REShow: Jonathan Smith & Jeff Passan- Hour 2

This piece of filet mignon. The Rich Eisen Show.

Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I've identified these five teams. One of them is Miami. Would Denver do this? Do the Bears go for it? What about the Los Angeles Rams?

What about Dallas? You want to get Jonathan Taylor? The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.

Still to come. Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith. Packers beat writer for the athletic, Matt Shneidman. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air here on this busy Thursday, two weeks before kickoff of the NFL season. We spent the first hour talking to Tom Pelissero about the 49ers decision to go with Sam Darnold as their backup over Trey Lance, the third overall selection in the draft just a couple of years ago. We also talked about the Jonathan Taylor latest with him.

We also poured one out for Otani's throwing arm. Moving forward, who knows what's happening there? Jeff Passon of ESPN, kind enough to be a late add.

He's slated to join us in about 20 minutes time for the latest on all of that. Our number two here, Susie Schuster sitting in for Chris Brockman over there. Hello, Susie. Hi there, honey.

DJ Mikey D is in these nuts. Hello there, honey. How are you? Very well. Good. TJ Jefferson, how are you? Good to see you, sir. How are you? I'm happy to be here.

Good. Our number two right here on the Roku channel, 844204rich. Number to dial.

We'll have time to take your phone calls later on. He is the reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2022. Oregon State football quarterback from back in the day, pride of Corvallis. Then, as he is right now, the head coach of the football program there, Jonathan Smith, kind enough to call in the Rich Eisen show. How are you, coach?

Yeah, I'm doing great, Rich. Thanks for having us. You bet. I just definitely wanted to kick the tires on what's going on there right now. It's going through your mind and the program but first, I do want to hit the the way back machine a little bit with you and you know, how did a kid from Pasadena wind up in Corvallis back in the day for you?

Yeah, that is quite a while ago but it's a little bit I was down there. I had a high school teammate getting recruited by Oregon State and through that evaluation, they kind of put eyes on me, invited me to to walk on at the time and I know I wanted to get into coaching and I felt like that was the highest level I could get to to really learn about it and so got up here with a guy named Mike Riley was the head coach. I've heard of him. I've heard of him. And he promised that I get opportunity to compete and a couple years later, ended up playing and and having a great time. Now, no question about it. Did you, what what did you glean from coach Riley and Erickson? You want to talk about guys who you could learn stuff from. You certainly did that.

Yeah, I did a ton. I mean, both of them definitely personalities are different. Ways of doing things are different but schematically offense.

Both of them really, really sharp. Learned a ton and they did some really good coaches around him. I'm the first quarterback coach was Paul Christ who had a nice run there in Wisconsin and learned a ton from him and and that was really what I was looking for. So, those all those guys impacted my coaching career a ton. I'm sure and so when when it's all said and done, do you sometimes catch yourself and it's like, oh gosh, I sound like, you know, coach Riley.

I saw, oh gosh, I sound like coach Erickson. Anything like that? Did you catch yourself? Yeah.

On occasion, yeah. On occasion, those guys that worked for Chris Peterson for a long time. He had a huge influence and so I I sound like him. Oh, you're always trying to own your own voice but those guys again impacted and I learned a ton.

So, when I sound like him, I take it with pride. I understand as well that, you know, the the coaching mantra that you can only control what you can control, control the controllables, however you want to say it is is definitely a default position but I am wondering how the latest news to come out of the Pac-twelve has hit you and your football program. Yeah, there's no question that mantra control what we can control. It's not easy to do but ultimately it is our only option right now and that's what actually it's been it's been nice the last three weeks going through training camp, preparing for a season day to day with our players focused on the task at hand. That's been a almost an escape from all of this and it is ultimately out of our control.

We feel good about this team, the roster we have and the season that's certain in front of us and then through this uncertainty, you know, once it finally plays itself out and there's some certainty of what it looks like for Oregon State moving forward, then we can, you know, process that and make a plan moving forward. Well, have you addressed this? Did you call the team together on mass? What have you done with the team on this subject matter? Well, we addressed it early on in camp and the same thing. We'll control what we can control what we feel really good about, you know, this current roster, the staff, the chance we have this season and that's our complete focus.

So, you know, we set the stage early in camp. I think we addressed it one other time about a week ago and now, you know, potentially breaking news today. Just we anticipated news is going to break but again, it goes back to this mantra of controlling what we can and focused on the task at hand. And so, how do you think the kids have handled it?

I think it's felt great in regards to practices are normal, focus, meetings, work ethic and I kind of say it this way. In this day and age of college football with the transfer portal, I think everyone's reevaluating come December, January. Their, you know, their situation, each individual player, crap, I mean, coaches are doing it and now schools are doing it and so I don't see it that different to come December. You know, everyone's going to reevaluate and sort it all out.

We just want to stay focused on these next four months. And so, you know, does it piss you off? I'll just come out and ask you point blank. Oh, there's moments. There's no question. I get some business.

You mentioned it. I grew up in Pasadena. I grew up going to the Rose Bowl in Pac-12 versus Big 10 games. This will be my 17th season in the Pac-12 as a player or a coach.

Yeah, I got some deep roots here and really pride of West Coast football and knowing all the schools and all that. So, yeah, I get some bitterness the way this is all played out. Ultimately, I see it's a business side and currently we're, you know, playing musical chairs and we don't got a chair to sit on. Well, I'm just wondering as well, do you use this as a rallying cry for the season? You know, I don't know if I get hammered a ton with our guys. These guys are motivated. They want to win. They want to play well and just because it's out of our control how this is playing out. Well, the players we're playing against, it's out of their control too.

It's like they made these calls or something. So, I don't use it a ton on the motivation side. I think there's there'll be guys in our in our locker room that yeah, it might be a huge motivation for them but as a program, we've built this thing to where we got a chance to compete at really high level and we're focused on doing that. Yeah, you do, Jonathan Smith. There's no question that you do and the reason why I'm not saying like, hey, let's do this, you know, for the Pac twelve. I'm saying, you know, hey, heart of hearts, where's Oregon State going to wind up and you know, you're hearing about Stanford and Cal maybe winding somewhere on the with the ACC or maybe the big ten goes and gets them and you and Washington State might be left without a chair and if you go and kick **** in the Pac twelve season, the final one, then maybe you can open some eyes and get get a home that you might not otherwise have. Coach, is that a fair assessment? I mean, you'd like to think if we can play really well and that's back to what you can control and so that's what we're focused on or preparing. We got a non-conference schedule first and we're locked in on that and then again, it's out of our control how this thing plays out but we're playing this season for this current twenty-three, you know, Beaver locker room and coaching staff and then we'll let the dust settle after that. I've got Jonathan Smith, Oregon State head football coach here on the Rich Eisen show. Speaking of transfer portal, you've named a new starting quarterback. Have you not, coach? Yeah. Yup.

DJ DJ you as he goes around a lot of that. He's done a great job. Come on now. Hold on a second. Hold on a second.

You once threw to TJ Hoosmanzata, which is definitely not a a monosyllabic name. Come on now. Come on now, right? So, what do you got? DJ you, right? DJ Ungerleil. That ain't easy, man. That ain't easy but I'm sorry. He's incredibly talented kid that you have there.

Got here in January. Uh dove in to just being a part of the locker room. Not trying to be the face of the program right away. I think he's gained a ton of respect from the players on the team. He worked really hard. It's this offensive systems quite a bit different than what he'd been doing before and so there was a learning curve all the way through spring ball and then got into fall camp and you can see his comfort level getting better and better and he and he played well. We had multiple couple of scrimmages that he played at a high level. I think he's won over this team that way.

I do think this was pretty competitive. We got a quarterback room with some talent. Ben Goldrinson who he beat out last year went seven and one as a starter last year for us and pushed DJ in a big way. We got a freshman Aiden Giles that has a lot of talent and he's played well and so we've got some options in the room but DJ is going to go out there first. So, what what has the university told you, coach, about what's being talked about the future of the program and where what conference you might wind up in?

What are you what do you hear? Yeah, our athletic director, Scott Barnes, I think he's done a great job communicating when there's information at the same time when there's uncertainty. He's not taking me in deep into the weeds so I can focus on the task at hand. Obviously, exploring different options and what options those are and so that I just leave it in their hands on on on Peyton's future.

I appreciate the communication but until we have some definite clarity, once we have clarity, I'll I'll be feel good about making a plan moving forward. Okay, do you at any point in time when you're have a moment alone, maybe driving to work or something, think about how wild it is that you are in a position where you are and obviously, you've been the coach there a while but at this juncture, to be in this position for such a crucial season for your school after what you did for this school, is there any sense of of significance that you have entering this season that stands out to you? Well, it's significant. Yes, with the with all the all the movement going on but it's significant. We're opening up a brand new stadium that we just finished over 170 million dollar expansion and the thing is beautiful.

It's going to be rocking. We got an awesome home schedule with you know a lot of you know perennials coming in here, Utah, UCLA, UW, and so that's significant that way. We don't, again, I don't want our players feeling like this thing is bigger than what it is. We're going to line up and play each week and go but we're definitely excited about the the opportunity that this you know historical season, if it is the last season of the PAC 12 Conference, makes me want to puke to even say that but if it is, we want to play our best and enjoy it. Then point out to everybody you took the wrong school, right? Every week you go out there.

You could do that with your play, right? We've got opportunity to play into that narrative, but I'll just say it again. It's about us and what we're going to do and there's a lot of people that I think want us to do well and hopefully we turn into a great national story, but I don't want to add any pressure to this locker room in regards to living up to different expectations.

We got our own expectations and we're locked in on those. Alright, before I let you go and I appreciate the time, please provide me with your favorite Chad Johnson story. Please give me your favorite one. I'll just tell you the first time I met him. He comes from Santa Monica Junior College. He had a class or two, so he arrives like a day or two before we start practice in an August and he comes up to me and you know, I think whatever someone introduced because I was the quarterback and he introduces himself and he tells me he's going to buy me a Lexus and I kind of say what? He's like yeah, I'm going to buy you a Lexus because you're going to get me to the National Football League and I'm still waiting on that Lexus. He told me he was giving me Deebo shoes at 15 Pro Bowls ago and I'm still waiting on them. Yes. So he's on brand. So that's what he told you for the first when he first met you.

Oh yeah. He's a beautiful man. He's a great personality and obviously he was a really good player. Had an awesome NFL career and did a ton for the one season here, but that's the first time I met him.

What did he tell you in a huddle? I mean TJ's probably in your ear too, right? He was huge for him. TJ because TJ really would have been there a year longer.

Chad was still learning the formations and the plays and all that. So TJ was his right hand man helping him get lined up. Did Carson Palmer ever call you up and say how do I deal with these guys? Did that ever happen?

Did that ever happen? He didn't man. He probably functioned with him fine and and all that.

He did not call me for any of us. I'm just wondering if that had happened and do you refer to him as Ocho or no? He's always Chad Johnson. He's Chad.

He's Chad to me. Coach, thanks for the time. Greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah.

Best of luck. You bet. That's Jonathan Smith, head coach of the Oregon State Beavers right here on the Rich Eisen Show.

I mean they got a new stadium there. So you did or did not go to Corvallis back in the day. You did.

I did. I was just thinking if you knew Ron Artest before you wouldn't call him meta. Like I don't think you would ever call Chad Johnson Ocho because you can't take that seriously. First of all, you can't take Ocho seriously regardless because you can't call somebody Ocho. Well, certainly if he's going to say I'm going to buy you a Lexus because you're going to get me to the NFL.

He did and there's no Lexus. Chad said a lot of things. Chad said told me he was going to get me Deebos.

The Suess. Yeah. Well, Shaq also told you that he was going to wear chaps on your show. That's true. There's that too.

People see a lot of things in the heat of the moment. I know Ernie Johnson once told me that's apparently a stock line for him that he's going to show up as a cheerleader as a paying off a bet that he has no intention of ever doing. That's crap. You should call him out on it.

We did. Look Shaq buys strangers cars and laptops. I think he's a generous man.

Yeah, but there's a difference between basically buying a stranger a car and showing up in chaps. I feel like it's a lot easier for Shaq. Is that what you want to see?

Shaq and chaps? No, I don't. I certainly do not. Just real quick here. Let's just linger on this for a second. So you're Oregon State and you're hearing everybody's gone and you're looking around going what happened to this conference and you're hearing because we were I mean I have referred to it as the PAC four all the time because it's Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford and Cal. That's left. That's it and you're hearing Big Ten might take Stanford and Cal. ACC wants Stanford and Cal. You're not hearing who's going to take Oregon State or Washington State. You're not hearing that right now and so if you're Oregon State and Jonathan Smith and Utah strolls into your stadium on a Friday night on FS one. Mike you're going to do that game. Is that on your list?

No because it's FS one. You don't bother with them. That's right.

Oh stop. And then you got UCLA coming to your house on October 14th. You're visiting Prime on November 4th. You're visiting Arizona on the twenty-sixth. You've got Stanford right there coming up. You've got Washington coming to your house and then you're going to Oregon. You don't think it's just like let's show them they took the wrong damn team every time. Yes, that's going to be the conversation by the way prior to the Saturday September 23rd visit to Washington State. The two teams that might be left without chairs.

I mean that's going to be a conversation all year long and they they got this kid from Clemson. DJ DJ I believe is that that's how you know it's funny Rich. I put a note in my notes in my phone 3 years ago after a cleansing game on how to pronounce.

What are you going to? So I still have it from 2020 DJ Uwe Lele. Okay. Yeah.

That is a seriously impressive pull there. He is way more professional than Brockman. We all know that well. It's just because I didn't notice he transferred until like 2 weeks ago. I was like oh he's with Oregon State Oregon State. Then when you brought it up, I was like wait a minute. I know I have it.

So yeah, I had it in my phone one day because I was like one day I'm going to need to know how to say this guy's name. I'm sure he doesn't want the season to be about that and as he said doesn't want any more added pressure. But UCLA is coming in just like okay enjoy the enjoy the Big Ten which they will. Still Washington. Oh, okay. You're the ones who are just leaving us.

Yeah. You want to stay. Oregon. They finish it with Washington Oregon. The two teams that just left for the Big Ten that puts them in the most tenuous position possible moving forward looking and they went ten and three last year.

What if they man I'm rooting for him looking into the crystal ball that we do have it isn't at your desk, but we do have it. Do you have any predictions about those two teams? Just which ones Oregon State and Washington City zero idea.

No idea no idea. But they gotta find a home. I don't think they stay independent independent. It's that's only that's only Notre Dame that can do that right. This whole conversation is insane. What they have done to college football is insane period. It's professional.

It's ridiculous. It's pro football. Yeah. And we get a playoff. That's all that matters. You hear that?

That's the fan right there. We gotta playoff. Gotta playoff. And and soon you're gonna end up having what eighty teams? March Madness is sixty-eight now, right?

Sixty-eight. Yeah. But then why didn't they do this in an organized fashion and just have one fell swoop. It's college athletics.

This is but this is you spend enough time in it. Yeah. I know I get it but I mean this just this is just going to spend the next 5 years disintegrating college football. The NIL came into being July 1st 2021 and we we're on the air.

We were talking about it like what's the what's the future going to be and everyone's just like I don't know to this day still no mass plan to deal with it. We'll take a break. Jeff Passon's going to join us. Eight four four two oh four rich. Number two doll. Uh we're late for him but okay it's a couple more minutes of sleep for him.

You've stayed up all night writing about Otani for ESPN. How would you like to look five years younger? In a clinical study, people that had volume added with Juvederm Voluma XC in the cheeks perceived themselves as looking five years younger at six months after treatment. Look younger.

Feel like you. Add volume for lift and contour in the cheeks with Juvederm Voluma XC. Reverse signs of aging by adding volume to smooth laugh lines with Juvederm Volure XC. For important safety information and to find a licensed specialist, visit Juvederm.com.

That's J-U-V-E-D-E-R-M.com. Not for people with severe allergic reactions, allergies to lidocaine, or the proteins used in Juvederm. Common side effects include injection site redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness, lumps, bumps, bruising, discoloration, or itching. There's a risk of unintentional injection into a blood vessel which can cause vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs, or scarring.

Talk to a licensed specialist to find out if it's right for you. Are you currently enjoying the show on the Stitcher app? Then you need to know Stitcher is going away on August 29th. Yup, 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 there.

Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. I don't know if they still have a shot to make the playoffs do that. Do they still have a shot?

Well, yeah. I mean, all they have to do is just try and win one of the next two without Tony and and then he comes back and no one's running away with this league. No one's running away with this division right now. Alright, you know what?

I guarantee we'll win one of the next two without Tony. Okay. And I'm guaranteeing we'll make the playoffs. Okay. I will write that. Write that down right now.

Shaquille O'Neal. If we don't make the playoffs, I'll come. I'll come with a Dallas Cowgirl suit on your show with some pom poms for 10 seconds. Oh my gosh.

Wow. I will come. I will walk out for 10 seconds and everybody take pictures and make fun.

Then I gotta leave. Ten seconds. That's all you get. That's it. About 11 seconds. Not twelve.

You get 10 seconds. Okay. I'm on the skirt. This is amazing.

Pom pom and a blonde ponytail wig. If so, that's if again, the Dallas Cowboys, they don't make the playoffs at all in this season. Right. Okay.

Now, what are you gonna do if they make the playoffs? Oh my gosh. Yeah. So, but I I think. Same bet. Same bet.

But I think they're making the playoffs. I'll do it with you, Shaq. How about that?

Deal. How are you, Shaq? First of all, it's not my fault. You need to blame it on the Dallas shops. I've been downtown Dallas looking for some big booty cheerleader shorts.

They don't have any. So, yes, I'm a man of my word and yes, I will come there one day when you least expect it. Oh. And fulfill my bet. Well, but the thing is I I have to do it with you, Shaq.

So, I I do need probably a little bit of a heads up. You know. But you know what? I don't want you to do it with me because you know what? You waited long enough. Okay.

You know, you're at the point to where you don't think I'm gonna believe it. So, just to prove it to you, I want you to be front and center. Okay. And I'm gonna give you twelve seconds. This is the best possible scenario, Shaq, is you you've extended it two seconds and absolve me from having to do it. Exactly. I just want you to sit there and watch.

Ah, yes. All of Shaq's appearances throughout this show and our YouTube page right here on the Rich Eisen Show back here on our radio network. The Rich Eisen Show desk I'm sitting at is furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger is the right product for you.

Call click Grainger.com or just stop by. Kind enough to call in sleep deprived because he is a lead pipe wielding professional who makes sure he's on top of the major story like Shoei Otani blowing out his pitching shoulder elbow. He is none other than Jeff Passan from the worldwide leader in sports back here on the program. How are you, Jeff? I'm well, Rich. How are you?

I'm doing. Are you caffeinated? Are you highly caffeinated right now?

No, no. I'm not caffeinated. What I'm doing is what I like to refer to as overcompensation.

When I don't sleep, I try and come in at the beginning like super energized just to like set a tone so that when I inevitably fade later in the conversation, you don't judge me too harshly for it. I appreciate the roadmap. Thank you. You're a good man.

That's a great roadmap, Jeff. Let's just jump right into it then while you have your energy. I'm gutted. What the hell, man? We can't have nice things. Huh? Unbelievable.

Yeah. I mean, I mean, the elbows really suck like that's sort of the moral of the story here. I, you know, I spent four plus years of my life writing a book about them and I just saw like sadness after sadness after sadness and it scares me now because my child, you know, is 15 years old and throws hard and I'm worried that I'm going to be like the moron father who wrote the book on something and still can keep his kid from, you know, suffering that injury and there's just a, there's a very harsh reality, Rich, when it comes to baseball players and it's this. The harder you throw, the likelier you are to get hurt and the way that baseball players are taught these days is that velocity matters and they're taught that velocity matters because guess what?

It does. The harder you throw, the more effective you are. That's just what the numbers tell us. They do not lie about that and while we can all sit here and romanticize pragmatics and Tom Glavin and, you know, the elite nibblers of any particular era, they're not the norm and they certainly, I don't think, would play as well in this velocity rich environment these days that exists.

Maybe Maddox just because he could move the ball to Glavin, I don't think would be quite the same and it's the reason that you've seen the average fastball velocity jump up above 94 miles an hour. It's, I mean, it's a staggering number considering where we were a quarter century ago that, you know, we've gone from a good fastball, like a very good fastball being 94 and 95 to that just being like the barrier of entry for any pitcher now and Shohei Otani at 6'4", 230 pounds with the ability to generate force the way he does throws the ball about as hard as anyone. And the vagaries of that body part or body joint and its associated ligaments just shows that Otani is human now that it's twice now. So what can you tell us about what the Angels did learn and the immediate aftermath moving forward?

I don't know the details of that yet. So there's going to be some, I'm not even going to call it speculation, but I will say this, I think if it were a small tear or a partial tear that could have been done through rehabilitation that Perry Manasseh and the general manager probably would not have come out and said as clearly and concisely as he did that there's a tear at the UCL. Generally speaking that when a general manager comes out and is that clear with the injury and isn't talking about forearm tightness or talking about the flexor mass or you know talking about any of those things in very specific language like that that means Tommy John surgery is probably coming.

Now I hope I hope I'm wrong about this but let's remember the last time Otani had it. I don't know if you recall this but during the winter meetings like right around when he signed I got tipped off that his elbow was not clean and I wrote something about it and the Angels came out and said yeah he's fine and then six months later it blew out finally. So he tried at that point to use platelet-rich plasma which is a biologic that you can inject into the elbow in hopes that this you know these healing cells are going to essentially repair a small tear but when it's a full thickness tear or when it's close to a full thickness tear there's nothing you can do except go into the elbow and you know tie off a new ligament there and hope this one keeps better than the last one. Jeff Passan from ESPN and the author of The Arm inside the billion dollar mystery of the most valuable commodity in sports right here on the Rich Eisen show. So you can hit with this?

You can? Yeah you know when you are Otani's perfect to hit with this because he's a throw right bat left and so the right arm for a left-handed hitter it tends to use more of the lateral side than the medial side and the medial side is where the ulnar collateral ligament is so even when you're coming back you can hit. Now I don't want to be too presumptive here saying that Otani post-surgery if in fact that is the route this thing goes is going to keep hitting because I just don't know what he and his new team and or the angels are going to be comfortable with right like it's one thing to hit the first time you're coming back but when when you have a second reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament the return time takes longer the rehabilitation takes longer everything about it is is problematic and troublesome and you know there are opportunities for things to go really awry so I don't know for certain if Otani is going to keep hitting throughout it maybe takes a little more time or gets through the pitching rehab process more than he did the first time because first time he was you know had the surgery in November was back hitting in May so and we saw that exact same or I think he had a surgery in October and was was back in May the November to May timetable was Bryce Harper this year so it's it's clear I think that Otani will not lose a whole lot of time batting but this is also I mean as is everything with him this is something we're dealing with for the first time and so it'll be really interesting to see what the medical professional's perspective is on this. Jeff Passan of ESPN here on the Rich Eisen Show I know it's too soon but I'm going to ask it anyway how does this impact his free agency do you think what's going to happen here? I think I think I'm in the minority here I think I'm in the minority and I don't think it's going to impact it a whole lot now I understand that look he was on track to get 600 650 700 million I still think he's going to get 500 So you think 500 because that would mean he's going to be paid as both hitter and pitcher?

No not necessarily I mean I think you know we can we can look at this in a number of different ways. Ken Rosenthal I thought in the column he wrote brought up a really good point that Juan Soto is just a hitter and he turned down 440 million dollars now granted that was for a longer period of time and he was younger but that was still 440 million that was on the table. Aaron Judge who was older and you know who also like doesn't pitch got 360 million from the Yankees this off season. Shohei Ohtani is the biggest star in baseball it's not even close like if you want to take the star power of practically everybody else it is not as luminescent as Ohtani by himself so I think the the ability to market him and to supercharge the valuation of your franchise just by having him around is I you know I'm I'm no expert but I I would put you know a pretty hefty price tag on that and then Rich let's just say hypothetically that Ohtani comes back and starts great huge value there let's say he comes back as a reliever are you telling me that for a 10-year contract 10-year deal you're not going to give him 50 100 to be a closer when Edwin Diaz is getting 100 to be a closer for five years I I just you know when you have all these teams that are going to be fighting for him and all these other factors there I really do think that it's going to make its way back to 500. Closer huh I mean you're talking about again you wrote the book on the elbow so it would just be he'd be handled in a way or just you figure it's less stressed than starting right I mean yeah of course I mean that's that's exactly what it is and I I am not going to sit here and suggest that Shohei Ohtani should be a closer because only he knows what his body is capable of but I think if I'm a team looking at okay what do I do here how do we keep this guy whose bat warrants us signing him until he's 40 years old how do we keep the value there with him I don't think relief pitching is out of the question at all especially for a guy who's now potentially going to have had two common jobs what a bummer man I wanted him to hit free agency coming off of a Cy Young and an MVP or at least close to a Cy Young he's definitely MVP yeah I was going to say he's still probably going to win MVP right so no there's no question I mean I you know I don't know I mean who well that's for another day who would be even in the running but for me you know free agency hits we're gonna he's gonna have to have the surgery right then somebody's gonna have to sit there and get all the medical reports and sit him down and ask him what does he want obviously his agent is gonna basically say he wants to do both because you're gonna want the most money when you're hitting free agency and then we'll have to find out who's got the stomach for it I guess the only comparison is Kevin Durant hit free agency with a blown out achilles but that's not that's not like yeah I mean you know the Nets gave him 194 million bucks for that but achilles is not you know pitching elbow where I don't know dude achilles for an explosive athlete kind of is like pitching elbow okay so I guess I guess you could go to the Yankees and Red Sox and say Durant you know got his money we should get ours that's what I'm saying and I know this is very soon but this is the conversation that's going to happen and it's going to take over everything this is the conversation that's happening in front offices right now right he wonders if there are going to be teams that get involved in the atomic sweep states that wouldn't have before this because they feel like they're going to be able to to potentially get a good deal um you know sometimes agents start off with lower price points because they want to create bidding wars and that once you bid for the first time you feel so invested in it that maybe you go beyond what you would have otherwise I just think there's a confluence of things uh that's look yes Ohkani is going to lose money compared to where he was going to be before the injury but I still think he's gonna end up with the biggest contract that baseball players ever got oh sure it'll be generationally brilliant and so I guess you know to wrap this up Jeff Passanov ESPN here on the Rich Eisen Show is now we're here in the guessing game of what's Ohtani thinking before it was does he want big market small market you know what type of market does he want now you know he knows what it takes to come back from Tommy John surgery which again we're all assuming he's going to have it do you think like if we can get in his brain right now would he want to pitch again right I where I mean is he going to be so competitive like I'm going to show you I'm just wondering if he'd be like you know what um I'm such an incredible hitter I can make an incredible amount of money and play for a much longer time if I just do one thing and that was always the conversation when he first started is that enjoy it while you're seeing it folks because it's not going to last a whole long time um I'm wondering how this might affect things for him moving forward on this front I just look at it this way Shohei Osani could have quit pitching or hitting and focused on one of them a long long time ago um his identity is as a two-way player that is who he is that is who he wants to be that was the imperative thing for him coming over finding an organization that was not going to prioritize one or the other and was not going to push him in that sort of direction so in order to give that up I I don't see that happening unless his arm is telling him you can't do this anymore and uh you know one thing you got to know about Shohei Osani is he doesn't take very kindly to people telling him what he can and cannot do and that includes the baseball gods I'd imagine right yeah uh no I think that's a I think that's a very fair point um you know he he goes so all out in his training that part of me and you know far be it from me to to criticize someone who can actually pull this off but uh it reminds me in a lot of ways actually of Bryce Harper in his mid-20s when he kept getting hurt because he was playing recklessly and I think Shohei Osani as he approaches 30 years old if he wants to play both ways is going to have to have that recognition that the body is changing and this is a body that has you know has taken him to amazing heights but also at in opportune times has turned on him because uh he was simply asking too much of it and if that means training a little bit differently um I think that that's going to be something that this potential surgery will teach him and that he is an extremely learned interested intelligent person and the only thing that's going to stop him from coming back is the the instincts that he has that tell him he you know he has to do everything at the peak at all times when as old men like us mr isa learn uh sometimes a little bit slower is a little bit better because you don't wind up sitting in bed that night popping at you know what I appreciate you uh including yourself in that even though I know I'm much older than you um I'm the one with the broken back I know you're feeling all right are you good sucker among us you're good you're good you're right you're feeling all right best you can doing okay okay all right like I mean I mean we're not talking about a finely tuned athlete here to begin with the baseline's a little different I got one last one for you and I apologize if I'm putting you in a position by asking it this way but you you you you can handle all sorts of figurative curve balls uh and you'd also know the answer to this question does Hal Steinbrenner have a pulse does he have a pulse does it exist is he breathing yeah is he alive yes no and in fact I in fact I think I think Hal Steinbrenner's pulse is healthy compared to his father's this well that's what I'm wondering I'm wondering I don't know where you know the Yankees need a seance is what I tweeted out the other day and also when I saw a report that Hal had a a discussion with his general manager and manager about what's happening they they they talked about it and I'm like George said you're fired and Hal's like you're we're mired that's what he's saying so that's what I'm wondering what's going on there I what do we have what why do we romanticize George Steinbrenner being like I mean I understand Steinbrenner won championships that's why we romanticize it yes but but George Steinbrenner would be like the king of the toxic workplace yes environment yes lawsuit from people who are working if you drop George Steinbrenner in 2023 yes he would be gone within two weeks I know we romanticize but but he was he he he wouldn't countenance this in a way that it appears his son does I you know what I I I got accused I went on with our buddy Michael K a couple days ago I got accused of of like being a shill for for the Yankees I'm just trying to like be as pragmatic as possible in my assessment here the Yankees like over the last five years have won like 103 102 92 and 99 games I understand they're having a bad year this year and I understand it's going in the wrong direction but to suggest that the Yankees haven't been effective I I'm sorry I just don't buy it and yes we are up against a phone call from Bristol here so all right take care of Jeff you be well and I'll talk to you later take care but you'd be well that's Jeff passing everybody you just got big league no I didn't it's that's that's the people who's I mean other shits no he also he's got to take a breather and then get the energy back up I love Jeff Jeff's the best Jeff's the best he's a good interview oh he's great he just I just love the way he talks and the way he but he knows his stuff he's funny and he's interesting he's from anywhere he's an ice machine oh yeah oh yeah that was at the all-star game in Seattle right is that somewhere deep in the recesses back then do you get the impression he thinks that he's going to get surgery repaired some prp and then be out there throwing and hitting I mean I I'm so concerned about the reconstruction for the second time and yeah it just seems like he's going to get money but to be a closer that's so depressing well I mean hold on a second depressing no it comes in and like goes down the three guys in the night throw in 100. I guess so by the way you and I with our children watched Otani close the world baseball classic yeah how great was that that was fun okay and you not me and that was supposed to be against trout you have yes yes you have seen the insanity of the rally monkey yeah right jump around and that wouldn't mean that he's there in Anaheim and I can't get the impression well just anywhere it's what I'm saying what I'm saying just anywhere it doesn't matter where it is right Otani wouldn't come out of the bullpen he might come out of the dugout because he's d-h-ing yeah or you know I imagine he's never going to play the field again you know but he'd come out of the dugout or he'd probably just go from the dugout during like the eighth inning with your team having a lead walking out to the bullpen oh yeah and people go nuts warm up a little bit i'm gonna talk about trumpets and and you know enter sandman bring back the car bring the bullpen you have to for him you don't want yeah bring back the car for him he would deserve it Otani closing would be something else Rigetti went from starter to closer Smoltz went from starter to closer I mean it's happened Eckersley Smoltz is you know has had tj surgery too just bring in Tim Wakefield let's teach him how to throw a knuckle so he stays healthy how much more unfair call your boy call your boy call your boy eight four four two oh four rich number two will take your phone calls so much more that's a great chat it's time for kickoff and the believe podcast will get you ready for the new season how do you live through this as a different sports fan believe has podcasts covering all 32 professional teams and many of your favorite college teams too he's lit it by your defense you got better sideline to sideline end zone to end zone if you don't do those things then you're not even trying your hardest to win at football and i don't know what we're doing there was a lot of great players on those teams and i was fortunate to be part of search bleav podcasts wherever you listen we had uh jerry on the show just a couple weeks ago larry and i asked him how come steinbrenner himself never appeared on signville and he said steinbrenner shot a scene but it was so bad you cut it is that a true story true story yeah what was so bad about it he flew out on his private jet to do the show and flew back that day and okay he did it and uh then i i go into editing and i'm watching the show and oh my god he was so awful he was so bad it was you couldn't use it it was much better from behind with my voice you know than actually seeing the real the real guy doing it right so that was a scene where he was with castanza with he was with elaine in a restaurant i think okay and um i had to call him up and tell him he was cut how did that go i called yankee stadium i said i want to talk to mr steinbrenner larry david you got my phone okay i said uh mr steinbrenner it's larry david calling from the signville show yes yes larry what is it i said um i said i'm sorry to tell you this he said come on you can tell me i'm a big boy i can take it but you slipped back back in that voice yeah right right back in right and i said i'm seeing i've been cut from the show and uh i i said it's not your fault but it's just the end of the scene wasn't working and uh that was it how did he take it he was a big boy he took it well he told you how he was going to take it and he actually took it yeah george steinbrenner and lane i would never have guessed i would have thought that there would have to have been a castanza george moment i know there was an elaine scene i don't know there may have been a george scene i'm not sure i don't remember larry david's brilliant appearances in the history of our show sitting on our youtube feed youtube.com slash rich isin show back here on the program arthur and tampa florida let's take your phone call what's up arthur hey buddy how we doing what's going on well my question is uh you guys are are living in the dream if you will in the west coast as far as uh you know the pac-12 becoming the pac-4 um the afc west what do you think is is the best story that's going to happen this year as far as the the two of those well i mean look and the problem thank you for the call arthur the problem with the pac-12 the reason why they're the pac-4 right now and maybe down to the pac-2 is because the the national interest in what's going on on the west coast here it doesn't matter how good oregon is or caleb williams is the first overall pick in the draft next year if he so chooses to come out and saying he might not was kind of like okay but i mean there's there's some lincoln riley and chip kelly and ucla i mean there there are some stories out here um but folk are they interested in dion is part of the pac-12 for their final season i don't know the afc west though i mean what's going to go on out here with the raiders and the chargers i think of more interest to say the least and the broncos the chiefs so we picked that division yesterday as part of our daily division predictions taking you all the way up to the opening week of the national football league season i would just go around the horn here brockman's not here he did leave his predictions and i would tell you you know what's your prediction tj and i would ask you mike to stop doing whatever banking you're doing on whatever phone you're on here i'm paying attention but i would i would ask for nfl films music but you want something i'll give you a little i mean the nfc west i think we i think we all predicted it the same is that correct you want to put brockman up real quick let's just whip through it chris went i'm just doing even though he thinks kyle shanahan is fagezi he still goes niners and even though he thinks do you know gonna do it again he still went seahawks and rams cardinals you guess what same thing yeah yeah and um and then you know as we're hot changing well what's changing is the photograph same thing because it's the same thing for me too why didn't you ask me um i mean wouldn't you like to know what my predictions what's your prediction that's what this time is for now to ask you see no she's i know she's gonna say now the woman now it's too late now it's too late what's your prediction same thing well susie you were dropping rich's kid off at school no no okay she's i'm just the housewife no she's not what's the simple when susie shuster and amy trask coming every tuesday on the podcast that's how we set this up because now we have you live and we can ask you in front of you just got a graphic tuesday i'm just saying just because i'm the woman sitting here you can ask me about the prediction oh my gosh go to break the woman with the biggest roller decks of anyone uh the most well-known person on the set now all of a sudden i mean i'll talk about predictions well tomorrow what which one are we gonna do tomorrow also like the same no we're gonna do the afc self tomorrow rich used to get so mad on nfl network when they'd ask all the guys oh yeah oh yeah because i was just the traffic column my prediction that's why i started doing this show existed if they asked me for the first 12 years of nfl network what do you think rich yes they never asked me on this beautiful studio and yet he just did the same thing to me i did not do the same thing to you rich did afc south tomorrow where's my picture rich afc south tomorrow can't wait suzy they asked me if i wanted to do it rich actually asked me like i don't want to do it all we're doing all we're doing is a podcast with you and amy trask every tuesday called what the football there it is yeah there we go there's my girl we gotta work on a theme song that's the art we're looking at art you know what it's funny this art both of you were like do we really have to have both our faces on there and i said i'll meet you halfway well amy said that we look like spies yeah you're coming here you're lurking you lurk lurking on what the football every tuesday wtf what the football yeah yeah or what the football there might be some ice cream yes what happened to the sundays i'm gonna work i'm gonna do your show just for that reason one more scoop called the third hour of this show coming up next on the rich aussie show for over three decades nobody has had a wrestling career like arn anderson conrad thompson gets all the stories with arn after watching aew's double or nothing amy wants to know what does dinosaur taste like um it ain't chicken it's like biting into a sinewy charcoal briquette but chewy oh that's disgusting yes sure is check out arn every week wherever you listen