REShow: Scott Miller - Hour 3 (7-7-2023)

Taste some of this. This OMG is the Rich Eisen Show. No other way to put it. With guest host Brian Weber.

Oh my gosh. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I'm not talking to you. I talk to anybody out there. Haters. Rich Eisen.

I talk to the haters right now. And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. Final hour of the program.

Still plenty of time theoretically for you to get involved. However, we have our second and final guest coming up in 40 minutes. Getting you set for the All-Star Game in baseball coming up on Tuesday. Home run derby on Monday. A lot of compelling subjects to focus on across MLB. When are the Yankees going to see Aaron Judge on the field again coming back from that lingering toe injury? Are the Angels going to deal Shohei Ohtani prior to the trade deadline coming up August 1st? Can surprising teams like the Reds and Diamondbacks maintain their momentum?

Looking forward to answering those questions and more. When we check in with Scott Miller, who covers MLB outstandingly from the New York Times and you hear him on Sirius XM radio. In 20 minutes, we'll get back to the NFL. The training camps just 19 days away from opening up will spotlight Aaron Rodgers because you've not heard enough about him.

I know this will feel like a totally uncovered bit of territory. Aaron Rodgers is not playing for the Packers anymore. What I'm going to attack this is immediacy.

I want an oompa loompa and I want it now, Detti. Jets haven't won the division in 20 years, but that's not enough. When you pick up Aaron Rodgers, it changes everything and skews expectations. Can Rodgers replicate the instant impact we saw from Tom Brady year one in Tampa Bay? Even Matthew Stafford, who's been a fraud in my opinion throughout his entire career, but he's now Super Bowl champion.

Do not tell me he's Hall of Famer, Matthew Stafford. We'll save that for my podcast, The Gold Jacket with B-Web, wherever you get your podcast. If you want to slide in, pick up the phone. 844-204-7424. You can tweet at me during our remaining 60 minutes together or pretty clear by now.

If you listen, while I'm crafting all this material in my lovely studio apartment, I have no life. And I don't think we're going to see the Queen of Vegas, Britney Spears courtside at the Thomas and Mack Center as Victor Wambunyana makes his highly anticipated summer league debut tonight in Las Vegas. We have legal clarity on the story I stumbled across just minutes before starting yesterday's program.

TMZ was all over it and they were dribbling out facts, some of which were proven to be less than accurate, but they got the bold strokes right. Victor Wambunyana getting ready to make his first appearance in the NBA, albeit in a summer league setting in Vegas, heading into a schwanky restaurant called Catch. I'll give him the plug.

I've been to the one here in Los Angeles. Maybe someone will help me out. No plugola, no payola. Dinner for two and some rosé.

I had to take out a mortgage to cover that, but I'm just trying to be relevant. So he's heading in to that upscale restaurant in Vegas with members of the Spurs, including their director of team security. Of all the coinkydinks, of all the gin joints in all the world, Britney Spears and her husband are entering at the same time.

She's slightly behind him. These were the details we heard yesterday from TMZ. I will turn it over to Wimby himself. Here's what he said yesterday when reporters posed the question what happened involving a member of the Spurs security team and Britney Spears. Something did happen a little bit when I was working with some security of the team to some restaurant. We were in a hall. There was a lot of people, so people calling me obviously. And there was one person who was calling me, but we talked before with the security. Don't stop because it's going to make a crowd.

So I couldn't stop. So that person is calling me and that person grabbed me from behind. So I didn't see I didn't see what happened because I was walking straight and we told don't stop. But that person grabbed me from behind, not on my shoulder. She grabbed me from behind. So I just know that the security pushed her away. I don't know with how much force though, but security pushed her away. And I didn't I didn't stop to look so I kept walking and enjoy the nice dinner. Well, at least Victor had a nice dinner.

Whatever occurred. And remember, let's just think about the proportions here. We got a guy who's what, 7'2 and bare feet. Don't play basketball in bare feet, but I tell you, he is tall.

Britney is what, 5'2, 5'3. There's a major disparity there. So even if it was just a rando coming up, tapping him on the back, making contact of some kind, grabbing is a key word described by Victor. I don't know that he would have turned around. In fact, when you have security around a athlete, they tell the individual keep moving.

That's why security is there to handle the situation. So that's the overview. Victor was asked the obvious follow up. Did he know that it was Britney Spears involved? So actually, I didn't know for a couple hours. But when we when when I came back to the hotel, I forgot about this event.

I didn't forget about it. I thought it was no big deal. And the security of this person told me it was a big experience. At first I was like, no, you're joking.

Yeah, it turns out it was a big experience. But I didn't know because I didn't see her. I never saw her face.

I just kept walking straight. That's it. Well, Britney's not pleased. I'll give you the highlights of a statement she released yesterday. And she's not going to be happier because within the last 90 minutes, official word from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department saying the investigation is over and quote, no charges will be filed against the person involved. That person is the Spurs director of team security. So now that we have resolution, let's clean up some of the inaccurate allegations because the first version of the story on TMZ had Britney falling to the ground after contact was made. In addition, the police report notes after the authorities viewed surveillance video at the restaurant, Britney's hand hit herself in the face when the security guard pushed it away. Womp womp womp. So what does any of this mean?

Not much. Britney probably has a lawsuit if she wants to. And I'm on Team Britney in general. Leave Britney alone. If you've been following some of the horrible details of what she's endured with that conservatorship, and I'll get serious for a second, we all have rights as individuals.

And I understand she went through a challenging period of time, but it feels like it shouldn't be that easy for a loved one to step in and take total control of your life. So I want Britney to get paid and the Spurs got plenty of money. Don't sue women.

He didn't do anything, but that's why you have insurance. Britney, knowing that perhaps issued a lengthy statement yesterday on Twitter. Here are some of the highlights. She called it a traumatic experience, quote, not prepared for what happened. And she gave her description that she saw a athlete, wanted to congratulate him on a success, according to Britney, quote, unquote, tapped him on the shoulder. No grabbing there.

And suddenly, her words here, she got backhanded by security, causing the glasses to come off her face. So maybe a lawsuit. I'm with Brit.

Get every dollar you can. But from a bigger standpoint, what does this say about the global phenomena that is Victor Wemeniana? I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen, 844-204-7424, the phone number. Conversation is chippy, but it never stops on Twitter, so long as the app is working. My handle is B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's in 30 minutes.

We talk baseball heading into the All-Star game with Scott Miller of The New York Times. Here's Britney Spears. If we were going to go through a ranking of the most recognizable people on the planet, Britney has lived her entire life in front of cameras, going back to being a child star on the old Walt Disney Mickey Mouse Club show and then becoming a pop sensation. Here's Britney Spears recognizing Wemeniana and wanting to say hello.

That normally does not happen to a number one overall pick in any sport. But Wemeniana is transcending hoops, and I'm here for it. Now, I don't want to fall into the habit of anointing whatever comes next as the definitive it factor that we've all been waiting for, right? Because that would be tedious. Every year, we'd have another bright, shiny object.

We've been waiting for Wemeniana for a long time. Draymond Green weighing in because he's never found a microphone he didn't like, and quick aside. Draymond Green is a tremendous basketball player. My father went to Michigan State, so I've known about Draymond since his college days. I respect what he means on the floor, especially to the Warriors. His skill set wouldn't have worked on many teams. Perfect fit for that culture and to compliment Steph Curry and Klay Thompson knocking down all those threes. But Draymond flat out punched Jordan Poole in the face.

Soccer punch. We all saw it with a video, of course, leaked to TMC. Jordan Poole then got roughly $128 million a week after that incident. You can't tell me the timing was happenstance. Jordan Poole was never the same this year. Something was amiss, understandably so. Wherever you work, whatever team you're on, if somebody you have to work closely with punched you in the face, there might be implications.

You might not want to hang around with that person. But rather than fix the situation, the Warriors let it fester, and maybe they have buyer's remorse from the contract. Clearly, they decided almost instantly after their playoff run ended, losing to the Lakers in part because Jordan Poole was MIA. He did nothing in that series. Confidence was inconsistent all year long, borne out by his play.

Something was different about Poole after a real solid season the year before. Warriors jettisoned him to Washington. They took back in return Chris Paul, who's 140 years old and now always gets hurt come playoff time, and they gave Draymond $100 million in the contract extension he wanted. Draymond won on every level, and there's something sad about that, and I realize it's sports, and it's not the same thing as I was drawing the loose analogy to a workplace. Draymond Green had done that in any work setting. He gets fired and arrested. But in basketball and in baseball and in football, we say, well, they're competitors.

Fire ran hot. There's your Draymond commentary. Draymond went on Paul George's podcast, was asked about Wemenyana. Here's Draymond's quote. I think people are setting him up for failure, going on to explain his thought process about the French sensation, saying that if Wemenyana isn't an all-star, for example, next year, well, the consensus of opinion is going to be he underachieved.

I think the radical difference is Draymond had no expectations coming out of Michigan State. He has surpassed all of them, and that's been part of his motivation. Wemenyana has been dealing with this since he was 12 or 13 years old. He was already one of the most recognizable athletes in France, right there with any soccer star you want to name, and tennis players like Richard Gasquet and Joe Willie Sanga. Wemenyana was a hugely significant athlete as a teenager.

He's still only 19. We've heard about him, if you pay attention to global hoops, and you have to now. We've heard about him for the last four to five years. He's gotten the most attention and the most hype dating back to LeBron James. Well, LeBron James, I realize this is a one-in-a-million, one-in-a-generation kind of description.

LeBron James demonstrated that occasionally transcendent talents do live up to and exceed the hype. Tiger Woods did it. It's a short list. Michelle Wee we knew about. I mentioned tennis. I could give you 30 names that were supposed to be the next Roger Federer. There was a guy named Grigor Dimitrov still playing very well in his early 30s. He had the moniker of Baby Fed. How'd you like that? Harold Minor, Baby Jordan.

Didn't work out so well. So I can give you examples on both sides of the ledger, but I think LeBron has demonstrated that occasionally these stars that we've been tracking back to adolescence can deliver and get even better than we thought as they become more refined adults, as they grow into their bodies, as they work on their overall skill set. Gwen Mignogna, he shoots a lot of threes like everybody does in modern basketball. He's going to get better, but right now, if you wanted to find a critique, you'd say, well, the three-point shot isn't as consistent as it should be.

Okay, I'll accept that. My counter is the guy is seven foot three or four or five. He's gargantuan. He is your classic rim protector. He can block shots at will. He can also handle. He can create his own fast break. He can score in transition. So like the rest of you, I'm going to be checking him out tonight, although I'm going to remind myself it is summer league because level of competition matters.

Some of the questions out there about Gwen Mignogna is what he has done and the setting. And because he's played in Europe, maybe it's not the same level of competition as had he played a year of college basketball. If you watch European basketball, if you know about how good the overall level play is, I think that's a stretch. He's played against some quality players. Obviously, everything changes when we get to October, and now he's got to match up against Joel Embiid, but I don't think that expectations are out of whack here.

I think they're based on a foundation of truth, and I mentioned it in the first hour of the program. To me, the comparison to be made, not in terms of what each player does on the floor, but in terms of dealing with relentless hype from a very young age, is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was Lew Alcindor. Lew Alcindor was 6'9 when he was 12 years old, dominated the Power Memorial High School in New York City, was on the cover of Time and Life Magazine, and he was the next can't-miss phenom.

And you know what happened? He didn't miss. He won three national championships at UCLA, would have won a fourth but freshman couldn't play, went to the NBA, won a title in Milwaukee, came to LA, wrapped up his career as the all-time leading scorer in the history of hoops before Lebron moved past him this season. So, big guys can deliver, even when they're facing unbelievable expectations. If we're looking for the comp in terms of skill sets, I threw it out there when we had the basketball conversation with Mike Vorkanov of The Athletic about a half hour ago. Everything I'm reading comes up with these jigsaw puzzles. So he's got a little bit of Embiid's ability to hit threes, but he's also Kevin Durant but taller.

It's a Frankenstein kind of proposition. I'll give you another old school name. Remember Ralph Sampson? Ralph Sampson was the most dominant player in college basketball at the University of Virginia, played at the same time as Patrick Ewing, got to the NBA, was never that impactful, very good career, all-star career, but Sampson could hit threes. In fact, Sampson preferred a jump shot from 15 to 17 feet away because he didn't like the contact that much. Ralph Sampson, if he played now, would be a top 10 player because he could do much more than the one-dimensional big men of his day. So Wemenyana has everything required to live up to these expectations.

Boring, unforeseen injury, which of course we can never project. And let's put the skill set also in context of having the right mindset. As we heard in those clips describing the kerfuffle with Britney Spears, he's a bright, sharp guy who expresses himself very well, 19 years old. He's dealt with the glare of the spotlight for years. He's got an outgoing personality.

He's embracing all of this. And I'll say it again, he's the logical progression in the evolution of the game. None of us could say Giannis attended the Kumpa when he wound up in Milwaukee. And go back and watch Giannis day one compared to Giannis winning the MVP award.

The Kola Jokic was a second-round pick out of Serbia. Arguably should have won three consecutive MVPs. Joel Embiid couldn't stay healthy at Kansas. Unfortunately, he's had that challenge since he's gotten to Philadelphia. But there's a reason why he won the MVP this season.

And now you got Wimby. It's going to be terrific to see him in front of a sellout crowd tonight in Vegas. But more importantly, forget about what he does against summer league dudes who are typically backups who don't get this kind of playing time.

Or guys just trying to make a roster. Tonight is the appetizer. Let's get to October and the whole year one to see this amazing combination of all of the skills that make a player potentially a once in a generation kind of performer. All of that is right in front of us and it's a great time to be a basketball fan.

I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen. We're talking baseball in 20 minutes. We'll check in with Scott Miller of the New York Times getting you set for the all-star game coming up on Tuesday and all the key topics coming up. More NFL.

Will Aaron Rodgers have an identical instant impact that we saw from Tom Brady, year one in Tampa Bay, namely win a Super Bowl with the Jets this year. That's coming up. Weber in for Eisen. We continue on a busy Friday here on the Rich Eisen Show. Are you currently enjoying the show on the Stitcher app? Then you need to know Stitcher is going away on August 29.

Yep, going away as in kaput gone dead. Rest in peace Stitcher and thanks for 15 years of service to the podcast community. So switch to another podcast app and follow this show their Apple Spotify or wherever you listen. Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show Radio Network. Brian Weber with you. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call Grainger.com or just stop by. You can hit me up on Twitter after the program as we have 35 more minutes together. I'll be watching when be tonight and hanging out looking for your sizzling hot takes of BW Weber Webber with two B's will handle the Aaron Rodgers conversation with brevity because coming up in 15 minutes. I want to make sure we have plenty of time to cover all the key storylines across a fascinating year in Major League Baseball. I am a lapsed MLB fan, but I'm back this year.

Thanks to the pitch Clock looking forward to checking in with Scott Miller of the New York Times. You hear him also on Sirius XM radio Rich and it was great to listen to and catch on the Emmy Award nominated simulcast on the Roku Channel was understandably out of his mind as a long-suffering jet fan when it became official Aaron Rodgers was joining gangrene. But Rich is one of the best in the business because he's also objective so I don't want to fall into knee-jerk predictable responses to say it's Super Bowl or bus for the Jets is outlandish but it is rational to pose the question based on what we've seen as of late Tom Brady goes to Tampa Bay and I realized the covid context is meaningful, but they still have that championship or more recently Matthew Stafford goes to the Rams and he wasn't responsible for that Super Bowl. They had already made it to the Super Bowl with Jared Goff. It was a phenomenal collection of talent around him still. It was an upgrade from all the struggles that golf went through clearly. Sean McVay had lost confidence in golf enter Stafford, even though he threw a ton of interceptions because that's what he does played well enough as a high-end game manager to help the Rams win that Super Bowl. Can Rogers do likewise?

Well, I think the Ram comparison is more direct and applicable than the Bucks in terms of supporting gas because the fact that the Jets were even relevant last year. Given some of the worst quarterback play we've ever seen and that's not over the top that Zach Wilson game against the Patriots. I was sitting there thinking where do I go to get the time back here? That was one of the most challenging watches and look I do it for a couple reasons. I still love sports. That was the fundamental reason I decided not to go to law school a million years ago. This is a great way to make a living. Secondly, it's my job after all. I am supposed to be watching what's going on, but there are some games where you go and it happens way too frequently on Thursday night.

What am I doing with my life and especially with the remote control in our hands? It is tough to stay with unwatchable games like that New England game at Foxboro between the Jets and Patriots. So the fact that the Jets even had a shot at a winning season before the implosion late in the year is a reflection of all of the talent other than at the quarterback position. So had the Jets gone out and gotten anybody, you pick a guy, Andy Dalton, it would have been an upgrade over Zach Wilson. But to go out and get Aaron freaking Rogers, first ballot Hall of Famer, recent back to back MVP winner changes everything for the Jets.

Or does it? There's the cynic in me who grew up in New York, who has relatives who were going to jet games back when they played at the pit that was Shea Stadium, nothing better than going to a jet game in September when the diamond was still out there because the Mets were playing, but they were already 30 games out in the division. I am well aware of the cult of personality that is connected to many jet fans. In fact, I have relatives and I'm convinced would not know what to do if the Jets actually won. Now they're not as old as some of our uncles who have passed away who were jet fans and can tell you, you know, I was in a bar and Joe Namath came in wearing just cowboy boots and a fur coat.

It's not that old school, but I'm 53 and these are my contemporaries. Part of me thinks they're so accustomed to the losing that they've come to enjoy the misery of being a jet fan. It was like Cub fans for decades. Once they finally won the World Series, okay, that was the event that generations had been waiting for, but now you're just like everybody else. You finally won a World Series. Same thing with the Red Sox winning multiple World Series. So yes, jet fans want to win, but I'm convinced there's a contingent of them that have gotten so ingrained in losing somehow they appreciate the suffering.

It's a weird biblical vibe here. Well, they're not going to have to suffer this year as much as any hardcore jet fan is wondering what is going to happen that's negative. How is this not going to work? Boring injury and nobody can predict that. If Rodgers merely plays as well as last year, remember last year, this is not an evaluation based on opinion. This is statistical. He was the third best quarterback in his division.

Just look at the numbers. Kirk Cousins, while he's a fraud, put up big numbers again because that's what he does. A paper quarterback who looks good from a fantasy football perspective, but then implodes in any high leverage situation. He's checking down once more in a playoff game, but that's the Kirk Cousins experience and Jared Goff was a lot better than you think last year.

Yes, he had help around him and the Lions were a feel good story. Goff was a serviceable quarterback. Had he played at that level, the Rams would never have felt the need to get rid of him. So Rodgers goes from being, and you can say that was just last year, but it's the most recent report card we have. The third best quarterback out of four in his division to the AFC East where he's going to be second to Josh Allen.

We're not talking about career resumes here. We're talking about what's a fair outlook for this season. But that's all the Jets need because of all of the amazing talent that they have on both sides of the football. Think about the rare amount of teams that have had both the reigning offensive rookie of the year, the Jets have that in Gary Wilson, and defensive rookie of the year in Soss Gardner. The Jets, though, have a gauntlet to start the year.

If you've not looked at the schedule, and no need to, that's my job, they open up on a Monday night against Buffalo. Then they go to Dallas. Dallas is always going to be the hardest team to figure out because of all of their enigmatic qualities.

But Dallas has a very good defense, as you know, with Micah Parsons. It's a road game. Then they take on the Patriots, who I think are clearly the worst team in the AFC East, but what if the Patriots get DeAndre Hopkins?

It gets more interesting. After that, the reigning Super Bowl champs come to MetLife. Then the Jets have to go all the way to Denver. Russell Wilson is fading, but he can't be as bad as last year. It's just an impossibility, and with Sean Payton there, at least he's going to have a functioning offense.

After that, they take on the team that lost in the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles. That is a hell of a stretch in the first six games heading into the bye. So what if the Jets are 3-3 at that point, still with a great chance of making the postseason?

How badly will the sky be falling in New York? It's certainly a possibility that Rogers can do what Stafford achieved with the Rams because of the talent around him. But because of the vision that he plays in, and because of that schedule, all I'm pointing out is there is some utility in pumping the brakes. Especially for any Jets fan who's presuming most Jets fans would have given them a 1-5 record based on their decades of misery.

I was trying to be a little more objective with the analysis. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen. Hit me up after the show on Twitter. B.W. Weber, Weber with 2B, straight ahead. We wrap it up with gusto talking baseball. Mike Trout needing hand surgery after fouling off a pitch this week in San Diego.

Will that be the catalyst for the Angels to move Shoei Ohtani prior to the trade deadline? And we talk all stars as well with the Midsummer Classic coming up Tuesday in Seattle. We'll cover it all with Scott Miller of the New York Times. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich. We continue on another sparkling Friday edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Brian Weber back with you. Always a delight to guest host for Rich. Friday edition of the Rich Eisen Show.

You can have a conversation on social media if you like. My Twitter handle is B.W. Weber, Weber with 2Bs. Heading into the All-Star break.

Final three games prior to the Midsummer Classic coming up on Tuesday in Seattle. Always a pleasure to talk baseball with one of the best in our industry. Scott Miller, you can read his fine work as a contributor to the New York Times.

You hear him on Sirius XM. Scott, how are you? Real good, Brian. How are you?

Happy mid-July almost. Yeah, and I'm really looking forward to the All-Star game. And I've got to be transparent.

I'm 53. I grew up a huge baseball fan. It's why I wanted to be a broadcaster. But I found the game tedious in recent years with all of the analytics dominating everything in the shift. And I've been refreshed as a fan thanks to the pitch clock. And I think there are a ton of really good storylines to dissect.

So let's get into some of them. And we can start with Otani just because he is such a once-in-a-century talent. I realize the Angels want to do everything in their power to keep him when he gets to free agency in the offseason. At the same time, they have to deal with the practical realities of Mike Trout now being out for four to eight weeks with the broken bone in his hand. And a team that's been scuffling as of late, just one in seven over the last eight, getting set to take on the Dodgers this weekend. Scott, if the Angels have more challenges and if they fall out of realistic contention for a wild card, do you think they would be open to moving Otani before we get to the trade deadline August 1st? You know, I don't think that's going to happen, Brian. And I agree with you, by the way, the rules changes, the pitch clock.

I never thought I would be in favor of that as an older school guy. But you're right, the game has become tedious. It's really, really in a good place right now, I think. And, you know, the Angels are trying to keep themselves in a good place. I mean, they're just, they're three and a half back in the wild card right now as we speak, you know, they're battling all those AL East teams, Toronto and Boston, lower end AL East teams to try to stay in wild cards contention. I don't think they'll trade Otani because this is the brightest outlook the Angels have had in a little bit. I think a couple things, Brian, I think one, I think you mentioned the injury to Mike Trout, you know, he'll probably realistically be out two months. Logan will Hoppe's another one there that young catcher 23 years old is really having great April and then he got through a got hurt Rendon is back hurt. So I talked to Phil Nevin the other day and you know, he was just doing everything you could to try to keep guys on the field, but I don't know that they're going to give up on the season.

I think their mode is let's try to keep getting guys healthy and hang in there until we get our full complement of players. I think that that's one reason they won't trade on Donnie. Secondly, I think, you know, the owner Artie Moreno indicated a month or so ago.

He probably won't dealing. I think Moreno as much as anybody in the game is prideful and I don't I think that's part of what's got the Angels into some bad spots over the past few years because I have some decisions have been made by a motion given how prideful Moreno is and he's involved in baseball operations more than other owners. But even beyond that, I think it would be a huge enormous admission of failure to trade Oh, tiny and I know you can make the argument that hey, it would be the best move because they get prospects back, but it's still short term huge admission of failure.

And I don't think Artie Moreno is capable of going there makes sense on a lot of levels. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen talking baseball with Scott Miller, New York Times and Sirius XM. Well undeniably the Mets have been the biggest disappointment all baseball in part because they have the largest payroll coming into the season. We'd ever seen an MLB Mets have actually won five straight games. Since you gave me context with the Angels in the wild card hunt the Mets are six and a half back. Now the first step of the Mets would be get back to 500 still five games under but given how aggressive Steve Cohen is as an owner and then looking at the roster for conventional wisdom saying. All right, the Mets should be sellers heading closer to the deadline Scott. My question would be who could they trade because does anybody want the salary of Verlander or Scherzer? So I think and maybe I'm talking myself into this just to have a different perspective. I think the Mets might be more active and be buying as we get closer to the deadline. What do you think? Yeah, I don't disagree with you Brian.

I think so as well. I mean, look they haven't had the season started out really poorly for them with going back to World Baseball classic when they're the guy that arguably best closer in all baseball last year when Diaz goes down with that knee injury. He's been out unavailable all year, but you know Scherzer and Verlander for various reasons have have missed time Verlander with injuries Scherzer a couple small things nagging injury type things and then obviously the 10 games sticky stuff suspension. They're pitching together now Verlander and Scherzer they're back. They're taking their turns in the rotation really interesting last series of the first half as we head into the All-Star break beginning tonight. The Mets five in a row as you said swept the Diamondbacks who've been playing really well now they open tonight in San Diego and these guys really are mirror images of each other. You mentioned how disappointing the season has been for the Mets similar with the potteries.

They're both 41 and 46. Let's have a record-setting payroll. The potteries are third in the majors and payroll both teams trying to write the ship potteries just swept the Angels Mets have won five in a row.

Justin Verlander versus you Darvish this evening. Both of these teams are clawing and fighting and scratching to try to reverse their season. Several owners. I think Steve Cohen and Peter Seidler have indicated they believe in their team.

There's not going to be a bunch of firings. They think they can turn it around one of these teams Mets or potteries after this weekend has a chance to keep some real momentum. The other you know if they can if they can win two of three or sweep but you know we'll see which way it goes but never a dull moment around the Mets and similarly with the potteries this season. Taking it around the bases with Scott Miller of the New York Times and Sirius XM. All right since we talked Mets let's cross over from Queens to the Bronx.

Where did it come out on the Yankees? They were scuffling initially when Aaron Judge got hurt and now they have steadied things to a degree. And when Judge finally comes back whenever it is from the toe injury do you expect him to be Aaron Judge again? Yeah, I mean that big toe is a tricky thing. I mean, you know, I do the short answer is yes, but you know, I think one reason he's out so long, you know, it's the right big toe. So as you're right-handed hitter, especially guys 6'7 as big as Aaron Judge when you swing in when you swing with such torque as he does it's basically the injuries on what's what's called your load foot your back foot that loads all that weight and then twists as you swing and and that's why they're you would think a small, you know, big right toe not that big a deal but it is for him. I don't know that he's going to play the outfield anytime soon, which is too bad because he's such a great two-way player. He's a much better outfielder than people think and right before that injury.

I was with the Yankees and Dodger Stadium when that happened. You know, they're starting to be some talk about, you know, this guy might be a legitimate Gold Glove candidate and you know, it's too bad the injury put him out because you know, he's one of the most exciting players in the game, obviously, but I do I think once he comes back probably more DH than outfield at least in the beginning, but I do I don't think the Yankees are going to do anything stupid by rushing him back. So yes, I tend to think when he does come back. He'll still be that same fearsome hitter in the batter's box. If not a two-way player initially final thought on Cincinnati and baseball's better when the Reds are relevant. They had that 12 game winning streak and every time I watch LA Dela Cruz play.

I'm just blown away by how good he is at the age of 21 Scott. Do you think this is sustainable you buying the Reds? I think they have a shot if for no other reason than the division which they play and that is not a collection of world beaters in the central.

I agree with you. I was going to say similar that that they have a chance because of you know, if they played in the National League West or let's say let's cut to the chase if they played in the National League East. They would not have a chance Atlanta is going gangbusters right now. Unbelievable home runs in 23 consecutive games, but the Reds I agree and I'm glad you said baseball is better when the Reds are relevant by the way, you know, the oldest franchise in the game. I'm of the opinion opening day should always start inside great and I agree they and baseball.

I know they scheduled by the same time now, but they ought to start Cincinnati home games opening day an hour or so or half an hour earlier than everybody else just is a nod of respect to the first, you know professional franchise in the game. They want 21 of 27 if De La Cruz stays healthy, which we all hope he does and let's not forget Matt McClain Spencer steer. They've got some exciting young rookies Abbott on the mound has helped pitch them into this but De La Cruz obviously steals a headlock headlines. Yes, I'm going to be all in on the Reds and say they they can stay relevant stay in contention when the division and they are an exciting exciting team and people need to watch those Reds Scott always enjoy the opportunity to catch up. Enjoy the Mets and Padres if you're covering that and have a great weekend. Thanks so much Scott. You too, Brian.

Thank you. Take care Scott Miller based in San Diego covers MLB for New York Times and Sirius XM plus as somebody works in the audio medium. I love Scott's delivery. I can listen to Scott talk baseball for hours and hours. That's part of the charm of baseball. See you kids you can have the tick tock the tick tock and still enjoy MLB. The whole point of baseball is its background material. You have it on while you're doing other things.

Now. I don't want it on for four and a half hours when the Red Sox play the Yankees, but that's the whole point of the pitch clock. It's been a much more watchable product and maybe I was just looking for something to reconnect me with better days of my life was a baseball fan or covering baseball. I was doing the Giants and A's pregame show working locally at San Francisco and I gotta be straight up with you.

Well football pays the bills. The only reason I have a chance to be sitting in for Rich as we work together with NFL Network sports is better when we don't talk NFL exclusively 12 months a year. Now if you've been with me all week, I talked a lot of NFL, but I also enjoy this week and really appreciate Rich inviting me back because the NBA takes center stage and there's plenty of room for baseball and other things. I didn't cram Wimbledon down your throats, although Chris Eubanks a great story.

American tennis player took out Cam Norrie today in London, but I'm not going to force you down a road. You don't want to go primarily because you could always turn your radio off and secondly because I want the show to be as comprehensive as possible. So thanks for indulging some baseball topics.

Not like I broke down the Guardians. I'm always going to be following the stars and Otani, Judge when healthy and De La Cruz are sensational. I'll be watching Wimby tonight looking for Brittany probably not going to be courtside. So enjoy everything connected to Victor Wimby on a mania a lot of people to thank starting with Rich Eisen. I greatly appreciate Rich's confidence in me.

You know when you listen to the program each day. It takes a village, and that's why the show is great with Brockman Jefferson and Del Tufo. But for rich to extend the opportunity for me to work as a solo act means a great deal. Thanks to Bruce Gilbert, all of the five people at Westwood one are outstanding technical producer wants more art Martina is doing a skilled job, as always.

My name is Brian Webber. Enjoy your weekend. We'll do it again with me in the chair on Labor Day, but you should keep it locked because it's going to be another great edition on Monday of The Rich Eisen Show. How wrestling really works and how you get the ratings. Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson explain on 83 weeks. Collision has been struggling a little bit out of the gate with these ticket sales. A little bit out of the gate. This was a major show announced on a major network with what everybody thought was this huge star CM Punk. I said he was going to be the biggest financial flop in wrestling history and I think I'm being proven right every minute of the day. Eighty three weeks on YouTube or wherever you listen.