Hour 2: Yanks ALDS Roster options

0:00No! No! 20th century studios presents the most incredible survival story of the year. How did we help out there? We'll fall on October 16th to survive the unthinkable, do the impossible. You're gonna become so dangerous that the predators can't help but let you go. We're gonna get out of here. We got it, folks! We got it, folks! No! We'll fall, we're at PD 13 and theaters on October 16th, get tickets now. This is the Michael K. Show Podcast. I gotta get more K. Listen live, we're Dazedin' One on the ESPN New York app and your smart speaker. Welcome back to the show everybody. Me and you for two. And this is the two. This is the second hour. And then we turn it over to Don Hahn and Rosemberg at three. Thank you so much all week. Another great week for listening on ESPN New York, the ESPN New York app. And obviously watching us on the ESPN New York YouTube page presented by the

1:03Periscent firm. I gotta tell you all a little secret. The last couple of days on the show, you guys have turned up in record numbers on the YouTube TV K-Show. It's unbelievable. Shattering records for the station were so proud that you've been there. And obviously, you know, if you're watching us on YouTube, you're listening on the app and on 880 ESPN. So the audience is there. We appreciate that. And that's why you're the co-host. I mean, what other show in this great country, Vars, allows people that never sent in a resume to actually co-host a big time show. So thank you so much for everything that you do and for turning out the numbers that you've turned out. And very, very cool. I can't thank you enough. Yankees in the race starts tomorrow, 630, first pitch from St.Petersburg. And I think there's going to be a really, really close series. You know, Yankee fans feel very confident because of the two games against the Red Soxon.

2:06And as I said earlier, I don't want to pour cold water on that series. But the Red Soxon, not that great. And I know that Red Sox Nation now, they're really upset. They, there is upset as they were when they were 14 games under. So in the last three playoff games that the Red Soxon played, they scored two runs, two runs. So it's going to be interesting to see what they do with that team. And they're locked into a manager who really in some way got exposed. He's in the fight. I think he's going to be a good manager. He comes from a baseball family. He loves the game. He thinks the game. But removing sunny gray after 70 pitches. I mean, they're still complaining about that in Boston. And sunny gray is too. And removing Peyton Toli when his pitch count is in the 80s and bringing the same guy Eric Miller,

3:06they are upset in Boston. So the Yankees did what they should do against Boston. They beat the crap out of them. They're better than Boston. During the regular season, they showed they're better than Boston. Now, the other ones that let Boston actually become a playoff team when they allowed themselves to get swept in a four game set. When the Red Sox were 14 games under 500, that started the 32 and five run. So see Yankees fought that they even played the Red Sox. But they took care of business quickly. But don't think it's going to be as easy against Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay did not overachieve. Tampa Bay is a legitimate team with legitimate starting pitching. And legitimate relievers in the bullpen. I mean, you could roll out Rasmussen, who's always good, but particularly good against the Yankees in two games in a best of five. You know, those games are going to be bears to win. Now, the Yankees could counter and say, well, we're rolling out Cam Slitler in two games.

4:07I'm OK. Checkmate. You got it. The the the the the razor also rolling out Nick Martinez and a rejuvenated and fixed Freddie, Paralta. So this is a team that has a lot of things that could be potential pitfalls for the Yankees. They have speed. They don't strike out that much. They put the ball in play. They put your defense on defense. They make you make plays. They make you make the play. And if you bobble or boot it, they're going to take advantage of it. That's why my mantra for this series, 27 outs. That's it. You give them 27 outs. You can't give them more. You have got to stop them at 27. If you look up in the Yankees, have two errors, that's not good. That's not good. That means you're giving them more than 27. They're not going to out home. You're not going to out home or you. The big blow is not going to hurt you.

5:07The only guy I think that really scares you power wise is going to be Caminero. And for some reason, I don't know why Caminero has never really hit the Yankees very well. They have held him down under 200 batting average in the last couple of years. And in the last couple of years, he's had about 90 home runs. He's the real deal. Yandee Diaz is also a good player. But the guy that scares you that you want to keep in the ballpark is going to be junior Caminero. But they've got a lot of other weapons that could hurt you. They're pitching is a big part of what they do. Their speed is a big part of what they do. And in places that really matter, like it shortstop with Taylor Walls. And in center field with the Cedric Mullins who doesn't hit, look, it still play the outfield. That's where they make big outs. As I said earlier, the Yankees couldn't run against Tampa Bay. So they get on base. They're going to go take off because the combination of Liam Hicks and Nick Fortes.

6:09They do not throw out base runners. They just don't. And they're not great defensive catchers. They're just not. Everybody said, well, the Yankees should have acquired Liam Hicks when Miami was going to trade them. But the Yankees put a lot of emphasis on defense behind the plate. And they're going to have emphasis. That's why they hung with with Austin Walls. Because although he couldn't hit the water if he fell out of a both this year, he's an exemplary catcher. And the pitchers love pitching to him. And he's good at challenging with the ABS. He frames very well. He's pretty good at throwing up base runners. It's about league average, but not below league average like Liam Hicks. Liam Hicks a much better hitter than Austin Walls. So the Yankees look for defense behind the plate. And they have the guru of all catching teachers in Tanner Swanson. He could turn people into really good catchers. So the Yankees really never had that much of an interest in Liam Hicks because, yeah,

7:12he would improve them offensively, but it would have been a big drop off defensively. So that's something to look out for as well. Now the running game with the raise is going to be an issue. Chandler Simpson is an issue. But in one of the games of the Yankees, he's going to send out Max Fried. And he kind of cuts down the running game. And also gives you another great defender. He's a four time goal glove winner. So your defense gets better with freed out there. And the running game should get shut down with freed out there. They go over the last five years. He said more pick offs than anybody in baseball. And you could even know it's coming. And he'll pick you off. And one dirty little secret about Chandler Simpson. He steals a lot of bases. Get thrown out too. He gets thrown out because he steals bases totally on speed. Not so much on reading the picture in the move. 1-800-919-3776. We go to Morvin and Brooklyn. Morvin. In the Gauraya.

8:12Yeah, we do, Morv. Great. Fantastic. Before I ask my question, I want to say congratulations on getting that opportunity to be back in the right behind the mic on the radio. You call the great series in the wild start. Yeah, it was fantastic. My question is, and it's a weird one. I feel like we're in déjà vu all over again. Last year, the Yankees took care of business against Boston. You went to Toronto, played on turf. Everyone's confident. Everyone's coming off that you for W. And then they got Blue Jade. This year, we're doing it again, except you're replacing Toronto with Tampa Bay. Well, what makes this your different? Well, what makes this your different is that your first game starters, the former Shai Young Award winner and Gare Cole. Last year, your first game starters, Louis Heal. So by going three games in the wildcard last year, the Yankees starting staff was up in the air.

9:15There was no call. Remember, there was no call. So everything fell on on Frieden Rodan. And Frieden Rodan had terrible games against Toronto. And I actually think Toronto last year was better than Tampa Bay this year. Because that people are really scared you with power too. And they did, they're also a team that you don't give extra runs to. And they pushed the envelope. They push the defense. And sometimes the defense makes mistakes. But you have Vlad Guerrero having just an other world of the year. Springer who was amazing. All those other guys that put the ball in play and drive and runs. I mean, they're really, they were really, really good team. And I think Tampa Bay's a really good team. I think Toronto was better. And the Yankees are better set for this. Because last year's starting staff didn't scare you. Especially when Louis Seal had a start game one. And we didn't really know what the Yankees had in Schlitler.

10:15He pits that great game and game three. But because he had a pitch game three, he couldn't start game one. Yankees by sweeping the red socks this time, their starting staff is in great shape. Great shape. That they actually will, you know, have Carlos Rodan pitch in the series and they could have gone with three. They have an abundance of riches when it comes to starting pitching. And you can make the argument that they are the team with the best starting pitching in baseball right now. That's left in the playoffs. That's even better than the starting pitching that the Dodgers have. And that's with the Amamoto and Scoobl. You don't know about SNL. You don't know about Glasgow. You take the Yankee four, I think, over there four. And the Yankee bullpen over there, bullpen. But, you know, we'll talk about the Dodgers when it gets to that point. But yeah, I think it's, I think it's a little different because Toronto is, I think better than Tampa Bay. And the Yankee pitching is, is set. And last year it wasn't. They kind of had a scramble.

11:16You know, you're looking back. Louis Heal. Is that the guy you want to start game one? Let's go to Greg in the work truck. Greg. Michael, happy Friday, my friend. That's all you. Terrific. Happy Friday to you. Thank you, sir. I have two questions. First, I want to make a point to any met fan. And I'm a diet hard met fan who says you're against the met. They're wrong. You call it as it is with the met. Even when you called the London game a couple of seasons ago. You were right on the money down the middle. And you actually give the met. Probably need it and. Oviscerate them when they deserve it. And this year rightfully so. My free for all Friday questions for you. It's a two. It's a two. It's a two. There are two questions. One is. If you can go back or if you were in an alternate life where you were for whatever reason unable to broadcast baseball. What other sport would you would have chosen to broadcast?

12:18And two, I asked this to Jake last week thinking I was going to get you. But you had the the the the angst double header. What's your favorite genre of music? And what is your top five artists in that in that genre? Well, I'll ask the I'll answer the second one first. I mean, I'm not that advanced musically. I like popular music. I like pop music. My favorite artist would be Billy. Billy Joel Bruce Springsteen. Beatles. Rolling stones. And then any number of pop popular bands. I mean, but those those those are kind of my top four. I don't get into heavy metal. I don't get into rap. All of that stuff. In terms of if I wasn't a baseball play by play guy. I would probably gravitate toward basketball. I love basketball. Really, you're a football too.

13:18But basketball I've done one basketball game for the yes network. And it was the net in Atlanta against the Hawks. It was a blast and the game moves so fast. But I'd like to get I would have liked to have had the opportunity to really get my footing. Underneath me and you know know the speed of the game. You know when you just dive bomb in and do one game. In the 25 years of yes, it's hard to excel. But I did basketball in college and I really like that. So it would definitely have been basketball if I didn't do baseball. Now I thought you're going to say if you could turn back the clock and you know do something different. I was thinking about this the other day as I was doing the the playoff series on the ESPN radio. I wish that I knew that game seven in 2001 was the last time that I would work with John. And it would be the last Yankee playoff game that I would do. I mean I ended up doing these so 25 years between that.

14:21I wish I knew I didn't know. I mean yes, I'd not made any overtures to me at all. So when that game ended, I figured well I'll be working with John in 2002. And I think I would have soaked it in more. I mean I appreciated every game that I ever did with John. But I didn't think that that was the last one. I wish I knew that that was the last one. I wish I knew that yes, had interest in me moving over to the television side. I just didn't. And that's a regret because I really would have savored every single second. But I mean that's how life is right. We don't know that this is the last time this is going to happen or this is going to happen. You know, one thing that resonates with me the most is when you know you kids sit on your lap and you're watching TV or they run over and they give you a hug. And somebody told me an even Jodie brought this up the other day. You know, savor every second of that because that might be the last time they want to hug you. Now it might not be cool tomorrow. That might be the last time they want to sit on your lap and watch TV.

15:23That might not be cool tomorrow. So I try to as I move forward in life to try to appreciate every one of those moments where that could be the last time that's going to happen. But I didn't know in 2001 game seven. That was the last time and it's weird because after Gonzales's hit went over Derek Judas head. I had a rush down to the to the clubhouse to do the MSG post game. So I didn't even have time like to savor that. I just the one thing that's savor about that game and I did savor back then too is how unbelievable a call it was for John Sterling on that game winning hit. You know, people say he's a home re rooted for the Yankees, but you listen to that call go on YouTube and find it and you'll realize what an exceptional broadcaster was when the rubber met the road. He called that as if it was an asset broadcast not like you know there are some local broadcast. I'm not knocking them because this is what's accepted in their city. But there are some local broadcasters where if that hit took place against the team and ended the world series.

16:29I mean they'd be it would be a terrible call. I'll face it by Gonzales and the diamond backs with go listen to John go listen to John. Let's go to able and Westchester able. How are you? Good. How you doing able? Good. Good. Long time missing our first time caller. How are you? Thank you. Welcome. I got to I got I got a few. I got a few things I want to say. And just maybe two. I agree with you everything they you say by by the way I got to say you're my favorite broadcaster. I wasn't a stunning person. So I really I never got to listen to him a lot like to say. Because I just never been an outside and inside person. I'm more like an outside person being outside and working. So I kind of listen to the game. So I love listening to you guys. But the first thing I wanted to say is I'm with you on the just situation. I don't understand why everybody keeps saying that they want to bring judge into the playoffs into the ALBS.

17:32The guys her you're talking about you're going to play in in Tampa, which is not a good statement for him given that he has that calf injury. And I believe that he should he should stay home or or you know not play and they should replace him with Caballero and that field. Caballero is excellent. I'll feel there he's not the best arm and not the best everything but at least he knows the field. He knows the capabilities of the stadium and he knows how to play. And then so you can move out of here to center field. You can have Jones and right field and then when they go back to New York, then they could put Ramos in right field. Jones and center field and will balance your back to left field. How do you feel about that? Well, Caballero, I wouldn't say he's an outstanding outfield. But he certainly gets the he gets the job done in terms of judge. I mean, I understand it. If you're saying judges hurt, he shouldn't be on the roster. But when you say you don't understand why people want him to the roster because he's the best player in the American league when he's healthy.

18:38So everything I say about judge being on the roster is is under the assumption that he's healthy. Now, I don't think he should be on the roster if he's not healthy. But boy, every Yankee fan should pray that that calf gets better so he could be on the roster because remember last year he had 500 in the postseason. And although people want to say he's not a good postseason player, his numbers are not as bad as you think. He's hit his share of big home runs. Remember the home run he hit against a manual class A against Cleveland the year the Yankees went to the World Series in 2024? He's not as bad as you think. The average is not what it is during the regular season last year it was better. But if he's healthy, I want him there. And I just don't think the Yankees able or or is that keen on moving Belinger out of left field. Belinger is like if he's not the best left fielder in baseball, he's 1A. That's how good he is. So you're going to move him into a spot where he's okay, but he's not as good as these in left field. The Yankees have a defense problem. If judges and practice judges a good right fielder.

19:41If judges and playing, then you have sub-poor defenders in center and in right. And I can't say that Caboero is a plus defender. He might be a league average defender. And I like his bat and I like the speed he brings the lineup. But they've got I mean the problem they have is whether or not judges healthy and what's the deal. I sound like Jerry Seinfeld. What's the deal with trans-Grisham? Why is he not? You know, why has he been a sub-defender? He certainly wasn't game two and he wasn't a great during the whole year when he didn't have a hamstring injury to play with. And they might not agree with me, but my eyes tell me a story and the story is he's not that good. Football Friday is on the ESPN New York brought you by draft Kings. Draft Kings. The crown is yours. Let's go back to the Falcals or a good friend. John and Bethlehem. John. Hello, Nicole. Hello. Good. How you doing?

20:44Hey, good. I got to give it up to you. You called me out on my call earlier this week when I asked you if you would sign up for one one. You said it was a weird take and you're right. It was a weird take because it didn't come to fruition that way at all. But kudos to you. That was not a good take by me. You're allowed to have tanks. I just disagreed with that one. That's all. Yep. Also, to your point of 27 hours, 100% agree. So, would you start, McMahon, considering the right handed staff, they're going to throw at least to start the games. And they usually go with decent ways into the games. I was thinking you start, McMahon at third and shizzle that second. I know we're a little under in the outfield with with Grisha. Do you put. I keep going back and forth with Grisha and Jones. I agree. He's got to be heard of it. There's no way that he's loping after balls out there like that. If he's not hurt.

21:52But to that end, I'm thinking, you know, Jones in center and maybe you have to put. Caliero in right or. What do you think? I'll hang up and let you. I think they're going to go, John, with with their lefty lineup. I mean, if if Tampa Bay is going to throw right handed starters, which seems to be the plan, then, you know, you're going to be that guy. You're not going to play your right handed hitters. So everybody's trying to get creative. And I certainly do appreciate that. How creative do you get and then get away from, you know, your your basic, your basic game plan? I mean, that's important to stay with what you want to stay with. They've got to be that team. They've got to be the team that got them here. I mean, Rasmus is the most important starter for Tampa Bay. He's right handed.

22:52So you're not going to see Caliero and you're not going to see Ramos. You're just not. I think Ramos becomes for the most part of pinch hitter in the series. And then he could stay in the game and play. It's also an interesting take to because of all the righties that are being used. If they do switch things around, Boone said today to Brandon Tierney on his podcast that they they could move Luis Garcia, the second base in an emergency. Now you might be rolling your eyes because Luis Garcia did not do a good job as the second basement in Washington. But to me, that's an intriguing possibility, even for next year because we heard he wasn't a good defender at all. He's been a plus defender at first base, a plus defender, not just average. He's been really, really good. And I talked to people in Washington. He doesn't have great range. But if he gets to a ball, he's going to make the play. And if you could have a second basement.

23:52You can talk more next year too. That's going to give you 30 and 90. And play OK at second because you run the 80 defense right now. There's a lot of spots where they're OK. And they're one series away from going to the American League championship series. All right, we've got. We've got a big time hit and run coming in just a moment. And then we will also give you our two pack for sure to the end of the show. This is Buster only for Le Quintet by Windham, just like a good football team sticks to the fundamentals. The best work trips start with a solid routine at Le Quintet by Windham. A full size fitness center helps you keep that routine going while you're on the road. Get in a workout, wrap up the work day, then kick back and enjoy football all evening long. Plus earn Windham rewards points with every qualified stay. Tonight, Le Quintet tomorrow you shine book your next trip at Le Quintet.com. Terms and conditions apply.

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25:52I like things my way, my coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the VivGuard Hydrilo pre-filled syringe, which contains F-Guard Tiga-Madelfa and Hyleronode's QVFC. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It 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. Thanks for listening to the Michael K. Schill podcast. He's been here a long time and he's gonna be here even longer. Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. It's a football Friday on ESPN, New York. Brought to you by DraftKeyes. This, this is hit and run. Yeah, people love it. It is here for you, hit and run.

26:53We love doing it. And we will continue to do it because you all love it so much. Hit and run brought to you by SUNY Maritime. We start with something that's kind of breaking news. Jed, York. The owner of the 49ers has been suspended six games and find $500,000 for the prostitution's thing arrest that he had in Ohio. It will never ever cease to amaze me. A billionaire going to a trailer park to get a woman for money. I don't understand it. Why are people so dumb? People with so much money, if you really need to buy love, there are higher price love that you could buy. He's shopping in coals when he has the money to live in Neiman markets. It's a Tiffany. I don't get it. And what exactly is an owner getting suspended for six games? He can't watch the team. He can't go to the game. $500,000 is like a stray money to this guy. Amazing. Again, a trailer park.

27:55A trailer park. He shouldn't have this punishment to know how dumb that was. Absolutely dumb. Tony Romo is out. He had $72 million left on his contract. CBS and Roma are saying it's a mutual parting of the ways. Nonsense. They're getting rid of them. And they probably had a grease his palm in some way. He's not walking away from $72 million. Because if I think of this one to the courts, that money would hold up. Because he could say that he has an issue. He has a problem. That he's had problems with liquor and pain killers and stuff like that. And the court would definitely side on his part. But the bottom line is this. The thing I don't like about it, the thing that makes it all creepy to me, Tony Romo had worn out his welcome. What was refreshing and kind of honest when he first became a broadcaster, became hackneyed and boring for people. And for the people at CBS. They're the ones that gave him that ridiculous contract.

28:55They're the ones who made it that he had to be even better than he was. And I am convinced. And there's no way to prove it. I am convinced everybody that if Tony Romo was still Tony Romo and everybody thought he was great, there's no way he would be leaving CBS. Absolutely no way whatsoever that he would be leaving CBS. He's only gone because the arrest for the DUI gives them the out they needed to get out from under some of the contract and get him out of the number one team. Now the number team is Jim Nance and JJ Wat. But if he was the old Tony Romo that everybody thought was so clever and new and honest and fun, he would not have lost his job. If God forbid the same thing happened to John Madden, John Madden wouldn't have missed the game. So it's all nonsense to me. It's all skewed. It's all colored. The only reason he's out is that the drunk driving arrest gave them the opportunity to get rid of them when they didn't have the guts to get rid of them

29:55because they didn't think that he was good enough. Well the Phillies lost yesterday to the Braves in game three. And I got to tell you, I love John Madden. I think you all know that. But Don Maddenly starting Aronola and then later in the game using Zach Wheeler when they were already behind by five nothing. Why? If Zach Wheeler could pitch, why was he starting the game? That didn't make any sense whatsoever. And then we find out today that Maddenly will not be back as the Phillies manager. They will offer him a role in the organization. The son is the GM. So I'm sure that was an awkward discussion for everybody to have. I'm not saying Maddenly lost his job yesterday, but they almost lost a big lead down the stretch. And then starting Nola instead of starting Wheeler when Wheeler was available to start, didn't make any sense whatsoever whatsoever. And it looks like the Phillies now will go hard after Alex Kora. Kora has a great relationship with Dave Dombroski, the president of baseball operations.

30:55He offered him this job when they got rid of Rob Thompson. And of course, I know I want to spend the summer with my family for the first time. So that's what he did. Maddenly was interim. He did a great job with them. He ends up losing to the Braves and ends up losing his job. Although they'll also come out and say that it's a mutual parting of the ways. Portland Trailblazers yesterday, they hire Braden Bell to be their play by play guy. And a couple of hours later after a television station, an unearthed tweets from when he was a teenager. I think it was 15 years old that were racist and misogynistic. They fired him the same day they hired him. Now, what I would do. And it's not me. And I think that what he said was awful in the tweets. But if he was a 15 year old kid that said that, don't you go by his action since then? Has he shown anything that would lead you to believe that he's racist and misogynistic?

31:58You're going to fire a guy because of tweets that he had from 20 years ago, when he was a teenager. Boy, that's an awfully slippery slope. But what it was for me was a teaching moment for my kids this morning. Because I told them the story and I told my kids who were 13 and 11. Everything that you put on social media is never erased, never forgotten. So you could end up getting your dream job like this guy Braden Bell did and lose it for something stupid that you said that you thought at the time was innocuous and that no one would ever see. And you didn't know that if you'd be important or famous. But you're not to be important or famous. You can get a job at Bear Stearns and something like this could turn up and you're going to get fired. So it was a teaching moment for my kid. But for Portland, doesn't Braden Bell deserve the right to show you how he's lived his life since he was a dumb 15 year old? That's a really tough firing right there for him. But again, to all the youngsters that are listening or the parents that have youngsters

33:01that have social media on their phones, you got to tell them everything you write is forever, is absolutely forever and will come back to bite you. I keep talking about David Sterns and how he speaks in a manner that none of us have any idea what he's talking about. None of us. He speaks over everybody's head. I want to give you what Craig Breslow, the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, what he said in the post-mortem after the Red Sox lost to the Yankees. This is a quote everybody. Obviously, post-season elimination is disappointing. But I think it's important that we resist evaluating the outcome through a binary success failure framework. I mean, come on. Is this how everybody in the Ivy League talks? Again, he's not talking to McKinsey. He's talking to you, the Red Sox fan. Like David Sterns is talking to the Metfan.

34:01Why are you talking in this high-falutin nonsense? You are not appealing to your fan base. You're alienating your fan base. It's an absolute joke. It's a disease now. So a lot of these people that run major league baseball teams are from MIT and Harvard and whatever. But they've got to dumb down what they're saying. So all of us can understand it. We're not going to do it in a binary way. David Sterns said last week, you got to take communication courses to know how to talk to your customers. You are alienating every single person. I don't get it. I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense. Red Sox fans are red hot. And they are particularly red hot at Roman Anthony, which I don't understand. So he's been signed to a long-term contract. I think it's like over $150 million. And he didn't play over 100 games this year because of a wrist injury, a hands injury, finger injury, whatever it is on the right hand. And he got it aggravated in game one of the playoffs series against the Yankee.

35:01Struck out the first two times and then got pinch hit the third time by Andrew Monasterio. Now, strains, I don't know why. That night, they drove him to Boston for more testing. I mean, I don't want to be the ugly New Yorker here, but I kind of think, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, that you could probably go to Manhattan at some of the greatest hospitals in the world and get him an imaging on his hand. You had to drive him to Boston and then he was in the dugout for game two. So you drove him back. Makes no sense. But then I was listening to some callers on WEI, the sports radio station there. And they want to get rid of Roman Anthony. So if I'm a team, any team, even the Yankees, I raise my hand and go, I'll take them. Oh, I'll take them. We'll figure out the hand stuff. And I know he can't play the outfield, but we'll figure out how to get that bat in the lineup. It's amazing how fans are so reactionary where if things go wrong, get rid of them.

36:01He's awful. He doesn't want to play through pain. Well, first of all, playing through pain is one thing when you're sitting on your couch. If your wrist is not right, it's hard to swing a bat effectively against pitches 95 to 100 miles an hour. So that's silly. Again, if the red socks want to get rid of Roman Anthony, I would take him if I ran a team. All right. So the picks, time for the picks here on Hit and Run. Guardians, white socks. You know, I underestimated the underestimated the white socks. That was one that I got wrong. I got the other three series right. That one I got wrong. But I'm still going to underestimate them. The guardians know how to win, especially against teams in the central. They outlasted the white socks in their battle at the top of the central. So they got the buy. I'm going to take the guardians in this in this series over the white socks. White socks are playing in rarefied air right now. I don't know how they're doing with their pitching. They can score. They've got pretty good defense. They don't have great pitching. So I'm going to take the guardians in that series. Dodgers in the Braves. I think the Braves are out of pitching. I mean, when you see who they had a start, they started a guy yesterday in a do or die game that was working.

37:06I think at a Walmart and a movie theater a couple of years ago and got a mind on that. A couple of years ago and got a minor league contract. 32 years old. He gave them three really strong innings. But that shows you the difference between a team like the Yankees and the Dodgers and a team like the Braves. They don't have enough starting pitching. So I'm going to take the Dodgers in this series against the Braves. A 7-11. He worked in a 7-11. Right, Dean Hanks just told me. He's 7-11. And he started a game, a winner-going home game for the Braves. Milwaukee in the Padres. This one is so delectable. The Padres are on a roll. It seems like they can't lose. But Milwaukee is an awesome team. They really are. I think it's going to come down to Milwaukee and the Dodgers in the NLCS. And this one is my toughest pick of all the four. I would love to pick the Padres. I'm leaning. I want to pick the Padres. But Milwaukee is a complete team with really good pitching. Mizorowski is going to start two of those games. And although Michael King is a great starter for the Padres,

38:08they're still short on starters. They're very good in the bullpen, but they're short on starters. So I'm going to take Milwaukee in this series against the Padres. And with the Yankees in the race, I'm going to take the Yankees. And I'm going to take them in five games. And Cam Slitler will lead them to the Promised Land by winning that game five. That's what I'm going to do. I think it's going to be a really, really good series. But I think the Yankees over the race in this one. And as I said yesterday, and I will continue to say, this series is the series that will take you to the World Series. Because I'm sorry. The rays of the Yankees are going to be the Guardians of the White Socks. That's all there is to it. The ALCS will be the easiest series the Yankees play before they get to the World Series. The easiest. This one will be the toughest. The Red Socks were on that good this year, and they were injured. And the Yankees didn't have a problem with them. The rays are good. And they're not good in a way that they've somehow hidden all of their negatives. They're a really good team. They're going to be tough to beat. And it's going to take Cam Slitler being Cam Slitler in game five in order to do it.

39:11That was hit and run brought to you by SUNY Maritime. SUNY Maritime College, the peninsula of opportunity, and the engine of upward mobility. Coming up, we close it out with your phone calls. Also, the two pack for sure. I will give you my football picks. I've gotten off to a fairly decent start. So I think you should stick around for that. There's nothing worse than waking up sick. And this time of year with the kids back in school, surrounded by hundreds of others. Now yours may bring home a whole new world of viruses and bacteria that your family may have no immunity to. Hey, you don't have kids while viruses are everywhere, and one ugly strange has showed up. Now it's 2 a.m. Your throat feels like strep, and your fever spiking. Urgent care will get dressed and wait in a room full of already sick people. Your doctor, it's amazing how tough it is to get appointments. Or you could 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.

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43:16Shopify.com slash network. ESPN, New York. Brought to you by DraftKeyes. All right, so Kevin Cash, the razor working out first today, the Yankees will work out later. Kevin Cash said he expects the first sellout at Tropicalyfield since he became manager in 2015. First sellout. And he said, I'm really excited for our fans to fill the building. Well, don't get that excited, Kevin, because I think there's going to be a lot of Yankee fans there. Now, I also, I'm somewhat dubious when they say sellout. Is it a sellout of the trop or is this sellout with a tarp on the upper deck?

44:16My guess is it's going to be a tarp on the upper deck. So it'll be a little under 30,000, which is great. It's great for baseball, but this is a widely anticipated series. Now, it'll be Rasmussen against Cole. And a lot of people are saying, well, the Yankees are going against analytics, because the raise against right handed pitching this year, they're fourth, they have the fourth best OPS of any team against right handed pitching against left handed pitching. They have the 25th best OPS. Okay, so you just look at that. You say, okay, they're going up against the numbers, but they're deeper numbers that we don't know about. So, you know, we all want to, I saw somebody on social media say, you know, Aaron Boone had a great first series against the Red Sox, but if this backfires and Cole does and pitch, well, he's going to get, you know, killed. And then why would he get killed? He's pitching the guy who want to say a young award. You know, another number against the raises that they don't hit very well against velocity high velocity.

45:17Cole does slow high velocity. So, I mean, so you wouldn't, if you're going to go just with left handed pitching, you'd also shut down cam slitler, right? Because last time I checked cam slitler, throws with his right arm. The silliness that people want to jump the, you, so you'd never pitch a Garrett call because he struggled a little bit toward the end. I find that mind boggling. Of course, he was going to pitch in this series. He would have started Carlos Rodón. Now, if Carlos Rodón started tomorrow and didn't pitch well, you'd all say, well, how could you start Carlos Rodón? He hadn't pitched in nine days. There's always going to be an excuse. That's why a manager gets paid the money he gets paid. Because if he makes the decision and the player actually does what he's supposed to do, then fine, then he'll get some kudos. But if it backfires where the player actually doesn't execute the way he's supposed to, it's not the player's fault. So if Garrett call gets his butt handed to him tomorrow, you won't blame Garrett call.

46:17You're going to blame Aaron Boone for actually making the choice of starting a Sai Young Award winner in Game 1 of a series. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It's time for Tupac, for sure. Yeah, that's the music that tells you about to make money. First week, two and a half. Second week, one and one. Second week, third week, one and one. You do the map, that's four and two. You do the further map, that's a 667 winning percentage, which I think is pretty darn good. If you're making picks and you're getting 53% of them right, you'll make some money. I do not condone or am I telling you to go out and bet these. But boy, you got to feel pretty good about it. Here we go.

47:17So the Bears look like they're going to start Tyson Badgen. This is after Case Keen and played as well as he did against the Eagles. The Bears are three and a half point favorites over the Jets, Games in Chicago. Aaron Glendison with that far away holding his fingers about an inch away. They'll still be that far away after this game. Because if you could put up the numbers they put up with Case Keenum, a 38-year-old quarterback. And Tyler Badgen was named the backup quarterback to Caleb Williams, didn't play because of he was not healthy. Now they're going to put him in, well you'd expect that he's probably going to be better than Case Keenum. And they probably have things that they could do with the offense that they couldn't do with Keenum. Listen, Gino might be able to get some points on the board, but I don't think the Bears are going to lose this game. And I think they're going to win by seven to ten points. I almost look at this and go, that's kind of mysteriously low.

48:17Now I thought this would be like a seven point spread, but it's two and a half. It's two and a half. Now usually don't do this. Three and a half, I might say I said two and a half. I usually don't do this. I don't take wild underdogs. Because I look at it and say they're underdogs for a reason. So the Titans are 11 and a half points. Underdogs against the Ravens. Now the Ravens played in Brazil. And it's the first team that's played in Brazil and the Cowboys will also, they'll be the first and second team. And I think that's why I'm in Brazil and not have a buy the next week. That's a 9500 mile round trip. Ravens I think are going to win this game. But you know that Robert Salah and Company, they are desperate to get a win. I'm not going to say they're going to win. I think the game is going to be closer to the most people thing, including the people in Vegas. So I'm going to take the Titans, and I'm going to gladly gobble up the 11 and a half points.

49:20So even if the Ravens win by 10, I'm a winner. So let me give you my two pack again for sure. I take the Bears in Chicago giving 3 1 1 2 1 2 against our New York Jets. And I take the Titans getting 11 1 1 1 2 1 half over the Ravens. I'm looking forward to that. I hope that when Monday comes along, let me say that right. When Monday comes along, you'll have another 2 and 0 from the Caster. Let's go to Ryan into Jersey Ryan. Hey, Michael, can you hear me? I hear you great. Okay, great. First time, long time. I had a quick question for you about jazz chism. And then I had a suggested rule change for MLB. Wanted to get your thoughts on. All right, go. Yeah, so when the Yankee traded for jazz chism from Miami, he was their centerfielder. And looking at the numbers, he wasn't amazing in center field. He wasn't PCA plus four out above average.

50:22Was there a reason that the Yankees throughout the year never tried him in centerfield? I feel like being able to do that would give the possibility of moving Trent over to right field. I know Trent doesn't necessarily want to do that, but I feel like his production there would be better than in center. And it's given the possibility of having different options, you know, taking Elliott Ramos off the bench. I think that they moved him out of center and they had him at second base this year, because they wanted to make him as comfortable as possible. And they felt like the first year they got him. And he was playing third base. He was not overtly comfortable. So I like the way you're thinking. And I think that we could see that maybe done in an emergency situation. If there's some pinch hitting done and you put Volphe at second and jazz could emergency fill in in the outfield, but I don't think it's going to be done in this series. And you know, jazz a free agent as well. I'm not saying he would resist doing it. He wants to play, but I don't know if it's wise to put a guy in centerfield that hasn't been there in many years.

51:24Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I don't think that they will try the series. I was just serious why throughout the year that wasn't something they. Because they, you know, they just before Volphe learned how to play second base to Ryan. So I guess they could have gone with Kyle. I arrow there, but I think they were more comfortable with jazz. All right, we're up against it. What was your second point? Yeah, so I just wanted to see your thoughts on a real change for ground rule doubles. I've seen enough times where there's a guy in first base and he's running with the pitch two outs he's feeling. And basically he three forwards of the way around on his way home by the time. And I'm in on Piers discretion. It is if it's it's interference. It just bounces into the seats. It's not. I think it's part of the luck of baseball if it bounces into the seats. You have to go to third. All right, that'll do it. Great week of the show. We'll talk to you on Monday in the words of Billy Joel. Life is a series of a los and goodbyes. I'm afraid it's time for good bye again. See everybody. Thanks for listening to the Michael K show podcast. You know what? Check yourself. You're more from Michael K. Wheat is at one on the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

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