After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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. So, what are you thinking for lunch? Ugh, I can't. I'm getting new window treatments, so I gotta go home and wait around all afternoon for a design consultation just to get a quote.

It's gonna totally mess up my work day. Why don't you just go to Blinds.com? Because I need custom products. Blinds.com products are made to order and totally customizable, and you get upfront pricing right on their website to easily get your quote online. But I want to see the products in person.

Blinds.com ships samples to you fast and free. They can even verify your measurements and handle the installation. Wow, how convenient. Tell me more.

Blinds.com also has a huge selection of stylish shutters, shades, curtains, and options for motorization, even for your patio. Plus, they're 100% satisfaction guarantee. Well, you've convinced me. Let's go eat. I've got time now. Shop Blinds.com and save up to 45% plus free installation on qualifying purchases.

Up to 45% off right now with Blinds.com. Rules and restrictions may apply. It is amazing the number of people who can take what I believe is a really cool moment that I posted on social media and turn it into some type of a reason to preach at me, tell me what I've done wrong, tell me what I should do next. It's one of my favorite things about social media is how thousands of people can tell you how to live your life and how to run your business. But the best part is that, of course, you can ignore it.

If it is their constitutional right, in some cases, people believe their God-given right to voice their opinions and share their perspectives, regardless of the situation, and social media does kind of give us that access. Well, then it's my right to ignore it. Hope you don't mind. Oh, free country here in America.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, for most of you, you're very cool with your encouragement, your support, your kind words. It's just one of those moments that I think as Americans, as adults, as humans, as people who, a lot of us live paycheck to paycheck. That's my life.

So Jay, listen to this. So I didn't even bother to respond to this because it's so off the wall. Some guy responds after I post about how I paid off my car loan Monday. I was so excited on the phone.

Thank you. I paid it off. Well, I was on the phone with the Bank of America customer service rep to get the payoff amount because it changes every day.

There's interest that compounds every single day in case you didn't know that. So I called to get the updated payoff amount because I knew I was within three payments of being done with Princess Leia and her loan. I actually told the customer service rep that her name is Princess Leia, and she laughed and she goes, Star Wars, right? Well, at least she got it right.

If she said Star Trek, I would have hung up on her and looked for another customer service rep. Of course. Anyway, so she congratulated me. She gave me the payoff amount. She congratulated me.

I ended up paying it off just because I have bill pay on my bank account. So it was done. And within minutes of being on the phone, I knew that I was going to be able to pay it off. I was really excited. She congratulated me. I did a little jig. I was screaming a little bit, not screaming, screaming, but like, woo, whooping it up in my kitchen.

So that was the highlight of my Monday. So I post this on Twitter earlier on Monday and some guy responds with, unless it's a Lambo, I'm assuming that means Lamborghini. Why do you have a car loan? You're a nationally syndicated radio host. Shouldn't you be able to buy one with cash? Jim Rome's kids already have cars and his grandkids and like, well, first of all, Jim Rome and me, not the same thing.

But second of all, the ideas that people have about radio hosts and what we make in this business. Oh my gosh. Unless it's a Lambo. A Lambo. I mean a Lambo as in Lambo field. No, as in Lamborghini.

Are you kidding me? That's not even practical in New York. You imagine how quickly that puppy would get carjacked in New York. That would be the worst thing to drive in Manhattan.

Worst idea. It would get dinged up. It would have dents. You'd get sideswiped. People would steal it, break into it. No, bad idea. So no, there will never be an expensive car while I'm driving into Manhattan on a regular basis.

That's where our CBS Sports Radio headquarters are located. But yeah, all kinds of people telling me what to do now with Princess Leia. Just why do I have a car loan in the first place? How about just be happy? Don't worry.

Be happy. Well, you don't have a car loan. I no longer have a car loan. Some other guy suggested now I should pay off my mortgage. Oh, okay. I'll get right on that.

I've just got a few hundred thousand dollars laying around. I'll get right on that. Thank you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. What would I do without social media advice? You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, if you too would like to weigh in with your life hacks. And also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

It will spin anything. Yeah, seriously. Our phone number is 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4CBS. Most of you all are great, and I appreciate that you're happy for me. It was a big day in my life. Second time in my life I've ever paid off a car loan. One time in my life, and it'll never happen again, it was a one-time affair, that I paid off my school loans for my grad degree. Oh, you want to talk about whooping and hollering on the phone because I had borrowed 20 plus, well I borrowed 20 grand, and over the course of years of paying interest, that obviously turned into more than 20 grand, though I never missed a payment. So I was pretty proud of that fact.

Yeah, paying off loans is so satisfying, because you know the work, the blood, the sweat, the tears, the effort, and the time that you've put into becoming closer to debt-free. So Princess Leia is free. Free Princess Leia. She's been rescued from, and she didn't even have to go into the trash compactor, she's been rescued from the clutches of the Bank of America.

Demons. So they're sending me her title. It's gonna be all mine. You're gonna hang it up? Um. Frame it by Princess Leia on it?

Nah, I don't think I'm that pretentious. I know she's mine, but she knows she's mine as well, so there's no need to flaunt it. She is now sitting just shy of 150,000 miles. I'm praying, I'm not joking about this, I'm praying that she makes it to 250. That's my goal.

I think she could. I put roughly 25,000 miles a year on my car, except for COVID season, or COVID year, but otherwise I put roughly 25,000 miles on a car each year. I've driven Leia, and she was, she was a beauty. Did you, where did you drive Leia? I drove to Boston. That's right, you drove to Boston last summer. That's right, we had a deal. You drive there, I drive back.

So yeah, she's, uh, she's still humming along. If she's to get to 250,000 miles, that would be about four more years. If I could get four years without a car loan, I would be on top of the world.

That would be amazing. It's saving me $300 a month. Yeah, I hear you.

Oh my goodness. I'm so thrilled, especially just because it's, like I said, paycheck to paycheck, and it's still tight in our society. I, I still can't get over some of the prices of things that we pay for, like gas. You know, it just, it never really goes down much. For four dollars by me now, I got it today.

Oh yeah, it's, it's heading that direction in New Jersey as well. So for those of you who are celebrating with me, thank you. I know many of you can identify what it means to take this big bill right off your monthly expenses. I got an egg sandwich the other day for breakfast at the deli.

Bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel. What does that have to do with me paying off my car loan? Because it cost $8.65. Why did you buy that? I didn't even realize that, like, I just went to my normal spot where I always go.

It's always been, I don't know, four hours. Jay's favorite place to do grocery shopping is the convenience store where he buys his gas. Well, I mean, it's got everything. It's convenient in and out.

It doesn't have everything, but also it's way more expensive. Jay's idea of grocery shopping is candy and cokes. That's, that's essentially Jay's idea.

I mean, you need the essentials, right? He is a major bad influence and temptation for me, especially right now when I'm in training for a half marathon and Jay wants to share candy with me. No, we're, we're getting our candy stash before the NFL season kicks off, but I cannot eat any. It's my willpower that I have to exercise.

I cannot eat any until after the half marathon. It's on September 24th, I think. Shoot, what day is it? Let me look at my handy dandy calendar. Yeah, September 24th. That's the month plus. That's the date of my next half marathon piece of candy. I don't know if that's going to last.

I have a little bit of chocolate every now and then after I exercise, I'll have some chocolate, but not gummy candy or the types of candy that we really, really like eating sour patch kids fruit salad. That's so good. It's the best. Yes.

So we do have a $50 gift card courtesy of one of our friends of the show and we need to get our NFL stash. It's long nights. It's long days and long nights.

So it's time, but not until after I run my half marathon. You're making me go into candy warehouse again. And it's just like, I'm making you in here. I'm sorry. Did you say I'm making you? Because now I'm looking, I'm thinking about what we're going to get. In other words, you're not working or paying attention to what we're talking about on the show in terms of the sports realm.

Instead, you're no joke. You should see Jay's face right now. He's on the candy warehouse website, looking for the types of candy that he will spend my gift card on. They have an entire sub category for just gummy bears.

I didn't realize it was more than one kind. Okay. While you're there, just check and see if they have two things. I need to know if they have her she's gold because I love her. She's gold.

I'm sure they use food coloring, but it's still yummy. I do see her. She's gold. Okay. That. And then the other thing that I really want is the sour patch fruit salad that they have. I already know. You looked it up. I have that as a favorite stock.

Yeah. You have it as a favorite because we sometimes get sour patch, watermelon, sour patch, peaches, sour patch, grapes. We've done the individual fruits because Jay is a fruit, but we haven't done the fruit salad in a while. It's got everything. It's got the lemons. It's got the cherries, which are underrated. The cherries are really good. No lemons. Grapes are in there. I see oranges, watermelons, limes.

It's got it all. Limes? Yeah. Sour patch lime? Could you imagine how sour and tangy that is? Oi.

We'll find out. Something you would put in a shoe. I'm so not good with alcoholic beverages, which is the tequila. Tequila. Put a sour patch lime in it. That's horrible.

We're good. So it's a five pound bag. When I was at, do we do not need a five pound bag of sour patch fruit salad?

That's not true. There's gotta be a different option. Five pounds.

You're lying. There's another size. How much is a five pound bag of sour patch fruit salad? 28.50.

That's insane. We're not paying 30 bucks for a five pound bag of candy. It's a steal.

No. Then you pay for it. That's more than half of our gift card. We are not, I repeat, not spending $30 on one bag of candy. I don't know if we can get any smaller quantity of it. Compare that to the Hershey's Gold.

The Hershey's Gold has a couple of different varieties. Hold on. Not variety sizes. Yeah.

Okay. Packaging. So we can get the snack size bars, a 42 piece bag for 13.

Much better use of our gift card. It's a little more economical. It is. It is much more efficient. But it's not a five pound bag of sour patch fruit.

It's not. But maybe we get our own individual fruits and we put them together. We could do that. I guess.

It's not the same, but similar. What else? What are the other candies that we like that we'll be needing for NFL season to kick off? Are we talking more sour stuff or? I'm just asking.

Blank canvas. Like sour straws? No.

No. How about, what's another candy that you like? I like the Starburst jelly beans. Those are good.

They probably have those. I like Starburst in general. Starbursts are good. Anything that has chocolate. Almond Joy. How about we, how about we just get, we just get plain old Hershey's chocolate so we can make s'mores? I don't really get the gold. Just plain Hershey.

That's a little boring. I'm sorry. Who has the gift card? Yeah. I'm down with the gold.

I think possession is nine tenths of the law. Who has the gift card? Guess who has the gift card, Jay? Yeah.

Yeah. He won't answer the question. Cause he knows. He knows he's defeated.

He's been blocked. What else we got here? Mr. Goodbar? You like that? I do like anything to do with chocolate and peanuts and nuts. Yeah. I've never met a chocolate I don't like. Oh wait.

I don't like the cookies and cream Hershey's. That's gross. Okay.

Clearly I never should have offered to share this with you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Thanks for finding us on Twitter, A Law Radio.

I will get into James Harden's latest reason to make me dislike him royally coming up after this next break. But you know, we've been talking about running backs over the course of the last month or so. The big news is that Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott both found homes on Monday. Dalvin is headed to the New York Jets to the tune of $8.6 million should he meet all the requirements, yada yada. There's a few incentives built in, but that is more than what the Vikings had on the table for him. There was reportedly an offer still on the table from Minnesota for $7 million. We don't know what the Miami Dolphins were offering him, but it wasn't enough. He ultimately takes the deal from the Jets and now will be part of that Aaron Rodgers backfield.

If you missed my conversation with Antoine Staley, he joined us in our first hour. Covers the Jets for the New York Daily News. We asked his reaction and also I wanted to know the balance between run and pass for the Jets because they've got a lot of quality and veteran receivers as well and I'm not even referring to Garrett Wilson who's the offensive rookie of the year, but I'm talking about Allen Lazard who was the number one receiver for Aaron Rodgers in New York or sorry Green Bay last year and is now with him here in New York. Meeko Hardman who played with Patrick Mahomes and won a Super Bowl in that Andy Reid offense. He's fast, he's creative, he certainly can do a variety of different things in the offense depending upon how Nathaniel Hackett and Robert Sala want to use him. They've also got C.J. Uzama and I forgot who's their top tight end. Remind me who the Jets number one tight ended. Tyler? Tyler?

What's his name? Okay, I'm gonna have to look it up. Anyway, I'm having a moment right now. So if you missed that conversation with Antoine Staley, please check it out. Thank you Tyler Conklin because it's got some good info about what the offense is supposed to look like for the Jets this year and also what the buzz is like around this new Aaron Rodgers franchise. Let's just face it, it's Aaron Rodgers world and we're just living in it.

So check that out on our podcast. But Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott both find Holmes in the AFC East on Monday. You know what hasn't happened yet? A resolution between the Raiders and Josh Jacobs.

Marcus Allen, he's a hall of fame running back. He was part of the Veterans Day where they welcomed back former players in Vegas on Monday and he actually drops the word collusion as the reason Josh Jacobs does not yet have a contract. I clearly understand what he's going through. I'm just gonna say it, it's almost like collusion. They've decided that the running back position is one that their productivity is only for a short period of time instead of looking at each and every one individually. They've decided as a group that they're not going to pay them.

So I can understand what they're thinking and what they're feeling. So hopefully things get resolved because to me it's like the heart and soul of the team. So Marcus Allen speaking up on behalf of current running backs. And while I understand that it could appear to be collusion among the NFL teams, here's the deal. They don't have to collude.

They don't have to. And Christian McCaffrey is making 16 million dollars per year. Isn't Derrick Henry making over 12 million? I think Nick Chubb is as well.

I think those are the top three right there. Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, and Nick Chubb I believe are your top three highest paid running backs. And they're all over 12 million dollars per year. NFL owners do not have to collude when it comes to running backs because history, precedent, and the labor agreement are on their side. When it comes to the franchise tag, the running backs don't have any leverage. They don't have any bargaining power. The CBA, the collective bargaining agreement, was ratified in 2020.

And right now they're in a period of labor peace. There's no renegotiating. The Players Association chose to make other needs and wants a priority over some of these economic situations. And because of that, running backs are not paid the same as other players when they're slapped with the franchise tag. So obviously it makes sense that NFL teams are going to pay their other players, who would make more if they were franchise tagged, and instead tag the running backs that will cost them less if it turns out that they don't agree to a long-term deal. And in many cases, let's be fair, or let's be frank, the NFL teams don't want long-term deals with their running backs. They would rather franchise tag them. And because it costs them less money, bottom line, yes you're going to see more running backs, more ball carriers, get franchise tagged. That's the reality of the situation. So as much as I appreciate Marcus Allen's perspective, and I understand why he's speaking up, NFL teams don't need to collude. They don't need to get together to pay running backs less. That's just the nature of the position.

Okay, on Twitter, A Law Radio, our Facebook page as well, we're glad to have you with us. We'll do the AFC version of QB news before the show is up, but straight ahead, just add it to the list of reasons that I really do not like James Harden. Number one being that he can't hit the broadside of a barn in the playoffs, but there's more.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The guy's a hall of famer. Oh my gosh. Proven winners, color choice shrubs, are the landscaping plants that have been trialed and tested by expert horticulturists to ensure your success. Whether you're looking for the hottest hydrangea, a re-blooming rose, or an elegant evergreen, you can count on the shrubs in the white containers for easy care curb appeal for years to come.

There's still plenty of time to improve your landscape this season, so head to your favorite local garden center and ask for Proven Winners Color Choice Flowering Shrubs. Hey, Rob Bradford here. I have set out on a mission with my good friends at FanDuel to prove what I have known for some time. Baseball isn't boring. Now I have a daily podcast to prove it with some of the most notable people in the baseball world screaming baseball isn't boring for the mountaintops or at least agreeing to come on our show. Players, managers, GMs, and yes, even the commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred. It has been a constant wave of baseball's most powerful voices. So join the revolution. Subscribe and soak in.

Baseball isn't boring. Listen on your Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts, you'll be glad you did. CBS Barge Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Malcolm Brogdon on the drive. Hardin steals the ball.

Sixes on the move. Hardin against Tatum, but he'll back out. Brown reaches, they go into a beat, and B with 11.

It's good. Hardin picked it up, jumps in the nick of time. Timeout Boston. And Joelle and B to the rim, and he lays it up in 96 to 88.

Hardin with an inch, his eighth assist. He was wishing for a different situation contractually. And I think that's been the main desire for looking for a new situation. And, you know, at this point, look, if we can do something that is win-win, helps the Sixers, then we will look at it.

And if we can't, then we won't. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. James Hardin is up to his old tricks. I can't say I'm surprised.

I really do want to say I told you so, actually. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, the voice of Daryl Morey from mid-July, so roughly a month ago, explaining in Philadelphia on 97.5 The Fanatic, that's our friend John Kincaid Station, so good morning to John, explaining why he and James Hardin have not yet come to a contract agreement beyond what they have. Okay, so he's got a contract that had an option for this coming season, and you remember going back to the EVA Free Agency when James Hardin opted into his contract, but the idea was that it would offer the team flexibility if he would opt in, so that then they could find a trade partner.

And what Daryl Morey has indicated, now this is according to Daryl, they haven't yet found a deal that they like. Well, that doesn't surprise me because I wouldn't say the market's smoking hot for James Hardin, not after the last few years, not after yet another great disappearing act with the playoffs on the line. Now, granted, he had a couple of huge games for Philadelphia, one of those when Joel Embiid was injured going into the start of their second round series, but not consistently. And he's getting older, and he's not the same player that he was, not to mention his behavior the last couple years has, I say, tarnished his reputation in the league.

And yet here we are, again, where he's revealing that it's his way or the highway, and that he's prepared to be a flat out jerk in order to get his way. Just to recap, you all remember what he did when he wanted out of Houston, right? And this was also Daryl Maury. He wanted out of Houston, and so he turned himself into a player that no one wanted to be around. This was in a first year of a head coach. John Wall had gotten traded to Houston. There were a couple other veterans that were on the roster. Hardin was so disgruntled, he wanted out of Houston so badly. This, by the way, after he'd required the organization to bring in a couple of guys that he wanted to play with. Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, that didn't work, and so he was mad because he didn't like the fact that they weren't winning, blah blah blah. Forget the fact that it was largely on him.

Anyway, I digress. He wanted out of Houston, and so he made himself persona non grata. He showed up out of shape.

He broke COVID protocols. When he was around, he was disgruntled. He was pissy. Guys in the locker room at the time now say that he disrespected them. We know that he disrespected the new coach and the organization. This is the one that made him their number one option. They built teams around him to try to make him happy and try to keep him there. They paid him a lot of money, but when he wanted out, he wanted out.

And since they wouldn't acquiesce to his trade demands right away, he made it an untenable situation so the Houston Rockets had no choice. Finds himself with Kyrie and KD in Brooklyn. What did they play? All of 18 games together? 16.

Thank you, Jay. 16 games together after the Nets, again, gave in and gave those three what they wanted. I'm not saying it was all James Harden's fault, but it did not help. Didn't get them any further down the road toward even winning one playoff series. Did they win one? They won one.

Won in their several years together. But never did make it to the Eastern Conference Finals or the NBA Finals. Thanks, James Harden. So then James wants out of Brooklyn and gets traded to Philadelphia two years ago or the middle of the season two years ago. In exchange for Ben Simmons.

Why? Because Daryl Morey's now in Philly. So they've kissed, they've made up. It's better.

They're going to win a championship. I'm with you, L.M. Bead. We're option one and option two, A.B.

Two peas in a pod. Except because he didn't perform in the playoffs when the Sixers most needed him with the game on the line, with the series on the line, with their season on the line. And because the Rockets don't want to give him a max contract, now he's pissed again.

And instead of just asking for a trade and waiting for it to play out, James Harden decides to force the issue. He's doing an Adidas event. I'll give you two guesses as to where he's doing this Adidas event. He's doing an Adidas event in which he not only insults Daryl Morey, but lays down the ultimatum.

All right. So this is an Adidas media event. Again, I'm going to let you guess where this is taking place, but just keep in mind, he's on a microphone and it's a little hard to hear, but he repeats himself multiple times. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization like he's a part of.

Let me say that again. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization like he's a part of. You know what question?

You good? That's the voice of James Harden at a media event in China of all places. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be part of an organization that he's a part of. He says it twice.

Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be part of an organization that he's a part of. Oh, how quickly things change. More trouble in paradise.

And yes, I am being tongue in cheek because it's not paradise. Whenever James Harden's on your team, it's just a matter of time. He is so entitled. He is the epitome of the NBA where everyone wants to play with his BFF. And in this case, he can't make up his mind what he wants anyway. He's fickle.

He's like a 12 year old girl raging hormones or something. I don't know, but he cannot keep throwing his weight around and expecting that every team in the NBA is going to give into what he wants. Daryl Morey has a responsibility to the Sixers. But if what James Harden is saying is accurate, that he will never be part of that team where Daryl Morey is running the show, well, then he's got a choice to make.

You're going to sit out? According to multiple NBA insiders, the Sixers have no plans to trade him now. He's under contract. He opted in.

And maybe that's what he's referring to. The fact that he opted in so that it would be easier for the Sixers to trade him. But Morey hasn't found anyone who wants him. It's the same situation with Kyrie.

Do you remember that going back to Brooklyn a year ago? He opted into his deal. Why? Because nobody else would pay him. Nobody else wanted him. Nobody else was going to give him a max deal. You can only burn so many teams before they get the message.

You can only burn so many teams and blow up so many locker rooms before other teams don't want you. Or they aren't willing to pay much money to get you. Maybe they'll take a flyer on you, but they're not going to give up a bunch of draft capital in order to get you.

Nor are they going to give you a max deal. So James Harden opts in. The Sixers tried, according to Morey, to trade him to the Clippers. But the asking price is too high.

That was the report coming out of LA. They're not willing to give what the Sixers are asking in exchange for James Harden. Not to mention, they don't want to pay him $36 million for next season. So Harden's mad because he didn't get a max deal. He didn't get a max contract offer. He opts into his deal, believing that the Sixers will then try to trade him because he asked.

Oh, so nicely. He asked nicely. But you know what happens when, and Daryl Morey knows this too, when he asks nicely but doesn't get his way.

Then he takes matters into his own hands. Even guys in the NBA, we're talking about what a jerk he was trying to force his way out of Houston. He burned a lot of bridges.

Same thing in Brooklyn. And now he wants out of Philadelphia. And so he's in China at a media event, calling Daryl Morey a liar. I don't get it.

I don't get how you think this is going to get you closer to what you want. But maybe because it worked in Houston before, now he thinks it'll work in Philadelphia. Grow up. Former MVP. He led the league in assists last season, thanks in large part to the fact that the current MVP is on his roster.

But that's not good enough either. I mean, how does this guy ever get satisfied? Does he think he should go back to being the number one option? So I'm not sure how many teams that he would be the number one option. Or maybe it really just is about money and he's going to equate a lack of a max deal with a lack of respect. But if anybody knows James Harden, it's Daryl Morey. So maybe these tricks don't work with him. Not this time.

On Twitter, A-Law Radio, also on our Facebook page. Coming up, Mike Trout updates you on his status and it's, yeah, it's not good. The Angels desperately need him.

They're hanging on by a thread. Swing and a miss. He struck him out on a curveball at 77. Uncle Charlie gets in the next six strikeouts for Scherzer, three in a row. One and two, two outs, nobody on. Here's the pitch. Strike three called over the outside corner. Hunter Wendelstaedt with a generous zone there, but Scherzer strikes out of the side in order. He's got nine punches, so two.

Swing and a miss. Strikeout 11 for Scherzer. He struck out five of the last six. A one, two, three, seven. He is cruising here tonight.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On Rangers Radio, Max Scherzer earning his keep, although the Mets are paying for a lot of his keep, even though he's now a Ranger, he's now 12 and four throws seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. Just one single hit allowed to the Angels. And so, yes, it was a banner performance for Max Scherzer, but a really tough night for the Angels. Their own guy, Patrick Sandoval, he gives up five runs, doesn't even get through the third inning. So the Texas Rangers were flexing their muscles, both on the mound and at the dish, and it comes at the expense of Phil Nevin and his crew. There just wasn't anything good about today. I'll just leave it at that. It's not Patrick. It's not this.

It's everybody. They are hanging on by a thread, or if you would like a medical analogy, they are barely, barely kept together by life support. They're being held together by machines.

The machines are breathing for the Angels. It's gotten that bad. I know they had a surge right before the trade deadline, and they did bring in a couple of guys.

It has not worked out. Lucas Giuliano has had, what, one good start maybe since he got there, but it's tough because right now, the heat, the travel, the length of the season, they're getting to Shohei Ohtani, so they're having him skip his next start because he's tired. Do you remember at the All-Star break when he said, in response to Ken Rosenthal's question on Fox about how he prepares for both hitting and pitching, and his answer was, I sleep a lot in between starts? Yeah, the guy's exhausted, and that makes sense. In the heat of summer, with just in the various responsibilities that he has, both on and off the field, it's a lot to juggle. No doubt he's drained. And then there's the Mike Trout component.

They don't have him. Phil Nevins trying to keep these guys together, but they're fading further back now. It's not effort. It's focus from the first player of the game.

That's what I saw. There's difference between physical errors and what I consider mental parts. Those happened, and I just leave it at that. We let it affect us.

The next play's too important to let the last one. I've always said that, and we let some things get to us today, and that's the first time I've seen that though. So disappointed, absolutely. Mad, yeah.

But I know this group in there. They'll rebound and come out tomorrow. It'll be better. So Phil Nevins trying to keep a positive outlook despite the faint heartbeat. The Angels and the Yankees are in a very similar position right now. They both lost seven of their last ten, and they are dropping back in the wildcard race. The Yankees are just a game above.500, five and a half out of that third wildcard. The Angels are seven games back, and they've made zero ground up over the course of this time since, I guess it would be what, two weeks since the trade deadline. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Sports Sports.

That's what it's called, CBS Sports Radio. Mike Trout was available to answer questions about his recovery. Remember, he's got that broken. It's a hand bone. It's just above the wrist. It's called the hamate. In case you don't know where it is, it's on the outside of the hand, just above the wrist. I'm not sure if it's technically a hand bone or wrist bone, but it all is connected in there somehow.

It's not a hammy, a hamate. Max Scherzer, mind your own business. So how is the recovery going, Mike Trout? It's getting better every day. Just taking it day by day, hitting machine. You know, the progress has been great. How's the pain feeling?

It's still got a little pain there, but you know, every day is getting better. He's been out since July 3rd, so about six weeks. The initial reported recovery time was six to eight weeks, so he's in the window, but you hear what he says. The hitting machine, not live pitching. That could take place in the next few days, but at this point, he has not faced an actual pitcher.

It's just a machine, and they've not turned it up to the highest velocity either. But how is he staying in baseball shape even as he tries to manage the pain? Doing as much as I can for the lower half, in the weight room, bases, staying in conditions, and doing as much as I can where it doesn't bother me on the field. Defense right now, every day has been really good. There's some certain movements I do in the outfield where backhand or I hit it funny. It acts up a little bit, but nothing holding me back on defense. It's just a swinging part.

Oh dear, just the swinging part. I hate that it's become a rite of passage in summer for the Angels and Mike Trout. When he's on the field, he's worth the money most of the time.

Well, it's relative, right? I mean, we're talking about monopoly money for you and I. Goodness, if I had a portion of Mike Trout's contract, I wouldn't have to worry about paying off my car loan, but it was still glorious on Monday. Yeah, Mike Trout's worth it. He's one of the best players in Major League Baseball when he's healthy. But the past, what, three, four years now, this is what we're dealing with.

Mike Trout on the IL. When is he coming back? It's never best case scenario.

It always seems to drag on and on and on. And I know sometimes there are these obscure injuries. It's not like he's putting himself at high risk. He got hit by a pitch.

Not his fault, really. But this is how it plays out for the Angels every single year. Now, I will give them credit because of Shohei Ohtani and because Mike was out there until early July, they did stay relevant for a long time. For longer than what they have the last few seasons. But doesn't it look like this is going to end ultimately the same way? Yet another fall of them missing the playoffs.

And what does that mean for Shohei? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio. The official Winning Time podcast from HBO is back. I'm Rodney Barnes, executive producer on the show. Magic and the Lakers are back to defend their title. Join me as I break down each new episode with sports writer Jeff Pearlman and the actors, directors and key collaborators who brought the 1980s Showtime Lakers to life. It's not about basketball. It's about winning. Listen to HBO's official Winning Time podcast on Sundays after the show airs on Max.