Okay, deep breath. You know that when I have to tell myself to take a deep breath, it's been some kind of a pregame experience. I'm gonna pretend like I'm in a cornfield in Iowa because that maybe will lower my heart rate. Oh my gosh.
I guarantee you they do not have traffic in Iowa like they have in New York City. But do you know what? I didn't even swear once. I'm really proud of myself. I didn't have road rage because what was I gonna do?
There was no place to go. And I did not even swear one time. I'm so proud. And still made it to work. I wouldn't say on time, but still made it to work.
So go team. Ready break. It's the last night of the work week. I'll just be honest. There were a couple of moments earlier in the week when I wasn't sure we would make it here, but we've made it here and my heart is still beating although somewhat rapidly.
At least it was a half an hour ago. So when I tell you it's the final show of the week, know that pretty much everything went into getting to this point and nothing is going as planned. As in nothing. Absolutely nothing. But you know what we do on this show?
We roll with the freaking punches. That's what we do here on After Hours and nothing has changed regardless of the day or the month or how much time I spent sitting in traffic just about, oh, say 45 minutes ago. It's a good thing I don't wait until the last second to prepare for my shows, huh?
It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're just in a cornfield in Iowa. If only I had some corn growing in the studio, it might make it a little more authentic. We are live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.
When you need certainty in the home buying process with a loan that fits your life, Rocket can. I suppose that being alive is more than half the battle. So onward. Onward and upward. The good thing is, well, I don't know if it's good for me or good for you, but I will not have to battle traffic most of next week.
So whoa, there's that, I guess. It's one of those nights and maybe it was one of those days for you, but we're here together. We're ready for the weekend or I'm ready for the weekend, ushering in the weekend in just a few hours.
We also do that as a full service operation here on CBS Sports Radio. And yes, it was an incredible atmosphere once again in Dyersville, Iowa, as the Reds and the Cubs made their way to the middle of farm country. Farm country, not specifically Iowa, but farm country Wisconsin is very near and dear to my heart. Not to mention all the farm country that I used to live in. And well, it's more like ranch country in Oklahoma. Even now when I visit my mom in Houston, she's out northwest of the city and there are farms and ranches everywhere. I love, love, love the middle of our country.
It's different. It's beautiful. There's wide open space. And even though the field of dreams and Dyersville, Iowa have become a tourist attraction, people show up there.
They want to see it. They've got buildings around it now. They've been building it more so people will come.
It's still awesome. And I would love to be there to cover a game. So I'm jealous of tonight's guest who will join us from Dyersville.
We happened to be able to get someone who was there, which is awesome. And then Reds and Cubs. And if you didn't see the game, well, you need to go back and watch it. I'm certain that MLB Network will replay it at some point.
In fact, I have MLB Network up in my studio just in case they go back to the beginning, but there were some really cool moments. And I'm sad that they won't be able to do this next year. Apparently the facility is going to be under construction. Not sure what that means, but they're going to be doing a lot of construction and continuing to build it.
So more people will come. It's funny too, because I know I'm speaking to a bunch of people who did not see the field of dreams movie. It's a little bit like talking to people about Top Gun Maverick and they did not see the original Top Gun. You could still enjoy what we saw in Dyersville, Iowa on Thursday night, but it probably doesn't mean quite the same to you as it does for those people who remember watching the movie and what a cultural phenomenon it was when it happened. So hope you enjoyed it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That's on our Facebook page or also on my Twitter, A Law Radio. Of course, our phone number is 855. I forgot this earlier in the week, but I got it now. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4CBS. We will get to baseball. You know what else was on my TV just a few hours ago? Football. Fake football, but still it was football nonetheless. And actually the New York Giants on the road at the Patriots did put their first team offense out there on the field.
That was super cool. Nice to see Brian Dayball roaming the sidelines as a head coach for the first time in his career. We'll see. Of course, the questions revolve around him and his ability to get Daniel Jones to the next level, but not just that, the entire offense, having them come together. You just need to see a few snaps that resemble what we'll get in.
Are you ready? Four weeks. Four weeks from tonight. We will be talking about a game that counts.
It will not feature either the Giants or the Patriots. But three weeks from tonight is the start of Labor Day weekend. How is that even possible? And four weeks from tonight, September 8th. Oh my gosh.
That's pretty crazy. We'll be talking about the first game of the NFL season. I just checked my calendar to be sure because sometimes I get all excited and I skip a step.
No, it is in fact four weeks from tonight. Which also means, of course, that if you're teachers you'll be back in school. Kids and students. I've got a college student in my family and she's heading back in a couple weeks actually. So my brother and couple of nieces and some friends, their friends, are coming up to stay with me next week for a little bit. We're going to a concert that they wanted to go to in New York City. And so they're coming to the concert.
We're going on Thursday evening to Radio City Music Hall in New York. And then they're turning around and driving back home on Friday because my niece goes back to college at Virginia Tech on Saturday. So college students will be back on campus in the next week and a half, many of them. I know a lot of families in the south, different parts of the country have already sent their kids back to school.
My mom just went back to school for her first couple in-service days on Wednesday, which means she's got students that will start in class next week. It's all happening. So we need to milk every last second that we can out of the remaining days of summer. Whew! But Field of Dreams does it, right?
It seems so perfect for the summertime. I like how William says it on my Twitter, the Field of Dreams legacy continues on. But football, we're going to get to baseball, I promise.
We'll want to give it its entire segment all to itself, maybe more than one. Two football preseason games in the last couple hours. And just as a side note, I know I've mentioned this before. In fact, last night when I was talking to Lindsay Rhodes, if you guys heard that conversation or if you caught it on podcast, I was telling her how I'd upgraded my TV. It was 13 years old. It was a great TV, but it did not have the smart TV capabilities. And so I wouldn't have been able to watch Amazon Prime games on my TV. So I upgraded. Found a new home for the old TV. Still very usable, very functional, really good picture. And upgraded to a new one that's 55 inches. You know what looks freaking amazing on a 55 inch TV?
Football. Oh my gosh. It's in my face. Ooh, and my comfy chair.
That's it. I'm ready for football season. Bring it on now between the baseball stretch run and then October where I'm essentially glued to my comfy chair. Good thing it's comfortable. People love my chair.
People come to visit me just for my chair, to be perfectly honest. And so I've got a comfy chair and a brand new TV and football and baseball look amazing. Double your pleasure. Immaculate. So good. So good. That's it. Bring on the fall. I'm ready. Especially if it means more rain in my neighborhood gets still parched. I haven't had to mow my lawn in now six weeks.
I don't know that's ever happened since I've been an adult. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Yes. Giants and the Patriots. One of the first games of the preseason. And we actually got to see that first team offense. No, it's not okay to evaluate Daniel Jones after what you just saw, but it certainly did sound like football for a bit there. Barkley was right takes the snap quick throw. Slayton short drop cuts through midfield. He's got a first down and finally wrestled down inside New England territory. Down with the 41 yard line. A quick toss there to Darius Slayton who's touched the ball twice here in the opening series. Barkley to the right of Jones out of the gun takes a high snap play action throws on a quick slant over the middle. It's caught by Colin Johnson.
Another first down inside the 30 finally wrestled down inside the 25 out of the 24 yard line. That familiar voice Chris Carino, who's the voice of the Nets on the I guess that was giant. Was that Giants radio? Oh, so we end up with Giants radio because well, they actually use their starters. So Daniel Jones goes six of 10 for 69 yards. He got sacked once played a full quarter, which was a couple series. They end up with a field goal in that first quarter, so they got down into the red zone pretty deep into the red zone and he did throw a pass that was on target for let me see if I can remember who.
Yeah, that's right. It was Kenny Galladay and Galladay dropped it as they talked about on TV. It was a lazy route by Galladay. He didn't follow through. If he'd kept going, that ball would have been in his gut and it would have been an easy touchdown.
So there was a missed opportunity there. It goes as an incompletion for Daniel Jones, but in general to get these guys some snaps to put them on the field together and have an opportunity to try Brian Dabels. Brian Dabels offense on for size was a big deal and so Giants Patriots the first of the actual preseason games and Daniel Jones.
So much attention on the Giants QB. Felt good to get out here and you know it's always different being in a game situation and picks up. The speed picks up a little bit.
You go through the operation and now the huddle. So I thought it was good. Some things to clean up, but felt good to be out here.
It was some some good and you know some things we could we could have back. What was he 6 of 10? You know we threw a couple vertical plays there. They had a couple of free runners relative to the protection, but I thought he operated the offense well. You let him down on the first drive.
We stalled there in the red zone and you know good first start, but certainly things to clean up. It dawned on me at one point during this game that Brian Hoyer was probably the guy with the most experience of anybody else on the field, especially for an extended period of time. He threw 8 passes. He got a touchdown in there, so he played instead of Mac Jones.
There was no Mac Jones. In fact, we didn't see many of the regulars for the New England Patriots, but still Bill Belichick is back and I don't know what you consider this midseason form. It was a good competitive night for us. We got a lot of good work in all three phases of the game.
That's the phrase. Obviously got to look at a lot of people that haven't played a lot for us and so whatever their individual situation was that was really a common theme with all those players. Good to be out there and good to be playing and going through that process. There's a lot of things we'll learn from tonight and work on this week and try to improve next week and the next game opportunity we have. I thought the players responded well to the competition. It's a pretty evenly matched game. It's a lot of good situations and got a lot we can learn from, so that's what we'll do.
Now here's the thing. I say he's in midseason form because he uses that phrase of his. I told you everything I know. Yeah, all phases, all three phases of the game. You hear that in pretty much every Bill Belichick pre or post game press conference, but actually he was a lot more long-winded. He gets grouchier as the season goes on and he starts to get more succinct and he cuts off his answers and does not give us anything near as long as an answer like that. Sometimes we have to fake it and piece them together, so I kind of feel like that was Bill Belichick in a good mood. Maybe.
Maybe just to be out there. Now interestingly enough about the Patriots, and you've been following them in the preseason, you know that they don't have an offensive coordinator because who needs one of those? I mean, that's old. It's old school.
We've moved on. It's like bell-bottoms. No one wears well.
Some people do wear bell-bottoms again, but that's more nostalgic than it is actually functional. So that's what the Patriots are doing with their titles and their coaching responsibilities. It seems like recently we got Bill Belichick talking about how titles are unnecessary and really irrelevant.
We go with the flow around here. So instead we got Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, two names that you know, two former NFL head coaches who are now back with the Patriots. He takes in strays, you know, especially if he's familiar with those strays. So Patricia, off of his Lions tenure, and Judge off of his Giants tenure and they split the offensive play calling duties. You may remember, but if you don't I'll tell you, Patricia was not on the offensive side of the ball when he was with the Patriots and Joe Judge was the special teams coordinator, if I remember correctly. He was on the special teams unit. They are now handling together offensive play calling duties.
I don't know if this was a test run, if this was an audition. There is no offensive coordinator. Josh McDaniel's is gone. He held the job forever. Patricia, keep, keep up with me here.
Try to follow me here. Patricia carries the title of senior football advisor and offensive line coach. That would not fit on the back of a jersey.
In fact, it wouldn't fit on a name tag either. Judge has the title of offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. And so Matt Patricia called the place for the two series with Brian Hoyer to start the game and then Judge took over when the rookie Bailey Zappi entered the game.
It takes a village. My favorite, I wish we had the audio, but just trust me, it's hysterical. He was asked about who will call the plays when the regular season gets here in, it's a little lower, four weeks for, for week one Sunday. Belichick responds with, don't worry about it. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. We'll work it out. We're going through a process just like everything else on this team. He's so cryptic.
It's fantastic. Now see you give me a little more Bill Belichick and I'll feel a lot better about the way this whole night came together or didn't come together. I guess you let me know if it didn't come together.
You know what? I'm working on it too, actually. I'm trying to work out all the responsibilities. So we're off and running. We're going to pivot a little bit and turn to the field of dreams.
I don't want to put it off for too long because it was so great. Top of next hour Dyersville, Iowa. I'm not joking. This is the only interview in my entire career that will originate from Dyersville, Iowa. I wasn't here last year when the field of dreams game took place. I don't remember where I was or what I was doing. I honestly don't but I just remember I wasn't here.
And so this is my first time being able to talk about it. It was neat. I did actually watch a good portion of it and really enjoyed Joey Votto's exchange with John Smoltz in a game that counted. This was an all star.
This was a game that counted. It was really cool. Thanks for hanging out with us. You can find us on Twitter or Facebook. By the time we get done, it's the weekend, peeps.
That's the benefit. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. And now the 0-1. Driven toward left center. That's going to be a gapper.
It's going to go all the way out toward the wall. Rounding third and heading home as wisdom. And here comes the relay to the plate. Patrick slides, scores. RBI doubles. Seyas, Suzuki, Cubs lead 1-0. Here's a line drive, shallow left field, base hit. Suzuki's going to try to score.
The throw by El Mora will be offline. Coming in to score is Suzuki. Down to second goes Horner. Cubs lead 2-0. Let's see if Hap can keep it going.
He can. Line drive, base hit, left center. Another run is going to score. Coming in is Horner.
On his way to second safely is Hap. And the Cubs now lead 3-0. And the 3-2 pitch on the way.
Swing and a miss. Strike three and the ball game is over. The Cubs win the ball game. Rowan Wicks strikes out Matt Reynolds. Gains the save. Bruce Smiley will get the win. And the Cubs defeat Cincinnati by a score of 4-2.
This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It actually was a game that counted, but it was secondary to what was happening all around the Cubs and the Reds in Dyersville, Iowa. Middle of a cornfield.
Really amazing. And this is not the only game that they have on this baseball field, but it is now one of the marquee events because it was such a huge success last year returning to this field and having Kevin Costner and all of the same dimensions, the same spirit of the movie around an actual big league game. And so because of that, good for you baseball, they decided to do it again. And this time getting two other teams and 8,000 more fans the chance to experience it in a way that people will come, Ray.
People will most definitely come. In a way that you just don't experience baseball in any other place, nor should you. It's perfect that it's in the middle of the United States of America, that you could probably drive by it and not even know it was there.
Maybe not these days, but you could have. Just awesome. The whole presentation of it was perfect too with Ken Griffey Jr. and senior coming out of the cornfield. And I'm telling you what, when Ken Griffey, actually, can we grab that?
It's on the MLB Twitter. It's a really quick little clip, but anyway, the two Griffey's who come out of the cornfield, they have a catch. And not only do we get to see Ken Griffey Jr., who weirdly enough, he didn't retire that long ago, but it feels like forever. It's actually only been 12 years. And so there are certainly many of you listening to the show who remember Ken playing, going back to his days in Seattle where he was an MVP, but then on through some of his other stops including Cincinnati where his dad obviously, and that was the reason why he went back to Cincinnati is because that's where his dad played.
That's kind of how he grew up. If you haven't seen the two of them or the exchange between the two of them, it's awesome. It's on MLB Twitter. We'll see if we can pull some of that audio because when they came out of the cornfield and they're mic'd up and they're speaking to one another, I got chills.
That was phenomenal. And then a bunch of other kids come out of the cornfield and they're playing catch and the players follow. Nowhere else in the entire world does the sight of athletes emerging from a cornfield have any type of significance. And yet if you understand Field of Dreams and the impact it had on our culture as well as sports fans, it makes perfect sense. Iowa trending on Thursday.
On Twitter, ALawRadio if you want to catch me or also on our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Pat Hughes, whose longtime voice of the Chicago Cubs gets a chance to call a game there at a cornfield in Iowa. And the Cubs end up winning. Here's something, I was seeing everything through the prism of this experience. It's not just a regular game.
It's not just the next game on their schedule. So I kept thinking about everything. And a lot of these guys were dressed up in clothes or outfits, certainly the throwback uniforms that would be fit the generation around the movie. If you haven't seen it, I feel like you really should. I mean, it took me forever to see Space Jam. But once I did, I finally understood its place in our culture and why it was so important for me to see it as a basketball fan.
I was late to the party, but I did. So as I was watching it, I was thinking, wow, Drew Smiley, he goes out there and gets a chance to pitch on this mound. And not just that, he can forever say, I got a W. I earned a victory, an actual win.
On a cornfield in Iowa. And so he tosses five scoreless with four hits, a couple of walks in there, but nine strikeouts. It was a well-pitched game, and he got the W from the middle of nowhere. It was awesome. I mean, it's just such a cool experience. Major League Baseball did an amazing job setting this all up. To just get out here early in the day and walk amongst everybody through the cornfields with the fans and then show up. And it's a small ballpark, obviously, and it's a very intimate setting. It's fun just to be here and hear the fans. You can hear them yell in the stands.
It's just a memory that's going to stick with all of us for a long time. Not get anything going off Smiley. Located his fastball, elevated it, really good breaking ball. Kind of out of the same slot, throwing his breaking ball off of that, and it just made it tough on our hitters.
Couldn't get anything going. So that's the voice of one David Bell who says that the Reds couldn't figure out Smiley. So the game again, it matters and it's real, but secondary to what we saw and the setting there in Dyersville. One of my favorite parts of this whole broadcast and the whole experience after the Griffies. And all the outfits and the fact that the fans and the players themselves. Really some of the media too had an opportunity to be out there and have access in a way that they wouldn't really at most other ballparks. I think that's also significant.
The settings obviously much more intimate and in terms of dimensions, a lot smaller, but it's perfect for this. That they set it up for a big league game. I don't know if this is going to be the thing now. We're going to have this in the post-season as well, but Joey Votto game enough to be miked up in the middle of playing first base. He's out there on the field. Now we saw this in the All-Star game, but that's different than an actual game that counts. And yet, even though he did have John Smoltz pause here and there so he could figure out, okay, if the ball comes to me, where am I going?
What am I doing? You could kind of see him going through his progressions and making sure he knew what he was doing and focusing, but otherwise they had an ongoing conversation. It was really neat. I actually went back to listen to a couple of their exchanges about the way that hitters have had to change. Now he bridges a couple of different generations of pitchers. Remember back when Joey Votto started, it wasn't home run strikeout, home run strikeout. There were a lot more baseballs that were put in play on a regular basis. This is one of the problems that Major League Baseball is trying to figure out how to address, to put more baseballs in play so it's not so all or nothing, so hitters are not constantly swinging for the fences. And so he was talking about the way you have to change your approach to pitchers now, and he had faced John Smoltz, Tom Glavin, some of the other Hall of Famers earlier in his career, and yet now he says it's all about the fastball. If you cannot time a fastball, this is not the league for you.
He said if you can't lay off the breaking ball and be able to time the very best fastball a fastball, excuse me, you're not going to make it in this league. And so I thought it was a really intriguing in-game exchange between Joey Votto, who is nearly 39 years old, and John Smoltz. And yet, despite the fact that Votto has been around baseball for so long, this was one of those situations where you could tell the nostalgia and the experience. It was important to him too, and almost made him feel like a kid or a rookie.
I actually Google searched synonyms for special and exceptional came up, so I thought it was an appropriate word. I used to play catch with my father from 8, 9 years old, and it was a daily thing. We wanted me to be a pitcher like John Smoltz. We threw every day, he'd catch me, we'd share that moment together, and he passed away about 14 years ago. And here I am at the Field of Dreams, longing for a catch with my father, but still basking in this with a smile, knowing that if he was here, he would have loved it and we would have shared it together.
So it's very much a full circle moment for me. Much bigger than baseball, much bigger than a game. And of course, that's what Field of Dreams was all about. It was about baseball, yes, but it was about the connection made between fathers and sons. It was about family coming together under the umbrella of baseball.
I'm telling you, it's worth watching. Really neat for Joey Votto and for others who had a chance to play there. Now coming up top of the hour, we're going to, yes, in fact, grab a guest from Dyersville, Iowa, who was on the field, who spoke to Ken Griffey Jr. before the game.
Really excited for that conversation. In the meantime, you can check out the Reds posted videos and MLB. I shared a few of those as well from their Twitter.
It's pretty cool to see some of the videos and the photos that have been posted if you didn't have a chance to catch it live. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. You know, I thought of you guys as power guys.
Power arms, power sliders, and the command that all of you had shocked me, shocked me. I get to brag about that with the younger players that get to face Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw. I'm missing future Hall of Famers, but all the guys now that are the guys that get to face them, I had those moments with the era before.
This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Joey Votto significantly in awe of playing a Major League Baseball game in Dyersville, Iowa, at the Field of Dreams. And I don't know if you heard this conversation that he had with John Smoltz, so similar to what we got with, say, Alec Manoa, just one of the guys who was miked up during the All-Star game. To that end, Manoa is now my new favorite baseball player. Oh, you're sexy.
Here we go. We didn't get any sexy drops from Joey Votto, but it was a different type of an atmosphere and a different feel. But he and John Smoltz went back and forth, and I hadn't really thought about this in a while, but Votto spans a couple of different eras in baseball. So to hear him talk about how he's had to adjust as a big league hitter to the guys like John Smoltz and Tom Glavin, the guys who used to be able to locate, that was so important. That was how you navigated Major League at-bats, is recognizing that these pitchers could put a ball anywhere they wanted. Now, if you can't figure out the timing on a fastball, that's what he said, well then you can't play in this league. It's changed so much because guys can throw a ball anywhere they want if it's 102. I mean, it's a completely different ball game.
So I thought that exchange between he and John Smoltz on Fox was really intriguing. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, 7,823 fans. Sometimes they don't even get that at the Tropicana Field in Tampa, St. Pete, really. So that's just different because this was a sold-out crowd of 7,823 fans. Tell me I'm wrong.
Tell me I'm wrong. So the nostalgia of it and the fact that they were able to tour the movie set before they get out there and play in front of this intimate crowd, this group of fans that are special, right? They're experiencing something that to this point has only happened twice in baseball history and will not happen again next year because they're having construction that you could imagine that if the Field of Dreams and those who run the facility would have Major League Baseball to return when the construction is done, that it's a no-brainer, even for Rob Manfred.
Joey Votto actually was asked about, because he's nearly 39 years old, was asked about whether or not he's going to continue playing, right? Because this is a difficult stretch for the Reds. This might be the highlight of their entire season, honestly. They just got swept by the Mets at Citi Field over the last three games and now here they are.
They're playing in this completely iconic setting and it's about as far removed from New York as possible. This may be the highlight and, you know, he takes it all in stride. I was talking to Griffey Sr. before the game and I said, I feel good. And he said, you look good.
Keep going. And I said, how long did you play till? And he said, 41. And I said, how'd you feel? He goes, well, I thought I could have played till I was 43. And I said, you have any advice? He said, have fun. And I'm having a great time. I want to keep playing. Thanks for the time, guys. I got to go hit maybe a homer.
So good. Joey Votto mic'd up on Fox. And again, I don't know if this is about to become a regular feature, maybe into the playoffs.
I can't imagine that teams or athletes would allow that. And yet they're actually in the middle of a real game, one that counts, albeit between two teams that are not going to play in October. And it was really neat to hear Votto just kind of take everything in stride, even as he had to look around and figure out, hey, where do I go with this ball?
You got to see him. He's tilting his head and kind of looking around and making sure he knew what he was doing there on first base. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Well, actually, I don't have my glove with me tonight. It's in my car.
Producer Jay is back. I don't know if he brought his glove with him, but it feels like it'd be the perfect night to have a catch, even though we're not in a cornfield in Iowa. I have my glove in my car as well. Always have it. So it's just a quick little run away during a break.
But it is the perfect night to have a catch. Now, see, I didn't really care what he had to say. What I wanted you guys to know is that it actually his producer, Jay, back behind the double pane glass. We rescued him from jail.
I finally saved enough money that I could bail him out. And so I'm not even gonna ask about your experience. I don't really want to know. But have you had a chance since you emerged from the slammer to check out the numbers on our YouTube channel?
Because I, the entire time you were gone, kept cajoling with people about how they had to check out YouTube because it would make you so happy when you finally were released from jail. I like that word cajoling. It's a good one.
You know how to spell it? Don't. Okay. It's not a big deal. Yeah. So I saw the numbers on our junk in the trunk video are up on the asking me anything video is.
Yeah, you missed it. I did it all by myself. In fact, I don't think I need to anymore. I just may be able to take over asking me.
Well, I need you to do what you do behind the double pane glass, but I may just take over asking me anything that way. It was different. It was it was off the cuff. So I was just fielding questions from Facebook and Twitter.
I wasn't pre reading them. I just kind of fun. Yeah, it was neat. I don't know how I did. I suppose people can tell you how I did. But yes, while I was working my way up to that I was telling people to check out the YouTube version of and and we ended up getting a lot of traffic on our YouTube channel while you were gone and unavailable. So I did my part to make sure that I kept up your end of the bargain. I love it. I came back and saw the numbers and there's really nothing that can make me happier than coming back.
Nothing that can make you happier than the YouTube channel. I don't know. Wow.
They're not seeing your host that you haven't seen. No, whatever. Too late now. I don't want to hear nothing.
You guys heard that nothing can make him happier. It's that's really all that it's about. It's not that much of a surprise. No, it definitely isn't a surprise considering how this last year is gone.
It really isn't. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. So we'll get to Field of Dreams and the memories and the unique experience of our guests coming up from Dyersville, Iowa. Trent Rosecrans is his name and he covers the Reds for the athletic. There's actually other baseball going on Thursday night, not that it matters. Did you notice that Major League Baseball didn't put too many compelling matchups on the field opposite this Field of Dreams game, but the Astros got back to business. Will Clark homered off of Nolan Ryan.
Uh-huh. First big league at bat as Maldonado crushes one deep to left field and you can kiss that one goodbye. Onto the train tracks for a three-run home run for Maldonado, his 12th homer of the year. Three to nothing Astros.
One-one. And Bregman rockets one deep down the left field line. Ball is hooking.
If it stays fair, it's gone. And it's a fair ball and a two-run home run for Alex Bregman. Five to nothing Astros. Bregman goes deep for the 14th time this year. Collectively as a group, I think the guys swung the bat really well today. Just working extremely hard to get our swings feeling good. It's a long season.
You're going to have peaks and valleys, but just trying to put together consistent bats as a unit is something I think we did a good job of today. So Alex Bregman, I know you all love him. He's your favorite. A fan favorite, really. He goes two for two with three RBI in the big home run that you hear on Astros radio.
Robert Ford, Steve Sparks. Believe it or not, the Astros have overtaken the Yankees for best record in the American League. Now they have the same number of losses. The Astros take advantage of the Thursday night and get an extra win.
They're now at 72 wins. Neither the Astros nor the Yankees are playing their best baseball right now, actually. In fact, both the Dodgers and Mets have better records than the Astros and Yankees, which was unheard of, say, six weeks ago.
But that's where we are right now. The whole momentum has shifted toward the National League powers. Yankees have won just two of their last ten. The Astros have only won five of their last ten, though both teams still have double-figure leads in their divisions. Meanwhile, the Central Divisions, now we've talked about Cardinals and Brewers a lot this week. The Central Division in the American League has also seen a change at the top. The Twins going the wrong way.
Why? Because they just faced the Dodgers in their most recent series. Meanwhile, the Guardians, I gotta practice, the Guardians are surging. The pitch swung and lined into right center. It's a base hit. Gonzalez has done it again. Ramirez will score, and the Guardians are back on top four to three. This is a thrill right now. We're buzzing. We actually have a lot going on right now. You can tell we have a winning streak. The guys know how to win. We're playing together, timely hitting.
It seems like everything's kind of coming together right now. So it's just going to this next series and then continuing to do nothing more, nothing less, just play Guardian Baseball and make the right plays. Zach, please act on the Guardians' win streak now five in a row with seven of their last ten, and they have in fact leapfrogged over the Twins again in the AL Central. Remember, they're one of the youngest rosters, most inexperienced rosters in baseball.
Of course, they have Terry Francona, one of my faves. And so they've got a game and a half lead now atop the AL Central. So we may not have competitive races in the AL East or the AL West. We may not have a competitive race or race at all in the NL West. The NL East is now more spread out than what the Braves would like or what they anticipated, but the Mets are playing their best baseball of the year now. And get this, coming up on the weekend, as the Mets take on the Phillies, they get to face first Max Scherzer and then Jacob deGrom. So it's all happening for the Mets now. But in the NL Central and the AL Central, we've got really serious races midway through August. By the way, a bunch of you are telling me that they do mic up players on Sunday Night Baseball. It's funny that you say that because I don't watch it. I listen to the local radio calls on Sunday Night Baseball, which would explain why I've missed it. But I love it. If everybody is as cool as Joey Votto, let's keep doing it. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.
