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Now, on with the show. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Rich Eisen Show. I told you guys it's all ball. Why did Baker Mayfield and the Bucs not come to a long-term resolution? From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Baker wanted this done earlier rather than later. Earlier on the show. Prime Video NFL analyst Andrew Whitworth. Coming up. Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas.
Actor LaMonica Garrett. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number two of the Rich Hisen Show is on the air, and just like apparently Aaron Donald did in practice, according to Andrew Whitworth, in hour number one, we're going to rip the mask straight off of hour number two. Ripped the face mask straight off, like he did a helmet. That sounds so terrifying.
He said the bolts came off the helmet. That just doesn't seem right.
Well, I don't know. I forgot to ask the following question: Did Aaron Donalds pop out the infinity stones from his knuckle after that? By the way, that's that's called a timely pop culture reference. For Spider-Man, yeah. Spider-Man, right?
That was good. Spider-Man and the Odyssey, huh? Right. Odysseus and Peter Parker together making about a billion bucks over the weekend, huh? Listen, just like the Dodgers.
Mm-hmm. It's again Call us 844-204-Rich. Number to Dow. Tariq School being on Dodgers feels unfair, but the Dodgers only paid $9 million. And three prospects.
That's it. Yeah, what was everybody else doing? That's it. Why couldn't anybody else do that? Again, I need to know: did like the Phillies or the Brewers?
Basically, say, because I don't know why the Yankees would go ahead and do that. I mean School's amazing, but starting pitching isn't the Yankees'. Uh issue right now. Hitting And Also bullpen. That's the issue right now.
for them. But did some did they basically say to the Tigers, we're not picking up everything and our prospects aren't going to be that great because we don't know if we're going to sign him long term? And the Dodgers are like, Screw it. I have no idea. But that's all that was.
The fact that School is going to stay put in Los Angeles and be another $400 million log on their multi-billion dollar salary fire. is why everybody thinks that the house is on fire for baseball. And that the owners, but that's my concern: is the owners are going to basically the rest of the Major League Baseball teams, you're already seeing like unnamed executives saying, Well, that's the end of the season.
Well, no season next year. Right. Yeah.
Well, that's the end of this playing season. I already saw some quotes saying that. And then next season. What you're gonna shut it down until the players relent? It's not the player's fault.
None of it is. In that regard, What's School supposed to tell the Illich family? I'll give you a hometown discount? Is that what he's supposed to do? Yeah.
Is it on the players to fix it? To be part of the process. Part of the answer, yeah, but You know, the owners are going to have to get together and come up with a better plan than just blow up the season next year. Come on now. That I don't want to hear.
Right. And I'll tell baseball this too, having been through An NFL lockout far more recently. Fans aren't going to care. You know what I mean? Fans are not going to sit here and care.
To hear about this, that, the other thing about arguing and lawyering and union collective bargaining, they're just not going to care. They'll be like, when are the savannah bananas coming to town? Oh yeah. You know what I mean? Oh, if there are no games, then we will move on to something else.
You know, Women's World Cup. Like, what's next? Yeah.
844-204-Rich. Number to dial right here. Terzo and Iowa. All rise. Terzo, first and first up.
What's up, Terzo? How are you? Oh, you know, Rich, just another great day being a Giants fan, and the Dodgers just always seem to get richer, and we just stink. You know, and you know, my coach gets hurt before training camp, Piersall gets hurt during training camp, and we have the Avenger himself, you know, coming back to the Rams. It's just, you know, it's been a tough summer.
I'll be completely honest with you. I'm a little nervous more today than I have been. You know? I mean, Scoobel's Scoobel is uh is from the Bay area. You know, he's born in Hayward, California.
Um so You know? And he grew up a fan of the Oakland athletics. Back in the day. Yeah, and it you know, it we just you know, we don't we don't have a good enough team to you know have made an offer. It does shock me, like you said, that other teams didn't go after him.
I really would have thought the Nationals or somebody along those lines would have would have made that push. But you know, the Dodgers, they just know how to win and continue to just That talent. And so I think I'm just going to live in the Dodger world here for a little while longer. Listen, bottom line, though, is last year the Blue Jays pushed them to the literally last. Strike.
Of a World Series, and it doesn't guarantee. anything. You still have to play in the playoffs, and the Dodgers will. Um, but they just, if they're going to run, what, what? I mean, what are they going to do?
They'll run out. Scoobel and then Otani. And then Yamamoto or they'll start with Otani Ven Skubel for Trouble. I don't know, pal. What you don't need him.
Yeah, you don't need him now. And he's hurt. I don't. I disagree with Brockman. I think he'll still want to pitch.
I think it's going to be tough to keep Otani from doing that, especially right now. Maybe next year they might try and shut them down for that. But going forward, at least in baseball, you have seven games, whereas in football, you know, it's just it's just one, so you might be able to luck out. And so we'll we'll see how it plays out, especially the first week of uh Of the football season, so looking forward to it. Thanks, Terzo.
That's Terzo in Iowa right here on the program. And in terms of the Niners, let's see what they look like in a month. I'm not, you know. I know Ricky Pearsall's being out is for the season. It does stink.
But I'm not going to sit here and say the Niners are cursed because the coach got the coach got into a car accident. Let's see what they're going to look like in a month. before I go in that direction here. I wonder if they call Stefan Diggs. They could.
Could. They sure could, man. Do you see Ayuk is already putting out on his Instagram, like, let's get a total reunion, him and Debo? My answer to that would be: makes sense, man. It makes total sense.
Allie wants to return. You're the one who took a. A match to the bridge, man. Yeah.
Bizarre. for weeks and months. That's why you always hold your Powder man Don't do that. Mm. Because this was a team that once upon a time gave Jimmy G his playbook, asked for it back millions of times before giving it back to him.
They're like, we're done over and over again. I'm like, wait a minute. Hold on a second. Can you? Oh, you'll go from 19th string to starting the season.
We kind of need you. Right. Yeah.
Okay, it's a Monday. It's time for overreaction Monday. We didn't do the pod today. I think we're going to start doing it weekly. Very shortly.
But for today, it's just the old segment. Straight up over Reaction Monday, hit it. That was terrible. That was crap. That was garbage.
This place sucks. Overreaction. Mondays. Mondays. On a Monday.
What's up, Chris? Hey guys, happy Monday. Great to see you. Mike, this is what, your 11th straight work day? Yes.
That's not a streak. That's an overreaction. There's no Kyle Ripken.
So I'm looking at not a lot of huge stories coming out of the first weekend of training camp, but this one right here is still looming. Bajan and Jameer Gibbs still holding in, guys. And here's the deal: you think about how good they are, how often they touch the ball, production-wise, what they mean to their team. Bijan and Jameer should get paid as much as the top wide receivers. Not single, please.
Why is it the number one running back gets half as much as the number one wide receiver? Injury. Injury prone, they touched the ball a third as much, the wide receivers. I get it. But the pull for of wide receivers is less than the pull of Running backs, I think.
No, I don't think so. No, I think there's ways to play.
So, you think it's easier to find a guy who can run crisp routes and catch a ball than for a guy to hand the ball and run through a hole. And to be as good as these two? These two are anomalies. I'm just saying anomaly. I just think that the pool of players, just in that regard, I understand it's a high-skill.
Um But I again, it's a position where It's they're required for another human being to get them the ball. This one is they're essentially either Yeah. And on a very rare occasion, getting a direct snap to them, the person who's incumbent upon giving them the ball staying right next to him. And then half the time. It's gonna be giving it to them 'cause it's you wanna split run and pass.
You see what I'm saying? And then when it all comes down to winning a game. How many times are you going to try and win the game by grinding the clock down? As opposed to Just airing it out. See where I'm going?
I think they're far more valuable. I've been saying this for years. You knew where I was going to go. You knew this was like a piece of red meat to start this thing. Yeah, and if I'm them, I'm like looking at what the top receivers make.
Yeah, I'm getting the ball more than them. Like on a great day, a top receiver is going to get targeted. Targeted. Five fewer times than my good day where I'm touching it. You know what I mean?
So, yeah. These guys are going to get, what, 20, 25 touches a game? It's injury, though. The fact, though, that they're in between tackles way more than the receivers. That's the difference.
And that the wear and tear prevents a long-term deal. Uh Cashing in. with the proper amount of Results as opposed to a wide receiver. That may be the only difference. But what else, Chris?
I don't know, man. Who's going to have better stats this year? Those two or Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase?
Well, I hope for the Vikings and the Bengals' sake, and those two guys obviously wouldn't. I know what you're saying. What else, Chris? All right. Looking at these quarterback battles that's going on right now.
The Raiders did it right. They just said, hey, look, Kirk Cousins is QB1, and we're going to move on. The Browns and Vikings should do exactly what the Raiders did, just declare a QB1 right now. No, I don't think so. Look, you're watching as much of this video that's coming out of camp as I am, right?
Deshaun Watson has what more interceptions than practices that's going on right now. And Shador is clearly the number one there. And Kyler Murray, I've yet to see a J.J. McCarthy highlight clip. Yeah, but you know how this works in the early on of the you know how this works.
There's no sense to play this out. Name a number one, move on. Other than the fact that it's a process, you've got weeks to go. You come in and you're like, it's a competition. You're not just going to.
Yeah, I mean, in both of these cases, you've got two guys. That have a stake and a claim. You know, Fernando Mendoza's stake and claim is: I'm the first overall pick in a draft. I understand that. I get it.
So it makes it apples and oranges. This is an overreaction. I don't have a problem with Todd Munkin wanting to keep this thing flowing. Keep everyone guessing, and the same thing with Kevin O'Connell. Certainly because you don't want to name a starter right now.
And then all of a sudden The other guy has to start. You know? That's not cool. That's not a great way to go into the season. What if Fernando Mendoza looks better than Kirk Cousins?
The Raiders will be in the same boat. Then they'll switch. And they'll just say, yeah, things changed. Thanks, Kirk. Yeah.
I don't think that's gonna happen though. What else, Chris? Listening to the, you know, we're talking about the sleeper teams and could the dolphins be one of these guys? One of the, I don't know, but Devin A Chen said something interesting. Wants to lead the league in rushing this year.
Okay. I'm not going to say that, but. I think he can do it. Devin Achen, top three rushing yards this year. Book it.
I can't sit here and say that that's an overreaction. 1,600 led the league last year. James Cook. Wasn't a mind-boggling number. He was there.
I think Devin H. had just as good as James Cook. TJ, just as explosive. Home run hitter, more so. And Miami, you know, if Malik Willis can get the passing game going a little bit.
Can't key on 'em. I'm wondering, when was the last time somebody 5'9 and under led the league in rushing? Hmm. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, that might be an AI question.
I'm literally typing. You roll the dice that it's actually accurate, where you say it into a microphone on a nationally televised radio and TV simulcast. Let's see what Gemini pops up. I don't know, man. But that's the issue.
MJD is a little bit. Emmett Smith. Uh MJD's shorter than Okay. Did MJD by the league in rushing? I believe he did, right?
Yeah, 1606 in 2011. It's been a while. It's been a while, seven.
Okay, I can't put anything past him, but you know. Oh, my God. You just said Jameer Gibbs and Bijan Robinson deserve to get paid like a wide receiver because they're going to get the ball as much as they're going to get in the big-time hits that they deliver on behalf of their team. Yes. Okay.
What else you got over there? Top three. Those are the top three running backs. All right. And James Cook is gone.
So he'll fall off. And Derrick Henry, who's that, that's gone too. I mean, it's great. Again, the fact that we've been caping for running backs here for about five, six years, when things really started going in an absurd direction, where we're not paying somebody who's so crucial to the team and so crucial to the results and so crucial to getting the proper results because you're running the clock out. We're not paying that person 10 million bucks a year.
Damn. That's so crazy. It really was the case. I think McCaffrey's making $12 million this year. And by the way, it's a big year for him where he'll be just like 30, is just the number.
Yeah.
What else, Chris? It's this type of year. We're getting ready for our fantasy dress. We just signed up for one. Uh, best ball is back.
Okay, uh, that means hype trains are moving on guys, okay, okay. Did you hear this quote from Ben Johnson about over the weekend? About someone I'm gonna name drop.
Okay, listen. I've been around guys like Jarvis Landry, who's a tremendous competitor. He played with a little chip on his shoulder, was physical in the running game, not afraid of contact. You could just feel the whole team elevate based on his style of play. St.
Brown in Detroit, who I have a strong affinity for, he plays the game the same way. I feel that from Luther. And I know he wasn't a full-time starter for us a year ago, but the snaps that he did have, he's got that competitive edge and desire to be great. Luther Burden. No player is coming into this year with more hype than Luther Burden of the Chicago.
Okay. They just compared him to Amon Ross St. Brown and Jarvis LaHandry.
Okay. I don't know. I mean, obviously, there'll be more discussed players. Who's more hyped right now than?
Well, I mean, Ben Johnson is doing what, by the way. More hyped in the entire league than Luther Burton? Players that have, like, all of a sudden, last year they were nobodies. This year, they're like, oh, this guy's going to go in the third round, and he's going to be the number one wide receiver on. You know what?
Maybe the best offense. I'll just raise it. I'll raise it one. Um How many touchdowns did Trey McBride have last year? I know he didn't have one hardly any the year before.
Right. I think the year before he finally scored one of the year. 11 last year for Trey McBride. 11. Colston Loveland will have more this year.
Then Trey McBride? Yeah.
Ooh. Yeah.
How about that for a hype train? The Bears might have the number one.
So, if Colson Loveland has that number and Luther Burden's the next Amon Roll, put the Bears in SoFi Stadium in a couple of months, right? That's what I'm saying. Yeah.
Oh man.
Okay, last one before I decided to throw that out there about Loveland. I mean, by the way, the hype is on Loveland, too. The hype is on everyone on the Bears. I know that. That's why he's saying that they're also the leaders in regression.
According to the punditry. All their photos are on nfl.com according to let's talk about Scoobel real quick. Mazag, Rich. Scoobel traded to the Dodgers. This is good for baseball.
This is good for the game, and it's good for literally everyone involved. Why? Ha ha. Because you know what uh sports leagues need? They need villains.
And they need bad guys. And the Dodgers are the number one bad guy in all of Major League Baseball right now. And so every other 29-team fan base can now rally against it and say, them, they're the problem. We're united against this one evil foe. And I think it's good for the game.
Dynasties are good for sports. Villains and bad guys are good for sports. I actually think this is great. I love it. Good luck to them.
Um, I can buy it. I mean, there's so many different takes that you can have on this thing. Again. The Dodgers, for right now, putting this in a box for 2026. Spent 9 million bucks.
And three prospects that other teams in Major League Baseball either refuse to give up. Wouldn't give up. Uh I I don't know. Because if this guy's that good Or you're just sitting here and saying this isn't the greatest thing around. And our next guest can join us and when I tell him about the take can say basically basically tell you to shut up.
All the other owners, stop being so cheap. All right, spend your money. All right, let's take a break. Bob Costas is zooming in to talk with us about this very subject matter. Good stuff right there out of you, Chris Brockman.
Thank you for. For all of that, um, of overreaction Monday. Uh, if you're running a small business, you know already that every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, the right one helps your business grow, and the challenge is finding that person without sorting through resumes. If you didn't know any of that, well, here's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in: it screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent, and with hiring pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need.
Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com/slash eyes and terms and conditions apply. Bob Costas, who was in Dodger Stadium last night, part of the NBC coverage, is joining us next. Uh Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters.
A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent.
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Alrighty. Auto parts. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. We're not going to detail all the complex ins and outs of it and whether they can actually call it a salary cap if they're successful or they have to cloak it under some other description. I understand that they have a legitimate point of view.
But if you're the Players Association right now, you have a tremendous counter-argument. It's like, hey, owners, how about this? Why are the Rays always competitive? Why are the Guardians and the Brewers always better than competitive? Why are the Mets with all their resources in last place?
Why are the Yankees, who are the rough American League equivalent in terms of resources to the Dodgers, why have they only been to the World Series once since 2009? And why is more than two-thirds of the league, more than two-thirds of the 30 teams, are within reasonable striking distance in early August of at least a wildcard by creating three wild cards and by having the two central divisions where only out of those 10 teams, the Cubs are consistently in the top half of Major league payrolls, only the Cubs. They've created a circumstance where there's a pathway for teams.
Now, they may not be able to be as consistently competitive/slash dominant as the Dodgers, but it's pretty clear that almost every team in baseball with good management and a little bit of luck can contend at least for a period of time. Bob Costas here on the Rich Eisen Show radio audience has returned, so we're one big family here to finally ask the pearls of wisdom on the non-radio audience? It's not wasting anything, Bob. You have so many pearls and so much wisdom that you could keep dropping them. It's not a problem.
I do appreciate it is the billions and billions dollar question that the Scoobel acquisition by the Dodgers is the canary in the coal mine about baseball is broken. Where do you stand on that subject matter, Bob Costas?
Well, it's another piece of evidence, and successful teams, the Dodgers, the Yankees. Whatever it might be, there's resentment around baseball and around the various fan bases, and that's understandable. Skubel is obviously a great pitcher. He wasn't having as great a season this year as his two back-to-back Cy Youngs, and he missed about six weeks with a minor elbow operation that put him on the IL for a while. But yes, the rich do get richer, but part of this isn't just their resources, which are admittedly massive.
And there may be an adjustment that comes out of this next agreement in terms of deferred payments and whatnot. But they do have massive advantages, but they make full use of them. They pick up on every other team's little mistake or their unwillingness. We're not going to pay, we can't pay Tyler Glass now. Don't worry, we're right here.
We don't want to pay Yamamoto as much as maybe Garrett Cole because he's our ace and our number one guy. Don't worry, we'll take him. You know, and they have a bit of an advantage. Obviously, there are great Asian players all around the major leagues. But given their drothers, most Japanese players would like to play with Otani and Yamamoto and Sasaki with the Dodgers.
They have a lot of advantages that are a result of smart management, not just money. Yeah, and in the same way that we talk about it in the postseason, that championship teams take advantage of the mistakes that are made on the field. You're pointing out how they do the same thing in the arena of roster building and front officing, for the lack of a better phrase. But on top of it, too, Bob. Like just in a box for 2026, 9 million bucks and three prospects.
Nobody else wanted to cough that up to the Tigers for Schubler for the rest of this year? Nobody. Here's something else. The Dodgers have a very deep farm system. They didn't even give up some of their very best prospects.
I forget what the exact number is, but they have like nine or ten of the top 100 prospects in all of baseball are Dodger prospects.
So they have more to play with when you talk about that. Also, for almost any other team that might have been in the running, we heard about the Rays, we heard about the Brewers, in the running for Scoobel. It's going to be a rental for them. The Dodgers know that unless some sort of significant salary cap is imposed after the almost certain lockout in December, if it's anything like the present system, the Dodgers are in perfect position to keep Scoobel. A, they have enough money to pay him whatever the market will bear.
And B, when he comes to the Dodgers and walks into that clubhouse, House. He walks into a winning culture. Everywhere he looks, he sees prominent names. Dave Roberts is great to play for. Nothing against A.J.
Hinch. I like A.J. Hinch a lot. But the Dodgers have created a culture that is so welcoming to any good player who wouldn't want to play with the Dodgers.
So when they acquire Skubel, yeah, it could be in theory only for three months, counting October. But there's a very good chance that Scoobel plays out his career as a Los Angeles Dodger. Yeah, Scoobel moved to tears. when he was meeting with the media after learning that he had been traded. And what moved him to tears was being asked about his next Chapter, and he did say after he finally gathered himself that he's excited.
I was just saying about an hour ago to start the show, Bob, like all he's got to do is talk to Freddie Freeman, salt of the earth, Freddie Freeman, sitting right there in the locker room, all broken up about leaving a championship team in Atlanta to the point where reportedly, you know, Kershaw had to kind of sit him down and say, let's be a little happier around here. And then, you know, that's a blue sky every single day here in Dodger Blue Country. The cheek. The locker room is just filled with great humans and great people, and their winning team, and what have you. But that money, though, Bob, that's a difference too.
Like, not everybody's got it. I mean, the Mets have it, other teams have it. What is baseball going to do about that that doesn't just throw it on the backs of the players saying, we can't figure it out amongst ownership, so you figure it out while we lock you out? Like, how do I own it? One of the things the owners will push for, but they have to get some version of a salary cap or some kind of relief, no matter how they frame it, in order for them to follow through on this.
But they want all the local media revenue to be shared. The Dodgers and the Cubs and the Red Sox and the Yankees and even the Mets have much larger local media revenues. They want all of that. to be shared. You never get to an NFL situation where the single biggest source of revenue is their massive network television revenue.
And so Green Bay is in essentially the same financial boat as the Giants or the Bears. You'll never get to that point because football is unique. But that would be a step in that direction. And they are completely willing to enforce a salary floor in return for some version of relief at the top, whatever they're going to label it. Yeah.
And as you pointed out just a few minutes ago, The current system, although financially, seemingly inequitable. Um The Dodgers, when it comes down to it. Almost lost the Blue Jays. It was right there, one of the best World Series I could remember. Mm-hmm.
Red Sox just swept them on a weekend where they get scuba, and supposedly they're now the front runners that who. to the point where people are like, why keep playing?
Now, granted, the Dodgers didn't have Otani or Yamamoto or now Scoobel, and I guess. Maybe they had Freeman. I'm forgetting the timeline. But they lost in 2022. To the Padres, who they were, I don't know, 22 games better than during the regular season in the same division.
The next year, they got swept by the Diamondbacks in the Division Series, 16 games better than them in their own division. Once you get into that kind of tournament, Think about it, Rich. You're a baseball fan. We both know this. We all know this.
Everybody watching and listening knows this, that if in June in a baseball season, a team that's going to win 110 games loses two out of three at home to a team that's going to finish under 500, no one bats an eye because that's baseball, right? Whereas in other sports, that would be... very surprising.
So you get into, you know, the Dodgers last year decided to slow walk it and won, quote, only 93 games. They had the third best division record. They had to play in the wildcard round against the Reds.
Now, they took both games. It's a two out of three, all on the home field of the team with a better record. But let's suppose that Hunter Green goes out and he's lights out in game one for the Reds.
Now they're down 1-0. Their whole season is swirling down the drain unless they can win back-to-back games against a team good enough to at least squeak in to the playoffs. And, you know, I'm not encouraging people to gamble, but as I understand the odds right now, You can get, obviously, the Dodgers, if you had to pick one team, that's the team. But if you took the field, The field has a better than 50% chance to win the World Series, as opposed to the Dodgers, who have a much better chance, according to the odds, than any other individual team, but not better than the field. Not better than those 11 other teams once you get into October.
So I don't know how many times Bob Costa has a few minutes left with Bob right here on the Rich Eyes Show. I don't know how many times you've heard in your career baseball's on the precipice. It's a sport that's about to. you know, um do itself in or the s the system Is what's breaking baseball. Do you feel we're at that inflection point here for real, Bob?
The game always seems not only to survive, but eventually to bounce back and thrive. There are so many appealing things about baseball now: the international talent pool, so many great players. I understand ownership's desire for some sort of. economic predictability. If nothing else.
And one thing that is a reasonable argument is that even if the Brewers and the Rays and other teams that are relatively under-resourced, no matter how clever and smart they are in their management, they can't hold a team together. And that's disorienting to a fan base. You know, we have to trade this guy before he enters free agency. Even though you love him and even though he's had his best seasons in our uniform, you know we can't keep him. There's something about that that just seems wrong.
And I don't know what devices, I'm not an economist, I'm not as well versed in all the particulars of this as some people who are at the bargaining table rather would be. But they do have a legitimate argument. Whether that argument extends all the way to imposing a hard salary cap is something else, again. And that's a line that the Players Association vows not to cross. When it comes to that, instead of it just being a hard-nosed business deal and a negotiation, for them, all the way dating back to Marvin Miller, that's a holy war aspect.
That's a line that they simply can't cross, which is why if the owners are to get anything that even resembles that, they got to dress it up in a different name. And again, you know, I'm a Yankee fan, so I can't believe I'm saying this sort of thing because, I mean, I just remember the Steinbrenner years, they were just outspending everybody. Let's get Reggie. Let's get Winfield. I know, again, I'm dating myself here.
You know, and then the free agent years of the 90s and keeping that team. Together, the Tory Jeter. Years keeping that all intact, and let's get Clemens, let's get Cohn, it doesn't matter. Like they kept building.
So I understand that that's where this is coming from, from this mouth. But I mean, they're. As much as I'm like sitting here, but Dodgers are smarter and better, and that is an advantage. I mean, they're $487 million that they're willing to spend on this year's team, salary, and taxes, and just screw it, $9 million on top of that for School. That also there are a billion dollars committed in deferred payments starting next decade, or it begins a little bit with Freeman in 28.
Bottom line is. Who else has that sort of capital? Like, that is somewhat unbeatable at the same time. Like, you can't get past that. Right?
Am I wrong? Yeah.
And again, I don't have the expertise to break it down, but the Guggenheim situation gives them a different financial reality than even the other teams that have very large revenues, like the Yankees, the Red Sox, et cetera, et cetera.
So there may be some alterations that are possible. I don't want to put the blame here on the Players Association. I'm old enough to have been around and coherent about this stuff when Marvin Miller was waging righteous wars against a very unfair system. And then Don Fear and Gene Orza just took the baton from him. There might have been something different had Michael Weiner, who succeeded Fear, lived and he tragically died of brain cancer after just a short tenure.
Then came Tony Clark, who since has been deposed. And now Bruce Meyer is at least the interim guy, and I understand him to be a hardline guy. But it's almost an article of faith passed. Down, no salary cap, no salary cap.
Someone could make the argument that. The players over the decades have won every legitimate battle of principle, every point of principle they have won.
Now, this is just or should be a hard-nosed business deal in which both parties recognize that there's substantial mutual interest here for the game to flourish. And one argument that the owners can make, it's weakened by the standings this year, but over the last few years, they could make this argument. Under the present system, a large percentage of the players association's membership is consigned to teams that have no chance to contend.
Now, that argument is undermined, as we said, this year, when more than two-thirds of the teams are within striking distance of playoff spot. But generally speaking, there's been some validity to that. And if two parties that obviously have been at odds for a very long time, but if they can recognize some mutual Facts, some facts that can't be disputed.
Now, how can we address those facts together? Maybe we can get somewhere. There's going to be a lockdown in December, no question. It'll probably carry over into spring training, and it might even carry over into the regular season because the owners don't mind if they play only 140 games. It's happened before.
And in terms of revenues, it's backloaded in terms of the playoffs for TV and attendance isn't so great in April when kids are still in school and the weather isn't so great in some cities, et cetera, et cetera.
So they're willing to lose games, and I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't happen. But if they blow the whole thing up, You know, this is like some sort of mutual suicide, or so it would appear.
Well, I'd rather be searching for mutual facts than destruction. Let's put it that way. I think we all agree on that front. Bob, you know how I feel about you? It's so great to see you with that NBC flag, man, doing Sunday nights.
Yeah, you know, they've been nice. They've been nice to bring me back in a nice emeritus role to kind of tie a ribbon around it, where most of it played out. No, no heavy lifting, just a few cameos, and then I go back and take a nice long nap. Oh, you're the best, Bob. Thanks for taking the time.
Really appreciate it. See you, Rich. You got it. Ladies and gentlemen, Bob, Costas. I'll cost this Hall of Famer.
By the way, yesterday was the four-year anniversary of Vince Gulley's passing. That's right.
So I was thinking about that yesterday as well. And so it's just great to see Bob. Um any by the way the uh For some reason, the 86 Mets were popping up on my algorithm, and listening to Scully's call on that. And then Ray Knight had an interesting in-game conversation. Yeah, he did.
If you caught that one. It was the F corner. Close to the K corner corner. Oh, it was the F corporate. But Bob is spot on here, man.
I think he's as spot on as it gets. There's a lockout coming in December and I just I've been through this with with um With the NFL. And it's just, thank goodness they didn't cost themselves games. At some point, some cool heads prevailed, and let's just figure it out. Let's figure it out.
Well, somebody's going to have to make concessions. Again, I do look at both of these things. The Dodgers are smarter and great and. They've built a a juggernaut in there. clubhouse and in their front office.
And then use their resources wisely in a way that other teams. Do not. Don't have the same resources, but yes.
Well, they don't have the same.
Some of them have. Close to similar resources. That guy's team over there, the Mets. Close. Yeah.
Yeah, but the Mets. We've already. Robbie Oxford owns a team. But to Bob's point, why are the Rays able to do it? The Brewers, the Guardians.
The Brewers are half game better than the Rays. The small market teams are able to field competitive teams. You know why? Whereas some with bigger money don't. I'll tell you why.
You know why? because those teams put the ball in play. And have arms galore. from the fifth inning to the tenth, eleventh, twelfth ghost runner innings. Who throws 100 miles an hour, and then this kid Mizorowski throws 105 miles an hour for eight innings to give those bullpens some rest.
That's what the brewers do. They put the ball in play, they do not strike out, and then they get you out. The ball and play. What did I say? No, no, I'm not sure.
They don't strike out, and they don't let you score. That'll win you some games. But when it comes down to a five-seven game series, there's Otani, there's Mookie Betts, there's Freddie Freeman. You know Kyle Tucker is going to suddenly wake up. Oh, there's Max Muncie who comes up with a big hit.
Oh, there's Will Smith. Will Smith, Kiki. Oh, and then when it comes down to it, Rojas will win the World Series for you because their manager is a genius. But they won the manager had nothing to do with. They won by an inch last year, probably less than.
He put Pajes in And immediately the guy made the Play the game. And then he puts Rojas in and Rojas Homers. Get out of here. And then makes that incredible play to get somebody, IKF, out by a hair. All right.
They should have lost. Thanks to Bob for joining us. It's always great when Bob Costas joins us. Ladies and gentlemen, back here on the Rich Eisen Show in a second. Oh.
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The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Back here on the Rich His and Show, 844-204-Rich is the number to dial here on the program. The folks at Hyundai, get into the Hyundai Getaway sales event right now and get away with the deal so right it almost feels wrong. Because right now, you can get great deals on our most popular models, including our Adventure Eddie SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid, or the Tucson, or the Tucson Hybrid, the Bold and Stonish Elantras, loaded with the latest tech, and the Ionic 5. More Ionic 9 is there for those who want to go all electric.
Get down your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love at the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. Derek in Missouri wants to chat with us, one of our longtime listeners as well. What's up, Derek? How are you?
I'm good, Rich. Are you excited about heading to your favorite state here in a few days? The state of Ohio you're talking about? Yeah.
Yeah, sure. I always like going to Canton, Ohio, and hearing from the Ohio State fans screaming OH at me. It's great, Derek. Thanks for asking.
So great. I love you, Rick. I love you a hard time, sir. What's up? All right, so we're, let's see, 37 days from the NFL kickoff, Steven.
I got what's more likely for you, Ricks.
Okay. about uh what's more and what's going to happen this upcoming season. The Cowboys make the NFC title game or Caleb Williams becomes the first Bears quarterback surp surpassed four thousand yards this season.
Okay. Kevin Williams. My first. Thanks for the call, Derek.
So. What's more likely? Cowboys make the NSC Championship game. Caleb Williams throws for 4,000 yards. How close did he come last year, Chris?
3,942. He was very good. Yeah, he was very good.
So, with all due respect.
So, yeah, you should take the 4,000. I'm taking the 4,000 yards. Settle down just a little bit. Because Caleb's saying, you know, it's not just going to happen in the fourth quarter every. Game this year.
Yeah, we're going to do it for all four quarters. Pulling out of the backside? You know what I mean? That's what he's saying.
So I think. Can't wait. Luther Burden's the next Amon Ross St. Brown. That's what I mean.
Jarvis Landry, right? Right, right. Colson Loveland, best tight end in the league. I said that part. Ben Johnson's the one talking about Luther Burden, which, by the way, I don't blame the coach for doing that.
But Jim Harbaugh's the only one that can go out there and start. hyping his his players for greatness. You know, I'm sure Luther Burton hears his coach talking like that in the local media, and he's feeling great about himself. Run game. Let's get Monongai up and running a little sooner, right?
Swift. Swift? I understand that. Yeah.
Two-headed monster. That's what he's built. That's what he did in Detroit.
So, do this year. Caleb Williams now has a. I'm telling you. Colston Loveland. Colston friggin' lovely.
Oh, he's not exactly a sleeper rich. He's the number three ranked tight end heading into the week.
Okay, so other people are already believing the same thing. I'm not saying I'm telling any, you know, just the mere fact that I'm stating it as confidently does not mean I'm the only one saying it. I'm just the most important one who's saying it. Does that make sense to you? Yes, obviously.
You had me until that last part. But on the other hand, on the other hand. I've already said that things are set up for you to finally get what you're looking for out of your Dallas Cowboys, sir. Yeah, but that's going to make you feel like. Like everyone's reminding me in the comments, we got to get it done in the push, and I admit it.
So, yeah, regular season, fine. We got to make a playoff for us. Super Bowl? You know, what are you? What are you, like a bird over there?
Oh, you think they're going to make the Super Bowl? It's entirely possible. They've got the bad. You've been here 11 days in a row. You haven't heard him say this already?
Yeah, he's working faders for Cape Verde matches. No, I'm done with that. He's not paying attention. Apparently not. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eyes and Show podcast.
You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
