August 14, 2025 • 29 mins
We ask ESPN's Tim Kurkjian about the news of the Twins owner holding his team tight and what the actual definition of a successful franchise is.
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The Little League Classic is approaching, so Tim dives into his favorite Little League World Series memories over the years and previews the upcoming Mariners-Mets matchup. Tim also gives his perspective on what the New York teams are going to be able to do in the postseason.
Hosts: AJ, EK, SB
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Figure, we'll bring out the craziest stat of the week
right before we talk to Tim kirkchen who We'll be
back with the TV crowd here in two minutes and
we'll talk Little League World Classic or Little League Baseball
Classic coming up on ESPN on Sunday. But the Twins
are forty four and one twenty five against the Yankees
since two thousand and two. Aja, your boys got smacked again.
(00:26):
You're og franchise can't really handle the Yanks. They're getting
them hot.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
They are I don't know what to say.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
This is one of the most unbelievable stats of all times.
Just players, turnover, managers turnover, front offices have turned well,
I guess the Yankees have stayed the same with the
front offices of the Twins have turned over, and they've
changed stadiums. Both organizations have got new stadiums in this
time and nothing has changed the Yankees. Yeah, the Yankees
(01:00):
beat the Twins. So that's it. The Yankees beat the Twins.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
The pole AADs haven't taken one at bat. The pole
AADs haven't taken one at bat. This is an anomaly
that we get to look at. But shocker AJ is
involved with another team that has a brutal record forty
one and forty one and one twenty one white sox
AJ's team forty four and one five Twins.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Had nothing, had nothing to do with either one of
those things. Just saying, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Once you leave, they all suck. So stop leaving, stop quitting,
stay with the team, help them out.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
One time, have grossed me. I didn't want to leave
the Twins. I was traded traded away. Still they got
you know what they got from Mick, Mick abel and tight,
so go able and tight. See what they turn those
guys into.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So their record against the Yankees produces a two sixty
winning percentage two thousand and two including playoffs, and that
includes nine straight losses against all other teams. Since two
thousand and two, the Twins have a five fourteen winning percentage.
What it's not like we're looking at this team like, oh,
it's one of the worst teams ever. This franchise been
(02:14):
a joke for twenty years. Like, no, they consistently, we'll
we'll hang around, not against the Yankees. We'll ask Tim
about it.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
I'm suressing in the playoffs. Look at the just use
the record in the playoffs, use the playoff record, it's
even worse.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Sorry, Twins fans, I know today's tough, but we cover
the news. Legendary Tim Kirkton joining us right now. He'll
be part of ESPN's Baseball Night coverage live on site
from Williamsport this Sunday for the Little League Classic.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Excited to get into that real quick before we do. Tim.
Great to see you, Great to have you on.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Did you hear our conversation at all about that ridiculous
Twins record since two thousand and two.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
I'm sure you've been following that one.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, it's absurd. I can't understand it. I was driving
home last night from New York listening to the Yankees
Twins game, and Paul Molitor was doing the color and
he made kind of the same point that Aj did.
That Look, this doesn't make any sense, he goes. The
players aren't even aware of it. The Yankee players aren't
(03:18):
aware of it. But it just keeps on happening. And
this is why baseball is so great, and so many
things are just unexplainable, and this is one of them.
There's no reason the Twins should be this bad against
the Yankees and Yankees. This good against the Twins. But
this is why baseball is so good, is it doesn't
(03:40):
make any sense so many days of the week.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, this is wacky, wacky news.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
While we're on them too, what did you think of
the team announcing that they're going to keep the ownership
group intact there? I mean, we had been led to
believe for the past year that it was going to
be a new leaf for this ball club. Were you
surprised as I was to see that they're actually hold on.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I was surprised. I am surprised, but maybe we shouldn't be.
You know, I live outside of Washington, d C. And
the Nationals have been up for sale for a long time,
and then they didn't get the price they wanted and
pulled the team back and said, Okay, we're not selling
the team. Ardy Moreno did the same thing with the Angels.
(04:22):
He's gonna sell the team, and then he decided I'm
not going to sell the team, and then the poleads
say we're gonna sell the team, and now we're not
going to sell the team. It's possible that all of
these owners are recognizing they're not maybe they're not getting
exactly what they want. For the team and then they're
going to hang on until, say, the price goes up.
But maybe this isn't a shock, but it was a
(04:44):
surprise to me because it seemed pretty pretty understandable that
they're going to sell the team and now they're just
looking for investors instead.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Tim, we we just kind of talked about this, We
talked about this earlier, but Rob Manford came out a
couple months ago and said, Oh, it's definitely happen. It's
not if they win so and he's like, I know
more than anybody else did. So something changed behind the scenes,
because when Rob Manford usually says something like that, it
doesn't go off the rails like kind of this one
that it normally sticks to exactly what he's saying.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, something must have happened, just like something happened with
the Nationals and something happen with the Angels. And again,
these are really sharp businessmen who are used to winning,
Like every negotiation that they're in, they get the last
dollar on everything that they do in every business that
they run. But baseball doesn't often work that way. You
(05:37):
don't get exactly what you want in baseball. Sometimes you
have to overpay to get a player. Sometimes you have
to sell something for less than what you think it's worth.
But these guys are used to getting whatever they want,
and if they don't get it, they're pulling the team back.
Maybe I don't know, maybe that's what's happening.
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Speaker 4 (06:55):
Do you feel like there should be some kind of
stipulation because of how much you love the game, how
much we love it as players want to see winners,
there should be some type of stipulation that owners have
to try to win because this is this is a sport,
this is a competitive like more of a penalty for
not winning. Not saying there's relegation, I'm not saying all
(07:17):
that kind of stuff, but do you feel like there
should be some type of penalty because when you look
at a team like the pole Ads, I mean an
organization like the pole Ads, they're not setting their players
up or their city up for having a successful team.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Well, I would like to see everyone try to win, Eric,
but it's hard to prove whether you're trying to win
or not. You know. Thirty years ago, Sandy Alderson, then
the general manager of the A's I guess at the time,
said what is a successful franchise? Is it a team
that makes the playoffs every year or is it a
(07:50):
team that never makes the playoffs but makes money every year.
What is the successful franchise a team that loses money
but wins, or a team that makes money and loses.
And I think that discussion still has to be had
today because I think that's still a relevant question.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, invest and then the franchise value will sort We've
seen that happen. Don't forget fans. The Dodgers were a
prime example of that. The Dodgers were in a very
different place fifteen years ago when they were run by
Frank McCort, and look at them now. They are an
absolute powerhouse. Tim, I'm going to take us to the
Little League Classic that's coming up on Sunday on ESPN.
(08:32):
You've got two great teams too, that are in the
thick of a playoff race with the Mets and the Mariners.
But first, give us the goods on what we can
expect there, what the coverage will be like, how much
you look forward to this?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, I've covered every one of the Little League Classics
and they're all great. Trust me, fellas, if you haven't
been there for when the teams arrive, it's stunning, it's breathtaking.
As soon as they get off the bus, they are
just surrounded by kids, and before long, the players are
into it just as much as the kids are because
(09:06):
they've all watched the Little League World Series when they
were twelve years old. And the Little League World Series
is on in every clubhouse in the major leagues every
single day because it fascinates the big leaders, as it should.
And when these guys walk in, like Aaron I was
there last year. When Aaron Judge walked in, it was unbelievable.
(09:26):
He couldn't take a step without being just besieged by people,
and he did a great job handling it. And all
players do the best they can. A couple of years ago,
Bryce Harper was here and he's sitting in the stands
watching the Pennsylvania team, you know Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and
one of these kids from Pennsylvania like hits a rocket
(09:49):
shot and Bryce Harper is there to see it. So
at the Little League Classic that night, at the real
major league ballpark, the kids are all there, like only
kids are invited to the Little League Classic, another reason
it worked so well. And Bryce Harper walks past the
front row and the kid that he saw had a
(10:09):
line drive. Bryce Harper goes up to him on his
way to home plate in a major league game and says, boy,
I hope I hit one as hard as you hit
one today. And it was like the greatest thing that
ever happened to that kid. And then Harper brought him
an autographed bat and gave it to him as he
sat in the stands and watched a major league game.
(10:31):
That's what the Little League Classic is about. To me.
It's about the kids watching the big leaguers. But it's
just as important that the big leaguers are engaging with
the kids. It is a wonderful, wonderful scene.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
They show that often on TVs. There's something that you're
banging the drum about that needs to be shown. That
is your favorite part of this whole weekend, this whole
Little League Classic that we're not seeing on TV because
you get of background stuff. Is there something that we
that we that we should be looking out for or
(11:05):
that you're hoping that they show on TV.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Well, we weren't able to show this a few years ago,
but now we do see. I ride the bus now
every year in from the airport with the team with
the kids on the bus, and now the last year
was the Tigers and I were sitting on the bus
with a bunch of kids, and they were asking, of course,
the greatest questions in the world. Because kids are so uninhibited,
(11:30):
they just say whatever they want to say. It's great.
But what I wish we had a camera on was
the first year I went on a bus. We didn't
have the camera there. But Reese Hoskins of the Phillies,
who was a star player at the time, like told
a kid, let me see how good a dancer you are.
And this twelve year old starts dance while the bus
(11:51):
is driving, and then he gets into a dance contest
with Reese Hoskins on the bus. It was absolutely priced
to see a big leaguer and a twelve year old
having a dance contest on the bus. The twelve year
old one, as I recall, as most twelve year old
should against most adults because no adults are good dancers.
(12:13):
No male can dance in my opinion, but Reyese Hoskins
was pretty good. The twelve year old was better.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Tim If Rosenthal was on right now, I'd say it's
because you can. You love this event so much because
Ken could look him in the eye. But I'm not
going to make a short joke today. So I understand,
I'm gonna save that for when Ken comes on, because
I know you guys are You're much taller than Ken is,
So I'm going to let that one pass before we go.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I am the same height. I'm the same height as
Ken Rosenthal. And a few years ago, a very ambitious reporter,
I mean a researcher at ESPN looked this up that
fifty two percent of the kids at the Little League
World Series that year were taller than me. I think
that was unnecessary research. So one of the kids, one
(12:59):
of the years, I'll never forget this. This kid's name
was Terrence. He was from South Carolina. He was legit
five eleven, one hundred and eighty five pounds, and he
hit a ball three hundred and seventy five feet at
the Little League World Series. He hit it like one
hundred and fifty feet over the fence. It was unbelievable.
So I talked to him on live TV like after
(13:23):
the game, and jokingly I said to Terrence five eleven,
one eighty five, I said, when was the last time
you were my size? And he looked at me. He
thought about it for a second, and he goes, I
was in the second grade. That's what he said. So
there's no telling what the kids might say when you
ask them a question, because that's the best part about
(13:44):
this is the answers that they give. Would you ask
him a question? Some of those kids are really funny
and really clever.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I love it. I love it. I love it. So
that's great, all right. These two teams, the Mariners and
the Mets playing in this game. Mariners run fire a
great trade deadline. The Mets have been wishy washy to
be nice to what they've done since the trade deadline.
The Mariners, we keep thinking, have a great chance to
win the West. Can the Mets make up the ground
on the Phillies in the East and make a deep
playoff run the way they're assembled? And can the Mariners, Gosh,
(14:15):
I can't believe about to say this actually get to
the World Series and win it.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I think the Mariners are good enough to get to
the World Series and win it, because I'm just not sure,
even in a stout National League, that there's a team
out there that you look at and say, this team's
gonna win the World Series. You know, the Dodgers are
still the best team for me. Once they get everybody
healthy and playing the way they should be. But the
(14:40):
Padres are really good, the Phillies are really good. The
Brewers are the best team in baseball. The Cubs can
really hit. But the Mariners have something different now. They
have a really good starting rotation, which hasn't been great
this year, and it's eventually is gonna be at its
best before this year is over. The bullpen is load
with power arms, but most important, they're one through six
(15:03):
in the order. This might be the most formidable lineup
they've had that I've seen from the Mariners in maybe
twenty five years. So I think they have a chance
to go to the World Series for the first time.
And yes, I think they have a chance to win
it now. Again, you could say that about six, seven,
eight other teams right now, but to leave the Mariners
(15:23):
out of the equation would be a mistake. As for
the Mets, I don't see why they don't score more runs,
and maybe last night was the start of good offense
to come. I don't think they're going to run down
the rundown the Phillies because of the Phillies starting rotation,
but I think the Mets are going to make the playoffs,
and if you make the playoffs in today's day and age,
you have a chance to go a long way.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Are the Mets a team that will be disappointed to
be a wild card in the sense that they put
all this money into Juan Soto, But at the beginning
of the season they knew they're starting pitching, wasn't they
had Sham and ayah. They were hoping David Peterson was
awesome and he's been awesome from there. They didn't solidify
(16:07):
a pitching type of player that is equivalent to the
Juan Soto type of position player.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
If they just make the playoffs, I don't think it's
going to be a big disappointment, because, you know, as
a wild card, because they played so poorly here, they
had the best record in baseball in the middle of June,
and two months later they're struggling to make the playoffs.
So I think if they're completely honest, they'll just say,
all right, get us in the playoffs. We'll take our
chances from there. Now, if you ask them, should we
(16:39):
have won this division, they'll probably say, well, yeah, but
we played poorly for two months. That has to end,
and I think it will. I think they're going to
score a bunch more runs. And I'm with you, Eric,
I don't see their starting pitching as being so good
that they're just going to overtake the Phillies and then
you know, run the table in October. But they're still
a dangerous team. Like I said, you get in the
(17:01):
playoffs in October. In baseball anymore, you have a chance.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Tim, how do you think the first season has gone
for Juan Soto. I we haven't talked about him as
much lately, but what would be your evaluation of year
one of the biggest contract of all time.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Well, he hasn't been the player I thought he would be.
I mean, he's been productive. He's hit a bunch of homers,
a lot of them with nobody on base. He is
way better than a two point fifty hitter or whatever
he's hitting right now. It's right around there, and I
think he's gonna get hot. I just think he's too
good of a hitter to struggle like this. And when
(17:38):
I say struggle, he should be hitting over three hundred.
He's that good of a hitter. I just think it's
been an adjustment. I think, like it was in San Diego,
was an adjustment there you know, when he walks in,
there are a bunch of other star players there. I
think it takes him and everyone else a little bit
time to figure out where everybody's going. Although it didn't
take much time with the Yankees. He was really good
(18:01):
right away and all season for them. Same thing hasn't
happened with the Mets. But again, there's six weeks to go,
and I fully expect him to get really hot and
carry them into the playoffs. I've been saying that all year.
I think it's gonna happen. It just really truly hasn't
happened yet.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Hey, Tim, I have the Yankees Cardinals this weekend on
Fox on Saturday. Yankees. What's going on in New York?
We keep saying, don't blame Marin Boon, it's just the
way the roster was assembled. But can this team be
dangerous if they get into the postseason? Because right now
they're teetering on the edge, also with the Guardians chasing
them down. Do you think the Yankees can be dangerous
if they get into the postseason?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yeah? Again, Aj, everyone's dangerous in the postseason because no, no, no, no,
But they're no great teams out there. Do I think
the Yankees are going to make the playoffs, Yes, barely
I do. Would I make them the favorite when they
get to October, Absolutely not. But if you tell me
that the Tigers are just going to overwhelm people in October,
(19:00):
the answer is no. Neither the Mariners or the Astros,
or the Rangers or the Blue Jays or anybody else
with no dominant team. I think the Yankees could be
dangerous if Aaron Judge is at his best and John
Carlos Stanton swings the bat like he always does in
October seemingly, and Anthony Volpi has been hot lately. But
(19:21):
there's also just as good a chance that the Yankees
won't even make the playoffs, or they get there and
their bullpen lets him down, or they become the all
or nothing Yankees who don't seem to be able to
get a big hit when they need them and still
live and die with a homer and then make two
terrible base running mistakes in one weekend. So they are
a flawed team. There's no doubt. I'm just saying all
(19:45):
the teams in the American League are flawed. Giving the
Yankees a chance.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
The American League has not looked like he usually does
really the last couple of years now, at least in
my opinion. We'll see you know if that changes going forward.
Awesome to have you on. Thank you for double coverage
this week on the FT network. You were great on
Fair Territory the other day, and just want to remind
everyone on your way out, you're going to be part
of ESPN's Baseball tonight coverage live onsite from Williams Support.
(20:12):
We talked about it earlier in this conversation. It sounds awesome.
It's always super fun. It is must watch seven o'clock
Eastern Sunday. It's the Mets and the Mariners. Thank you
so much, Tim. Good to see you all right, boys,
see it, Thank you, see it.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
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Speaker 4 (21:28):
Yeah, that's what he said.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
That's what he said.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
That's what he said.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
That's what he said. All right, So we've got more
on this lawsuit with shohy Otani defending himself against the
real estate developer and the guy that was going to
do the sales, and they both got fired and they
said that Otani's camp intervened. They said it was really
coming from his representation. But your representation represents who does
(21:56):
representation represent?
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Guys?
Speaker 5 (21:57):
Easiest question I'll ever.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Ask a player. Yeah, you personally right.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So if they're doing it, they're speaking for you even
though it's not him. In BOD, I don't think anybody
expected Otani on phone calls being like, hey, if you
don't do what I say, I'm pulling out of this
real estate deal and getting you fired. But somebody is
doing that and representing you, and they're accusing this situation
of happening. So Sam Blum doing the good work for
the athletic. He spoke to Josh Schiller, head of sports
(22:26):
and gaming at a law firm that I can't pronounce,
but they represent the two guys that are going after
Otani and Nesblelo his representation they Shiller said they tried
to negotiate a resolution privately, so they tried to settle
and they were unable to resolve the matter. He also
said that Bilello became a destructive force by inserting himself
(22:49):
into every aspect of the relationship. These are all allegations.
He alleged that they responded to business matters with stonewalling
and hostility while threatening default if he didn't get his way,
so I guess not paying for the property as well.
They still caused you know, a lot of ruck is
here if they actually did get these two guys fired,
which is what they are accusing. The defendants of large
(23:13):
portions of the lawsuit are redacted. The plaintiffs filed a
subsequent request to lift the redactions from the initial plate.
That means that the law firm and the developer that
are suing Otani wanted things to be stated publicly, and
there's certain information that is at least at the moment,
being held back. So we'll see what happens.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
There and later.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
The lawyer for them also said that he doesn't think
they have a case for countersuing, and he doesn't think
they have a case for an NIL breach NIL as
in name, image likeness, where you know Otani originally signed
on where they could do certain things with him for
this real estate project as far as marketing it and saying, hey,
Otani lives here. But I guess Otani's camp thinks they
(23:53):
went too far, get ugly. And the thing that stood
out to me was that they were talking and they
were I guess working on at least according to the
plaintiff side, and they didn't figure it out, so it
starts to make things more public. I guess they could
have avoided all of this. Now the other side could
have been asked for a lot of money. They're fighting it,
but this this is messy. This is not clean. As
(24:13):
we learn more about what's going on here and aj
I know we talked about it yesterday, the comments.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Are literally the political spectrum.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
You have one side that wants to accuse Aatwani of
everything for the last two years. Right, he's in on this,
He's in on that. I think that's crazy. You have
the other side that's like, how dare anybody even talk
about this topic, like you're unfairly targeting him. Well, maybe
somebody's unfairly targeting him, but we're just covering the story.
And then most people are in the middle, like this
is a pretty crappy situation to be involved in, and
(24:40):
things are gonna, you know, get very public and very ugly.
If there's a rich history here between the two parties,
and this real estate project's been going on for ten
plus years and Otani's been signed on since twenty twenty three,
so there's going to be some history between these two
of back and forth that would think you don't want public.
But if he truly believes that he's the right, he's
going to fight it. It's just that he's not going
(25:02):
to be able to maintain a lot of privacy during
that time period.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
No, you're right, there's a lot of things that could
come out, and Otani's a very private person. But what
did he sign? What did Otani sign? What did Nesblelo
sign on his behalf?
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Right?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
What did What was the agreement they had? You said yesterday,
Scott that there was an uh that I believe you
said there was a video of Otani talking about this
place and how excited he wherever he was for it.
So I don't know. He can't say if there's that video,
then he can't say he didn't know anything about it,
because at some point nes Bolelo had to come to
(25:35):
him and say, hey, we need to make this video for.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
This Oh yeah, he knows about it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
And the rumors that there's some type of promotional voiceover
or something like that, right there, there was some type
of marketing agreement that was made. We'll find out more
of the details of what that agreement was. I don't
think any everything's been released yet. But yeah, let's not
act like someone is signing houses to his name.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
No, I know, this whole thing is I'm just fast
by what's going to come out of this because I
don't know, Like I'm not a lawyer. I just play
one on you and crats get into a fight and
I'm like a divorce lawyer, so I have to play
that on the show. But other than that, I don't
know enough about this. But it's going to be fascinating
once all the details start coming out of this and
what they are trying to get out of Otani. What
Otani's trying to you know, say he did what nez
(26:19):
Bilolo says he did? What Now the company, of course,
the company that came out said oh, no, everything's fine,
this is a great yeah, because they have how much
money invests two hundred and fifty million, seventeen million dollar homes.
This isn't like it's a you know, it's it's it's
mobile homes and places that are very affordable for the
normal person. This is a place that is you know,
(26:41):
exclusive as it gets right. So of course the group
that is going to come out and say, oh, everything's perfect,
nothing to see here, nothing to see here, just keep
on building, right, So of course they're going to say that.
So what happens next is going to be fascinating.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, And there's going to be a lot more investigative
work by good journalists like Sam Blum to keep figuring
things out and krats. The general public's going to be
interested in this. This is one of the most famous
human beings on the planet.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
Yes, and when you're under a microscope. And I think
part of this not saying it would go away, but
Showhayed very rarely makes himself available to answer any questions.
AJ has said this countless times. AJ has been an
all star. He was a borderline superstar. My word really
(27:34):
doesn't matter, Like I can come out and say something
people don't really care. But when you're a star, people
want to hear what you have to say. If he
would speak more, I think there'd be less people on
the side of Oh, he was definitely involved with the
epay stuff. He's definitely involved with this. He is this
bad guy. The only reason people are saying that is
because they don't know anything. And everybody on the other
(27:56):
side is like, no, he's perfect. Why is he perfect?
Have you ever heard him say he's perfect? Have you
ever seen him put himself out there in a situation? No, Like,
there's there's a he has a shroud of secrecy that
I think situations like this may be able to be
diffused in the public eye if he were able to,
(28:18):
if he would come out and just.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Just chatter, just talk with the boys.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, you'll probably get a statement or something. Obviously, it's
a lawsuit, so right now you're not gonna get much.
And you know you can be strategic with when you
put the lawsuit out. You know, it happens to come
out when the Angels are playing the Dodgers. We're in
the thick of the baseball season, you know. I mean
usually have a time period where if you feel like
there's what I'm doing, you can sue. So that's the
(28:45):
right of the plaintiff, and then you can defend yourself
in counter suit. So to be continued. We learned a
little bit more from Sam Blom getting some quotes.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
And I'm sure people are gonna start digging they settle.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Oh yeah, like you said, though, people are gonna start
digging are pretty quick, pretty deep into this guy. Because
there's a lot of money involved in this.
Speaker 5 (29:05):
There's a lot redacted. That was the other thing about.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
So if there's a lot redacted, that means most likely
it's eventually going to come out again unless there is
a settlement. And sometimes this stuff like starts to eat
its way to publicity, and then it gets pulled back
where the other side's like, hey, I don't want to
deal with this, let's settle. That often is the case
in lawsuits. But if not, it is going to be
a to be continued situation. We'll keep covering it.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
So anyway, that's step two, day two of the saga.
Figure, we'll bring out the craziest stat of the week
right before we talk to Tim kirkchen who We'll be
back with the TV crowd here in two minutes and
we'll talk Little League World Classic or Little League Baseball
Classic coming up on ESPN on Sunday. But the Twins
are forty four and one twenty five against the Yankees
since two thousand and two. Aja, your boys got smacked again.
(00:26):
You're og franchise can't really handle the Yanks. They're getting
them hot.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
They are I don't know what to say.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
This is one of the most unbelievable stats of all times.
Just players, turnover, managers turnover, front offices have turned well,
I guess the Yankees have stayed the same with the
front offices of the Twins have turned over, and they've
changed stadiums. Both organizations have got new stadiums in this
time and nothing has changed the Yankees. Yeah, the Yankees
(01:00):
beat the Twins. So that's it. The Yankees beat the Twins.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
The pole AADs haven't taken one at bat. The pole
AADs haven't taken one at bat. This is an anomaly
that we get to look at. But shocker AJ is
involved with another team that has a brutal record forty
one and forty one and one twenty one white sox
AJ's team forty four and one five Twins.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Had nothing, had nothing to do with either one of
those things. Just saying, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Once you leave, they all suck. So stop leaving, stop quitting,
stay with the team, help them out.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
One time, have grossed me. I didn't want to leave
the Twins. I was traded traded away. Still they got
you know what they got from Mick, Mick abel and tight,
so go able and tight. See what they turn those
guys into.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So their record against the Yankees produces a two sixty
winning percentage two thousand and two including playoffs, and that
includes nine straight losses against all other teams. Since two
thousand and two, the Twins have a five fourteen winning percentage.
What it's not like we're looking at this team like, oh,
it's one of the worst teams ever. This franchise been
(02:14):
a joke for twenty years. Like, no, they consistently, we'll
we'll hang around, not against the Yankees. We'll ask Tim
about it.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
I'm suressing in the playoffs. Look at the just use
the record in the playoffs, use the playoff record, it's
even worse.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Sorry, Twins fans, I know today's tough, but we cover
the news. Legendary Tim Kirkton joining us right now. He'll
be part of ESPN's Baseball Night coverage live on site
from Williamsport this Sunday for the Little League Classic.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Excited to get into that real quick before we do. Tim.
Great to see you, Great to have you on.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Did you hear our conversation at all about that ridiculous
Twins record since two thousand and two.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
I'm sure you've been following that one.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, it's absurd. I can't understand it. I was driving
home last night from New York listening to the Yankees
Twins game, and Paul Molitor was doing the color and
he made kind of the same point that Aj did.
That Look, this doesn't make any sense, he goes. The
players aren't even aware of it. The Yankee players aren't
(03:18):
aware of it. But it just keeps on happening. And
this is why baseball is so great, and so many
things are just unexplainable, and this is one of them.
There's no reason the Twins should be this bad against
the Yankees and Yankees. This good against the Twins. But
this is why baseball is so good, is it doesn't
(03:40):
make any sense so many days of the week.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, this is wacky, wacky news.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
While we're on them too, what did you think of
the team announcing that they're going to keep the ownership
group intact there? I mean, we had been led to
believe for the past year that it was going to
be a new leaf for this ball club. Were you
surprised as I was to see that they're actually hold on.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I was surprised. I am surprised, but maybe we shouldn't be.
You know, I live outside of Washington, d C. And
the Nationals have been up for sale for a long time,
and then they didn't get the price they wanted and
pulled the team back and said, Okay, we're not selling
the team. Ardy Moreno did the same thing with the Angels.
(04:22):
He's gonna sell the team, and then he decided I'm
not going to sell the team, and then the poleads
say we're gonna sell the team, and now we're not
going to sell the team. It's possible that all of
these owners are recognizing they're not maybe they're not getting
exactly what they want. For the team and then they're
going to hang on until, say, the price goes up.
But maybe this isn't a shock, but it was a
(04:44):
surprise to me because it seemed pretty pretty understandable that
they're going to sell the team and now they're just
looking for investors instead.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Tim, we we just kind of talked about this, We
talked about this earlier, but Rob Manford came out a
couple months ago and said, Oh, it's definitely happen. It's
not if they win so and he's like, I know
more than anybody else did. So something changed behind the scenes,
because when Rob Manford usually says something like that, it
doesn't go off the rails like kind of this one
that it normally sticks to exactly what he's saying.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, something must have happened, just like something happened with
the Nationals and something happen with the Angels. And again,
these are really sharp businessmen who are used to winning,
Like every negotiation that they're in, they get the last
dollar on everything that they do in every business that
they run. But baseball doesn't often work that way. You
(05:37):
don't get exactly what you want in baseball. Sometimes you
have to overpay to get a player. Sometimes you have
to sell something for less than what you think it's worth.
But these guys are used to getting whatever they want,
and if they don't get it, they're pulling the team back.
Maybe I don't know, maybe that's what's happening.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
We have a little breaking news on Hello Fresh.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
We've talked about him for a long time, but this
summer they have their biggest menu upgrade yet.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
Ready for this, Todd Father, talk to me.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
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Speaker 6 (06:17):
That's incredible. But to start out, what they had before
was absolutely perfect. Now to add even more to your
go Guys like me, I got baseball in the morning,
I got baseball afternoon all day every day I need
something to get going. I need something to eat and
it's absolutely delicious.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Scott.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
That's right, Todd Father. The best way to cook just
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(06:54):
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Speaker 4 (06:55):
Do you feel like there should be some kind of
stipulation because of how much you love the game, how
much we love it as players want to see winners,
there should be some type of stipulation that owners have
to try to win because this is this is a sport,
this is a competitive like more of a penalty for
not winning. Not saying there's relegation, I'm not saying all
(07:17):
that kind of stuff, but do you feel like there
should be some type of penalty because when you look
at a team like the pole Ads, I mean an
organization like the pole Ads, they're not setting their players
up or their city up for having a successful team.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Well, I would like to see everyone try to win, Eric,
but it's hard to prove whether you're trying to win
or not. You know. Thirty years ago, Sandy Alderson, then
the general manager of the A's I guess at the time,
said what is a successful franchise? Is it a team
that makes the playoffs every year or is it a
(07:50):
team that never makes the playoffs but makes money every year.
What is the successful franchise a team that loses money
but wins, or a team that makes money and loses.
And I think that discussion still has to be had
today because I think that's still a relevant question.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, invest and then the franchise value will sort We've
seen that happen. Don't forget fans. The Dodgers were a
prime example of that. The Dodgers were in a very
different place fifteen years ago when they were run by
Frank McCort, and look at them now. They are an
absolute powerhouse. Tim, I'm going to take us to the
Little League Classic that's coming up on Sunday on ESPN.
(08:32):
You've got two great teams too, that are in the
thick of a playoff race with the Mets and the Mariners.
But first, give us the goods on what we can
expect there, what the coverage will be like, how much
you look forward to this?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, I've covered every one of the Little League Classics
and they're all great. Trust me, fellas, if you haven't
been there for when the teams arrive, it's stunning, it's breathtaking.
As soon as they get off the bus, they are
just surrounded by kids, and before long, the players are
into it just as much as the kids are because
(09:06):
they've all watched the Little League World Series when they
were twelve years old. And the Little League World Series
is on in every clubhouse in the major leagues every
single day because it fascinates the big leaders, as it should.
And when these guys walk in, like Aaron I was
there last year. When Aaron Judge walked in, it was unbelievable.
(09:26):
He couldn't take a step without being just besieged by people,
and he did a great job handling it. And all
players do the best they can. A couple of years ago,
Bryce Harper was here and he's sitting in the stands
watching the Pennsylvania team, you know Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and
one of these kids from Pennsylvania like hits a rocket
(09:49):
shot and Bryce Harper is there to see it. So
at the Little League Classic that night, at the real
major league ballpark, the kids are all there, like only
kids are invited to the Little League Classic, another reason
it worked so well. And Bryce Harper walks past the
front row and the kid that he saw had a
(10:09):
line drive. Bryce Harper goes up to him on his
way to home plate in a major league game and says, boy,
I hope I hit one as hard as you hit
one today. And it was like the greatest thing that
ever happened to that kid. And then Harper brought him
an autographed bat and gave it to him as he
sat in the stands and watched a major league game.
(10:31):
That's what the Little League Classic is about. To me.
It's about the kids watching the big leaguers. But it's
just as important that the big leaguers are engaging with
the kids. It is a wonderful, wonderful scene.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
They show that often on TVs. There's something that you're
banging the drum about that needs to be shown. That
is your favorite part of this whole weekend, this whole
Little League Classic that we're not seeing on TV because
you get of background stuff. Is there something that we
that we that we should be looking out for or
(11:05):
that you're hoping that they show on TV.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Well, we weren't able to show this a few years ago,
but now we do see. I ride the bus now
every year in from the airport with the team with
the kids on the bus, and now the last year
was the Tigers and I were sitting on the bus
with a bunch of kids, and they were asking, of course,
the greatest questions in the world. Because kids are so uninhibited,
(11:30):
they just say whatever they want to say. It's great.
But what I wish we had a camera on was
the first year I went on a bus. We didn't
have the camera there. But Reese Hoskins of the Phillies,
who was a star player at the time, like told
a kid, let me see how good a dancer you are.
And this twelve year old starts dance while the bus
(11:51):
is driving, and then he gets into a dance contest
with Reese Hoskins on the bus. It was absolutely priced
to see a big leaguer and a twelve year old
having a dance contest on the bus. The twelve year
old one, as I recall, as most twelve year old
should against most adults because no adults are good dancers.
(12:13):
No male can dance in my opinion, but Reyese Hoskins
was pretty good. The twelve year old was better.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Tim If Rosenthal was on right now, I'd say it's
because you can. You love this event so much because
Ken could look him in the eye. But I'm not
going to make a short joke today. So I understand,
I'm gonna save that for when Ken comes on, because
I know you guys are You're much taller than Ken is,
So I'm going to let that one pass before we go.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I am the same height. I'm the same height as
Ken Rosenthal. And a few years ago, a very ambitious reporter,
I mean a researcher at ESPN looked this up that
fifty two percent of the kids at the Little League
World Series that year were taller than me. I think
that was unnecessary research. So one of the kids, one
(12:59):
of the years, I'll never forget this. This kid's name
was Terrence. He was from South Carolina. He was legit
five eleven, one hundred and eighty five pounds, and he
hit a ball three hundred and seventy five feet at
the Little League World Series. He hit it like one
hundred and fifty feet over the fence. It was unbelievable.
So I talked to him on live TV like after
(13:23):
the game, and jokingly I said to Terrence five eleven,
one eighty five, I said, when was the last time
you were my size? And he looked at me. He
thought about it for a second, and he goes, I
was in the second grade. That's what he said. So
there's no telling what the kids might say when you
ask them a question, because that's the best part about
(13:44):
this is the answers that they give. Would you ask
him a question? Some of those kids are really funny
and really clever.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I love it. I love it. I love it. So
that's great, all right. These two teams, the Mariners and
the Mets playing in this game. Mariners run fire a
great trade deadline. The Mets have been wishy washy to
be nice to what they've done since the trade deadline.
The Mariners, we keep thinking, have a great chance to
win the West. Can the Mets make up the ground
on the Phillies in the East and make a deep
playoff run the way they're assembled? And can the Mariners, Gosh,
(14:15):
I can't believe about to say this actually get to
the World Series and win it.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I think the Mariners are good enough to get to
the World Series and win it, because I'm just not sure,
even in a stout National League, that there's a team
out there that you look at and say, this team's
gonna win the World Series. You know, the Dodgers are
still the best team for me. Once they get everybody
healthy and playing the way they should be. But the
(14:40):
Padres are really good, the Phillies are really good. The
Brewers are the best team in baseball. The Cubs can
really hit. But the Mariners have something different now. They
have a really good starting rotation, which hasn't been great
this year, and it's eventually is gonna be at its
best before this year is over. The bullpen is load
with power arms, but most important, they're one through six
(15:03):
in the order. This might be the most formidable lineup
they've had that I've seen from the Mariners in maybe
twenty five years. So I think they have a chance
to go to the World Series for the first time.
And yes, I think they have a chance to win
it now. Again, you could say that about six, seven,
eight other teams right now, but to leave the Mariners
(15:23):
out of the equation would be a mistake. As for
the Mets, I don't see why they don't score more runs,
and maybe last night was the start of good offense
to come. I don't think they're going to run down
the rundown the Phillies because of the Phillies starting rotation,
but I think the Mets are going to make the playoffs,
and if you make the playoffs in today's day and age,
you have a chance to go a long way.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Are the Mets a team that will be disappointed to
be a wild card in the sense that they put
all this money into Juan Soto, But at the beginning
of the season they knew they're starting pitching, wasn't they
had Sham and ayah. They were hoping David Peterson was
awesome and he's been awesome from there. They didn't solidify
(16:07):
a pitching type of player that is equivalent to the
Juan Soto type of position player.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
If they just make the playoffs, I don't think it's
going to be a big disappointment, because, you know, as
a wild card, because they played so poorly here, they
had the best record in baseball in the middle of June,
and two months later they're struggling to make the playoffs.
So I think if they're completely honest, they'll just say,
all right, get us in the playoffs. We'll take our
chances from there. Now, if you ask them, should we
(16:39):
have won this division, they'll probably say, well, yeah, but
we played poorly for two months. That has to end,
and I think it will. I think they're going to
score a bunch more runs. And I'm with you, Eric,
I don't see their starting pitching as being so good
that they're just going to overtake the Phillies and then
you know, run the table in October. But they're still
a dangerous team. Like I said, you get in the
(17:01):
playoffs in October. In baseball anymore, you have a chance.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Tim, how do you think the first season has gone
for Juan Soto. I we haven't talked about him as
much lately, but what would be your evaluation of year
one of the biggest contract of all time.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Well, he hasn't been the player I thought he would be.
I mean, he's been productive. He's hit a bunch of homers,
a lot of them with nobody on base. He is
way better than a two point fifty hitter or whatever
he's hitting right now. It's right around there, and I
think he's gonna get hot. I just think he's too
good of a hitter to struggle like this. And when
(17:38):
I say struggle, he should be hitting over three hundred.
He's that good of a hitter. I just think it's
been an adjustment. I think, like it was in San Diego,
was an adjustment there you know, when he walks in,
there are a bunch of other star players there. I
think it takes him and everyone else a little bit
time to figure out where everybody's going. Although it didn't
take much time with the Yankees. He was really good
(18:01):
right away and all season for them. Same thing hasn't
happened with the Mets. But again, there's six weeks to go,
and I fully expect him to get really hot and
carry them into the playoffs. I've been saying that all year.
I think it's gonna happen. It just really truly hasn't
happened yet.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Hey, Tim, I have the Yankees Cardinals this weekend on
Fox on Saturday. Yankees. What's going on in New York?
We keep saying, don't blame Marin Boon, it's just the
way the roster was assembled. But can this team be
dangerous if they get into the postseason? Because right now
they're teetering on the edge, also with the Guardians chasing
them down. Do you think the Yankees can be dangerous
if they get into the postseason?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yeah? Again, Aj, everyone's dangerous in the postseason because no, no, no, no,
But they're no great teams out there. Do I think
the Yankees are going to make the playoffs, Yes, barely
I do. Would I make them the favorite when they
get to October, Absolutely not. But if you tell me
that the Tigers are just going to overwhelm people in October,
(19:00):
the answer is no. Neither the Mariners or the Astros,
or the Rangers or the Blue Jays or anybody else
with no dominant team. I think the Yankees could be
dangerous if Aaron Judge is at his best and John
Carlos Stanton swings the bat like he always does in
October seemingly, and Anthony Volpi has been hot lately. But
(19:21):
there's also just as good a chance that the Yankees
won't even make the playoffs, or they get there and
their bullpen lets him down, or they become the all
or nothing Yankees who don't seem to be able to
get a big hit when they need them and still
live and die with a homer and then make two
terrible base running mistakes in one weekend. So they are
a flawed team. There's no doubt. I'm just saying all
(19:45):
the teams in the American League are flawed. Giving the
Yankees a chance.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
The American League has not looked like he usually does
really the last couple of years now, at least in
my opinion. We'll see you know if that changes going forward.
Awesome to have you on. Thank you for double coverage
this week on the FT network. You were great on
Fair Territory the other day, and just want to remind
everyone on your way out, you're going to be part
of ESPN's Baseball tonight coverage live onsite from Williams Support.
(20:12):
We talked about it earlier in this conversation. It sounds awesome.
It's always super fun. It is must watch seven o'clock
Eastern Sunday. It's the Mets and the Mariners. Thank you
so much, Tim. Good to see you all right, boys,
see it, Thank you, see it.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Thank you. Kratz.
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Speaker 4 (21:28):
Yeah, that's what he said.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
That's what he said.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
That's what he said.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
That's what he said. All right, So we've got more
on this lawsuit with shohy Otani defending himself against the
real estate developer and the guy that was going to
do the sales, and they both got fired and they
said that Otani's camp intervened. They said it was really
coming from his representation. But your representation represents who does
(21:56):
representation represent?
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Guys?
Speaker 5 (21:57):
Easiest question I'll ever.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Ask a player. Yeah, you personally right.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So if they're doing it, they're speaking for you even
though it's not him. In BOD, I don't think anybody
expected Otani on phone calls being like, hey, if you
don't do what I say, I'm pulling out of this
real estate deal and getting you fired. But somebody is
doing that and representing you, and they're accusing this situation
of happening. So Sam Blum doing the good work for
the athletic. He spoke to Josh Schiller, head of sports
(22:26):
and gaming at a law firm that I can't pronounce,
but they represent the two guys that are going after
Otani and Nesblelo his representation they Shiller said they tried
to negotiate a resolution privately, so they tried to settle
and they were unable to resolve the matter. He also
said that Bilello became a destructive force by inserting himself
(22:49):
into every aspect of the relationship. These are all allegations.
He alleged that they responded to business matters with stonewalling
and hostility while threatening default if he didn't get his way,
so I guess not paying for the property as well.
They still caused you know, a lot of ruck is
here if they actually did get these two guys fired,
which is what they are accusing. The defendants of large
(23:13):
portions of the lawsuit are redacted. The plaintiffs filed a
subsequent request to lift the redactions from the initial plate.
That means that the law firm and the developer that
are suing Otani wanted things to be stated publicly, and
there's certain information that is at least at the moment,
being held back. So we'll see what happens.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
There and later.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
The lawyer for them also said that he doesn't think
they have a case for countersuing, and he doesn't think
they have a case for an NIL breach NIL as
in name, image likeness, where you know Otani originally signed
on where they could do certain things with him for
this real estate project as far as marketing it and saying, hey,
Otani lives here. But I guess Otani's camp thinks they
(23:53):
went too far, get ugly. And the thing that stood
out to me was that they were talking and they
were I guess working on at least according to the
plaintiff side, and they didn't figure it out, so it
starts to make things more public. I guess they could
have avoided all of this. Now the other side could
have been asked for a lot of money. They're fighting it,
but this this is messy. This is not clean. As
(24:13):
we learn more about what's going on here and aj
I know we talked about it yesterday, the comments.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Are literally the political spectrum.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
You have one side that wants to accuse Aatwani of
everything for the last two years. Right, he's in on this,
He's in on that. I think that's crazy. You have
the other side that's like, how dare anybody even talk
about this topic, like you're unfairly targeting him. Well, maybe
somebody's unfairly targeting him, but we're just covering the story.
And then most people are in the middle, like this
is a pretty crappy situation to be involved in, and
(24:40):
things are gonna, you know, get very public and very ugly.
If there's a rich history here between the two parties,
and this real estate project's been going on for ten
plus years and Otani's been signed on since twenty twenty three,
so there's going to be some history between these two
of back and forth that would think you don't want public.
But if he truly believes that he's the right, he's
going to fight it. It's just that he's not going
(25:02):
to be able to maintain a lot of privacy during
that time period.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
No, you're right, there's a lot of things that could
come out, and Otani's a very private person. But what
did he sign? What did Otani sign? What did Nesblelo
sign on his behalf?
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Right?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
What did What was the agreement they had? You said yesterday,
Scott that there was an uh that I believe you
said there was a video of Otani talking about this
place and how excited he wherever he was for it.
So I don't know. He can't say if there's that video,
then he can't say he didn't know anything about it,
because at some point nes Bolelo had to come to
(25:35):
him and say, hey, we need to make this video for.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
This Oh yeah, he knows about it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
And the rumors that there's some type of promotional voiceover
or something like that, right there, there was some type
of marketing agreement that was made. We'll find out more
of the details of what that agreement was. I don't
think any everything's been released yet. But yeah, let's not
act like someone is signing houses to his name.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
No, I know, this whole thing is I'm just fast
by what's going to come out of this because I
don't know, Like I'm not a lawyer. I just play
one on you and crats get into a fight and
I'm like a divorce lawyer, so I have to play
that on the show. But other than that, I don't
know enough about this. But it's going to be fascinating
once all the details start coming out of this and
what they are trying to get out of Otani. What
Otani's trying to you know, say he did what nez
(26:19):
Bilolo says he did? What Now the company, of course,
the company that came out said oh, no, everything's fine,
this is a great yeah, because they have how much
money invests two hundred and fifty million, seventeen million dollar homes.
This isn't like it's a you know, it's it's it's
mobile homes and places that are very affordable for the
normal person. This is a place that is you know,
(26:41):
exclusive as it gets right. So of course the group
that is going to come out and say, oh, everything's perfect,
nothing to see here, nothing to see here, just keep
on building, right, So of course they're going to say that.
So what happens next is going to be fascinating.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, And there's going to be a lot more investigative
work by good journalists like Sam Blum to keep figuring
things out and krats. The general public's going to be
interested in this. This is one of the most famous
human beings on the planet.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
Yes, and when you're under a microscope. And I think
part of this not saying it would go away, but
Showhayed very rarely makes himself available to answer any questions.
AJ has said this countless times. AJ has been an
all star. He was a borderline superstar. My word really
(27:34):
doesn't matter, Like I can come out and say something
people don't really care. But when you're a star, people
want to hear what you have to say. If he
would speak more, I think there'd be less people on
the side of Oh, he was definitely involved with the
epay stuff. He's definitely involved with this. He is this
bad guy. The only reason people are saying that is
because they don't know anything. And everybody on the other
(27:56):
side is like, no, he's perfect. Why is he perfect?
Have you ever heard him say he's perfect? Have you
ever seen him put himself out there in a situation? No, Like,
there's there's a he has a shroud of secrecy that
I think situations like this may be able to be
diffused in the public eye if he were able to,
(28:18):
if he would come out and just.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Just chatter, just talk with the boys.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, you'll probably get a statement or something. Obviously, it's
a lawsuit, so right now you're not gonna get much.
And you know you can be strategic with when you
put the lawsuit out. You know, it happens to come
out when the Angels are playing the Dodgers. We're in
the thick of the baseball season, you know. I mean
usually have a time period where if you feel like
there's what I'm doing, you can sue. So that's the
(28:45):
right of the plaintiff, and then you can defend yourself
in counter suit. So to be continued. We learned a
little bit more from Sam Blom getting some quotes.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
And I'm sure people are gonna start digging they settle.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Oh yeah, like you said, though, people are gonna start
digging are pretty quick, pretty deep into this guy. Because
there's a lot of money involved in this.
Speaker 5 (29:05):
There's a lot redacted. That was the other thing about.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
So if there's a lot redacted, that means most likely
it's eventually going to come out again unless there is
a settlement. And sometimes this stuff like starts to eat
its way to publicity, and then it gets pulled back
where the other side's like, hey, I don't want to
deal with this, let's settle. That often is the case
in lawsuits. But if not, it is going to be
a to be continued situation. We'll keep covering it.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
So anyway, that's step two, day two of the saga.
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