 Yankees team meanwhile has the best record in baseball tied with the Dodgers. What is the most surprising EK about this year's Yankees? I mean there's a lot of things but I think collectively if you were to tell me that Stanton and Judge would have a combined 13 home runs, Severino hasn't pitched an inning and the Yankees have the best record in baseball? I would have said you're nuts. You're crazy. You're absolutely crazy but that's exactly what happened. You know look at Stanton and Severino, Stanton and Judge they average 40 home runs, 100 RBIs a year. Severino his last two seasons I mean he's averaging about 17 wins. There's been none of that yet the Yankees have just continued to dominate. It's like they haven't even missed a step. It's almost like they've been better without these guys which is crazy. Is that a testament to Aaron Boone? It is and I'll tell you this when you lose your stars you realize that there's probably going to be regression. They won 100 games last year but I think Aaron Boone's doing a better job this year managing all of those problems that these had especially at the beginning of the year. What you do you have guys that step up and Gio or Shella has stepped up. If you look at his career and his small career, listen he was hitting 225 his first year at Cleveland, 224 the next year and then you start going over to Toronto. He comes over to the Yankees as a surplus and he shows up 335, 18 home runs, 64 RBI and he has a career year at the perfect time but also you have to have the ability as a manager to put people in successful positions. I think Aaron Boone has done a fabulous job doing that but his roster construction was blown up when you lose your stars at the beginning of the year and they have not missed a beat. They're actually a better team I think than they were last year. Yeah you know the thing is there's got to be an element of luck and there's been a lot of luck over there. When you talk about the bad luck you say oh yeah well these guys have been hurt but you know you just mentioned her Shella, Tauchman as well. I was going to bring up Tauchman. 394 since July 1st. Right and I mean he's been unbelievable as well and these are guys that really didn't get opportunities elsewhere and look if anybody was going to tell you oh yeah well I knew her Shella was going to hit then I'd have called the airline maybe catch a ball but I don't know about the hitting part and then even you could even say you know DJ LaMahue has been arguably the best free agent signed. He's come over and hasn't missed it. He's been better. He has been better for the Yankees than he was when he won batting titles for the Rockies. I mean that has been unbelievable. I mean so there is that luck element. My biggest surprise concerning the Yankees is the fact that the Red Sox are 17 and a half games behind the Yankees on August 14th. If you would have told me that at the beginning of the season I wouldn't have believed you. Yeah I would have taken that bet too. Exactly. So they have shut down Jake Arietta, Sweeney Aura, the postseason hopes for the Phillies done with Jake Arietta being shut down. I don't think you can ever say done especially in the National League. I don't think anyone is done. There's a first tier and then a second tier in teams and I believe and I think the Phillies fit into that category. The second tier. Yeah the second tier and when you start losing guys like that I think it's the next man up. Another opportunity for these young starters. Nick Pavetta might get that opportunity. Zach Affleck might get that opportunity but this is really one of those things that you have to step up. You have to have the ability to go out there and man that position and I think the Philadelphia Phillies are going to expect that. Yeah you know look at Jake Arietta wasn't as Gabe said really giving them an opportunity to win. You know he was taxing the bullpen. He wasn't able to go deep. He had a real rough one against San Francisco and so you know now you move Zach Affleck or as you mentioned Pavetta these guys have been in the bullpen. That's not where they're suited and Gabe Kapler has been kind of you know his hands have been tied. You know I use these guys and I can't use them for a few days because their starters are getting acclimated to the bullpen. Now you put them in the rotation where they would much rather be to begin with and then again the pitching staff isn't going to be what gets them to the postseason. It's they've got to be okay. It's going to be the offense. The offense is going to have to get going. They're going to have to hit their way to the postseason. You saw Harper. You see Hoskins real mute. Charlie manual. That's the magic potion. Yeah you know what Charlie manual will give them really an uptick. He think about Jim Tom. He's always said that that's his passion to be able to talk about hitting to have the connection that you have with hitters even though he managed there before and that's a different dynamic. He's been in touch with this organization for a long time so he knows the players knows what's going to take but really when it comes down to Bryce Harper has to be the MVP version of 2015 version for this offense to go off and that's going to help the pitching. But we pretty much you I know you guys agree that the Nats and the Braves you see as playoff teams you think three teams make it from the NL East the Phillies get in. I so I don't know well I shouldn't say I think they get in but it's not inconceivable. I don't see anybody I do see the Braves and the Nationals getting in then whoever wins a central they automatically get to go in right and that I mean I would say the Cardinals probably have the best chance of winning that division. I don't know that somebody else comes out of there. I could see the Phillies getting hot again. That offense it has the ability to dominate whether they do it or not. We'll find out. I think there's a lot of parody when you think about that but also every week it's going to change. You're going to see a hot team and go well they have the best opportunity but that's going to change week to week. There's a lot of baseball left. Do you call it parody or mediocrity? Both. Like I mean seriously like it's how you look at it. I mean it seems like if three if the three teams go in from the National League East then I think that's parody. That's not mediocrity if you have three in the yeah it's mediocrity across the National League me across like so I think you have the Dodgers you have the Nationals and you have the Braves then there's a drop off and then it then it's just like I mean whoever is playing well at the end of the year that's who's going to get in.