REShow: Buster Olney - Hour 2

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Seriously, though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover.com slash match. An MLB insider Buster only author Greg Carden. And now it's rich eyes. Yes, everybody. Yes, our number two. The rich eyes and show is on the air. We just had a great chat with Rashad White, the new top running back in Tampa, Florida. We're monitoring all situations in the National Football League as we are one of the 32 teams in training.

Into training camp, the Jets reporting today, and we we had a good first hour is basically what I'm saying. Buster only of ESPN is joining us in about 20 minutes time to discuss what's going on with the looming trade deadline. August 1st is the trade deadline. Normally it's got a late July date, but baseball decided, but peg it to the first day of August and the dog days of July. I've already arrived for many teams in Major League Baseball, including the Yankees. The Angels go for a sweep tonight of the Yankees, and if that happens, then the Rockies and Angels will have taken five of the first six second half of the season games for the Yankees. Aaron Judge reportedly returning shortly could be potentially in time for the Yankees and Mets to play one another. Last year, that was.

One of those, like, is it possible we can have a subway series between these two baseball teams in the first couple days of the season. Now we're both. Now we're both full private pile. Yeah, I'm not even paying attention in a world of you know what crap. Oh, you know what? So you could just turn your attention to the Dallas Cowboys, who apparently have a holdout on their hands. Yeah, you know what? When Madden and their Raiders love you more than the actual team that's paying you, that's a problem.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. If only the Joneses changed their last name to Madden, then Zach Martin would be getting ready to report for training camp. But today, you know, those who rate players on Madden, that organization is announcing who the 99 rated players, the highest rating you can get. Why do they go 99, not 100? Because nobody's perfect.

Okay. But so that means even Derek Jeter would get a 99 rating? Do we want to have this argument? According to Brockman, he'd get like a 93.

He's the most perfect human being. Well, so maybe ever. I don't know about all that.

Wasn't as good as Pete Nomar. That's just because you and he share a birthday. That's true. Which is coming up Sunday. Sunday. Very exciting. TJ as well. Oh, that's right. Have you ever gone up to somebody that you love very much from the baseball diamond and embarrassed yourself on that front? That you share a birthday with that person?

On an airplane? As you did with Nomar? Well, at any rate, so the Dallas Cowboys have Zach Martin on their offensive line. One would say he's the best of all time up there with Dak as the most important player on that side of the football for the Dallas Cowboys. He's up there with Dak and CeeDee Lamb as the most important players on that side of the football. You may say, you could say he might be the most important player. Because Dak and CeeDee can't connect if Dak is on his back.

True that. So Zach, by the way, Dak back and Zach, I just said it. You're dropping bars. Oh my goodness.

I do feel like I am dropping bars. No cap. No cap. Zach, according to Schefter, is thinking about not showing up to Oxnard, California, which is not the hot but beautifulest time of year. I guess he won't be on that Jones jitney to Nobu Malibu for dinner. I'll take a spot. When do we get that invite? I don't know.

Well, they do invite the media. That's what I mean. Do you want to go? We can get there. Yes.

I'm serious. We're media. Do you really want to go? We are media. We should be there.

I'm the number one fan. We can hook that up. I think we should go.

Because nothing is more exciting in life. Well, yes. Well, they're trying to elbow out Gilbrant for that extra inaugural.

That's funny. Elbowing out Gilbrant. Honestly. Write that down.

Dude, I've done that. Are you kidding me? One of those tuna rolls, hand cut, and Gilbrant is trying for it?

I've got sharp elbows when it comes to Nobu food, brother. We have to be there. Okay. We can do it.

I want to sit next to Ed Werder. I don't know who's going to be here. I don't know. But you're throwing me off the main point of this, which is we might have like a bonafide, offensive line, Dallas Cowboy holdout. Nah, I mean, look.

There's a chunk out of pie. This type of year, Rich, he doesn't want to be there and sleep in that single bed with no AC. No, it's AC.

It's a hotel, but they're not in some... Look, I'm just trying to make the situation seem a little worse. That Martin changed his Twitter profile to the Madden 99 announcement. Did he really? Yeah. Oh, I thought that's where you were going with this. New profile pic. He is pissed.

Just takes a nice chunk out of the pie. He's done it. It's a silly season. Again... Wait a minute. How have we not gone to this dinner before?

You make it seem like it was so easy. If I was a player thinking of holding out, I would do it just for a couple of days, just to force my coach to say the words, I'm only talking about the guys who are here. And take that sound bite and use it as my ringtone.

That is what I would do. And that's what Zach Martin should do, right? He wants to get paid. Absolutely. There we go. It's that time of year. It's that time of year. Look, we need Zach Martin, so whatever needs to be done has to get done.

Our list of fantasy football names is... It's getting long. It's going to be tough. It's great.

It's coming down the road. I got to get Paul Rudd on the docket. Get ready because every year he chooses it. He chooses our fantasy team name. Every year. It's also that time of year for quarterback competitions, right? We just talked to Rashad White, Tampa. The quarterback competition is going to go down in Tampa. They say Kyle Trask has been here. He's been learning at the knee of Tom Brady.

Let's go. Let's see if Kyle Trask, the once upon a time Florida Gator stud, let's see if he can compete for this job with Baker Mayfield. There's a competition in San Francisco that's going to be starting. Rookies reported yesterday, one week from yesterday is when everybody starts and the competition will get going in San Francisco there, right? Where else is there a quarterback competition in the NFL? Not too many other places, right? There's not many. So let's look to college. Okay.

There's one apparently in Alabama. Nick Saban at SEC Media Day today talking about a quarterback competition that's underway for the Crimson Tide, which led to the wildest thing I think Saban's ever said. Ever. Roland.

Every guys that are competing for that position right now, all those players are getting better and it's important for us that all those players get better. I don't think anybody has actually separated themselves yet to this point and I don't think it's something that we're trying to rush. I used the analogy earlier, you know, Grandma Saban used to bake the best cakes in the world and I used to stand by the oven when I was a kid and say, when's this cake going to be done? When's this cake going to be done? And she said, if I don't let it go through and take it out of the oven too soon, it's going to turn to mush so it won't be a really good cake.

So I think we got to let this sort of develop and make sure we let the cake bake until somebody separates themselves. Favorite cake. Want to know your favorite cake since you mentioned that in your opening statement, but I would like you to speak to your quarterback room and your expectations to that this fall. Yeah, well, carrot cake. That's easy. Easy.

I gotta be honest with you guys. Carrots not even in my top 10. I could name you 10 more cakes. You could name 10 cakes?

I think so. Carrot cake. Really? So you want to have something, you're sitting down for dessert. You want to have something that's made out of vegetables? What?

Yeah, I'm going to pass. Get out of here. Have you guys ever had a really good piece of carrot cake? I have had a piece of carrot cake. I would take any, virtually any other cake. Vanilla, just straight straight up like a vanilla cake. Chocolate cake. Strawberry short.

Come on. Number one cake. If I had to choose. Number one cake.

I choose a carrot. Number one cake. Period.

End of story. You could make every birthday cake for knocking on wood. Ice cream cake. Ice cream cake. We could keep going.

Keep going. Confetti. Marble. Celebration cake. You call it confetti? I want a cake so jammed with sugar that the underneath of my eyes start to sweat.

That's your A1C shoots through the loop? Can we order cake right now? If we have to order a cake, are you sitting here saying carrot? No. No. Are you saying carrot?

Felly, you haven't said a word. Do I not? Serious people.

That's right. People who say carrot cake, you're not serious people. Chocolate. Chocolate cake. Always. Carrot cake is not out of the top 10. It's in the top 10.

Just for me personally, I'm like rich. I'd like to separate my vegetables from my desserts. Yeah. What are we doing? Make your cake out of zucchini.

What are you talking about? You might as well. Zucchini bread is really good. I understand that.

Make it into a bread. There's not like a whole solid carrot in the cake. You understand that, right? Yes, I'm aware of that. The frosting is really delicious.

I'm sure. It's like a cream cheese, kind of a little bit of cinnamon on it. Yes, it masks the taste of vegetable. No. I don't think you've had a good piece of carrot cake. I can't believe I'm defending Nick Sanders. But he says it's not even close. It's not even close? It's not close?

Now I have an issue with language. Not even close? It's like secretary.

It's the secretariat of cakes. This is a Georgia TCU, okay? Not a blowout. Alright.

I like that analogy using SEC football. Well done. It's close.

Carrot cake, maybe six, seven on the list. Yeah, okay. Alright. But not even close.

Whoa. Yeah, I mean, it wouldn't make my top. I'd rather not have a cake.

You'd rather not eat cake than have a carrot cake. That's a stand. Wow. That is a stand.

That is a line in the sand and TJ is on a side. Banana cake. I don't want that either.

Agreed. Cheesecake. Oh yeah. I'll tear some cheesecake.

Come on. Cheesecake top five. Yeah. Cheesecake something. Now here's the thing is, you know, people might pass off a pie as a cake. Pie is not cake, people.

Right. Pie is pie. Like a key lime isn't a cake. No, not cake. There is less pie. Wow.

Especially after I'm done with it. Dude, not even close? Really? I gotta say, this might tarnish his legacy. Was that on first take today? They were really debating that on first take. What is happening?

That first takes debating if he misses the college football playoffs with his legacy. Take a hit. Take a hit. And Belichick's on the hot seat at the same time? What is going on with these two guys?

What is happening? Look, Rich, stick around too long to see yourself become the villain. By way, maybe that's the cake that Grandma Saban made, so I'm not gonna knock him for it. Oh, I'm, I'm, I'm. I totally understand that if you grow up with it, like if you've been indoctrinated into carrot cake. Like for me, my grandma made the greatest sweet potato pie of all time. So I like pumpkin pie.

Can't do. But to me sweet potato pie. Excuse me. Pies are different from cakes.

Yeah, I know. I'm just saying grandma pie has a crust. Cake has sponge.

You understand? Sponge cake is good too. Sponge shouldn't be made out of carrots. That's it.

There's a place in Culver City that has really good carrot cake. Alright, let's get it. And I'll try it.

On the air tomorrow. And I'll see if it cracks my top five. But I will take just straight up like, what, devil's food? Okay, I will take straight up like angel cake. Angel cake, whatever.

Angel food? Black, oh, red velvet. Red velvet, come on.

On the list. Alright, I will take chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate ice cream cake. But for me, celebration. So it's the vanilla sponge, to use the Paul Hollywood phrase right here on the Roku channel. And confetti bits thrown in there with like white frosting.

I'm getting, like seriously, it's tough for me to talk right now because I'm just even mentioning it. You get the white chocolate shavings on the cake. You put shavings on the white frosting.

Please, please, please. But you can get that from Vaughn's or John's. There's a spot in Inglewood that has this red velvet cake except it's blue. I'm going there after work.

Wow, like Heisenberg? Wow. Yeah, really? This place is delicious. Are they open? Can we get them to deliver right now? Dude, should I say their name? Maybe we get some free cake?

But I'm telling you, it's right down the street from the network. I think what we should do is order something. Can we get that? It's still too early here in Los Angeles. But I can definitely eat cake in the morning because Suze is not listening.

Yeah, she's out of mess. What's the difference if we have donuts or cake in the morning? I won't be hearing it. What am I saying? I could do whatever the hell I want. She's the one who's like, serves up ice cream at nine in the morning. I mean, that is true.

At Rich Eisen's show right now, please vote or call 844-204-Rich. Is carrot cake a top five cake? Is carrot cake a top five cake? And then also, who wins the NFC South? We have two. I can't wait to get cake this afternoon.

But if we can only ask our audience to vote on one, it's the cake one. The NFC South can wait. Yeah, we've still got 50 days, right? Mick Saban has placed this front and center. Can't wait to speak to him.

50-50, early results. How could you believe if he calls in, I use my real estate with him saying, carrot cake, are you running your mind? I think you should.

I mean, yes, you should. And he would probably defend him. He'd have to respect it. And then you drop a D's joke on him. D's cakes? D's carrots?

All right. Buster Olney. Serious people. Do what's-his-name get a hold of you?

If they say who? We are not serious people. Not today. 844-204-Rich, number to dial.

At Rich Eisen's show, is carrot cake a top five cake? I am smashing the no button. Put your thumb on it, Rich. No, it's on. It's on and cracking. All right, we got to get to Buster Olney, but stay on hold, people. 844-204-Rich, number to dial. Buster Olney from the worldwide leader in sports.

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Seriously, though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover.com slash match. What's the first blessed reaction to our new poll question? Early results is carrot cake, a top five cake, absolutely 42%. What? No way.

58%. Um, are there? Oh, boy, there's just, yeah, there's a lava cake. Somebody's put crab cake. It's not a dessert.

It's an appetizer to your meal of seafood. Lava cake is great, too. Lava cake is tight, but does lava cake count as chocolate cake? No, there are many different, I guess, well, this chocolate is many different types of chocolate cakes. True. Oh, by the way, like a butter cake. Come on, man. A rum cake.

What do you know about that? Rum cakes are good. That's because they're sweet. That's because, exactly, the master's butter cake.

But they're sweet. Why are we making cakes out of vegetables? Coffee cake.

My aunt used to make rum cake every year at Christmas, and she puts about two bottles of rum in there. You have a couple bites of that, you need to drive her to get home. Nobody in my family cooked, like ever. We don't need no one cooked ever.

I'm serious. Like, I don't mean to call everyone out, but you're like, you've made two relatives that cooked you stuff that you remember to this day, right? Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, my mom, my sisters, my grandma. You mentioned your aunt, your mother, and your grandmother, right? For me, you know what made me cakes? Her name was Betty and Crocker. Well, those are delicious.

But you're talking about from scratch, right? That's how my people do, though. Your people? What do you mean? My family? What are you talking about?

My family, my people. Okay, back here on The Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. 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 clickgrainger.com or just stop by as our friend from the worldwide leader in sports, with the baseball trade deadline a couple of weeks away, Buster Olney, back here on The Rich Eisen Show. How are you, Buster? I'm doing great, Rich.

Good to talk to you. As I told you, whenever I talk to you, I get extra credit in the eyes of my 19-year-old son, who just loves your work. You know what, Buster? Dad points are the best points that you can possibly get.

I'm honored that I can actually deliver that to you. So what's your son's name again, Buster? His name is Jake. He's a huge Titans fan. He grew up in Westchester County. He's a fan of the Titans, Hornets, and Braves, so he's a weird kid.

Okay, I'm going to bite on this. Growing up in Westchester County, how do you love the Tennessee Titans? The Oilers predate him, so what gives, Buster? Well, his first name is Jake, as I mentioned, and his first fantasy football team, he had Jake Lockers as quarterback, so that locked in the Titans. With the Braves, he was a huge fan of Chipper Jones and then Freddie Freeman. He did a book report on Freddie Freeman, so he was locked in there.

And with the Hornets, as I said, I think he just figured he was rooting for all these teams down in the deep south, and he continued that trend. Well, Buster, I found a unicorn. I'm sure you believe your son is a unicorn because he's your son. But I found the first person who Jake Locker didn't turn off on the Tennessee Titans. That's impressive. Wow.

That's very impressive. I wish the quarterback's name was Jake Brady for your son's sake, but let's just jump into the world of baseball. Where does the Otani situation reside as you and I are currently talking, Buster?

Yeah. At this moment, he's not available for trade. The Angels have communicated to all the teams that they're willing to listen, which is not a change of their stance since he joined their organization. At some point, Perryman asking their general manager will collect that information. He'll take it up the line to Artie Moreno, the Angels' owner, and then Artie will make a decision whether or not he's going to okay a trade. Last year, the Angels' front office went through that process, and when the information was taken to Artie, Artie, from what I understand, went crazy.

He was furious that the front office actually engaged in any of that because he thought it was unthinkable. And it's part of the reason why I ask executives of other teams who are not pursuing them, hey, what do you think they're going to do? What do you think they should do? Unanimously, people of other teams are, of course they should trade him to get value before he becomes a free agent, especially a player that valuable, and with the Angels struggling the way they are, playing about.500, not really seemingly equipped to make the playoffs this year. And I also get back, and they probably won't, because Artie is stubborn and trading a guy, you can understand this part of it, trading a guy having arguably the greatest season any player has ever had, and perhaps delivering him permanently out of Anaheim, that's kind of a frightening proposition. And they don't expect that Artie's going to change his mind before we get to the deadline. Well, but their, one would think, performance around him and support of him roster-wise will drive him out because they aren't winning again. So it's not that they're going to trade him out, it's just that the results might cause him to leave, right? That's the alternative of it, it's like, yeah, you don't want to trade the best player of all time, but if the best player of all time is going to leave you with a compensatory pick, you better trade him, Buster. That's exactly right, that's exactly right, that's how people with other teams view it, it's a no-brainer that you can't have a talent like this, you know, a potential trade beast, because anything they were acquiring, the Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees, you know, not only would they be getting one of the top five hitters in baseball, but they'd be getting a guy who could start game one or game two of the postseason. And so you know whatever the haul is, it would be pretty dang good, and it would help the Angels get better moving forward, and your point about him and the lack of support around him and the lack of a roster around him is really important, because what you hear about Otani is that as time has gone on, he's gotten more and more frustrated with the fact that they're not winning, that they haven't been able to win, you know, that they haven't been in the playoffs in almost ten years, and when he becomes a free agent, you talk to folks with other teams, they don't expect that Otani's going to return to the Angels, and given that reality, right, the choices between getting, you know, major league ready players or young major leaguers, or getting draft picks that might not see the big leagues for, you know, three, four years. If this was the NBA, Otani would have probably been on a podcast somewhere announcing his intention, right?

If this was the NFL, the Twitter account of this player might announce his intention or show up on a podcast too. What is his world like? Like, who's counseling him? What approach are they taking here? What do you got for me, Buster? Yeah, and it's a really good point. He would unfriend, unfollow the Angels or something like that, right?

Something really super passive aggressive. From what everybody says about Otani is that his whole life every day is about baseball. He lives within walking distance of the ballpark. He goes over there, he gets his treatment, he goes through, you know, the regimen that he has, throwing a flat ground on the days that he doesn't pitch, or, you know, taking 20 to 25 swings, doing everything he can prepare to play, but there isn't really a lot more than that. The Angels don't ask him to meet with sponsors, and you've been on the field, Rich, where, you know, before a game, you'll see Aaron Judge go over and shake hands with the, you know, the best friend of a health time runner who's there with his three kids. The Angels ask Otani to do none of that.

He does none of that. He makes himself available, you know, to reporters very once in a while, as opposed to most players who are available pretty much every day. And so it feels like that his focus is on baseball for now, and as one general manager said to me, anybody who pretends to know what Otani is actually thinking is full of garbage. And he just cited the last time he went through this process, when he chose the Angels, he shocked the baseball world. And so what all these teams are doing now is effectively reading tea, trying to read tea leaves, and trying to guess what he wants. The general perspective, when you talk to general managers, head of baseball ops around the sport, is that they believe that he wants to play in Southern California, and that the last time around, if the Dodgers had had access to the DH, then that would have been his first choice.

That's what they believe. Instead, because at that time, you know, the Nationals didn't have the DH, he wanted to choose the Angels playing in Southern California and having the experience he has, they do expect that the Dodgers are going to be very invested in the pursuit of him in this offseason. Well, I guess if he was a Dodger, he couldn't walk to work, you know, or he'd have to walk to work, I guess, to get there on time, I guess is the way I should put it. But I am seizing on that nugget there, Buster Olney, because this is, the crux of it is, what does he want?

What does Otani want? Because if he does want to play baseball, where he can be anonymous, where he can literally walk to work past, you know, whatever strip malls are around the stadium, or, you know, and I guess cross the street as people are trying to drive to Disneyland, right? Like if he walks to work, and then doesn't have to meet with reporters more than just once every couple of days or whatever, and the front office doesn't ask him to do the dog slash pony, then a New York franchise, Boston, that doesn't work, you know, like that Philly, that ain't it.

I mean, it's the exact opposite. It's, you are the center of attention. And every time you pitch is a circus, like Dwight Gooden, you know, like that's it.

And obviously in, for the Dodgers, it would be like Fernando Mania, Nomo Mania, or something like that. But one would think he would still have to do a little bit more. So the question is, what does he want?

What does he like? Does he like this, even though it does come with the unfortunate aspect of not winning because of the way the Angels are built? Buster? And I think you framed it exactly right, and you also are raising a lot of the questions that are being asked in front offices right now. If he were to sign with the Yankees, and by the way, or any of these things, for let's say it's $600 million, because that's the number you hear thrown around a lot by front office people these days, $600 million. I can tell you this, having covered the Yankees, there would be an expectation that he would make himself available. And if he went over five and struck out four times, the culture in that organization, in that city, would be that he would come out and do the perp walk and say, I stink, as Giancarlo Stanton did, especially early in his time, and that they would handle things.

And yes, that he would meet and greet and do all that stuff. I think it would be the same with the Mets, or it would be the same with the Red Sox. I do think if he were to sign with the Dodgers, that they'd be able to protect him in a couple ways. One, I don't think the media frenzy is as intense as it is in the East Coast. And the other thing, too, is he'd be playing alongside Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, and Freddie Freeman.

And so I think there would be some protection there. And let's face it, there's enough stories to Rich by now. People know sort of what he prefers. And yes, for $600 million, they probably want more than what he's giving the Angels in terms of the dog and pony stuff. But they also understand what's been successful for him and what's worked for him when he's been with the Angels. Well, and I guess with all of this being discussed, Buster, between you and I right now, would you be able to hammer out all of the expectations as you're trying to acquire them mid-season, right? I mean, wouldn't there be some sort of talk that would have to go down between team that acquires him or gives the Angels something that would make him think or Artie Moreno think? Wouldn't there have to be some conversation about how happy he would be with that development?

And thus, prospects going back and forth might be enhanced if you get a better answer from Otani, right? I don't think if he's traded mid-season that that would be part of the conversation. The team that would be acquiring him for the last two months would basically, I think, follow up on what the Angels have done. Which is, you know what, let him go do his pitching stuff, let him go do his hitting stuff, and we're going to leave him alone, make him available with an opening press conference. And then if he does something extraordinary in game, that he would speak to reporters, but besides that, not much more. As a free agent, I think that moves closer to what you're talking about. That there would be a conversation of, yeah, we'd like him to do this, but I would say this. Like, Otani has special rules. There's no doubt, you know, the phrase that I've been using in our internal conversations is, he's got a lot of autonomy. Nice. He does his own thing.

And I think that he's such a great player that, let's say, if the Dodgers had a chance to sign him and his agent were to say, yeah, you know, he doesn't like to do the media more than once or twice a week, the Dodgers response might be, yes sir, may I have another? Probably. No, I'm sure. I'm sure. And you're right. With Betts and everyone, the cupboard's not there. He's just one of many stars.

He just would stand out because of who he is. A couple more on the subject matter and then we'll move on if you don't mind busting on me. So first things first. What you said at the outset of this dialogue, Artie Moreno chastised his front office for doing due diligence on the Otani front. Why would he do that last year?

Why? Well, I think he was, from what I understand, and this is, you know, I've heard this from multiple sources, that he was surprised that they had gone through that process because he had no interest in trading Otani. Which is kind of silly, because you know this time of year, when general managers talk with other teams, when front office people talk with other teams, they ask about everybody. They cover every possibility because they don't want to be surprised. Which is why the reports of the Cubs and the Yankees had a conversation about Cody Bellinger. Yeah, they talk about every player. And so I think that Artie was surprised, from what I understand, that this was brought up in the first place by the Angels front office.

I just, it's just like, hey bud, this is the reality of the situation, and I would want my staff to be buttoned up and fully aware of every possibility and have it placed in front of me, rather than like, how dare you consider it? Like, are you out of your skull? That's, you know, that one kind of surprises me. And then, what's the most impressive thing you've seen Otani do with your own two eyes, Buster?

Where you're just like, okay, that's just not normal. What do you have for me there, Buster? Yeah, and there'd be a lot of competition for that, for sure. And real quick, just to double back on the Angels, what you also hear from other teams is that the best time for them to trade him would have been last July. Because you basically could have restructured the old franchise with the possible return, and so whatever they get this July, if they were to trade him, would be, you know, 60 cents in the dollar, because it's only one pennant race versus two. Yeah, so watching him run, I always love when he runs the first base, because he's so big and he's so fast, the rooster tail that pops up behind him is incredible. Like, he's throwing dirt 12 to 15 feet in the air. When he pitches, the fact that he improved his command so much from 2021 to 2022, that was crazy. The other night, when we had him on Sunday Night Baseball, the sound of a ball he hit, and I think he wound up being a foul.

Foul, yep, foul. It was so loud on the field. It jumped out to Eduardo Perez and David Cone, my colleagues, who know a lot more about this than I do, and they were like, oh my God, that was so loud.

But the part that I love about him, which is so underrated, is how competitive he is. Phil Nevin, his manager, told us a story the other day, that when they went to Yankee Stadium, you know, Otani usually takes batting practice inside rather than outside, but he made a couple of exceptions this year. He hit outside at Yankee Stadium, and Phil joked to him, what are you doing, auditioning? But when he got there, Phil, who had been, of course, the third base coach of the Yankees before, and seen Judge and Stanton take BP there, Otani asked him, where did Judge hit the ball? Where did Stanton hit the ball?

And Nevin pointed to these two places on the horizon, and then of course Otani and BP hit it beyond that. That is him. He loves the fact, as Phil said to us, he wants to do everything better than anybody else has ever done it. That is the underrated part of Shohei Otani. And that also makes me believe he can do it in a big city. That he can do it there. He's just like, you know what, I'm going to step outside and take BP here and just put on a show when everybody is watching me. And it makes me think he can, and that maybe he would even be better under that circumstance, right?

That challenge he would meet. And you know, again, Buster, having covered New York sports for as long as you did, the ones who succeed at it, the ones who aren't fazed by it, Jeter, Eli, you know, that's the type. And it seems like he's like that guy. It just feels that way.

There's no doubt about it. You know, when I covered Derek Jeter, I always thought to myself that, you know, if he played someone in pickup basketball, he would begin that by knowing that he was going to find a way to win. You know, he could play somebody with a better jump shot, drive to the lane better, better three pointer, but Derek would be convinced that he would find a way to win. I think Otani is that guy as well. And this whole thing about, you know, restrictions and him not doing that much stuff, I've actually thought that it's kind of a mistake because I think he's very much at ease.

Like I've worked the sidelines and we've had games with them on Sunday Night Baseball and the All-Star games and the dugout for ESPN radio. And to watch the by-play between he and the other players, like they gravitate to him. He's totally comfortable. He's a big stage Reggie Jackson type personality. There's no doubt about it.

He would be completely at ease. We saw it in the WBC. Like who wants the ball in the ninth inning with Mike Trout on the plate?

Of course it's me. That's what Otani is thinking. Oh my gosh. Well, if the Yankees don't get him, then, you know, the star insurance patches for nothing. What do you think George M Steinbrenner III would be doing today?

Buster? He would be making side deals. He'd be acquiring small islands and delivering them to Otani in deals that no one would ever find out about. He would be doing everything he could, you know, signing over, you know, family property, that sort of thing, to get Otani. He would be obsessed with Otani.

There's no doubt about it. And on top of that, if he were alive today, he would be on Twitter telling us about it as he did it. And he also would be making not so veiled threats at Boone and Cashman. Again, you know, this is a team that would be in first place in the AL Central, but they're in last place in the AL East. And Judge, as we all know, might be close to be coming back. That's why I'm wondering what he would be doing right now. Because Hal, last we heard from him, he was on our friend Michael Case show talking about all you have to do is play like they played in early May. And his dad was the one who criticized Winfield for playing in October like he was playing in early May. And I couldn't, just hearing the word May out of a Steinbrenner's mouth caused me to just have flashbacks and how they're two different humans. So what do you think?

What do you think, Bustin? Yeah, it would, I mean, Hal is so different. And by the way, that's not across the board bad either, right? George, as you know, when he would get impetuous, he would lose his temper. You know, at one point he stripped the dental plan from club employees. He did really awful stuff. He drove that franchise into the ground by the late 80s because he was so impetuous and so angry. And he didn't really get reborn until he got that two-year timeout. Which allowed Gene Michael and Bob Watson to build the team that won all the championships, Buster.

A hundred percent. And, you know, George was very different in the years that I covered him. He was not quite as impetuous, but man, the stories behind the scenes on that are different. Hal is beloved by his employees, which was not the case with George. Like, they really, but, you know, Hal in this moment, and it's why, you know, for me, when I look at where they are in the standings and what they need and how the teams struggle with that judge, I do think it's a moment for an impetuous move to call the Cubs and say, yes, I want Cody Bellinger and I'll pay the extra 20%. Because we need help right now because we're the New York Yankees and we have more money and more, you know, ability to make a move more than anybody else.

And I do think that if the Yankees get word that Otani is available, and as I said, as of this moment, he's not really available, then I do think the Yankees are going to step up and be really aggressive to try to get him for the last two months. Yeah, you used the words what? Highly motivated? That was your report?

Highly motivated. Okay. So, soup to nuts right now, before I let you go, you think Crystal Ballot, Otani stays? That the Angels just don't do it? Yeah, that's my guess. That Artie, in the end, will be afraid that he doesn't want to trade this guy having the best season we've ever seen. You and I both know, and it's not quite apples to apples because of free agency and such, but the only reason why the sports world knows the name Harry Frazee was because he delivered Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees. That's, I'm guessing, in the first paragraph of his Wiki page.

That probably would be in the first two paragraphs of Artie's Wiki page. I think it's a lot easier for him if he were to trade Otani. I think it's a lot easier for him politically to just wait till free agency, and if Otani leaves for the Dodgers, he could say, hey, you know, it was his choice. Buster, appreciate the time here.

I know we just were Otani-centric and a little bit of the Yankees. That's truly what's on the forefront of my mind here. In the next couple weeks, I know things will get busier, but look for my call and you'll have to say yes because your son will be disappointed if you say no, Buster.

That is 100% true, Rich. I appreciate it. Thanks for the time. Always love our chats, Buster.

Thanks again. That's Buster only. Second sentence on Harry Frazee's Wikipedia page. But I'll tell you what, what would you rather have?

What would you rather have? Because Harry sent it because, what, he sent Babe Ruth because something with his Broadway production? Yeah, something he needed the money to fund a play or something. There was no free agency back in the day.

What would you rather have on your Wikipedia page? Traded Otani for certain players and roll the dice that these players can actually win you something with Trout? Or had the best player couldn't win a damn thing with him and he left because he didn't think you could do it?

Had the two best players. Right. What do you want? What's worse? What's worse? What's worse? What's worse is... What's worse is having them and only going to one playoff series. And the guy leaves you because he didn't get voted, the ultimate vote of no confidence and your ability to win with them. Yeah, that's worse. Yeah, which is why you got to trade him.

How about this? How about him chastising his front office for doing the due diligence? And as Buster pointed out, the time to have traded a mid-season was last year, which is why the Washington Nationals did that with Juan Soto. So they could say to the Padres or whomever, hey, you've got contractual control on this kid for a couple of seasons.

So we're going to get more prospects here because we know we kind of stink and we know he's going to walk. 844-204, rich number of adult phone lines are lit and people want to talk about Carrie Cake. And that's what's so great about this show. That's next. This is Rich Eisen Show. Switch to another podcast app and follow this show there.

Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. And we're back with a spotlight on the open championship streaming July 20th through July 23rd on Peacock. Do not miss the last golf major of the season with comprehensive coverage all four days, including exclusive featured groups and holes analysis before, during and after the rounds live from the studio and so much more. The open championship brings the greatest golfers in the world back to Royal Liverpool this year for a chance at the Claret Jug. I'm talking Scottie Scheffler, the number one ranked player in the world. He's got two wins under his belt this season, but his last major win was the twenty twenty two Masters. Will he clinch a twenty twenty three majors title this weekend? Or will current world number two John Rahm carry the momentum from his Masters win this season to the open and get himself one step closer to a career grand slam? Plus, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepke, Jordan Spieth and last year's winner, Cam Smith and more.

All to tee off at this year's open championship. You don't want to miss it. The one hundred fifty first open championship, where the champion golfer of the year will be crowned beginning July 20 on NBC, USA and Peacock.

Right here on the Roku platform. Yeah, baby. Open Open Championship tees off tonight at ten thirty five Pacific. So catch a little open when you go to bed. Wake up.

Rory tees off at seven a.m. Pacific. Oh, that's great. I'll be paying zero attention. I'm going to have to I'm going to have to fight through. Staying awake through the last three innings of the Yankees tonight. You two TV's watch the open and the Yankees. No, no.

Yanks. They'll be over by like nine. I'm gonna have to stay up. That's yeah.

And they've been putting me to sleep. Well, if you go to the game, you can. I'm not going to the game, Chris.

I'm saying we could have taken a road trip, but you didn't want to. I'm not going to the game, guys. Back here on the rich eyes and show eight four four two oh four. Rich is the number to dial.

All right. Mark in Corpus Christi, Texas. You're here on the program. What's up, Mark?

Oh, rich, rich, rich, rich, rich, Mark, Mark, Mark. Not be more wrong. OK. About carrot cake. OK. First off, I think a couple of points is there's more sugar and sugar cake. It will make your eyeball pop out, but you can't just have carrot cake. Got to have the Philly cream cheese icing with it.

A seven layer carrot cake is on the Mount Rushmore of carrot cake. See what I'm saying? What I'm saying, though. Hold on a second.

Mark, Mark, Mark. Just to point it out, I understand, you know, what you're describing in your mind is a delicacy that you would have. After a meal, but I'm saying carrot is a vegetable you have with your meal and cream cheese for me is fruit. Mark, Mark, for me, as a New York Jew, cream cheese goes on a bagel. It doesn't go on top of a cake made out of vegetables. You understand what I'm saying?

Like put it all together. You're not you're not you're not like fruitcake. Not really. I'll be honest.

Wouldn't even make a top 100. I'd rather have sawdust cake than a fruitcake. But I'm not I'm not advocating for fruitcake.

I'm not. Well, you're saying you wouldn't have veggies. I would rather not have fruit in my cake. Mark, I'm going to have to agree to disagree. But so what is carrot cake is literally your go to like Nick Saban. Not even number one is seen as Mount Rushmore season.

It would be George Washington on the Mount Rushmore. Thank you, Mark. Carrot cake is G.W. Mark. So we will turn down any birthday party invite from Mark. No, that'll be the cake.

I'll just bring my own. OK. Like the kids. The only thing that I love about fruitcake is the Jerky Boys line.

That's about it. Hey, buddy, I don't need to talk. Usually Collins call using it as a term of mock endearment for somebody as the Jerky Boys did. How would you like a cake? Fruitcake. Dennis in Long Beach, California. What's up, Dennis?

Good morning, guys. I love the cake talk. First off, my number one by far is the coconut pineapple cake. It makes it on Long Beach. Best pies and cakes in the region.

Check it out if you're down here. OK. I got a question for Rich and a question for Brockman that might be controversial on the second one. First of all, Rich, would you be OK with the carrot cake as a muffin?

Because we see that a lot. And for Brockman, this doesn't have a pie crust. It's a cake, but it's called Boston cream pie. It's not a pie.

Chris, you want to answer yours first? If it's got it in the name, it is what it is. I got to understand it. Like people are trying to say cheesecake, not a cake because it has a crust. Cheesecake is in the name. It's called a cake. So it's a cake.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. Well, but also you'd say crab cake is not a cake. It's in the name.

Got to be careful. But crab cake is in cake form. It's just you don't eat it as a dessert. But it's called a cake. So you can't say it is a cake just because it's called that. Boston cream pie is not in pie form.

What is the matter with people? You're right. That excellent point. But Dennis, since we are using language in a literal way here, carrot in a muffin, that's fine. That's a muffin. You can have it in the morning.

It's something you have in the morning with your coffee. Carrot muffin. Sure. I got it. Cake.

Like, hey, end of dinner. There you go. You got tiramisu. You've got cookies. You got ice cream and you got cake. I'm like, OK, carrot.

Really? No, thank you. With the raisins, which makes it healthy, quote unquote. Goodness gracious.

Thank you for the call. Raisins. Carrot. Like if I'm like, hey, here's carrots and raisins. You know who would like that? My dogs. They would eat it. They'd be cleaning up after. But for me, sitting down as a choice, no thanks.

And I don't blame people for saying they like carrot cake. But Nick Saban saying not even close. Now it's on. Now it's on. Now it's on. Now I take that as an attack posture.

But again, that's Grandma Saban. Not even close. All right. Or as he would say, I Greg Harden stay sane in the insane world.

Coming up in studio. It just implies that there's a wide gap between one and two. Which we all you know, there's not. No. No, no. Maybe if you if it's your personal favorite, it's not even close. Fine.

But your number two is not even close. Right there. I think he's probably referring to recruiting classes between Alabama and everyone else.

Circa twenty twenty twenty twenty one. Well, look, Nick Saban hot seat. Oh, my God.

If Saban and Belichick area are both on the hot seat the same year, who's more on the hot seat? Please don't do that. Please don't do that. I don't want our name attached to that. Put on your own personal account.

Put on at at at Chris Brockman. That's a you thing. I want I don't want my name attached to that.

Or you just got shown up by the host. No, I'm not showing them up. I'm just taking a stance, taking a stand.

I want no part of that. I've been talking about Belichick hot seat for two years now. Tom Curry confirmed it's a real thing. He said it's been different levels of warmth since twenty nineteen was the words he used earlier this week.

And I know because I saw we got aggregated for it. Or how about this one? Who whose legacy takes a greater hit without a playoff berth this year? Oh, my God. Legacies.

They're both first ballot Hall of Famers, the best of all time. And that's we're not we're not debating and whether they were not debating whether they were in the playoffs in twenty twenty three means nothing. Nick Saban's wondering, how did we get here?

I don't want any part of that either. How wrestling really works and how you get the ratings. Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson explain on eighty three weeks. Collision has been struggling a little bit out of the gate with these ticket sales and 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.