 We're talking about this early with the players weekend and I love the fact that Gardner puts Gardner He's not gonna play any games. Yeah, and I doubt that cheater would have put anything on his uniform. What what would you have done? We talked about this last year remember sexy, Texas. Yeah, that was gonna be that was you would have really done that I Would have why not that's ridiculous first of all three the whole players weekends ridiculous Thank you with so might as well be ridiculous with it Now you know what baseball reminds me of Mario, and I love baseball, but when they try to be quote-unquote hip It's like the old guy trying to be hip, right? It's like it's like when your mom like my dad wanted to relate to me and like would start talking about my bands like That guy Judas Priest he sounds like he's cool. No dad. It's a band. It's not it's not a guy Like it's an old man trying too hard. This me this to me seems like an old man trying too hard This is not gonna get the youth of America excited about baseball It's not there are things that baseball could do every day Little things like letting guys, you know where where special cleats You know having having a little bit more fun in game like during during the game I mean, I'm not saying go minor leagues demolition derby style But you know, I think majorly baseball is trying their best players weekend I think it'll probably last a few years and then it's gonna go away Let's let's talk about Greg bird I know your fan and I'm a fan 2 for 25 on this road trip and he has not had that Kind of liftoff that we thought he was going to have any concern on your part I'm concerned just for the fact. He's not hitting fastballs When I was struggling, you know, no matter if it was a young player or as I got older I could still always hit the fastball, you know, you know, whether I had to cheat or not You know might be a different story, but you threw me a fastball in the middle of the plate I was gonna hit it if you can't catch up to fastballs if you can't catch up to velocity You're gonna have a problem in today's baseball And that's the only thing I worry about with Greg bird is that are some of these injuries taking their toll Is he a guy that kind of has that that nice sweet relaxed swing that in baseball in 2018 Where everyone throws 95 and above it's just not equating to success for him And are you seeing that do you think it could be physical? I Don't know. I mean Again, you should be able to hit a fastball like, you know guys in the big leagues that you know When you hear a scout talk about well, he has a problem with the breaking ball That's okay I don't mind if the guy has a problem to breaking ball because every pitcher has to throw a fastball over the plate eventually And and if you are not hitting a fastball consistently in the big leagues You will not have consistent success That is a fact and so there's there lies the problem with him And I don't know exactly what it is if the physical is just the way that he swings So they need to make some adjustments Mechanically, but I think the Yankees are hoping he figures it out quickly because you know You can get by playing the Chicago White Sox without a healthy productive great bird or a healthy productive flavor Torres You're not going to win in the playoffs without those guys doing something How does this Red Sox team measure up to the the great Red Sox teams you faced? better in in pretty much all regards the only thing I would say is that the great Red Sox teams That you know the one championships in 0-4 and 0-7 and and 2013 had a ton of veterans and There's a really good balance between the veteran and young players a lot of these guys are kind of in between Which I'm not I don't know if it's good or bad But I'm just wondering in a playoff situation when you have so many good young players guys that maybe aren't as Playoff tested will that come back to to bite the Red Sox and and we will find out in October You know last year they they obviously had a great season and got bounced in the first round And I'm wondering if the experience or lack of experience hurt them What did that four game sweep of the Yankees tell you anything? well, they're better right now and I think the Yankees Just that the two guys I talked about Torres and bird have to get going obviously when Aaron judge comes back That's gonna be huge, but you know It's gonna be very difficult to beat the Red Sox or the Astros for that matter without better starting pitching And it's a broken record, but it's something that we have to talk about because as much as we can feel good about the Yankees You know on pace to win a hundred two games. This is a great team This Yankee team is a great team, but they're not better than the Red Sox And so that's a problem because you're gonna have to beat them eventually if you want to go to the world series now Judge being out and I think having Sanchez in and if he was performing better would make this team better So obviously gonna struggle when you lose your best players when you look at Houston, you know No, Springer and no Korea no Altuve and they continue to win is that just how deep they are as a team? Or does a veteran team that's been there done that just able to survive the injuries back and they also don't have your step Brother Brian McCann. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Yeah, you know once Matt comes back at game But no and all seriousness if they're starting pitching you can lose a an all-star now to the MVP you can lose an all-star in Korea you can lose guys like that here and there when you're starting pitching is dominant like the Astros and and that's what you worry a little bit about with the Yankees is everyone's are not everyone But a lot of people are saying oh well, you know judge and Sanchez are out Yeah, but if they're starting pitchers give up five or six runs every time out or can't get out of the third inning It doesn't matter if judge and Sanchez are back You're not going to out score teams Consistently tend to aid in the playoffs. I just don't think you're going to win a world series like that And so as as big of a boost as it will be The Yankees still need to shore up the rotation and figure out who are going to be those four guys going in October Stand with a grand slam yesterday. He has certainly if not put the team on his back He's done what he's supposed to do. Is this the player they traded for I Think it is. I mean, I think fans are probably going to say well He's not having as good of a season as he did last year. Well, he won the MVP I mean, he's not getting any better than being the MVP. So You know the Yankees bought high by definition. You can't buy a guy any higher than then what do you When he's coming off of an MVP season, so yeah, I mean from that regard He's not having as good of a season but for me for my team I'm putting him three four every single day and loving what he's doing right now I mean this guy he's gonna hit 30 plus homerys and drive in a hundred RBI's He is a huge force whether he gets a hit or not pitchers are careful with them And I think he's a guy that ultimately his season will be judged by how far the Yankees go in the playoffs And and how well he does in the playoffs if he hits one or two big home runs in a playoff run and And and the Yankees win a world series He will be a hero and you'll forget about you know, he didn't hit 55 and 140 like last year But he's gonna be a big part of a good team in October. I play doctor for me Kevin Kern and tweets out judge will not swing a bat because he has pain in end range of motion explain what that means and I can do everything kind of slowly smoothly and feel good about where I am when I'm Coming off of a wrist injury and I had two wrist injuries in my career The the last test is letting it go Taking that full swing and end range is you know when you roll your wrist over so at contact You're hitting the ball and then rolling your wrist over when you have pain in that moment That's a bad sign and I just think I think Aaron judge will eventually get healthy because The nature of the fracture wasn't terrible. I just think it's gonna be longer than people expect I'm watching Zach Britton pitch And all I can imagine and this is not a knock on the kid because I I trade The defense for the offense. How is Gary Sanchez gonna catch Zach Britton? Oh? I Hear you Michael. That's gonna be tough I mean it was a great defender is having a tough time Yes, I watched that outing where where Austin actually had a couple great blocks Right, and then the ball that almost looked like it was gonna be a strike Darted down at the last second and was the past ball and this is gonna be an issue for the Yankees moving forward because Zach Britton has one of the most unique Left-handed sinker balls, you know power sinkers in baseball history And you just don't see guys throw balls like that and if Gary Sanchez is having problems Catching or blocking regular pitching It's gonna be very difficult for him in the a-finning when the tying run is at third base For Zach Britton to feel really good about throwing that power sinker in the dirt with Gary back there So I think Gary is working on that right now mentally or or physically, you know Try to figure out how he's gonna catch Zach Britt You know so much has been made about The DeGrom record when you're talking about the Cy Young he's six and seven, but he's got a 1.77 earner on average much better Then sure sirs who's over two, but sure sirs got a lot of other statistics on DeGrom He is being that big an advantage at ERA to you enough for DeGrom to take home the Cy Young if things stay the way I don't think so Don as much as I love Jacob DeGrom and wish that he had a better season record wise Because the Mets have been so so bad when he pitches. I just don't think you know, he's six and seven right now He may he's not even get the 10 wins and There's such a it's such a bad team Shares are 15 and 5 on a team that's fighting for their playoff lives I just think that the voters are gonna take all of that into account I think they're gonna tip their caps to Jacob DeGrom and say great season But it's not Cy Young worthy because of these other factors You probably heard what Jason worth the former Philly said He said quote they've got all these super nerds as I call them in the front office that know nothing about baseball But they like to project numbers and project players. I think it's killing the game It's to the point where just put computers out there just put laptops on what have you just put them out there and let them play We don't even need to go out there anymore. It's a joke Do most players feel like this? Do you feel like this? No, most players do not feel like this maybe five years ago the first time You know one of these quote-unquote nerds came to us and said hey I want you to think about this or or look at these numbers Maybe we had a initial reaction that was who are these guys, but what year is it Jason worth is? Unfortunately just upset that his career ended the way it ended. He wanted to keep playing. He didn't get a contract I'm sure his agent was telling him the well the reason you didn't get a contract is because all of these statistics don't match up He's just upset and I don't think we should give this any credence because baseball today is has embraced analytics and The best teams and I'll put the Yankees out there as as one of those teams Know how to mesh the analytical guys of the front office and the baseball scouting guys of the front office and make the right Decisions and I think you know those quote-unquote nerds are a huge part of baseball. They're not going away. Yeah, it's funny I I always wondered this the guys in the locker room that go out on the field They were never friends and I don't want to call somebody a nerd because it's a it's a pejorative term They were never friends for the most part with these guys that are coming down Is it a hard adjustment to have a guy who obviously didn't play for the most part? Most of them didn't play but they're super bright and they figured out the angles telling you what to do Yeah, it's and that's a great point Michael It all depends on how that guy is coming down and and giving you the information I think that's why you have some of these managers That are bridging the gap the Vals core Aaron Boone types that are now bridging the gap between The front office analytical guys and the players because if a guy come if I'm in an 0 for 20 slump And I'm already upset and some guy comes down that I know is never played baseball or hasn't played since he was five years old and Tells me hey text. Why can't you hit this pitch? It's this easy. Look at the numbers. I might tell him to just get out but if he comes down with a coach by his side and we have a intellectual conversation about how pitchers are attacking me and maybe I want to think about it just being my approach and Then you know, I'm gonna listen, but I think it all depends on how these guys are coming down into the clubhouse I think that's evolved as well, too. That five years ago again that that was not It was not an easy transition for those guys to come into the locker room I think now because of the way the coaching staffs are put together I think it's a lot easier some of those guys are pretty aggressive though I've heard with other teams like they they march into a manager's office and start cursing. Why didn't you do this? I mean that must be a tough adjustment And you know what Michael those guys are not gonna have long careers in baseball because the fact of the matter is as smart as you are as As sound as your numbers and your advice might be This game is played on the field. It's played between the lines by by a bunch of guys that give their heart and soul Play through injuries. You know, this is this is our lives. You know physical game I have to be I have to be physically on top of my game I don't care what the numbers say sometimes I might override you with how I feel and if you're overly aggressive with your numbers and your analytics and You got to do it this way You're not gonna have a long career in this game. I'm glad you said that because there has to be room for God There has to be room for heart Sports is interesting because people defy the numbers All right upsets are occur because people defy the numbers That's why you go out there and you play the game and I just wonder sometimes to Jason's point Jason worth That does that get lost in all the analytics? I want this guy to play. Yeah, but he's over 20 against lefties No, I want I just feel that he's ready to pop I want to be able to have that in the game and as long as that's in the game I can live with the analytics, but you wonder if some teams Don't allow that heart and that desire and that human element to blossom in their sport Yeah, and Don it happened the Yankees Red Sox series Steve Pierce. It's three homers The game world right start the next day He's in the lineup and I remember watching the game and I'm not sure you know It might even you guys Michael saying hey the numbers say you shouldn't be starting this game, right? But it's but Alex Cora has a really good feeling about Steve Pearson. He's the hot one And they actually showed Mitch Moreland in the dugout. This is an all-star. That's that the numbers say probably should be starting But but Mitch Moreland got a big smile on space cheered on Steve Pearson. What did Steve Pierce do? He went deep again And so so you're right Don you have to have that gut You have to look at a player in the eyes and and talk to the hitting coach and say is this guy hot How's this guy stealing and the hitting coach and the players say yep, put me in that lineup I'll produce for you a couple of text messages before we let you go Mike and Selden asked a very simple question mark Do you think you would have picked and do horse throw from the other night that bird couldn't? The easy answer is of course I would have picked it because I don't ever remember missing a pick my entire career I think I was a hundred percent picking But I'm gonna leave that one at that. I always think that I was gonna pick that ball Aldo D'Amico and my old stomping ground of Hartsdale, which office is a motion the Yankees prioritized to ensure a lengthy championship run? For next season. Yeah Yeah, Patrick Corbin Left left-hander from from the Diamondbacks picks in a pitcher friendly ballpark I think his last outing was six or seven scoreless. He's pitched in big games I really like the way he plays the game good athlete and I'm a big fan of lefties in New York Just to keep keep righties away from that short short porch, you know Right-handed pitchers seem to get dinged up a little bit more in New York I to your former teams going at it tonight first of four. Hope you enjoy the series and we thank you for coming on