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Now, on with the show. Strike one, strike two, strike three! Tarek School, and you knew who was gonna go. This is the Rich Eisen Show. That's baseball.
The Rich Eisen Show. Today's guests. ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passon. Hosts of ESPN Radio's The Golicks, Mike Golick Sr. and Mike Golick Jr.
Chargers wide receiver Vlad McConkey. And now, it's Rich Eisen. All right, everybody. Welcome to this edition of The Rich Eisen Show here on the Tuesday of Hall of Fame Week in Canton, Ohio. We will be there on Friday for our usual Day's events.
844204 Rich is the number to dial for this Tuesday program. We're excited to be here on a big football. Tuesday, 844-204-Rich is the number to dial here on the program. Good to see you over there, Christopher Brockman. How are you?
What's up, my man? TJ Mikey D is in D's nuts. How are you, Mike Delphi, folks? Good to see you, TJ Jefferson. Candle appears to be lit over there.
How are you? It feels good to be seeing you. Awesome. And then, like I've mentioned, you with us throughout the program. Ladidi Mitconke, our neighbor from across the street from the Los Angeles Chargers here on the show in our number three.
We're excited to have him. That's correct. Jeff Passen's hanging out, getting ready. He's on immediate tour for all the worldwide leader in sports ESPN conversation shows and things of that nature. He's going to be joining us in about 15 minutes' time to talk about the trade deadline that went down on Monday in Major League Baseball.
We have breaking news out of the National Football League contracts being awarded and being given out to highly talented offensive football players. First up. I love Foreshadowing by our conversation. Overreaction Monday, yesterday, Chris, you're like Bijan and Jameer Gibbs waiting for their contracts. Yep.
They should be paid as much as the top wide receivers of national football. They're as good as them. And I said to you. You know uh How to make me uh happy sometimes. And you know exactly what I'm pound the table about here.
And that that was low-hanging fruit for me. Running backs should be paid. The level of wide receivers in the National Football League because of what these guys do. And when they have the opportunity to get paid in their mid-20s because they're so damn good already, knowing that at age 30 is when returns begin to diminish, unless you're somebody named Derrick Henry, or as Christian McCaffrey's going to try to prove for the 49ers this year. Just a number.
But for most, that number is when teams begin to shy away from paying.
So you're B. John Robinson, you're Jameer Gibbs, you need to get yours now. Certainly, when the league does not value you at the top end of the market as they do. Wide receivers. That was a conversation we had just on Monday, and just before we come on the air here.
Bijan Robinson It is reported gets a new contract that breaks the record. Breaks the record for running backs. Max value of a three-year extension of $75 million. It's easy math, $25 a year. $51 million guaranteed.
Highest ever for a running back.
So well deserved, because at least. On top of all this, Atlanta knows There will be no phone calls. To Mr. Blank. Matt Ryan.
Kevin Stefanski at 2 in the morning saying guess what happened with Bijan? That kid is not doing anything except being a terrific face in the community and an awesome human being.
Well done for the Falcons. Great point.
Well done for the Falcons. Now Congratulations also in order For Zay Flowers. The Baltimore Raven wide receiver who just got paid as well. Four years, $140 million extension. What are we done?
That includes $108 million. Guaranteed.
Now, Zay Flowers. In his Three years. in the National Football League. Has had over the last two years thousand-yard receiving seasons. He went from 1,059 in year two to 1211.
Last year. And his uh touchdowns Just five.
Now Okay. This proves my point, I believe. Zay, you get what you need to get. And the Ravens just paid him. what the market bears.
Now Who's going to help the Ravens win football games? It's Lamar. Lamar's got to get the football to Zay Flowers. You might double cover Zay Flowers. The protection may shade to Zay Flowers.
You know where the protection's not shading to? The guy named Derrick Henry.
Now you could say, we'll put eight in a box, we'll do this.
Okay. Try that one. That's never happened with Derrick Henry before. as he's first balloting his way to Canton. I I I don't get it.
I don't, listen, I know why they're paying Zay Flowers this money. This is what you have to pay top-end wide receivers. And you could say he's not a top-end wide receiver. That's what you're saying, Chris, based on your eye-rolling and things of that nature. You said it.
I didn't. It's a different offense.
Sometimes, as you know, the Ravens have not really ever had a. uh a a 15 touchdown wide receiver guy, you know? They don't have that guy. Maybe that's the reason why they can't make the Super Bowl. You just know you've got to have.
A game on the line. Who's going to win the game for yuh? What's more Likely What's an easier path for you? It's a running back that can run it. to take the time off and a running back who can run away from you.
After he's standing right next to the quarterback who just hands it to him, or flips it to him, or screams it to him, or. flat routes it to him. Or you're somebody like Dijon, you're now. on a linebacker or a slower safety. Because that's the way you could scheme it based on where he's standing pre-snap.
Again, I'm OGM. I'm just a sports talk radio host. That's all I am right now. Humble host. I'm a humble guy.
You know what I mean? I'm just a guy with a microphone. But I have a set of eyes. And Bijan, congratulations. And I'll tell you what, man, I would rather build a roster where my guy, who's the big difference maker, first of all, I'm an owner in the National Football League.
I'm also not sitting here. But that said, if I'm an owner in the National Football League, I turn to my general manager and I say, Um If I can have The main engine of this offense. The main engine of this offense. I know I'm paying my quarterback. If I'm paying my quarterback in the $40 million range, I'm lucky.
If I'm paying my quarterback $50 million, I'm understanding that's the cost of doing business. But I'm turning to my general manager, and I'm like, get me one of these running backs. In a draft Which is why Arizona go ahead and get Jeremiah Love. He could be the next one of these guys. That the top end, I'm paying him, what, $25 million?
And everybody's like, whoa. I'd rather do that. Then take a wide receiver. and pay him 30 million bucks. On the come.
I'd rather do that. So in Detroit. Jameer Gibbs, like Awesome. You also have Amon Ra and you've got Jameson Williams as well.
So Gibbs is like Cents on the dollar if you're paying a wide receiver who's gotten two 1,000-yard seasons. And you're waiting to see if You know, some of the wide receivers who make this money have 14 touchdowns in a season rather than a career in the first three seasons of Zay Flowers has had. Yeah. I'm just again, this is just roster building.
So Jameer Gibbs in Detroit. You know Uh some folks think that this is now going to be a problem for them. To me, I look at this and say, now you know where you got to target. When um They had a problem in Baltimore figuring out Lamar's contract.
Sometimes you have to remember this a couple of times ago. And if I'm not mistaken, Jalen Hurts got paid first. Yep, right. And then all of a sudden, oh. Lamar got done.
Lamar got done because a market is set. A market is set, and Bijan just set the market. I'll take 25 million.
So, guess what Gibbs will say? Pay me a penny more. Right. And but my point is, is that Bijan gets 51 guaranteed. What is Jameer going to get?
Probably a little bit more, 52, 53, something like that. You're going to pay Zay Flowers more guaranteed than the two best running backs in the NFL? What are we doing? Hoping that Zay Flowers can provide the touchdowns. And not fumble on the goal line?
Well, that wasn't his fault. Did he fumble at the goal? I know he did. That was unfortunate. And that's on that's.
To bring that up and count that against him. It was his rookie season, man. I don't go to the Super Bowl. You sometimes tip your cap to the defense. I'm not going to lay that at his feet.
It was unfortunate for him. And the fact that he's actually had a good career after that, like, that doesn't define him unless people like you bring it up when we're talking about him cashing in. Take it Zay Flowers. By the way, he can't hear you. I can't hear your criticism over his pallets of cash.
Good for him. And by the way, not hating on anyone on getting paid.
Well, it seems like that. Absolutely not. But it's a structure of the NFL where the two best players, fantasy isn't real life, but they're going one and two in fantasy. Zay Flowers is probably going in the third or fourth round. Again, receivers are depending on having to get the football to him.
A defense will dictate more against a wide receiver than a running back who can run and catch it. I believe that's the differentiator. And now, if I'm Detroit, I'm like, this is the, I'm calling up Gibbs's agent. And saying, okay, this is the market. And if I'm the Lions, I'm like, let's do this today.
And if I'm Gibbs, I want it done today too. I think it's done today. And I think Dan Campbell is eager for that, too. It's certainly not going to hurt. I mean, it's not going to hurt.
But we'll see. You know, we'll see. Look, I'm anxious to get Gibbs back out there. Every day that goes by, you know, that's another day that you feel like you mess with him and getting him out there with the guys and him being doing his part.
So. But there again, man, it'll get done when it gets done. Yeah, I'm with him too. You never know, but I think it won't hurt. I think it helps.
There's a market to bear. And then in Baltimore. Zay Flowers is interestingly enough, the The Ravens are the four downs today. New offensive coordinator. Zay Flowers, you take a look at the other Um Receivers on the roster.
There's Rashad Bateman. Devontae's Walker. And some other young players that they're hoping can come to the fore. Mark Andrews as well? But it's really about Lamar.
And Lamar's got to get the ball to Zay Flowers. But I'll tell you what will win games for the Ravens inside the 20. You know, in between the 20s. You caught one of the greatest running backs ever standing there. But we're not paying him top of the Receiver market money.
Hold on a second. I'm sure it's not that. I bet you it's half of what Bijan's getting paid. Let's see. He's about getting $11 million in cash this year.
So Listen, these NFL contracts, I'm just talking about roster building. Give me a kid. Who I can give a massive contract extension to, and it's half of what receivers make at the top end of the market. Get me one of those. I know that there's not many of them, but there appears to be many of them coming out of college.
And I would tell my kids who play football. Don't play running back. Play wide receiver.
Okay. Run fast, run your routes, have your head on a swivel when you're going across the middle, and hopefully wind up on a team with a terrific quarterback, an offensive coordinator that's not going to get fired or hired somewhere else, or the head coach isn't going to get fired. And you can just have a consistent. Run at it. And you will get paid twice as much as that running back.
Go figure. Wow. All right, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. The baseball trade deadline is over. The Dodgers get the jewel of the deadline.
Players available in Tarik Schoogle. Um and we've got Jeff Passon. in a studio in Bristol, Connecticut, getting ready to talk about this. He is suited. He is booted.
He's not in some weird pneumatic tube, a hotel room, like a hotel air conditioning unit. Oh, yeah. All these places that he's joined us. He was in a storage closet. He was in a storage closet one year.
Yeah. We got him. to talk about this. That's coming up next. Running a small business means every hire matters.
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Let's let the Red Sox get that guy while we stand put, don't touch the bullpen, and have the pen below the lead given to the Yankees by the new left-handed hitter that they do acquire. There's a couch right here. You need to do some. Oh, I'm sorry. That wasn't part of the LinkedIn read.
That was just me having an inner monologue live. Jeff Passon, next. There he is on the Rich Eisen Show coming up. Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports.
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The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Would the Yankees be willing to dip into their farm system and do something like that for Luke Weaver? I think it's a little bit tougher with the Yankees' Mets trade. Like, there's going to be a little tax that goes on there, so they might have to pay a higher price. I can see the argument 100%.
Like, if you think that the Yankees should have gotten Luke Weaver, that's a super reasonable thing to think. And if you're the Yankees, you're asking yourself.
Well, if the Dodgers are going out and spending prospects on Tarek Scoobel, and if other organizations that are trying to win are going out and spending prospects as well, should we?
Well, Garcia wasn't cheap. And it was interesting because the majority of the guys who were sent over in that deal were relief pitchers.
So clearly the Yankees feel like they can solve the relief issue from within. And it's going to be the sort of thing, I think, that down the stretch, we're going to look back on August 3rd and say, was this the day that the Yankees did not need to do it? Or is this the day that the Yankees missed their opportunity to cement themselves as potentially the best team in the American League?
Well, I mean, it all comes down to the health of Judge and Stanton and obviously Radon. And then Clark Schmidt, I think, is what you're talking about, like an internal button to push. He comes back. Maybe they throw him in the pen along with Weathers and then they throw, you know, those are the guys that they can potentially throw into an inning role for. For bullpen, but George Lombard Jr., is he coming?
Is this or or Rich? Rich, can I just say this too, by the way? It might not be an inning role. It might be a two-inning role. It might be a multi-inning role.
I think the Yankees can get creative with the arms that they've got right now to potentially bridge that gap up to David Bednar. And is it going to work? I don't know. Is it reasonable to think that it could work? Absolutely.
George Lombard's an interesting case, though. He's coming up and he's going to play shortstop. And the Yankees have been through this before. In fact, the last few years, the Yankees have been through this with a young shortstop who arrives with all kinds of hype. And we're going to see how real it is.
George Lombard was putting up tremendous numbers in the minor leagues and really fulfilling the potential that he had shown coming into this season. Is he ready for the Bronx, though? I suppose you can ask that. Question of anybody because let's remember: in his first run through the Bronx, in his first year, in his first September call-up, Aaron Judge stunk and it came back next year and hit 52 home runs in one rookie of the year. But the idea that right now George Lombard is going to be an impact player, I'm not anticipating that exactly.
I do think he's going to be solid, though. The defense is good, the on-base is good, and I think he's going to have a chance to move up in this lineup the way it's currently constituted. Jeff Passon here on the Rich Eisen show day after the trade deadline.
So let's talk about Tarek Schubel. Jeff, did the Dodgers... basically put together the best package of prospects and The Agreement to pay every last penny of his salary? Is that why he's there? Or did School kind of put his thumb on the scale and say, This is where I want to sign long term, so just send me there right now?
Jeff. No, no, no, no, no, no. He had nothing to do with this at all. Like, he was out of the loop information-wise. You know, he didn't know where he was going.
And the salary rich, completely immaterial. Tarek Schubles owed like $10 million for the rest of the year. That's, you know, the Brewers would have paid that. The Rays would have paid that. Everyone would have paid that.
I don't know if the Detroit Tigers got the best prospect package back that they could. What they did get back is the prospect package that they liked the best. And this is all about individual teams' valuations, right? Like, not all teams look at all prospects the same. That's why trades get done because there are different valuations organizationally on every guy in the Major League Baseball universe.
And so I think the Dodgers matched up well with what the Tigers need right now. They wanted an outfielder, and they've got Zaire Hope, who can play some center, but is going to end up in right field. To go alongside Riley Greene, who's the Tigers left fielder, and to go alongside Max Clark, who just made his debut center field. They got River Ryan. I know he's older.
I know he's a convert from shortstop and hasn't pitched a whole lot. I know he hasn't been healthy. He throws 100 like Jackson Job and like Troy Melton. And the Tigers figure to go into next season with the rotation. That reminds me a lot of the Pittsburgh Pirates, where they're just young, gas-throwing dudes.
And Brady Smith, ERA is unsightly. Excuse me, the record is unsightly. The ERA is not great. 113 strikeouts in 74 and a third innings will play all day long. And he has a chance, if not to be a starting pitcher long-term necessarily, then to be a really good closer.
So I think people coming down on the package that the Tigers got back. Probably don't understand baseball economics very well because this is for a rental player. And I'm sorry, but rentals never get enormous returns. This was not a Juan Soto-like deal because Juan Soto, when he was traded from the Nationals to the Padres for CJ Abrams and James Wood and Harlan Susana and Robert Hassel, had two years beyond that extra year that they were going to get.
So it's the control that makes the price. And for essentially 10 starts of Tarek School, plus whatever the Dodgers do in the playoffs, I thought the Tigers did perfectly fine. Was it a blowaway return? No, but I'm not sure that even had they held on to him until Monday at 4 p.m., they would have done a whole lot better. And I think the downside there, if other teams are getting tired of waiting and don't like feel like they don't want to miss the boat, the downside is far greater than whatever upside they could have had by holding.
on to him through Monday.
So then I'm going to ask you the tinfoil hat question, Jeff. I'm giving you that heads up, okay? Everyone does.
Okay, no, here. Hey.
So. If the Tigers Can't Hang on to School because they're not going to pay him the amount of money that it's going to be required to pay him. long term. And the system that now has the Tigers over a barrel. By the way, Rich, by the way, Rich, I just want to make sure we say this.
It's not that they can't, it's that they choose not to. That's it.
Now, that's it. That is an active choice by every team.
Okay, so then in that respect, Is it possible that Anybody in that organization is like, let's trade them to the Dodgers. because that is going to be the piece of red meat. That's going to get everybody talking about the system, and it's going to be everybody talking about how baseball is broken. And if baseball breaks, that could help us not have to pay this sort of money to people anymore. Is there any part?
of that. in sending School to the Dodgers now. Jeff Passen. Mm-hmm. I don't think that this was a grand conspiracy to try and.
Leverage the Dodgers into winning a World Series for a third consecutive season so that fans can then get angry and everyone can say we need a salary cap. No, I don't think that was part of it. I'm sure it came up in conversation, not as part of the strategy, like let's do that, but like, oh God, if this happens, are we feeling like we're going to be furthering the breaking of this sport? And to be abundantly clear, I do not think baseball is broken. I do not think baseball is in a bad place.
I think baseball's system needs to change.
Now, does that change need to be a salary cap? Personally, I don't think that it has to be. I understand why owners are pushing for one because it's cost control and because the second that a salary cap gets put into place, their franchise values are going to jump by 25 to 30 percent. And that's a lot of money that these owners are going to come into just through cost certainty. But I have been of the belief this whole time that even if the system right now is problematic, and I think in a lot of ways that it is, I think that.
A system that allows financially mighty teams like the Dodgers, like the Mets, to a lesser extent, if they wanted to spend the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Cubs and teams of that elk. I think a system that the penalties. Do not stop them from spending. That to me is a problem. That to me, when you have a free cash advantage the way that the Dodgers do and the way that the Mets do in particular, and that cash allows you to give out contracts the size that they do, yeah, you need to have penalties in place that hit these teams where it counts, and whether that's via draft pick or whether that's via transacting, whatever it is.
I just think that there are creative compromises, Rich, that if both sides were not so dug in, and I think the league on this one, they're not going to do this, but to me, the league is the one that's trying to fundamentally change a system that's been in place for more than half a century right now. And the onus, therefore, would be on them to try and convince the players that this is the right system. I don't think they're going to with a salary cap. I think that the players right now are extraordinarily dug in because they don't think that what MLB has presented to them. This point is going to change the competitive balance aspect any more than what their plan would do, which is more revenue sharing and things along those lines.
But we could get in so deep into the weeds here, Rich, on collective bargaining. We have months to do that. The lockout is coming December 1st. It's going to happen, and we're going to have this period between December and February where pretty much nothing gets done. And hopefully, as spring training approaches, we see some movement.
Because if not, I worry we could be in for a lot of games missed this season. That would be horrible. Certainly, since we are seeing it coming, you saying it with such certainty means that we have time to potentially avoid it. But it does sound unavoidable. Certainly, when we're having conversations now, Jeff, that.
This trade is being viewed and discussed as if baseball is broken, and the Dodgers have a massive advantage that they just utilized. But your point is, other teams, small market teams, Milwaukee, Tampa, would have absolutely paid the $10 million left on School's salary this year. And they also have terrific prospects that they could put on the table. But, Rich, I. I'll say this, I think this is an important point to make.
What money buys you is the ability to make mistakes. The Dodgers can make mistakes, whether it's in free agency or in trades. They're okay because they can paper it over with the resources that they've got. The brewers and the rays of the world feel like the lifeblood of their organization, Rich, is young talent. It's what they've built themselves around, it's how they've built these juggernauts on such small payrolls, and they want that to continue.
And if you're the Rays in the Brewers, and you have the, I think the Brewers have the best record in baseball right now, the Rays have the third best record in baseball at this point. If you're following a process that has taken you in this world where you have far fewer resources than the majority of the teams, and you are still at the top somehow, I think it's a fair question for those executives who run those teams to ask themselves: why would we deviate from that process when it has taken us to this point? And, you know, The the issue that I have With the system that's currently in place right now, is I want the Brewers and the Rays of the world, these teams that are so good at what they do, not to be scared at the deadline. I want them to operate with the same sort of freeness that the Dodgers do. And to me, that is the ideal system.
It's not a system that constrains what players can make, it's a system that Forces some of those teams on the bottom to do more while ensuring that those teams at the top are penalized in a way that's going to actually keep the salaries a little bit closer. It's not a full hard cap like MLB is proposing. It's what the CBT was supposed to do in the first place, which is prevent runaway spending. It has not done that. There are ways to make that happen.
Well, and the issue is, too, though, Jeff, is that you've got a team in the Dodgers who are so rich that they can spend as much as they spend on salaries and a salary tax this year, and also have a billion dollars committed to nine players between 2028, when Freddie Freeman starts seeing some of this stuff, and 2046, which is when Blake Snell's last piece of deferred salary.
So they can, we got a billion in the future, we got a half billion now. And then the other point, though, is again, every Time you take a look at it, you can shift it another way. The Mets have as much money, it does appear. And look at them, they're a hot Freaking mess.
So the Dodgers do it better with their resources than a team that has similar resources. They can't get out of their own way with the Mets.
So I go back and forth about this, that, the other thing: that you got to be smart, but you have to be well-money. And that's the one thing about the NFL, Jeff, and that is so great: The Packers, Jacksonville, name anybody that's supposedly in a small market, right? They're at the trade deadline. They're not thinking about, well, the financial ramifications here or there. Obviously, there's cash to cap and things of that nature.
It's all the same. Cowboys and the Jaguars are in the same boat. And then obviously, baseball owners will be like, what do they have? They've got a cap. I don't know what the answer is.
The NFL trade deadline is garbage, rich. Let's not compare the trade deadline from the NFL.
Okay, so then there's a trade deadline situation for sure in the NFL where somebody like Scoobel isn't going to be sent on, you know what I mean? By like Detroit. The Lions are not going to send a scuba on. I I know money matters and then kind of does it. The Blue Jays didn't have as much money as the Dodgers.
They almost beat them. The Red Sox, we all know, aren't spending like crazy. They just swept the Dodgers, who have now lost four in a row with all of us saying the season's over. You know, I don't know where this takes us, is essentially what I'm saying. I'm asking for help, Jeff.
That's what I'm asking for. You know? He Yeah, um Rich, ESPN pays me to be a baseball reporter, not to be your psychologist. Yep, that's fair. It's fair.
Okay. That's fair. The trade that we're not talking about, before I let you go. What's the trade that we're not talking about? that happened that we should be talking about more significant.
Ooh, uh you know what? I'm really excited, Rich, to see what Clay Holmes' velocity looks like for his next start with the Chicago Cubs. Clay Holmes has been awesome this year. In his last rehab start, he normally throws sinker at about 94 miles an hour. He was sitting more like 91, topping out at 93.
But if we see Clay Holmes full sinker in front of that Chicago Cubs infield defense, like there is not a better match in the world than a guy who throws a two-seamer and gets ground balls. And Alex Bregman at third base, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, Nico Horner at second base, and Michael Bush at first base. It's the best infield defense in baseball, and you can argue that it's the best outfield defense too, with Ian Happen left, Picor Armstrong in center, and Seya Suzuki in right. I think the Cubs are a fun team, and I would love to see a Cubs-Dodgers National League Championship Series. I would love to see a Dodgers Brewers.
I would love to see Cubs Brewers. I think the National League is fantastic this year, and I'm really looking forward. to that postseason. You got work to do. Yeah, I know.
For sure. We'll see how that all plays. Looks like the Red Sox might just win the whole league, not just the East, the way that they're playing. They are just coming like a freight train right now. Two back of the Yankees, but five back of the five and a half back of the race.
You never know. And I will cherish the final two months and postseason, certainly since you're talking about a nuclear winner, Jeff. I appreciate the time, as always. Thank you for having me, Rich. Always a pleasure.
You got it. That's Jeff Passen, everybody, Major League Baseball Insider, if you will. Yes, sir. From ESPN Studios. He's now going to go take a nap.
Yep, he's going to go take a nap. He's been a busy, a busy camper. Listen, we'll take a break and we'll you know, Skubel had a very interesting thing to say about his new organization. I did see that. You know, we'll talk about that and dive a little bit one more time into this since Jeff did not give me the therapy I needed.
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The Golix are in our green room. Never said that before. Mike Sr. and Jr., whose show precedes this one now on the ESPN radio lineup. Excited that uh Mike Sr.
is back. Along with his son on ESPN Radio. Pretty good, cool stuff.
So we'll talk some ball with the Golicks and about how Rudy was offsides once. Wow. Oh, stop. Oh, he was there. I believe Bob was there, was more tenured on the Notre Dame team when they were.
Are you really going to bring that up with them? What? You think he won't? I'm sorry. Did I say offsides?
I meant when he made that incredible play that inspired a film. There you go. Excellent. I'm sorry. I misspoke.
What made you fall down? I wrote it down wrong. I'll bring that up, Kevin. I wrote it down wrong. Shh.
Tarek Skubel does not want to hear. Any Dodger slander. If they're going to acquire him, And basically be at the front of the line and give him $400 million. Hey.
He's not going to take any slagging on the Dodger Blue. Better not. How have the Dodgers broken baseball? If All they did was Was pay the rest of his salary this year, as Jeff Passenger said. He gave me the answer of what I was looking for on yesterday's show.
I'm like, hey, did the Dodgers, were they the only ones who say we'll pick up the entire salary? Did the raise they would only take 80%? Did the Brewers say we'll only pay 70%? And that was why the Tigers said sold to the Dodgers? Was it a money thing?
And Jeff Passon said it was not a money thing at all. Money was. was apples to apples for everybody. For a change. It's not like the Dodgers had any advantage.
Okay. Everybody was going to find the money in their couch cushions. It was the three prospects that the Tigers liked best.
So How are you going to blame the Dodgers for that? You know, they had the best prospects. They're the ones that the Tigers were like, we like them better than what you're offering us, Milwaukee or Philadelphia or. Tampa, whoever else was in the school sweepstakes.
So, school will not have any of this Dodger slander. Every team could trade for me. You know, every team could make that acquisition. And. Yeah, I don't really sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they've done.
You know, they've developed a really good organization, they draft well, they acquire talent really well, they retain talent. it's a winning organization. Uh now the complaints seem to be because they've won the last two World Series. You know, I I don't think it was like that three years ago.
So I don't I don't really sympathize with um people that are complaining because the Dodgers, you know, do all the right things.
Okay. I don't think he said one thing that was inaccurate. Correct? Didn't take him long to be a true blue Dodger.
Well, again, if I'm now part of a team that's welcoming me and that said, we'll take you, and this team is also well-moneyed enough that I know my financial demands shall be met. I'm getting mine. Yeah. I would defend the Dodgers until the cows come home as well. No, I get it.
This Is the business we've chosen? That's correct. That's a very Hyman Roth type statement from Tarek Schubel. This is the business we've chosen. And if you choose not to do business like the Dodgers, that's on you.
Yeah, although, you know, not everybody has the local television contract or. The Chavez Ravine Stadium or Wait Fort. Enough. money in the till that they're like, sure, prior to the season. How much for the roster?
320 some odd million bucks. And oh, wait a minute, that's a tax that we'll have to pay $163 million on top of that. And oh, how much money we've already gotten committed to nine players from 2028 all the way to 2046? Oh, $1.1 billion to round up. Oh, sure.
That's why when Jeff Passon says the money will help paper over some of their mistakes, you know what papers over some of the mistakes is you also have a lineup. Uh I'll never forget this. I think it was last year's playoffs. Zotani on second, bets on first, and Freeman doubles. And you just watch the most expensive pond with the most.
golden goose ducks running around All three of them were running. Freeman is second. Betts from first to third. I remember you, Brad. And Otani from second to home.
It was just like one big rotation. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. Yeah. Right. You know?
Sort of like that line from the famed Bruce Dickinson. He puts his right, the Dodgers put their pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else, except when they do. They make gold-plated at-bats. You know what I mean? Gotta have more.
All you need to do is add more scuba. Gotta have more scuba, baby. I've got a fever. And the only prescription is more scubal. That's what the money is for.
Another great drop that we have here about business and the sports business. That's what the money is for, is to get these players because they can, And the reason why some of these players come here is because the organization Takes care of them. And by the way, all they're also doing is planting seeds in their farm system.
So, when it comes time for Tarek Scobel to be rented, you can rent him.
Now, this again, we're all saying that the Schoolbook of the Dodgers thing is the end of baseball, the canary in the lockout coal mine, and everybody believes that this is happening. I mean, Jeff Passen had the dates. December 1st, lockout happens. February, we're hoping it's over by then. If not, we might miss some significant games.
Next season. I mean, that's coming down the pike.
So you're hoping that some smart people from the commissioner to the players' association, everybody gets in a room and avoids this thing. You know, you're hoping. But at the end of the day It was 10 million bucks. It was apples to apples in the money. And it was like, who's got a better package of players for the Tigers?
And who's going to put more on the table to make sure it doesn't go to the Dodgers? To use a Harnbaugh phrase, no body.
Okay. And if you're somebody that wants to win baseball games. And it's apples to apples in terms of free agent dollars. Why don't you come here? Dodger blue skies.
Orange Sun. Come out to the coast. Yeah. Come to Death Row. Teach it.
Come a few laps. Come out to the coast. Have a few laps. Pretty much it. That's it.
Old Tani was already on the coast and he's having a hell of a lot more laughs further up. Geographically here in Southern California. Yeah. It's so the Dodgers Do it better than anyone else. The money helps.
That's what the money is for. But the Dodgers do it better than anyone else. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen 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.
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