 Mark how you doing I'm great Michael how you guys we're doing great is this just a fan thing or is it the Yankees really really don't want to see the Red Sox celebrate on their turf it's more of a fan thing honestly when you know I've been on the field for you know different points whether you whether a team clenches a playoff for or whether whether you lose a playoff series so they're clenching that and celebrating you run off the field and in 30 seconds as a player you're done so it doesn't I mean it hurts losing as a player you never want to lose the game any any game you play but it is way more of a fan thing could you imagine 50 000 especially because it's a close game right you know two nights ago if the Yankees would have blown that lead at the end with Britain throwing the ball around that would have been a gut punch to Yankee fans you know 50 000 people watching the Red Sox you know spraying champagne on their field so I think it's definitely more for the fans it's amazing I'm trying to think really in any sport Mark and you follow sports that you can have a picture like David Price is really really good but the bigger stage the harder he falls whether it's the postseason whether it's the Yankees and let's face it Yankee Red Sox people are paying attention to that he flat out cannot beat the Yankees especially at the stadium it's got to be psychological right yeah I think there's some sort of mental block when when he gets onto the mound at Yankee Stadium and you know baseball is such a confidence sport you have to be confident when you're in the box you're on that mount you're in complete control of the game but if you're off a little bit especially Yankee Stadium you're leaving balls out over the plate those right handers are hitting home runs the other way it can spin out of control quickly and you know Price actually looked pretty good the first few innings but you know the the the demons of Yankee Stadium got to him again and you got to think that with the season that he's had he's had a really good season it's mental with the Yankees Luke Voight got him twice ports them twice is Voight for real and do the Yankees now go into next year thinking Voight's their first baseman and not Bird isn't that crazy just just here yeah Michael is crazy but if you think about it you know people look at a big strong Luke Voight you know you're not very fast not you're not necessarily a five cool type player but he's got a nice short swing and he's not a guy who's just kind of squinted for the fences you know strikes out every you're every other at bat he puts together really good at bats yeah he's going to strike out because he's got a pretty good eye but he's gonna walk and he's gonna hit those home runs to right field and you know he's he's as strong as anybody in baseball and if you actually give him 500 at bats heck he could hit 30 plus home runs you know I worry a little bit about him getting overexposed a little bit like what happened with Austin Row Mind this year you know Austin Row Mind still been really well for Gary but when your book gets bigger in in in this game they will find your holes and when you only have a couple hundred at bats you know one or two hundred at bats under your belt the big league level you know those at analytics department doesn't have enough information on you I would be interested to see 500 at bats if Luke Voight's holes works goes a little bit more do the analytics tell you how important Neil Walker is to this team he's so important you know that signing uh one of the most underrated signings of the off season it didn't pay off for the first four months it really you know Neil Walker he didn't have a he didn't have a spring training he's behind the eight ball he wasn't getting consistent at bats he was playing multiple different positions but he handled it like a pro every step of the way and now when I go into the playoffs and I'm you know you're going to have interesting situations come up whether it's a defensive replacement whether it's a pinch runner needed you know whatever it might be he fills a role for this Yankees team in the post season that is super valuable and um obviously the big three are on home or the other night the guy can hit he's a professional hitter he's going to put up good at bats um and and he's been big for this team the last few weeks now one of the guys on this team that was an ex-team made of yours and I'm sure that it's a very very difficult thing for Aaron Boone to do but it looks like Brett Gardner is now a bench player because they like what McCutcheon has done and the fact that he did not start Gardner against Evaldi spoke volumes to me and you know moments ago when he met with the media they asked what McCutcheon would be in the playoffs and Boone said he's going to be a dude for us and that's Boone speak that he's going to play a lot how tough do you think this is for Gardner and for the Yankees to do this to Gardner you know what I don't think it's as tough as it sounds Michael and this is why Brett Gardner has been the ultimate kind of grinder warrior type player since the since his rookie year he's never been a guy that you know the Yankees have uh had to lean on for hey you're going to carry our team this week or this month he's just kind of fit the role wherever you put him and I think because of that he's going to look at this opportunity you know what do I wish I was starting absolutely but I'm going to get some at bats in the postseason I'm going to I'm going to get you know maybe a couple pitch running uh appearances I'm going to play some outfield here and there and I'm going to do everything I can to help this team win he's that type of guy this is this is much different if you had to sit you know remember when Alex Rodriguez got best during the playoffs in 2012 totally different situations here and I think Brett Gardner is is enough of a professional I think Aaron Boone is you know when he comes and talks to Brett Gardner about his role I'm sure those are great conversations and Guardi's saying all right Booney whatever you need from me I'm going to be there for you now they'll bench Gardner they've benched Bird they've taken and do her out for defense late they really don't play that game with Sanchez is that right Mark do you think that they're treating him a little bit with kid gloves do they think that maybe psychologically would bother him if they were to bench him or take him out late for defense well I think the reason that they're doing that with Sanchez is that his ceiling is still the best catcher in baseball and after this season you may have to kind of to relook at at his career and maybe reset those expectations but Gary Sanchez is ceiling when healthy is can be the best catcher in baseball and I don't think Greg Bird's ceiling is the best first baseman in baseball I don't think you know Brett Gardner's ceiling is the best left dealer in baseball and so I think that the Yankees are probably doing the right thing here saying hey Gary we think you're great we're gonna keep you in there show us that you're great now we ask you this every Thursday and it's a fluid question that's why we ask you every Thursday and I don't know if you feel this way I thought that Severino looked as close to vintage yesterday as he has since the since the all-star break who's your wild card starter it's still Tanaka it's still I just I just feel really good about that you know I watch the games on yes you know almost every night and you guys always talk about it listen this is going to be a bullpen game for the wild card anyway as soon as whoever the starter is as soon as there are you know a few guys on second third four you know whatever inning it is early innings and Booney and Larry Rothschild think that it's time to go to the pen they're making that call so I still like Tanaka's upside Tanaka to give you three or four innings you know throwing that split down in the dirt and not giving up any hits whereas you've said you've seen he can blow up you know in a couple innings I think half is probably your game one starter and I almost rather have that type of of backup where half can now go twice in the in the first round if he has to because you know he's been second half this season since the Yankees have gotten them he's been their best pitcher yeah we talked like Tanaka for yeah I like Tanaka for a few innings that's that's what I that's what I see for that wild card game now we talk about the unfairness of one game and done in the wild card right well last year's third place wild card team was under 500 Tampa Bay is going to win 90 plus games Mark and miss the playoffs so it's just I mean how how would you feel in that organization if you're cash if you're the guys that play for Tampa how much pride can you take in a non-playoff season you can and I'll go back to the 2004 Texas Rangers we were expected to be a last-place team it was the year that you know Alistair Rodriguez gets traded to the to the Yankees all of our veterans they're either signed somewhere else or get traded we had a bunch of young players and then a bunch of old guys that were at the end of their career and we went out and won 89 games we were in it until the last weekend of the season and we left that season feeling good about ourselves feeling like hey you know what we're building something here now we ended up not being able to capitalize on that and kind of went back to a 500 team the next year but this Tampa Bay team knows that they're good they know that they have talent they know that they can you know they can win close games and so yeah are they are they as talented as the Yankees or Red Sox they're not their payroll is half of what the Yankees and Red Sox spend and they can still feel good about this year these first two games and this is not like overreaction Monday or Tuesday in football and I've watched them all year I think the Red Sox are a great team but there's a flaw in this team mark to me that can rear its ugly head in the postseason they have a very rickety bridge from starter to kimbrill I'm not sure that this team as great as it is is a world series winning team because of that I agree and I've gone back and forth between the Astros and the Red Sox like who's the best team in the American League and I think we can all agree that the body of work that the Red Sox have put together this year is really impressive you know anytime you win you know 100 you know 110 plus games you're a great team but in a seven game series with the right-handed pitchers that the Astros have versus the Red Sox with the amount of damage that the Astros can do as you said Michael late into a game you know what I still think the Astros are a better team and the Yankees if they win if they have a home game against the Ace they win that game now you got ja half going you know game one in Boston and the Yankees have some momentum from winning that first game and the Red Sox haven't played a meaningful game in three weeks it could be advantage Yankees I mean I would not be surprised if the Yankees went into Boston and won one or two games there to start that five game series I look at it this way mark with the Yankees if they get past a wild card they're in as good a shape as if they won the American League East because of the fact they're built for the postseason they have three really good starters and they have an outstanding bullpen if Chapman is what Chapman is you're exactly right the only caveat is it is they they it would still be great if they had home field advantage we know how good the Yankees were at home last year they seem to not be able to score runs on the road you know so um I would say that the Yankees on a neutral you know all things being equal they're as good as anybody but to have having to go into Boston and then either you know Cleveland or Houston might be a little bit tougher for them they feel a lot better there at Yankee Stadium for four out of seven or three out of five oh it's all with Mark to share his weekly spot on the show mark I've got some text messages for you this is from Gene he says I'm usually a cashman fan but I think he missed on the stand and trade his numbers don't justify his contract stand is signed until 2027 he has a full node trade clause and might only accept the trade to the Dodgers should the Yankees look to trade him this offseason it's a really good question I think the I think Brian Cashman has proven that he's always open for business and if the Yankees feel that you know Bryce Harper could come to New York or they feel that there's some other opening that they can they can trade stand they might look at it but the fact of the matter is is young Carlos Danton is still one of the best power hitters in baseball anybody's first year in New York is usually a tough transition you know I got lucky that you know I got on a good role in May and and you know had a really good season we won the world series but that's not typical you know most most guys that go from a small market like the Marlins to New York there's a little bit of an adjustment period and I think Stanton's handled handled himself fine the contract will be judged in the last few years and everyone's going to say ah it was a terrible sign why'd Cashman do that but the fact is if the Yankees win a world series with John Carlos Danton in that lineup it was worth it and and everybody knows that that lineup is better right now with Stanton in it um we've proven it the Yankees have proven that they can win games without air and judge and one of the reasons is because Stan is still stuck this is from John from Oakhurst can Gary Sanchez's defense be corrected does he need his eyes checked at this point as he misses strikes as well as balls in the dirt I don't I don't think it's his eyes because this is one of the best hitters when he's right um but you know why not let's let's make sure we get Gary you know an eye doctor but I just think this is one of the this is such a tough year for Gary for a lot of reasons he's going to have to really work hard this off season and attack some of the issues that he's had and go into next year with kind of that eye of the tiger um a lot of people talk about his low motor and blah blah blah he needs to come out next spring training almost feeling like he has to win a job almost feeling like he has to prove himself again because no matter how he finishes the last week and a half this season the numbers are going to be ugly offensively and defensively all right before we let you go on this date September 20th who are your world series teams at this point you guys love doing this to me oh yeah it's the Astros in the Cup the Astros in the Cubs and and at this point in the season the reason I say that is they are both relatively healthy and on paper talent wise they have the best rosters so I can't tell you who's going to get hot on October 1st or 2nd but health and talent right now go the edge goes to the Astros in the Cubs great stuff we'll talk to you next week Mark