretty good pitching staff.
And I mean, I'm like watching him, like, wow, this
team's really getting it done. You look at them, and
they lost Garrett Crochet. Maybe theyre ace to the Boston
(00:20):
Red Sox, and last night, I mean, kudos to then.
You just gotta tip your hat. It's just one of
those games that I'm shaking my head. I'm like, man,
this is not like the Mariners team that I've seen
the last couple of days. But and there was a
point there in the top of the eighth, I believe
(00:42):
it was bases loaded for Mitch Garver. He took a
first strike, okay, fine or whatever, got to full count
and we're getting there and then and the ump was
sporadic all night long. He was I mean, I admitted,
I mean, he just wasn't great. I don't think many
(01:03):
of them are, but this guy was certainly no exception
to the rule. And you can't do a Carlos Beltron
and leave your bat on your shoulders. At basically Game
seven of the two thousand and six National League Championship Series.
You gotta swing, and the pitch was pretty decent, and
(01:26):
he didn't swing there. And then and then Julio comes
up and I believe he flied out there, grounded out
one or the other. And I'm just saying to myself, Oh, well,
that's it. They're not gonna win this game. That was
their chance. I thought they were gonna pull it off.
It didn't happen, just didn't happen. So there was something
there for me. And I'm watching this game and I'm like,
(01:48):
you know, hey, I didn't see the team that I
saw the games against San Diego the night before. When
Julio hit the Grand Slam just wasn't different. It was different.
It just looked it to me.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, I think it. There are some games. Obviously you're
not gonna win Go one hundred and sixty two and zero,
but there are some games where you kind of question
the effort a little bit. I think the fact that
there was a little bit of a rain delay isn't
an excuse, and that kind of points to the coaching
a little bit. I think for most of the game,
the Mariners didn't look like they expected to play nor
(02:25):
wanted to play, so and I get it. It's it's
a rainy, windy, cold Chicago. I guesst a terrible team.
You're in a two hour rain delay basically, but you
get paid to play baseball. And I saw too many
just terrible at bats in multiple situations. And you know,
even the Randy Rose Arena ball out to deep left
(02:46):
field kind of just jogging to cut it off. Guy
takes second base when it should have been an easy single.
There was just too many of those moments yesterday.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, it's and listen, I mean they're pros too, even
though they might not have played like at the last
couple of years. Those guys are getting paid as well.
But their pitching staff is surprise, Like their starting pitching
isn't that bad? I mean, and Houser comes in yesterday
and I'm like, wow, I mean this guy, former Brewer,
(03:15):
former met comes in last night, I believe, if I'm
not mistaken, was his first start of the year and
looked amazing. Six strong inning, solid shut out, only a
two k's, but that's all he needed. And you know,
it's it's just one of those games that I'm like,
(03:35):
why is Mitch Garver there? If you're not going to
swing the bat, then maybe Dan Wilson should have pinched
it for him there. I don't know. He just went
up there and he was a statue at the plate.
Well he was the pinch hitter, that's true, your ride,
he was, and they had already pinched it so they
didn't have many guys left at that point. But I mean,
why is he not swinging.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Because he can't hit right now? Unfortunately?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Ough, that was tough. That was a tough one. It's
and I'm like, man, that was just oh god, I
just I wanted them to get the sweep in Chicago.
Not gonna happen. They can still take care of the
series today with on the rubber game and win the
series going in to Houston against the Astros, a four
(04:22):
game series, which is going to be absolutely huge. I
know it's may I get it, But to me, we
all know what happened last season. You had a ten
game lead in June and that thing dwindled down more
and more and more and then you can never count
the Astros out. So it just was one of those
(04:45):
ugly games. And yeah, you're right, the rain delay just
kinda sort of did it as well. The whole thing
just it just felt like an icky game. You know
what I feel bad for There are die hard White
Sox fans in Chicago. That is a funeral for a ballpark.
I mean, that is that is brutal. That that I mean,
(05:05):
it's just like there, you know, and I understand why
would you go when you have the worst product in baseball?
I understand why the fans won't go, But man, that
is tough to watch, really tough to watch. And but
all in all, uh, this team and you look at
last night's game and listen it. I mean they're four
(05:26):
and one on the ten game road trip. The game
was delayed for an hour and a half. But Cam
Boozer and I thought, remember Cam Boozer gave up the
Grand Slam to Julio the night before. I'm like, all right,
here's the time to get him. But he struck out
Garver and then he retired Julio on the fly ball.
And it's just like, man, that's that was a tough
(05:49):
one because that's when that game last night looked like
the twenty twenty four Mariners, didn't it, right?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah, and that's fair, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
It looked like that, that looked like that twenty twenty fourteen.
That you know one and I listen. I mean, they
only had four hits in the game last night, just
couldn't get it done situational. But that to me was
the eighth inning, and that inning when they couldn't drive
the run in and at least tie the game fly
ball something. I'm like, oh, all right, you know what,
(06:22):
just not your night, just not your knight. But the
White Sox, surprisingly enough, their starting pitching isn't as bad
as you know, you would think they would be for
a team that lost over one hundred and twenty games
last year. They think it'd be so bad, I mean,
and they lost Crochet, their start, like their ace to
the Red Sox. So they'll try to get it done today,
(06:43):
Logan Evans on the mound, to try to win two
out of three. Hopefully they can do that. Here's the
good news, though, hasn't thrown a pitch on a major
league diamond against live bullets all season long. And finally
George Kirby is coming back to the lineup and he's
(07:06):
going to be starting in the first game against the
Astros this weekend. And that to me right then and
there is like all right then, hopefully, and I don't
expect him to be in mid season form. There's gonna
be a lot of russ there. I'm not expecting him
to come out and throw eight shutout innings or a
no hitter. But one thing I will say is that
(07:29):
that's a huge shot in the arm, pun intended. And
then you're hoping Logan Gilbert comes back. But how big
is that for Kirby coming back.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I think it's it's huge because, especially in a very
important series in Houston, you got I think it's George
Kirby tomorrow, and then you got Emerson Hancock Friday, Brian
will on Saturday, Luis Castill, you on Sunday. You have
four guys you feel pretty confident in a big series.
I think that with George Kirby coming back, you can
(07:59):
now say it's okay to expect the Mariners to win
three out of those four games. I think that's a
good goal for the week especially, and you got to
win today. You got to put you last night out
of your mind a little bit. You know, those games happened.
But it only is a bump in the road if
you make it a bump in the road, right, If
you turn it into a losing streak. That's not what
we want at this point in the season. So I
think it's huge that the Mariners get this one today
(08:19):
and then go win three out of four in Houston.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, I mean that would be ideal. I mean at
that point and then you're talking about it, you know
right there, eight and two road trip, Yeah, that's huge.
I mean I would have been I would have been
satisfied with a five and five road trip. Eight and two. Wow, Yeah,
that would be that would be something, And you feel
pretty good with what you've got coming up. But I'm
just just to even see and I'm like, wow, they
(08:43):
even said he's gonna be pitching tomorrow night, five to ten,
first pitch in Houston, four game series, Like, just that
to me, right there will be the huge tell of
and just I think even if he doesn't come out
and he'd doesn't have his a game, just to have
him back and knowing that he's gonna be in that
(09:05):
rotation every fifth day, just from a psychological standpoint for
the team, that is going to be something that you
just need him. I mean, he's a guy and you
know before the season, you saw it, you know in
spring training all right, he's not going to start the year.
And here we are and we're almost in June. It's
almost been it's pretty much been two months and now
(09:26):
he's back and you just can't say enough. So yeah, Kirby, Hancock,
WU and Castillo. Yeah, that's that's gonna be. That's exactly
what you want.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Well, And one thing that Kirby does in coming back
is he won't have situations like we had last night
where you had to go an opener and then a
bulk guy, you know, and not send a pitching was
any problem last night?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I think you have one run, you should expect to
win the game.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
But you're gonna put less stress on that bullpen from
having to go through those days where you don't really
know who's starting, how long they're gonna go. So I
think having Curry back just gives you one more guy
to have you trust at this point. Logan Evans, we'll
see what he does today, and I wouldn't put it
(10:10):
like this isn't just a for sure gimme win today.
Shane Smith has been dealing for the White Sox. Like
you said, the pitching has been good.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I was the pitching. So they almost not even close
in terms of the lineup, but like they almost sort
of look like the Mariners from last year, like where
their pitching is really good, but they just can't they
can't hit.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I think it's more that because they're so bad. They're
so historically bad. They set the record for most losses
in a major league season last year, so you would expect, okay,
from that type of team, you'd expect their pitching to
be historically bad as well.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
It's not the case. It's more average.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And because that's so much better than every other aspect
of their team, it stands out a lot.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
It does. No, it's a good point. And just to
get him back, and then we don't have an exact,
definitive date on when Logan Gilbert will be coming back,
but I could say this that when you get him,
that to me is like, if you want to look
at it from a college football standpoint or a college
basketball standpoint, it's like getting two five star portal transfers
(11:11):
during the season and you're like, oh wow, yeah, I
mean yeah, our teams, yeah, we just yeah, this is great,
this is awesome. So all in all, you know, I
just I wonder if Dan Wilson last night he maybe
he pinch it too much. Yeah, I mean that seems
to be where, you know, and I don't know why,
(11:31):
I just I just couldn't when Garver left the bat,
even if the other than the pitch hitting him or
being over his head, that was in the strike zone.
That was a good called third strike. You got to
take a swing at it. You don't go down looking.
You always go down swinging at the very least. And
I know he can't hit, but you're definitely not gonna
hit if you don't swing at the freaking ball.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And the biggest I think development of that is it's
not the Mitch Garver at bat. It's more of the
fact he had to pinch it for Jorge Blanco once
again against a left handed pitcher. The fact, like Horae
Planco has been your best hitter all season long, he's
definitely come down a little bit in the last couple
of weeks. He's not the one dot two ops guy
that we saw in March in April, but he's still
I'd say you're probably your best hitter, maybe Cal maybe Julio.
(12:16):
You kind of put those three shout Randy at sometimes
not last night, though, but those those kind of four
or five guys are the guys that you trust to
kind of carry this line up a little bit. The
fact that you can't leave in one of your best
hitters against it. All it takes is putting in any
sort of left handed pitcher to get one of your
best hitters out of the game is a problem. It's
a problem they have to address. I don't know if
(12:36):
it's an injury thing. I don't know if it's a
comfort factor thing that he just can't sling the bat
right handed right now.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
It's a problem because you're seeing it every night, every
single time. Whoever the Mariners are playing against are just
using their left handed pitcher to get Horry Polanco out
of the game as soon as possible.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah, it's kind of like what teams do for a while,
and the NBA what they've done in the playoffs, the Celtics,
and then prior to that, the Pistons where they follow
this guy, Mitchell Robinson on the Knicks and they call it,
you know, hack a Mitch and he goes a free
throw line and he misses free throws and that why
can't he hit left handed pitching? Though? What's the biggest
issue for him.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Supposedly there's an injury with his oblique that prohibits him
from swinging from the right side of the plate. I
asked Chris Crawford on our post game show last night,
tune in if you can on the Lockdown Mariner's postcast,
like is there a reality where he could swing left
handed versus left handed pitching? And he kind of nicks
that right away, saying, if you've been swinging right handed
(13:33):
against left handed pitching for your entire life, because he's
a switch hitter, obviously, right, it is impossible to adjust
on the fly against major league pitching. It's so much
different than a lot of people expect. So it's not
just something like, oh, I'm just going to swing left
handed this time against left handed pitching. You're always used
to the armslot coming from the opposite side, so.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So it'd be like a guy who was playing right
guard and then moving to left tackle right exactly right,
So it completely throws you off. Yes, exactly. Wow, Yeah
that makes sense. Hmm all right. Yeah, So that was
a tough loss last night, but you can win two
out of three. Get it done. I will say this
now for everybody here in Seattle, you better start buying
(14:13):
your Jalen Brunson jerseys because Minnesota has no chance in
this series. I saw it last night. They were up
in the first quarter, in the first half, and then
the guy who's I would say, one of the top
three or four players in the world, Anthony Edwards ant man,
turn in a camp man and he didn't score a
(14:34):
single point in the fourth quarter of a conference finals game.
And I hate to say it, but Oklahoma City's a wagon.
They're not losing. They're not losing to Minnesota. They could
lose to the Knicks. Highly doubt the Pacers. But start
buying your Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns jerseys because this series,
(14:55):
then the Western Conference is going to be over very quickly.
It's going to be over probably within five games at
the most. You just saw it last night. And here
was the thing that bothered me even most after the game.
Anthony Edwards is at the postgame press conference next to
Julius Randall. They asked him, hey, you stop driving towards
(15:22):
you know, the second half, and you just you just
stopped driving. What happened? He said, yep, And he just
it was almost like they asked him about him getting
a parking ticket, Like he just was so nonchalant, so whatever,
I don't care. He just said, yep, yep, yeah, they
cough my lanes. And that's all he said. Yep, they
(15:44):
did a great job. They cough my lanes. I'm like, listen,
if you're going to be a winner in this league,
you've got to sacrifice everything. And you can't just be
so whole hum about losing a Game one that your
team was winning the entire first half and then you
knew Okase was gonna go on when their patent did
(16:06):
eighteen to two runs. That's what they did and they
ended up winning the game by twenty six points. And
I can just say this about ant Man overrated doesn't
have it right now. He's not him. He's not Jokic,
he's not Steph in terms of being taking that next step.
(16:27):
He's not Yannis. He's not Kyrie Irving, who's won a
title and was the reason the Cavs won a title
in Game seven on the road at Golden State. He's
not him yet. And the only thing I saw last
night and said, you know what, I know it's a
seven game series. I know it's not March madness a
(16:47):
single elimination. But they're not. They'll be lucky to win
one game. They'll be lucky to win a game. They
don't have it. They just don't have it. Ant Man,
something is lacking right now, and he acted like he
just couldn't care less after the game, which is something
that you don't want to see. But the t Wolves,
(17:09):
no way, not in this series. Absolutely not just in
They actually have a team that's gonna be on hard
knocks this year and it's not the University of North Carolina.
It will be the Buffalo Bills. According to Adam Schefters,
the Buffalo Bills will be getting narrated by Ray Donovan
(17:31):
aka Leave Schreiber coming up. So that's cool. I don't
ever remember the Bills being oh yeah, they were with
Rex Ryan, That's right, they were all right. So this
is the best rivalry in sports and we need it.
The numbers don't lie, and neither do I. Next on
(17:52):
MJ and the Midday Sports Radio ninety three to three
kjr FM, how about this. The Fever blew out the
Chicago Sky thirty five point blowout, and it averaged more
viewers than Sunday Night Baseball. Between the Mets and Yankee
subway series with Juan Soto making his first return against
(18:16):
his former team in the Bronx Yankee Stadium. Think about that,
Think about that that everybody is if Now you know
I've said I like Angel Reese. I also think Clark
is great as well, But I want a rivalry where
(18:37):
so many athletes aren't just bff's banana boat buddies like Lebron,
James Carmelo, Anthony Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade. It's nice when
you have a rivalry and where it's and obviously there's
no love loss between both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese
(19:02):
or vice. I mean, listen, this went back to College
Iowa and LSU. I know Angel Reese is nowhere near
the player right now in the NBA that Caitlin Clark is.
But you're think about this. If I'd said to you
ten years ago, a regular season w NBA game on
(19:25):
a Saturday in May would pull in more viewers than
Sunday Night Baseball. And not just any Sunday night baseball game.
We're not talking Diamondbacks, Royals, right are Pirates, Twins. We're
talking subway series, Mets, Yankees and you have more stars
(19:47):
there than you do on an Oscars or Grammy's Red Carpet.
Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Jan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonzo.
They outrated Sunday Night Baseball. Think about that. I mean
(20:08):
that to me is all you need to know. And
I'm here for all of it. I love it. I
wish we had more of it in sports. I'm not
saying everybody has to get together and not everybody has
to have fisticuffs after games or anything, but it's nice
to have a little bit of a throwback to yesteryear
(20:31):
when teams hated each other, like talk to Bob Ryan yesterday, Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Pistons, Pistons, Lakers, Knicks, Pacers,
which is going to be renewed again in just over
five and a half or actually six hours. All of that.
(20:53):
We finally have it, and it's great to see. I
love it. I mean, the Sky and Fever can't play enough.
They can't play enough, and the NBA, the NHL, Major
League Baseball, and the NFL, all four of them need
(21:15):
to look at this and say, wow, this seems to
be like magic Bird two point zero. So right now.
I like it. I love it, and I'm sure and
obviously there's a lot of people out there who do too.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah, it's wild because I think in the baseball world,
because I'm pretty close in those circles, that Subway series
was huge. It was a huge deal, right and if
anyone kind of paid attention to that, you saw the
reaction that Won Soto got when he went back to
Yankee Stadium. That was fun. I'm a huge one Soda fan.
By the way, He's struggled a little bit to begin
(21:49):
this season, but I think he'll be fine overall.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
But the problem is, you can't you can't be like
watching a ball thinking it goes out, yes, and watching
it hit the monster, not running it out. Those are
the things that aren't excusable. Well, and that's not like him.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I know.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
He normally is a pretty hustle guy. Like he's the
guy who plays the game the right way, and that's
one of the reasons the Mets gave him as much
money as they did. But now, on top of that,
the fact that a WNBA game, which is a big game,
it's the biggest game in the WNBA. Angel Clark or
a Angel Clark, Angel race versus Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
No, by the way, you pretty much can do it
pretty much. They're almost intertwined. They're so synonymous with each
other you can almost.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Call me yeah, like almost, you know, when you do
the first and last name mixed up together.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
But the fact that that's outdoing probably the one of
the bigger matchups and most anticipated matchups and all of
baseball kind of shows how much of a problem baseball
has with marketing its product. I really think that's the
bigger issue here. I think the WNBA is doing a
good job of building up like lean into the rivalry,
lean into it, and baseball, for whatever reason, stays this
regional sport. I understand on some level. But like the
(22:57):
star power that's starting to come up now, there's a
lot of guys are fun to watch, easy to root for.
It's it's weird. But I don't know if you had
any reaction to the booze that he got in.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Oh yeah, but that was that was to be I mean,
that was predictable that you knew that was gonna happen.
I mean, obviously the Yankee fans are but heard over
him choosing the cross town team because you know, for forever, forever,
decades and decades, everybody went to the evil Empire. Well,
now the Mets are now the big money spenders, and
(23:28):
the Yankees they do things with a little bit more
of a careful financial like sort of an economically feasible approach.
And I don't have a problem with that. They've kind
of done it. Listen, how Steinbredder is not his dad, George.
He's not going to go out and give Kyle Farnsworth
nineteen million dollars in overpay for Jarrett Right and a
(23:49):
washed Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown and Gary Sheffield. They're
not doing that anymore. They're they're gonna do it, and
they did. But to the Yankees' credit, they gave them
an offer that wasn't much less than the Mets did.
What the Mets did is give him more in terms of,
all right, what do you want for your family? For
(24:11):
sweet seats at home, We're gonna have personal security for you.
We're gonna have that for you on at home and
on the road for your family where any game they
want to go to, you are taking care of. And
Steve Cohen's wife, Alex Cohen, I believe is her name,
she was the one who came out and she's she said,
this is a family environment. Any Yankees didn't treat it
(24:32):
like that. And that's ultimately they said why because there
wasn't that much of a difference if you looked at
I think the Mets paid them, if I'm not mistaken,
the offers were within twenty million dollars. When you're talking
about seven hundred and sixty five, what's twenty million to us?
It's it's oh wow, to changed our life forever and
you know, and generational wealth and our family for like
(24:56):
the next sixty years. But but so that was the
reason why. But yes, they are leaning into it, and
justifiably so. I wish in the NBA we had that.
I wish we don't have it. Now. You're gonna see
it today when the Knicks play the Pacers. You're gonna
see a little bit of it because they played last
(25:19):
year in a really hard fought seven game series. One
of the things I'm not a fan of TNT their
last ever playoff series they're ever gonna do in the NBA.
They're losing all of the NBA package next year. Letting
Reggie Miller call this the series, I mean This is
an issue I have and I'll tell you why. Imagine
(25:41):
if the Seattle Seahawks have a huge NFC Divisional playoff game,
or maybe in the NFC Championship game, and let's say
it's versus the San Francisco forty nine ers. But you
know what for this game Fox who already asked Tom Brady,
They're gonna bring in Malcolm Butler. I mean, like then
(26:03):
they become the focal point. Like Reggie Miller now is
the focal point and he and it's gonna be a
lot about him when it should be about the guys
on the court now, TNT, will their ratings be higher
because Reggie Miller's calling the games? Probably will be. I
get it from why they're doing it. I just don't
like it from that standpoint. I can't stand it, and
(26:25):
I think it's bad that that would just be like
where if Malcolm Butler's calling a Seahawks playoff game, it's
almost trolling, and it feels like that's what TNT's doing
at Reggie Miller. Don't like it. Yeah, it just feels
like it's ugh and not even just being a Knicks fan.
It's just it's like, now, Reggie Miller is gonna take
(26:47):
away from the series, and he did last year when
he was when they were playing the next He's like, oh,
the Boogeyman's coming to town. And it's like, here we
go again, Here we go again. All right, fine, I
think it's it's better. I would have liked to see.
You know, if you want to let Kevin Harlan do it,
I'm a problem with it. I know he's a team
with Reggie Miller, but bring in Grant Hill. But no,
(27:09):
they're gonna let Reggie Miller do it, and it's gonna
take away a little bit from the series, and he's
gonna become and the Knick fans are gonna be chanting
f you Reggie all night long. And that's what it's
gonna be. But hey, you pick this, this is what
you want. Be careful what you wish for because you
just might get it. And they're gonna get it. I
(27:30):
I you know, but Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark. It's a
great thing for sports. Unfortunately, I wish they played every week.
They don't, so it's gonna be far and few in between.
And then you can look at the WNBA's ratings when
they're not playing each other, and they will pay in comparison,
They're not gonna beat Sunday Night baseball. That's also another
(27:51):
reason why maybe ESPN is getting rid of baseball after
this year they're done. It doesn't rate high on a
national level. Locally and the most local markets albeing it
regional sport, it ranks higher. I heard I read somewhere
it ranks higher Baseball does than the NBA does in
(28:11):
local markets, which I was shocked about. So the Red
Sox outrate the Celtics, which I find that hard to believe,
but apparently that's the case. Plus there's one hundred and
sixty two games when the NBA there's only eighty two.
But yeah, shocking. Everybody does song parodies and this one
(28:32):
next is enough to make your skin crawl. But it's
so bad, is it good? Well, you'd be the judge
of that. Next on MJ in the midday hitting to
All Fields on Sports Radio ninety three to three KJR
at them, Yeah, I don't. I think that was sort
of mocking the Knicks on that one. But that was painful.
(28:55):
That was painful to listen to. Just it was I mean,
Ryan he rhymed. I guess right, it was just sort
of like, I don't think that was done in a
complimentary way from just listen. I think that was done
to make fun of Nicks fans and whatever. But it's fine,
(29:15):
it's all good. It's all in good fun, right, can't
make fun of people. People get a little bit thin skinned,
thin things, you know. But Jalen Brunson's in a big
time market, major market, and you know, I don't think that. Yeah,
it didn't really seem like that was something that's complimentary. Oh,
(29:37):
but it is. It is what it is. I thought
it was funny, but I'm like, yeah, I don't know,
don't Yeah. I want rivalries, man, and and what we're
gonna see I think coming up in this series starting
today at four thirty or five o'clock actually local time,
is gonna be something that we don't see in sports.
(30:01):
Is gonna be a rivalry. And these two teams they
went at it last year seven games. I wish there
was more of that now. You have regional rivalries obviously
you dub versus Oregon, and anything could be volleyball, could
be badminton, could be esports. That's it. They hate each other.
That's what I want. I want that more and more
(30:22):
in sports, and you just don't see it. And I'm wondering,
is this the age that maybe everyone has gone a
little bit soft? You know, I don't get it. I
just don't get it. But I want to see it more.
And I think in this series we're gonna see it.
Doesn't look like we're gonna see much in that Minnesota
Oklahoma City series, and I, oh God. And last night
(30:45):
I was hoping. In the first half, I'm like, oh,
this is their night. Man. They came out to play,
they got a game plan. And then the second half,
third quarter started and they punched him right in the
mouth and Minnesota had no answer. And that's bad. I mean,
what hockey rivalries do we see right now? Besides the
Toronto make beliefs versus playoff utility every year, what do
(31:07):
we see there? What hockey run? Is there a hockey
rivalry right now that is just encompassed the sport encapsulated everything.
I don't see one, do you?
Speaker 3 (31:19):
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Maybe the Battle of what Ontario when Toronto took on
to Ottawa in the first round, but Ottawa hasn't been
great in the last couple of years, so this was
their first kind of real good season in that rivalry
in a long time, to be honest. No, maybe there's
a little bit of the Florida Boston rivalry, especially now
(31:40):
they're Brad Marshans on the on Florida.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Here's the thing, though, the Bruins suck now, so there's
no rivalry. No, I mean Florida Florida seems to be
They've taken the mantle from the Lightning right. They're a wagon.
They're a wagon, and I'm like, are they going to
make another run?
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Might win it all again?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Oh? I do too, I do too. I mean, I
don't you know, I'm interested in that Edmonton Dallas series
financial reasons. I know you are personal vendetta against the Oilers.
I don't. I don't hate that you hate watched It's fine,
you know. I Oh God, I need the Oilers to
win that series, man, really need that to have. I like,
(32:18):
I'm nervous though. That's a I mean, you talk about
a wagon. The Dallas Stars are a wagon. They are,
and they have that the home ice advantage in that series.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, And honestly, the Oilers are too, and so is Florida.
I think Carolina is probably the odd man out or
the odd team out in this final four of the
hockey playoffs. But I could see any of three of
those four teams winning at all. But it's gonna be
who's playing Florida at this point, because I don't see
Carolina moving on to the finals at all.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
No, No, did you see that they've lost thirteen straight
conference finals games dating back to two thousand and nine. Yeah,
two thousand and nine when they played I believe the
Penguins with Sidney Crosby and Malkin. I mean, that's that's
a long time.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Well, I don't know if I'm trying to think of
the NBA or even baseball equivalent of that team, because
they're the team that's always in the playoffs. They like
they're they're so consistent every single year but just can't
get over that championship hump. And I just can't think
on the tip of my tongue who that equivalent would
be in the NBA or baseball that don't necessarily do
(33:21):
the full on like we're going for it this year.
They just are consistently. They're they're Jerry Depoto's dream, basically
fifty four going to the playoffs every year but never
winning at all.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
For the Yeah, yeah, I know. I wonder did John
FORZN thinks about that. He was the former voice of
the Carolina Hurricanes and and hard for Whalers. Yeah, that's interesting.
I we just don't see. And even in I'm thinking
about the NFL right now, what Chiefs Eagles they meet
in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yeah, those teams are in championship windows for sure. Right
it's like the tier right below that that the team
just can't get over the hump. Maybe the Vikings maybe.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
But who's who's the right the Detroit I mean the Lions.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Yeah, maybe.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
And then the thing is that we don't have that anymore.
We had that for a long time. I mean back
when Ray Lewis was playing. Every time the Ravens played
the Titans, it was must see TV ray Lewis versus
Eddie George and at the time the Lake great Steve McNair.
We had it. I don't see that right now now.
I know the Hawks and the forty nine ers, but
(34:26):
I mean, does it have the passion that it did
in twenty thirteen and twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Nah, definitely not. Definitely not because both teams haven't been
good at the same time. Like really good at the
same time right then, So I mean the Niners had
I mean, honestly, you could say the Seahawks at this
point too, because they're kind of that team since the
since the window closed in twenty fourteen twenty fifteen, they've
been pretty consistent. They've gone to the playoffs almost every year.
I think they've only missed three in the last ten
years or something like that. But they definitely are not
(34:53):
in like a championship window. I would say they're not
a team that most people think are going to be
Super Bowl champions at any time soon. So I think
that's the X are actually a pretty good compa's for
the Carolina Hurricanes, to be honest, like they The point
is it's those teams that just don't necessarily get over
that hump to get into a championship window, and it's
it's tough. That's that's where we're at right now.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Yeah, yeah, it's uh. Somebody said Ravens Bills. Yeah, yeah,
I would say that's probably in the NFL right now.
Ravens Bills is the closest thing we have to a
hated rivalry. And of course, when you have the AFC
North Black and Blue Division, Steelers Ravens, like that is
(35:36):
a big rivalry Steelers Bengals use But but I think
in terms of yes, I'll go Ravens Bills. Okay, that's
about the closest thing that we have. Okay, And they're
right there. They're there. They're on the verge of the
Super Bowl, and neither one of them can get quite
past that. Uh hey from to two oh six. Hey,
thanks a lot, Mark, My dog just howled the entire
(35:58):
time you played that. Yeah, yeah, you know, Jeff, it
sounds like you're the one singing it. I thought that too.
Can we hear a little bit about that again? I
thought that did sound like me. That's funny, that's fine,
that's not me. No, that it's I'm worse than that.
I'm worse than that, all right. Coming up next, NFL
(36:18):
players can now play in the Summer Olympics in flag football.
Is this a good or a terrible idea? Whereas Charles
Parker would say torrible? Next on MJ in the Midday
Sports Radio ninety three three kJ R F M
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com