Hour 1: The Yankees Win

0:00A payday candy bar is miles and miles of peanuts. Salty crunchy peanut, sweet sweet caramel, wrapping you up with every bite. Enjoy the tasty journey, my friend. Payday, peanut caramel bar. This is the Michael K. Show podcast. I gotta get more K. Listen live, we visit one on the ESPN New York app and your smart speaker. And a good afternoon, everybody. This is indeed the Michael K. Show. We thank you for joining us on this Thursday, October 1st, 2026. It's me and you for two. Those are the rules of engagement. It's the fastest moving, two hours in sports talk radio. And it's fast moving because of you. You're the co-host and the membership number is 1-800-919-3776. We will start out with the Yankees beating the Red Sox last night by a score of 9-2. So in the two games, they outscored the Red Sox 18-2.

1:04And the Yankees move on to the American League Division series, which will start Saturday. First pitches at 630 in the TROP in St. Petersburg, Florida against the first place Tampa Bay raised what the best record in the American League. These two teams split, they didn't split 13 games. In 13 games, Tampa Bay 1-7. And the Yankees 1-6. But let's talk about the matchup between the Yankees and the Red Sox to say that it was lopsided, I think, as an understatement. The Red Sox, I look at them and I see their record of 8775. So they won six fewer games than the Yankees. And then I try to delve into the numbers because the team that I saw in these two games at Yankees stadium did not belong on the field with this Yankee team. It wasn't of the same level of talent. It wasn't on the same level of managing.

2:06It just looked like a bad team. So 87 and 75, when you consider that the Red Sox won on a 32 and 5 run. So if you took those 37 games and you made them 20 and 17, or whatever you want to go, you know, 23 and 14, which is a nice run, the Red Sox are not that good. If you took that run of 32 and 5 out and who knows how they went on that run, that's a quarter of the season. They might be an under 500 team. So for 37 games, they turned the baseball world on its ear and they got into the postseason and good for them. You can't take away 32 and 5. But when you take a broad view of that Red Sox team,

3:07they're not good. They're not that good. I don't know how they did it. I mean, you look at the players that they put out there on a daily basis. They're not that great. And then they made two big trades, which cost a lot of prospect capital. I mean, big time, players in their form system to get Adley Rushman, who really didn't do much for them offensively, and to get Eric Miller, who a lot of Yankee fans were very angry that the Yankees didn't empty their form system to get this hefty lefty. And he was a huge part of both of the losses and has been bad for about the last three weeks. So they gave up so many good young players, future players to make a run for it this year. And did they make a run essentially on false hope of 32 and 5 run?

4:09I don't know. And then on top of that, Chad Tracy, who I really, really like, I mean, what a delightful human being. I hate to say it. I hate to criticize people that I really like, but you tune into this show for honesty. He was in over his head. Aaron Boone managed circles around him. Absolute circles around him. I don't even know what Chad was thinking at times. In the first game, Peyton Toley is dealing. He's holding down a Yankee offense that is starting to click. And would Ben Rice coming up for the third time, Rice had a double in a strike out against Toley, he brings in Eric Miller. And Eric Miller tries to throw a fastball by Ben Rice, home run to Monument Park. Yesterday, the same deal, Sonny Gray,

5:10who's been the Red Sox Best Picture all year. He's in the fifth inning. And he gets all hot and heavy to bring an Eric Miller again. And after the game, I give credit to Sonny Gray said, I'm the best picture in the American League third time through the order. The statistic proved it. I would have liked to have had a chance to do it. And that's when the game unraveled for the Red Sox. His bullpen choices were not good, uninspired. He didn't get to. His high leverage guys to late in the game yesterday, never used them on Tuesday. And then the odd part, I was in the office. When you're doing national radio or national TV, you get a private audience with each of the managers for about 15 minutes. And he was asked, why did you manage the game the way you did in game one when you were only down to nothing? And he kind of talked gibberish.

6:11Again, he's such a good guy. It pains me to criticize him. But he said, well, we were having trouble scoring runs. And I didn't want to use my high leverage guys. Because if I use my high leverage guys, then I wouldn't be able to maybe I've got to win two games anyway. So at two nothing, he essentially said the Red Sox were not going to win. And that's the way he managed. And then the Yankees ended up blowing the game out. And you know why it's important to keep it at two nothing, even at four nothing? You know why? Because you make them used David Bednar. So game two is a close game. Then you probably impact how the Yankees can use their closer. And if there's a third game, well, the Yankees don't use their relief pitchers three days in a row. So that's why you want to keep the game close instead. It became a blowout with lower leverage guys. Very, very odd. And here's another oddity for the Red Sox. You know, when they were 14 games under 500,

7:14and they came back from losing two out of three in Colorado, they ended up sweeping the Yankees in four games at Fenway Park. And their whole season turned around. That started the 15 game winning streak, 32 and five, the whole deal. And they got lulled into a sense of things are OK here. Things are OK. So as they clinced a playoffs spot, although they didn't play well in September, they average under three runs per game. They picked up the options on the general manager, Craig Brezlow, who was about to be fired at the Yankees one, one of those four games in June. They might have fired Brezlow because they fired Alex Kora. Alex Kora. And then on top of that, Chad Tracy was given a three year extension, had the interim sign removed from his contract. So they've locked into a guy. This is the best way you could describe Chad Tracy as a career minor league manager. And this is no knock on minor league managers.

8:14They're just doing their job. Never in his professional managerial history before taking over the Red Sox, did he ever manage to win a game? He managed to develop players like Shelley Duncan for the Yankees. And the Scranton looks very. The Yankees tell him OK, Lagranhe can start today, but he can only throw 77 pitches. And it could be a big part of the game. At 77 pitches, Shelley Duncan has to take him out. That's the difference between managing in the minors and managing in the majors and major in the win every game. So I think in this series, the game is sped up for Chad. Now he's a young guy. And I hope that he gets better because I like him tremendously. But that was not a good performance by the Red Sox at all. So that's the Red Sox out of it. As for the Yankees, I was on the area, yes, after the game

9:15on the field. And the whole Yankee team after a champagne celebration, they came out, they took a picture in center field. So Aaron Boone was walking by me. And he stopped this after I was off the air and said, if we play like that, we can beat anybody. He said, I thought we played great in these two games. And it's not him hanging on the rim or something like that. They did play very well. They got great pitching from Slitler. They got great pitching from Max Fried. They got clutch hitting. Yesterday, every single person in the strutting line I've got to hit Yankees at 14 hits and all, that a big three run home run by Cody Belinger, they made some nice plays in the field. Every move that Boone made seemed like it paid off. And again, I say, Yankee fans complain about Boone as a manager. If Chad Tracy managed the way he managed in New York, this station might explode with anger from Yankee fans.

10:18I mean, if you want to see a good manager and a manager that's in over his head, all you have to do is watch these two games. So I understand this is the ninth year for Boone and they haven't won a championship. He did go to one World Series until, and if he wins a championship, that's the only time he's going to get any love. The only way. But this team outperformed the Red Sox in every single way they possibly could, every way they could. Now, was it perfect? No, no, no, no, no. It wasn't perfect. In game one, you had a situation where the young shortstop, George Lombard got a double off a second base on a humpback line drive to the left side. Inexcuseable. Can't happen. Yesterday, yesterday, Luis Rojas, who I think has done a great job at third bases, the third base coach all year, he waved home Ben Rice on a base at the left field, Nick Eaton, Nate Eaton, threw up Ben Rice.

11:18By, I'd say, 15 feet at home, but it wasn't even close. It wasn't even close. That was not great. Another thing that wasn't great, after playing two innings in game one, Aaron Boone put Trent Grisham in center field. I don't know what's happening to Trent Grisham in his couple of years with the Yankees. I don't know, because this is a former gold glove winner when he was at the podras. He's not a good center fielder anymore. He can't even say he's average. He's not, he's below average. So there's a play. Let me give you the exact inning. There's a play in. Where is it? Look at the Yankees side. Okay. Where Eaton is up. One out in the third inning.

12:19He had to say pop up to shallow center field. I don't know if he can't run. I don't know if his legs are hurting him. I'm not saying that he's lazy, because I think that's a ridiculous take. Why would you be lazy playing in a postseason game? And he kind of jogs in. The ball falls in front of him, right? And Eaton takes it off for second base. And Trent Grisham is off balance and throws a ball lazily to Lombard. If he made a decent throw over the bag, Eaton's out by plenty instead. It's a double. What why are you putting your pitcher? In this case, Max Fried in any kind of trouble that he shouldn't be in. Now, Fried picked him up by striking out Jones and getting Rushman to ground a third. Then it happened again later. In the sixth inning with one out Rushman, hits a pop up only almost to the same place. And Jazz Chisholm Jr. makes an unbelievable over the shoulder basket catch.

13:20Way out in center field. And Grisham was nowhere to be found. No way to be found. He can't play like this. Then the next batter Wilson Contreras hits a home run. Do you realize how big that would have been if that ball fell in and then Contreras did the same thing and hits that home run? You change the trajectory of the series if that happens. Now you could say, well, he did okay offensively and he did. And I think that's a seductive part of it for the Yankees and their decision making. He had a single right in the fifth. He had a beautiful butt that was a sacrifice butt toward third base. He ended up beating it out when the Yankees had that six run, six inning. And then he walked and stole a base in the seventh inning. So the offensive production was there, but you can't afford against a team like Tampa Bay to give away outs and make mistakes like that. Now the conundrum for the Yankees is this. Spencer Jones is in a good center field or either.

14:25And if the Yankees think that Grisham is a better center field than Jones, I'd have to fight them on it. If anything, it's close. And Spencer Jones has at least great speed. I think he takes bad paths to the baseball, but he's gonna run hard and really make every attempt to make a play. Sometimes he drops the ball. Sometimes he misjudges the ball, but he's there. He's one of the fastest players in the American league. He's in the top 10 in sprint speed. I mean, the way I look at it, probably the best defense for the Yankees. And they don't want to do it because he's so great in left field is to put Cody Belinger in center field. Put Cody Belinger in center field, have Spencer Jones play left and have Elia Ramoso who's also dreadful defensively. Have him and right. But I mean, if Grisham's gonna play center field like that, that might cost them a game. And if you cost a team a game in the postseason, you might cost them their season.

15:26All right, you want some highlights for the Yankees from yesterday? Let's start with their six run, six inning, where the Red Sox bringing Garrett crochet. I'm not quite sure why crochet was on the roster. I know he worked hard to get there. He had two BP sessions. And if you read on social media, Kurt Schilling said, I don't understand why he was on the roster and I hope that it doesn't imperil him moving forward for next year. He got a bad shoulder. Didn't pitch since April 25th. Came in and he strikes out. The first battery faces his Jones. He strikes him out. The ball gets away from Rushman, about five feet to the left of Rushman. And Spencer Jones takes off. And Spencer Jones, as I mentioned, was one of the fastest brothers in America. He might be the fastest player on the Yankees and he beat it out. And that started the whole thing. So he then moves this, he goes a second on a stolen base

16:28and goes the third when Rushman throws the ball in the center field. So just like that, his speed creates runner third base. Nobody out. Lumbar then singles him in. That made it three, one Yankees. Then Grisham, the Bunt single, that loads the Bay, Achism has the single right center and then Grisham, the Bunt, which is the tenth of sacrifice, he gets a single, loads the bases. So they take out Crochet, they bring in Garrett Whitlock. Finally, we see one of the high leverage believers for the Red Sox. Well, since the Sack Fly. Nick Mann, an RBI, slow ground out the third. Intentional walk to rice, balance your brakes and open brakes, the backs of the Red Sox ends their season essentially with a three run home run. And it all started with a young player with speed, hustling a strikeout into getting on first base on a wild pitch.

17:28And after the game, he had a great quote. He said, I always find that if you run hard, think good things could happen. Alert to some of his teammates and to people in the American League. Not everybody runs hard all the time. This kid runs like his hair is on fire. Is he a perfect player? No, he's not a perfect player. There are very few perfect players. But he made something happen with his speed. He could have put his head down after strikeout, jogged first like most everybody does. Then steady, ran to first base, like the season was on the line, which it might have been. So good job by him. Good job by him. Wilson Contreras, Nyagy's leading to nothing. He hits that home run. I mean, sometimes guys can't get out of their own way. I know he's a dramatic dude, very emotional. He runs around the bases. And running is, I'm using that you, domestically. He essentially walks around the bases

18:30as if he's preening after a game winning home run. It was the first run that the Red Sox scored in the series. And he's running or jogging or walking around the bases like he just gave them the lead in the ninth inning. What an awful look. I know he had a really good season for the Red Sox, but that is just unbelievable. And then to rub it in, and although he said he didn't see, Contreras running around the bases like that. Max Fried did because he was stirring at him the whole time. When Cody Belinger hits the home run, he pretty much takes a slow stroll around the bases at the say, that's a big home run. That just got us into the American League Division series. It's a little bit different than making it two to one. Once again, I'll get back to what I started with. The Red Sox did not distinguish themselves at all in this series. At all. And one other thing about the wild pitch on the strikeout,

19:31Wilson Contreras received the ball from Rushman. For some reason, Wilson Contreras had his foot on the outfield side of first base. He did not go to the inside of first base, or the whole plate side of first base, where if he stretched to receive the throw, I can guarantee you that Spencer Jones would have been out by a foot and a half. Instead, he's on the outfield side of the first base bag, never moves forward, receives it on the outfield side of first base, and that allows Spencer Jones to reach first. The initial call was he was out. Yankees' challenge, and it showed that he was safe. So the Red Sox did so many things wrong, but don't let that take away from the fact that the Yankees did everything, near everything right. Was it perfect over two games? No, but I will tell you again what Aaron Boone told me. If we play like that, we can beat anybody. We can beat anybody.

20:32And I've always told you about the negative aspect of going into a wild card. By doing this in two games, the Yankees eliminated the negative aspect of it, because they have so much good starting pitching. If there was a game three, consider this. If there was a game three as there was last year, the Yankees would have had to scramble to find a starter for game one. Like if in game three, Cole started, and they had to use Rodon in the game, they'd be scrambling to find a starter. They would have to either start warring or hopefully if Rodon didn't pitch that long, even start Rodon on a day or so rest. Because last year, because there was a third game in the series, you know what the Yankees started in that first game against Toronto?

21:34Louis Heel, who essentially was pitcher non-grata for the Yankees at the end of the year. They started Louis Heel. Now if they had won that series in two games, now they lost the first game, so they couldn't win it in two games. But if they had won in two games, then all of a sudden the game won starter against the Blue Jays, would have been Cam Slittle, because he would not have had to pitch that game three. But by the Yankees winning last night, now you have an embarrassment of riches to start against the race. It looks like it's going to be Garrett Cole, who was going to need to start game three if they needed it. But if they want to go away from Cole, you could start Rodon, who's been one of the best pitchers for the Yankees over the his last 10 starts. Your game two starter is gonna be Cam Slittle, who pitches to about a 1.16 ERA on the road. He'll start game two at the top. Then game three,

22:34then you go back to Max Fried. Game four with all the off days, you could pick whoever you want to pitch in that game. And if there's a game five, a deciding game five against Tampa Bay, in Tampa Bay, you know who pitches, Cam Slittle. So this wild card did not hurt the Yankees because their pitching is in order. The only reason the wild card hurts a team is if you have to empty your tank with pitching. And for the Yankees, they've got so much pitching, it's almost impossible for them to empty their tank. Now it would have been a little awkward if there was a game three, which way do you go, what pitcher do you go with? Now they are all set up. And their roster is going to be different. Their bullpen's going to be longer. They'll probably activate weather's. They'll probably activate Tim Hill. They will not go with 10 pitchers. They'll probably go with 12, which means that they'll have 14 position players and not 16, which calls them the question

23:35who's going to be left off the roster. I think one of the people that could be left off the roster is going to be Jean-Carlo Stin. There are several instances in the two games, not several, a couple, where Boon could have gotten him in the bat. He didn't. Now the only reason that Stanton is a viable option on the bench is when you have a lot of people on the bench, seven guys on the bench, because a stand-in bat leads to a pinch runner. Now a stand-in bat, if it leads to a pinch runner, you've emptied your bench for that one move. So it'd be interesting to see if he makes it and then the question that's on everybody's mind will judge make it. Judge was part of the celebration. He was in Somerset earlier in the day, taking more batting practice, getting treatment constantly. We'll see. One of the things playing against him, bad calf, three of the five games will be on artificial turf at the top. Do they want to put him through that? Or are they crossing their fingers and hoping that he could end up on the roster on the ALC

24:38as if the Yankees persevere? There's baseball tonight. The Braves host of Phillies for Game Three of their Wildcard series. So winner-go-home. You can hear that game on 1050 ESPN and of course the ESPN New York app. At 7 p.m., Ranger's host of Lightning at the Garden coverage begins at 630 p.m., right here on 880 ESPN and you could watch on MSG Network immediately following Don, Han, and Rosenberg. And at 7 p.m., the Devils hope, open their season, hosting the flyers at the Prodential Center, you could stream that game on Disney Plus and on Hulu. Speaking of streaming, you are watching us on the ESPN New York YouTube channel and that's made possible by the good people at the Paris-Main Firm. We've got so much to do today. I want to take your phone calls. People excited about the way the Yankees have played and now you can start dreaming because there is a path to the World Series that is eminently attainable. 1-800-919-3776, the K-Show, ESPN New York, rolling till 3 on ESPN, New York.

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26:41It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment my way. Visit VivGuardMyway.com. That's v-y-v-g-a-r-t-myway.com and talk to your doctor about VivGuard Hydrilo, brought to you by Argenics. I don't want to get people too excited, but here we go. You win the series against the race or the race win the series against the Ankeys? They're going to the World Series. Both of these teams, in my opinion, humble opinion, will destroy the Guardians or the White Socks. That's on the other side of the bracket. Destroy. I mean, we all know how the Ankeys have fared against Central Division opponents.

27:43You get by the race, you're going to your second World Series since 2024. Then you take a chance there. That's how big this series is. That's how much is on the line. Don't look at this as the ALDS. Look at this as the Junior ALCS. This is your ticket to the World Series. Now could strange things happen? Sure, but I will tell you this. If the Ankeys beat the race and lose to either the Guardians or the White Socks, I would be absolutely flabbergasted. Flabbergasted. This is it. Starting on Saturday night at 6.31 pitch, that's it. That's the ticket to the World Series. That series. And the Yankees and the Arnbun Yankees always criticize that they don't beat teams that are better than them.

28:44In the past, they beat teams that are not as good. And that still holds now because of Red Socks. They want six fewer games in the Yankees. So they've got to beat a team now that's better than them. Record wise, and that's Tampa Bay. That's what they have to do. But when they say it's all in front of you, baby, it's all in front of you. How do you not see it? How do you not embrace it? How do you not accept it? It's all right there. I've been saying it all year. The American League stinks. Did you see the fight? The Astros put up? They didn't put up a fight. I got that one wrong. I thought their championship DNA would enable them to get past the White Socks team, which had lost over 100 games the last three seasons in a row. And somehow made the playoffs this year. And they couldn't do it. They couldn't do it. They don't have enough pitching. That dynasty, this has to make Yankee fans feel good.

29:46That dynasty is dead. Dead. The Guardians won the division by one game over the White Socks. And now they'll play the White Socks for the right to play in the ALCS or the right to be the loser to either the raise or the Yankees. Getting ahead of myself, maybe, but I'm trying to forecast, prognosticate. And the raise are good. I've said this before, the raise are like the college basketball team that pressures you all 94 feet. And the Yankees sometimes against teams like that have a propensity to turn the ball over. So they got to play clean baseball. They got to eliminate the 27 outs. And they've got to make the plays they have to make. Grisham cannot be what he was in center field last night. He can't.

30:48You got to play clean baseball against this team. I'm not saying that the raise or any super team, they're not. But they do all of the little things because they don't do some of the big things that quote unquote great teams do. They run the bases well. They take the extra base well. They make plays in the field for the most part. And they've got really good pitching and a really good bullpen. I think it's gonna be a fun series. So it's Saturday, Monday. Then Wednesday, Thursday at the stadium. And then again Saturday, if there's a game five in St. Pete. Buckle up, baby. Strap in. This could be a lot of fun. Let's go to the phones. Let's go to Joe and Long Island. We'll start off with Joe. Hey, Joe. Hey, Mike, how are you, sir? Terrific, you. I'm well. First of all, I haven't spoke with you all year.

31:49So my condolences on John Sterling. I know how close you work to him. And I think I as a Yankee fan for 50 years. I miss him and I miss him currently for this season, but I specially miss him the last two nights. I listen to you on the gas. No disrespect, but John is going to be missed as the court. So I just wanted to say that to you because I know how close you work to him. Thank you. You're welcome. And you know, I first of all, a credit to the Yankees. You know, you couldn't script it any better. I was just really impressed with the young players. You always hear that they don't have any young players, but those were the key guides in this series, the Spencer Jones, Lombardi. I know Volpy had a good game. And Austin, well, the typical, the cap to him, just for what a hard year he had with the bat. He's always been good behind the plate, but I was really happy to see him have a great series. And really he'd been very good the last month or so.

32:50But I've been meeting to ask you this. And I hope you don't mind. I'm a little off topic because I want to speak about stand if you don't mind. Sure. Is that I think the Yankees, and you know, Clashman gets a lot of, you know, a flack from fans, me included, for not winning, for making certain trades. I, you know, even as much as a great guy standing seems to be as he stands off, I know he's been at disappointment with the injuries. To me is that was when they signed them. They didn't sign them, they traded for him. Yeah, they traded for him, excuse me. That just changed the way the Yankees operated business. And what I mean by that is this, in the old days, the Yankees would have added on it. I'm not saying how it's cheap. I understand they have a high payroll. It's not a complaint. But when they brought him over, he has stood in the way of them making other moves. And I think the guy in Philadelphia

33:51would be one of a Bryce Harper that really couldn't made us, or given us a better chance moving, and maybe we would have won a couple of times along the way. But let me ask you this, Joe. Let me ask you this. How would you have felt if Bryce Harper was the Yankees today and made that error in right, it was scored a hit, but a ball that should have been caught in right field. Now he acquitted himself by hitting a home run. You said they wouldn't want a championship with Bryce Harper. Philadelphia has a one one with Bryce Harper. The national has never won with Bryce Harper. And I love Bryce Harper as a player. And the only reason the Yankees got standon was because they lost out on Otani. They put all of their baskets in Otani or everything in the basket in Otani because they thought he was gonna come to New York and he ended up going to the Angels. So they pivoted and what they do. They went out and got the MVP of the National League coming up a 59 home run season. So all these years later, looks like a bad move. But there's now one baseball fan out there, not one. Not one that would not have made that same deal.

34:52Not one. And the Marlins ate a lot of the money too. You know how much the Marlins, the Yankees would pay stand next year, $15 million. And I've said this before, Joe, if they don't want a championship, while standon is a Yankee and he's a big part of the championship, then it was an awful deal because of the way it turned out. But you can't criticize when the deal was made because if you go back to that time, people were lauding the Yankees for making that deal. There's no way they could have seen that this guy would have broken down to the extent that he becomes a one-way player, can't play defense, can't run. All he could do is hit home runs. But they don't go to the 2024 World Series if not for John Carlos Xen. So I mean to sit here all these years later and criticize that move at the time, everybody thought it was a brilliant move. And it's turned out to be awful because his body is broken down. I don't know how you expect Brian Casper to have predicted that this guy's body would break down to the point that he plays 50% of the time. I mean, we're relitigating something

35:54on a day that should be a celebratory day that happened what, nine years ago? Because they didn't get otani. I mean, come on, dude. I would have liked to have had Bryce Harper too, but a fill is not one. They have not one with Bryce Harper. And the Nassos didn't win their championship with Bryce Harper, they won a pseudo. They didn't win it with Harper. They won after Harper left as a free agent. Bruce and Flushing Bruce. Hey Mike, three points in the eighties. The starting rotation, props to cashman and the roster for the next series. Number one, on the starting rotation, I think the best way to do it would be Cole in the first game, Cam in the second game, Fried in the third game, Denvering back Cole and then Cam. And I think Rodon will be more comfortable if you need him coming out of the bullpen than Fried or Cole. I want to get your reactions at that.

36:55That's the way I would go. And then Rodon could pitch out of the bullpen and he'll be a starter in the ALCS. Okay, second point. You have to get props to cashman. And there have been times who had been critical of cashman at other young kids' hands. But there've been people in the media who called cashman and said, oh, he's a prospect hugger. Oh, you should have created a little body and spent your Jones for what you need for the credit deadline. Other than that, TJ Womfeld, who was rocked by Ben Rice, really cashman has not lost anybody. And for the people to criticize cashman for overprotective for prospects, one of the things that's key to organization that G-Miles who used to say was no-yo in prospects. And cashman has done that. Yeah, he's been careful by not giving up the wrong guides.

37:56And you have to give credit for cashman for that. I agree. And if you're listening to Beginning Bruce, I'm telling you, it's gonna come back and bite the red socks all the prospects they gave up for Rushman and Miller. They gave up a lot of people just to make a run at this year. And when you looked at that team, Bruce, that's not a team that was gonna win a championship. It's just not. So they threw good money after bad. And as far as the roster, to me, I think the guy that they have to be cut is Rosario, because in the field, he's a negative. If you need to, even a knee to head on more pitches, and if you want to add a stand or a judge, they're gonna have more impact, potentially, than a Rosario. And since Rosario is a negative in the field, I'll run back risk if I have to, to head a stand or a judge for the roster and cover Rosario, your comments. It's gonna be interesting.

38:56I mean, he looks like he'd be the guy that would be most fungible, but I've also read Bruce that people think, well, Volpe's not gonna make the roster. Volpe's definitely making the roster. They will continue to platoon Volpe and Chisholm at second base. That's number one. So he's not being cut. Then it comes down to Rosario, and I think Stanton, because what kind of value does Stanton have unless you have a very deep bench? So yet seven guys on the bench in this series. And if you add two pitchers, that means there's gonna be five guys on the bench. And every move that you make with Stanton becomes a two-man move. It's not a one-man move. You pinch it, Stan, if he gets on first base, if they walk and whatever, he's gotta get pins run for. So I'm not sure that you could keep him on the roster. And I definitely don't think you keep him on the roster if, in fact, Judge is able to play. If Judge is able to play, then I don't think you take Stanton on that roster.

39:57You probably stay with Ramos. Not because Ramos is a better hitter than Stanton, because Ramos could play the field. Stanton cannot play the field. So let's say Judge gets himself to the point where he can actually be activated. Well, then you also have to worry about re-injury. And if there's re-injury, well, then you're gonna need Ramos to play right field. So I'm curious to see if Stanton makes this roster. I'm also curious to see if Judge makes it. Do they wanna risk Judge with a bad calf that he's rehabbing, playing on artificial turf, possibly in three or five games? Those are the questions they have to ask themselves. I think it's gonna be fascinating over the next couple of days how they break it down. Hey, there's nothing worse than waking up sick. And this time of the year with the kids back in school, surrounded by hundreds of other voters may bring home a whole new world of viruses and bacteria that your family may have no immunity to. You know how kids? Okay, well, viruses are everywhere anyway, and one ugly strange has showed up. Now it's 2am.

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44:01Or open your medicine cabinet and smile because you have a fully stocked medical emergency kit from the wellness company. It's like an urgent care and drug store at home. It contains essential prescription medications in your name for over 30 common conditions, streptop, sinus infections, pneumonia, UTI, stomach bugs, and more. Plus, telehealth doctors standing by for your questions. I trust my medical emergency kit and I can save you $45 right now. Visit urgentcarekit.com slash sports promo code sports. It's urgentcarekit.com slash sports promo code sports. The emergency and how he thinks that he can help the giants and all the other stuff going on in pro and college football. We're talking Yankees.

45:01They're two games sweep of the Boston Red Sox. So the Yankees haven't won a championship last year and trying to get won this year. But you never want the Red Sox to knock you out. We know what happened in 2004 kind of turned around the Red Sox organization. So I'm sure the Yankees feel good about getting out of that series. And now Tampa Bay has been an irritant to the Yankees many, many times over the years. It's an opportunity to move them out of the way and get a clear path to the world series. 1-800-919-3776. I was going to Henry and South Carolina, Henry. Well, I wasn't going to call in today. OK. Mike, you there? Yeah. There you are. How are you? Good. I'm sorry. I didn't hear the ding. So I wasn't sure if I was in. I wasn't going to call in today. But I'm the caller who brought up the potential Bryce Harper trade way back when and all the stand litigation. I don't know why we're talking about this. It's not we can't go back in time. And some times it's about the deals you don't make. Chase my drop and Brad Montgomery are contributing

46:03for the White Sox who just moved on. Meanwhile, they were traded for crochet and look at that workout. Thank you. I mean, too. We can't pile fuel. I mean, they're all major contributors to a White Sox team who I agree with you or lands to the slaughter perhaps if they move on to place the Tampa Bay Rays or the Yankees. But let's not talk about this. The Yankees played two great games. We can celebrate today and litigate the future tomorrow as we head into the ALDS. I wanted to say real quick. I want to know your thoughts on Sonny Gray reports coming out there. And it kind of looks like to me that he had some pine tar on his neck during the game. Didn't want to matter. But I found that very interesting. What do you think? Well, his neck, I was noticing, as I was doing the play by playing the radio, it looked like it was irritated or if there was a rash there. But then you take a broader look and you see kept going to the neck every time

47:04you got a new baseball. But here's the deal, everybody. The bottom line is this Henry. The Yankees could see that. They never asked the young part to check. So they didn't think it was a big deal. And I also remember, I'm not accusing anybody of doing anything. That's not what I'm doing. But George Steinberg used to call down to the Yankee dugout and tell Lupinel, I want to have you check that picture. I know that he's cheating. And Lou would tell George on the dugout phone, our guy's cheating too. He said, so if we check them, they're going to check us. Now I'm not saying that anybody's cheating on the Yankees, but people do work on the margins. So the Yankees were looking and they've got an unbelievable guy in the video room. Guy by the name of Brett Weber, he does all of their, the replays over the years. He's one of the best in the game if not the best. I'm sure he saw the same thing that all of us detective saw and he never told Aaron Boone to go check. Or maybe he told Aaron Boone and said, leave it alone. We're leading. Let's not go there.

48:05So yeah, everybody wants this living the atom that they saw. It wasn't like the neck of Michael Pineda. And it wasn't dark Pineda or if anything, it was clear. So it might have been some kind of substance that gave him a better grip, but maybe it was not illegal. The umpires didn't check it. And the umpires won't check it unless in fact, the other team tells them to check it. And the Yankees didn't tell them to check it. So why are we having a fit over this? The Yankees beat the red socks. They beat Sonny Gray. Let's go to reus in New York. Hey, how's it going, Michael? Good. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. So yeah, I feel good about what I saw these past two games. I'm not one of those Yankees fans that always find something to complain about. But in regards to Trent Cretchum, I don't want to kill him for it, but I completely agree with you. I definitely think it's an issue, especially when you consider the fact that in the World Series in 2024, the Dodgers came out and said that they knew

49:07that the Yankees played this laxodasical brand of defense. And they made it a point to exploit that. I think in the post season, teams make that, they try to take advantage of that as best they can. And our next opponent, the Rays, they play a brand of baseball that will very easily force defensive miscues in laxodasical areas. So this isn't anything new for the Yankees. This has been plaguing them for a few years now. And I really wish that wasn't the case. I want to get your thoughts on that. Well, I mean, listen, the way he played center field yesterday is absolutely unacceptable. It just is. But then you have to weigh if you're the Yankees, well, what are our options out there? So the option, one option would be Spencer Jones. And he did start in the first game. But Spencer Jones, not a great center field, or either. But at least it looks like he's hustling. Now, I'm low to sit here and say that a veteran player like Trent Grisham is loathing.

50:12I'm not going to say that. I find it inconceivable that in a playoff game, in front of 49,000 people at Yankee Stadium, that a player would loaf. I just don't think he can run anymore. I think there's something up with his legs that he is not able to sprint in the way he wanted. He just is not good at coming in on baseballs. And because I think he's managing his gate, because he's had hamstring injuries in the past, it looks like he's loathing. I am not going to say he's loathing. I'm going to go further and say, he's not a good centerfiller anymore. He wasn't a good centerfiller the last year. And the Yankees explained it away, well, that was because he had hamstring problems. So he wasn't able to bust it. And that's why they still hit him with the qualifying offer, which, of course, he accepted. And it's the same deal. Now I know up until the point where he was out for most of September, because of a hamstring injury, I had no knowledge whatsoever

51:12that he had anything wrong with his legs this year. And he has not been good. The range is not there. He doesn't have a great arm. And unfortunately for him, he does everything so smoothly in centerfield that it looks like it's lack of daisicle. I just think that's the way he plays. Even when he won a gold glove in San Diego, that's the way he plays. He kind of glides. He doesn't really run dramatically fast like that. Like Spencer Jones looks like he's moving fast. Trent Grisham looks like he's gliding. And I will tell you, again, over and over and over again, I just don't know what the Yankees could do about it, because I know they like his bat late in the game. He's not a good centerfiller anymore. So for people to say, he's loafing, I don't buy that. This guy's a professional. Why would you loaf in a playoff game? I just think that he's got limitations of what he could do with his legs. I don't know why. But I'm not gonna insult somebody and say, he's loafing.

52:13Why would you loaf? What's the end game of that? I don't really feel like running hard. So I'll let this ball drop in front of me and I'll let Nick eat and Nate eat and get a double on something that should have been a fly ball of center. He can't be. He's not that guy. Not a bad guy. His skills are eroding for some reason. He's not the same centerfiller that want a gold glove with San Diego. It's not even close. And all the metrics tell you that that's, in fact, the case. But the Yankees still support him. They say he does make good plays. Whenever the metrics don't support what they say, they say the metrics are wrong. So I mean, I'm not gonna argue with them. I don't think they're putting a guy in centerfiller on purpose that they think is bad. They probably see better things out there of him than many of us do. My name is very clear last night, Jess saved them with that great play over the shoulder and then eaten exposed him, turning what should have been an out into a double. So it's not good.

53:14I don't know what their options are in centerfiller to be good other than moving Belonger there. But then you're gonna take Belonger who has 20 defensive run saved in left field and move them in the center so you're weakening left field and especially in Yankees stadium. That's probably not the way to go. Maybe you could do that at the top but not in games three and four in Yankees stadium. That would make sense. Left centerfield's really important and Belonger covers it beautifully. Chris Simmons will join us in just a moment. We'll talk some football, get back to the Yankees after that. It's me and you for two. Thanks for listening to the Michael K. Show podcast. You know what? Check yourself. You're more from Michael K. Wheat Days at one on the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers. Now at Ralph's, your points set up to more ways to save every trip. Use them your way to take dollars off groceries at checkout or save at the pump. You can even save up to $35 on your next fill up. Same points, more choices. And with low prices on fresh quality food

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