8-2-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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That's BetterHelpHELP.com slash positive. The second half of the baseball season is here, and each game means a little bit more. We're talking pennant races and wildcard chases, with each pitch bringing us closer to the playoffs. The free Odyssey app lets you listen to live play-by-play of your local team, so no matter what you're up to, you'll never have to miss another game. Download the free Odyssey app today, and keep baseball close by all summer long. That's A-U-D-A-C-Y.

Odyssey. Of course this is how it happens. I haven't been on the radio in just under a week, and the second I have to turn on the microphone, I have a headphone malfunction, of course, because it couldn't go any other way. Hello! I'm back, as you can now tell. Back and probably not better than ever, but we'll piece it together. Thank you for all of your messages on TwitterX.

Nope, not going to do it. On Twitter and our Facebook page. It's really good to hear from so many of you, and I will confess right up front, I did almost no social media. I took, when I say I took a long weekend and I checked out, I was busy.

Lots of appointments, lots of time with mom, lots of time with Bob's mom and his family, and this was a really great trip. We had so much going on. We were running here and there and everywhere, and when I say running, I do mean actual running.

Phew, disaster averted, headphones are fixed. You guys are, you already know I'm crazy. You're going to think I'm even crazier when I tell you what I did while I was in Houston.

That has to do with running. Anyway, Bob was seriously reconsidering all of his options, as in he needs to run himself because I'm a nut. Anyway, I got stories. Of course, I got stories. I had to tell you about TSA PreCheck.

Where have you been all my life? I'm totally in love with TSA PreCheck and with the travel deal. It was really a travel negotiation that I made that I did keep up my end of the bargain. So there's lots of good stuff to tell about the trip to Houston. Yes, it was hot. Yes, it was hot.

You don't need to ask me. Yes, in fact, it was hot with 1,000% humidity and whatever. It's not the first time I've been in heat and humidity. It won't be the last, considering I'll be back in Houston in a month. Yes, yes, I am a glutton for punishment, but it was a great trip. So happy to spend time with my mom. She is the best. She's recovering really well from foot surgery. We maybe did a little bit too much on the foot, but I'm so happy to be able to see her and make sure I can help her.

Although one time I was supposed to be helping with the laundry, I was out walking and she did it without me and told me I couldn't tell her husband because she was going to get in trouble. So yeah, we were in cahoots, but it was a really good long weekend. Time in the pool. I did some cooking. Actually, didn't do any baking. Did some eating.

Oh, definitely did some eating. And it's good to be back now, rejuvenated and ready for another month uninterrupted in the wake of Major League Baseball's trade deadline. And you guys, you guys, 48 hours from now, we will be talking about the first preseason game of the 2023 NFL run.

That's it. The schedule kicks off on Thursday night. We were actually both done, producer Jay and I, because we were doing some show prep earlier and I thought it was this weekend, the Hall of Fame game.

No, actually not. It's Thursday night with the Jets and the Browns. The Browns are back and better than ever. The game taking place in Canton. And so we will actually have, I'm not going to tell you football to break down, but we'll actually have the sights and sounds of the NFL at least for a few minutes. There'll be a lot of pomp and circumstance around it. It is the Hall of Fame game.

It's Hall of Fame weekend. So all of that is really important. The game itself matters. Not at all, unless someone gets hurt.

That's the key. I'm not even going to speak it into existence, but it is coming up. You guys, 48 hours from now, we will have our first preseason game in the books. Now baseball doesn't have to step aside yet, but I would say it is wisdom of Major League Baseball.

Not that they changed their schedule at all, because the trade deadline is always July 31st, beginning of August, but it works perfectly for baseball to make this big splash, suck people in with the trade deadline moves, and there were some doozies before the NFL kicks off its preseason. Now the preseason is kind of funny, right? Because we watch for a few snaps and then right away, who are these people? What are we watching?

Okay, what else is on? So it's really more about just seeing the uniforms, some of the players, hearing the sounds of football back again, and then recognizing it is one gigantic step to get to the actual kickoff, which is still over a month away. So let's not get carried away, please. But it is football. Well, it's fake football. I mean, it's fake football. We still have plenty of baseball, obvi. There's a lot going on there and we're going to dive into that coming up. Women's World Cup still keep taking place with controversy. What is happening to Team USA? This is really the best team in the world. If not for the post, for the love of the post, I do love the clangs and the noises, whether it's pucks or soccer balls off the post. It's one of the most recognizable noises in sports when it's when it's mic'd up. So we have a lot to talk about.

Yes, we'll get to QB news because that's what we do. And it's the hump show. And before you give me any flack about how I'm only working three nights this week, I just want you to know on the front end of my trip to Houston, I was awake more than 30 hours in a row. So 31 hours I think I was awake. I got home on Thursday morning. I had to clean pack. I had a bit of a crisis with my pet situation. Worked out great. Penny and Sugar are fine.

They're better than fine. They had lots of visitors but had a bit of a crisis I had to work out. Wasn't expecting anyone to be in the house and so I had to clean the house and get packed.

I hadn't packed at all. So awake 31 hours by the time I fell asleep on Thursday night at mom's house and then on the back end of the trip because my schedule had been completely flipped upside down. That's what I do when I'm on vacation or on a break. I instead am awake usually before eight o'clock in the morning but I'm in bed by 10 11. But it was my last night with the family. Last night with Bob and so stayed up way too late and then got a couple hours of sleep before I had to hop on the flight to come back to the New York City area which is where CBS Sports Radio headquarters are located. And so for that reason I didn't sleep at the beginning of the trip.

I missed the end of the trip in terms of sleep but there was some good sleep in the middle and as I say more importantly time with family and lots of items checked off different to-do lists and helping mom out. So I am back. It is the hump show.

It felt like a hump even if it wasn't a show. So please find us on Twitter after hours CBS because you can send your questions for Ask Amy anything. That always happens on the hump show and I'm back just in time on our Facebook page too. And when you head to our social media you may see a bright pink flower. It is actually one of the peonies from my front flower beds this spring and it's the opening photo the title photo there's a reason for it in my latest blog post and many of you have already read it and have sent comments either on my blog or on Twitter or Facebook.

It is my letter to Grammy Helen one year after we said goodbye to her and she did love her flowers and really love peonies which is why the pink peony will grab your attention. So I want to say briefly just thank you. I appreciate all of your kind words and your support and many of you also share stories about your own loved ones that you've either lost recently or you lost years ago but they still are very much an impactful presence and an impactful part of your lives. So I always I always enjoy sharing because of what I get back from you and yes it is cathartic to write.

I do miss Grammy dearly and it's always good for me to know that you all miss her stories too so thank you for letting me share her with you one more time. So that post is up on our social media as well if you want to check it out when you have an opportunity. Let's talk baseball shall we? Oh the thick irony of the fact so much there's so much here so many layers to the irony that the New York Mets trade Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros. The Astros have to give up prospects to get him when they could have just signed him going back to last year when he was a free agent. Now granted Steve Cohen outbid everyone as the owner of the New York Mets that was his entire goal was to outbid everyone so that he would have no competition in putting together baseball's highest ever payroll as in the most money ever spent on one team in one season in the history of the game which goes back more than a century of course. The Mets turn around and trade Verlander back to the Astros. I'm sure the rest of the American League is thrilled including the Rangers including the Yankees who may not make the playoffs anyway so they wouldn't have to see him again. But the crazy part is that the Astros could have had him for nothing but money. Now they aren't paying as much for him because the Mets are picking up the salary. A lot of it, not all of it, but a lot of it.

But they had to give up a top minor leaguer to get him. Moral of the story. If you choose to get off the pot instead of poop emoji, very often it's going to come back to bite you in your rear end. Now you can't snooze. You snooze, you lose.

You snooze, you snooze, you lose. And I understand that the Mets again were willing to offer more money to Verlander but the Astros knew his value of all the teams in Major League Baseball. The Astros knew his value who is coming off a Cy Young Award. Maybe, maybe Justin Verlander desperately wanted to leave Houston and head to New York but I just don't believe that. Now he had a choice. He certainly took the money.

He took the big stage. The Mets were coming off 101 wins. They weren't expected to be a slouch. A group of slouches. Well collectively a slouch. But the fact that Verlander left Houston, went to New York, now heading back to Houston, the Mets are paying a lot of the money but the the Astros had to give up something to get him back is just, it's goofy.

I don't understand. Maybe the Astros thought they'd be okay without him and maybe they would have been but they're obviously better with him. Dusty Baker, he of course has a gigantic smile on his face as he talks about getting Verlander back in his rotation.

This is pregame before the Astros hosted the Guardians. That improves my heart's function. You know what I mean?

And for a guy who had a stroke, heart function is very, very important. You know and that does my heart. It does my heart well. It's a reunion of sorts.

Reunited and it feels so good. I love that most of the the articles that are written about the Verlander trade to Houston don't just say a question. They say acquired but reacquired because he was a big piece of winning the World Series with the Astros just a few months ago.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio, now 40 years old coming off that Cy Young in Houston. The Astros really decided not to be super aggressive in pursuing him instead and they did put their faith in a rotation that was much younger, right? So Verlander signed that two-year what was it nearly 87 million, 87-88 million dollar deal with the Mets who were in the business of just writing blank checks essentially and he's got some money, some options down the road if he continues to pitch well or if he stays in a groove and so it's good for Dusty Baker.

He's not writing the checks obviously. It's good for Dusty Baker. It's good for the Astros.

It's a clubhouse presence that they're familiar with. Certainly a comfort zone for Justin but just my goodness what a long and winding road. I know he was hurt a little bit to start the season. Right now record is six and five and his ERA is just over three so he's not made as many starts but this is the same Justin Verlander even if he gets hit a little harder and and how funny is it too that now he and Max Scherzer are on. Remember they started in Detroit together. They both won Cy Youngs in Detroit.

Then they went their separate ways. Justin to Houston. Max to Washington. Max wins a World Series with the Nationals. Justin wins one with the Astros or two actually with the Astros plus another Cy Young. They reunite in New York. Now they're split up and they're in the same division the top two teams in the AL West.

From the category of you can't make this stuff up it's it's so delicious and yet so convoluted. So yes now Justin and Max will be facing each other in a manner of speaking back in the AL West with a pennant race underway. I think because of Justin's experience you take the numbers as a piece of the equation. He's been hit hard in some spots and definitely doesn't go deep in games like he used to. Not not typically but he still brings that bulldog tenacity to the mound.

He's still extremely familiar with the guys in Houston and the fans in Houston of course. This is going to be like putting on your old comfy sweatpants or producer Jay who wears slippers year round. The second he gets home from work it's slippers to the bottom of his feet. Every day. Because they make him feel like he's home and he's comfortable and he's relaxed after working this oh so strenuous schedule here on After Hours.

You know that I crack the whip. So Verlander is back to Houston. Max Scherzer introduced with the Texas Rangers and not without parting shots at the New York Mets. You'll hear from him coming up but we're not done with you Houston or you New York. But on the same day that the Astros bring back a decorated pitcher, a future hall of famer, a former MVP and Cy Young award winner, the guy who was probably most important to them winning the World Series in 2017 aside from the trash cans and of course really important to them winning last year.

In addition to that piece they make history once again on Tuesday night. That's what you like to see as a pitcher. So we will continue with this whole tangled web between the Astros and the Mets plus Mad Max. More reaction to the trade deadline. The Baltimore Orioles don't stand pat. They make a move which I like and the Angels.

What about the Angels? Now we're going to ask and answer a lot of your questions coming up at the top of the hour. Our longtime friend and guest Scott Miller from San Diego will join us. No we're not going to spend a lot of time talking about the Padres though I gotta ask him about the NL West and the AOS and the moves that were made and what the heck New York Mets.

So there's a lot to dive into with Scott. We'll keep him around for probably half hour coming up at it would be 2 a.m Houston time 2 a.m Dallas time. It'll be midnight on the west coast. So find us on our show Twitter after our CBS on our Facebook page too. Glad to have you with us 855-212-4227. Thank you for the happy vacation messages and the welcome back messages and the Grammy Helen messages. You all are sweet some of the time. Send your questions for Ask Amy anything and we'll get after it through this edition of the hump show here on After Hours CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. 15 no-hitters in the Astros franchise history. 11 of them have been complete game no-hitters. The last one by a guy the Astros just traded for today.

Here's the 0-2 to Gallagher. Broken bat, soft liner, Pena catches it and a no-hitter. Romer Valdez. First one to greet him is Maldonado and the rest of his teammates pile on. Romer Valdez wrote the 16th no-hitter in Houston Astros history.

With a day that the Astros got their ace back their other ace emerges. Romer all smiles. Dusty Baker gives him a big hug and it seemed easy Robert.

It seemed easy the whole way. Getting you to the good half of your week. It's the Hump Show on After Hours. Robert Ford and Steve Sparks on Houston Astros radio as Romer Valdez throws his first no-hitter and the 16th in their franchise history as you hear on that final call. It's fitting is it not that as Steve points out they return their former ace in Justin Verlander and then just to let the rest of the American League and baseball as a whole be on notice.

You better watch out. They also get a no-hitter and even though so this part is crazy to me. I had to go back and look at the dates because I didn't remember even though it's just the third in baseball this year. Do you know it's the third for Houston in just over 13 months? Do you guys remember they had two previous no-nos with combined pitching efforts?

So I think there was one not I think I did look at the date the the first one of this three these three came in June of last year June 25th. I do remember Ryan Presley was involved in both of them so there was a regular season no-hitter last year before the all-star break then they had a combined no-hitter in the playoffs remember and like I said Presley was involved in that one too. So they have actually had three no-hitters in the span of just over a year a calendar year. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio here's the cool thing about Fromber well among the many cool things. He was hit hard by the Rangers in his last start he gave up season highs in both hits and runs six of them as a matter of fact and yet he turns around and he allows just one measly solo baserunner on a walk in the fifth inning otherwise this is a perfect game and he only needs 93 pitches it's a throwback it was a throwback to times where we didn't see specialists and different bullpen moves that sometimes make us scratch our heads no starters went deep into games and they didn't have pitch counts of 100 but he didn't get anywhere close to that anyway pretty amazing didn't Domingo Herman throw only 99 pitches in his perfect game so there are a couple of fantastic performances Valdez is a 29 year old from the Dominican Republic and in front of 33,700 he tosses the no-hitter and has a translator with him on AT&T Sports what's Sportsnet Southwest afterwards I feel great you know I was like thanks to God thanks to my catcher and my team who did a great job and you know he's very grateful for this it's a wonderful day and uh you know he started out uh with the bang I mean he had his breaking ball from the very very beginning today his concentration was at a at a at a superior level and uh you know him and Maldy worked you know great together Martine Maldonado that's the other half of the battery and we kind of feel for catchers generally yes it is the pitchers who are throwing the ball but it's the catchers who are working with them not only keeping them calm but in many cases are navigating the various hitters based on their research and their film no banging of trash cans they they're obviously calling the games too in many cases not every case pitchers I think of them like the golfers and the caddies are like the catchers no championship golfer would tell you well if if he's worth his weight no championship golfer would tell you that it was a solo effort as opposed to a team effort they all rely heavily on their caddies to do the research to walk the course in many cases the caddies themselves have played these courses so that they can have as much prep done beforehand when it comes to clubs when it comes to length when it comes to approaches and where you hit and how you hit where you land on the green all this stuff it's extensive research so that the golfers can focus on hitting the ball when they're addressing it as opposed to all the different variables that's where the caddy comes in that research in their books that they've they've done for days ahead of time and maybe for years if it's a course that they've played more than once in the case of august the national right we're talking about a volume of information for caddies who are experienced well I think of that relationship in the same way that I do with the pitchers and the catchers pitchers no one would none of them would tell you again if they're worth their salt that they did it all by themselves because that's ridiculous very often the catchers are again the ones keeping them calm talking them through it giving them options knowing the hitters they're sitting back they're listening to everything as well so I love this relationship even if the catchers don't get as much attention it certainly matters and yes Maldonado has an opportunity to to catch a no-hitter to be part of history this one is really special this is the first one I ever caught from the same picture the two one I have is combined no-hitter so it's always better for me you know I take a lot of pride on that emotion go to my head you know it's a good moment for my kids when they grow up it's a great moment for his kids when they grow up again on AT&T Sportsnet Southwest so yeah Maldonado was part of the combined no-hitter again there were two in the past 13 months for the Astros but this one belongs solely to Fran Brevoldes with 93 pitches seven strikeouts and just a single base runner in what was really a low scoring affair the Guardians only gave up two runs themselves and yeah on the day when they bring back they reacquire Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer gets introduced with the Rangers now we've got a real dogfight I hope I hope we have a dogfight uh so looking at the updated standings in the AL West and we haven't even talked about the Angels yet and what they did and did not do at the trade deadline but the Rangers are now clinging to a half game lead over the Astros because the Rangers have they've struggled they've scuffled a bit here they've dropped seven of their last 10 though they did win tonight the Astros have the same number of victories now just one more loss so they're a half game back in the loss column the Angels above 500 they're five and a half back of the Rangers in that division though of course uh the the Angels I don't want to say of course the division is not out of reach but you're talking about two of the best teams in the AL that are in your own division are ahead of you the Angels have made progress though in the wild card where you've got the Astros now is the number two wild card behind the Rays the Blue Jays are sitting right now in that third wild card spot but the Red Sox are only game and a half out which is crazy and the Angels are three games out so they've actually leapfrogged the Yankees so they were ahead of the Mariners but they leapfrogged the Yankees the Mariners and the Yanks are both three and a half out of that final wild card in the American League and the Guardians are six back so there are infinite possibilities as we get post-trade deadline on through what will be the next two months of the regular season and again coming up top of the hour Scott Miller from San Diego will pick apart some of these moves and and why they make sense or they don't make sense and we'll talk to him about what's to come in the rest of the 2023 season it is our home show it means you can ask Amy anything sort of so so you can find our show Twitter after our CBS my Twitter a law radio retweeted their bright orange box looking for the same on Facebook and you can send your questions Jay has started I guess this goes back now six months maybe Jay started posting the the big old bright orange box the thought bubble in the evenings and so because of that it kind of catches a whole different group of people and boy do we get a lot of questions so I do not relish the job that producer Jay has to do in a couple hours we'll get to ask Amy anything all right straight ahead we will hear from Max Scherzer who essentially puts the Mets on blast and I want to know whether or not baseball needs to investigate Max Scherzer essentially accuses the Mets or it actually says the Mets told him of their plans for 2024 which we know Rob Manfred is not on board with teams not actually trying to win so you hear from him plus the general manager of the Mets and also while we're putting people on blast or while some people are putting other people on blast how about Carly Lloyd and and I don't think she was out of line but it is one of those really tough challenges for former athletes especially those who play at a high level how do they make that jump to broadcasting and and strike a fine line between telling the truth being genuine authentic using her experience in this case her experience and her wisdom and her time with the US women's national team winning world cups and winning gold medals and you use that to tell the truth about what you see without burning every bridge that you ever built with the actual team because then what happens her former teammates athletes don't talk they won't talk to her they'll be ticked and so then you don't necessarily have inside intel so it happens a lot with athletes they have to learn how to strike that balance and I don't think Carly was being malicious or had any type of ulterior motive I just think she's she has a high standard because she played on this team and so she called it like she saw it but it ruffled some feathers some USA feathers some red white and blue feathers if you will all right find us on Twitter and Facebook we're glad to have you it's our hump show After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Mitch Garber taking not much time to send one high and deep cut into left center field leaping at the wall is Robert he can't get it it's into the Chicago bullpen Mitch Garber will break through here with the game's first run and give Texas a one nothing lead and the one to pitch Garcia hammers one to left field Benintendi turns watches that balls out of here Adolis Garcia with a line drive home run to left his 26th of the year the Rangers lead two to nothing this is After Hours with Amy Lawrence the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros now have the same number of wins half game separating them in the loss column and as the Rangers shut out the White Sox on Rangers radio they maintain that lead but barely the Astros they're coming for you Rangers it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio now the Rangers we know have made move after move the last couple years they do not have Jacob deGrom which was the biggie in the off season crazy right just the think about the different spokes on this wheel that kind of revolves around the New York Mets the Mets had Max Scherzer they add Justin Verlander for a lot of money they allowed Jacob deGrom to walk essentially in free agency he goes to the Texas Rangers but has barely pitched and now both Scherzer and Verlander are gone it's so weird to think about the moves that are made and the excitement almost the lightning rod attention that was paid to the Mets for the moves in the off season and building what is the highest payroll in baseball history and now won't won't won't do everybody let's go mix it has fizzled with a capital f is all on Twitter a law radio also on our Facebook page your reaction to the trade deadline we will take it now Chris Young you may remember him from his pitching career I don't think he retired that long ago maybe five six years ago he actually pitched for both the Mets as well as the Rangers so a little bit of deja vu here he's the general manager of the Rangers now and he's the one that made this deal for Mad Max really excited obviously Max's pedigree is a hall of fame future hall of fame pitcher and the winner that he is is a perfect fit for what we need right now always said that you can never have enough starting pitching and to add somebody of Max's caliber is a is a great addition to our club and we're really excited to to get him it was a lot of hard work by a number of people the front office scouting department and and eventually we landed the player that we felt like is going to help us get where we want to go this year we're pumped about it I mean we're getting an experience guy with a tremendous resume and so we're very excited to have Max join us I just want to fly in tomorrow he'll take a bullpen and right now we have him scheduled to pitch on Thursday but yeah I look forward to seeing them meeting them getting to know them Bruce Bochy major key for the Rangers in what has been a first place residency atop the AOS for most of the 23 campaign before that Chris Young about adding a player of his caliber now Max is nine and four he's got an ERA that's actually north of four so this has not been a great season for him remember he had the the suspension for the stickiest substance that they've ever ever come across in major league baseball if you remember what the umpires had to say about it um and and so he's been up and down it's been a roller coaster ride at the very best and yet there's a lot of potential there because he's mad Max now he did have to waive his no trade clause to go to the Rangers so he says he was surprised he was not expecting to be traded but he believes that now considering what the Mets are doing that this is a better option considering where we how we thought of our team in spring training yes it is I mean that's our that was you know you came in with World Series aspirations in New York Steve had gone out there and and done everything in the world to provide you know a winning ball club for the Mets organization and unfortunately we didn't play up to par you know a lot of guys uh didn't play up to the standards me myself I'm accountable for that um you know there obviously I would like to be pitching better this year I'm just not I'm just not like how it ends uh also the bombshell which many people will be reacting to on Thursday oops sorry well Thursday if he starts yes uh but definitely Wednesday morning is that Max kind of outs Steve Cohen and Billy Epler who is the general manager of the Mets in that they he believes that they are planning to tank essentially that they're planning to work on their farm system scrap it all from 23 with the highest payroll on baseball and because of the moves they're making now it will carry over to a very young team a team with a lot of prospects not a team that has a ton of experience I don't know what that means for Pete Alonzo I don't know what that means for Brett and Nemo I mean they're just there's some other guys on this team that have invested so much and that also stand to make some money and I don't know what else they do they're they're post-trade deadline now but they certainly have an offseason looming and so Max Scherzer claims that Steve Cohen and Billy Epler told him that the Mets are not planning to field a contender next season either I said okay you know that's a you know brand new brand news to me different than what I'd ever heard out of Steve's mouth I was like all right I gotta hear this directly from Steve so I had a phone call with Steve and he basically articulated the same vantage point that that was the new vision for the Mets that was a new timeline that they were identifying and that you know players that were under contract for next year that they could be potentially sold off at the deadline right now now we know there were some other moves made by the Mets of course it wasn't just Max Scherzer who was introduced by the Rangers on Tuesday Verlander was pre-trade deadline and the Mets are paying a lot of the salaries for both these two pseudo aces also Mark Cana and then don't tell me who was the other one don't tell me wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute yes go ahead Jay remind me fam that's right Tommy fam David Robinson was earlier uh yeah so they did make some big moves half dozen guys uh reliever in there as well that they shipped out and essentially what Max is saying is that according to Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler this is just the beginning that anybody who's making any kind of money Francisco Lindor long contract they could be on the move as well when the 23 season is done it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio so yes after after losing on a walk-off balk in the bottom of the 10th of the Royals oh and and before that they had a two-run lead in the top of the 10th and squandered it so just a really bad night for the Mets actually a really bad week a really bad month a really bad season for the New York Mets one that they would be better to forget except they can't because they're spending a lot of money on this nightmare uh Billy Eppler spoke to the media and says that the the Justin Verlander deal wasn't always a sure thing but that they felt like they had to take advantage of what was given them by Houston given the place that we were in uh we were just trying to be strategic and we wanted to um see what opportunities exist um on some of our players and uh we had certain price points that we were looking for and if those were met uh we were gonna execute it which they did and all of a sudden now going to watch the Mets in person I'm speaking from fans perspective where you think okay they're not real good or they're not good at all but you might get lucky enough to catch Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander on the mound I would still say that is even though that it was a rocky you know rocky tenure there in in Queens at Citi Field fans still enjoy seeing those two guys play you never know when you might see a vintage performance that's more like the future hall of fame resume that they've put out there these are two incredible pictures two of the best of our generation and they've got a lot a lot of experience just want to add that Verlander did get a standing ovation when he exited the mound on what was it Sunday or Saturday's last start at Citi Field gotcha thank you for letting me know so Billy Eppler trades them away now the fans don't have a real reason to be excited Eppler did not deny that the Mets aren't going to be faves in 24. Going into 2024 you know we don't see ourselves that will have in the same odds that we did in 2022 2023 but we will field the competitive team in 2024 and so now is a time where we start to think about what opportunities can exist in the in the winter time what kind of resources that we'll have at our disposal and put our best foot forward. Well that's that the Mets are using the rest of this season and a good chunk of next season to build from the ground up they are loading up the farm system 10 prospects that they brought in they feel like could provide some of the stars of the future but it's going to be a long wait for Mets fans who are already frustrated Scott Miller joining us from San Diego next here after hours CBS Sports Radio.