After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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For important information, visit principal.com slash disclosures. One hour down, that was quick. I guess in the wake of breaking news, Shohei Ohtani is done pitching for the 23 season. We do not know if he will need Tommy John surgery or choose to have Tommy John surgery, but according to the Angels, he has a torn UCL. Will not pitch the rest of the way, don't know about hitting, and maybe it has nothing to do with the injury, but why would you continue to throw him out there? Or why would he want to? Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he's that worn out, he's that fatigued, and he knows he's a free agent coming off of a season in which the Angels have tanked once again so hard.

I just kicked a pole underneath the desk, sorry. That maybe it's not worth it anymore, and maybe he needs to get completely healthy. We know that he's obviously worn out in many ways, and did the fatigue lead to the torn ACL? This is his first start since August 9th.

It's not as though the team hasn't been handling with him with kid gloves, but it wasn't enough. Though after he tears his UCL, he is out there pitching, and I'm sorry, not pitching, hitting in game number two of a doubleheader against the Reds. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Good to have you with us here as we will say goodbye to Wednesday, move forward into a Thursday, and I thought the Chicago White Sox would be the most dramatic story of the week in Major League Baseball. Now instead, it turns out to be Shohei Otani, but we do want to talk about the White Sox a little bit. Before their victory over the Mariners on Wednesday night, Tim Anderson was asked about the firings of Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn earlier in the week.

You never know what to expect, and you know just to see that's definitely, you know, definitely different. You know, being able to have opportunity from guys like that and such great guys, so you see something like that happen, but at the end of the day, we understand the business, and just we just have to keep pushing and try to get in that positive line. They've got some decisions to make on the south side of Chicago. We're pleased to welcome LaMon Pope who covers the White Sox for the Chicago Tribune. Lamond, there's a lot happening right now. How would you describe the last 36 hours around the White Sox?

Oh, it has been absolutely crazy. I mean, you start with on Monday with the news that was breaking about the possibility of the team looking for a new home, whether it be in the city or outside of the city or maybe Nashville, that took everybody here by storm, and then less than 24 hours later, that news got replaced by the team getting rid of long-time vice president Kenny Williams and also GM Rick Hahn. I mean, the team has had such a tough season.

This was a ball club that had such high expectations. They really looked to rebound after a disappointing 81-81 season last year, and they came on in, got a new manager, and they just got off to such a terrible start. I think there were seven and 21, which is the team's worst start since 1948, and they just haven't been able to recover since. Throughout the summer, it's been a situation where it's like, well, who's going to be able to survive this?

Will Rick be able to survive this? He's been the GM since, I believe, 2012, and they did a rebuild starting in 2016 with the hopes of building this young team, this young core up. They made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021, and they just haven't been able to gather steam ever since, and so this year's just been a mess, and that led to the changes that we saw happen on Tuesday night. And this coming from a down year for the AL Central overall. So what would you say is their most glaring failure or shortcoming this season that has precipitated such a poor record? Oh, the offense just hasn't been able to click.

Here's the thing. It's like at the start of the season when they went on a 10-game losing streak in April, and during that stretch, the pitching was so bad, but then the pitching kind of turned around in May and June, and they just stopped hitting. They were just situational hitting.

They weren't doing it. They weren't hitting enough home runs. Just across the board, other than Luis Robert Jr., who's had a phenomenal season, they just haven't had the consistency from the guys at the plate. Tim Anderson, a former batting champion, a guy who, year in and year out, hits the 300. He had a knee injury in April, and he came on back, and his mechanics have been a little bit different, and so he's had an off season.

And just overall, up and down the line, Juan Moncada, a guy who had a great world baseball classic, made the all-tournament team. Everyone was kind of hoping that he would have a little bit of a rebound season, and he's been dealing with a back situation almost all year long, and so when he has been here, he's been struggling at the plate. He's providing a good defense, and then you've had guys like rookies, like Oscar Colas, who they thought, well, maybe they can throw him in the right field, and he just really hasn't been able to produce as well. And so up and down the lineup, there's been some poor production or production that the guys haven't been used to, and that's led to the struggles. Do you think that's on the general manager then and the VP, or is this about the players that they brought in not performing? Well, it's a situation where the expectations of trying to build off of last year, right, everyone thought, well, maybe last year was just a little bit of the down year, and they would be able to rebound. And then, you know, after you have an 81 and 81 season, and you make a managerial change, you're like, you have one or two things you can do, right? You can kind of, during the off season, kind of make a whole lot of changes to the roster, or you can go in and say, you know what, we're going to go ahead and try it one more time with this group. And that's what they decided to do. When they did the teardown, it was a decision to kind of, let's go young, let's kind of build this core together, and let's have a multi-year success, like you were saying with the American League Central, especially being the division that's going to mostly be wide open.

Right. You know, they were able to have a success in 2020 and 2021 as well. Those were the first time ever in franchise history that they made the playoffs in back to back seasons.

Oh my gosh. That just sort of says it all about the White Sox, right? And then, you know, in 21, when you have someone like Tony La Russa that becomes the manager, the expectation kind of gets higher, right? It's not just to make the playoffs, it's to have post-season success. They lost to the Astros in 21, and then, you know, the situation was, all right, well, let's see how this team can kind of grow into the next season. And they just were so inconsistent all last year.

And then the managerial change, bringing in Pedro Cofol, they kept the roster essentially intact, and they just haven't been able to have any sort of success whatsoever. And so it's a situation where someone's got to take the fall, and in this case, it's been both Rick and Kenny. What's your reaction to Kenny Williams getting fired though, considering he's been with the team since the early 90s and was a major part of them winning the World Series in, what was it, 05?

Yes, yes, correct. I was stunned, particularly the timing. You know, I thought that maybe there's going to be a situation where, you know, we've talked to Rick several times throughout the year, and he was someone, even in May, who was saying, you know, put this flow start on me, put it on me. So he wanted to deflect from the new manager in Pedro Cofol. You know, this is his first time managing at the major league level, and so Rick kind of put it all on himself. You know, when they just couldn't get things going all year long, I sort of had the feeling that maybe at the end of the year, you know, Rick wouldn't be in a position where he might step down or something like that.

But for both Rick and Kenny to be gone, that caught me by surprise for sure. And I think it was a situation, there's a story in USA Today that kind of laid it on out in which Jerry Rainsdorf believed that just getting rid of one wasn't going to be enough. You know, he felt that was fair.

You know, both those guys make so many of the decisions together that, you know, it's a situation where if one had to go, the other had to go as well. Interesting. Interesting. Lamont Pope is with us from Chicago. He covers the White Sox for the Tribune.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. So they stood pat essentially from 22 to 23. What do you think they might do following this disappointing season? Well, they made so many trades at the trade deadline, right? So, you know, they got rid of Lucas Uli, Lance Flynn, Joe Kelly, really good young position player, and Jake Berger. And so they're going to have a ton of holes to fill during the offseason.

And so it's going to be a situation where when they decide, you know, they have so many decisions to make on the field and then off the field as well. It's like, if off the field, what do they want to do in 2024? Do they want to start another rebuild? Or do they want to kind of retool with around guys like Dylan Sees, around guys like Luis Robert? I hope that Tim can rebound as well and things of that nature. Or do they kind of want to tear it on completely down again, you know, maybe get maybe trade Dylan Sees.

I know he was someone who was a lot of guys were speculating might be able, a bit might have been on the move. What happens with Tim Anderson as well? Do you move Tim in the offseason as well? So that's the first thing.

It's like, what's the direction that you want to be in 2024? Do you want to try to retool and kind of do this on the fly and try to build around those guys? Or do you want to kind of tear it on down all the way again, and then kind of take those steps?

And so that's the first question. But if it's going to be a retool, again, you're going to have to at least get two starting pitchers to kind of start off with. And the starting pitching staff has been one of the team's strengths throughout the success that the team's had. And that's one of the things that has to be really frustrating for White Sox fans is that you've had such solid pitching for the most part during the stretch, and you haven't been able to take advantage of it. So Lamon, what do you think about Pedro then? Will he be part of the Sox moving forward?

I believe so. I mean, I think it's a situation where, you know, one of the things that led to the slow start or one of the issues that the team was having was that, you know, they had a bullpen problem. You know, Liam Hendricks, you know, obviously, in January, he was diagnosed with cancer, and he had such an inspirational story on getting on back and pitching in May. But for that first month and a half, they really didn't have that lockdown closer and someone that they can go to in those late innings. And so there were some games, I remember, a series in Tampa, they had a three-run lead in one game, and they blew that. And so one of those things were one of those crushing losses early in the year that kind of got the ball rolling in the wrong direction. And that was one of those mistakes that the managerial staff had thought made, not having someone or not kind of designating someone as that closer. They kind of went by a little bit of a committee situation. And so, you know, those are the things that you kind of, from the manager's perspective, you kind of learn on the fly.

You kind of learn kind of some of the things that did work, some of the things that didn't work. Honestly, this year, there have been a lot of things that haven't worked for the ball club overall, obviously. And depending on if it's going to be someone in-house, that's going to be the GM, or if it's someone going to be outside of the house. If it's someone in-house, I think that, you know, they'll probably give Pater another shot.

If it's someone from out of the house, I do think, again, he'll probably get another season, and then you kind of can evaluate from there. You brought up Liam Hendrix. I know it's been a couple months, but what was it like to be part of his return after his battle with cancer? Oh, I mean, you know, here's someone who is just such an inspiration, as I was saying earlier, not, you know, even before that, just sort of like he and his wife, Christie, and they're out in the community.

They're helping different causes. And he's someone who, you know, he loves being on the field, in the spotlight, and was really tight in tough situations. He wants the ball as often as possible, you know, and he's someone I remember at the Field of Dreams game, the lead up to it. He was the person that was sort of front and center, like really enjoying the trip to Dyersville, Iowa, and things of that nature. And so when we received the word, and when we announced the news in January, it was just such crushing news just to hear, because he's just such a likable person. And so then when we got to spring training down in Glendale, Arizona, you know, he was there, and it was like, what are you doing here? And he was throwing, and it was just remarkable to see him actually out at the stadium doing some long toss. And he said that, you know, his goal was to kind of get on back before the 60 days were up to the end.

He didn't want to go on the 60-day injured list. And he's like, you know, in the ballclub was like, all right, well, we believe in you. They talked to the doctors, they made sure that they got the doctors on board and said, no, he's recovering really well. And so just the ability in the mindset that he had to want to get on back, you know, not just for himself, but also to show and to be an inspiration for other cancer patients and survivors to say, hey, you know, you can do this too.

You can come on back, you can fight and you can have success. And so it's just all around the boards. And then the night when he made his season debut against the Angels here in Chicago, you know, so many standing ovations, both teams, the Angels and the Whitesides, you know, got on up on the top steps and were clapping for him as well.

And so just a remarkable scene. And he had Tommy John surgery recently, and he's out for the entire season. But again, when we had the chance to talk to him, you know, shortly after that, he said, you know what, my goal is to get on, they're telling me it's going to be a 12 to 14 month process, but I want to be back. And I want to be pitching again for the White Sox this time next year. And so that's just the mindset that Liam Hendricks has.

I guess you don't put it past him considering everything else he's already accomplished and everything he's overcome. Lamont Pope is with us from the Chicago Tribune talking White Sox and what's been a fairly tumultuous season for them to this point. It's after hours CBS Sports Radio. Going back to the big fight with the Guardians, there was a former pitcher that started chirping about how the clubhouse with the White Sox had no rules.

Are there some indications that it's accurate? That former pitcher was Keenan Middleton, you know, reliever. And you know, the thing about Keenan, I remember like early on this season, the Sox were playing the Twins, and he struck out Carlos Correa to end the game. And so it's like one of our first chances to go over and interview him after the game. And he said, You know what, I was really glad that I was able to strike out Carlos there because I just don't like those Houston Astros. And so here was someone like it was just a random, out of the blue, you know, like, going back to the 2017 cheating scandal, the fact that Correa was on that team, you know, he still sort of held that grudge. And so Keenan's gonna, you know, say what he believes is the truth, and he's gonna just tell it like it is. And so, you know, there have always been some questions about just sort of like the clubhouse chemistry and things of that nature, just sort of, you know, trying to come together.

When you have a season like this, it's hard to have fun on a day in and day out basis, right? And so, and that news broke, as you're alluding to beforehand, you know, a day or two after the fight, right? You know, so they were in Cleveland. And, and I remember I'm writing Michael Kopech on the mound for the Sox, and he has no hitters going at that point. And, and he gives up a hit. And so like, I'm writing like a no hitter story. And he gives up a hit. And I'm like, Okay, and then the next batter's Ramirez, and he gives him another hit.

So I'm like, well, and then I look on up, and I'm like, Whoa, what's going on? And then there's Tim and, and Jose squaring on up for the big fight in that 14, 14 minute, 14 minute brawl. And so that was one of those things, we had the chance to talk to Tim. Last weekend in Colorado, you know, he took, he said, you know, it was just a situation where the motions kind of got the best of them.

And he put it on himself. He said, you know, I got to be better, I will be better. You know, again, this is a situation where Tim is hitting, you know, 230, which is just not Tim Anderson, like, there's a two time all star, you know, that sort of igniter of that of that offense, and he's just having such a down season. And, you know, the sort of frustration of a year gone wrong for not only him, but for the entire ball club, sort of came on out in that fight. But then, then you have that you have the news, they came in, talking to ESPN, you know, the next day, and it's just sort of like, just sort of like every single situation is just sort of building and building throughout this throughout this. For a team that's so many games under 500, they still find a way to be in the news night in and night out. And even Pedro saying that the firings really shook up the clubhouse too.

So there's the next big domino to drop. Well, let's talk about this Nashville move report that's out there. Why would the White Sox consider moving away from Chicago off of the south side and to Nashville of all places?

Yeah, you know, I would honestly be surprised if that happened. Nashville has obviously sort of become this sort of hot town as far as when it comes to Major League Baseball. I remember reading a story in the Milwaukee papers recently that the Brewers were kind of thinking about Nashville as well.

And so, you know, now that Las Vegas is off the board, the next the next city there is Nashville. And so it's a situation where I believe there's six years left on the team's lease here at Guaranteed Rate Field. And we got to really get a statement from the Sox and say, you know, they're just starting sort of starting the process of beginning to have those sort of conversations with the city and with the state as far as just those next plans. You know, obviously, we're in a situation here in Chicago where it was all the last year or so, your plus, maybe all the talk has been about the Bears possibly moving. They have a, they bought some property in Arlington Heights, one of the suburbs.

And so, you know, that's been like the big story as far as, you know, the entire thing is because it's the Bears, they can't move out of Soldier Field, they can't move out of Chicago. And now right off the hillside, you're getting the possibility of the White Sox, you know, that ballpark, it was opened in 1991. And it's a situation where, you know, it was partially built, you know, they were at the old Comiskey Park. And they at that time, they threatened to possibly move to St. Petersburg. And so that came on down to like the last minute that they were able to get the funding from the state to build new Comiskey, originally new Comiskey, and now, I guarantee, refilled.

And so that was, like I said, opened in 91. And now it's a situation where all these years later, here we go again. And so we'll see what comes of it.

Like I said, it's so early in the process. But I would honestly, I would be surprised to see the Nashville Sox here in the next 10 years. It sounds like you have quite the busy and complicated offseason ahead for covering the White Sox. There won't be much downtime, Lamont.

Lamont Miller For sure. You know, like, last year as well, you know, with the managerial change, we were busy all offseason with that. And I remember entering the season, I was like, well, it looks like at least we're going to kind of, things are going to calm down a little bit. But no, definitely not the case.

Heather Tabisola Definitely not. As you point out for a team that is so far out of the race, and yet there's so much happening. All right, you can find Lamont on Twitter at Lamont Pope, L-A-M-O-N-D, Chicago Tribune reporter covering the White Sox and all of their drama. Even as we head toward the end of August, there's so much happening with this team. It's good to talk to you.

We look forward to doing it again. Lamont, thank you so much. Lamont Miller Oh, thank you, Amy. Anytime.

Appreciate it. Heather Tabisola The Nashville angle to the White Sox is intriguing. He makes a good point, though, because Vegas is off the table now with Major League Baseball, Nashville is the next place that a lot of franchises are looking. And it's not just baseball.

I mean, we're hearing it in other sports as well. They've got the NFL, they've got the NHL, and the Predators are extremely popular there. But could an NBA or Major League Baseball team land in Nashville next? You know, it's one of the top destinations for Americans who are on the move.

And I don't mean vacation. I mean, actually moving there. There's a humongous construction boom there. Two summers ago, my family was there and I almost didn't recognize the city. I hadn't been there in maybe 10-15 years and I didn't, I mean, I didn't even recognize this Metro that had blown up. It's urban sprawl and there's construction everywhere.

The traffic is insane. But yeah, into that, they want to add another pro sports team. So we'll see whether or not the White Sox can beat another team to Nashville.

On Twitter, ALawRadio, here's the question for tonight. What solo athletes have joined teams or franchises and made such an immediate impact that you can actually point to pinpoint one person? I know team sports, they do require all the guys or all the gals. Okay, so I'm not saying that these athletes are one on their own. But the impact of Messi for Inter Miami CF, I'm not even sure how you quantify that.

But if you would like some number to put to it, it's 13 goals and I think a half dozen assists, close to a half dozen assists in eight games. What? Because the rest of MLS is standing around watching. Messi, immediate impact as he joins this new team. What other athletes have had an immediate impact upon joining a new franchise or joining just a franchise in general, right? That you could point to, oh yeah, the team's direction and trajectory changed the second that athlete got on board.

Here's another one I'll say, Brianna Stewart with the New York Liberty. Find us on Twitter after hours, CBS, or you can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. On our Facebook page too, we'll put up a post so you can answer the question, what solo athletes have landed with a team and instantly you could see that move paying dividends. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. This receiver trio is just scary and it does start with Scary Terry himself there. He's good, man. And it's just, can we get normal quarterback play for this guy for once in his career? Because you're right.

I mean, yeah, no shade to Odie was fine at Taylor Heineke, but he was literally a backup quarterback in the XFL and he's probably the best player that Washington has rolled out at quarterback in Terry's career. Subscribe to Reception Perception available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. A wonderful finish from Campana, but again, Lionel Messi drops that paint of beer into the shot glass at the other end of the bar in a different village. Astonishing in his accuracy.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. He does it again. Imagine how happy Leo Campana is to have him because these passes are precision.

They're pinpoint. And even when Messi is not scoring himself and he's got 10 goals in eight games, Miami has not lost since Messi came to town. You add in the three assists. I was a little bit exaggerated last segment, but it'll be no doubt that he gets to a half dozen assists before long. But he's made such an immediate impact that his team has not lost since he was introduced. The call there on CBS Sports, boom.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. In this game, which was the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Cincinnati, you had such star power in the stands as Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, T Higgins, all kinds of Cincinnati Bengals who were on board to see Messi and all wearing soccer jerseys. Because I would wear a pink Messi jersey right now.

Messi is the hottest thing going in sports. And so he helps to guide Miami back from a two-goal deficit and then he also hits his PK and Miami wins, reaches the U.S. Open Cup final on penalty kicks. Sam Hubbard took to Insta Live to describe the experience. What's up?

It's Sam Hubbard here with the Cincinnati Bengals. We've got the guys out here ready to support for a great game. Wish our boys luck. They're no different as much as they are professional athletes. They're no different than anybody else right now in the U.S. who wants to be part of Messi fever.

Pretty sweet. I feel like Tom Brady's out of the country but at some point we will hear him, see him as part of Messi fever. Who's hotter right now? We should do a poll. Who's hotter right now?

Messi or Taylor Swift? Uh-huh. Good question. Okay, go ahead. Put it up in a poll. Sorry Facebookers, you only get this poll on Twitter.

Suppose you can go vote, open up your account, figure out what it is. I mean Aaron Rodgers, Heat can't even compare. He would, he'd be melted by the heat of Messi or Taylor Swift right now. The guy glows in the dark. He doesn't glow in the dark. He never will glow in the dark. But regardless, he might be dominating headlines if not for Messi.

Sorry. Messi made an immediate impact as soon as he joined Miami. What other athletes can you compare? What other athletes can you say, yep, as soon as he got there, as soon as he arrived in town, everything changed. As soon as she arrived on the scene, the team's entire story and culture changed.

I could say Russell Wilson but in a negative way for the Denver for the Denver Broncos. I gave you two. Gave you Messi in Miami and I gave you Brianna Stewart with the New York Liberty. Now she's got some pretty impressive star power around her. I'm not saying she does it all by herself but she has completely changed the trajectory of the New York Liberty.

What other athletes have done that, whether male or female? And the poll is up. Who's hotter right now? It's a simple question.

All you got to do is answer Leo or Tay Tay on our show Twitter After Hours CBS. I might give you a Patrick Mahomes because that one's pretty obvious. Even though he didn't even start in his first year, everything changed when Pat got on scene for the Kansas City Chiefs. Think about it. They have gone to five straight AFC championship games.

All of them in their own stadium. I mean that's never happened before. He is a hoot. Travis Kelce would not be Travis Kelce if not for Patrick Mahomes but also he sparked the Chiefs to the Super Bowl again last year by doing two things. Number one, setting a brand new NFL record for most ever yards from scrimmage by any player in any season. Two, playing on a bum ankle all the way through the postseason. Because who needs two good healthy ankles to win a Super Bowl? Not Pat.

So I don't want to say any other answers because I feel as though I might steal your thunder. But Jay do you want to add one? Our phone number 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. Already getting some of your tweets A-Law Radio and then our Facebook page too will get your answers. And while you're on Twitter please take our poll. Who's hotter right now Leo or Tay? What do you think Jay? Tay and Jay. Who's hotter Tay or Jay? No.

I don't want to embarrass you like that. What solo athlete has made such an incredible impact on a franchise that the team was never the same again? How about Kurt Warner with the Cardinals? Oh like it. Not Kurt Warner with the Giants?

No. I mean he did keep the seat warm for Eli and the team had a winning record when like if they were five and two to start that season. So actually not even kidding I had a Kurt I have still a Kurt Warner Giants jersey because he's my favorite quarterback at the time.

I want that. So yeah it's you know not the greatest buy in the world but I liked it. But then he went to the Cardinals and I feel like they he just made them like a solidified their franchise. They cooked them to a Super Bowl greatest one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played. They lost but they lost but you know Kurt Warner.

Kurt Warner absolutely. Okay we're already getting your answers whether on Twitter or Facebook. Take our hot to trot poll.

Leo or Tay Tay those are your choices. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. And Shohei drives the ball deep into right center. It's way out of here.

Right out of the blocks here on this Wednesday. It's Showtime. Two nothing angels for Shohei. Home run number 44 of the season. We talked about Andrew Abbott and his command of the fastball. He didn't want to command it in this spot. This is center cut. Shohei makes him pay for it. This is a screaming line drive out into right field.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Shohei Ohtani had quite a Wednesday. I'm not sure we could find anybody else who had more of a topsy-turvy Wednesday with the best of times. His 44th home run on the season in the very first inning of the first game of the doubleheader. And he was also pitching. So he hit the home run. He hit the mound. And then 26 pitches later something was wrong.

And not only could Phil Nevin tell but it was obvious to even the other team. Spencer Steir said he noticed that this was not the Ohtani that they've been watching all year. I can kind of tell he didn't have his sharpest stuff today and just hope the injury isn't serious because you know as a baseball fan myself he's a joy to watch. So hopefully we'll be back soon. Well he may be back as a hitter but he's not going to be back as a pitcher.

It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. We heard from Perry Menashen who's the GM of the Angels. After this doubleheader, Shohei has a torn UCL in his right elbow and at this point they're considering the options. Could that mean surgery for Shohei Ohtani? This is fairly new. It's been between games and he got the imaging right before the game and had a quick discussion and then talked to Nez and his representation and you know it's obviously unfortunate.

It definitely is that. Now Ohtani had the home run to lead the majors of 44, pitched into the second inning before they pulled him out. According to Perry, they knew in between games and so what was Ohtani's reaction to the news? I've been in these conversations before and people react differently to different news and you know it didn't phase them. You know it's you know am I okay to play tonight?

I want to play tonight. So you know and I think that's part of having of this he's a mentally strong individual right to do what he does you have to be. At some point isn't there a delayed reaction though?

There has to be. He's still a human being. Maybe he was all business at the park and I don't know what kind of a personal life he has here.

I don't know if he's got family that are also with him here but he certainly does have a team around him. At some point knowing what's on the line that he might need a Tommy John surgery another one that the Angels have fallen so far out of it that they're no longer even a contender for the playoffs. I would say those dreams are dead on the table. I'm not sure what the point is of him continuing to hit even if he can and he had a double in the second game but what would be the point if you if let's just say for the sake of argument he could have his surgery next week it would start the timetable for his healing and his recovery and his return to baseball a lot more quickly. Why wait until October oh no or November when you can have it done now before the end of August?

That's just my thought. It could put you back on the field theoretically or back on the mound I should say theoretically late next year. Now he may choose not to do that the team that he signs with may choose not to do that but at the very least you could get a jump start on your recovery. Is it that important for him to continue hitting? And you know he didn't pitch all of 2019 he did hit though so how does it impact him on a second surgery? All of these are questions they have to figure it out so could he still be a two-way player?

I would never put any limitations on players in general and especially him so I think he's shown you know it's it's obviously possible to do a two-way play but I think he's shown obviously possible to do and excel at it. I think injuries happen we've gone through you know an abnormal amount of injuries this season there's no excuses injuries are part of the game and you know professional athletes and especially the guys in this room there's quality makeup and they're workers and I think I expect him to bounce back and and do what he needs to do to get back to where he was. It's a it's a tough blow not because the Angels were still holding out playoff hopes or harboring any type of hopes that they can salvage the season. Technically they're not eliminated but it it would be some kind of miracle and without Shohei pitching how does that even happen? Their pitching's been rough this season Lucas Giolito has not panned out post trade deadline. So he got emotional no he didn't I mean that's what the normal human would do but not Shohei Otani hey can I play in the second game but as I muse about it I wonder could it be that he just had a delayed reaction because he's at the park he's all business that part I can understand you're mentally locked in you're mentally focused we know he's shown some frustration about injuries or exiting games early he hadn't pitched since early August so they've been handling him with kid gloves anyway because of arm fatigue and now they find out it's actually a torn UCL so this is the breaking news from earlier on Wednesday night it's after hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio I would say Shohei has had an immediate impact on baseball and the Angels but not to the tune of playoffs which is unfortunate Mike Trout is now back on the IL so there's a little bit from Perry about Mike Trout and why he only managed one day of active activity before he's back on the injured list it's sort of yeah it's a pain tolerance thing and and um you know obviously he had played last night and um it just didn't feel right just from talking to him this morning and he was in very early for treatment and now he's doing everything he can to get back on the field he knows we need him he's dying to play um you know it's just it's hands you need your hands to hit so um you know it's it's a significant injury that he's coming back from and the last thing we want to do is him start compensating for his hand and doing other things and hurting other body parts so uh we're gonna give it 10 days to let it calm down you know he's not gonna swing a bat for the next couple days and then we're just gonna go again there's no time frame I don't know um you know but we're gonna go day to day and you see where it goes oh my gosh it's become an all-too-familiar refrain for the Angels and you can't blame it completely on Mike Trout's injuries that would not be fair Anthony Rendon he's been out for who knows how long I'm not even sure they think about him anymore but he's not the only one there have been other injuries as well I just can't believe it you've got two of the best players in Major League Baseball on one team and yet the Angels will extend their streak of no appearances in October in the playoffs to now 10 years I mean it's unfathomable it's after hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio attention sports fans your favorite sports book betus.com is back for a 28th year of NFL action with the industry's biggest signup bonus of up to 200 bet us offers our members the opportunity to cash in on all your favorite leagues including NFL NBA MLB and more we've also got hundreds of new casino games including the coolest European slots and our live dealers are waiting for you at the tables you need a sports book with integrity longevity and you need to know you're gonna get paid you need a sports book that offers everything including live betting mma golf horses esports and all kinds of crazy bets call today at 1-800-79-BET-US that's 1-800-79-BET-US and they will walk you through setting up an account nobody in the industry gives better bonuses than bet us join now mention bet us 2022 and you can get up to 200 bonuses on your first deposit nobody beats that head to betus.com and join today that's bet us where the game begins you