12.7.22- JR SportBrief Hour 2

Tis the season for giving.

And what's better than giving more to everyone you love? With Celebrations Passport from 1-800-Flowers.com, I can enjoy unlimited free shipping on everything, from flowers to gourmet gifts across their entire family of brands, which means sharing more with the special people in my life, now and all throughout the year. Shop 1-800-Flowers.com slash listen and share holiday joy today. Tis the season for giving. And what's better than giving more to everyone you love? With Celebrations Passport from 1-800-Flowers.com, I can enjoy unlimited free shipping on everything, from flowers to gourmet gifts across their entire family of brands, which means sharing more with the special people in my life, now and all throughout the year. Shop 1-800-Flowers.com slash listen and share holiday joy today. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. And we are coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

When you need cash out of your home in a simple way to get it, rocket, rocket can. Happy Wednesday to you. It's my job to get you a little bit closer to Thursday. So whether you were able to get over the Wednesday hump or whether that hump is beating you down, I'm just here to have some fun. And that's what I'm going to do over the next three hours. I get started though, 10 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. Pacific. And I'll say this again, why not all the time? I'm coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

Need cash out of your home in a simple way to get it? Rocket can. We opened up the show talking about Von Miller out for the year, torn ACL, Buffalo Bills. I told you that Patrick Mahomes, he has a bruise in his foot and he's like, it ain't no big deal. And then we heard from Kyle Shanahan. He's trying to tell us, look, yeah, there's a remote possibility that Jimmy Garoppolo comes back in the playoffs, maybe, but don't hold your hope on it. And so let's see how creative Kyle Shanahan can be throughout the rest of the regular season and then also going into the postseason.

I'm hanging out here with our producer with us tonight, Anthony Pierano, holding it down, doing an excellent job so far. And then, you know, we talked about this right the minute when I came on air, this was a little surprise, well, not surprising, happens. De'Jaunte Murray went down, but the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks played a nationally televised game. And the Knicks smacked the Hawks in New York 113-89.

And then I said, well, maybe, just maybe the second game of ESPN's doubleheader can actually be some type of good. And the answer is no, it's not, because at this very moment, this very second, the Boston Celtics are in Phoenix. They are smacking the Suns 62-38. It's about two minutes left in the first half. This is Chris Paul's first game back, and it's just abuse all over the place.

So it'd be nice if basketball had some tighter scores, but maybe, just maybe the Phoenix Suns can go on some type of run. Much love to all my folks listening in Phoenix, everybody listening in Atlanta, San Diego. We've already talking to callers from Western New York worried about the Buffalo Bills. We have been all over the place. If you want to participate, you can obviously holler at me.

I'm able to be contacted at 855-212-4CBS. I'm also on social media at JR Sport Brief. That is at JR Sport Brief everywhere. So we talked about Von Miller. You know, every Wednesday I give you a top six list, and an hour from now, I'm going to tell you about just some of the top teams in the NFL now that we're going into the stretch run. And also now that we've had so many significant injuries just over the past week, whether it's Von Miller or Lamar Jackson, Jimmy Garoppolo, hopefully over the next several weeks that we don't have more massive injuries, but it's always a possibility.

Always a possibility. Matter of fact, we just heard from Kyle Shanahan before the break, kind of putting the brakes on on Jimmy Garoppolo. A matter of fact, I want you to hear what Kyle Shanahan had to say about Jimmy G. He said it today.

Take a listen. It's not all this frank. They don't have to do surgery on it. So it'll be a big recovery, but much less than what we anticipated, which is awesome news for him in the offseason. He'll be good to go right away, so it won't be like last year. Really, I mean, there's that way outside chance late in the playoffs or something like that, but it's just an outside chance. We're not really real optimistic about that, but they didn't rule it out. Yeah, the odds are high that the next time you see Jimmy Garoppolo playing football that he will be in another uniform next year.

Let's see about that. Jimmy Garoppolo probably highly unlikely to return to San Francisco. I mean, damn it, they didn't anticipate him being on the team this year. So they actually owe him a good portion outside of that defense to why they've been able to have some success here this year, because he hasn't been, quote unquote, lighting it up, but he has been steady for the 49ers. And so I don't expect to see Jimmy G in San Francisco.

And that actually brings me to my next topic and my next point here. Because Jimmy Garoppolo isn't just the only dude that you probably shouldn't expect to see back playing in San Francisco or in San Francisco at all. Because I think most of us woke up this morning to learn that Aaron Judge is not going to the San Francisco Giants. He's not going back home a little east of San Francisco. He's not going anywhere else.

He's not going to the Dodgers. Aaron Judge is going to stick around with the New York Yankees. Nine year contract. 360 million dollars. Aaron Judge is going to be 31 years old when this contract gets underway in April.

He's going to be making all of the money. If you have to think about the average annual contract or average annual value of a contract per year, Aaron Judge is number one when it comes down to the position players. From 2023 to 2031 Aaron Judge is going to make about 40 million dollars per year. The next biggest contract for a position player per year is Mike Trout. And we know his contract goes from 2019 to 2030 and Mike Trout has already been dealing with some injuries.

It's like here we go. You give him the man the money, you give him the money. Now he's hurt. The only people making more money per year than Aaron Judge happen to be New York Mets. Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander both making 43 million dollars. Jacob DeGrom with his new deal with the Texas Rangers. They're paying him 37. And Aaron Judge is head and shoulders above just everybody else right now per year. Nine year, 360 million dollars. If you're not a pitcher you ain't making more money than him per year.

And why not? He just set a record. He just had one of the best seasons that you will ever see in Major League Baseball. 62 home runs, a record for the American League. 131 RBIs.

He led the world in runs. He wasn't just one of these terrible ass baseball players just swinging for home runs. He actually had a batting average of 311. He's not just one of these stupid power hitters who bats 120.

Hi Joey Gallo. He actually plays baseball. He plays gold glove caliber defense whether he's in center field or right. And he's the size, I don't even want to say of a small forward, he's the size of a power forward in the NBA.

6'7 but built like a house. And you gotta give him credit. He bet on himself. The Yankees told him before the season, they're like yeah man you're about to be 31. Here's a 7 year deal, $213 million. $213 million. He's now going to get $360 million. They offered him $30 million per year.

Now he's going to make $40 million per year. And they had to stretch him the hell out. There were so many concerns about Aaron Judge and his injuries before the past two seasons. Well, he has a busted up shoulder. He has a fractured wrist. He strained his oblique. He has a broken rib.

Yeah, these are injuries but these don't appear to be, you know, chronic situations. Where you have to look and go, what's going on with his knee? Like a Cabrera.

You don't have to look at him and go, what's going on with his back? Like Mike Trout. We just don't know exactly how someone like Aaron Judge is going to hold up. And sure we've seen guys like Winfield and we've seen a few other giant infielders over the course of time.

No one has, no one is as big as him and has had the same type of usage and plays the same caliber of defense. He had to kind of tone it down just to stay healthy throughout the course of the year. The Yankees offered him that deal. He said no. Aaron Judge was not happy that the New York Yankees basically shared the deal with the world.

Basically trying to paint him as the bad guy and he just said this in a Time Magazine article. There were real threats that the Yankees were going to lose out on a superstar. The last time someone spurned the Yankees was Robinson Cano and we know what that guy was doing.

Cheating. Damn it, it's like every year Robinson Cano is like, how can I try steroids again? Aaron Judge seems to be a good dude.

We don't know what he's doing but we don't have an indicator that he is doing anything. He's just a gigantic ass human being hitting home runs and it appears to be natural. And so Brian Cashman, he can't announce the deal, they can't announce the deal to the Yankees until he passes a physical. So they have to play that game of let's talk about him but let's not talk about him. Brian Cashman was on the Yes Network today at the winter meetings in San Diego and this is what he had to say about the impact and the desire of the Yankees to have Aaron Judge and similar Hal Steinbrenner.

Listen to this. Listen, clearly we're talking about Aaron Judge. We've said publicly many a times from the highest level from Hal Steinbrenner's desk to everybody from myself, Aaron Boone and his teammates. He's our franchise players and we want to retain him and we're going to make every effort to do so and obviously we have some more steps to take in that process but we're in a good position. You're damn right they're in a good position. Bringing back Aaron Judge by the way doesn't necessarily guarantee them a World Series but it was something the Yankees needed to do.

Yankee fans were already sick of Brian Cashman. Oh, you don't know how to spend the money. You don't know how to evaluate talent. You never really won anything.

You did all your winning with the previous regime. Yankee fans already can't stand the owner, Hal Steinbrenner. You're not like your dad.

You aren't out here spending money, not spending cash. If his dad was still alive, the Yankees would be doing this, the Yankees would be doing that. And so if Aaron Judge left, there are a lot of Yankee fans who would absolutely have gone ballistic. Especially for an Aaron Judge who was upset, not happy during the process but still carried himself like a professional. But he made it very clear, I'm going to go out here and test free agency and we'll see what happens. Before the Yankees spread his deal into the public, before the season even started, Aaron Judge made it very clear to everyone, anybody who would listen, that he wanted to be a New York Yankee. This is before arbitration. This was before the start of the season. This is what Aaron Judge had to say then.

Listen. As long as I'm playing baseball, I want to be wearing pinstripes. It's been an honor and a blessing to be here, get a chance to play in this franchise, be surrounded by so many great players and walk in the footsteps of so many other former great players that have played this game. There's no better place to play on this planet and I strongly believe that.

I've been vocal about that. I want to stay here and pinstripe. If that happens, it happens.

But if it comes to it that it doesn't, like I've said before, I'll enjoy my memories here, enjoy my time with you guys especially and all my teammates and everybody. That was before the season. We're now after the season. He won an MVP, broke records and he will be staying with the New York Yankees, 9 years, $360 million. Aaron Judge will be 31 in April.

The last year of his contract will be 2031 when he is 39 years old. The Yankees needed him. And I think for legacy purposes and also baseball reasons, he wanted to stay with the Yankees and he's going to make tons of money playing for the Yankees. The Yankees are going to be thrilled to market him and they keep the judges corners and they can, you know, sell tickets for the next 10 years as this man goes on another home run chase all time and etc. on and on and on.

But is it going to be worth it? Did the Yankees overpay for Aaron Judge? Yeah, they did. Because they screwed up before the season. Before this man became MVP, they could have got him on a better deal, but they kind of lowballed him. They insulted him and then he went out there and bet on himself and now the Yankees got to pay. Aaron Judge had the New York Yankees by the cajones and he just took them to town.

He said, y'all are going to pay me what I want. Aaron Judge had all the leverage here and the Yankees did have to overpay because they overplayed their hand. Nobody expected Aaron Judge to have the season that he just did.

And what does he do? Is he going to come back next season? Is Aaron Judge going to hit another 62 home runs? Is he going to hit 70?

Probably not. He's probably going to get pitched to less. Or maybe he just lights it up again, but the odds are no. If Aaron Judge comes back next year and hits 40 home runs and has 100 RBIs, people can't look at it as a down year.

It's another all-star season. What does Aaron Judge do when he's 40 years old? When he's 39?

Excuse me. When he's 38? When he's 37?

We do have some markers. Come on now. Go ask everybody in Detroit. Outside of Miguel Cabrera trying to break records and pad totals for his Hall of Fame bid, which is automatic. Miguel Cabrera, 39 year old season. This man hit 5 home runs and 43 RBIs.

They're paying him $32 million to be a shell of what he was. Miguel Cabrera is not helping the Tigers do anything. Albert Pujols. We just saw Albert Pujols retire. He was 42 years old. Damn it, Albert Pujols might be older than that. He had a resurgence being back with the St. Louis Cardinals. 24 home runs, 68 RBIs.

He was able to turn it on in the second half. He got hot in the summer and continued on and now he's off into retirement. A lot of these big contracts, they do not work out. Not just for batters, pitchers. We talk about Steven Strasburg and his contract. This man got paid after the World Series, after 2019. Can't pitch.

Body is cooked. He's done. I just told you about Miguel Cabrera. 39, he's done. Albert Pujols hurt and done.

Think about the New York Yankees giving a deal to Alex Rodriguez. That cheating ass guy. Come on, what happened to him?

Broke down, hip injury. The Yankees were trying to not pay him because he was a cheater. And then he sued the Yankees. Do I think this is going to happen with Aaron Judge? Hell no. He has a different disposition and I don't have a crystal ball. I can't predict. But I think the Yankees will get value. They're going to get their money's worth with Aaron Judge. Is he going to get hurt at some point?

Oh yeah, he will. A few times. Is he going to go through a slump and get booed at Yankee Stadium? Yeah, sure, probably.

Quite a few times. Do I think that Aaron Judge is going to live up to the contract that he just signed with the Yankees? 9 years, $360 million. I think the answer is yes. Did the Yankees overpay?

The answer is yes. And they had no choice because they screwed up before the damn season. Does this automatically grant them a World Series?

Hell no. The Yankees still have plenty of work to do to finally get over the hump called the Astros. And maybe it'll be a little bit easier with Verlander with the Mets. Aaron Judge got paid. He bet on himself.

Didn't whine, didn't moan, didn't complain. And it's getting $360 million until he is almost 40 years old. Good for him. And the New York Yankees? Yeah, y'all overpaid.

Y'all tried to play the guy and he played you. Now you gotta pay him. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. Aaron Judge isn't going to San Francisco. He's not going to Los Angeles. He's not going to go join the Padres.

He is staying in the Bronx. So is this a good move for Aaron Judge? Was this a good move for the Yankees? And did the Yankees overpay?

Did the Yankees screw up with this situation? I'm going to take your calls on the other side. That's 855-212-4CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief Show. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio.

First of all, I just want to say I've been listening to your show for the last few months and I really enjoyed listening to you speak, so thanks for taking my call. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. Oh, that's right. Aaron Judge is going straight to the bank. He got all the money now. Nine years, $360 million. The Yankees initially basically said, here's 200. He said, hell no. And then he had a great year.

And then he scared the living hell out of them. Might go to California. Now he's staying with the Yankees. Is it automatically going to give them a championship?

Hell no. The Yankees had no choice. The Yankees had to overpay. And now they got to round out the rest of their roster. We have no idea how he will age. Like most professional athletes, they do not age gracefully. And by the time he's 39, I'm sure he will only be a DH. And the Yankees have to hope that with his size, he can still maybe give you, I don't know, 25 and 90.

I think that would be a success at 39 years old. Or maybe he's like Barry Bonds with no juice. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. The Yankees hope that he's not like Miguel Cabrera. Getting paid all this money and five home runs at 39 years old and 43 RBIs.

That'd be a disaster. Miguel Cabrera last had his last great season. He was 33. That's the last time he was an All-Star. Aaron Judge is about to be 31. 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS. Chris is calling for Maryland. Hey, JR.

Thanks for putting me on. I agree with you because outfielders, if you've got your legs, if he's an outfielder like Toulouse, the infielders, the first baseman. I think Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, they'll be able to hit when they're 40. Hell, Julio Franco could hit when he was 50. I'll bet many Ramirez can still hit now. So I think the contract's worth it.

He's going to be worth it and still be productive. But you owe us. I'm calling tonight because when he broke the record this year, you were more or less promised.

Shep was talking about John Sterling a few days prior and then he broke the record. You were kind of going to do a little John Sterling and I figured maybe tonight was the night. Anyway, good show, JR. Thank you. Well, thank you, Chris. When you find that, then maybe I'll do it. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. I think this guy's calling me making stuff up. Listen, I'm not the Yankees. I ain't no sucker. You ain't going to catch me, you know, slacking and missing a boat.

I didn't say that. If Aaron Judge breaks the record, I'm going to do John Sterling. Find it.

Highly doubt it. 855-212-4CBS. Let's go to Houston, Texas. Let's talk to Hank. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Hey, JR.

Thanks for taking my call. You know, you make a good point. I think the Yankees, they had to sign Judge. He was pretty much the team the whole year. But you look at the Astros, obviously, you know, that's their kryptonite, but they signed a deal with Jordon Alvarez for $115 million for six years. Do you think the long-term contracts, like, how beneficial is it? Obviously, we lost Verlander, but the pitching that we have in Houston, I mean, I don't think it was a... It's a big loss, but we still have the guys right behind them that I think are going to perform this year. So I just wanted to get your take on what you think of long-term contracts, and should you just really rely on the pharmacist versus a big name?

I think it's a mix. You know, the New York Yankees, well, we know who they're on the hook for. Large money to Aaron Judge here. You think about Garrett Cole is also on the hook. He's making $37 million a year, and then they're trying to fill out a good portion of the roster in the infield, trying to elevate some of their younger guys who they don't have to pay really a penny to.

And so it's really a mix. We know the New York Yankees aren't hurting for money. They're not hurting for cash.

They will have a high payroll year over year, and if they think that they're close, they'll go ahead and get a guy. But when you think about the Yankees and how they market and sell their whole business, it's on legacy. It's on stars.

It's on the past. It's on guys like Derek Jeter. When Aaron Judge is gone, they have another legacy set for the business, their company, the Yankees LLC, Legends LLC, for years to come.

And so long-term contracts, typically, they don't always work. You know, at the back end, there's a good chance that the guy is going to be diminished, but the Yankees had no choice. And just maybe, just maybe, Aaron Judge will be one of the dudes who blatant his career.

He can still play, and it can work out. Thank you so much, Hank, for calling from Houston. Let's go up to Toronto, Canada. Let's talk to Alan.

You're on CBS Sports Radio. It is dumb to give any baseball player a king's ransom. Aaron Judge only comes to the plate once every nine times, and he can't hit a grand slam home run every time he's up.

He's lucky if he hits one or two a year. And, you know, I can understand giving a quarterback, because the quarterback is eight teams. The rest of the players just play for the team, you know. I can understand giving a point guard or a superstar center that kind of money, but I can't understand any baseball player to get that much money. Well, before you go on, or also, how are you, how do you plan on splitting the money? This is what, and this is not an Aaron Judge thing, since you want to talk about baseball players, period. How are they supposed to split the money or the pie? The money is there, the market is set, the market has been set.

What's wrong with these guys being paid commensurate to what the market says they're worth? Okay, but they're not going to make any difference. Show here. No, no, no, I didn't ask you that. You didn't answer my question. You said, but they're not. I'm asking you, where is, if the market is set, where's the money supposed to go? What are you supposed to do with it? You're supposed to give them a king's ransom, I guess, but it's not a good idea.

No, no, not also, Alan, I'm still, no, no, no, no, no, because you said something that I just think is real out there. You're just like, you're not supposed to pay these guys because they don't make a difference. The last time I checked, if I have to think about anyone who gets paid or should get paid a lot of money in baseball, there's two categories here. It's starting pitchers on the highest end who they feel, and when I say they, any team, believes will make a massive difference in helping deliver a World Series. That's the first group.

Those are the aces of the staff. And then the next guys are the dudes who actually play baseball every day. I don't think you can compare it to a quarterback in the NFL or a set of quarterbacks in the NFL because it's a different sport.

They play 16, 17 games now plus postseason. In Major League Baseball, Aaron Judge, there's no way that anyone could legitimately look at him and say, well, they don't make a difference. Aaron Judge played almost every single day. Even with Garrett Cole having another amazing season, Cy Young-worthy, through even ups and downs and some blips, the Yankees would not have been in the postseason if it wasn't for the dude who just won MVP. His name is Aaron Judge.

What is your also? If he played for Baltimore, or Baltimore was a little better this year, but if he played for Kansas City or Detroit or Arizona, you think he's going to push them over the top? He doesn't. Well, let's put you on the Yankees and what difference will you make?

None. He plays for a team that he was the best player and he helped them go to the postseason. If he wasn't on that team, and let's say they replaced him with an average player, they probably wouldn't make the postseason. That's the reality of it. Not if he played on Mars or if he played for the San Diego Mud Hens or the Colorado Bum Bums.

He played for the Yankees and he took them to the playoffs. Okay, they had no other choice. They had to do it, they had no other choice, but it's still not a good idea to ever pay a king's ransom to any player. If you don't pay a king's ransom, where's the money supposed to go?

What are the owners supposed to pocket it? The market gets set, these guys get paid. If you think that they put too much in Aaron Judge and they should have spread the money out, then say that.

Tell me that. But it's a bigger picture than that. The New York Yankees aren't just out there trying to slap together a baseball team. They're trying to put a baseball team together that wins. And the New York Yankees are trying to sell the idea of Aaron Judge for the next 50 years. They couldn't let this guy leave. I mean, come on, damn.

Marco Belletti, you love the Yankees. What do you think about what he just said? It's the idea that nobody wants to see somebody make that much money. That's all it is. It's the jealousy of these players. Why do they get 40 million dollars?

No one should get that. Yeah, the market says it. You got to pay your best players. The Yankees can't let the guy leave. That's what he's worth. You pay him. It's as simple as that.

Oh my God. You can't give a guy a king's ransom. Who says? Guys are making 37, 40, 43 million dollars. So why can't Aaron Judge, hey, you at the top of your game, go get the money.

I mean, she shouldn't be that difficult of a concept to understand. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. You're such a man of the people. You take more calls than any sports personality I've ever known. And to take words out of your mouth, pardon me, we appreciate you, man. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. Oh man, I'm going to get back to your phone calls.

I'm going to do that. We're talking about Aaron Judge. The Yankees overpaid. They had the overpay.

They had no choice. Team isn't done. Team isn't complete. There's a good chance at the end of the contract he's going to be a diminished player, but maybe even as a diminished player he'll still give you 25 home runs, 70-something RBIs. We'll see. Maybe he'll end up playing first base.

We have no idea. The Yankees couldn't afford to let him go. Good dude, good human, good baseball player, good with the community, a fan favorite. Can't let him go. 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS.

I do need to let you know. Oh my goodness. Marco Belletti just mentioned this, but the Boston Celtics are in Phoenix waxing the Suns 102-63. They're moving towards the fourth quarter 102-63.

That's ridiculous. At the top of the hour we're going to move towards top six. We're going to look at the top six NFL teams here as we move into the stretch run of the NFL season. Damn, we got 17 games now. It's crazy. You would blink and the season would be over.

Now we got to wait until like the second week of January. 855-212-4CBS. Dean is calling from Canton, Ohio.

You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. How you doing there? I'm very well Dean.

How are you? Good. Hey, I respect you a lot. I listen to you a lot.

But I disagree with you once in a while and I disagree with you on this one. I just feel like baseball owners are just committing suicide. I really do. You just, people can't afford to go to the games anymore. I mean, it's crazy.

It's just getting crazy. And I know you think that the owners make a lot of money, but there's a lot of owners that don't make a lot of money. I mean, I've been a Cleveland Indians fan all my life and they struggle to earn the small market and I think they're doing it the right way. You've got to have a good front office that knows how to draft, knows how to coach them up, and they just can't afford to pay them for $40 million a year. They're competitive and I love that they're competitive. They may not win it.

They may not win it. Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dean, slow down. Why do you feel you have to talk over me and start yelling? It's just because when, you know, I've rooted for the Indians all my life and same with Pittsburgh.

Right over here is only a couple hours away and you've got Cincinnati down there. It's like, you know. Well, let me, let me, well, I understand what you're saying. I get it.

The family can't go to a baseball game. I get it. I understand it, but that's, that's besides the point. I don't know how often you listen and it's not necessarily that we dive into this all the damn time. I have spent hours upon hours over the past several years talking about the economics, overall economics in baseball. And so I didn't say a damn thing about, oh, the owners make a lot of money.

They do. How they decide to allocate those funds is a different situation and scenario. And so that is a totally different conversation. I have said, and I'm on record many a time saying that baseball has done a crap job and that eventually the rubber is going to hit the road.

Well, well, well, thank you for that. That's a totally separate conversation as to whether or not Aaron Judge or Mookie Betts or Garrett Cole, whether their contracts are good or bad for baseball. That wasn't necessarily the question. Baseball has a whole lot of work to do to sustain its own lifeblood into the future, as well as ensure that they have a fan base and young people who are cared to watch. That doesn't change the fact that for right now, this minute, they make tons of money.

And here's the deal, whether you want to hear it or anybody else wants to hear it, you can root for the New York Yankees or you can root for the Kansas City Royals. They make enough money and if they didn't, they wouldn't be out here giving these guys these contracts. Whether or not they're smart enough businessmen to understand and know that the money doesn't last forever is a different story in and of itself. Because eventually, you got to have people watch so you can maintain this money. Okay, this is not, it's not an endless money tree here. And so yeah, I get it. If you think or if you have an idea that all the baseball players get paid too much money, I can't afford to the game, I can't afford to go, I understand that. That's more of an overall MLB issue because they don't care about you.

You show up, good, great. We can make money at the gate. You know where they make more money? On television.

You want to know why? Because more people can sit down and watch. And sports is one of the last things that people really watch live. You don't have to watch it at your leisure on Netflix. I don't know too many people who sit down and binge watch, you know, five consecutive Kansas City Royals games, but I know a whole lot of people who will spend an entire day watching Stranger Things. Sports, live sports has value. That's why it still makes money. If you don't want baseball to make money, then don't watch because they don't care if you go to the game as much as just that you tune in.

855-212-4CBS, Richards here from Chicago. Hey, I couldn't agree more with you, JR. Let me give you some numbers for the people that call in that think Judge is overpaid. I looked up wins against replacement, which is probably one of the biggest key numbers.

Yes, war. He's number one. He's 10.6 wins against replacement. Otani's second. How about this?

You want to talk about throwing away money? They just gave Trey Turner what, 330? 311.

Yeah, some ridiculous number. I get this. He's 41st in wins against replacement compared to Judge. So who's the dummy? How about talking about the Phillies being stupid, not the Yankees? Plus, the Yankees have the top-ranked defensive outfield, ranked by MLB baseball.

You don't think he's a big part of a great defensive player? Well, the other element, Rich, and thank you for calling from Chicago. The Yankees are typically the number two, except for multiple years. One of the two most valuable sports franchises on earth. Earth.

Earth. This is a business as much as it is baseball. There is no business if people don't attend or don't care or don't watch.

I'm sorry to be so blunt and so hard hitting. They don't care. They don't care if you can't bring your family because they're too stupid. They should care, but they don't. Because although the quote unquote money isn't coming directly from your pocket, it's coming from television distributors. It's coming from Apple who wants to broadcast baseball. Why does Apple want baseball? Because they can sell against it. Because they can get their technology into people's hands because they can make money. You think Apple cares?

Apple would have no problem if we treated every game like the pandemic if they were making money hand over fist. Lonnie is calling from Houston. Go ahead, Lonnie. Quickly. Hello? Yes, you're live, Lonnie. Go ahead.

Yes, yes. I agree with the Aaron Judge thing. I mean, I think that he could have got up to 50 million a year if he wanted to. I mean, he's pretty much considered probably going to be considered the greatest Yankee of all time.

I mean, he broke Marist's record. Where are you going to end up? Where are you going to end up?

Where are you going to end up going? I mean, he has to stay there. I mean, the Yankees have to have to have bring him back. I mean, to see him at another team.

I mean, Yeah, it's almost that'd be sacrilegious. I don't know if I go ahead and say he's going to be the greatest Yankee of all time. I mean, that's some long. That's a long line of dudes who come before him. You ask Yankee fans.

It's championships. Is Aaron Judge going to reach Derek Jeter in titles? Probably not. Are people going to look at Aaron Judge and think about Babe Ruth? Eh, probably not.

Maybe. But let's slow down here. Greatest Yankee of all time. I think Aaron Judge right now, he can take solace in the fact that he's going to get $360 million. He can take solace in that he is probably going to eventually be named the captain of the New York Yankees. He can take solace in the fact that he is going to make money off of the field in New York City. He's probably, at this moment, Aaron Judge is the face of baseball. If you want to think about a global level and familiarity, maybe it's Shohei Ohtani between Japan and America. But Aaron Judge, he's growing in stature.

He's growing in celebrity. And I don't think there's an indicator or a reason that it's going to slow down unless there's some catastrophic injury. And that's something that the New York Yankees certainly don't hope happens with their investment.

They had no choice but to keep him. It's not so much a conversation about, oh, the baseball players are overpaid. Man, we can say the same thing about every athlete if you want to take that approach. We can say everybody that you watch is overpaid. We don't say that about the rock. You don't say that about actors and musicians.

But the athletes make too much money? Slow down now. It's the JR Sport Preshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. When we come back, it's going to be time for a new top six list. So many injuries in the NFL. We're going to talk about the teams that have the best chance to have success and keep on standing.

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