playoff baseball is cruel take it from somebody whose favorite team won 101 games and lost to a team that won 89. Mets couldn't beat the Padres lost in three. There is something to be said for the fact that the number five and six seeds in the national league who won 87 or number I guess 89 and 87 games respectively will battle it out for a spot in the world series. Elliot Johnson, former Cleveland Guardian, although he was actually never a Cleveland Guardian, he was the other name who joins us on the Adam Gold show. All right, I don't want to, I can't recreate the brilliance of the question I asked before, but do we have to explain to people that playoffs are just different and that once the playoffs start, whatever you did during the regular season doesn't matter at all.
Yeah, it's irrelevant. So, you know, I'm still amazed by the number of different ways that you've introduced me. They introduced me to the Cleveland Guardians, but known by the other team, you can't even say it.
Nice work, Adam. You can continue to mix it up. So I think the first thing I'd love to say is that you don't win on paper. I think people are getting a little too worked up about that, but also we are where we are because the owners wanted to water down and diminish the impact of a regular season. So if you go back to the old school game day, it was just the pennant, you know, you're going to go battle for the national league. You're going to battle for the American league. Whoever wins the pennant squares up in the world series, right? Look how far we've come from that because what you're trying to do is engage your fan base as long as possible to give them hope and belief that they're going to be able to play in the playoffs and ultimately hopefully win a world series.
Right. I mean, look what happened with the Mariners, man. They were hot. They were loving it.
They were enjoying it. And then they ran into the Astros. Right. But credit to them for knocking off the Blue Jays. But ultimately getting into the dance is all that matters because once the dance happens, you never know who could win. Ergo, the Washington Nationals a couple of years ago.
Okay. And their organization is in shambles quickly, but they made the most of their opportunity. They limped in, didn't lose a series the rest of the way and became World Series champs. So you know what? I'm enjoying the heck out of what's going on with the Phillies.
I think that's so much fun to watch. They've got so much swagger right now. I think everybody picking on the national week side had either the Braves or the Dodgers. And I asked a lot of friends that are now working with teams. I got a lot of Braves. There are a lot of teams expecting the Braves to win. And they ran into the buzz saw who are the Philadelphia Phillies. And I don't think there's a more exciting team right now than the Philadelphia Phillies. I think the Yankees have gotten absolutely taken aback by how good the guardians have played them, how, how close they played. And they literally made the most of a bloop and a blast and just putting the ball in play and finding ways to scrap and win. And you can't count Tito out, but I don't know if any of those teams need it. I don't think either of those teams are going to be the Astros, but I can promise you this, that the networks are praying that the Yankees hold onto this as long as possible, because if it's Indians against the Padres, they're going to be really, really upset. I can tell you that.
Yes. See, we process these things through television ratings way too much for my, for my, from my taste. So to the point where people are rooting for television markets as opposed to baseball teams. And I had somebody that told me over the weekend, how boring Philly versus San Diego was going to be. And I'm like, why you've got two teams that have high-end starting pitching. If you haven't watched the Phillies and you haven't seen Wheeler and Nola pitch, those are two high-end starters. San Diego has the same thing and Phillies Phillies got bats that bash. So, so does San Diego. They have holes in their lineup, but stop becoming holes.
They have one of the best players on earth who hasn't played great yet in Juan Soto and they've got Manny Machado. Why is it boring? Because it's San Diego versus Philadelphia. Those are two fun teams to watch. It's not boring at all.
It's not boring. It's not at all that both the teams are exceptionally good. I I'll say, I hate to give credit to San Diego, but finding a way to somehow push all their chips in and beat the Dodgers.
I mean, I really respect the heck out of that because it's no easy feat, right? I mean, I picked the Dodgers to win this thing for them to finally topple that Goliath is just amazing. But they, I mean, and shout out to the Durham bulls, Jake Cronenworth was here what three, four, five years ago over here in Durham. And now, you know, he's, he's got key hits to help push the Padres over over the Dodgers in some way, shape or form. The Phillies are like the most exciting team right now. The Padres are riding a high coming off the Dodgers. If they think it's boring, they just haven't watched enough baseball and or they're unwilling to admit that the team that they root for is a boring team to watch.
Yeah. I mean, look, I'd argue that the Mets became boring to watch because it's boring to watch a team continuously fail to hit with runners in scoring position and less than two outs. And that's why the Mets didn't beat the Padres. They had plenty of opportunities to score and didn't do so. And the Padres took advantage of their opportunities. Do you think, Elliot Johnson, that there is there is any credence to the by like the Braves and the Dodgers certainly didn't hurt the Astros and it may not hurt the Yankees, but any credence at all to the fact that those buys didn't help those teams? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I've got no time for that because you think about it, Adam. It's like, would I rather have a chance of potentially losing right out the gate or would I take an opportunity to get into the tournament later? Every 100 people out of 100 people that you ask are going to take the opportunity to get in in the second round.
No, you don't ever, you don't ever subject yourself to the potential opportunity of taking an early exit. So no, I mean, remember last year, the last few years when we had the one, the one game playoff play in game with the wildcard teams, I love the sudden death format. I'm Beyonce, Adam, and everybody whined and cried and complained about it because the team that they were rooting for lost. But those are the rules. We all agree to it. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with remember the CFP, how everyone hated it only because their team was on the outside looking in, but we all agree that was the format before the season started. So you don't get the hem and haul and whine and cry when your team loses, given the terms of the format and everyone agreed to it before the game starts. It just is what it is.
Okay. So I actually I'm okay with the format. I get it, but what comes with it is a watering down of the regular season and no team wins on paper to bring that back. No team's going to win on paper. These guys don't care. None of them, none of them really are even phased by any kind of a historical precedent that the Yankees are supposed to win.
Nobody cares. The Yankees are not supposed to win. And if they get knocked off by the Phillies, you're going to see a whole lot of disinterested fans because their team Yankees are no longer playing for it. And it's going to hurt because they paid Derek Cole a lot of money to get here and he's done his part.
I'll give him that much. Aaron judge unfortunately hasn't, uh, one home run, I think in a bunch of Ks. So they're going to have to step up, but I also do want to throw this in Adam for the Yankee fans in trying to pretend like Aaron Boone and the powers that be weren't trying to do something for him by batting and lead off to get him more fastballs.
Just because it didn't work doesn't mean that their thought process wasn't correct. It just hasn't worked out the way that they wanted it to look Aaron Boone. And maybe it's because he's the manager of the Yankees and I'm not even saying he's a great manager, but Aaron Boone takes a lot of arrows for decisions that he makes like every other manager does. But again, he's the manager of the Yankees.
So the, the profile is higher. Um, I, I didn't hate his reasoning for not going to Hulk him two straight days. Here's a guy coming back from, uh, from an arm problem. So I get not wanting to put him in position where, uh, where he might do damage to himself. I think the argument could be made then that he probably shouldn't be on the roster. Uh, so it costs them one game. It costs them game, uh, game three, which Cleveland came back and won, but they, they bailed their manager out and now they have to go out and win a game. I don't, I don't really have much of a problem with that.
I mean, I think Boone's a little too, uh, I don't know, a little too high strung, but, uh, I have no problem with that move. Let me throw this in here, Adam. I never thought I'd make this reference, but here we are. Um, Allen Iverson talking about practice.
Why is that relevant? A role this Chapman missed a workout, a missed a practice, and they basically didn't add him to the playoff roster because of practice. We talk about practice, right?
Not a game, not a game. We're talking about practice. And so roll this Chapman is one of their weapons of the bullpen. And I know he isn't the role to Chapman.
We all know and, and remember, but he's still pretty darn good. And the fact that Aaron doesn't have an opportunity to go get him because he missed a practice is actually one of the storylines that they aren't talking about that probably need to be. Oh, there's, there's no question.
Although he would have given up the runs anyway. Oh, no, but really drop that off. No way. We don't know that. Of course not. Of course not.
But I can say it because it doesn't matter. Uh, Elliot Johnson is joining us here on the Adam Gold show. Um, the look it's, it's cool that they're still alive, but the, uh, you alluded to this before the Astros are the best team. There's no drama around that team right now. Is that about dusty Baker or is it about, we have moved on based on everything that they have done? Yeah. I mean, they've got a new GM, uh, comes from the raised brain trust.
Um, James click Yale guy, very smart, very good inherited, a very good team, obviously, and has made it better. Uh, paying you hitting that home run. And what was it? The 18th inning.
Holy cow. Uh, that's big time, you know, because they moved on from Korea in part because they knew what they had in him. And so stepping up here was big and important. Um, you know, I, I, I think they probably have the most complete team with the Dodgers and the mess out. Um, and then, and the Braves out, I think they're clear cut favorite and they may have been even before this all started, but you know, it's still, I'm still not having fun watching them win, but it's hard not to be happy for dusty Baker. It's just, I wish he was managing a different team, but here we are. But I I'm, I'm hoping that somebody can knock them off. Even if it's the Yankees, I like the Astros less than the Yankees. If there's even a possibility for me to be able to come, uh, come to grips with that statement, Adam, here we are.
That is interesting. Uh, like I don't like either, but I have great respect for Baker and all that he has accomplished. I don't even think he's that great a manager to be perfectly honest, but, uh, for all that he has accomplished in the game, uh, he was on the precipice of winning a world series with the giants. Uh, he was the manager when the Cubs got Steve Bartman, of course they didn't get Steve Bartman.
They just lost. They blew a big lead in that game, not because Steve Bartman interfered with Moises Alou. Um, you know, he has had really good teams, could have won in Washington. Didn't they won after he left. So I have, look, I have, uh, I don't think he's a great manager, but he has been in the game for so long. Worse managers have won world series and you talk about the Astros. Uh, they allowed George Springer and Carlos Correa to walk and they didn't miss a beat. There is good now. Um, that is all about the organization. How about this one, Adam?
If they win the world series, if you're a business owner that makes toothpicks, do you go make an endorsement deal with Dusty Baker? Oh my gosh, that and we get the ghost and nothing. He's not, I don't think he's, uh, he's dead. Uh, we get UL Washington to also, people don't even know who I just mentioned. You probably don't even know who UL Washington is.
I do not. All right, look it up. UL Washington used to play with a toothpick in his mouth. Uh, middle infielder for the Royals, one of your other teams. There you go. I've never heard before.
Look them up. Baseball reference.com. UL Washington, not much of a hitter, just a nice little player that was part of some pretty good Kansas city teams.
Wow. I never thought we'd be talking about him today, but here we are. Well, you mentioned the toothpick, so I just thought all I could think of is UL Washington actually playing with a toothpick in his mouth. Those were the days, Elliot Johnson, back when we didn't have seven layers of playoffs. Cleveland, Cleveland, New York. Who you got? Yankees today. Because Cleveland is not throwing a starting pitcher that, I mean, to me, it's a, it's a all bullpen game for Cleveland. So, um, and the Yankees, who are the, uh, Yankees are starting, uh, Jamison Teyon. So I think, I think the Yankees win, uh, and it'll give us, according to some people, at least one interesting league championship series, even though you and I know differently.
Who do you got? You got Cleveland, Cleveland or New York? Yeah, I think Cleveland, they don't, they don't have any pressure. I think the Yankees are riding all this pressure. I got, I got Cleveland taking it to the promised land. They're playing the underdog role, have zero pressure.
They're not supposed to be there in the first place. They're just going to come in. They're going to score a couple of runs early.
Yankees are going to panic and they're not going to be able to make it happen. That would be wonderful to hear and wonderful to see. Elliot Johnson, you are the best, man. I appreciate your time. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks Adam.
Whisper: medium.en / 2022-12-03 10:40:57 / 2022-12-03 10:47:28 / 7
