After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

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 BetterHelpHELP.com slash positive. I'm joined by Hall of Famer John Smoltz. Smoltz, tell me this. What's harder, winning a Cy Young or an Emmy Award? Oh man, winning a Cy Young takes a lot longer to happen. You know, it's funny when you mention something like that, I just go back to all those years of being predicted to win and just feeling like a failure. But in 96, fortunately, I was able to at least get that off my back because that was starting to bother me.

Download the Brett Boone Podcast, available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. It almost feels sacrilegious in the summertime to talk over this song to one of my favorite old time songs. Now I feel bad because I called it an old timer. So it's a throwback for me and when I grew up, I couldn't name one other song by that group.

Could you, Jay? It's John Fogerty. He's in CCR, you know, Creed and Clearwater Revival.

Them, yes. I do remember that group. That was not my kind of music.

That was really before my time. Yeah, he's the lead singer of that group. He's just on his own there. But I'm asking, can you name another song by him? Solo John Fogerty? I'm not sure if I could.

No, I know I'm all fresh from CCR. It's perfect for this time of the year and it's certainly perfect for the morning of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. I love the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.

I love them both. I really do enjoy watching them. I cannot say that about any other All-Star festivities.

Not skills competitions. I did watch the flag football game this year in the NFL just because it was the first time. Otherwise, I don't pay attention to All-Star festivities. But I actually dig baseball.

Love that we had 47,000 fans packed into the ballpark there in Seattle. Creates a great buzz and electricity and the changes they've made to the Home Run Derby, for the most part, make a lot of sense. It's an enjoyable format. I don't get why everybody gets bonus time.

What? I understand hitting deep home runs and then getting bonus time, but why call it bonus time if everybody gets it? It's like extra credit that you don't have to earn.

So I wasn't really sure what was going on there, if I missed something. But mostly, it's a lot of smiles. It's a lot of joy and guys bouncing up and down and cheering for their teammates and hanging out with their kiddos. That is absolutely my favorite part.

That you get to see all these players in a different light with their babies or their significant others or their families. In the case of Adlai Rutchman, his dad was pitching to him, which was awesome. Apparently, Adlai told his dad at eight years old that if he ever participated in the Home Run Derby, he wanted dad to pitch to him. And there he was pitching to him, throwing BP.

Awesome. And the two of them were so excited to share the experience, even though I thought for sure after he went switch hitting on us and hit from both sides of the plate that he was... and what did he hit? Seven home run balls in eight swings when he was hitting from the left side? That was in his bonus time.

I thought for sure he was going to move on and I really was rooting for him just because I love the story. But man, then Luis Robert got 28 to at least 27 and Luis moved on. Julio Rodriguez, so perfect. You could almost say baseball scripted it, but of course that can't happen. But Julio Rodriguez, who remember last year, put on a show and eliminated Pete Alonso when they went head to head. This year in Seattle, 41 home runs in the opening round.

Talk about a buzz in T-Mobile Park. Hey, when did you find out that you set a record in the first round? Did I?

Right now is now when you're finding out? Yeah. How do you feel? That's pretty good. I'll take it. It's an understatement by Julio Rodriguez.

In Seattle though, this was perfect. And I know he hasn't had a great follow-up to his rookie year, but this could be the end of the season. I think it's going to be year, but this could be the spring part. Why do I keep doing that? I keep saying it could be the new, a fresh start. It could be a fresh spark. This time I was going to go with springboard and I included the start thing. I don't know. It's just what happens when you work overnights, brain and mouth sometimes not in sync. Julio deserves better than the hose flubbing, the whole thing.

It could be springboard. It was electric. It was electric. Just like the fact that we were out here and the whole crowd was into it and they were supporting me. I feel like it meant the world for me.

I really enjoyed it and I hope they enjoyed it too. Yeah. If only there wasn't a radio host who was on in Seattle flubbing her words. I'm such a dork. Forgive me. Back-to- back, home run derby finals appearances.

Not in the cards for him though. Why? Because he was exhausted. After having 41 in the first round and putting on a crazy show, he and Vladimir Guerrero Jr were running out of gas in the next round.

They really were and you could see it. Even Vlad, as big as he is. Man, his bat speed. Have you ever sat and just watched his bat speed?

Wow. So he was exhausted. Rodriguez was as well in the semi-finals and then Randy Orosarena against Vlad in the finals.

It was actually pretty dramatic. Vlad had to go again seven to eight minutes later after he'd made the finals. But Orosarena with, I don't know, four or five swings at the end, time running out, just couldn't get the last couple home runs that he needed.

Actually, last home run that he needed. So Vlad wins and there's all kinds of cool family aspects to his victory as well. His dad, and I remember this in 2007, was the home run derby champ in San Francisco. You know who he had with him? Eight-year-old Vlady Jr.

So cute. I'm sure there were photos of it on social. I didn't go and look for him because I do remember Vlady Jr. being with his dad. As for Jr., he only had 72 home runs as opposed to, what was it, the 91 he clubbed back in 2019. So we waited a long time to see him in the home run derby again. Now he's the ripe old age of 24 and through an interpreter he's, yeah, he's just admitting he was worn out. In 19, I was younger. So I mean, I swam harder.

I didn't get tired that often. But now I'm older now so, you know, I couldn't swing as hard as I want and I got tired real quick too. I haven't noticed from four years ago that his bat was going any faster. Man, he just puts his whole, it's a vicious swing is what it is. He smashes the ball. Rosarena, same thing. Both of them do. Just, it was the angles and a lot of times they were getting under him.

Rosarena specifically was popping him up in the finals. So congratulations to Vlad who has Marshawn Lynch handing out the ball to Vlady Jr. Who has Marshawn Lynch hand him a chair, put a chain around his neck and he gets the trophy then from none other than Ken Griffey Jr. Thank you Blue Jay fan, thank you. I did it. I'm the champ. On Blue Jay's Twitter, I did it. I'm the champ. I did it.

I'm the champ. Actually it's kind of fun to hear him speak a little English. I know generally when he does press conferences he has an interpreter and I understand that wanting to make sure you don't say anything wrong or something gets misconstrued that you didn't mean because of the challenges of the language. But yeah, he did speak some English and Julio too which is fun. Thank you.

No, thank you. It was quite a show. He also did talk about how he barely remembered his dad.

He doesn't remember much at all about being there at eight years old and his dad winning with him in attendance. With my apologies to Vlad and Julio, Julio, Pete, Adley, Luis and maybe it was a show. Otani is still the rage right now. Everyone is talking about Otani and his future and he will start at the DH come Tuesday night. People want to know where Otani will play ball next year.

If it's not with the Angels, then where? But even before that, and we've posed this question to you, should the Angels trade him by the deadline? So not at the end of the year. If they get to the end of the season, they're running out of options then. You trade him at the deadline and there will be suitors. Otherwise, he'll be an unrestricted free agent when the season is done. So we're asking you, we've got a poll up on Twitter, ALaw Radio or our show Twitter after our CBS.

I'm going to retweet it right now so it's fresh in your newsfeed. If you're the Angels, would you trade him before the deadline? I say no because he is a generational player. He can alter the course of your franchise for another 10 years, if not farther, beyond that point. But even then, if you win, let's say you win a World Series. That pays dividends for years beyond that actual championship.

And it can turn the Angels direction. They haven't made the playoffs since 2014. If Otani is part of a contender, a championship run, it can change everything. Not just luring free agents because of the money, but luring free agents because they know they can win in Anaheim.

I mean, let's be fair. Right now, if you're talking the LA area, the Dodgers are the place to go if you want to win. Not the Angels. Even with Mike Trout. They've made some moves that haven't turned out. They've had injuries.

They've finally have a respectable club and now they're getting bit by the injury bug again. Mike Trout, which has become all too frequent occurrence, Otani can't do it all. And he wants to win. He was surrounded by reporters yesterday.

Of course, the question immediately comes up of where and how and when and if where and how and when and if. He says he wants to win so his feelings get stronger year to year to make the playoffs. And I can certainly understand that he's 29. He hasn't been there yet. The Angels have backpedaled. In fact, they've really fallen off the pace.

They lost 9 of 10 just before the break. If you're the Angels, I say you go for broke. You tell Otani, we'll do whatever it takes to keep you here because you know he already picked you. He already picked you in the process of coming over from Japan. He had other options. He picked you. He picked you. He had other options.

He picked you. He's comfortable there. He likes his teammates. His teammates like him. They seem to have a lot of fun.

Of course, winning is fun. You tell Otani whatever it takes. Now, it could take a half a billion dollars and then you've got a billion with a B wrapped up in two guys in Trout and Otani. Actually, Marco Maletti earlier suggested that you even trade Trout if it means keeping Otani.

And I gotta say, this may be unpopular. I think Mike Trout is so great for the game. I hate that we haven't seen him on the playoff stage since 2014, but he is hurt a lot. Right now, that's a tough question.

I guess we could make that a poll. If you had to choose between Mike Trout and Shohei Otani, how many people would actually choose Trout right now? I know there's always the chance that Otani can get injured. That's the case for every player. But he is remarkably durable so far in Major League Baseball ever since he started both the pitching and the hitting. And he's a lightning rod for attention and fans.

Not to mention, he's damn good at what he does. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The poll is up on Twitter and Facebook. If you're the Angels, do you trade him?

Fun kind of, would you call it an exercise? It wasn't quite the poll question that we're asking, but multiple players there in Seattle will pose the question of, how much would you pay him? How much is Otani worth? Should we run through a bunch of these, Producer J? Okay, so we'll start with Freddie Freeman. These all come from AP Sports.

They did essentially a mic run. You just run through a bunch of guys and ask them the same question and put it all together. So we've got Freddie Freeman, Kenley Jansen, Austin Hayes, Marcus Simeon, Salvador Perez, Jordan Romero. I want to hear it. What would you pay Otani? I don't even know what you can pay the man. He's a unicorn. He's special. I don't even know how to put a number on that.

So we'll all find out together. Shoot, I get paid for as a one player. He's out there doing things as two players. So for sure, you got to pay him as a pitcher and you got to pay him as a DH.

As much money as I have. I give him everything I got. He's got a situation where he's playing two different positions, right? Pitcher and DH and doing them at an elite level. And every team should want him. I don't want to put a number on him.

I don't know, man. Free agency is not a specific thing. Anything can happen once the, it just depends on all the teams that are involved and the number and see how high it gets with all the competition. 600 million dollars.

600 million? Why? For 10 years. Why? Because 30 hearings, 30 pitches.

Johnny, I mean, pitcher and hitter, pretty much an ace and one of the best players in the league. I'm giving him 600 million, like 10 years, 600, make him happy, you know? So both Perez and Romero say 600 million.

And that is a number that's been floated out there. Was it Austin Hayes that says as much as I have? As much money as I have. I give him everything I got.

Everything I got, says Austin Hayes. I wonder if he's hoping the Orioles can get in on that. McKinley Jansen says you have to pay him like a pitcher and you have to pay him like a top shelf hitter.

30 hearings, 30 pitches. I mean, that's coming from his peers. He's even wowing the best in his own sport.

It's pretty incredible. But if I'm Artie Moreno, owner of the Angels, I instruct my front office to do whatever it takes to keep him. And for that, I do not trade him at the deadline. We've got the poll up, though, and right now, I'll just tell you, more of you are leaning toward trading him. It was interesting. Alex Rodriguez said you trade not just Otani, but Trout, and get everything you can back in return to beef up your foreign system and start fresh.

And essentially, you blow it up and you start over. I don't see how that benefits the Angels. I get that there will be a lot of money wrapped up in those two guys, but I'm with Marco, as he said earlier, if you have to trade one of them, you trade Trout. You keep Otani. That sounds almost sacrilegious, right? It does. It does, but whatever it takes.

And I'm going to use my Pirates of the Caribbean line again. There is no cause that's lost if there is yet but one fool willing to fight for it. Maybe Artie Moreno is that fool, no matter what anyone says. If Otani likes it there and doesn't want to move again, he's comfortable with the culture and comfortable with the players, the manager, comfortable with the routine.

He's obviously thriving. Why not give him the chance to stay there? You trade him away?

Well, that's cutting the cord, essentially. Don't do it. Don't be the guy who traded away Shohei Otani. Let him walk if he's gonna, but don't trade him away.

Do everything within the power of your persuasion to get him to stay because I do think that it's always, unless something goes horribly wrong, it's always the team where a player has been that has the best shot in free agency, I think. Again, unless something's gone horribly wrong. You can take our poll and let us know what you think. All right, coming up, it is a super cool story unfolding for the red, white, and blue at Wimbledon.

And yes, Jessie Bagula, Madison Keyes on the women's side into the quarterfinals, but nah, this is a name most of you have never heard before. Always love it when that happens. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours. We all have tasks we'd like to avoid, like mailing and shipping. It takes time lugging all those letters and packages to the post office. That's why you should try Stamps.com. For 25 years, Stamps.com has made mailing and shipping easy. You get all the services of the post office right on your computer anytime.

No traffic, no waiting, no hassle. Plus, you save money with discounts up to 84% on USPS and UPS. With Stamps.com, all you need is a computer and printer. Print stamps, print shipping labels, and if you sell products online, Stamps.com connects with every major marketplace and shopping cart so you can spend less time on shipping and more time on your business. Get started with Stamps.com today. Sign up with promo code PROGRAM for a special offer that includes a four-week trial plus postage and a digital scale.

Just go to Stamps.com and enter code PROGRAM. That is a triumph of perseverance and willpower over the years. 6-4, 6-4. Well, he's beaten Kam Norrie, but this victory over Sitzipus surpasses that because this takes him into the Wimbledon quarterfinal.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On Wimbledon TV, get to know Christopher Eubanks. I love these stories that come out of nowhere, especially when it has to do with athletes sporting the red, white, and blue.

It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Christopher Eubanks, a 27-year-old American playing in his first Wimbledon. Wait, what? He's playing in his first Wimbledon. He has reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. How did he do it? By studying the top five player in the world. Stefanos Sitzipas.

Three hours is all it took on Monday. This is a guy who's ranked 43rd in the world from Atlanta, played his college ball at Georgia Tech. And believe it or not, he doesn't even like the surface at Wimbledon across the pond. But he's on a roll right now because he won his first ever ATP title in Majorca, Spain, the week before Wimbledon. And now upsets Sitzipas and is into the quarterfinals. But it's his first time playing Wimbledon. His first time. We got to hear from this American, no? The guy was not even sure what to say afterwards. Dream come true. Yeah, it's tough to really put into words, but to be able to come out today and play the way that I did and just kind of take everything in, it's surreal. I can't really really describe it. It'd be better if you guys asked questions.

I think that might make things a little bit easier. Totally not his element. In fact, this is only his ninth grand slam. And you know the grand slams are the majors similar to golf where you have the Australian, then the French, then Wimbledon, and finally the U.S. Open. And I'm not telling you Americans aren't good on grass, but typically because there are so few grass courts in the United States where they will play, Americans are better on the hard courts. And so he has only played in nine grand slams.

He's never been past the second round. And for a while, this 27-year-old thought maybe broadcasting is a more lucrative route for me. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to compete at the highest level at the grand slams. And so he's actually worked on air for Tennis Channel.

But maybe he shouldn't quit the actual sport just yet. Quarterfinals for the first time in his first ever Wimbledon. Everything from realizing that I have two credentials at Wimbledon for the rest of my life to checking my phone and saying my name as an ESPN alert to realizing how much I disliked grass at the beginning of the grass court season to now look at where I am. Like there's so many different ways I could go about it, but I just think the entire experience altogether has just been a whirlwind and it's been something that you dream about. But I think for me, I didn't really need for me. I didn't really know if that dream would actually come true. And I'm sitting here in it now.

So it's pretty cool. I love that. I love that. He had a backup plan just in case. You know what?

I had one too when I was studying communications in college and dreaming about a sports radio career. I had a lot of people tell me, you should have a backup plan in case it doesn't work out because women don't do what you want to do. I'm not joking. This is what people told me and they meant well. It's not like they were trying to rain on my parade. They meant well. They didn't want me to try and fail and have nothing to fall back on. I can identify with those emotions that Eubanks is describing. I believed in myself, but I wasn't sure. He believed in himself, but because of his respect for the sport and his respect for the others who play the game and his knowledge that grass was not his favorite, he actually was considering a career in broadcasting. Because you know that's so much easier. It's very lucrative. Boy, welcome to the dark side. Please don't give up on your tennis just yet.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. So then how did he get to this point? First ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. I've done a pretty good job in the past, I'll say like nine months. I'll say, well no, maybe around a year, around U.S. Open time of being able to just kind of separate everything and look at the next match. It's just the match and not really considering the moment, not considering the round or the stage of the tournament. Just realizing, hey, this is an opponent. This is a player. This is a player. Realizing, hey, this is an opponent I have to play. Taking everything else out of it, as much as you can. Simplifying it to who's my opponent? How can I face him?

Bite-sized chunks, if you will, and it does not get easier from here. But congratulations to Christopher Eubanks from Atlanta, Georgia Tech product. And now he goes into number three, into a match against number three, Daniil Medvedev, and that would be the semi-finals. Of course Novak Djokovic, he's not ranked number one in the world, but he is the guy who's stealing most of the spotlight at Wimbledon. And you may remember that on Sunday night he was playing against a Polish contender in the quarters, or no, to reach the quarters, and then had that match suspended by the local curfew and had to come back and finish up on Monday. Kind of two different matches, you know, last night and today, completely different conditions, playing under the roof, more humid, more slippery, and I would say, you know, obviously no wind, so a bit easier for the rhythm for the serve, at the same time a bit slower from the back of the court and more rallies. Today, completely different, very, very windy, difficult to get the rhythm and tempo on the toss.

Obviously curfew is probably something that is much more difficult to change, I understand, because of the community and the residential area we're in, but I think the matches could be pushed at least to start at 12 o'clock, you know, I think it would make a difference. These days when Novak speaks, pretty much everybody listens, so maybe there will be some movement on that front. Yeah, he couldn't find his typical rhythm and groove for a while, and actually lost the third set, so he had won the first two in tiebreakers on Sunday and then came back and lost the first one he was playing on Monday. I had enough.

Oh dear. One more with Novak, not sure if you've seen this on the TV coverage, but he's wearing a number 23 on his shoes for obvious reasons. He's sitting on 23 Grand Slam singles titles, so if he wins Wimbledon and ends up with 24? The number speaks for itself, you know, I mean that's why we've done it and I'm grateful to ASICS.

I didn't even know actually they surprised me a few days before the tournament started and I think it's cool, you know, it's nice to kind of mark the achievement, historical treatment in this way. Well, obviously if it happens in less than a week time that I reach the 24, then we'll have to use the 24 I guess. That's kind of cool that ASICS did it as a nod to Djokovic and his success and recently winning the French and number 23, and so I guess they would come up with a new pair of shoes that had 24 on it.

Yeah, put a little 24 in there. I run in ASICS, it's the only thing I use to run and actually it's pretty much the only sneaker I wear now. You think that ASICS would come up with some type of a number to put on my shoe? Maybe the number of half marathons I've completed wearing ASICS gel.

That'd be cool. Yeah. You know, honestly I've never worn a pair, but I have never heard a bad thing about ASICS.

So good. Never once. Every time I, and you don't even really have to break them in because ASICS gel are, they're pretty broken in already, which is great. One run and they already fit my foot perfectly. I have found that a brand new pair of ASICS gives me not just an extra spring, but makes me faster.

Don't know how it happens, makes me faster. But yeah, great padding and protection that, you know, that pounding because I run mostly on concrete and pavement. Um, it really absorbs the pounding and protects my knees, my back, shins, all that stuff.

It's, they're great. I don't run in anything else. So if ASICS would like to come up with a customized number for my shoes, I'm, I'm all about it.

ASICS as a sponsor. You would? You would?

Oh, we would. Okay. Gotcha. All right. On Twitter, A Law Radio, take our poll.

Would you trade Ohtani before the deadline if you're the angels? Don't! And then our Facebook page too. Glad to have you with us. Good morning. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Here's the next pitch. Shohei hits one a mile deep out there into right field. Boy, that went right through the catwalk there that the fans enter and exit down the right side. They're running down there to try and retrieve that baseball. That's another big time blast. And here on this Sunday, once again, it's showtime.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Shohei Ohtani did not participate in the home run derby, but he could. He's got 32 at the break, which is the most in the majors. Man, this is tough. This is what I was afraid of. The angels lost nine of 10 before the break. They've got some serious injuries. This is a risk for the angels either way. If you trade them away, you may get a bunch in return, but you will take a major step back in terms of your appeal as well as your ability to contend. And you jeopardize, supremely jeopardize your chances to resign him.

There's always a chance. Jay reminded me that you could pull an Aroldis Chapman situation like he went to the Cubs for the World Series and then promptly returned to the Yankees when he was a free agent. And I don't know that it was worked out ahead of time, but Aroldis wanted to play in New York and they wanted him back.

And they got a few young players for him, including Glaber Torres. So there's always the chance the angels could try to pull that move, but there's no guarantee. And Shohei Ohtani may decide he likes his new home better or that he's ticked that the angels traded him away.

That may be flying in the face of his culture where you just don't do that. But if the angels don't trade him and he walks at the end of the season, they'll get nothing for him. You only have one chance in your entire life, maybe seven lifetimes, to trade away as Shohei Ohtani.

You could get a lot for him, even if it meant that you had to close that door. What's better for the angels long term? If it's me and you look at baseball as an entertainment and as a business, not to mention you want to win and he wants to win, I say from the top down the angels do everything they possibly can to re-sign him. You do not trade him away. If there's any chance he'll re-sign, and of course there is. You don't know what he's going to do.

He picked two in the first place. It's clear he loves playing there. He's thriving. Don't trade him away.

Make him leave if that's what he wants to do. And I know it's risky, but I would rather take that risk. I'm not a big gambler, but I would rather take that risk because it's Ohtani, because of what he means to your franchise. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio.

It does dawn on me that I'm going to CBS Sports Radio. It does dawn on me that the Blazers are a few years ahead of the Angels in terms of the Ohtani situation and their decisions, and it could go horribly wrong the way that it's now gone for the Blazers. They tried. They tried to put pieces around him. It didn't make Dame happy. Ultimately, they didn't win a title, and now Dame wants out.

And furthermore, he and his camper making it difficult on Joe Cronin. Why? Because Dame only wants to go to Miami. I understand. I mean, I think that obviously is a place that he wants to be and that makes sense for him, you know, as far as the rest of the makeup of the team and all that. As a team, you always hope that, you know, you have more options. And to have limited options like that is, I wouldn't call it frustrating, but it prevents you from, you know, perhaps seeking out the best return.

So, you know, it's something we'll have to work through. The goal is always to have Dame as a trailblazer. It always was and always will be. I mean, we wanted him to retire a trailblazer. So, we're very open-minded to anytime Dame wants to be a part of us. I wonder if it's more likely that Dame reverses course and stays in Portland than the whole Aaron Rodgers divorce with Green Bay. Remember that was the question that was being asked as well while the trade was hanging in the balance? It took a long time because it was only the Jets. The Packers had to make it work with the Jets because that's where Aaron wanted to go.

Well, if Dame is insistent upon Miami and is going to make life miserable for anybody who would bring him on board otherwise, then really Joe Cronin needs to work with Miami. But that's frustrating and it could take a couple months and honestly he's okay with being patient. I think what I've learned more than anything is patience is critical. Don't be reactive.

Don't jump at things just to seemingly solve a problem. I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situation post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent and taken their time and not been impulsive or the teams that really kept their urgency under control. So, I think that's how my approach has been with this and will be with this is we're going to be patient. We're going to do what's best for our team and we're going to see you know how this lands and if it takes months, it takes months. I like his approach. Joe Cronin has to do what's best for his employer and as much as they don't want to trade Damian Lillard away, you're only going to trade him one time.

Get everything you need out of this deal before you sign on the dotted line. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. We're asking you about Otani, if you're the Angels, do you trade him away? On Twitter, After Hours, CBS. It's getting a lot closer in these early morning hours and I don't mean trade him away at the end of the year.

I mean trade him away by the deadline which is coming up in 20 days, 21 days. It's getting close. So, take that poll on either Twitter or Facebook. We're glad to have you with us here on CBS Sports Radio. Before we hit the top of the hour, we just have a few more minutes to go and it is the story that is right now ripping the sports world.

You're going to see a lot of conversation about it, not just Tuesday but through the end of the week and on into the start of football season because we're getting close. Northwestern decided to fire its longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday and this of course tracks back to the hazing allegations. I'm not sure if you've been following the story but just quickly, the school commissioned an investigation back in January. What the investigation revealed is that Fitzgerald may not have known about the hazing but could have, right? Like there's no significant evidence that he knew the hazing was taking place but there was an opportunity for him to know.

So, the investigation really couldn't unearth if he knew or didn't know. Initially, it was a two-week suspension until a former player comes out and does a very detailed story with the school newspaper, the Daily Northwestern. This was over the weekend and on the heels of that story in which again there were details of hazing that involved nudity and sexual assault, some cases actual sexual abuse. The school reversed course and said even if Fitzgerald did not know, he should have known and this was happening under his watch which means he is culpable. As I've been thinking about it, what keeps coming to mind is that Pat Fitzgerald, if he was of the character that many people believe that he was, should have been running his program in such a way that his assistant coaches, his players, dare not engage in hazing because he had a zero tolerance policy. If he had a zero tolerance policy and made it clear to everybody on his program, everybody under him, that hazing would not be tolerated, well then most of these guys wouldn't have risked it for fear of either getting kicked off the team or losing their jobs. I used the example of AJ Hinch earlier and I know the whole Astros cheating situation is not sexual assault and sexual abuse so I'm not comparing the gravity only that the reason AJ got fired, well he got suspended by baseball then got fired by the Astros is because he should have known and I said at the time because he gets paid the most, because the buck stops with him, he should have made it very clear that cheating wouldn't be tolerated.

Don't even think about it because it won't be tolerated. Hazing is against school rules, it's against conference rules, it's pretty much outlawed in the NCAA. There have even been cases of criminal charges and in this situation it certainly seems like crimes were committed according to multiple witnesses, not just this one former player. I mean the investigation uncovered the fact that yes hazing likely did occur, it was fairly widespread. So Fitzgerald deserves to lose his job for that because he didn't make it clear, even if he knew he didn't make it clear to the people under him that we don't do that at Northwestern. And so you'll hear a lot more about it today, maybe we'll talk about it more tonight. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Boom!