Are roll batteries the same? Yeah. That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that?
No, just him.
Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, GOATs only trust GOATs because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracel.
Morning decisions. How about a creamy mocha frappuccina drink? Or a sweet vanilla? Smooth caramel maybe, or a white chocolate mecca. Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits.
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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show Show With guest host, Andrew Ciciliano from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Today's guests, senior baseball writer for the athletic, Tyler Kepner. Longtime golf writer, Alan Schipnock. Pro Football Hall of Famer, Joe Thomas.
And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Andrew Ciciliano. Is this thing on? I think it is. Hi, everybody. Welcome.
To a Friday. It is the summer. Everybody is on vacation but us. We're happy to be here. Edition of the Rich Eisen Show.
Today, not starring Rich Eisen. Fear not. He is back soon in his place. The substitute teacher. Hi.
My name is Andrew. I'm happy to be back. It has been a while. I apologize in advance, which is kind of how my brain works in every relationship in my life. I apologize.
I apologize in advance for being a little rusty. Uh-oh. But I'm happy to be here, and I'm happy that you are here because there are actually things to talk about today. There's football. There's also football.
There's golf. Baseball's kind of fun again. And Like you can call and join us as well, 844-204-RICH. You can watch us on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM, Channel 80, The X, The InstaFace, at Rich Eisen Show. There's the YouTube channel as well.
Rich Eisen Show. There's our normal cast of characters. This This motley crew. Of friends and family on The Rich Eisen Show, including. including my fellow orange man.
He's a man he's forty. Yes. Hi, Chris. Brockman, how the heck are you? 45, actually.
Okay, which means you're 40. Great to see you, dude. Likewise. It's been a while. What's new?
Yes. What's new? Um. Lots of things. A lot of you.
Some of which I can tell you, some of which I can't. Great.
Okay, but we'll tell you the things I can tell you. Thank you. What's new? I just got back from a great trip, trying to plan another one. was just in Seoul and Hong Kong.
That was amazing. Came back to the little mini camp. Might go to Sicily or Lisbon next week. Haven't figured it out yet. Why not?
Yeah, trying to make it up as I go. Figure out places to eat off like Bourdain blogs and Instagram in the moment. Yeah. How about you? Nothing?
Getting married in a couple of weeks? Wait a minute. I heard a rumor about that. Yeah, say hi to everyone else.
Okay. Jason, how are you? What's up, Andrew? Let's go back to that. Have you said this on the air?
Yeah, everyone knows.
Okay, got it. Just to make sure, because I had not heard it, Jason, not to get away from you. No, no, no. Back to this real quick. I had not heard it.
I heard it from a mutual friend. Oh. Not surprisingly, that mutual friend to the oh, I guess I'm not getting invited thing. You could guess who the mutual full's a very small term. Yes, exactly.
And he said, It's not a big deal, it's a very small thing. And my first reaction was, I didn't know he wasn't married. Yeah, right. That's a lot of people's reaction. Or maybe I did know, but either way, totally fine.
You guys have been together forever. You're for all intents and purposes, and maybe even in the eyes of the state of California. Although that is overblown, that's not actually a real thing. Oh, nice. Yeah, because my buddy and his.
Wife had been together for like 20-something years. And I said, Aren't you legally married now? He said, No, technically, we're not. Like, even in the eyes of the state of California. You're not.
So she doesn't get half? And I said, try leaving because I don't think it is what you think it is. Either way, I'm happy for you. Oh, thanks.
Okay, very small. Very small.
Okay. Las Vegas. Wonderful. Yeah. Beautiful.
Yeah. What are the odds that you would want?
Something like that. At minus 5,000.
Okay. TJ, are you getting married anytime soon? I am not.
Okay. Happy Friday, everyone. Happy Friday. Happy Friday to you. How about May Juneteenth?
Yes. Let's go. Yes. Happy Juneteenth.
Okay. And we're not. We're not. in any way planning a secret nuptials. Not until Halle returns to the team.
Oh, man.
Okay. Then it'd be go time then. And on our way. Would your rentable by the way? That's a great sneakily engaged.
That would be amazing. And we didn't know, unlike Vegas, you're going to do your wedding at the star, the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
Well, where else?
Okay. There'd be nowhere else to do it.
Well, that's the rumor, right? MSG's hosting maybe a wedding in a couple weeks. TJ, you'd get married at the star. That would be sick. Yeah, not at the star, though, at the actual stadium, not at the practice.
You wouldn't. No, because the star is like rentable. Like bar mitzvahs, everything. I think, I think, Unc would get let me do it for free. And I need all that space.
I need all those people. Yeah, in all seriousness, go ask Jason Garrett. Like, there were times when it would be like, Hey, uh, y'all are practicing outside today. Like, excuse me? It's like, oh, yeah, there's a bar mitzvah.
What? Really? Oh, no, no, we rented it out.
Okay, we ain't doing that. Excuse me? Like, yeah, you guys got to practice outside. It's 109. Oh, no, no.
There's a wedding. It's rented out. All right. Those days better be long gone. We got a whole new system in place, Andrew.
All right. By the way, it is hot in Dallas. Felly and I were there a few Augusts ago. Oh, it's like living in a furnace. Breaking is hot in Dallas.
Thank you. Who knew? I was in Phoenix two days ago. No, there is that place. It was like 109 or whatever it was.
At 8 a.m. Yes. There's no reason to do that. And my nephew. Looks at me.
He's like, Well, how do people live here? Yeah. I don't know. He's 11. He figured it out.
Like, I don't know how people live here. I just don't get it. Then we look up, we're at the airport, and we see here's Carson Beck outside at minicamp. Like, what, we can't practice inside today? Did they rent that building out too?
Maybe it makes no sense. Anyway, again, happy to be here. There is so much going on. It is just did six minutes about nothing. It's a show about nothing.
Wait till I tell you about mine last three days. Let's lay out what is going on. Tyler Kepner from the Athletic is going to be here in about 15 minutes. It is honestly, I know people don't pay attention to baseball really until the All-Star Break. Baseball has been awesome.
Like the rookies are ridiculous. I just went to two baseball games with back-to-back days. Shohei is ridiculous. He's bleeding. Oh my God.
He's a man. He bleeds like Superman 2 when he, you know, he punches the guy in the diner. He's human. Yes, he'll be okay. When is Aaron Judge coming back?
How good is this rookie class? Is Jacob Miserowski the most talented arm we have ever seen in Major League Baseball? It's a Bolt Standard. Nolan Ryan, amazing arm. Pedro.
Okay. Bob Feller, Pedro. Amazing arm. That's my uncle. Yeah.
Has anyone had a better arm? I'd have to imagine Cy Young's arm was pretty good. My nephew asked me yesterday, two days ago, how many Cy Youngs did Cy Young win? Oh, none. None.
None. Really? No. It wasn't an award. It wasn't a thing.
It was named after Cynthia. We named it after him. It's the most unbreakable record in sports. I get it now. Wow.
Good job, Felly. What, the 700 lines? I'm kidding. 5'11. 5'11.
5'11. Yeah, 5'11. Yeah. Five of it. How about this?
That's so ridiculous. Will any two players combined for 5-11? No. From now until the end of baseball. Yes.
Yes. No way. Absolutely. Definitely not. Yik.
So you To your point, no one's ever going to win 300 again. No. Okay. What's Verlander? I mean, starting now.
I mean, we're counting Verlin or kids that have yet to pitch in the majors? Take out the guys who are over 40, which is what, Scherzer, Verlander, right? Those are the two active win leaders right now, I believe, because Kershaw retired. Kershaw is retired. Verlander, live Googling is at 266.
They're not even gonna combine for 5'11. No. Scherzer 222. Yeah. 222.
So that's what, almost 490? They're not even at five. Yeah, they're not gonna get there. They'll get fired. Those two will.
All right, we'll do baseball in 20 minutes. There is a U.S. Open as well. I was at the soccer game yesterday. That was the Switzerland win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
That was at Los Angeles Stadium, and Los Angeles Stadium cleans up very nicely. It does, it was absolutely beautiful. to the point where you were on the freeway driving to the game. And the the freeway signs. Like from LA Store, you know, the ones that talk to you.
on the 105. They don't say SoFi. They say Los Angeles Stadium, please use Crenshaw or please use Prairie or whatever.
So I was not watching Wyndham Clark rip up. Shinnecock for a 64 yesterday. Brockman, what is your U.S. Open day two update, please? Yeah, you know, Wyndham Clark, the Open champion in 2023 when it was at LACC, he is your leader right now.
Seven under, one under on his round today. He is four shots clear of Xander Shauffle, who currently has the second best round going. He's four under today, three under for the tournament. Colin Morakawa, he TJ's guy is five under. He has the best round going today through 15.
He is five back of Wyndham at two under. Sam Stevens has yet to tee off. He's two under. And then we got a host of guys at one under, including, yeah, Maddie Fitz, Justin Rose, back-to-back Masters champ, Roy McElroy, and Ludwig Oberg are also at one under par. Only 13 players under par for the tournament.
The course is definitely winning. The conditions winning out there in the Hamptons at Shinnecock Hills. It's going to shape up to be. Be a phenomenal weekend, but right now, Wyndham Clark is a A big leader right now, Jay, with a phenomenal seven under round.
So I am looking at pjtour.com right now, and in light of the Brendan Sourceby thing and anything else going on, this is not a shot at pjtour.com or the fact that Brockman is getting married in Vegas. There's a shocker. But the idea that we live in a day and age where on pgator.com, on the leaderboard. on on their main official branded site. The column on the far right, odds to win.
Like, here it is. We are telling you: here's who's winning, and here are the odds. I know that isn't breaking news. not getting into some deep societal conversation here. Wyndham Clark plus 210.
Yeah. Wyndham Clark on my leaderboard, plus 170. Oh, yeah. Plus 170. Xander plus 650.
I don't know what out of date odds you're looking at, buddy. Plus 1800 from Murakawa. And then Sam Stevens. Uh who has yet to tee off. Plus seven thousand Value.
Value. Like watching Sports Center last night. I it Showing me all the odds for U. S. Men's National Team.
They kick at noon. It isn't, hey, is Christian Pulisic playing? They did, to be fair. They had a reporter in Seattle, lovely shot with the stadium, Seattle Stadium in the background. But then it merely went to the odds.
Right. Sitting here watching with kids, like, do we need to see this? I'm not trying to be that dad because I'm not that dad. It's not my kid. But.
Yeah. Do we need this immediately? Hey, we just got done with the report. Here are the odds. Favorite American soccer player, can he fight through injury to get out there talking heads?
Former U.S. players. Should they play him? Do they risk it? Can they win without him?
By the way, team, not team, I'm sorry, U.S. men's national team. The Americans playing Australia, game they probably should win and could win without. Christian Pulisic, but then bam, right to the odds. Don't love it.
Don't love it? I don't know. You're the guy logged in on how many accounts right now? Just one at the moment where I'm keeping an eye on things. Not to cast aspersion.
Like most things, gambling was way cooler when it was done in the shadows.
Okay. You're that guy. You'd rather make it illegal. Yeah. I like it legal in two states, not all 50.
The one that you live in. And Nevada. I'm not kidding at Soapach. Let's talk about soccer. Because the game yesterday, again, the Switzerland-Bosnia Herzegovina game at Los Angeles Stadium was fantastic.
It was my first World Cup game, FIFA game, World Cup game that I have ever gone to. I've gone to other cool soccer venues. I was lucky enough to see Arsenal last year when the Browns played the Vikings in London week five. Went to the Arsenal game the day before on Saturday afternoon. That was amazing.
I've seen a game in Argentina, saw Boca Jr.'s play in Buenos Aires years ago. That was ridiculous. Like Independiente scored six goals, including two in stoppage time to win at Boca, ending like a 20-game unbeaten streak at home. That was insane. Lucky nobody got stabbed that day, but the Independiente fans were up in the upper deck in a cage.
That's where they were held, and people were throwing flares at the cage. Never seen anything like that in the U.S. But I digress. What I saw yesterday at the stadium, formerly known as SoFi, was as cool a thing as I've ever been to. And I didn't go to the U.S.
Opener on Friday. I actually blew a chance at a last-second ticket. That's an entirely another story about whether or not you stick with the friends you made plans with or you bolt out to get a last-second ticket that somebody kind of offered you, but didn't have two, but tried to get two, but they definitely had one. If you wanted to bail on your friends and I didn't bail on my friends, I should have gone to the game. Mm-hmm.
The togetherness And I would say it was like a 70, 30 crowd, Bosnia-Herzegovina, as compared to Switzerland.
So it felt like a Rams game with all the blue and yellow in there. But the togetherness, the singing, the look of sheer joy on the faces. Of the fans, not only because a lot of them had never been in that venue and they look up. And like the Paraguay coach said last week: like, this is the most amazing football stadium I have ever been to.
SoFi is great for football. And I've been. At some amazingly memorable games in that building where the play shook, whether it is a Super Bowl. Whether it is an NFC championship game or the Rams meet the 49ers in their own building to go to said Super Bowl. Monday night games, Thursday night games, Baker Mayfield, I just got here Wednesday, come from behind fourth quarter performances to beat the Raiders.
Like, I. I've been to some, very fortunate. Amazing games at SoFi. Also been to an empty stadium COVID Monday night game. Literally empty.
saw that as well. But man, does she clean up nicely for the World Cup? It just felt different in there. The sun shining through the roof. the breeze blowing through the north and south end zones.
She's the best stadium in the world. For this. Like it was absolutely fantastic. And my brother and I are there with his 11-year-old son. And so back story here.
My brother months ago is a massive. There, we got Henry in the middle, my brother Seth, on the right. Um, My brother is a massive Italian soccer fan. Massive.
So months ago, we did the math. All right. That's going to be Italy, Switzerland.
Okay. So I called in as many favors as I can get. No one's getting these things for free. Like, Scott, hey, here you go. Like face value.
Bam, we got amazing seats. Bam. And then we're at the NFL owners' meetings, the annual meeting in Phoenix at the Biltmore. And all of a sudden, my phone ping, ping, ping, ping, ping. Italy blows a second half lead, loses to Bosnia on PKs.
Italy's out of the World Cup yet again. Either way. We promised Henry, we're going to the World Cup, buddy.
So they got on the plane and they came out to the game, and we had a blast. But as my brother said to his son, The energy, and you've been lucky enough to go to NFL playoff games. I have said that there is no energy like an NFL playoff game in a home building. Are there comparable? Yes.
I've been to World Series, been lucky enough to go to those. In your home building, it's unbelievable. Like, I I can't put it into words. But that energy that you feel at World Series games or NFL playoff games is the energy you feel in the building for every single one player. of these World Cup games.
It's that good.
So that's why The cheapest ticket for Seattle today is $1,500 to get in at noon. To see Australia. I mean, I know people who flew out this morning to go to the game and then they're going to fly back tonight just because they want to be part of the spectacle. Yeah. Like, if I were not here today, and I'm happy to be here, by the way, I'm not that big of a soccer fan.
I'm not. But the energy of the building, like... If somebody offered me a ticket, I would have hopped on a plane this morning and flown to Seattle. It's that cool. And also, let's say this.
Seattle's the best outdoor venue in the NFL. Ooh, wow. In for a Seahawks home game.
Now, I love me some Huntington Bankfield. I love me some Lambo field. In terms of the noise level, and Seattle has amazing soccer fans up there, amazing the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Seattle, they love their soccer. They know how to support their team.
But There is no louder NFL home outdoor venue. Then Seattle. The way it is built, it's straight up. It's not out. It's up.
Yes, there's some cur there's there's some angle Right. You're not you're not Free soloing copy time to get up to the upper deck. But It's loud, man. That I don't know if they do the sound test check thing. Whatever.
But There's a reason the beastquake happened in that building. Obviously, Marshawn Lynch is the reason, but. Yeah, it is that loud there.
So that's going to be amazingly cool. All right. Is Jacob Izarowski the greatest arm we've ever seen in baseball? Can we actually debate that? I don't know.
Do we believe when the radar gun says 104.5? Do you? Yes. It's more like a radio station. Yes.
I think it's a little pumped up for TV, but there you go. I'm not trying to be the conspiracy theorist. He does throw fast. He does throw very hard. I don't want to stand in.
I don't want to be there. I do not want to play. But Tyler Kepner is going to join us coming up next from the Athletic. It's Andrew sitting in for a Rich. It's the Rich Eisen Show, friends.
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And that means it's travel season. My favorite summer trip last year was to Sao Paulo, Brazil. With so many fans traveling for the Los Angeles against Kansas City game, they got to see how lively the city is. I love the culture and the amazing food that I'm still craving. Those memories remind everyone that it's that time of year to plan a little getaway.
And that's why summer has a way of turning weekends into big events. One minute, it's a normal week, and then all of a sudden, a huge concert, sporting event, or festival brings people in from all over. And when that happens, visitors start looking for places to stay all across your city.
So if you're already planning a summer trip of your own, you could list your space on Airbnb and earn a little extra cash while you're away. Doesn't have to be some big year-round commitment. It's about making the most of a busy weekend when your place would just be empty otherwise. I can tell you, people love finding a place that helps them feel connected to the city that they're visiting. If your city's about to have a big summer moment, this is a great time to maximize your space.
Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. And it is the Rich Eisen Show, everybody. Hope you're having a fantastic holiday weekend Friday.
Uh we got the U.S. Open going on. Getting closer and closer to baseball's all-star break, which means we're getting closer and closer to baseball's trade deadline. It's not that close, but you know, we'll throw that out there because we'll talk about Tarek School. We'll talk about a lot of things.
Let's talk baseball. Tyler Kepner now joins us from the athletic. Tyler, good to see you. How are you? Doing great.
How are you? Hanging in there. Thank you. Watched Shohei hit the Homer on Tuesday. Missed the Bloody Pants game on Wednesday.
I find it hysterical the way that, you know, anytime someone gets a boo-boo, we got to cover it these days. But Shohei's fine, right? Anything dramatic that we know from a bloody finger. I think he's going to be all right. I think he's, if there's anybody who's superhuman who can overcome a.
Hey, Bloody Finger. I think it's Mr. Otani. Yeah, we're on the same page. Speaking of Superhuman, let's talk about Jacob Bizrowski, because we were talking off the air before you came on about the 104.5 last week.
It is ridiculous, and there is no doubt he's the most talented arm in the game. Do you believe? The radar gun Stats. Do you think there is any part of this That is Let's say these numbers are inflated. for television.
I mean, the hitters would show you that it's not, right? I mean, the hitters can't do anything with it.
So, you know, I think it's not as if. It's You know, they're hitting it and they're showing that it's 104. I don't get into that whole like. You know, are they doctoring the The miles per hour for Mizurowski, I think where they measure the ball from is a little bit different than previous. Generations.
But it's been, I think it's been pretty consistent now for, for, 15 years or so.
So I I don't I don't think they've changed Fundamentally, from maybe 2010 or so. Yeah, I'm not trying to suggest that we should all wear tinfoil hats when looking at real time numbers. I remember a game, and this was a long, long time ago, where I was in San Diego and Aroldis Chapman was there with the Reds, and they were putting up 102, 103, 103 consistently. And I remember my brother and I were sitting in the stands going, Come on. But that was a different era, and Mizorowski's talent is so blatantly obvious.
It's hard to compare eras, Tyler. Where would you put him in terms of just pure? arm talent, which is more of a A football term than a baseball term, but just pure arm talent. from anyone that you have ever seen. Yeah, I mean, he's way up there.
You know, we have to see it over a little bit longer period of time. I mean, there's, I think, Kerry Wood, right? He had a game like this with 20 strikeouts and one little scratch infield hit and injuries. Oh, were you really? I was there as a young reporter in Chicago.
Yeah. Oh, wow. That may be one of the greatest games of all time. I mean, you saw it. Wow, that's one to be at.
You know, Scherzer has had a couple of those kinds of games. But certainly, I mean, I don't know. When you look at the scope of history, you look at guys like Bob Feller or Walter Johnson, you want to go way back, or Satchel Page. I mean, there's a lot of like. Great guys on that list who did it for a very long time.
But in terms of what we've seen in modern times, I mean, you mentioned Chapman, and that's a guy I think of because when Chapman came onto the scene, that was kind of a new level of. Of velocity and power that we hadn't seen. And Miserowski is doing it as a starter, which is even more impressive.
So I'd put him up there for sure, but it's still a pretty small. Sample that we've seen, and you just hope. I mean, in this in this day and age, that that he stays healthy 'cause most guys Most guys don't, you know, Chapman has in a relief role, but most guys will break down.
So let's just hope that he avoids that. And he has a contender in Mason Miller, doesn't he? Isn't that fair to say? Yeah, I mean, Mason Miller's, you know, been just. Incredible.
I mean, I think of. I remember when Craig Kimbrell was at his height when he was very young in 2012. I think he's, I'm pretty sure he struck out 50% of the batters that he faced, which was mind-blowing. And then that's the area where Miller is now. And even.
Even in relief, you know, to strike out half the batters who come to the plate is pretty wild. It's like you're almost like you're breaking the game. Right. And there's something to be said too: is like pitch the contact a little bit as well. And you shouldn't be having to strike everyone out and save your arm a little bit, but that's another conversation.
Talking to Tyler Kepner here from The Athletic Tyler. What do you make of what Tarek Schubel said? The Tigers are 30 and 44 right now as they open up on Friday. They're nine and a half games back. The White Sox and the Guardians are now tied, atop the AL Central.
Quote: The future for a lot of people in this room, not just myself, the outlook could look very much different in two months, and it all comes to an abrupt end. Is that a message? to the clubhouse? Or is that a message to the front office? I think it's probably more of a message to the clubhouse, not being there.
I don't know for sure. But, you know, I think they need to prove that they deserve some reinforcements. Otherwise, they're going to go the other way and start trading guys. They need to get hot now and then get the front office to get on board because right now there's no point in. Augmenting this group because they haven't shown that they can do it.
I mean, just to get in or just to have a little slightly better chance, they haven't really proven yet that they deserve that.
So I think. You know, in Schoogle's case, I mean, unless the Tigers go on a real heater real quick, they probably will trade him and should trade him because if they want to get him back, just be the highest bidder in free agency. I mean, that's what it's going to take. I think that's what it almost always comes down to anyway.
So they'll have just as much of a chance as any other team as long as they write the biggest check in the offseason.
So might as well get something for him now if the team doesn't turn it around immediately. Do we know yet are teams calling? Have they called? Oh, I'm sure, but it's still a little early. I mean, if you can swing a deal for him now, Obviously, you'll get more starts out of them.
So the price would go up. Um but I don't know if Detroit is ready quite yet to you know, to to to cash in. And would it be the usual suspects if and when he does get traded? I think any team, you know, because I mean, he's making, what, 32 million this year.
So that's a lot, but that can always be negotiated based on the quality of the prospects, you know, like how much money you throw in. If you get better prospects in return, you'll pay more of the salary down.
So I don't think the salary. um makes that much difference to a team that that uh that would want him, and he's so good. when he's healthy and doing his thing. You could put them on top of any rotation, even the really good ones could use a guy who's a number one.
So, I think anybody would be on the table. Certainly, some teams have. Greater needs. But yeah, I mean, who wouldn't want him? He can improve any team.
Talking to Tyler Kepner here of the athletic baseball writer from The Athletic mentioned that the Tigers are night at halfback of the Sox and the Guardians. I don't know, Tyler, if I can remember, so I'll ask you if you can remember. A game in which one team Lost. Three guys out of their lineup, arguably their three best guys out of their lineup in one game that all ended up on the DL. Or the IL shows you my age here.
The injured list. And that happened to the Guardians over the weekend, where in one game they lost on Saturday, Jose Ramirez. Chase de lauder, and on Hel Martinez. Can you remember that happening? No, I mean, not unless like there's a big collision in the field where all three guys get hurt at the same time.
I mean, like, it's just the chances of it are crazy to think about. I mean, I think about the Mets earlier this year, like the day that Juan Soto came back, Francisco Landor got hurt with the same injury that Soto had to the calf.
So there's things like that. Certainly, when you're around the Mets sometimes, that you always find crazy collisions. Right. You know, yeah.
So, um, but uh, no, I don't, I can't think of one like that. And it's, it's tough, so tough when you're Cleveland because they're just not as deep as a lot of teams are. And there's really no getting around losing a guy like Ramirez and DeLauder and so Martinez. I mean, it's, it's, it's tough. And the White Sox, we saw them in New York the other day, and they had a tough time the first couple of games of the series, but they won the third game.
I think the White Sox are pretty good. And if they get a little more More pitching, they can hang in there all the way.
So it's uh even in a down division um you can't really count on Cleveland having enough to go all the way if they, if they're not full strength.
Well, yeah, let's talk about that and how it does potentially change things for them. Because, once again, here they are: the team that can hit, the team that can pitch and develop pitching somehow has found a way to find themselves atop the division. And then, all of a sudden, as mentioned, you lose three of, if not your three best hitters. Although Bazana hit a home run to the second deck yesterday. I don't know that they were going to add players.
Last year, they were about to dump Kwan. They would have probably traded Klase if he hadn't gotten suspended, and yet they still made the run. They got amazingly hot in September, and they found a way in. Was this team, and I know the Josh Harris money isn't there yet, was this team looking to buy? Were they still in between?
Or were we looking at a situation where, because Kwan's not hitting? Look, regardless of where we were, we would have probably traded him anyway. And now they're just traded uh treading water and and are kind of Hoping. I don't know. Where are they?
Yeah, I mean, I could see them adding for sure because, you know, there's another opportunity here to win the division. And if they get guys back, then they'll be even stronger. I mean, they've got a really good. System going on there of identifying their own guys. And yeah, they miss sometimes on certain guys.
Everybody does, but usually their track record's pretty. Pretty solid. They're not going to spend much money, but if they can find guys around the edges, they will. But if you don't have, Ramirez back and doing his thing, and Kwan improving, you're probably not going to go anywhere anyway. I mean, they've still only used five starters all year, the only team that's done that.
So that's been a real foundation for them. Um, and they've been lucky, I guess. Anytime you're all your starters say healthy, uh, there's some element of luck there.
So, if they can keep running those five guys out, um, I think they'll have a shot. And, uh, and I'd be disappointed if the front office didn't do something to help the offense a little bit. Yeah, I'm with you, but you know, you got to ask how much are they truly willing to spend. And they always, they're always of the mind, like, we don't want to block our younger guys, right? And You know, they don't go out there and they generally don't go out and get big bats.
When they've gone out and spent a lot of time, sometimes it's been like, You know, mediocre returns, and they just end up wasting the money that they feel like they could have just. Given a shot to a young guy and gotten better production for a lot less value anyway. They're pretty good at that. Yeah, absolutely. Tyler, one last thing here, because everyone in the office is talking about this today, and no, I'm not exaggerating.
Not to bore people with baseball labor, but specifically the draft. What do you make of this MLB proposal that would Take the high school kids out of the draft. Yeah, it seems pretty radical to me. You're forcing these kids to go to college when a lot of kids might be ready to. I mean, the elite guys, you know, would be ready for Pro Ball.
Their talent would be... Would be ready, and they may not just want to go to college. You know, and I guess there's, you don't have to. You could wait around and play somewhere until you're 20, but it just doesn't seem. It doesn't seem right on the surface.
I mean, we've been drafting high school players forever, you know, since the beginning of the draft in 65. And I understand college programs are really good now, but I think sometimes baseball is just so focused, hyper-focused on efficiency. And, you know, they've cut the draft so much already. It's only down to 20 rounds. They want to cut it even more.
I just, I don't know. I think you look around baseball and there's so many examples of late bloomers or guys who were drafted in later rounds for whatever reason and made it up and made a big impact. And I would just hate to think that we're losing all those great stories in the name of efficiency and predictability and farming things out to colleges. It's not always the right choice, you know, to go pro if you're in high school. But if you're one of the better guys, it usually is.
You get to free agency quicker, make more money that way. You have a better chance to set, you know, to set records and get big counting stats in your career. Certainly a lot of guys like Bryce Harper and. You know, Mandy Machado, just so many Mike Trout. I mean, so many great players were high school signs.
And I don't know about changing all that. Yeah, is it all Financial? A lot of it. Yeah. I mean, a lot of it is just streamlining.
They talk about, you know, how much. How many players are drafted who end up in the big leagues and the inefficiency in that ratio?
So they're pouring all these money into developing players who never make it. I think there's a greater. Value there in terms of having a robust minor league system to sort of spread the goodwill and gospel of baseball throughout the country. I think the minor leagues are great. Whether or not A big portion of those guys make it or not.
That's part of the allure of the minor leagues. There's the dream and the clawing your way up, getting through that mental grind of the minors and just trying to make everything so efficient. I mean, what are we going to do? Have like one G-League team or something, or just be like football and just farm the whole minor leagues out to colleges? I don't know.
But it seems like they. They want that more than what they have because they've already whittled down the minors the last few years. Yeah, the whole thing sounds ridiculous to me. Again, it is just something that's on the table and nothing is in any way done. Tyler Kepner from The Athletic Man, I truly appreciate you hopping on on a Friday.
Enjoy your weekend, sir. Talk soon. All right, great. Thanks a lot. Thanks.
Tyler Kipp, everybody, from the Athletic. I don't get the. Yeah, me neither. I just don't. Get it.
It's like what? And the other thing, too, and this is way in the weeds here when it comes to baseball, they're trying to raise the floor. For international players from 16 to 18, can't sign until they're 18. I I It doesn't make any sense. Yeah, and they want to cut the draft from the like Tyler said, that's already been cut to twenty.
They want to cut it to twelve rounds now. And so is this just a to try to help college baseball?
Okay. I love the College World Series. But you're forcing all these kids who are probably pro-ready anyway to go to college for two years? Look at this great rookie class, which we were going to talk about. We didn't.
This great rookie class.
So many of these guys in this great rookie class, J.J. Weatherholt. Uh Travis Bazana. Right. These guys were college students.
stars, okay? No one is screaming that college baseball is hurting. Right. No one is saying college baseball. Charlie Condon was part of that great class.
He hasn't come up yet for the Rockies. He was out of Georgia that first round two years ago. Jack Caglione's now starting to hit with the best. Exactly. Jack Caglion, college baseball star.
College baseball is good. We don't need to help it. It is producing great. Talent. And if guys want to come out of the minors, or rather, high school, and get their money and go.
Good for them. Right, and if they want to go back to college, go back to college, get an education, or they want to work out a deal in between where you go back to school, but you get my, like, there are ways to work this out. Anyway. I digress. Coming up, a U.S.
Open update. Is Wyndham Clark still atop the leaderboard? Yeah. Breaking news, maybe. It's the franchise and show.
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And we're back on radio. Yes, 26 years ago today, the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers. Wow. And Shaquille O'Neal won the finals MVP 10 years ago today. By the way, Rich Eisen Show, everybody.
Hi, I'm Andrew. Welcome back. Not that you went anywhere.
So dominant that year. 10 years ago today. What happened? I mean a lot of things happen, I would assume. But June 19 2016.
Anybody? LeBron James chased down Andre Iglodala, pinned the ball against the backboard. Kyrie Irving hit a three with about 52 seconds remaining. And then eventually Maurice Spates bricked a three from the corner, but it wouldn't have mattered. It was a four-point game at that point.
The Cavaliers run off the bench. And your Cleveland Cavaliers win the first championship for the city of Cleveland. Since Jim Brown's 1964 NFL championship with the Browns, It was an NFL championship, kids. Cleveland called a Super Bowl. This is for you.
There were NFL championships before the Super Bowl. Just so you know, kids, who are the teams that have never won a Super Bowl? They have NFL championships before they gave it a cute name and called it the Super Bowl. Nobody cares about who for you. I'm just saying.
In 2016, yes, today, on this day, 10 years ago, today. The Cavaliers won a championship. And right now, Mm-hmm. That team is uh is back. Together for a reunion in Scotland.
Yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah, their Instagrams have been awesome. Also, are you watching This Was Sports Center with Rich? I should be. You should be.
Because really, it's amazing. Honestly, so many people are telling me: hey, have you seen this? Here is a new episode, the latest episode. Here's a clip with Linda Cohn.
Well, that's what I loved about Sports Center, certainly back in our day with 86 and when we were there for the so-called golden age, is that it was. about Infotainment. It was about informing. It was about entertaining. It was about you having your style.
Yeah. Charles Barkley, he's not retiring. The Sugar A. Leonard of the NBA is staying and he's playing. After a 90-minute meeting today with league officials, Barkley was advised to, shall we say, make lifestyle adjustments.
So incidents like throwing a person through a window, no matter who was at fault, does not happen again. Me having my style. Boom, we're on the same set together. Coming up on the show, motor time means downtime. And also, youth was served at the Liptons as long as the iced tea wasn't from Long Island.
But we're going to start off with the place with the Island Green, the TPC. Yeah, golf first. Seeing how that smashes together. You know, me with Stewart and Dan with Keith, and you worked with. Absolutely.
Everyone. Hey, glad you're with us. We were getting a bit lonely. That's Rhys Davis. I'm Linda Cohn.
Along with Linda Cohen, I'm Steve Levy. Teamed with John Anderson and I am Linda Cohen. Along with Linda Cohn, I'm Gary Miller. With Linda Cohen, I'm Dan Patrick. Kenny Mann here, along with Linda Cohn.
Alongside Linda Cohn, I am Stuart Scott. That is Rich Eisen, and I'm Linda Cohn. Full disclosure: I was a little jealous because I always wanted a regular co-anchor because I thought that's what made you and Stuart great. Nice outfit. Who's your tailor?
You know, Dan and Keith, great. Wait till you get a load of what Jason Kidd did tonight against the Spurs. We could, you know what? Because it's like playing tennis. When you have the same doubles partner, You know where to be.
when to be. Same with co-anchoring Sports Center. You know when to pause, when to laugh. When to create The yin and the yang, all of it. And although I've worked with so many great people, and you're right, I think not only have I done the most sports centers, Obviously, we're the most many different people, many different calling people, the most ever.
I don't know where they would keep early on in my career. I started counting, and then I stopped because it was like, God gave me a headache. What number were you? I stopped at 32, meaning I couldn't take it anymore. It just went on and on and on.
But. In a way, that made me a better sports center anchor. Because I had to, everything you said, I had to kind of adjust to my partner's, let them be them. This was Sports Center out now. And it is pretty cool, man.
I'm not kidding when I say everyone is talking about it. I was in Cleveland for minicamp last week, and a bunch of my friends there were talking about the Dan Patrick episode, the first one to drop, right, I believe. Yeah, Dan was first.
Okay, and then Linda is the latest, which is awesome. You can watch on Disney Plus the ESPN app or the Rich Eisen Show YouTube page. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. It is presented by Gusto. Do we know who's up next on?
This is Sports Center. Do we know? Yeah, Chris Fowler next week. Chris Fowler. And then season finale, Craig Kilbourne.
Fantastic. By the way, I loved when Jeremy Schapp was in here earlier this week. That was. Fantastic. Awesome.
Coming up. Alan Shipnock, right around the corner, get a U.S. Open update. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify.
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