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00:00Do you miss being ejected? Do you miss arguing as much as you're using?
00:04I've got ejected twice already.
00:06Yeah.
00:08So I'm on my normal pace.
00:09John, there's significant injury since we last got together, which is to Aaron Judge.
00:14It's the biggest story in New York baseball right now.
00:17We're going to be able to talk about that and more with a frequent guest of the show, Aaron Boone.
00:21Yeah, it's great that you got Boone to come on again.
00:23He's absolutely a friend of the show, a friend of the media, and we really do appreciate that.
00:30We will ask him, and we both think that the Yankees are going to survive this,
00:33so we're not going to be surprised if Boone puts a good spin on it, too.
00:38We do as well, but it's certainly going to be interesting to ask him about everything Volpe,
00:43anything else going on with the Yankees.
00:46Now, it's not all 100% wine and roses with the Yankees right now,
00:51so it'll be good to have him out again.
00:53If anyone can find the negativity, it's me and you, John.
00:56We'll be able to ask him some tough questions along the way.
00:58So we'll have Aaron Boone and talk about all that Yankees stuff.
01:01John and I at the top, we'll talk about both New York teams,
01:04including if we think the Mets can make a run here for a National League wildcard spot.
01:10We'll play hit and error at the end if you stick with us on the show with Joel Sherman and
01:14John Hayley.
01:20John, since we were last on, there was a diagnosis on the best player on the Yankees
01:26and arguably at least the best hitter in the sport, Aaron Judge, if not the best overall player.
01:33He has a fractured rib.
01:35He feels like they're not even going to evaluate him for four to six weeks,
01:39so that feels like two months, right, at minimum, that the Yankees are going to have to survive without him.
01:46Their track record over the last five years in particular has not been very good when Judge has not played
01:53for the team.
01:54In 2019, he missed two months.
01:56It was a very good record.
01:58That was a deep team.
01:59We have had a sense, we've talked a lot about it on this show, John, that this is a deeper
02:04team.
02:05And can they weather the storm for 30, 40, 50 games, whatever this is going to be?
02:11What do you think?
02:13Yeah, I think they can, and it has little to do with them.
02:15It's mostly about the league.
02:17You said it.
02:17I said it.
02:18The American League stinks this year.
02:20It's just terrible.
02:22The Rays and the Guardians are the other two best teams in the league at this point.
02:27I got to think Seattle's better than it's played.
02:30You would think Detroit is probably better than it's played over there so far out.
02:34Who knows?
02:35But that, to me, is the main factor in this.
02:38I do think the Yankees' depth is a little bit better.
02:42Their pitching is good, particularly their starting pitching at the top,
02:46especially when Freed gets back.
02:49Stanton will be back fairly soon, probably 10 days or so.
02:53At least that's what they hope.
02:54But it is the league that stinks, so Yankees aren't going to go anywhere.
02:59I mean, you know, they're right in the thick of things right now, tied with the Rays as we do
03:03this.
03:03And I expect them to be close, if not ahead, when he comes back.
03:08You know, John, I do think we tend to, when we're doing what we do in New York,
03:13even though we're kind of national guys because we also work at the network,
03:16we're national writers at the post, you get myopic.
03:19And then we're probably poisoned by fans who are screaming all the time.
03:23And I certainly have a lot of Yankee fans in my life who treat them like garbage,
03:28like that they're terrible.
03:29And to your point, I just wanted to point it out to a few of them on text yesterday.
03:34If the Yankees are garbage, what's the rest of the American League?
03:37Because the Yankees are now tied for the best record in the league with the Rays.
03:40I think the Rays are going to sink pretty badly.
03:43I don't think that they're a very deep team.
03:46I know they mapped their way to a lot of things.
03:48I think the team they got to watch out for is the Blue Jays.
03:51The Blue Jays over the next two weeks are going to get back probably three starting pitchers,
03:56Cease, Scherzer, and Bieber.
03:58They're going to get back Alejandro Kirk, who's very important to their team.
04:01And they're going to get back Addison Barger, who hasn't played well this year,
04:05but sure helped them a lot last year and had big hits.
04:08And the Yankees went 1-8 in Toronto between the regular season and the postseason.
04:15And that's how their season, both regular and postseason, was destroyed.
04:18And by the way, they've got Toronto coming up on the back end of this road trip.
04:22To me, they can't let Toronto breathe, especially when they're playing them.
04:26That's the team to keep an eye on in the AL East.
04:29I mean, yeah, I agree.
04:31Toronto should be better than it's played, or a lot, you could say, but a lot of American League teams.
04:37But they have the record that they have.
04:39They're coming off of a very disheartening World Series defeat.
04:44You know, I do think that affects teams.
04:46They have had a number of injuries.
04:48Who says they won't have more injuries?
04:50Who says these guys are going to come back and be what they were?
04:53All of them.
04:54So, you know, I'm not so sure.
04:58I think they'll be better.
05:00I'm not seeing a major threat in the American League.
05:03Fairly, the three best teams are in the National League, right?
05:06The Braves, the Dodgers, and the Brewers.
05:08Those are three teams that have been excellent.
05:10I can't say start to finish because the Brewers had some rough spots there.
05:14But generally, they've been excellent.
05:16There's no team you can say that about in the American League.
05:19I'm not sure what Yankee fans you hang out with.
05:22They're probably typical.
05:23They do show up at the games.
05:25They do seem pretty excited about the team when they're there.
05:28You know, I'm not hearing as much.
05:30You know, I think, you know, some of my friends are so caught up with the Knicks now they're
05:33not paying attention or whatever.
05:35But, I mean, the Yankees have played generally pretty well.
05:39Bellinger has been one of the better free agent signings.
05:44The Goldschmidt and Rosario have been good signings.
05:48Schlittler and Rice look like stars, which is huge.
05:52They've got a seventh-rounder and a twelfth-rounder who are stars.
05:56So, I mean, I think there's a lot to like about the Yankees.
06:00Oh, I agree, John.
06:02I think that they're the best team in the league.
06:03Our producer, Tommy Hogan, might be really close with one of the Yankee fans who's crazed
06:09about them at all times.
06:11So, and I get text messages from.
06:14But, yeah, look, I think they're the best team.
06:17I think they have a real strength that should help them the whole time, which is their starting
06:22pitching is very deep and very good, and that's without Max Fried.
06:28I do think it will be fascinating.
06:31I am fascinated what the Carlos Legrande thing looks like.
06:34I know that they're kind of like what they're calling deloading him, which is, if you noticed
06:39his first relief appearance was four innings.
06:41So, I assume they're going to stagger him down to about two in one innings to go back
06:46to back.
06:47So, this is going to take a few weeks, maybe the early July, to get him to the team.
06:51But I think they need some internal improvement before they do external improvement.
06:56Like, can Spencer Jones and or Jason Dominguez give them anything offensively so maybe they
07:02don't have to go out and prioritize a bat?
07:04I think that all their priorities need to be on that bullpen.
07:07And even there, can they answer some of it internally with Legrande and when Fried comes
07:13back, whoever falls out of the rotation, whether that's Weathers or Warren, etc.
07:17I think that there is an internal thing that needs to happen over the next 30 to 40 days
07:22while they're weathering Judge to see if they can solve some stuff internally.
07:27Yeah, I mean, Spencer Jones and Dominguez are very talented.
07:31I hear some doubters among the scouts with Jones with the stance and the swing, but he has
07:38produced in the minor leagues.
07:39He's hit a lot of home runs.
07:41I say give him a chance.
07:42I'm not glad the judge got hurt, but I think it's nice that Jones is getting another chance.
07:50I do think he does have talent.
07:52But look, Rice is terrific.
07:55Bellinger is terrific.
07:56They were a little top-heavy, and they lost the very top of the top-heavy crew.
08:01They were a little bit left-handed.
08:03Now they're a little bit more left-handed.
08:06I mean, there are issues you can pick on with the Yankees, but just take a look at the other
08:10teams.
08:10As we both stated, they all stink.
08:14The other teams are not good.
08:15They're bad.
08:16This is the worst that any league has been that I can remember in years.
08:20I'm sure there are examples of leagues that have been worse than this, but it's just not
08:26good.
08:26The best teams are all in the National League.
08:29Yeah, you know, there's five teams over 500 in the American League.
08:32Conversely, let's look at the National League.
08:35There's 12 teams that are either in playoff position or three and a half games out of a
08:41playoff position in the National League.
08:43None of them are the New York Mets.
08:45The Mets are five out of the wild card.
08:47Um, if I were, John, trying to make a positive mission statement about the Mets, I would
08:55do two things.
08:56And I guess at some point we need to stop doing this, but I will make the 2024 comparison
09:00again.
09:01Through 65 games, the Mets are 29 and 36.
09:04They were 28 and 37 two years ago.
09:07They had the third worst record in the league at this time.
09:11Two years ago, they have the third worst record.
09:14And they just kind of climbed up.
09:16And the other thing I would say is if the Padres are an example of the teams that are
09:20ahead of the Mets, then the Mets should feel encouraged that over the next three plus months,
09:26they can make up five games.
09:28Now, again, they're not going to do that as an under 500 team.
09:30At some point, they're going to have to climb completely out of this.
09:33But John, I know nobody, everybody who listens to us should know, nobody contacts more people,
09:38stays in touch with people in the game like you.
09:41Nobody.
09:41I see how hard you work all the time.
09:44I'll say this from talking to people who I talk to.
09:46There's this repetitive thing.
09:49The Mets are a good team with a strong farm system that had a terrible start.
09:53Could that good team with a strong farm system overcome the terrible start?
09:58I think that it's still possible.
10:01But they have certainly made it that they can't have another bad stretch in the season.
10:06Exactly.
10:07I mean, can they make a run?
10:09Sure.
10:09You know, everybody but the Rockies makes a run at some point, basically.
10:13They can make a run.
10:15You know, obviously, the young outfielders are looking great.
10:18Benj off the five for five game.
10:20It's good they started with them.
10:22It's good they stuck with them.
10:24Ewing looks terrific defensively.
10:27He's got a great idea about the strike zone.
10:29That walk against Miller the other night.
10:31Very impressive.
10:32I like both players very much.
10:34By the way, Ryan Clifford is killing it in the minors right now.
10:38Who knows, we may see him, although at the moment, Young is doing well.
10:42Viento's, unfortunately, for him in a slump.
10:44You know, I think they'll make a run.
10:46Do I have faith that they're going to pull off a 2024?
10:49Not really at this point.
10:51Look, Polanco, we don't know when he's coming back.
10:54If ever, Robert, we don't know about him coming back.
10:57I do think Lindor will be back sometime this month.
11:00At least that's the expectation.
11:02That will help.
11:03They are a decent team.
11:06But they're, I'm not convinced they're a playoff team at this point.
11:10I'm really not.
11:11Too many questions.
11:12They've got too many starting pitchers.
11:14They feel they need to have an opener for and be bulk pitchers rather than actual starters.
11:19It has worked.
11:20Peterson and Minayev had good starts that way.
11:23It didn't really work that well with Tong, but it worked with the two.
11:27I do like Christian Scott.
11:29Basically, the young guys are doing well, right?
11:31The young guys are really energizing this team.
11:35And I will not be surprised if they make a run.
11:38But their schedule does get tougher.
11:40There are a few teams that are good in the National League, unlike the American League.
11:45And they're going to start to play more of them.
11:47The Padres may not be one of them, the way they've hit.
11:50I mean, they've got Ty France batting third.
11:52Their offense is worse than the Mets, which is pretty bad.
11:57But they've got to play the Braves and the Phillies coming up this month.
12:00And that'll be a test.
12:01I think we'll find out soon how serious a run they can make.
12:05But do I expect them to make a run?
12:07Yes, I do think they will make a run.
12:09Yeah, John, just to put a finer point on it, like they have the most bizarre schedule I've
12:14ever seen.
12:14They've played for they've gone on four West Coast trips, barely past Memorial Day, and
12:19now they're done with it.
12:19I think they've got is it seven or nine games left outside the Eastern time zone the rest
12:24of the year.
12:24But but on this homestand, they have St.
12:27Louis, which right now is the wildcard leader.
12:30And again, I think that's a pretty soft wildcard leader.
12:33They're not they're not a team with a lot of depth.
12:35Their pitching staff doesn't strike anybody out.
12:38I think that they're not going to be able to hold on.
12:40But then they play the Braves, who are the team with the best record in the sport.
12:44And just to be the final point on it, 26 of their final 94 games, that's about 28 percent
12:50are against either the Braves or the Phillies.
12:53They have yet to play the Braves or the Phillies.
12:55We're in the almost like we're into June here, John's second week of June.
12:59So they're going to have a lot of games against the Braves.
13:02And if they they can't like throw up a three and 10 against Atlanta.
13:06No, like like they're going to have to hold their own against them.
13:10And and you made the point.
13:12I just want to kind of like like because I looked at it this morning.
13:14It's St.
13:15Louis into Atlanta, into Cincinnati, into Philadelphia, into the Cubs, into the Phillies.
13:19So it's either the Braves or wildcard contenders now for the next six series.
13:24And and like they've this is the moment for them.
13:27Like you could do some you got to hold your own against Atlanta and do damage against the
13:31wildcard contenders.
13:32I agree.
13:33It's interesting you read that schedule include the Reds and the Cubs are in that schedule.
13:37They're they both stink now, too.
13:39Right.
13:39The Reds.
13:40Well, that's the thing, John, I think they have no really encourage about who's in front
13:43of them.
13:44Yeah, right.
13:45St.
13:45Louis is not going to be a playoff team.
13:47I will be shocked if they are.
13:49I mean, in American League, maybe, you know, I think White Sox might might make it.
13:53But the National League, I think you're going to need like what they need last year where
13:57the Reds got 83 and got in.
13:58And I think you'll need more than that this year in the National League, although we just
14:02saw the Padres, who we thought was going to be a contender.
14:04They're horrific.
14:05They can't hit at all.
14:07And the Cubs are the same way.
14:10They can't hit at all.
14:11And now they've got I don't know how many pitchers that Ty Owen is going to go on the
14:14IL now.
14:15And basically almost their entire staff has been on the IL at this point.
14:19So National League is kind of moving down a couple teams are kind of fading.
14:26And there are a couple teams in position right now that we don't expect them to be there.
14:30So it may not take more than much more than 83 wins to get there.
14:34But can they get there?
14:35I mean, the Mets are below 500 at this point, right?
14:37And their schedule has not been that tough.
14:39It's been tough in terms of the travel.
14:41But I mean, you travel out there and you play the Rockies, you travel out there and you
14:45play the Angels.
14:45Not all those teams are so great in the West Coast, you know, and I don't I don't think
14:51the travel is a is a great excuse either.
14:54You know, I mean, it's not like they're traveling in the back of a bus, right?
15:00I think it's I don't think it's the travel.
15:02I think it's if you had to play the Dodgers and you had to go out there and play the
15:05Diamondbacks
15:06or a good Padres team, that would be something.
15:08But their schedule generally has been easy and they haven't handled it well.
15:11I do think going forward, they're going to be better because Scott firmly entrenched in
15:16the rotation now.
15:17Ewing now up.
15:18Benj is good, which is what we see.
15:21So as I said, I think they'll make a run.
15:23I think they'll work their way into the race.
15:26Do I think they'll make it?
15:27I'm not that confident.
15:29Yeah, I agree with you.
15:32I think that they're going to barge their way into this.
15:34I don't know if they'll be able to get there.
15:36And, you know, John, I just as bad as the Mets lineup has been, I do feel the part of
15:43the key of the season was losing Clay Holmes.
15:45It just left them short of the one guy who felt like six short innings of really good
15:50each time.
15:52And if I had any faith that Kodai Senga could ever come back to that, which I have zero
15:56faith he could come back to that, I would say, well, maybe they could weather it until
16:00late August when maybe they get Holmes back.
16:02But I just think that's a that's as big a problem.
16:05The Holmes injury, with all the offensive injuries, I actually just wonder if that's
16:10the biggest one.
16:11Yeah, I'm with you.
16:13You know, and Senga, you have a little faith, you know, has a little bit less faith than
16:17you.
16:17The Mets.
16:18Yeah, they have no faith in him, right?
16:20I mean, they sent him to the minors, shockingly, at the end of last year.
16:24And we're like, OK, you know, if things are OK, we'll make they'll make the playoffs and
16:28blah, blah, blah.
16:29Didn't do it.
16:30You know, certainly that's a big loss.
16:32I think Peralta, he's been solid.
16:35So that's a plus.
16:37You know, he's been good, good, solid to good.
16:40He may not have been a superstar to this point.
16:43McLean's last start was good.
16:46So with Scott pitching well, you know, they got a few pieces in that rotation and then
16:52they got some maybes.
16:53So, you know, compared to the other teams, that fits right in.
16:57So that's why I think they can make a run.
16:59But yeah, I'm with you.
17:01I mean, Holmes was their best pitcher.
17:02There was no debate on that.
17:04Yeah.
17:06They're obviously not in a playoff spot.
17:08Yankees are best record in the American League.
17:10But having to move forward without Aaron Judge, we'll be talking to another Aaron about it
17:14all.
17:15Their manager, Aaron Boone, if you stick with us on the show with Joel Sherman and John
17:25Our guest this week has, regardless of what maybe a lot of his fans, the fans of the team
17:31thinks, the team tied for the best record in the AL East, a team tied for the best record
17:36in the American League, a team probably heading for the playoffs for the eighth time in his
17:41nine years as manager of the New York Yankees.
17:44And we always appreciate a frequent guest with us.
17:46Aaron Boone, thank you so much for joining the show.
17:49What's up, guys?
17:50How are you?
17:51Good.
17:52Aaron, you know, it was obvious yesterday, I think you said after Game 5 without Judge
17:57that you were kind of getting tired of answering the question about how the team would perform
18:01without your best player and your captain.
18:05I wonder when you said that, and I was sitting there, is it unsaid to your...
18:11I know you're in communication all the time.
18:13But when you are in a group with them, do you speak to the absence of Judge at all?
18:20Or is it just understood what everyone else will need to do to compensate when you lose
18:25a player, like arguably the best hitter in the world, the second best player after Shohei?
18:30Yeah, I have not addressed that with the group at all.
18:36It doesn't mean there's not a time and a place for that if you feel it's necessary.
18:41But I have not felt that necessary here.
18:45Like, guys have a job to do.
18:48Guys know what they need to do.
18:49You know, I do feel like we have a lot of grownups in our room, and that serves us well.
18:54Well, you know, I think everyone's smart enough to understand, you know, what it means to not
19:01have Aaron Judge there for a minute.
19:03But the bottom line is he's still a huge presence in our everyday interactions and meetings and
19:11things like that.
19:12So, you know, it's the inevitable part of a season.
19:17You're going to face things that you didn't necessarily expect or whatever, and that's part
19:22of navigating the major league season, and that's something that we talk about ahead of
19:27time a lot.
19:28You know, like, you've got to be able to navigate those waters, adversity, good times, bad times,
19:33and I feel confident in our group that we'll be able to do that.
19:37Nobody's really given a timetable for Judge's return.
19:41What do you think?
19:43Are you pretty confident he will be back from what you've been told?
19:47Yes.
19:48Yeah.
19:50And he's very confident.
19:52What have you been told that you're so confident?
19:55What makes you so confident?
19:57Because they really haven't said that he, they said they expect him to back, but they haven't
20:02said anything beyond that.
20:03What makes you confident?
20:04Just the nature of the injury and hearing the doctors talk, and we just haven't put a timeline
20:10on it because we don't want to do that and miss the target or make the target or, you
20:15know, anything like that.
20:16But I think there's pretty strong confidence that he'll be back and, and fully healthy.
20:22Aaron, you, you have two of the like biggest players, big, strong players who've ever played
20:28in Stanton and Judge.
20:29Stanton has had a lot of injuries along the way.
20:33And this is the fourth significant one for Judge.
20:36One is just baseball.
20:37He got hit by a pitch.
20:38What's, you know, like that kind of thing.
20:40The other ones feel like, like part of it is like force injuries, like, uh, you know,
20:45running into a wall at a certain speed, diving, et cetera.
20:48Do you think that just because of the size and what he did, you know, an oblique injury
20:54kind of thing.
20:54And I know even five foot seven players have oblique injuries, but that he, at his size
20:59and the force and strength he does with everything, it is just difficult for a player or players
21:05in this situation to stay healthy for sustained period of time.
21:10Um, I would say there's probably at least a level of more challenge to that.
21:15Sure.
21:16Um, I would, I don't think the running into the wall part, like I think, you know, the
21:21five, 10 player could have run in and hit that with his toe.
21:25So, um, but there are some forces of, you know, diving on the ground and things like that.
21:30Um, you know, obviously the, the size of that goes onto your, you know, lower body and your
21:36soft tissue stuff.
21:37That's the one thing that that's been really, that I've got to witness with, with Aaron over
21:43the last really five or six years where he's been so good at going to the post is he's
21:49gotten really good at, at navigating like a soft tissue injury that usually pops up at
21:57some point during the season.
21:59Um, and kind of play at that, you know, you know, if he, if he has to for a week
22:05or 10
22:05days, he can kind of knows how to throttle it down a little bit to play through certain
22:11things.
22:12That's what's, that's something that's been really impressive about him to me over the
22:15last five or six years, understanding how to do it, understanding how to go to the post,
22:21how to prepare every day physically to go to the post.
22:24And I, I think part of that is born out of, you know, some of the injuries that he had
22:29early in his career that cost him time.
22:32Some of them that are freak, like getting hit by the pitch and things like that.
22:35But those are things that I think bothered him too.
22:39Like I, my job is to go out there and play and go to the post.
22:42So I give him a lot of credit for the things he's done to get really good at going to
22:48the
22:48post.
22:49Um, and, and so he kind of prepares year round, uh, to do that.
22:55And, uh, that's, that's been fun to watch over the last several years when he's been winning
23:00MVPs.
23:01Yeah.
23:01I played a hundred games in a row until this injury here.
23:05Um, obviously this changes the team a lot because he's the best hitter in probably in
23:11baseball, certainly in the American league.
23:13How does it change your job?
23:15And, and what is your biggest worry?
23:17Is it that the team is right-handed?
23:19Who's going to play right field?
23:21It feels like we're going to give Spencer a chance, at least against right-handed, uh,
23:25pitching, but who's going to play right field, the leadership.
23:28What, what, what do you have to do to kind of try to make up for it as best you
23:32can?
23:33Well, the good thing is, look, I think, I think the injury was starting to set in a little
23:38bit and probably affecting him over the last couple of weeks.
23:41So in some ways too, I look forward to getting Aaron back fully healthy and, and then where
23:47he is the wrecking machine that he is in the middle.
23:51So, um, look, I feel like it's some of the better depth that we've had in a long time
23:58to, to cover this.
24:01Um, we're going to get Giancarlo back hopefully pretty soon.
24:06Um, you know, Jason Dominguez will be back in the mix here as an option pretty soon.
24:12It's a real opportunity for Spencer Jones to, you know, go run with some opportunity.
24:18Um, I do feel like when we're facing, you know, a left-handed pitcher, which I think we've
24:25been pretty successful because it gets the Rosarios and it gets Goldie in there.
24:30Um, so it's, it's opportunity.
24:34We'll mix and match.
24:35We have different ways of beating you.
24:37We're not a, just a, you know, rely on the long ball kind of thing now.
24:42I mean, um, I still think we have power in our lineup that should play and should still
24:49thrive a little bit, but, um, you know, I think the number one thing about our team is
24:56we can pitch every day.
24:57We, we run a starting pitcher out there that gives us a chance to win every single day.
25:02Again, tonight we were going to run Will Warren out there.
25:05It's a tough matchup.
25:06We got Gavin Williams and Cleveland and they're playing well, and I think they're a really
25:10good club.
25:11Um, but I feel like Will Warren's going to go out and at least give us a good chance to
25:16win a, win a ball game.
25:18And then, you know, we can do other little things.
25:21You know, I feel like, you know, our defense is more sure.
25:24Um, I feel like our base running is a real factor.
25:28So, um, we're not a one trick pony.
25:30Um, and it's always more challenging when the best player in the world's out of the lineup,
25:37but that's part of the major league season too.
25:40And, um, I I've said, you know, this week, like we expect to still go out there and win
25:46baseball games.
25:47Um, um, that's the expectation.
25:50You know, I wonder if I could drill down on Spencer Jones, uh, a little bit.
25:53I do think it's lost the time that in Aaron judges cameo in 2016, he struck out over 40%
26:01of the time.
26:01And it took him those 200 or so plate appearances at his size to figure out some major league
26:07stuff in that off season.
26:10Do you, you know, you, you mentioned this is a trial, like you want, you could see something.
26:14Do you think just because of the levers, his size, et cetera, it might just be like, Hey,
26:20we have to suffer through X hundred of a plate appearances, even in the major leagues to get
26:25to, if he's actually going to be 60, 70, 80% of judge or whatever.
26:31Right.
26:32Well, I hope not.
26:33Um, the one thing I've noticed from, from Spencer is over the last couple of years is, I mean,
26:42he's made real adjustments and, and I feel like constantly evolving as a hitter, um, just
26:49because of the size and, and it's unconventional and, you know, it's, it's, I think harder for
26:57big, big men to, you know, figure out the art of hitting and the, and get their mechanics
27:04right.
27:05But once you do, you know, once Randy Johnson figures out his levers and stuff, it's Randy
27:11Johnson.
27:12And now he's got a real advantage over you because of that size and leverage and all that
27:16same for a hitter.
27:17If they can figure it out too, I've been pleased with Spencer's kind of aptitude.
27:23You've seen him make real adjustments over the last couple of years to try and continue
27:28to tighten things up a little bit.
27:29And he's now in a position to have earned this opportunity.
27:33I've been fairly pleased with his, the level of at bats, even the first cameo when he didn't
27:39have a lot to show for like competitive at bats every night.
27:43His first time coming back here, he gets three hits the other night off Sonny Gray, where I
27:49thought he put together pretty solid at bat.
27:51So those are encouraging signs.
27:54There's obviously a ways to go and still room for improvement, but I feel like he's made
27:58steady improvement, you know, over the last 12, 18, 20 months.
28:05Yeah.
28:06You know, I'll follow up on that.
28:07I agree with you.
28:08I know what Spencer's a smart guy, really nice guy, great talent, all that.
28:13Some of the scouts are questioning or wondering about the setup.
28:16It's a little bit unusual in the box.
28:18Can it be done this way?
28:21We'll see.
28:22I mean, look, I think part of that setup and that setup may continue to evolve, you know,
28:28months from now, years from now, whatever.
28:31But I think it's all trying to get him to a, ultimately we're trying to get in a good,
28:36solid hitting position.
28:37And there's a lot of ways to do that.
28:40You know, with his size, it's a little different.
28:42Obviously, there's a couple parts to his swing, but it's all designed to get yourself in a
28:49strong hitting position to where you're ready to fire, but also make a sound swing decision.
28:55And I feel like he's better now than he was several months ago and constantly working to
29:01get better at that.
29:03Aaron, you know this because you answer questions all the time and you recognize the tenor and
29:07frequency of the questions that right now you're polarizing player is Anthony Volpe.
29:13And what is he?
29:14Why do you stick with him?
29:16Why do you believe in him so much?
29:17Why don't we do that?
29:19Like what, what is it that you see that, that your angry fans don't see about Anthony Volpe?
29:27Um, well, I see talent.
29:30Um, I see a tough kid that works his butt off.
29:35That's not afraid of that noise or, and I, I really don't think any of that noise affects
29:42him all that much.
29:43He hasn't found his way to the level he expects yet that we expect him to get to, but he's
29:51also
29:51still a very young player that has had a lot of real success as a young shortstop for the
29:58New York Yankees.
29:59And, um, you know, people have wanted to go faster or quicker or him to be at a, at a
30:06higher
30:06level, but, you know, baseball is, it's not always like that.
30:11And I think sometimes here we can run guys out kind of quick when just because it's not
30:20as fast or as expected as, um, people want it.
30:25So I believe in the, in the person in, in his, um, kind of his will and his ability.
30:34And, and look, I think this year so far, um, I think he's played really well at short
30:40for us.
30:41Um, you know, but again, there's also real competition there.
30:46Like Caballero is a real option.
30:48Cabby's in there tonight, um, and playing well.
30:52So, um, and I think that's not necessarily a bad thing to have those, you know, internal
30:58competition going on.
30:59And, um, but I think generally speaking, his at-bats have been for the most part day
31:05in and day out pretty well.
31:06Like yesterday's a good example.
31:07Like he comes up with the bases loaded, hits a ball pretty well to like gets in a three,
31:13one count, hits a ball to right center, you know, okay.
31:16Like it's kind of a good at bat.
31:19And it's just like, I, I hear the boo, like it's like, yeah, somebody else would have hit
31:26it in the gap.
31:27Like, you know, like, so it's like, be honest with what you're seeing.
31:31Like, is he having some good at-bats?
31:33Is he having some struggles too?
31:35Is he playing his butt off at shortstop?
31:38Kind of, yeah, yeah to a lot of that.
31:40So, you know, we all want him to continue to get better and get to another level as a
31:46hitter and, and more consistent all around.
31:49But, um, it's our job to, to help work, work with them to get to that point.
31:57You know, I'll follow up on that.
31:59Um, you know, rookie year, uh, he had some home runs.
32:02I want to go glove.
32:03Then he performed very well, uh, against the Dodgers and throughout those playoffs.
32:08Uh, but at least statistically has not been as good as those times indicated.
32:15So I, you know, I'm at a distance.
32:16You see him 99.9% more than I do.
32:20My guess would be that he, he might be affected by the noise.
32:23What do you see that suggests that he's not, uh, affected by that noise?
32:31I don't know, hard to put that into words other than what I live with them, you know, every
32:35single day, day in and day out, how he goes about it.
32:38Um, you know, the, the fielding stuff, especially last year, to me, he's had really one long stretch
32:46of where he struggled in the field.
32:48And that was, I think around June, July last year, where he had a three week period where,
32:53you know, and that, that made, I feel like the, that got put on him and fairly, but what
33:06people refuse to acknowledge is that he came through that and played really well on the
33:11defensive side in August and September, again, in line with the guy that won a gold glove.
33:16Like, so I, I just think it's important to acknowledge the defense has mostly been excellent.
33:21He's had, he had a stretch where we're losing games, where we're going through a tough stretch,
33:26where he makes a couple bad routine play errors.
33:29I get it.
33:30And, and, and fair to acknowledge that.
33:34But also, if you're being honest, you should acknowledge that, Ooh, in August and September,
33:39the defense was really good again and really kind of steady again.
33:43So I try and just look at things on emotionally and, um, which isn't always easy to do, but
33:53you know, that's partly my job too.
33:56And, um, you know, and, and I'll, and I always want, you know, especially when players are going
34:03through, you know, a tough stretch or haven't reached the potential you think they're capable
34:08of, like, you know, you want to be a part of helping, helping them get there and helping
34:14that happen.
34:15And, and you've seen in major league baseball, it happens over the course of the history of
34:21time, all the time.
34:22How many times do we see a first round pick or a high prospect that kind of comes up and
34:28has varying degrees of success or, or failures emerge at some point in their career?
34:34Like, Oh, this guy's a really good player now, you know, I'll bet on the DNA and the, the
34:40person that Anthony is that we're going to see that in throughout his career.
34:45Yeah.
34:45Just look at Mickey Moniak, how long it's taken him as the one, one to become who he is right
34:50now.
34:51So, um, I am fascinated by Carlos Legrande and what he might mean to your team.
34:58And I know that it's probably your job to temper a, he's never done it.
35:05B he's not on your 26 man roster.
35:07Now it's an attempt to do something.
35:09Just wonder, I know he's deloading, right?
35:12Like he's trying to break down his first relief appearance was four innings.
35:15I assume you'll get down to ones and twos pretty soon here.
35:19What is your forecast for when this might, uh, be on your radar?
35:23Like he's on your team and what do you think it could mean if he brings a hundred plus to
35:28your bullpen?
35:30Well, I mean, if it, it's, if it fully gets carried out, it could be another month to when
35:36you get to that point, there's always, you know, reasons that you take them at a certain
35:42point and, you know, um, so I think one of the base, do we get them down?
35:47Is he, do we want to bring them up here as a guy that's throwing two innings, two plus
35:52innings, three innings, you know, kind of that Michael King role we had a few years
35:57ago where he's pitching every few days, maybe, or do you want him to have the ability to,
36:02does he, does he become a guy that does end up in the back end of the pen and, um,
36:08you
36:08want, you know, one inning and the ability to go back out there the next day.
36:12So that takes a while to get down to that point.
36:16I don't know.
36:17We'll, we'll obviously paying close attention to it.
36:21Um, obviously we made this move for a reason because we do potentially see a role for him,
36:28but you know, it's still a little ways off and we want to see it transpire and how, how
36:34he responds to it.
36:36Um, what's it look like once we get down to where he's in there for an inning or two and
36:42coming back a day or two later, like, um, you know, he's never done that before.
36:46So we'll see.
36:47I think I know the answer to this, but I hear this question from a lot of Yankee fans.
36:51So I thought I'd ask, uh, you have two great first basemen.
36:54In fact, the two active guys with the best OPS plus are first baseman on your team.
37:01Uh, Ben Rice has been arguably the MVP in the American league, uh, so far, and he's been
37:07fine at first base.
37:08Uh, not quite as good as Goldschmidt, but fine at first base.
37:12Why can't he be a catcher?
37:14Cause, uh, when he has caught, he's looked okay.
37:17Yeah.
37:18Yeah.
37:18He's, he's definitely capable of the catching part of it.
37:22Part of it was in spring training.
37:24We just couldn't do it with, you know, he just some of the workload and like, he was
37:30just getting kind of run down going back and forth.
37:32So I didn't get a chance to really catch him in games and spring training, even though he
37:37was doing catching drills and catching work and catching pens and things like that.
37:42But we also were prioritizing getting them ready for the season and being obviously a key
37:49cog in our offense.
37:51Um, and then, so he was doing some catching things early, early in the season, just as
37:57far as, you know, catching his bullpens.
37:59Um, and then he had the, the palm, you know, where he got hit in the, whatever that was a
38:06few, what, probably three, four weeks ago, maybe a month ago where he, that cost him a
38:11few games.
38:13And since then he hasn't done a lot of catching, a lot of physical catching that he normally
38:18would do.
38:19So not to say it's out of the realm now, but it would take a little bit of time to
38:23make that transition.
38:24And now you're talking about, there was a couple of times probably early in the season where,
38:29you know, we're in a lopsided game and it's okay.
38:32Maybe it's a chance to get them in for two innings to start building that.
38:35Cause I'm not just going to throw them out there for nine innings of catching.
38:38Right.
38:39And this is how I did it last year.
38:40It was like, I'd get them in, in some blowout games and catch the last inning or two.
38:47Um, but you know, so I've had a couple of those opportunities, maybe early in the season.
38:54I was like, do I really want to throw a Ben Rice back there right now to catch in this
38:59mop up game to like take a foul tip or whatever, you know, like just as important as he is
39:07to
39:08our offense.
39:08And the answer may be, you need to live with that and you need to, you know, go ahead and
39:13do it anyway.
39:14I just have not been comfortable yet.
39:16And because he, he got slowed down again by the Palm thing, as far as his physical catching,
39:22if it is to happen, it's still, it'll be a ways off.
39:26Aaron is a way to wrap this up.
39:28I have noticed with the ABS every once in a while, when a call has changed in your favor,
39:33you're still kind of pissed.
39:35Uh, like you do the, Oh yeah.
39:37Like whatever.
39:37Do you miss being ejected?
39:39Do you miss arguing as much as you?
39:41I've got ejected twice already.
39:44Yeah.
39:45So I'm on my normal pace.
39:49I definitely, what's your, is there a lot for that?
39:53Is there an ejections above average air?
39:55Ejections above average.
39:57Yeah.
39:58It's definitely, definitely.
40:00I'm doing a lot less arguing because you don't argue as much with the ABS.
40:04I still do a little bit.
40:06I get annoyed when like, yes, when I, and that's just the petty part of me that like,
40:13you know, when I, when I, when there's a play at first, bang, bang play, it always gets me.
40:19And I always tell people, I've even told the umpires this.
40:22I'm like, when we're at Yankee stadium and there's a bang, bang play at first, my, where
40:28I stand in the dugout and look at that play, you should ask me safer out.
40:33So when they miss one and I got to challenge it, I'm like usually upset about that.
40:38But, um, yeah, it's not just sometimes if they miss a pitch bad.
40:43Well, you know, there's, there's sometimes they'll miss a pitch say when you say, obviously
40:48I still get angry if, if they miss a pitch, but it's like, we're down a challenge.
40:53It's a one Oh count in the third inning.
40:57Like our guy's not going to challenge that really, you know?
41:01So I'm pissed.
41:03We can't challenge, but you just missed it.
41:06Um, probably, you, you, you know, what I do find interesting is how many times after
41:12you do that, you mentioned how much you actually like an ump.
41:16Like, like, I actually think that you probably have a better, uh, that you have a higher regard
41:23for them than we probably think you do.
41:25Oh yes.
41:26Yes.
41:28Because you say nice things almost, almost with everyone.
41:31I won't tell you, say the one or two that I think you particularly don't, whatever.
41:36Like, cause I've heard that also, but like, like usually you'll fight and then say, oh
41:40no, that guy's a good referee.
41:41You know, kind of like, yes.
41:43That good judgment.
41:44Yes.
41:45Um, yes.
41:46It's look, it's not as personal as people think.
41:49So it's competition.
41:53We're playing for a lot.
41:55Um, I'm going to fight for certain things.
41:57Um, but truthfully, 80% of them, I, you know, like a lot, like enjoy my interactions with
42:09them, my conversations with them.
42:11There's a couple that like in any field, you know, you could throw off the bridge.
42:18No, I'm just, I got to ask you, what percent of the writers do you like a lot?
42:23It's probably similar, right?
42:26There's a couple you can have and then there's, you know, for the most part and, and, and there's
42:33going to be confrontation every now and then, and that's okay.
42:36Um, but for the most part, I think everyone understands we're all kind of doing in the
42:45grind of it all and doing our job.
42:48Yeah.
42:49I actually always say that.
42:50I think it's a pretty small community, whatever side of the divide you're on and you end up
42:55having, if not like a lot of respect for almost everybody who's in the community.
42:59So, uh, yeah, exactly.
43:02So, uh, Aaron, we know it's, uh, that time of year you're in their grind.
43:06Uh, I hit you with this after the game yesterday and you were kind enough to say yes.
43:10So we do, we do always appreciate when you join us on the show.
43:14Yes.
43:14You're welcome guys.
43:15Take care.
43:15I'll see you soon.
43:17Thanks Aaron.
43:17Appreciate it.
43:25John and I, of course, thank our guest Aaron Boone, who joins us with some regularity.
43:29We always appreciate it.
43:30John hit or error.
43:32I'm going to give an error to a guy I like, but I don't get it.
43:36Manny Machado is hitting about 170 and he's blaming the fact that there are a lot of statistics.
43:41Okay.
43:41Don't look at this statistics.
43:42I'm not sure how you can blame the statistics.
43:45Are they getting, giving him statistics that aren't helping him?
43:48Does he think the pitchers are having great, uh, analytics that are getting them out?
43:52I, I, I'm not really sure what the complaint is.
43:54Uh, he has it in a little bit of bad luck, but you're hitting 170.
43:58Uh, maybe don't say anything.
44:00Uh, that, that would be my strategy.
44:03Hitting 170 and making a $30 million plus a year.
44:07Yeah.
44:08You know, John, just to pile on that, I watched the clip of that and he's a, you guys guy
44:13like you guys do this.
44:15So are you guys the media or the fans, by the way, that combination of interest is why
44:20you're making $30 million while batting 170.
44:23So like, uh, you should be thankful that you guys care enough to ask questions and care
44:29if you're a fan that their supposed best player is hitting 170.
44:33I mean, John, I watched it over the weekend.
44:35If him, Tatis, and Merrill aren't going to hit, I don't care about, we, we, we are, we
44:40like AJ Preller.
44:41He could be as aggressive as he wants to be.
44:44There's no saving that team if those three guys don't hit.
44:47Yeah.
44:47I don't get Tatis.
44:49I don't know.
44:49Soto once said he was the best player in baseball.
44:51I don't know what baseball he's talking about.
44:53The guys that make some mistakes all over the field.
44:55I know he's very good defensively, uh, generally, but, uh, all sorts of base running mistakes.
45:02What does he have now?
45:03Does he have one home run or two?
45:04I don't, I don't know.
45:05I mean.
45:06Not enough is the answer.
45:07What?
45:08Not enough.
45:09Not enough.
45:09He's in the clouds.
45:10He sued, uh, he made a deal to pay 10% of his salary to get a loan, which I
45:15don't know
45:15why a guy who's made, whose father made $15 million.
45:19My dad didn't make $15 million.
45:21Did yours?
45:21No, I don't think so.
45:22I made $15 million in his career, which was a lot of money back then.
45:26And, uh, somehow he needed these, these, I guess they're kind of loans, uh, advance,
45:31uh, whatever it's called.
45:33He got an advance.
45:34He took the money and now he took the deal.
45:37Now he's tried to sue it, get the money back.
45:39Hey, look, you may, you got $341 million.
45:42Uh, you were, you failed for drugs since then.
45:45Uh, you know, pipe down.
45:48Yeah.
45:49Yeah.
45:49You knew Murray Sherman, you know, he didn't make $15 million.
45:52I know that.
45:52Well, that's what you do.
45:54You know, if you're a lawyer, I'm not a lawyer.
45:55I just play one on TV.
45:56You only ask questions where you know the answer.
45:58And my dad was a teacher, so he didn't also make $15 million.
46:02John, I'm going to give a hit and, uh, it will probably be very me and disturb those.
46:09I'm going to just give a hit to how the Knicks are making our city feel right now.
46:13Uh, and, uh, I just love it.
46:16Uh, uh, and, and if I were going to make a baseball analogy, uh, Jalen Brunson feels
46:23as close to me to some combination of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, as I've seen in basketball,
46:29which is like Jeter, he showed up and just changed the team, uh, like with his ability
46:34and confidence.
46:37And he's right there with Rivera for the greatest closer I've ever seen.
46:40Like when he has the ball late in the game, uh, it's usually very, very good.
46:45Uh, so I'm going to just go ahead and say, because I'm a lifetime New Yorker, uh, and,
46:51uh, they are, the Knicks are burying the Mets and Yankees.
46:55Uh, this, this, the, the, the, the Mets life would be so much worse if the Knicks had actually
47:01fallen apart and completely lost to the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, uh, that
47:06they didn't, uh, has allowed the Mets to survive a little better.
47:09And, uh, the Yankees are getting some cover with judge out, et cetera.
47:13Uh, it feels a little bit to me like, uh, uh, what was it?
47:1694, 90, 94, when the Rangers went to game seven of the Stanley up in one, and the Knicks went
47:21to game seven and lost against the Rockets, it's like we were covering the Yankees and
47:25nobody cared.
47:26And they had the best record in the American league.
47:28And it was just like, I was like, Hey, by the way, the Yankees win every day.
47:31It's really an interesting story.
47:33They haven't made the playoff since 1981.
47:35Does anyone care about this?
47:37Nope.
47:38Nope.
47:38Not until the end of June.
47:39And then we didn't have much, but baseball was done in August.
47:42So, well, it's a basketball town, especially when, uh, they're winning.
47:45Uh, cause now I'm jumping on the bandwagon, which I ignored them since Bill Bradley retired.
47:50So I, I can't claim to be a great fan.
47:53Uh, yeah, I sent a text to my cousin, making fun of all these bandwagon jumpers with the
47:58Knicks gear all over this place.
48:00But of course I'm a bandwagon jumper too.
48:02So I can't say anything.
48:03Uh, it is something I will say, I know we're a New York centric show.
48:07Uh, nobody's a closer like Michael Jordan, but he's certainly in the conversation of the
48:13greatest and, uh, you know, he was right now, right now.
48:16Yeah.
48:16Okay.
48:17He's a, uh, you know, I think they, we, we all knew they were getting a great player,
48:22but he became a much better player in this system and this town, whatever it is.
48:27Uh, you know, Dallas has made, Dallas has made a couple of mistakes.
48:31I think in the last, uh, really, you think him and Luca are mistakes doing a completely
48:36different show.
48:37You know, who's not a mistake.
48:38He's a success story.
48:39And our helper every week, it's Tommy Hogan, our producer, uh, Apple, Spotify, wherever
48:44you listen to podcasts, please, uh, rate, uh, and review us.
48:48It does help the show, the New York post, uh, sports YouTube page, uh, give us a view
48:53and, uh, don't forget to stick with us on the show with Joel Sherman and John Heyman.
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