Rolling right along this Friday night, thanks for checking us out here on the Infinity Sports Network. I am the sports machine, Sean Levine, in for JR. Got my boy Ryan back in studio spinning the wheels, although no soup for you, Ryan.
Sorry. The number is 888-710-488. For ISN I just How am I gonna know the Soup Nazi is? You know what? This happened actually.
About a month ago I took a girl out on a date, And our waiter is a really nice restaurant. I may or may not have had a gift card, which is kind of a debag thing to do, but just follow me.
So we're at this nice restaurant. And the waiter comes up to us. And he says, I'll be your waiter tonight. If you need anything, just let me know. My name is Waldo.
And I was at first I was shocked because I don't think I've ever met a human being named Waldo. It's a cool name, but I was like, really? His name is Waldo? And then we didn't see him for a while, right? We ordered our drinks and it took him a while to come back.
And so I dropped the very obvious line, which is, where's Waldo? And she was like. What what do you mean? Oh, that's worse than sign five. Thank you, Ryan.
Thank you.
Okay, we can remain friends. Yeah, I think the book. Those books have been out before Seinfeld even came out. Or even when Waldo was born. I don't think Waldo was actually ever born.
No, no, the waiter, the waiter, the waiter. Oh, the wall the waiter wall though. Oh yeah, the real wait. The folks definitely came out before th that wall though was born. I should have asked him if he was named after Waldo Waldo.
But what was more concerning is that she didn't get my joke, and it's like. We don't have a future, her and I.
Sorry. Like, that's very baseline, isn't it? Where's Waldo? Should have got a little cheap laugh, and then he comes back, and then we move on with our night, but like. It was just weird from that point forward, anyway.
888-710-4ISN, if you want to chime in on this very strange conversation. Coming up in just a little bit, we're going to switch gears and talk some baseball. Because every time I look up at Shohei Otani, he's breaking records, getting his 1,000th hit, leading the league in home runs. Right now, he's like minus 1,500 to be the MVP again. Is that guy the goat?
Legitimately. In my lifetime, if you're in your 40s. That guy's got to be the GOAT.
Now, unfortunately, he didn't come over to the United States until he was already a baller. Same thing, kind of with Ichiro. We've seen this story before, where it's going to be tough to judge him in hindsight because the numbers aren't going to be there. But if I talk about Ken Griffey Jr. or Albert Pooh Holes or whoever is the greatest baseball player that these eyes have ever seen.
I think it's Shohei Otani.
So we'll get to that when we talk some baseball here in just a little while. But let's get back into the NFL. Because this upcoming season, which kicks off In about a month. There are a few dudes this year that are absolutely going to go off. It's going to be a career year for the following guys.
And then there's going to be a few dudes that if they were a stock, I do not want my money anywhere near them. Let's start with the good. and bow nicks. Bone licks last year. I think the only people that realize how good he actually was are real Broncos fans.
If you're just a football fan, you probably were paying attention to other rookies the same way that I was. It was all about Caleb Williams, number one pick, Heisman trophy winner, paints his nails, goes to Chicago. There are a lot of reasons to talk about and watch that guy. And then you saw him, and he had what, 18 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, the team won a few football games. It's kind of like, all right, he was cool.
Jaden Daniels. As the season went along, a lot of people, including me, thought that's probably the best rookie quarterback that I've ever seen. Whether it's the numbers, whether it's the percentage, whether it's the eye test, whether it's the twelve wins in the regular season or getting to the NSC championship game.
So there were a bunch of rookie quarterbacks last year that got talked about a lot. Even JJ McCarthy, who didn't play a snap. Got a lot of conversation because of that. Same thing with Drake May, who didn't start at the beginning of the year. And the whole time Bo Nix was doing his thing.
From the first snap of the season till the very end, Bo Nicks was not just good, he was great. by rookie quarterback standards. Look at the numbers. 29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 3,700 yards for a team that out of nowhere won a bunch of football games. Let's just say that he gets a little bit better.
And that doesn't always happen.
Sometimes the league punches back, kind of like we saw with C.J. Stroud, where he was awesome as a rookie and we all thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. And then last year he was good. But the numbers maybe left a little bit to be desired. If Bo Knicks just gets a little bit better this upcoming season.
We're talking about 35 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, close to 4,000 yards. for a team that won double-digit games last year. I'm not saying that the Chiefs have any Reason to fear that they're not going to win the division for what will be the 10th year in a row. which is almost crazy to think about, that the Chiefs have won that division every single year since Barack Obama was the sitting president, and they're trying to do it again, right? Because this will be year number eight for Patrick Mahomes as the starter.
Alex Smith, before that, won the division a couple of years.
So, if my math is correct, this is going to be 10 straight years for the Chiefs. It's not that they keep putting the division. It's that they keep running away with it. There hasn't even been too much competition. Look at last year.
Where the Chiefs were 15-1 in the regular season and they just sat on their stars at the very end because they already had a three-game lead, it was on the rest of the division. The rest of the division is getting a whole lot better as we speak. I think everybody has gotten better the last couple of years. You look at the Raiders, they trimmed the fat. I think they upgraded a quarterback at coach.
They got a couple of great tight ends. I take a bunch of phone calls. For some reason, it's whenever I host like the. 5 a.m. show.
So take it for what you will. Maybe it's some people out in Vegas having some pops calling us in here on the Infinity Sports Network. But every time I say mean stuff about the Raiders, people call in and they're like, no, watch out, Sports Machine. They're going to surprise you and win nine or 10 games and make the playoffs. If they do, Then this is the best division in football.
If the Raiders are a double-digit win team, versus what I think they are, which is uh And don't hate me, Raiders fans, but like a six-win football team? The Chargers made the playoffs last year, got better at head coach, clearly. And then you talk about these Broncos. I don't think everybody's going to make the playoffs, but could three of these teams end up getting there? Are the Chiefs still locked within the division?
I think so, but then again, I'm in this Kansas City bubble, so what the hell do I know? 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Bone Nicks is going to, if you're a fantasy football player, And you want to let your quarterback position slide a little bit, I'm telling you, Bone Nicks is going to be worth. a starting position. He's going to be great this year.
You know who Els is, even though he's the opposite of Bo Nick's. He didn't just get here. He's been here for a long ass time. Derrick Henry's about to have a career year. And that's coming off of last year.
Where Derrick Henry had, what, 1,700 yards, an average almost six yards per carry, and 18 touchdowns on the ground? It's just nobody was paying attention to that because there was another running back named Saquon Barkley who was putting up. Better yards per carry, more touchdowns, more yards, and played for a team that was on its way to winning the Super Bowl. By the way, at the same time, Saquon Barkley was trying to shove it up the backside of his old team.
So when it came to running backs last year, Clearly the show. What's Saquon Barkley? But at the same time, we probably weren't paying enough attention to basically the AFC version of Saquon last year, which was Derrick Henry.
So here's the thing. Most of the time, The way to win a Super Bowl To have a great quarterback. At least that gives you a chance, right? If you've got Lamar or Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts, you're pretty much going to give yourself a chance. But every now and again, a running back comes along that pushes that type of team over the top.
Philadelphia a couple of years ago played my Chiefs in the Super Bowl. In fact, they had a 10-point lead at halftime. But it was the running back in that team. I'll give you a little bit. Who was it?
I gotta be honest with you, I can't remember either. But was it DeAndre Swift? I want to say, I don't remember. But we all remember who it was last year. Because the MVP of the Super Bowl champion team Was not their quarterback.
It was their running back. As good as Jalen Hurts was. And as much as I think he's getting disrespected heading into this season after winning the damn Super Bowl, he wasn't the team MVP. In fact, Saquon Barkley was part of the real MVP conversation for a large part of last year. Can the Ravens use Derrick Henry the same way?
Where you've also got a stud quarterback. You've also got a guy that could win his third MVP, but take a little bit of the load off him. And I know there's a lot of people that Look at the age of Derrick Henry. I think he's 31, 32 years old. And sometimes running backs get old right in front of our eyes.
I don't think that's going to happen with Derrick Henry for this one reason. Tennessee thought the gas was already out of the tank. There's no way the Tennessee Titans were going to let. Is he the best player in the history of their franchise? Him or Eddie George or the late Steve McNair, right?
Like, we're talking about probably the best player ever to wear a Titans uniform. You think they were just gonna let him walk if they thought he could have the season he was gonna have last year? No way.
So now that I saw it last year, what makes me think all of a sudden he's gonna hit a wall? If he can be the team MVP. Talking about Derrick Henry, the same way that last year Saquon was the MVP of the Eagles. They're going to win the Super Bowl. Watch.
It's not like they've been far the last couple of years. And they're also the unluckiest team in the history of the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens. Just think about last year. I was at a game, you remember the first game of the season where if Isaiah Likely shoe.
Was literally a half-size list. They probably. Score that touchdown, go for two, beat the Chiefs, and then everything's different. The seating's different. Home field advantage route the playoffs is different just because of that one game.
But it didn't happen. Playoffs come around. And Josh Allen, I'm sorry, Lamar Jackson throws the equivalent of a. Basically a pitch. Like a four-yard pass that Mark Dandrews catches 999 out of a thousand times, but he drops it when it matters.
Part of me kind of feels bad for Lamar Jackson in a weird way. There's no reason that team doesn't already, at least have gotten to a Super Bowl. Or have a ring. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Not that I'm a Ravens fan by any means, but damn, that's an unlucky ass football team.
So I think this year, Derrick Henry is going to have a huge year. Bo Nix is going to absolutely go off.
Some other dudes, too. Brock Bauer is going to have a big, big year. Marvin Harrison Jr., remember all the hype that he had coming into his rookie year? And then we looked at his numbers. Here's the thing.
In that division, Arizona's going to be down a lot. When you got to deal with Seattle and the Rams and San Francisco, they're probably going to finish in last. And if I'm right about that, that means they're going to throw the football a lot. I'm going to put up some big numbers here for Marvin Harrison Jr. I think that guy has.
1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns this year. I think he's going to be great. And then you guys know how I feel about Sam Darnold. But it's not all going to be good. I'm talking about Hierary kill.
Miami. Yo. If I'm Mike McDaniel. My butt cheeks are burning. I think he's got the hottest seat right now with any NFL head coach.
Even hotter than Dable and Steichen and some of these other head coaches, that quite frankly, they got to win early or they're going to get canned the same way that last year we saw with Robert Sala and Matt Eberflus.
Some of these teams, some of these front offices are kind of just waiting for to see. Basically, for these teams to stub their toe, then they're going to blame their coach, and they're going to come out and say, We probably should have done that. Like, you know what I mean? It kind of feels like some of these coaching situations would have been better off being proactive instead of reactive. Last year, that was the Jets' problem, and it just set him back the entire year.
Same thing with the Bears. Why did you even have Ibra Flues heading into this season? I look at the Brian Dable situation and I go, what can he possibly do? How many games can that guy possibly win to keep his job? I think the answer is nine, if not ten, got to make the playoffs, and that ain't happening.
He's walking a plank. But I don't know if he's as far to the edge of that thing as our guy, Mike McDaniel. I mean, it feels like a couple of years ago when they were winning football games in Miami. He was likable. They were cooking.
He got his contract extension. Right now, he's. It's going to be easy to turn on that guy. As soon as he starts losing football games, all of a sudden he's not quirky, he's just a hipster. He's just a guy that listens to a lot of Weezer.
You know what I mean? Miami's going to struggle this year, man. Tyreek Hill, Tua, already not on the same page, coach on the hot seat. A division where everybody else is getting better. They're not going to be the worst team in the NFL.
That's reserved for the Saints and that quarterback room and. Cleveland's not going to be good. I think Indy's going to be terrible. Jacksonville's only going to win probably six or seven games. There's some bad football teams out there.
But I think we got to throw these guys into the conversation. Speaking of Jacksonville. And Trevor Lawrence, he's another one of those guys. If he was a stock, I don't want my want money anywhere near him. Here's the Career trajectory of Trevor Lawrence.
We didn't know who he was. He's at Clemson. He's just some dude. Clemson's cook and winning national championship games that got Deshaun Watson. And then they got this freshman with this great long hair.
And all of a sudden, he got the hype. He's going to be the next Peyton Manning.
So we're all watching him. And frankly, he outdid the hype in college. He was unbelievable, undefeated season, national championships, number one pick. At college, he did everything he possibly could have done with a lot of hype behind him. But once he got to the NFL, Has anybody gotten more excuses for the first five years of their NFL career?
Than Trevor Lawrence? For a guy that was Kent Mish, that was the next Peyton Manning, that was the surefire number one overall pick, what the hell has he done? What's the game? What's the throw? What's the deep playoff run?
And don't tell me, all Sports Machine, you don't remember when he came close to beating Patrick Mahomes? No, he didn't. That was one of those. I think they were down by 16, Jacksonville was in the fourth quarter. They score, they go for two, they get the two-point conversion.
So all of a sudden, technically, we can say that they only lost by one score, but come on now. If you really break it down with a fine tooth comb, He was never going to beat Patrick Mahomes in a playoff game. Early on in his career, he struggled. Oh, it was because of Urban Meyer. Last year, they were going to bench him, if you remember.
There was conversation. even though they paid him this time last year. You would think the Trevor Lawrence contract. How bad it is, would have been something that they did three years ago. It was this time last year, last offseason, Jacksonville decided we're going to make this guy our future for the next five years.
As I speak to you right now, Trevor Lawrence is the third highest paid player in the history of the NFL. And they were going to bench him. He was struggling so bad last year. It's almost fortunate. For that team.
that he got hurt. Same situation as Dak Prescott in Dallas. That thing was a sinking ship anyway, but once the quarterback got hurt, it was easy to point to that and say that's the reason to blame the crappy year. That's just not true. Trevor Lawrence?
Watch out, man. I wouldn't be surp who's the back up there? Is it is it Mac Jones? Yeah, you still Yeah. What did you say?
Sorry. Yeah, Mac Jones is still there.
So that's a rough. I get my Mac Joneses and my Mike Joneses and my Daniel Joneses all confused. I mean At this point. Are any of them worth talking about? Maybe Mike Jones.
What was his number? 218-330-8004. Hey, how about that? Um Yeah, man. I think it's going to be.
And then another guy, I hate to say it, it's going to be a rough year for. Um Travis Kelsey. Just it's He's a busy guy. He's got a lot of stuff going on. And it feels like this is kind of the last hurrah for him.
He doesn't want to go out like we saw the Chiefs last year in the Super Bowl, get the breakspeed off them.
So, again, if these guys were stocks, Bo Nicks, Derrick Henry, Sam Darnold, Marvin Harrison Jr., Brock Bowers, I want all my money in them. If it's Trevor Lawrence, Travis Kelsey, Tyreek Hill, yeah, I'm good. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Coming up next, let's check the baseball scores. We've kind of abandoned baseball the last couple of hours and talk a little bit of Shohei Otani.
Is that guy the GOAT? I think he is and I'll tell you why coming up next right here on the Infinity Sports Net You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. Here's Sean Levine. Hey, that's me. I know you've heard of ski ball.
Ski ball is great. Even though arcades don't really exist anymore, but you know, skeeball. Have you ever heard of P-Ball? is what I want to know. Because I had never heard of P ball until a couple of days ago, and my buddy was complaining.
He's a single dad, he's trying to teach his kid, trying to potty train his kid. It's his first kid, you know what he's doing, and he's getting frustrated. And I can tell. And so I was at a store, a big box store. They're not paying me to be a sponsor, so I'm not going to say what their name is.
But I saw this thing, it was called P ball, which is basically skee ball as you're trying to teach your kid how to pee in the toilet. And I believe it only works if you've got a little boy. You set it up on, like, you got to, you got to pull up the thing, then you set it down, and then it's what it sounds like. It's a skee-ball version of Uridated. For a little kid, is essentially what it is.
And it's so much fun. I'm not going to lie. I got it for him to train him, and apparently it's working really well. I don't think I set that up very well. There's like different rings over the toilet, and if you get in the furthest one, you get a certain amount of points.
I know it's for the kid to teach him how to pee. I think I'm going to get one on my own toilet, and it's never going to leave. Little game of P-ball. It's fun. I'm saying don't knock until you've tried it.
It's a little it's a little odd. Is it? Have you ever played P-ball? No, I don't think I want to play P-Ball. It's going to get you.
I'm not sure if you do. No, no, no, it's not going to make a mess. That's the whole point.
Well, it does make a little bit of a mess, but it's you gotta train. You don't it's not easy. I don't know, I don't have kids, but they tell me it's not easy to get these kids potty trained, and it's frustrating, and it's like a rite of passage when you finally teach them. See, guys like you and I who make it seem like it's not that big a deal, and we laugh at it. Until you got a kid and then you give them a little bit of P-ball.
I'm telling you, man. The kid loves it. The dad loves it. It's working. I love it.
It does sound a little weird. No, it's not. Clearly.
So it's not going to work if we really need to adopt it. It actually says on the box. Four and under.
So Yeah. I'm over four. But I still enjoy a little game of P-ball, I'm not gonna lie. We got football going on. Do you like football, Ryan?
I know you don't like P-ball. You like football? Detroit. You like football.
Okay. Detroit is up 7-3. That game going into halftime against Atlanta. New England all over Washington. They're playing some P-ball out there in New England, up 17-0.
That game, second quarter, just underway. And the Browns scored again. Look at our boy Shador. Shador Sanders He's tearing it up. Check this out.
As I hit puberty live on national radio, check this out. Or the Browns score another touchdown. From the hand of Shador. They're now up 14-7 over Carolina, and Shador has been in the entire game. And I I'm trying to do a radio show, so I'm not watching the game.
But by the numbers, it looks like he's doing great. 11 of 18, 103 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a partridge and a pear tree. How about that? And like I said at the beginning of the show. I think that there's only three, maybe four teams indie.
New Orleans, the Giants, and the Browns. that don't know their starting quarterback is going to be. There's still a little bit of a quarterback battle.
So, why not put this guy Shador out there early and see what you got? That's exactly what they did.
So far, the early returns are great.
Now you're playing against a bunch of Carolina Panthers, second and third stringers.
So take it for what you will, but. It couldn't have gone any better than this. And for Shador Sanders, anybody that thinks that he's a fifth-round talent is just stupid. Ignorant, you're lying to yourself. You thought that guy that you saw for two years at Colorado that was on the stage for the Heisman Trophy, that was one game away from what taking his team to a college football playoff, that put up those huge numbers, we thought all of a sudden in the offseason that guy became a scrub of a football player?
Absolutely not. He's the guy that was talked about potential to be the number one overall pick. He had a 70% completion percentage. I expect Shador Sanders. to be the best rookie quarterback if he gets a chance this year.
Compared to all those other dudes. Jackson Dart probably not going to get into week seven or eight at that point. The Giants are what, two and six? They probably fired Brian Dable.
Well, how's that going to go? Brian. probably like it did last year with Caleb Williams. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. I am wildly intrigued with Shador Sanders.
And he's going up against Bryce Young. Who would you have as your quarterback? for the next three to five years. Give me some shadore. Let's take some phone calls.
Let's go out to Queens, where Dave joins us on the Infinity Sports Network. What up, Dave? Thanks, Levine. How are you doing, man? I'm chilling.
Yeah, man, I just put your show on. I'm caught up. I'm just going to catch up later. But I'm going to listen to the whole thing. I heard you talk about when I put it on the original, the Browns never had a franchise quarterback.
Well, like it's close with Brian Seipe, and I'll tell you why. He he was a lifelong Brown. He won an MVP. I'm not a Brown fan, but I remember him. It happened to be his birthday today too, by the way, Brian Seipe.
But he was a really, really, really like solid like starting quarterback in the league, had everyone's respect. And I mean, yeah, he's not franchised like Marino and stuff like that, but he was a brown franchise quarterback. And I wanted to give him his um I don't like the expression flowers, I'll give him his credit because uh he, you know, he's uh O G and he won an MVP. And he was serviceable with them. And I'm just shouting him out on your station there on his birthday.
Happy birthday, Brian Seype. That's first of all, thanks to the phone call, man. David, that's crazy that Brian Seipe won the MVP. I had to pull up his numbers. Uh, d I t man, I think you kind of proved my point for me.
So I said that I was talking to Smack about the Jets, the Bears and the Browns, saying none of them have ever had a franchise quarterback. I'm looking at his numbers. The dude played for a hell of a long time, right? 125 games, all in Cleveland, 154 touchdowns, 149 interceptions. 56% completion percentage, 57% and 55%.
As a record, which is pretty good now that I think about that as a Cleveland quarterback, but that's not franchise quarterback type of numbers. And I don't think Shador Sanders has to necessarily be a franchise quarterback in the sense of a Patrick Mahomes or a Josh Allen for him to be a good draft pick. He was a fifth-round draft pick. If he's just a starting quarterback for a couple of years, they nailed it. 888-710-4ISN's number.
Let's go out to Mitch in Jersey. Mitch, you're on the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, Sean, how's it going tonight? Good man. Yeah, it's a good Thanks for the idea.
That's a good idea. My grandson is a little older three now and I'm I'm not looking forward to either, because it's kind of a mess. And I wish you can skip that middle part. getting from out of diapers into the big stuff. No, no, get him P-ball.
Get him P-ball, dude. I will mention Philip. Yeah. Oh, it's it's hard, but anyway it's going fast enough as it is. Um first with uh Trevor Lawrence, you know, he kind of reminds me, he's got the physical tools.
You gotta admit, they don't have too many. Pretty offensive weapons in Talent Jackson.
So I think more Dona's pretty good, but he just doesn't. use the GM, but um kinda reminds me of Steve DeBergo or Rich Gannon, and he took a while to develop.
So they really have this you know. Rich Gannon Rich Gannon was the MVP of the league one year. Yeah, but at the beginning, he was kind of a part-time player, a bit of a journeyman. And he's not a good idea. Yeah, but that's Trevor Lawrence.
But Trevor Lawrence is not. He's far from a journeyman, right? Trevor Lawrence has gotten every opportunity to be great. But he hasn't been. He's been kind of disappointed.
Very much. Right. You're gonna be saying it to anybody, Justin Herbert, but just because they don't win, or get a division you know, they knew two on the playoffs the last two games. Not all his fault. But I want to say, um This coming giraffe, there's going to be a lot of good coming.
I know we haven't started the season yet. But um Maybe Cleveland. you know, if somebody's gonna get hurt or something, Maybe we haven't five quarterbacks. they might actually do something smart, but And I read a mark drev they're gonna they're gonna d have the first round pick next year 'cause they have two first round picks. Top pick of the draft would be Caleb Klubnick from Clint.
I'm not sure. Yeah, Caleb Klubnick's a stud. Here's the thing, Mitch. And thanks for the phone call as always, man. He leaves the line free at 888-710-4ISN.
You can't lose with Shador.
Well, like you can actually lose football games, but I don't think the situation could end up being a losing one. Follow me here. You got a fifth-round draft pick, so you don't have to pay him a ton of money. And if they put him on the field and he turns out to look better than you expected, well, then you got your quarterback of the future. And he's on a rookie contract, and you can build around him.
And that's a very high likelihood of happening. For the entire season, a lot of people thought Shador Sanders was going to be the number one pick in the draft, certainly the first quarterback taken. All of a sudden, we hear about this guy, Cam Ward, who's been playing college football for what, six separate seasons, I think it was? And that guy ends up being the number one pick. And it's not like Shador slides late in the first round, middle of the second round, third, fourth for a fifth-round pick.
It's just a very unique scenario where he's obviously got way more talent than where he was drafted.
So if you're Cleveland, you're not paying him. A ton of money. He's a rookie, a fifth-rounder at that. If you put him on the field and he busts, nobody's gonna say, hey, how could you have taken that guy so high? Because they didn't.
And then you just cup bait with him, or he's the backup for the next couple of years and he sits. Because if he's good, you got the quarterback of the future. If he's bad, then you're only gonna win four or five games. And then next year, you get your quarterback of the future.
So, what I'm saying, Browns fans, is either way, you're probably not gonna win a ton of football games this year. But by the end of the year, I think you're going to know what the quarterback is for the next decade. It's either Shador. or it's whoever you take with the number two pick in next year's draft. 888-710-4ISN is the phone room.
We'll talk plenty of football as the show rolls along. Coming up in a couple of minutes, Gordon Damer will get us updated with all the fake football games going on right now. But let's switch gears and talk a little bit of baseball while we have a couple of minutes left before the update. I'm looking at the standings right now. And every single division With 50 plus games left.
is up for grabs. And I can't remember that ever happening. Legitimately. Most of the time, when you're two-thirds of the way through the baseball season, a couple of divisions have a team that's clearly the best that everybody's chasing. And again I'm looking at these standings.
Check this out. Out east in the American League. The Blue Jays. He said the Blue Jays are 20 games over 500, 68 and 48, and have a four-game lead. Over the Red Sox I mean, if you remember how good the Yankees were out the gates this year, Not only did it look like they were going to run away with the division, it looked like they were going to run away with the American League.
And they might not be running away from anything this year. They might not make the postseason. If they keep playing the same version of baseball they've played the last two months, they're going to miss the playoffs altogether. It's going to be one of the most disastrous seasons of baseball ever. that the Yankees have ever had.
They're going to fire everybody. I'm telling you, that's going to be it for Aaron Boone. That's got to be it for Brian Cashman. How can you be given?
so many resources like Brian Cashman has. And be that. A little bit above average for that long. I don't want to say the Yankees have sucked because they haven't. But they should be what they were in the late nineties, early two thousands, where they're winning three out of four World Series.
They should at least be what the Dodgers have become the last decade, which is every single year they win the division, they win 100 games, and then the playoffs come around, and every now and again they do what they did last year and win the World Series. When's the last time the Yankees were even close to that? This Yankees team is 61 and 54. What a train wreck. For all that money?
Aaron Judge? All the free agents? Damn. I'm almost rooting for them to miss the playoffs, just to see how quick those guys get fired. Not that I want them to lose their job, but it's not like Brian Cashman hasn't been given every opportunity for what, 30 years?
To have one of the best jobs on the face of planet Earth and to be kind of okay at it. That's not good enough. Same thing with Aaron Boone.
So we got the Jays, the Red Sox, four games back, Yankees, six and a half back. And then it looks like the Rays and the Orioles are going to miss the playoffs. In the Central, yo, the Tigers were running away with this thing for most of the season. Don't look now. The Guardians are playing great baseball.
They've won three in a row, seven out of their last 10. Could Cleveland catch Detroit and win the division? They're only six games back. And what about my Royals? You know, I was going to give the boys in blue a little bit of love.
They're back to 500 also. Not dead just yet. I thought the Astros At the beginning of the year, they got out the gates a little bit slow. We're done, and their run was over with. And then about a month ago, I looked up.
They had the best record in the American League. And I said, Yeah, my bad. The Astros are still the best team in the American League, the team to beat. I don't know what they are. I have no opinion.
I keep going back and forth. This team now has been on the struggle bus, four and six in their last 10 games. 6 and 14 in their last 20, and they're only a game and a half up on the Mariners. And those Mariners, by the way, Probably had the best trade deadline of any team, not called the San Diego Padres, who we're going to get to here in just a minute. The Astros are only one and a half games up on the Mariners.
And only four and a half games up on the Rangers. Yo, the Rangers can win that division too. Baseball is going to be fun down the stretch, finally. Let's be honest.
Sometimes it's like, all right, we know who's going to win the division, so let's just let September come. That's not how it is. Let's look at the Innationally Geast. Philadelphia leading the way. That's gone back and forth the entire year.
The Mets are two and a half games back. Have the Mets and the Yankees just blended into one baseball team? That's what it feels like to me. Where, whether you're talking about struggling at the plate or the manager making the wrong calls or the bullpen or injuries, I mean, don't they have the same 63 and 52, two and a half games back? They've morphed into one giant baseball team.
Brewers and Cubs? I thought it was going to be the Cubs. The Brewers, all of a sudden, four games clear of Chicago in the central. How about the Reds, by the way? Nobody's talking about them.
They're 60 and 56. They'd be a playoff team if it started today. And then you got the Dodges leading the way out west. But not by a bunch. The Padres, like I said, who had the best trade deadline.
Two games back. Of Los Angeles in the West. I think the Podgers are going to win that division. Give me the Padres, the Brewers and the Phillies in the National League. The Mariners, the Tigers, And the Red Sox.
From Boston in the American League. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. We'll talk a little bit more about baseball later on in the show. Football coming up next, but before that, fun. We got to get into another sports flash with Gordon Damer.
You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. Here's Sean Levine. What's good? Coming up in just a few minutes, Ryan and I are going to play a game of Trudat or Screw Dat.
So don't go anywhere. The number is 888-710-4ISN. Think of Riley Auto Parts for all your car care needs. Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service. from the professional parts people.
At O'Reilly Auto Parts. I am the sports machine, Sean. Levine, the numbers 888-710-4. 4ISN. We got fake football going on, although it's fun.
We got Shador Sanders tearing up for the Browns in the first half. We got real baseball going on. Get you updated on those scores. Also, we've got tonight the first ever female umpire in a Major League Baseball game. Her name is Jen, I think it's Powell, P-A-W-O-L, and she is umpiring in tonight's Marlins versus Braves game.
Congratulations to her. Although I'm be honest with you. It's not a tough job. As somebody that used to umpire Middle school to high school kids.
Now that's a tough job. You got the parents like ten feet away from you. There's no replay system. You got the coach that, for whatever reason, is sitting on the bucket of balls outside the dugout. It's like, Coach, I've told you six times, please go inside just for safety purposes.
But no, he's got the goatee. And you know him. You guys know this guy. He would have played Major League Baseball if he didn't tear his arm. He's a balk expert.
You know what I'm talking about. Like, y'all got that guy. Being an umpire. At anything other than the major league level is a very tough job. But if you're, let's call it a second-base big league umpire.
Seriously, what are you really doing out there? How many calls are you going to make in the case of a game? Let's say it's a high scoring game. Maybe three? Fail?
Calls that matter, and guess what happens if you get it wrong as a second base big league umpire. Nothing. Literally nothing. You're standing there. I mean You could be Smoking at the same time.
You could be higher than a giraffe's ass if you want to out there. And a plague could happen. You're not even paying attention. You look down, you got one job. You either put your arms out straight to make a safe call, or you ball up your fist to say out.
That's it. That's your only job as a second-base umpire, the way that I see it. You call safe and out. And guess what happens if you get it wrong at the big league level? Nothing.
The coach comes out. Replay, they get it right. It's not like you have to pay a fine. It's not like you get only half your paycheck, or you have to come out afterwards in a press conference and say, Yeah, I'm an idiot. I wasn't paying any attention.
No, none of that happens. Like, so again, congratulations to her. And if she's behind the plate, I don't know where she was around the diamond, then that is a tough gig at any level, especially at the big league level. But if you're a second base big league umpire, come on now. My great-grandfather pro could do that.
He's been dead for 27 years. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Give me some beats. We've got a few minutes left for the top of the hour. True dat or screw that?
Here we go, Ryan. I was talking about Aaron Boone and the Yankees.
Somehow you're still a believer. This will be his last season in Pinstripes as the manager. True Dad or Screw Dad? Gonna say True Dad. If they don't win the World Series, I think he's done.
And I think after last year getting to the World Series, and I don't want to say embarrassing themselves. To the Dodgers, if they don't get to that same level this year, he's gone. Dude, I'm looking at the World Series odds right now. If you're right, and I think you are, then they might as well have fired him yesterday because, according to the odds, the Yankees aren't getting anywhere close to the World Series. You got the Dodgers as the favorites, no surprise, at plus 250.
The Phillies are next, surprised me a little bit, at 7-1. Detroit 10 to 1. Mariners 12 to 1. Brewers 13 to 1. Astros 13 to 1.
You see a little bit of a trend here. Blue Jays, Mets, Padres, and then you got the Yankees, bro, at 16 to 1 odds. I don't think so. I think that Aaron Boone is Well, he's good is gone. How about that other New York baseball team?
Ryan, the Mets are gonna win the NLEs. True Dad or Screw Dad? Screw that. I just think the Phillies' rotation and their offense with Kyle Schwarber and Harper. It's way too good for the Mets starting pitching who's been very inconsistent, you could say, to the least.
There's no shot the Mets are gonna catch the Phillies this year. No, I agree with you. I do think they're a playoff team. And then, like the Yankees, they're probably one and done. I don't think they break things up the same way that the Yankees do, but I mean It's just getting stale, whether it's the voice, the general manager.
I'm not saying you trade Aaron Judge or anything like that, but there's got to be something different with Yankees baseball going forward. It has to be better than this. Paul Skeens is going to win the Cy Young this year. True Dad or Screw Dad? Uh as of now, as of today.
I'd say Trudette. Just because ERA, very low, lower than that. The only thing that he's. In competition with the Zach Wheeler's innings. And Christopher Sanchez also in the Phillies.
So, if he stays healthy and gets close to 200 innings, he will win the Cy Young. Good call on both those guys because right now, Zach Wheeler's second at plus 170 are his odds to win the Cy Young. Christopher Sanchez still has a shot, but he's 15 to 1. Paul Skeens, minus 175, as I talk to you right now.
So, it's not a lock, but you would think he's going to win the Cy Young. You know what sucks for Pirates fans is. Three years from now, when his contract runs up. If they don't start winning as soon as next year, then they might as well start to talk about trading him and getting something back. This is not like the Miz with the Brewers, where they're at least winning baseball games.
There's a chance that Paul Skeens never pitches in an important baseball game with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
So, you might as well get out in front of it. And I know Pirates fans is the last thing they want to hear. And I'm not saying you trade him now, but at the trade deadline next year, if the Pirates are what they were this year, which is buried and have no chance of being a playoff team, and you got the best pitcher in baseball, he's under contract for the next two years. Imagine the Kings ransom that you could get back. Versus just holding on to him, not making the playoffs, and then letting him walk and becoming a Dodger or Yankee or Met or something like that.
It sucks for Pirates fans, but as early as next year, dude, they might have to trade Paul Skeens. The Kings Ransom, though, is so drawn out. There's only one trade in the last King's Ransoms that's actually paid off. And that is the one soda trade from the Padres, and even still, that's done nothing for the nationals.
So I trade. Trading Paul Skeens should not be in the Pirates cards at all. Just what's wrong with Paul Skeens signing a long-term deal with a team that should develop? It's not like these smaller market teams get to keep stars like Paul Skeens. If you're Paul Skeens, why would you do that?
Why would it. Yeah, but you can get that money somewhere else, and you can also win somewhere else. You think that Paul Skeens is really interested in being a Pittsburgh pirate for the first. 12 years of his career, and then finally he's getting old, and probably the fastball is not quite as good, the breaking ball doesn't break as much, and then you get to go to a competent baseball team. You know what that's called?
That's called Mike Trout. Legitimately. Like, at some point, Mike Trout, it would. Even as a fan of that guy, what he should have done is the same thing that Otani did, which either let your contract run up and go somewhere else to a competent organization or ask to be traded like a bunch of players in every sport do. But instead, Mike Trouch is saying, No, I'm cool, making a bunch of money and spending a bunch of time on the DL and never winning any baseball games.
That's exactly what Paul Skeen's career would be if he stays in Pittsburgh.
So he's, dude, he's got to go.
Soon. The Rockies are the worst professional sports team you've ever seen, Ryan, Trudat or Screwdad? In all sports. Yeah, all of 'em. There's gotta be one more.
So I'm gonna say screw that. I mean, we've seen some bad NBA teams. The Lions didn't win a game. Let me look at their Hornets are pretty bad. Yeah, they're bad, but I think the Rockies were competitive a little bit.
I'd say, was that eight years ago now? Oh my gosh. Like eight years ago, they had a solid run, they made the playoffs. They're not as bad as I'd say twenty twenty five Marlins or Or A's? Or pirates, you could say.
Dude, they're 30 and 84. They've got a run differential. They've been outscored by 316 runs. They're 14 and 42 at home, and they're 35.5 games back of first place. They are.
They're not good. Aaron Judge is going to win the MVP. True Dad or Screw Dad? Hmm. I am going if he stays healthy, he'll win it.
So true dad. Just because Cal Raleigh has slowed down, he's hit a couple of homers, but it's not as the first half. He slowed down a lot. Yeah, a lot.
So there's nobody near Judge when healthy.
So it should be his to lose. The odds, though, actually, Kyle Raleigh is still very much in it. I'm looking right now at Bet MGM. Aaron Judge, the favorite at minus 220. Kyle Raleigh plus 165.
And then you want to talk about a two-horse race. The next best odds are Jose Ramirez or Tariq Scuba at 60 to 1.
So it's either going to be Raleigh. Or judge. Um, let's get one more in here. True doubt or screw that. The Padres can catch the Dodgers and win the West.
True Dad. I think they had the best trade deadline out of any team. Making a big trade for Mason Miller and Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Lorenzo.
So I think they should. be able to catch the Dodgers. Yeah, it feels like the Dodgers always win the division because at this point in the year, they've built themselves a 10 or a 12-game lead. You look up right now, they're only two games up of San Diego with 50 games left. And this is the best Padres team that we've seen.
I would say in the last I don't know. You got to go back a long time. Like, for this, Padres team is finally legitimate. And if they not only win the division, but actually get to the World Series, nobody should be surprised, even though the Dodgers are such heavy favorites. Three hours down, one more coming up.
Let's talk some football on the other side. I'm the sports machine, Sean Levine.
