8-3-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

I dig this 2023 baseball season.

There's a lot going on. A lot of storylines and surprises that were unexpected based on what happened in spring training in the early stages of the season. Even going back to the stage set by last year's postseason with the Phillies for instance. The Braves and the Mets bowing out early but both win 101 wins. The Padres last season getting to the NLCS and what a flop they have been. The Astros who don't bother to make a real push for Justin Verlander. They allow him to go to the Mets where he makes, I don't know, three starts and spends 10 minutes before he turns around and goes back to the Astros. Crazy stuff.

So I really dig all the ups and downs and ins and outs. The dramatic twists and turns of this baseball season and yeah both of the teams out of New York with very high expectations have reached the month of August in unenviable positions. Is it done? Are they done? Well not necessarily but there's not a lot of positive zen around either the Mets or the Yankees that's for sure.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. It's always world series or bust for the Yankees and that's not really on the radar right now. Though if you make the tournament, you get in, you can maybe have a run like the Phillies did last year or the Nationals did in winning the 2019 World Series. Maybe even the Padres who had a late push at the end of 22. So there are certainly there are certainly ways and and teams that have set precedent for just getting in.

Could that be the Yankees this year? Well if it is they'll have to do it without Domingo Herman who is on the IL or not really the IL but he's out for the rest of the year. He's unavailable because he has entered treatment for alcohol abuse. I just know you know he's going into treatment so I just I mean want the best for the person that's going through a difficult time. It is very sad for you know someone that's very talented and so I think that's the biggest thing my takeaway of all of it.

Just you know hope and pray that he gets the right kind of help that you know truly gets him going in in the right direction for the rest of his life. The reaction of Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Domingo Herman being out the rest of the way. They do get a victory over the Rays in the Bronx and Pete Caldera was there to cover it. Long-time Yankees reporter and writer for the Bergen Record and the USA Today Network and we're pleased to welcome him to the show now for the first time. Pete before we talk specifically about Domingo Herman what are a few words you would use to describe say the last couple weeks for the Yankees?

One is predictable because they've been the same lazy offense and you know just you know kind of remained in that malaise they've been in. It's been hard to score runs you know with this team and obviously you know not having Aaron Judge in their lineup you know was had affected them greatly and since he's been back you know you can't anticipate that you know he's going to be you know just the one element that it's going to turn things around you know they've had a lineup of you know highly paid veteran you know position players that have performed way under expectations this year and and Stanton, LeMayhew, and Rizzo have been you know the biggest of those underachievers and that has made you know scoring runs a just a nightly struggle for this team. The Domingo Herman news especially when it's not been that long since he threw his perfect game probably sent shockwaves around major league baseball what's your reaction to to that news that he's going to be away from the team the rest of the year while he deals with treatment?

Yeah I mean first you know your emotions and your and your thoughts go towards you know him coming out of this a better person and and for for himself and his health and his family and and you know that that's number one. His career you know has been you know dotted with inconsistencies on the mound and some troubles off the field too you know this is a player that had a domestic violence issue that he was suspended 81 games for in in 2019 he will not pitch again for the rest of this year and and you know there's a pretty good chance or at least there's a chance he's throwing his last pitch as a Yankee they still have a year of control with him next year but you don't know if this is this incident has you know will lead to them severing ties with him or they give him another chance or or what it looks like you know come spring training next year but I think first and foremost you know his teammates and certainly manager Aaron Boone and general manager you know Brian Cashman were concerned enough for the player that you know they knew he had to go into some kind of a treatment program but you know if this is the last pitch he's thrown for the Yankees you know it you look at the you know the broader picture is a very talented pitcher that really never put it together consistently you know he had a five something ERA after he threw a perfect game and you know I think a lot of us were kind of thinking that you know maybe that this is the jumping off point where he could you know kind of harness you know all that the talent he has he certainly is capable he showed it and he has showed it in the past but you know just could never put it together over season injuries had something to do with that too and now you wonder about his career going forward now Garrett Cole started and pitched tonight and they get a win over the Rays but they've got some ground to make up so what does this mean for their rotation well they're getting Nesta Cortez back a little earlier than they expected he'll pitch Saturday against the Houston Astros Friday Luis Severino who's you know you talk about wildly inconsistent I mean he's just been you know he just hasn't found in fact he looked lost and has it pretty much admitted so after his last start in Baltimore but you know there was a chance that he could have come out of a rotation maybe even skip the start go to the bullpen you know the state of the Yankees rotation is now that you know someone was if Herman was still in this mix someone was probably going to come out of of the of the starting five rotation when Cortez got back from his strained rotator cuff but now he's back Herman is obviously out and Severino is keeping his turn against Houston and then there's gonna be a lot of attention you know paid to to that start I mean that's that's a tough lineup to have to turn things around with he says he's healthy the velocity shows that you know the fastballs there it's just that uh his pitch mix and his command uh and and probably his confidence has taken a huge hit here uh in these uh dozen 11 or 12 starts he's he's made for the Yankees in 23 so it's that's it's going to be another you know attention getter big start for for Severino here against Houston Pete Caldera is with us on After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio covers the Yankees for the Bergen record and the USA Today network just before we move on to more about the Yankees you mentioned the Astros they've been the nemesis for the Yanks a few times this last uh couple of playoff appearances what's your reaction to them getting Justin Verlander back at the trade deadline yeah right back in into the New York scene uh right away this weekend yeah that's uh that's gonna be something um obviously a lot of teams made some big splashes that the uh trade deadline and the Yankees weren't were not one of them but uh you know this was one of the one of the few you know trade deadline periods you know you can remember that the Yankees weren't actively shopping starting pitching I mean they their needs were you know left field left-handed hitting uh outfielder preferably you know Cody Bellinger would have fit that um that to a tee and then the Cubs obviously took him off the market the way they've been playing lately and um you know they could have used a possibly a third baseman a catcher they were looking for some relief help and they did get a reliever Middleton from the Chicago White Sox but you know is that was anything you know other than a you know maybe a Soto or a Bellinger um you know gonna move the the needle uh for the 2023 Yankees probably not say a Tommy Pham you know certainly could have upgraded the the Yankees in in the outfield but uh you know they chose to hang out of their their their prospects or whatever the price point would have been for the Yankees to uh to get a rental player uh and and just fight with the guys that they have but yeah I mean just to spin it back to Verlander it's going to be really interesting just to see uh you know you know what he says about coming back to New York and the uh and to be in a town like this where you have the you know what two of the three highest payroll the teams or the top two payroll teams in baseball one just uh just uh decided to uh you know fold up the tent and the other one the Yankees uh are are going to struggle mightily to get uh just a piece of a wild card here so um you know what a turn of events it's been in New York for the last in the last four months no doubt and I know it doesn't help to say that the Yankees would be first place in the AL Central even though they're the basement of the AL East but when you look at this team and see where they are now early August what signs of life do you see or what signs of hope for them to actually make a run to a wild card you know if you want to look at the the most optimistic uh you know part of the Yankees is that if their pitching stays healthy now I mean they still have a full complement of a five-man rotation that that you can send to war and uh and and feel good about if they're if they're operating at their their norms and you know you start with with Garrett Cole but they they desperately need you know calls for Don you know after five starts is you know coming off the the IL long IL stint uh first of the forum and then a back issue um we have not seen you know the calls for Don that uh you know that was uh commanding 162 million dollar uh six-year contract and free agency to come to the Bronx you know Severino we talked about you know this is at his best as a frontline starter who is uh you know you know pitching like a guy who's you know struggling to stay in a rotation frankly um you know getting Mr. Cortez back should help and he was an all-star last year but uh you know he struggled uh this year and and probably uh you know pitched with um at a bit of a handicap coming out of spring training because he had a a groin issue uh that he kind of tried to pitch his way through and it might have impacted his mechanics and his uh and his command uh in the first half and then he winds up uh on the IL uh with a shoulder issue so but getting him back in the rotation if he if he gives you what anything close to what he gave you last year you got to feel good about that and their and their bullpen's a bit terrific you trust that uh you know if you get a lead late you'll be able to hold it it's just the the scoring has been a a spectacular struggle for for this team and then uh you know you just have to hope in these last two months that uh you know that these guys either get hot or just or just frankly you know play to their norms even Rizzo admitted you know the other night in a fit of frustration that he was just hitting a little bit you know how much it would it would help help this club um you know you watch you know Garrett Cole who's a one-nothing game in in Baltimore and this is the kind of stuff that's that's led to them being in the position they are you know they they haven't had a real lead-off hitter all year um and you know the middle of their order certainly without judge for for a spell but uh you know with Lamehu and Rizzo and Stanton not performing up to standards um that is that has had a devastating effect on this lineup Pete Caldera is with us talking Yankees here on After Hours CBS Sports Radio do Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman survive this if the Yankees don't make the postseason in your opinion if we're going down the same route where there's not another catastrophic injury to a to a guy like judge or um pitching staff and they don't make make postseason i you know this this could be the year where we're we're a manager or or gm um you know pays for their job or or let's let's go back a bit Hal Steinburn has has basically had control of his team since 2010 he is not George Steinbrenner his father um he's had a very good working relationship with with Cashman this is the only you know uh baseball ops head that that he has known or dealt with on a daily basis uh for over a decade uh and and he's grown to trust him implicitly and his opinions and the baseball lieutenants that Cashman surrounds himself with so um you know does that relationship change with uh with with a failed uh playoff year with with the with the payroll they have and and you know what they did to spend for for judge and Radon and and uh and Rizzo last offseason hard to say yeah i i would still think that uh that relationship is pretty rock solid and uh then you go to the manager you know in in the past uh when the Yankees have changed managers and they change managers and they change managers infrequently in the Cashman era um those have been decisions that have been made by Cashman and taken to ownership and for approval and it happened with Joe Torre and it happened with Joe Girardi does it happen with Aaron Boone possibly um but it hasn't happened yet and they have had a championship caliber rosters that have not made it past the American League Championship Series or or have suffered worse fates than they're not even getting to the ALCS so um hard to say but uh i would i would think though that um the possibility of a managing change if this stays the way it is is greater now than it probably in any other any other year uh with Boone at the helm because of uh look it's it's New York and you know maybe six years uh and this is the tipping point uh here but uh yeah it's it's not trending in the right direction put it that gotcha Pete before i let you go it's clear that the AL East is the best division in baseball every team is above 500 the Orioles and the Rays right now are sitting on 66 wins apiece the Blue Jays have 60 and they're six and a half games back of the O's in the division it's crazy how good this division is so of course that matters when we're talking about the Yankees because they are still a club above 500. What do you think of the Orioles and the Rays at the top right now? Certainly I have a lot of talent and staying power and uh all those teams that you mentioned help themselves at the deadline you know even the Orioles who you know didn't make any real dramatic moves in the off season you know coming off a surprising year when they uh you know got into contention uh now have positioned themselves uh to where you know you you like their chances uh against Tampa Bay and Toronto and and you know to some extent obviously the Yankees and the Red Sox um you know you look at Toronto's team though you know top to balance up bottom um the talent on that roster uh is is superior and um but you wonder they they really they haven't fired off uh you know you know wins at the rate of their of their talent uh this year and in past years I mean they they uh you know they struggled a bit in the first half started playing uh better of late and um you wonder if they've got a run in them to where you know their their talent alone could uh you know sustain them and push them to a uh to an AL East championship or at least a long run after securing a wild card so um I gotta like uh all their chances and uh you know the Red Sox have been surprising too that to you know to be in it when we I think we all as a consensus thought that uh you know this was going to be an automatic last place team and are still in a really good division but they but this division has uh you know probably with the one exception being the Yankees is is kind of uh you know outperformed maybe their own expectations uh to this point it's going to be an interesting run at the end uh we have a different schedule though now I mean we're not uh you know you're not playing three uh six series three home three away within your division uh this year with the new scheduling format it's it's just a two and two so you know you're not you're not going to have uh more of these head-to-head games within the division that uh you know might be a lot more interesting down the stretch um you know I look at the Yankee schedule I mean they finished the year in Kansas City uh just interesting enough I mean if they needed uh a game to get it to the uh posties or something they'll they'll be playing their last three games of the year in Kansas City and not at Toronto or Boston or uh Tampa Bay where it could be a little more uh dramatic but uh yeah uh it's we're all going to watch with interest because uh I mean these teams are loaded they're talented and especially with the you know in the case of the Rays and the Orioles to be doing it with two of the lowest payrolls in the game um is a real testament to those two franchises in the in their front offices. Never a dull moment so you can follow Pete Caldera on Twitter at Pete Caldera C-A-L-D-E-R-A covers this team now for 20 years Bergen record USA Today network baseball writer it's good to catch up with you thank you so much for your insight in a couple of minutes Pete.

Anytime Amy thank you very much appreciate it. Still up in the air for Aaron Boone according to Pete and he's really just taking the temperature of the room nobody knows what Mr. Steinbrenner will do sounds like Brian Cashman is someone he trusts and he has put together a lineup that could win but they're underperforming like under performing in a a real noticeable way a way that even the players themselves have gotten frustrated about and yet they do have a lot of money wrapped up in those players. Had to pay Aaron Judge try to put guys around him that would work it did not has not and all is not lost but as I said before we started talking to Pete for the Yankees for the family that owns them for the general manager the front office the fans certainly it's usually Super Bowl ho ha ha it's usually World Series or bus now they haven't had one in quite a while so the the drought extends on maybe those expectations are unrealistic now for the Yankees moving forward but it is fairly dramatic the amount of money spent on baseball in New York only to see two teams that are at least at this point out of the playoffs looking in and one of course holding a fire sale Steve Cohen the owner of the Mets addressing the comments from Max Scherzer about what 2024 will look like so remember Mad Max said both the owner and the general manager of the Mets told him they weren't planning to compete in 2024 so Steve Cohen standing in front of reporters and answering questions on Wednesday about the fire sale by the Mets and then we're gonna we're gonna strap on the pads and hit somebody actually they're barely hitting each other in practice even though they are wearing pads now but we're on the eve of the first preseason game of this 2023 NFL campaign so we've got a bunch of QB news at all to share with you I love that sound on Twitter a law radio on our Facebook page too it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS sports radio you are listening to the after hours podcast I said okay you know that's a you know brand new brand new 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 a 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 this is after hours with Amy Lawrence Max Scherzer kind of took the top off the Mets strategy and I think sent a few ripple effects for teams not just around the Mets players around the Mets but also other teams in major league baseball and and I kind of wonder if baseball itself will investigate these comments from Steve Cohen and then Billy Epler the general manager about the Mets fielding a competitive team or not in 2024 so it was Steve Cohen's turn to respond or to talk about their future plans on Wednesday it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS sports radio now Steve is a multi-billionaire and made it very clear when he was talking with reporters on Wednesday that he can do whatever he wants with the roster so no one is going to tell him what to do he said I own the ball club so I can do whatever I want but what does it mean then to compete or not next season I think the expectations were really high this year and my guess is next year will be a lot lower but I you know I can't speak to what's you know what's going to happen the off season I mean there may be opportunity I'm opportunistic okay I mean I don't I don't want to roll a team out there that we're going to be embarrassed by but saying I but we also know that you know spending a fortune you know everyone says I spent a lot of money and other teams did too doesn't guarantee you a trip to the playoffs and so I think we got to you know look and see what we need obviously we're gonna need starting pitching obviously since you just traded away both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander yes obviously we'll need starting pitching after not re-signing Jacob deGrom the whole thing is is fascinating and I don't know what would have happened with deGrom had he stayed in New York I don't know that there's no way of knowing if he has the same injury if he'd be on the IL if he'd be out for the season there's no way of knowing that it could have gone the same exact way or it could have gone differently you can't go back and change one piece of history and then expect that everything else remains exactly the same but it does beg the question if you pay Jacob deGrom instead of Justin Verlander could they be in a different situation maybe not because certainly deGrom's price with the Rangers was beyond what Cohen was willing to pay for him not beyond what he was willing to pay for Verlander at least in terms of the average annual value not necessarily the the number of years for a 40 year old starter but yeah it's kind of it's twisty they don't pay deGrom they pay Verlander already had Max Scherzer on the staff and now both of them are gone as is deGrom huh so whether they compete in 2024 remains to be seen but he definitely is indicating he doesn't want to have a roster that is a flop or that sends the message to the fans that they don't need to show up at the ballpark at all next year it's after hours on CBS Sports Radio really disappointing for Liam Hendrix not about Liam Hendrix but disappointing for him that after returning from his non-Hodgkin lymphoma and being cleared to pitch for the Chicago White Sox there's been some really emotional moments for him obviously uh to to get it back on the field was awesome after he was cleared and his cancer was in remission but now needs Tommy John surgery oh what a double whammy former manager and of course big leaguer himself Ozzie Guillen was talking about this on NBC White Sox this guy he beat cancer he can beat anything he might come back from Tommy John surgery in mid-june july yeah it is it's also unpredictable uh but he he seen like a one and a top and another one and another one it's like a kid rolling and rolling and rolling and rolling and rolling right but i think uh the good thing about this man is show people how strong mentally is how important for his family around him uh it will be back but it's gonna be a last year contract for them with the White Sox uh they might make him they you know White Sox did it to me when i got hurt and i don't have a contract and the first thing in the morning Jerry Randall come to my wife and he say don't tell us don't worry about his contract next year if it can play or not we we go to sign him for this amount of money okay first of all i will get to what Ozzie said on NBC Sports uh Chicago or NBC Sports White Sox but i am i'm looking it up because i couldn't remember what was his last year in the majors 2000 wow it's really been 23 years do you remember well then he managed to he's so there was never a dull moment around Ozzie he was so fascinating that's true there still isn't but yeah he was last with the White Sox in 97 97 that's a long time sounds about right yeah yeah my goodness anyway uh sad for Liam Hendrix but he definitely has shown that he can beat the odds he's he's got a good support system around him um and we'll see if Ozzie's right will the Sox take care of him or will they move on um he represents a lot of hope and inspiration for a lot of people so maybe they will keep him but gosh talk about being in no man's land uh that team is a disaster this year again too but it's tough to hear tough to hear for Liam he's already been through so much hi Marco hi feel free to weigh in i know you sorry okay i was thinking of the fact the White Sox have been one of the biggest disappointments you you mentioned the Mets they're obviously the most i really thought the White Sox were gonna have a bounce back year i'm stunned at how bad it was and how much that they obviously you know pulled the plug and had to retool this thing i really thought that they were on the right projection and i thought once the Tony La Russa whatever that was mix was taken away i thought that it would find its way and it's been a lot worse than i ever expected yeah this sucks to of all the of all the people in major league baseball for this to happen to it really does stink he's got a torn ucl and his right elbow and we're talking another 12 months and he wasn't out that long for for the treatment for non-hodgkin lymphoma um but yeah i mean you're possibly looking at all of next year i'm in 12 to 14 you could be looking at yeah and that was the other aspect of it it's 34 i was gonna say 35 so yeah i mean it's just the timing of it uh with everything else that going on in his life put that aside just the timing of it from a baseball standpoint 34 35 in august right it's brutal because not only is it this year it's likely if not all of basically all of next year then you're looking at a guy who hasn't pitched in a couple of years coming back at 36 ish well he did pitch so he pitched in the spring right right about mid-may or so right had a couple of appearances got his first save got a couple of wins really emotional but hasn't pitched since early june so so now has the surgery and as you say 12 to 14 months and we're looking at at the very least probably all star break of next year depending upon what the white sucks do if if he decides he wants to return i mean a lot of guys see a bump or a boost from a strengthened ucl after the tommy john surgery and they continue to pitch i mean oh justin verlander is a great example tommy john is not something where you have that and then your career is over no no they've done tremendous strides and you could get a bump in in velocity and everything else but just because you could be back in 12 to 14 months usually it's the year after right that's when you start to see the guys really start to pick up their career again and they can get back to form but that's my point though now you're talking about roughly a year and a half to possibly two years without really pitching and now you're trying to get back to form and you're 36 37 that's where it's rough it's the timing of it in where he is in his career you have this it seems like every other pitcher has it at 24 25 it seems like every guy is that it's just a question of when did you have your tommy john surgery not if and did you have one or two it's not that it's you're getting into the late 30s and the timing of it it's not in the spring so you lose one year it's in august so you lose basically all of this season and maybe all of next season that's the tough part yeah it definitely is but you're right it seems like more and more pitchers have it now oh yeah it's it's considered again a surgery that you can recover from that in some cases makes you stronger and extends your life as a starter specifically um and so it's not i mean think about verlaner and how late he was he was what 39 38 when he had the surgery uh yeah somewhere in 37 38 and then wins the sai young after that now he's an extraordinary example right um but it's it's not impossible but yeah it's become more and more common for pitchers they're different story when you start getting into labrums and whatnot then they're they're still confused they still know all the tommy john they have figured it out i i don't want to say perfected but it's close they have they know what they're doing and they're quick to be able to go in identify and fix so this is something where it's he can definitely get fixed like i said it's the timing of it and the age where it just becomes more and more difficult to be able to come back that road you can do it it's just a lot harder all right coming up we're gonna pivot to football joe mixon explains why he took a pay cut to return to the cincinnati bangles and considering what's happening with the running backs right now in the nfl that was probably the smartest move that any of the backs made this off season on twitter after hours cbs and then our facebook page our youtube channel as well you are listening to the burrow takes the snap hands it to mixon nights inside for the first down keeps fighting toward the end zone it's a touchdown joe mixon takes it in this is after hours with amy lawrence that makes me miss actual football we're about to get some fake football on thursday night with the first preseason game the 2023 campaign bam bam bam unfortunately we will not hear bangles radio instead we will get jets and browns so you'll hear from their quarterbacks heard about their quarterbacks coming up in what will be the afc edition of qb news and then we'll have an nfc edition of qb news as a side note it's the time of the year where i call the afc the al and where i call the nle the nfc east better than like western conference that's true because we're now about to see football step back into the center ring of the circus now i told bob actually on wednesday evening that giving preseason or or training camp or spring training scores it's against my religion the the games the final results do not matter most of us will watch a few minutes and then we're peace out so the scores don't matter what matters is getting your guys ready to play what matters is being in shape certainly what matters is getting through it without any major injuries now teams are obviously dealing with that now uh navigating injuries losing players it's it's all part of it uh but we will have a thursday preseason game the hall of fame game it's on nbc so it'll look and sound like it'll be dressed up like actual football uh can't imagine that we get more tops than a handful of snaps from starters uh but erin rogers will be on the sidelines in in green and not actually that's not so different not packers green it'll be jets green the cleveland browns again who knows if we'll see any of their projected starters but for a couple of minutes there it'll look and sound like football hut hut and then it'll be back to oh please can we get to opening kick it's after hours here on cbs sports radio browns play in the division with the cleveland the the browns play in the division with the cincinnati bangles and i thought it was really interesting to hear from their top running back joe mixon uh because he took a pay cut to stay in bangles orange why does that matter well not only does it matter because he's got a comfort zone there with the bangles and because they will rely on him but it also matters because there are a number of very good running backs who are still without jobs and here we are a couple of weeks into training camp and you've got guys like dalvin cook and ezekiel elliot kareem hunt also from most recently from the afc north they're without jobs joe mixon didn't want to go that route and that's smart now he he agreed to take a pay cut because he felt and this is his word a sacrifice was necessary to keep this team on the trajectory she said oh my goodness sometimes talking is hard to keep the bangles on the trajectory toward a super bowl so he restructured his four-year deal remember he signed that in the covid year 2020 and his new his new deal his new contract is actually a three million dollar decrease from what he was supposed to make in 22 and that's not chump change not for running backs obviously the last we knew the vikings had a seven million dollar contract on the table for dalvin cook i guess it's debatable who's more valuable to his team dalvin cook with the vikings or joe mixon with the bangles but either way most running backs don't make double figures and if they do it's one or two years of their careers mixon said it was the bigger picture that allowed him and his ego to take a a rework deal a rework contract that reduces his cash payout by three million dollars so that the bangles had kind of gone back and forth they weren't sure what was going to happen with joe mixon but he decided that he would go ahead and take a pay cut because he wanted to stay put and he tells wcpo channel 9 his only focus is championship bling it's definitely a blessing to still you know be here and be in this building man so um obviously the the the main goal is the main goal and that's the super bowl but same time it's a long season i take one game at a time and you know may the best you know may the best teams be there hadn't heard anything from joe mixon until training camp and he's not going to be made available to to reporters on a larger scale until the start of the regular season and that actually is a violation of the nfl's media policy so we'll see whether or not he ends up having to pay fines or if the bangles end up having to pay fines on his behalf i suspect that one major reason is because he's got a trial that's supposed to start august 14th august 14th yeah coming up in a couple of weeks uh remember he got charged with misdemeanor aggravated menacing so he was accused of pointing a gun at a woman in a road rage incident and he pleaded not guilty to it and jay just confirmed to that thank you uh the trial is set to start august 14th so we're talking about a couple of weeks now so i suspect that is why the bangles are not making him available during training camp though he did this one-on-one with wcpo channel nine so that i guess there could be a situation where he actually doesn't end up playing the season or maybe doesn't end up playing the entire season uh while we're talking running backs alvin camara was meeting with roger gudel in new york on wednesday because he's got a possible suspension on the horizon you remember that there was video of a fight outside of vegas nightclub going back last year and he played well he was eligible to play all of last year and so now the saints with with dennis allen uh they're waiting to hear what happens and whether or not the commissioner and the nfl will suspend uh camara so he is supposed to be back with a team for training camp uh the the saints though will have to wait on that ruling from the commissioner's office it's after hours here on cbs sports radio uh camara reached a plea agreement in his case to kind of settle it he's no longer facing a felony charge um but still there's video out there that indicates that he was part of this skirmish with a man outside an elevator and the nfl is not beholden to charges remember that about the nfl's behavioral policy of which you know roger gudel designed it and he still has final say players do not have to be charged with a crime convicted of a crime they don't have to serve time for a crime the commissioner and and his office do have the ability to suspend or levy punishment to a player under their behavioral policy even if he's not guilty or never faces charges at all and we've seen that precedent in the past we're halfway through it's after hours with amy lawrence cbs sports radio