Major League Baseball gets so shoved to the side when the NFL shows up. Did you notice how thin the schedule was on Thursday night? Baseball does. Now generally Thursday is or can be I should say a lighter day because it's a getaway day and not every series either extends into Thursday or starts on Thursday to go into the weekend.
So I get it. It's a lighter day, but trust me when I say Major League Baseball also knew that the NFL was kicking off its first game of the 2022 season on this Thursday night. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.
Do you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family? Rocket can. You can find our first, our very first Game of the Week poll on Twitter, a law radio or on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence. And if you haven't yet joined us on Survivors Archipelago, the Survivor Island Archipelago, we want you to join us.
It's a survivor pool. You pick one team to win each week. And if you nail it, even if it's only by a point, it's by a half a point. I'm a one man sounding, how do I want to say that? I am a one man crew when it comes to starting a petition for half strokes in golf.
When your putt is left a rotation from the hole, you should only be charged a half stroke. So to that end, I don't care if your football team wins by a half a point. It cracks me up when Vegas does that. I don't take care of your team. Your team wins by half a point. The fact is you just have to survive and advance and you are all set to the next week.
But it's stressful. I've actually found that as much as I love survivor pools, they they changed my Sunday viewing experience because I can't put the stress aside until my team has safely advanced. So for that reason alone, I don't think I want to pick a Monday night game because I have to feel that tension in my gut all the way through the weekend. So join us on Survivor Island because it sounds like so much fun, doesn't it?
On Twitter or Facebook. And then our game of the week poll is up. We know there are other games that you're excited about. People can't wait to dive into the AFC North matchups, the AFC West matchups. Of course we've got some reunions with a side of revenge, like Browns and Panthers, like Broncos, Seahawks. I mean heck, you could say Ravens and Jets too. Does Joe Flacco feel that much emotion where he's interested in revenge? The man's made a lot of money courtesy of the Ravens and won a Super Bowl with them.
So I don't know if there's revenge there. It's funny because it's not really played up much with Joe Flacco. But week one is on the horizon, so we want you to vote for the after hours game of the week. Did you guys catch the Michael Jordan appearance on Thursday Night Football? This was awesome.
In fact, I asked producer Jay to pull it because I loved it. So this is Michael Jordan, the GOAT, and they used this as a promo to come out of a commercial during Thursday Night Football. I was away from the game for almost two years. He didn't make two months.
But you know what that tells me? How much he wants it, how much he needs it. TV 12 season 23. He's back. Michael Jordan says I was out of the game for two years. He didn't even last two months referring to Tom Brady.
But man, think about that. Season 23 and still the Buccaneers are considered a Super Bowl contender because of him. Now they've had a bunch of roster changes too. They've added Julio Jones, who I'll be rooting for like nobody's business, to win comeback player of the year. Chris Godwin as well, who is coming off of a torn ACL and has shed the brace, wants to be back on the field soon. Whenever I go out there, it's because I feel really confident in where I'm at and in my ability to not only play, but to be able to take whatever hits I need to play. Football is a violent game and you can't really protect yourself from everything.
Once I have the confidence in myself and once it's the right time for me to go out there, just go out there and play and be free. No doubt, in addition to answering questions about the roster changes, the team is going to face questions about Tom Brady and whether or not it's his last year and yada, yada, yada, yada. The fact that you've got all of these rumors and I don't want to call them reports because I don't know, that Tom Brady's marriage is under duress because he's returning to play football. There's so much that always swirls around Brady. There's so much drama around Brady, especially now that he retired and came back and the idea that he was the one who got Bruce Arians, removed his coach, as opposed to what Bruce and Todd Bowles said, which is that Bruce wanted to leave the team in good hands with Todd Bowles and he felt like with Brady coming back, this was the right time to do it. It seemingly doesn't matter what they say in Tampa. People are going to write and believe what they want. So let's focus on the deets and let's focus on what's actually going to be on the field or what may not be on the field. Chris Godwin is a game time decision for this opener at the Dallas Cowboys and Tom Brady is not thinking about the future right now, even though reporters continue to poke and prod.
You're 45, you're not on the contract for next year. Do the thoughts ever creep in, Tom? This might be my last time around.
How do you keep those thoughts out of your head? I think we're all getting one day older at a time, so we're all not sure whether we're going to be here next year or not. If this is the reality for every player, every coach, every parent, you just never know.
We should all take advantage of the opportunity that we have, which is the one we have in front of us now. He should just memorize that and regurgitate it every time. And I have no doubt that that is how he feels.
You can't possibly be present in the moment when you are thinking about the future. A house divided against itself cannot stand and Tom Brady has been the master at this game, at his craft, at winning. He's redefined what it means to be a winning quarterback because he is able to stay in the moment, because he is able to focus on the task at hand and not worry about everything else that's swirling around him. He's a human. Obviously, he has a lot of emotions. He has the challenges of being 45 years old.
A lot of it going on. And so, yeah, he's got a wife. He's got kids. Just the fact that he, over Labor Day, flew to, I think it was Massachusetts, maybe it was New York, flew to the Northeast to see his son in a football scrimmage that was somehow twisted into he and his wife spent Labor Day apart because there are problems inside their marriage, inside their house. Now she's a celebrity too and so of course there's added pressure there and added eyeballs there.
But I wouldn't relish being in his position ever, really, but certainly not now because of the 40 days of retirement and the fact that we're going to hear these questions about him until he actually is gone. But all the personal stuff now that's wrapped up in it, you can imagine the football field is a refuge. So it's the Buccaneers and it's the Cowboys, kind of the home and home of last year's season opener when it was Cowboys in Tampa and it was Dak Prescott's return. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.
Do you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family? Rocket can. Maybe, just maybe you saw that Dak Prescott was limited in practice on Thursday because of, I don't even know, a tweaked ankle, something, his cleats got stuck, something along those lines. Dak is good. As you know, that's this league and if you don't report a hangnail, you'll get suspended or they'll get fined, excuse me. But no, I feel great. I still feel the best that I felt in a very, very long time. Not even comparable to where I was last year going into this game.
So I'm honestly just excited, ready for Sunday to get here. If you have a hangnail and you don't report it, you get fined in this league. Oh my gosh, I love that.
That's why the NFL sometimes is allegedly an acronym for the No Fun League. It was a new pair of cleats and they just didn't feel right and his ankle didn't feel right. In fact, he said his ankle felt uncomfortable after he played a little bit in these shoes. I think that's fairly standard for anyone who is trying to break in a new pair of shoes. It just seems to happen.
I promise you I'm great, he said. Just being very, very precautious. Just being very, very precautious. Precautious. I don't know.
I can't decide if that sounds odd or not. Brandon is listening in Dallas. Brandon, welcome to After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. Brandon.
Okay. Brandon wanted to talk about the Cowboys. Brandon will not have the opportunity to talk about the Cowboys. We did put Cowboys and Buccaneers into the After Hours Game of the Week poll.
And this is, so on Facebook you get the chance to vote for whichever game you want really, though we like it when you stick to the options. I am pleasantly surprised at this point that above Cowboys and Buccaneers, above Panthers and Browns, which I honestly thought was going to be the runaway here, over and above the Broncos and Seahawks, right now your top choice for After Hours Game of the Week comes from the AFC West, the Raiders and the Chargers. Seriously, when was the last time that you picked a game from the AFC West as the Game of the Week that did not include the Chiefs? When was the last time you picked any game with the Chargers as the Game of the Week? I was actually desperate to get Justin Herbert as my starting quarterback on my fantasy team, but it did not happen. Raiders Chargers is right now outpacing the field.
I love it. And I love that we've got new relationships and we've got a new look defense for the Chargers. Justin Herbert, lots of people believe this could be his year for MVP. I mean whatevs. That's as bad as talking about a Super Bowl preview in week number one. But MVP for Justin Herbert along with a Josh Allen say. But the fact that there is this division that has become so much more competitive is a testament to the Chiefs. It's because of Andy Reid. It's because of Patrick Mahomes. It's because of the fact that they have been so good and they kind of redefined that AFC West.
That every other team in that division had no choice. You want to be competitive? Well then you're going to have to up your game. The Chiefs have raised the bar.
So you need to figure out a way to try to match it. The Chiefs have a head start of course. They're dealing from a position of strength. And they're going to look different this year too. There's been so much transition, so much turnover in that division that it's really fascinating. Now you remember, or you may remember. I'm going to remind you that the Chargers go into this game against the Raiders. Having seen them most recently in week 18 of last year with that overtime loss. 35-32 and because they lost, the Chargers were out of the playoffs and the Raiders were in. Now this game is not the same.
This game does not make up for losing that game. But I saw this quote from Justin Herbert that I thought was fantastic. Personally, I've been thinking about this one for the past six or seven months, however long it's been.
I know that everyone else has as well. For everyone to show up during OTAs, I thought that was huge growth for our team. We believe in each other just like the front office believes in us.
A gangster quarterback. Both these teams have made a lot of roster changes, a lot of roster adjustments. Since that Daniel Carlson field goal, as time expired, zeros on the clock. Put the Raiders into the postseason and kept the Chargers out.
And you remember the whole conversation about the tie, blah, blah, blah. Now the Raiders have a new GM, they have a new coach in Josh McDaniels. They've got, get this, 24 new players on their roster. The rosters are 53, plus practice squads.
24, not quite half, but pretty darn close. 24 new players on their roster. But, just behind them, the Chargers have 22 new players on their roster and six brand new starters on defense. You have to have a defense if you're going to compete in that division, right, because the quarterbacks are so good. I don't know who's the worst quarterback in that division. That'd actually be kind of a debate and not really one that we're going to have here on the show. We don't generally do stuff like that.
That's not my jam. But the worst quarterback in that division is still above average. We know what Patrick Mahomes says. We know the potential for Justin Herbert.
We've seen it already in two seasons. Derek Carr is a gunslinger. You may not think he's reliable. You may look at the team's track record. This is not, it's not on Derek Carr. Derek Carr and the Raiders offense, but specifically Carr, has been a bright light for that team.
It's everything else around him that's been a mess. And yet they still made the playoffs last year. And then think about Russell Wilson. Ten years in, a Super Bowl winner.
I don't know if this is the year that he finally gets a vote for MVP. That's such a funny narrative. But we're talking about four very, very quality quarterbacks. And some of them flat out dynamic.
And they've got weapons around them. So if you can't play defense in this division, actually, let me stop right there. If you can play defense in this division, well then you set yourself apart. Because they've all got offenses. They've all got quarterbacks. They've all got kickers, actually.
If you have a defense in the AFC West, maybe, just maybe, you're ahead of the game. Six new starters on defense. Twenty-two new players for the Chargers. Twenty-four new players on the roster for the Raiders.
Wow. And right now, that's the leader in the clubhouse for your after-hours game of the week. It's interesting that in this division, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are almost an afterthought. Even though they've had a bunch of change, too. But why is it that this offseason Patrick Mahomes has been everyone else's punching bag?
I'm not your punching bag, baby. I cannot wait to see Mahomes back on the field. Love, love, love what we're going to get from the AFC West.
So does Amazon Prime, actually. Feels like half their games on Thursday nights when they take over next week. Come from the AFC West.
What is the after-hours game of the week? I know I said I was going to talk about baseball. I didn't really. So we will coming up here. I just had to pivot there.
I can't help it. Baseball took a back seat. I started talking about football.
Here we go. Pivot. And I didn't pivot. Or I did and then I pivoted. Pivoted. Then I did a pivot right back. You've got to be able to pivot. Sidestep multiple times. Pivot. I'm not sure what's my funnier pop culture moment ever.
That scene with Ross or Tom Hanks in Money Pit when he loses his, he just loses his mind. Thanks, Jay. That's great. On Twitter, After Hours CBS or our Facebook page, what is your after-hours game of the week? And yes, I'll take your calls.
855-212-4227. And I will talk about baseball. I will. I will.
Just not very much. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. On second and six, L.A. is going to throw it again. This time, Stanford surrounded by Bills and dropped.
He is sacked. Back at the 49-yard line, Von Miller got him and brought him down. The former Rams, the future Hall of Famer with his first sack in a Buffalo Bills uniform. Second and nine, Rams at the Buffalo 41. Now the gun. The snap to Stafford.
Does you see the pressure coming? He gets hit from behind and he is dropped there. Von Miller from the blind side sacked him all the way back at the midfield line. They lost nine yards on that sack.
This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Are the Buffalo Bills already in mid-season form? They certainly look like it against the Los Angeles Rams, both sides of the ball. We had a Josh Allen with four touchdowns, three through the air and one on the ground. And then, and they win in spite of the fact that they have four turnovers. But you also have the defense. Seven sacks of Matthew Stafford plus 15 other quarterback hits.
Don't underestimate that number as well and what that means. They get to him seven times and actually end the play with a sack. But 15 more times they're pressuring him. They're getting a hand on him. They're getting in his face or up in his grill or in his jock, if you will. And they're either forcing him to get rid of the ball quickly or they're forcing him to, I was going to say pivot. They're forcing him to create on the fly, which is, it's not something that Matthew Stanford can't do, but it's not what he wants to do. What was that right-handed shovel pass that he just kind of threw in the direction of Tyler Higbee?
It was not even waist high and Higbee was not going to be able to catch it. There were a few balls that he threw high as well. So maybe he's off a little bit, but just as much you're getting the Bills putting pressure on him to get rid of the ball before he's ready. That was so evident, not to mention he also threw three interceptions. This is a brutal game for Matthew Stafford. And Von Miller, hello, two sacks in his first game as a Buffalo Bill. John Murphy with the call on the Bills radio network.
A lot being made of the fact that he won a Super Bowl with the Rams and is now trying to win a Super Bowl with the Bills. I've always had good vibes and good games here so far. This is the best stadium in our league to come here and have success. It felt good, man. It felt right. L.A. has a special place in my heart. Super Bowl 56, I always have a special place in my heart. My teammates over there and all the coaches and the infrastructure of the team, they always have a special place in my heart. It felt like I was playing against my brothers over there. I love Von Miller.
Have I mentioned that? I know Bills fans already love Von Miller as well. If you missed my conversation with Michael Duarte from NBC L.A. earlier, he was at the game. He was kind of talking about the Von Miller piece of this and the decision that he made to go to Buffalo.
He wants to win a third ring with a third different team. It's never been done before by a player who was active all the time. Matt Millen, he won three rings with three different teams, but in the third ring he wasn't playing. He wasn't on the field. Von Miller is in the middle of everything all the time. He wreaks havoc and it's so much fun to watch him as well as Aaron Donald who also had a sack in the very first quarter of this game.
But it was the Bills that dominated in the trenches, especially that defensive line. Dean is listening in Texas. Dean, welcome to After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. Hi Amy, your number one fan. I'm glad you're back. I'm glad you're back. I miss your voice.
Oh, thank you, sir. How was your vacation? It was awesome.
It was so unbelievably boring by most standards and yet it was exactly what I needed. Yeah, I saw a picture of your mom. She looks like a sweet old lady.
Oh. Old? Old? Old? I'm not going to tell my mom that you said that. A sweet old lady? My grandmother was 100 and she was what I would classify as older.
My mother is not old. Oh, okay. Okay.
I'm glad I see you. I hope that Albert Pujols makes it to 705. Oh, that would be amazing.
Blow right past that 700 plateau. There's another thing that's going to be too. A few more wins and the Dodgers are going to win 100 games. That's right. I don't think it's ever been done. Oh, it's been done plenty.
Yes. I don't know if it's been done by the Dodgers, but it's been done plenty. Oh, they're going to go to the World Series and my Rams lost, but I still think they're going to go to the Super Bowl anyway. It's only one game. So what?
So what? I don't think the Bills are that great. I don't think they're going to go there.
Oh, heavens. What about the Bills is not that great, Dean? No. I know they lost, but.
No, no, no. You just dropped that out there. Buffalo's not that great. How can you say that? Well, a lot of things that I heard, a lot of things that they said are not that great.
It's just what they're in. They didn't give Matthew Stafford protection. Where was Aaron Donald? Aaron Donald, he was on the field, but he was on the field with the defensive line, not with the offensive line. So, yeah, I don't know that Aaron Donald can play both offense and defense. That would be tough.
A tough ask for anyone. I've got a picture of you talking to your talking cat. That's funny.
It cracked me up. My talking cat? Yeah, it said Penny the talking cat. No, Penny's the dog. Sugar's the talking cat. Well, maybe it's the way I dialed it in, but you was the interviewer on your cat. Cracked me up.
Yeah, she cracks me up, too. That's one way to put it. All right, sir. Well, did you enjoy the game despite the loss? Oh, yeah, I really did. The only thing is that they didn't broadcast it for some reason. I guess it's because I'm here stuck in Texas. Wait, they didn't broadcast the game? They played the game today.
When I heard it, that they lost 35 to 36 and they played it today and then they lost 31 to 10. So I couldn't understand that. Huh. Wait, they didn't broadcast the game in Texas? No, for some reason I don't get it. For some reason.
But I finally did. Yet this afternoon, they played it. I guess it was a week broadcast.
They broadcast it today. Oh, Dean. And I was disheartened.
I thought the rhythm would be a little bit better, but it's only one game. It's the start of the season. So what? Oh, Dean. Perfect for a football Friday, my friend. I hope you enjoy the weekend. I did. No, no.
The upcoming weekend. But I sure miss that laugh of yours. I really like that laugh of yours. Yeah, I appreciate that. Well, I really appreciate your phone call, too. This created some laughs for me. Oh, I'm glad you're back.
Thank you, Dean. I mean, he likes my laugh, so I guess there's that. I'm not a cat. That's just wrong.
Oh, for heaven's sakes. I mean, was there anything in that phone call that was actually accurate or no? Other than my name? He got my name right. He got your name right. He called my mother old. He did. He did.
He slipped that in there. He said she looks like a sweet old lady. Sweet old lady. Do you know what would happen if I said that to my mother? No, I'm not going to do that. No, I'm not going to do that. But do you know what would happen if I said that to her?
I wouldn't recommend. Oh, my gosh. Oh, by the way, Jay, I totally forgot to tell you this, but I knew this was going to happen. Okay, so the game was on NBC. It was very much broadcast in Texas.
I'm sorry that Dean missed it. The game was on NBC. And my mom's husband, he was waiting for kickoff to change the channel because my mom watches the news at 7 o'clock Central Time. So you better not try to change the channel when mom's watching the news.
I had to wait till her news was done before I could watch the Serena Williams matches last week. I mean, she is committed to this one hour of news that she wants. Yeah, she watches it every week, right? So Mike changes the channel and puts on football, and I knew it was going to happen within five minutes that I was going to get a text from my mom about who's her favorite, who's her favorite broadcaster. Oh, Chris Collinsworth?
Oh, yes. So she sends me a text, no joke, within five minutes of kickoff, you really need to pursue an interview with Chris Collinsworth. We have. Well, so to be more accurate, or to be accurate, we actually worked with NBC to get Michelle Tafoya last year, and we had to pick one or the other. So as much as I would have loved for my mom to hear me talk to Chris Collinsworth, and we will try to get Chris on this year, the fact is it was Michelle Tafoya, and she was leaving, and that was a huge score for us.
It's on our YouTube channel, by the way, and over a thousand of you have listened to that interview post. So we had an option, and we went with the Michelle Tafoya option. So I did tell my mom that, and I promised her that we would try to get Chris on the show this year. Yeah, that was the choice at the time, but I'm definitely going to give Chris another shot. We've got to get on here. Yes, NBC was actually very accommodating with us last year, partially because it was an NBC Super Bowl.
Yeah, they were very nice. But yeah, I knew it was going to happen. Not even one drive into the game, she's sending me a text message about Chris Collinsworth. I'm upset I didn't get to see the Collinsworth slide the first of the year, his signature move. Yes, I actually am really relieved that he did not change to Amazon, because I don't know what my mom would have done without her Sunday Night Football and Chris Collinsworth. Had to get a Prime account. Yes, well, she's got one.
In fact, I used hers for about three years before I got my own. Don't tell anyone. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. What is the game of the week?
We gave you four options on Twitter, ALawRadio, on Facebook. Right now, it's Raiders Chargers in the lead. I love it. I love that you're outside the box, baby. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Stays, the one-two pitch, a fly ball, left field and deep.
Back it goes, deep it goes, and gone! Carlos Correa, there's his signature moment, biggest swing as a twin. A go-ahead eighth inning two-run homer, and the twins take a 4-2 lead. Two outs, bottom of the ninth. It'll be a 2-1.
Ground ball to the right side, fielded, and the throw to first is in time. Ball game over. Minnesota wins. So the Yankees rally in the ninth, but can't put across the tying run, and Minnesota wins the ball game by the score of 4-3.
This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On twins radio and Yankees radio, what did Rocco Baldelli tell us earlier in the week? That he was tired of doing press conferences and talking about how good the Yankees are. That he wanted to be talking about big wins for the Minnesota Twins.
In fact, producer Jay saved it so we can hear it again for this particular occasion. I want to beat those teams. I don't want to be sitting here talking about how good the Yankees are anymore, or the Astros, or the Dodgers, or any of those teams. I want to talk about our guys and how we find ways to win ball games.
Any which way is fine with me, but that's what I'd like to do. So that was Rocco Baldelli earlier in the series with the Yankees, and a different tune after last night's win. And they were able to not only put the offense on the board. Carlos Correa has that 8th inning home run, and they get the offense, but they also get the defense. In the 8th inning, the Yankees scored a single run, but then in the 9th inning had the bases loaded and could not get the tying run across. And so the Twins take the Yankees' best shot, whatever that looks like, in the month of September.
And now it's Rocco Baldelli talking about building on this victory. The series as a whole ending it like this, I think was really nice for us. We're going to get on a plane, we're going to go home, and we have another big series coming up. So we'll take this as a finale.
Yeah, see here's the deal. That was a game outside of the division, but the Minnesota Twins coming up have a series with the Guardians. And right now they are looking up at the Guardians, a game and a half back in the AL Central, which is still very much a three-horse race.
Because the White Sox have won seven of their last ten, and they're also a game and a half back. So yeah, as much as we want to focus on football, and I would definitely want to focus on football, the fact is there's still a lot, well pretty much everything, to be decided in Major League Baseball. So coming up this weekend, you've got a series like that, or a couple of series like that, that are really compelling in division matchups. The fact that Cleveland and Minnesota are duking it out for first place is awesome, early in September. But we have also got the Yankees, who still have the four and a half game lead in the AL East, hosting the team that is closest to them. The Tampa Bay Rays are within four and a half games, they've won eight of their last nine, and so it's huge for them as well this weekend to be at Yankee Stadium. And there's going to continue to be fewer and fewer pitches for Aaron Judge to hit. You start to see that more and more now. Until he gets protection in the lineup, until he's got guys around him who are hitting, opposing teams don't have to pitch to him.
Because they don't have to worry about the guy behind him. And so we know what he can do with his bat. He had a couple of hits, I think, last night.
But the idea that he's a one-man band, or alone on his island of offense for the Yankees, is becoming more and more prominent. They seem to struggle when it's not Aaron Judge, who else is it? They need to get bigger hits from guys like Isaiah Connerfalefa, who had the grand slam in the second half of the doubleheader on Wednesday.
They've got to have more protection for Aaron Judge, or he's going to see fewer and fewer quality pitches as we get closer to the end of the season, and potentially as the Rays get closer. So that series is coming up at Yankee Stadium this weekend. You've also got the Dodgers and the Padres. Now this one's not huge in terms of the division, but the LA's magic number is down to six. So they actually could, I don't think, clinch this weekend, but they could get a hell of a lot closer to doing that. Atlanta and Seattle, the World Series champions, of course, trying to track down the New York Mets in the NL East.
And the Seattle Mariners are very much involved in the wildcard race, their second team, last I checked, in the AL wildcard standings. So it's going to be a lot of fun this weekend and through the rest of the regular season, but football. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. We've got our Game of the Week poll, the very first one of the 2022 campaign. It is up. It is working. It is available through the weekend until we kick off on Sunday.
So either find it on Twitter or Facebook and then also join us on Survivor Islands because there's multiple islands if you haven't done that already. To be fair, there's more news in Major League Baseball. Not that I feel like this is so wah, wah, wah, if that makes any sense or it's like the teacher in the Peanuts comics, Charlie Brown of the Peanuts cartoons. Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. That's what's happening right now with Major League Baseball.
They're talking and honestly, it's so much easier to ignore them now. Some of the rules that they're getting ready to vote on Friday would actually take place next season. They would kick in next season. The pitch clock, the elimination of the shift.
OK, those are two that I think fans, if they actually invest or pay any attention to what's happening, would tell you that they'd like to see. The shift may be more than the pitch clock. There's still some purists who don't want to see Major League Baseball with a timing element. But you know, Rob Manfred is going to die on this hill of pace of play. That is his mantra, is speed up pace of play.
And to this point, no matter what he's tried, it has not worked. It doesn't work. But the elimination of the shift, I think a lot of people would like to see. The optics of it are ugly.
Gross. I hate it. It always reminds me of a bunch of little leaguers who don't know where they're supposed to be on the field.
That's what I think of every time I see it. It's just a bunch of kids who are out there and any second now they're going to plop down to the grass and start picking blades of grass because they just don't know what they're supposed to be doing or where they're supposed to be. I understand the science behind it. I totally get it.
It's the analytics and all that jazz. But it's ugly looking and it just goes against everything that I love about baseball. Also, can we please get rid of that stupid fake runner on second base in extra innings. It's still part of the game today and it's so gimmicky and I can't stand it.
But unfortunately right now, that's not one of the rule changes that they want to do away with. Bigger bases. Why? Why? Who cares about bigger bases?
Honestly, I'm asking a serious question. Why are they changing the size of the bases? Really only first base I think would be in play in that one to avoid, I don't know, a close bang bang play.
A guy getting stepped on or an ankle getting turned. I think that's really what would be the reasoning behind it but to make a bigger base or just add like a side base. Just to add to the idea that baseball players are soft?
It does do that, yeah. Come on now. The bases have been the same size for how long?
I guess over 100 years. This is just, it's redonkulous. So the goals with some of the other rules changes are to increase the action on the field.
That's right. Increase the action. It's just so dumb. Because the thing is, if you have to implement new rules to increase the action on the field, then something is horribly wrong. Although I get it because we're seeing that in football. We see it in basketball where the latest rounds of rules over the last 10 years or so have been to increase offense. They've been to facilitate offense, facilitate scoring, give the offensive players what defensive players will call a tilted field. Meaning they have an advantage that's created by the rules and it's not a level playing field for defenses anymore because of holding, because of pass interference, because of the way that you can't even blow a dandelion on the quarterback without getting a roughing the passer penalty. And in the NBA, what do we know now that every time you hand check an opponent you get called for a foul?
James Harden. Anyway, so the rules have definitely, in the last couple of years in sports or last 10 years in sports, been about increasing scoring because these leagues think that's all fans care about, right? That's true.
Producer J just said in my ear, hockey too. Absolutely. To spread them out and to try to increase the number of goals because that's what we're drawn to, the bright shiny object. As sports fans, we can't possibly enjoy a game that doesn't feature 12 goals.
We can't possibly enjoy a game that's a pitcher's duel and it's a 1-0 finish. We get bored. I mean, it is true that Americans and probably most of Western culture is immediate gratification. So we don't tend to invest very often if we're not entertained every second. Isn't that true though?
We need to be entertained all the time. At least that's what these leagues are banking on. They believe that in the era of cell phones and smart phones and everything being available online the second you want it, that we will not sit through a game where defense is the driving force.
Yeah, that's the mindset. I mean, we're like Pavlov's dogs. We're really that predictable. People who can't even watch a full game, they're on their phone the whole time. They're like, are you on your phone or are you watching the game? Yeah.
They're going to limit the number of pick-off attempts per played appearance. Why? Because fans boo over that? I am one of those, as you know. Are you? That's true. It's not fair for anything to do. So the rules changes could be coming on Friday, but if a tree falls in the woods and there's no one there to hear it, did it actually happen? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-01-31 11:09:03 / 2023-01-31 11:25:38 / 17