After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

Hey y'all, it's Garth. I love the country music family. I love the country music family of artists and the country music family of songs. Some of the greatest artists to ever grace music are under the flag of country music. And some of the greatest songs in music history are under the flag of country music. The big 615, you're going to hear the newest that country music has to offer. At the same time, you're going to hear the newest that the country classics have to offer. I want to hear the new single from George Strait and I want to hear it right beside the new single from Luke Holmes.

And I think the country music family is one of those families that is very inclusive and wants both the established artists and the new artists to be side by side in this thing we call country music. Download the TuneIn app from the app store that's TuneIn. And by the way, yes, it's free.

You can also ask your device to play the big 615 on TuneIn. Life comes with a lot of decisions and it can be hard to know the right path sometimes. A therapist can help you map out what you really want so you trust yourself to make great choices and feel excited about the future. BetterHelp offers convenient, professional, online therapy on your schedule, however you want it, by phone, chat or video call. Let therapy be your map with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive today to get 10% off your first month.

That's betterhelp.com slash positive. I hope you had a great weekend, the first official weekend of summer. And if you were able to take some time away, maybe do some hiking, go to the beach, be outside, attend a baseball game, maybe you were playing a particular sport, you were on a road trip, you were flying, whatever it is, it's some, some summertime. And it's a great opportunity to lower your heart rate, slow down that pace of life and have some fun, have some adventure.

Which is what I did my few days away. I do have stories coming for you later this hour, I promise. And photos as well.

Now there are some on Twitter, ALawRadio, but you can also check them out soon on Facebook and I'll throw some additional photos up. We've got plenty still to jam into the show because Jay said to me during the break, who has time to talk about sports? There's so much else that we want to get to. But we love it because we've got 20 hours live each week which gives us plenty of time to play around and also talk sports. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

Our question for you on this edition of the show, we kind of stumbled into it. Who are the teams in sports with the worst reputations for finding new ways to lose? We always say about them, okay not always, that's too strong. We frequently say about these teams, I've never seen that before. How in the world did that happen, Mets?

They're the reason for this particular question. They fumble, they bumble, they stumble, then they crumble and they crush the hearts of the faithful. So find us on Twitter, either After Hours, CBS or on our Facebook page. Now, I don't think you could say that about either the Dodgers or the Astros, but it sure was a weird way for the game to end on Saturday in L.A. For now, full count, second and third. 7-7, bottom of the eighth. Bock. A bock has just been called. And Stanek is raising his hands in the air to second base umpire, junior Valentine. Why?

Well, the Dodgers have an 8-7 lead. And Stanek is furious. He still has his hands outraged. What did I do? What did I do? Dusty Baker in the dugout has his hands raised. What did he do?

What did he do? Dusty just pounds the railing from the dugout. Oh, he did. There was a little flinch after he was looking into the sign, his right leg buckled a little bit at the knee.

That's a bock. And the Dodgers lead 8-7. And that is how the game ended. On Dodgers Radio, we always get the descriptions from Charlie Stoudard, but we need some analysis. I don't know that we'll start there, but even as we welcome Michael Duarte of NBC L.A., that's certainly going to be a topic, yes. Glad to have you with us, as always.

I know you aren't feeling well, Michael, so thank you for spending a few minutes with us anyway. Before Sunday night's loss to the Astros in extras, the Dodgers had won four in a row. So now four of five, they nearly sweep Houston. Do you feel like this is a turning point for them right now, or is it turning for them right now?

That would be a great question, and you don't have to call me a chicken, but I think we'll be talking about bock, bock, bock. That bock in that series of Game 2, when the Dodgers completed a four-run comeback and win on a game-winning bock, I think that was a very turning point for the season. And the Dodgers, we might look back at the end of the year at this particular series at Chavez Arena against the Houston Astros. Obviously, all the emotions from 2017 World Series and the cheating scandal and everything that went on. This was the first-time fan that a packed capacity could be in attendance in a game that the Astros were at Dodger Stadium. And I was there for the first two games of the series. The boos were loud.

They were nonstop. There was inflatable trash cans and the bleachers in the outfield. And I really think the emotion of this series, even though a lot of Dodger players on this current roster, it's kind of a misfit of rookies and young players and veterans like David Peralta and Jason Hayward and Freddy Freeman, Mookie Bette. Some of those guys were not on the 2017 team.

But everybody in baseball saw that scandal and saw what happened with the Astros and the lack of punishment for the players. And so I think this had a little bit of extra oomph for both teams. And I think the Dodgers taking this series could be a turning point for them. They've been up and down like a rollercoaster ride this season. As you mentioned, they've been hot. They've been cold. They were kind of cold coming into this series. And I think taking two or three for them right as they go on this long road trip I think is going to be very helpful and beneficial.

And the most important thing, though, is what you mentioned and I know what we'll get to. And that is they're finally, seemingly, to be getting healthy now at the right time. Julio Reyes made a rehab start on Sunday. Max Muncy is turning a corner. He'll be back soon.

So it looks like they're going to get some bullets here. Even with this stretch where they were backsliding and they're without their starting rotation piecing it together, they are now within three games of the top of the NL West. So, Michael, big night for Freddie Freeman. I know he hasn't been a Dodger his entire career, but he is a future Hall of Famer. What has he meant to the Dodgers since he joined them? And now getting his 2,000th hit in a Dodgers uniform. Talking to Freddie Freeman the last couple days, he was 0 for 9 entering this game.

He wasn't sure if he was going to get it done. He told me his wife and his son Charlie were ragging on him. Can you please get it done today on Sunday before they go on the road on Tuesday because they don't want to travel with the Dodgers and hope he would do it. So it was very exciting for him to be able to get hit number 2,000 in front of his family, his grandfather, his father, obviously his wife, his children. It was very fitting for him to get it where he grew up playing in his backyard almost and in front of family and friends.

And I believe, Amy, you have to correct me on this for the numbers. I believe he's the 7th active player to get 2,000 hits that's still playing. And he's the last Dodger to do it, in the Dodger uniform at least, since Adrian Gonzalez back in 2017. And he's always said the Dodgers fans have kind of embraced him and his family since day one here. Obviously the Freddie chants all through last season, his first season with the Dodgers. He said they made this an extra special moment for him on Sunday to get number 2,000.

You were so close. He's number 6 among active players to have hit number 2,000. I like the fact that you bring up his family because one of the reasons that he picked the Dodgers over staying with the Braves, he wanted to be able to play in front of family and know his dad was there tonight. I can imagine it's special to him that his hopes and his expectations for going back to L.A. have actually been realized where his family is around, specifically his dad, to be part of this stage of his career.

Yeah, I think you nailed it. Obviously, it wasn't entirely his decision not to go back to the Braves. Him and his agent played a little bit of poker with them. And former Dodger executive, Alison Topolos, was the one who said, OK, we're moving on to Matt Olson, obviously, who I think is leading the National League in home runs. Freddie was kind of left out in the cold. And in making the decision at that point over multiple offers between the Red Sox, Toronto, the Yankees, I heard a lot of different teams were interested. He obviously chose to come back home to the Dodgers. And I think, you know, it may have stung leaving the Braves, leaving the team that drafted you and the only organization you've known, so I can understand how emotional that was, that attachment that Freddie Freeman had.

But I think as time goes on, I think we're seeing it. Like, he tells me stories when they go down and play the Padres. His dad drives him in the car down to San Diego, and they just have these heart-to-heart father-son talks on the drive. Sometimes even players carpool with them, like Mookie Betts or something, and they're all down there together, something he never got to have in Atlanta. Also, when they have, you know, a few days off or, you know, an All-Star game off, last year, obviously, Freddie ended up coming back and playing fourth. But he had told me where most people plan a trip to Cancun or Las Vegas, or they go on a quick three-, four-day getaway, Freddie was like, I'm just going to go in my backyard and hang out on the beach in Southern California. And that's something he used to do, you know, in Atlanta, if he didn't make it or he had a few days off, was come out here.

So now, you know, being able to stay home for these vacations and spend time with his kid is his time off. You know, when it's all said and done, he's really going to relish the decision to come back home and play here for these things I just mentioned that he never really got to have in Atlanta. We're so excited to spend a couple of minutes with our friend Michael Duarte from NBC LA covering this Dodgers-Astro series over the weekend, and a very interesting column, an opinion that he has posted, too, which I have to ask him about, but that's your tease.

It's coming up here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Four-fifths of the rotation, the starting rotation from opening day is currently injured. So Clayton Kershaw, of all people, is the one stalwart pitching really well and is healthy, which I think is so great for him considering the stage he is in his career and all the injuries he's been through. But when is that rotation going to be healthy or mostly intact, Michael?

Yeah, you nailed it. It's very funny if you had said beginning of the year with all these players the Dodgers have that Clayton Kershaw would be the workhorse, the one that hasn't missed a start. I believe he's top five in the ERA, number one in the National League and wins, so he's in the Cy Young consideration right now early for the Dodgers. I'm not sure if you would have thought that with his age, but this is something I talked about earlier when it comes to Kershaw is that Kershaw was never, even in his peak where he won the MVP in 2014, considered a guy that blew you away with his fastball, like Jacob DeGrom, we talk about, or even Noah Syndergaard, a guy in the Dodgers who's struggling late in his career. Kershaw was always curveball, slider. He's now added a changeup here late in his career, and similar to Greg Mannix and some of these players who had success later in the second half, back end of their careers, the ability to paint the corners and use their secondary pitches to give them longevity in this league, and I think that's what you're seeing from Clayton Kershaw. I also thought that recently over 51% of the pitchers in Major League Baseball went on the IL last year. That's over half.

So at some point I think it's inevitable. Kershaw, maybe one of these guys in the rotation, as we've seen already, four or five go on the IL even if it's a mental health break, as we just saw with one pitcher recently going on the IL with a mental health issue. So the Dodgers are finally getting hold. Johnson came back recently. He's been pitching pretty good.

Obviously Julio Rios, I mentioned, made a rehab start on Sunday. It went well, so I expect him to be in the rotation in five days, and that's going to be a huge boost for the Dodgers. Another fun thing is Walker Buehler has been throwing bullpen sessions. A good friend of mine out in Arizona, he's going to be a long way away from actually pitching on the mound at Dodger Stadium, but I don't think anybody expected he'd be able to be on the mound this season, and there's a chance that come September or the end of September he could be starting or coming out of the bullpen and giving the Dodgers a few innings.

That would be a huge boost. And then obviously the Dodgers have found something I think in two rookies, and that's in Bobby Miller and Emmett Sheehan. Bobby Miller, a guy who when the Dodgers drafted him in the first round of 2023, I thought he was very similar to Walker Buehler, throws 100 miles per hour plus and just has that swagger about him that Walker Buehler has now. In his few starts here with the Dodgers, he kind of gets emotional. If things kind of don't go well, they can unravel quickly, but once he kind of learns from that and gets that veteran mentorship from guys like Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler and Julio Arias, I think he's going to do pretty well.

So I think the Dodgers, once they get healthy and the pitching staff and rotation gets good, and since they're only three back, they're in the race, I think they're the second wildcard team as of right now, I expect because they're in contention, Andrew Friedman, to make some moves to bolster that starting pitching and the bullpen at the trade deadline, which I think will only give this team an injection for the second half. So the Astros end up getting the go-ahead run in the 11th and avoiding the sweep on Sunday, but you mentioned the walk-off balk from Saturday. What was the reaction to that odd moment? I mean, it was just strange, Michael. Yeah, it's funny that you mention it.

I'll try not to go into a diatribe on this, but I have a family friend, a cousin of mine from Sicily, from Italy, who's going to film school here in L.A., and he was living with me for a long time. So when he first arrived to check out the film school, this is years ago, I took him to a Dodger game, his first-ever baseball game, and that game ended in a walk-off balk. It was Quique Hernandez dancing on third base, getting the balk to happen, and then scoring, and my friend said, What just happened? I don't understand. What is this sport?

How do they win? And I have to explain a walk-off balk to someone who I just had to explain the game of baseball just hours before. So it was one of those moments where I think fans were stunned.

It's not something you see very often in these situations. You don't see it called. I saw a lot of Houston Astros fans complaining that it wasn't a balk, but if you do watch it in slow motion, his back right leg buckles a little bit, and I think that's the appropriate call. Whether or not it should have been called, I guess, is at the discretion of the second-base umpire, it was a jarring moment, but watching Stanek just erupt after that on the mound, and he was cursing expletives at the Dodgers fans. They were booing him, trashing him. He gets ejected.

Dusty Baker gets ejected. This was the emotion that was talking about finally spilling over from both teams. Guys like Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, the carryovers from that 2017 Astros championship team, just were booed relentlessly all weekend long. Dodgers fans don't forget, and it's the same when the Minnesota Twins came to Dodgers Stadium earlier this year. They booed Carlos Correa relentlessly and chanted, Cheater, cheater, cheater, all series long, and they did it again for these guys. And I think that gets to some of these Astros players, and I think I saw the emotions spill over in that game on Saturday. But like I mentioned, coming back the way they did to steal that game and ultimately take the series and steal the series will be huge for them in the long run. Certainly we'll see what happens from this point forward, but the fact that they've got a veteran leader in Dave Roberts, they've got a bunch of guys with an experience on the roster, guys that are still spearheading this charge, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw we talked about.

They're not in bad shape, and the division is still very much wide open. Michael Duarte is with us from NBC LA here on After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. I got to ask, because it's a huge topic in LA and certainly a huge topic around baseball, Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers, a match made in heaven. That is the headline from a column that you wrote. Why, Michael? Yeah, it's a great question.

This was something that I have been working on for a while, just why I think this is a good fit. It's no secret the Dodgers' admiration for Shohei Ohtani. They made calls at the trade deadline last year in case the Angels wanted to part with him. They made calls this offseason in case the Angels wanted to part with him.

Obviously, Artie Marino was selling the team at the time and firing Joe Madden as the manager. There was a lot of transition happening, and I think the Dodgers thought they might be able to pounce on that. And as you read the column, if you go to NBC Los Angeles and read it, the Dodgers have been courting Shohei Ohtani for over 10 years since he was 18 years old at Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan. This was a guy they wanted to sign straight out of high school and bring him into the Dodgers' system, but only as a batter or as a pitcher. And he wanted to play both two ways.

He wanted to be both. He wanted to be the Babe Ruth of baseball of the modern era. And the Dodgers didn't seem at that time like they were going to give him that opportunity. And obviously the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan gave him that opportunity. And baseball is better for it because now we get to see something that we've never seen before. A guy who's one of the best pitchers in the game on the mound, a Cy Young candidate, Cy Young finalist, and right now leading the entire league of baseball in almost every offensive category.

And so it's good that we get to see it. Now, when he did come over and was posted in 2018, the Dodgers wanted the finalists to sign him. But at the time there was no designated hitter in the National League, and that was kind of a deal breaker for Ohtani, who wanted to be able to hit every single day and not necessarily wear himself out playing in the field. And now that's changed because of the new rules in 2022. And so now it seems like it's a great fit. There's rumors that Shohei Ohtani doesn't like cold weather and doesn't want to play in a cold weather city.

Obviously that makes sense. He's kind of familiarized himself with the L.A. area, so that makes sense. And the biggest thing is in his now five seasons, full seasons in baseball, he's never once made the playoffs. And that's with Mike Trout on his roster as his teammate.

The Dodgers have done so ten straight years. And what prompted this article now was going up to Anaheim for that two-game series earlier this week and watching the Dodgers sweep and shut out the Angels, including the first time Ohtani ever took the mound to face the Dodgers on Wednesday night. And he pitched phenomenally. He only gave up one run, a home run, to Freddie Freeman, who we talked about, 12 strikeouts. He looked amazing.

He impressed everybody. But hopefully the Dodgers were hoping by beating the Angels, by holding them scoreless those two games, and by now beating them eight straight times, that they might have impressed them and made even a bolder statement, which is we're better than your team. And if you want to win, if you want your legacy to be as maybe one of the greatest players of all time, you want to play in the playoffs, you want to play in a World Series, you want to win a championship, then you're better suited to do that with us. Obviously we all know it's going to be a bidding war in the offseason.

He's going to be fetching $500, $600 million, I'm sure. But the Dodgers have the ability to pay for it. They didn't obviously go spend a lot of money this offseason. And I think it's because Ohtani is our number one target in free agency. And I also mentioned maybe they would like to try to trade for him in the next month or so, but I just don't think that's going to happen with the Angels playing well and not wanting to let him go. And Artie Marino notoriously doesn't like the Dodgers, and I just don't see that happening. So I think the offseason this winter, there's going to be a bidding war, and I think the Dodgers are going to be ahead of the table for that.

Michael Duarte with us for just one more minute here on After Hours. So, Michael, there's a lot going on with baseball, of course. Outside of baseball, what's the next big thing in L.A. sports?

That's a great question. You know, I'm getting a lot of questions right now about the Rams and are they going to exceed their six-and-a-half potential projected win total this year. That's something coming up, obviously, with training camp going on. But soccer has kind of taken over a little bit here, Amy, with Lionel Messi announcing that he's coming to Inter Miami. Me personally, I'm a huge soccer fan and I'm a huge Messi fan. I'm always a Messi over Ronaldo guy. So getting the chance to see Messi when he comes to play for Inter Miami against L.A. FC or the L.A. Galaxy is going to be extremely exciting for a lot of people, I think, in the United States who maybe have never seen Messi play live to see him coming potentially end of July or early August. And then you have the Gold Cup coming for soccer as well and that'll be a chance to see Argentina and Messi again and a lot of other teams in this region.

So I'm looking excited to soccer and the start of the NFL season right now. Michael Duarte on a weekend in which he's not feeling well and I'm not laughing for that reason. I'm laughing because you're like me. Sickness is really something you just have to fight through and work. And we're always so happy to have you with us, but I do feel terribly that we're keeping you up late and making you work when probably sleep is what you need the most.

We're terrible. I'm supposed to be your friend. But I'm glad to see that you are rejuvenated from your little quick vacation and glad to see you hiking. I think the Sedona got the bug in you. Now you're all hiking all the time.

And so I'm excited to see that I've been doing some hiking recently myself, so I'm excited. Good. It is the season for that. So find Michael on Twitter at MichaelJDuarte. He's one of our favorites and he's not just NBC LA for Dodgers and Lakers.

We talked about recently, but also Rams and other LA sports like soccer coming up. You're the best. Now you need to get some sleep and recover completely, please. Thanks. I'm going to drink some Nyquil and sign off. Thanks, baby. Have a good night.

I do love Nyquil. It sounds like I'm laughing because he's sick, but that's not the reason. Just he's much more subdued when he doesn't feel well. And I think we're just awful friends for asking him to do the show. In fact, if producer J had told me that Michael was sick before we booked him, I would have said, let the guy have some rest. Let the guy have the night off. But he had to work a big series and really good to hear his thoughts on the Shohei Dodgers potential marriage.

Of course, there will be other suitors for Shohei's hand, if you will. On Twitter, A-Law Radio, our question tonight, which teams in sports have the reputations they just can't shake for being fumblers, bumblers, stumblers, and ultimately crumblers in the most creative ways ever to lose? So check out the fun GIFs that producer J put up as well on Facebook. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS. When the whole family comes together to watch the game, nobody wants to miss a second of the action to run to the grocery store. With Instacart, you can get all your weekly groceries in as fast as an hour. Less time shopping means more game time. Let's go. Visit Instacart.com to get free delivery on your first three orders.

Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order. Additional terms apply. What you watch depends on what kind of mood you're in. Sometimes you're craving comedies like Friends or South Park, and sometimes you're more into dramas like HBO's Succession and House of the Dragon.

There's also cooking shows like Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay and even movies like The Lord of the Rings and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Well, Max is the streaming destination that has the best of entertainment for whatever mood you're in anytime. And plans start at as little as $9.99 a month. Max, the one to watch. Subscription required.

Visit max.com or radio. It is a two-run double off the bat of Harrison Bader. Now here's a two-one. Swung on line to left field. There's a base in. Durand feels fires home.

It will be not in time. Bader scores, and the Yankees now take a 5-3 lead. 2-2 to Garcia, and the pitch struck him out swinging. Ball game over. Yankees win. Yankees win. To have that kind of a rally and a number of guys go up and have really good impactful at bats, hit the ball hard too within it. Yeah, it was great.

Kind of hung around all day. They get to Garrett there in the first couple and really drive his pitch count up, but he holds the line there, and then the bullpen gives us a chance and some really good at bats. We're able to finish off a really nice win, a nice home stand.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. With no Aaron Judge walking through that door, the Yankees will take anything they can get. That's Aaron Boone on a comeback effort that generated three runs in the eighth inning against the Rangers in the Bronx. John Sterling on Yankees radio.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Garrett Cole has been fantastic this season, but did give up three runs on nine hits early as the Rangers were able to get to him. That's why the Yanks had to come back. But certainly to be able to get the victory before they head to Oakland is huge. It's obviously a happy flight and a long one, so it's nice to spend the next five hours thrilled about closing this one off.

Hopefully take a lot of the positives that we've had and carry it into the road trip. The big question that has no answer, I should say, but the question mark over the heads of the New York Yankees is the MVP Aaron Judge and when he will return. Remember, we knew that he had hurt his toe running into a wall at Dodger Stadium, so they placed him on the injured list on June 6th, which at the time was a bruise and a sprained ligament in that right toe.

But apparently it is worse than that. Revealed by Aaron Judge on Saturday, he has a torn ligament in the toe and has a lot of pain when he walks. Now, we could not find the audio of Aaron Judge, so I will read you a couple of the quotes from him. I've got to knock out the rehab stuff. I've had different injuries over the years where it's going to take a while. Once we can manage the pain, we're going to be in a good spot. He goes on to say, I don't think too many people in here have a torn ligament in their toe.

If it was a quad, we'd have a better answer. If it's an oblique or hamstring, we have answers and a timeline for that. With how unique this injury and it being my back foot, which I push off of and run off of, it's a tough spot. Okay, so Aaron Judge indicates there's no timetable, and right now it's really about the pain, and that was echoed by Aaron Boone this weekend.

I don't know a level. I mean, yeah, a strange spring, which is a tear. I mean, the reality is he's just not yet at a level where he can play. So when it comes to timetable, that's what everyone keeps asking Aaron Boone and Aaron Judge, and there's nothing definitive. Not to the point where obviously he's running or doing full baseball stuff yet, so we've just got to continue to wait and get him there. He's obviously as tough as they come, and he wants to be back out there, so we'll just keep trying to get him healed and treated and hope for the best. So Aaron Judge was already on the IL going back to the springtime.

Remember, he had a hip strain, and the Yankees are below.500 when he is unavailable, when he's hurt. So, yeah, this was about slamming himself into a gate that actually led to the bullpen at Dodger Stadium while he was making a catch in the outfield. It was a routine baseball play. Well, routine.

He makes it look routine. It was a baseball move, and he was attempting to make a play in the outfield. This one is one of those freak injuries, like say a quarterback, where a defensive lineman rolls up on them, and they end up with a broken ankle or a sprained ankle. Not Judge being injury-prone, but the effect is still the same. And while the Yankees have guys who can generate offense, the problem is for too long, and it just doesn't apply to the postseason, for too long, Judge has been their offense. Going back to probably middle of last season or so, Jean Carlos Stanton is relatively unreliable.

He's back to that again. And I know Aaron Judge got paid this offseason, so it's maybe a tendency or a hot take to right away point to the Yankees for being foolish for the amount of money they gave up or the time, blah, blah, blah. This is just a baseball injury, and it could have happened to anyone. Actually, it probably wouldn't have happened to a lesser athlete who wouldn't have been able to even attempt to make the play that Aaron Judge does. He's a tremendous outfielder.

So it sucks for him. I know no one's crying for the Yankees. They're in the toughest division in baseball, where all five teams, including New York, are above.500. So the AL East, even with the Rays coming back to the pack a little bit, so their pace has slowed significantly, it's the Rays, the Orioles four and a half back, the Yankees are nine and a half back, Blue Jays are hot on their heels, and the Red Sox are now back above.500. So every team in that division is part of a wild card race or the division race itself, every single one of them. The Red Sox in the basement of the AL East are only three games out of the last wild card spot. So the Yankees are firmly in it. Right now they do have a wild card spot. It's crazy that right now all three wild cards would come from the AL East. Wow, what does that say about the rest of the division? But the Astros and Angels are both, are a combined game out of that last wild card.

Long way to go. We're not even at the All-Star break yet, but boy, we are almost into July. Based on the Mets implosion, which seems so typical of them, we're asking you which teams in pro sports have the most dubious reputations when it comes to closing out wins. They do the opposite. They snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

They create new ways to choke. Sorry, Jay. So on Twitter, after our CBS or on our Facebook page, my answer is the Chargers.

That's my answer. Wasn't it the Chargers who last year lost a 27-point lead against the Jaguars in the wild card round? This is the Jaguars for heaven's sakes. I know it's Trevor Lawrence. I know it's a different Jaguars team.

It's good. But they were up 27 points in the first half of a wild card game and can't close it out. Speaking of dubious ways to lose, every time the Mets highlights come up on TV, the camera zoomed in on Justin Verlander, he is ticked off and just incredulous of what he's seen. I bet it's a meme on Twitter.

If you can find it, Jay, you can use our show account to retweet it. Three walks, two hit by pitches. Ten guys go to the plate.

Oh, there was an error in there as well. Ten guys go to the plate, only one hit. And yet they score four runs. This is the Phillies against the Mets in the eighth inning. Justin Verlander P.O.ed, to say the least. What other teams fit the bill?

Whether it's Twitter or Facebook, we promise you photos coming up. Also, Antonio Brown, a year and a half after, he quit the Bucs in a very public fashion at MetLife Stadium. He is telling his side of the story.

And I'm not sure it's the same, although some people may put it in the same category. Aaron Rodgers advocating for legal psychedelics. Remember Ayahuasca? He still says that his, was it Peru? His trip to Peru to use Ayahuasca is the reason he won the MVP. Totally fine. Totally fine. The NFL has declined to, well, to investigate any use of illegal drugs. So, I guess because he was in Peru and he won the MVP, there's no problem. I'm not a dumb jock.

No one said that. All right, find us on our social media. Glad to be back with you. Bob's plane is now in the air. Well, he went into airplane mode. I guess I shouldn't say his plane is in the air, but it better be in the air because he's going to miss the start of work in Houston in a few hours. OMG, it's not fair when you have an end to vacation like that, right?

I apologize. Well, it's not my fault, but I said I'm so sorry that you are seeing the end of your vacation ruined and now it's going to ruin your idea of New Jersey. Well, he did say New Jersey airports are suspect. How is it New Jersey's fault?

Every airport is suspect, let's be real. All right, tales from vacation and some photos. They're on Twitter.

I'll retweet them, but we'll put some up on Facebook as well. Gorgeous green, lush green, awesome hikes, great food, and I mean great food and dinner with my brother. Do you hear that? That is the sound of BMW performance without a single piston or cylinder, a generation of all-electric vehicles designed and built like no other. The BMW iX, i7 and i4 revolutionize every drive into a thrilling opportunity to feel the pure rush of BMW 100% electric.

But isn't that what you'd expect from the ultimate electric driving machine? Take advantage of exceptional lease and finance offers today. Amy, you're my late-night girlfriend. I love your show. Hey, how you doing? I'm great.

For those that listen, just want them to know that you are the superwoman of radio sports. Oh, you're sweet, thanks. Good evening, Amy. Great show. Now you're stuck with me for a long time.

Stuck is a great way to put it. Now give me a phone tomorrow night too, thank you. Oh, well, I appreciate the warning. Amy, how you doing? I'm great. Hey, I love your show so much. I'm a super horn at you. And you jerk it out This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Shut up, touch your mouth Can't you hear you talk too loud Thanks so much for sending all of your kind words about vacation. I did not look at Facebook and really didn't look at mentions or notifications on Twitter. I posted a few photos while I was gone to Twitter.

Because I have it on my phone. But otherwise spent zero time on social. And on Sunday afternoon when I went back to our Facebook page Holy cow, I'd forgotten the Ja Morant post was up. Oh my goodness. We were attracting some bottom of the barrel comments. Or maybe we were attracting the flies to the poop, I guess. I mean, it was a mess. So I had to go and clean up a bunch of that. Got back on Facebook. And now to make up for the fact that I deserted you for several days. There are new photos forthcoming.

In fact, the first post on Facebook has just gone live. It's hike number one. Wolf Gap, West Virginia atop Big Schloss. I have no idea why they call it that. I didn't stop to read the history.

I just know that Bob picked Big Schloss. So that's what we hiked. And I'll retweet it now since, as I say, it was on Twitter. But maybe you haven't seen it. So really cool. Incredible weather. I know a lot of people would prefer bright sunshine. And yeah, maybe you could see a little farther. But I love clouds.

They're my favorite photo subjects. And I tell you what, as humid as it was, especially on Thursday. To have the cloud cover, it was the key to not being completely overcome by mosquitoes, number one. Number two, the humidity was so thick that had it been any warmer than the mid 60s, it would have been nearly unbearable. As it is, Bob and I both lost a lot of weight just from sweating in the hikes that we did. So to get to the top of Big Schloss on Wolf Gap, we did two and a half hours, roughly five miles round trip. Really, really steep at the beginning. The first three quarters of a mile were almost straight uphill. I mean, they were a very steep incline. So that was how you started.

But it was worth it. It was an amazing view at the top. So please check out the photos again either on our Facebook page I just posted or on Twitter, ALawRadio. And really, it was the first time that other than fishing, which is not physically taxing, that Bob and I had done anything together that would require us to work out, to exercise, to sweat.

And so it was fun to be out there and to kind of get to know each other in nature and to take our first photos together, actually. No, they're not posted on social. You know what's really funny, though? I did share a photo that he took of me curled up on a rock or sprawled, more likely, on a rock atop Big Schloss. I didn't realize his foot is in the photo. So when I posted it on Twitter, people responded with, is that Bob's foot? Neither one of us saw his foot in the photo. Yes, in fact, that's his foot. So if you could figure out where he is and who he is and how he is based on his foot, well, good for you.

Didn't even know his foot was there. He's afraid of heights, though, Jay, and I had to coax him out onto this pile of rocks that overlooks quite a steep drop. It's a cliff. I'm out there looking over the edge.

I'm curled up on the edge taking photos. He took probably a dozen photos of me from his perch on a higher rock, but he was petrified to come close to the edge. So in order for us to take selfies together, he inched out. He got a slid down on his butt and his feet, and he would not go. So it was me between him and the cliff, and he would not go any closer, and he would not look down.

I had no idea, but I found out over the course of our first hike that he is, in fact, afraid of heights when it's a drop and he's looking down. It's fair. I mean, I don't have that fear.

I don't either. You know, he was up there doing it. He was at least inching, so he's doing the right, you know, he's doing it. Yes, he's brave. He was brave and he was courageous. Also, I found out he has asthma. So something else I didn't, I mean, I knew he had cold asthma, which I had not heard of before I met him, but I didn't realize his asthma, it wasn't that cold. It was in the 60s, so I was a little bit surprised that it gave him a, not a huge problem, but a little bit of a problem. He had like an inhaler? He had an inhaler that he used.

Sorry, Bob, I feel bad sharing any type of personal information about him. But yes, these are two things I discovered about him that we, well, I was setting the pace because I normally do when we're hiking. He was coming along behind, but I kept checking on him, making sure he was okay. And a couple of times he needed to stop and take a quick blow on the inhaler. And then, yes, found out that he's afraid of heights, which I did not know. So, yeah, Bob and I had fun on our first hike getting to know each other, but it was really enjoyable.

We took a ton of snacks. Bob makes his own jerky out of venison, so it was my first time trying. So he's a hunter in Texas. He gets one deer and harvests it every year. So not only did he bring venison with him to grill on Saturday, which I'll tell you about, but then he made his own jerky.

Who does that? It's tremendous, by the way. It is. It's so good. He made cracked pepper teriyaki and cajun. So cracked pepper teriyaki and cajun.

My brother's birthday is next month, and so we gave the cajun to my brother. But, yeah, I couldn't stop eating venison jerky. So salty, number one, but number two, it's so lean.

It's got far less fat than beef or any other type of meat, and so it's very lean and it's delicious. So that was our experience on Thursday. By all of our hiking, we earned coconut cream pie, which is what I made him for his birthday, a cross between coconut cheesecake and then a coconut cream pie to die for. We ate enormous pieces. I mean, we hiked a lot, too. More tales from vacation coming up. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. We'll be back with more awesome finance offers today.