Yankees Are Jekyll & Hyde

Zach & Zack fill in for Levack & Goz to discuss what they think is wrong with the Yankees.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's Lavak and Guz on the Voiceof the Capitol Regions Sports Fan Fox Sports
ninety five, nine and nine eighty. Hello, it is Levac and Guz
here on Fox Sports. However,not Lavak and Gaze here today. It

(00:25):
is Zach and Zach. I amZach with Kay also known as Junior.
This is Zach with h So it'sZach. Thanks. How are you doing
today? Well? I could bedoing better if he gave me a good
nickname, like I mean you are. I mean, we've begun dubbing you
also, Baby Levac, So Imean that's also becoming a thing. Just
because we both have bushy beards andbushy bellies doesn't mean that I gotta be

(00:49):
Baby Levac. I mean, I'mjust saying, there are reasons why I'm
called Guz, reasons why you're calledLevak, and now we're here doing Lavak
and Gaza's show for them. Youknow, one thing that I think would
make Levac proud is if I justkeep playing this sound over and over again
throughout the whole show, dude,and sit on that night. I think

(01:10):
that is very Lovac like. Itis. I mean, you know what,
it's also very Lovak like the Yankees. This is his baby, and
unfortunately they haven't been doing exactly whatpeople thought they'd be. I mean,
we're three and ten over a thirteengame losing span. You drop two to
the Orioles, drop two to theBraves, and then you get swept in

(01:33):
a two game series by the Mets. Really just kind of spiraling out of
control at the moment, and they'relooking for a way to hit the brakes.
Where is this team, in youreyes, really gone wrong or gone
away from what the vision was fortwenty twenty four when you were bringing in
guys like Juan Soto to this team. Now, before we get into that,

(01:57):
in what I think is contributing tothat. I absolutely love what Marcus
Stroman did the other day in hislittle outburst when there was a routine double
play that he felt Labor Torres didn'tturn quick enough and he's screaming on the
mound at Glabor Torres. Now,ultimately Glabor Torres made up against the Blue

(02:19):
Jays, he had a nice homerun, but I think that sparked some
energy. And I know you reallydon't want to talk about Marcus Stroman being
a Mets fan, but I thoughtthat that could be the spark that could
be their quote unquote grimace moment.Now, ultimately he did try to apologize
for that later, but that's whatthey needed because going back to what you

(02:43):
said, you know, they lostthe series to the Braves, they got
swept by the Mets in two games. They lost the series to the Orioles
in the Red Sox. This wasa team that was reeling in the middle,
getting closer to the All Star Break. I contribute this to boringness.
Yeah, I could definitely see thatthis is a team that you know,

(03:06):
on paper, should be very exciting. I mean, you've got Aaron Judge,
the sixty two home run guy,You've got the Juan Soto, who's
one of the greatest hitters in baseball, and you know they're together platooning and
that this is the new age.And Garrett Cole just came back and everyone
was so excited for the return.And then Garrett Cole didn't get a single

(03:28):
strikeout and Garrett Cole got absolutely shelled. And the thing that became apparent in
that moment was it felt like thiswas a different Yankees team than we were
being sold. Kind of like yousaid, where it just felt boring and
to be honest, while I waswatching both Subway Series games, I also

(03:50):
felt that way where you know,this is supposed to be a team that
has a depth to it, butwhy does every game feel like you have
two players and no one else.That's the biggest concern that I have,
because I mean a team where youare second in the MLB in scoring runs
yep, but twelfth in the MLBand getting hits. Is this the Bronx

(04:16):
Bombers all over again? Is thisdo or die with the home run?
Is that what's happening? Or isit we are just so good but we
haven't won anything since two thousand andnine. We don't care about the regular
season. We don't maybe the divisiontitle, eh, whatever. As long
as we get into the postseason that'swhat matters. I've heard it from Steinbrenner's

(04:41):
mouth himself. Don't care about thedivision as long as we get in.
He said that, not forbade them, but in a sense. So I
feel that's trickled down to the Yankees, where they're just like, yeah,
you know, we're just gonna showup and win, and if we're not,
you know, we'll just make thepostseason and go win a championship.
It just seems like poor planning,you know, is this was a team

(05:02):
that had more depth but lesser pop, and then they kind of went the
other way with it. There isalso a big issue of injuries piling up
stands out rizozl and and those willdefinitely hurt you in that department. But
I'm also questioning the pitching. Youknow, your your tenth and whip seventeenth
and k's per nine, those aremajor stats. Yeah, you're you're what

(05:24):
third and ear fourth in the erain the MLB, which is not too
bad. But overall, though guysare getting on base on you, you're
not striking guys out. You're havingto pitch to contact type baseball, and
part of that is because you don'thave your ace, yep. But at
the same time, your believers aren'tstriking guys out. They're getting guys on
base, which is something Ay,you're not doing and b you're not stopping

(05:48):
those runners. Part of the reasonwhy Stroman's blowing up on on Flavor Torres
because he's a round ball pitcher,yes, and he's a ground ball pitcher
in the defense hasn't been there.Glabor is a player offensive and defensively has
not been what he should be orwhat he's been marketed to be. He's

(06:08):
a guy who, over his careerwe've always viewed as overrated or I mean,
sorry, underrated. But now atthe time, he seems overrated because
he's not living up to those marshthat he set for himself. Yep.
And Stroman had enough, and Iagree with you that this can be a
time where they re energize and revitalizeand we have to come together because we're

(06:29):
the Yankees. We're what New Yorkis supposed to be. We're supposed to
represent this city and not do whatwe're doing right now. I just think
overall, you look at the manager, you look at Aaron Judge. These
guys are not outspoken guys. Theseare soft, humble dudes. They needed

(06:49):
that Marcus Stroman moment. I reallytruly believe that they needed a guy to
energize them. Now. Marcus Stromanhas always been outspoken, so out spoke,
out spoke his way out of theNew York Mets uniform. Yep.
But I really feel that that waswhat was needed. Now. Do I
agree with the timing of it.Absolutely not. Because I went back and

(07:12):
watched that double play potential ball,and although I think labor Tors could have
handled it a little differently, hedid it the quickest that he could.
It just didn't turn out. Whenyou have a quick batter there, you
know, so you can't get bothouts. But ultimately I do think that's
what fired them up and woke upthe bats. So here's the thing I
will ask, though, what isthe difference between yelling at your player to

(07:35):
get them fired up and doing kindof what Jorge Lopez did where he walked
off the mountain threw his glove intothe stands. Where you're also yelling at
your team telling them they're not doingenough, and then you're spiraling with that.
Where is that line of I'm firingyou up versus I'm just crushing my

(07:57):
defense. I think you said itin that conversation that you're having with me,
is that he was spiraling with him. That's true. They're spiraling with
the team, so you're not helping. But when you're not spiraling and you're
trying to lift your team up,yeah, sometimes you gotta be big brother,
you gotta yell, you gotta getthe team amped up. Now,

(08:18):
it's a fine line. I willtell you right now, me playing pick
up basketball, I know that's nowherenear getting paid millions of dollars to play
baseball. But there's a fine linewith me trash talking to my own team
just to get them lifted up,and me taking it over the top where
it's just miserable for all of usand let's play the next game. Yeah,

(08:39):
and I think that that's something thatStroman definitely has an issue with.
But I still believe that you arecorrect and they have needed this guy because
Juan Soto's a guy too where heis a bit more outspoken. Mainly though
he converses with opposing teams and closingpitchers rather than his own. But hey,
whatever works for your own vitality.But I just wonder, I'll throw

(09:00):
this at you. If this wasa team that we're to go into the
postseason right now? Do you thinkthat this team would have a chance in
the postseason? Would they be competitive? What's your take on where they're going?
I think they need to stay healthy, and obviously that's hard to do
with Rizzo and standing out Stanton forwhatever reason, I feel bad for the

(09:22):
guy. He has always injured majortalent ever since Miami. Maybe that he
helped loosen up the body so hewasn't injured as often. Now he's playing
here in New York. Where's TadCalder from time to time? You know,
degrees colder, whatever you want tosay. Maybe that has a fact.
They're into it. No, we'renot doctors. We're not gonna comment

(09:43):
on that. But overall, Ithink this roster is good enough to bring
home a championship. I do,I really do. Now the Jeckyll and
Hide. If they're thinking when thepostseason comes, they're just gonna flip on
a switch, they have another thingcoming now. Mind you, we're saying
this in early July, so thereis plenty of baseball left. Oh yeah,

(10:07):
we still got the trade deadline.We've got a lot of things that
still have to pan out. Iwould like to see them bring in another
back end reliever that could be acloser if needed. Because play homes.
I do like play homes, butthere are times where, like you said,
they're giving up hits. Yes theyare, and I can't find it

(10:31):
right word quicksand yeah, their receiveror they're receivers, Oh my gosh,
their relievers are quicksand where one hitleads to another leads to another, and
so on and so forth, andthey're struggling to pump those brakes and just
stop runners getting on base or whena situation gets worse, they're walking guys

(10:52):
and they're struggling to get out ofpickles that they're putting themselves in. And
that's been the key thing. They'renot striking guys out in key moments.
You're not turning a ton of doubleplays, and that's where some frustration is
building on the defensive side of things. But you're still being carried enough with
your pop and you know the RBIsyou're driving in mainly thinks to Judge and

(11:13):
Soto that you've been competitive. Arewe still waiting on Carlos Jordon to be
what the Yankees expected him when theysigned him. I swear he's such a
wild card in that respect. BecauseBoone was talking about this because in his
last start, he gave up eightruns. It was not a good game,

(11:35):
and Aaron Bood comes out and sometimesAaron Boone specifically annoys me in this
regard because it comes out and hegoes, there was a lot of good
there. He goes, he hadeight strike. He goes, he had
a bunch of strikeouts. You know, he didn't walk a ton of guys
overall, there was a lot ofgood there. He beat a bush,
he gave up eight runs. Whatdo you mean there's a lot of good

(11:56):
there. That's a horrible outing.I don't care how many guys you struck
out. I don't care how manyguys you didn't walk. You gave up
runs, and that is a crucialpart of the game, and that's a
crucial part of what the Yankees areneeding right now, guys to stop runs
from being scored. The thing Iwant to ask you this is something that

(12:18):
came out from Stein, from theStein Runners themselves. They made a statement
about the Yankees roster of where itis now and going into next season,
saying that the way that the rosteris built is not going to be affordable
for the following season. How isthat even acceptable at this point with the

(12:41):
fact that you are the most valuablefranchise in all of sports, and you're
saying that your roster that isn't asfar as if on paper you don't have
the most expensive rosters, but you'resaying that that's not possible, especially when
you got guys like Soda on acontract year. Why are they even having

(13:03):
that conversation at this time. There'sa time and the place, and it's
not now. It's not during theseason. It's not at the beginning of
the season. It's in the offseason, before the season starts. It's
winter baseball. That's when it happens. The winner talks Soda. They cannot
afford to lose him. No,they cannot because if it wasn't for Judge

(13:26):
and Soto, which I think theyjust set a record, the only two
pair of teammates pair two. Yes, you know it's the same damn word.
Twenty home runs at least sixty pluswalks, yep, before the All
Star break. They're doing their job. Yeah, everyone wants to walk Judge
because you know what, power's alreadythere. They've seen it so many times

(13:48):
now. And Soda just has oneof the best eyes in baseball. And
if you don't throw him strikes,he's not swinging. So they're doing their
job. You can't afford to loseSodo. Are there any moves out there?
What do you think that they shoulddo? Do they look at a
first baseman, been talked about,been talked about potentially with the Mets.

(14:11):
As far as the potential acquisition occurring, Oh man, if Pete Alonso goes
to the Yankees, there was toomuch power there. I'm going to cry
because it's going to happen. ButI do agree there would be that would
be imagine a three four five ofSoto, Judge and Alonso. Do you

(14:33):
like Soto batting before Judge or doyou want him after Judge? Do you
want to protect too? I likehim before only because of his eye.
I like how much he walks,and I like how much he gets on
base to give because that's Judge's biggestissue. He's batting in the tool all
last year, UH had what hada ton of home runs, but just

(14:56):
he never has the RBI numbers becausethere's no one on base. Soto's always
on base for him. You gottwo guys that are hitting roughly three hundred,
They're getting walks, they're getting homeruns. What more do you want?
Something in this team has to wakeup. That's yes, as much
as you can say that is thecore problem. The team needs to wake

(15:16):
up. They need to re energize. And if the Yankees want a chance
when we're going down the stretch,that's what they're gonna need to do,
especially when you've got teams that areas hot as Baltimore and you know all
the other teams in the al rightnow who are going crazy. But coming
up we have the Knicks. We'regoing to talk about all the things going
on with them right now and ontheir way to a championship. Maybe next

(15:37):
year we'll find out all coming upnext