Brian Cashman CHOOSES Alex Verdugo OVER Jasson Dominguez

all right guys welcome back to Yankees unloaded the Yankees finished the game 3 nothing they finished it they closed it out no clay Holmes in charge it was actually Luke Weaver and he struggled as of late but when they needed him today he came through three nothing win a dominant performance out of Luis heel we're going to get into it we're going to talk about all that do not go anywhere though because Gary and I will be discussed in Brian cashman's insane comments about Alex fugo playing and not calling up Jason Dominguez so we're going to be talking about that we're g to obviously uh give Luke Weaver uh some love we're going to talk about the closer role we're gonna be talking about Luis heel and we'll talk about Clark Schmidt and Ian Hamilton being activated tomorrow which is great news we have a mailbag question from Ed W later on uh that we will get to at the end of the show we have our movie of course which I'm not going to tell you right now that' be defeating the whole purpose and uh we got our field level shout outs so shout out to Juan sepa kid from Li Carlos morero Jeff J at w Brian fukes Ryan Hoffman Rich Squire Joshua halikman Egyptian magician Nick Gomes and Jaylen cero appreciate you guys more than you know and uh let's dive into it Gary because this was um this is a fun game today it wasn't like they just absolutely put a drub together but in a way they almost did defensively and what I mean by that is the pitching was superb it was really good so let's let's dive into Luis heel because for me this is obviously his first start after his rehab assignment to which he got hit okay in the minor leagues but this is all about health and ultimately with Luis heel when he's right the fastball commands there right and as time went on with this season it was a lot of we actually had a a huge adjustment period for Luis heel the beginning of the Season it was a lot of fast balls you saw upper 90s even into the low 100s and then people started talking about the fact that that slider was nowhere near polish his best pitch being his change up and as the season would go on that change up become became a featured pitch and then the season went even further and you started to see Luis heel almost predominantly throwing sliders it was like slider slider forcing fastball change up right change up slider and that was the end of that bat and then by the time you get to the end of the game well if you've thrown 50 sliders you should be tired it's gonna be hard to go deep into games and when he came into this game I told myself and obviously Jake you and I we don't have any we don't change how the Yankees go about their business on the field we get to react to it Luis Hill went out there and he was working on number one the fast ball and that's something that needed to happen it's something that actually needs to progress because as we go deeper into September and in October baseball you're not going to be able to break off sliders all game and expect to go deep into ball games you need to have location on your fast ball Luis heel even though his first seven batters today he threw ball one before he ever got a pitch off any strike so when you fall behind hitters like that it means your location needs to be excellent the rest of the atat and frankly Jake it was to today Luis heel looked really good he looked sharp I guess after pitch one and that's what we're looking for and then of course icing on the cake you didn't get clay Holmes out there so it almost felt like I think a lot of us knew Klay Holmes wouldn't pitch today it was almost I mean based on what management told us today cousins Kenley Weaver that made a lot of sense given what they offered us and it almost felt like weight lifted off our shoulders even though nothing technically nothing's on our shoulders but having no Homes at the back end of your Bullpen at least right now is a breath of fresh air and it felt like when we were up three Zer going into the ninth inning like it was a win which is what it's supposed to be I think the moment Austin Wells had that double I was like okay we're we're we're Gucci that's that's the game I don't know why I just I kind of felt that way um I know some people were like well if you keep healing coming off an injury he's going to give up runs I didn't think so I think he came out today and and you know obviously there's some people may have different opinions saying the Cubs didn't look great offensively and that's fair but I think you also have to give credit to the pitchers I mean you can't just say yeah they didn't show up today I mean the Cubs were still in the game the entire time they just never were actually in the game uh three nothing is not as we've learned very quickly that is not much of a lead um but it just it felt really good today Luis heel I'm just so impressed with him because he's been he's been bit back by Life as a pitcher and and we've seen it you know injury here and you know he's had some games where this guy's going to be the starter in the All-Star game and then he just has a string of games that just kills his confidence right but he's never lost his confidence and you and I talked about it and I I started having kind of this realization like when Lis heel kind of got lit up the other night in Triple A or I think it was double a uh either one in his rehab assignment I was a little concerned Gary I kind of looked at that like he might be done for the year type of deal you know yeah maybe maybe he's tired right but to come back from that and do this that's what's so impressive this is a road win this was a huge win against as Michael K brought up above 500 team the Cubs are an above 500 team they're fighting like hell to make the playoffs so this was a really good day at the office for Louis seal and the Yankees um they didn't get the offense that maybe you wanted but you it doesn't really matter when your your pitcher pitches like that because they weren't really able to get much going at all I mean he'll miss he generated 15 swinging misses today Gary um that's a lot and you know I think it's really impressive Wix actually did 10 so wanted to give him you know a shout out there because I thought he wasn't amazing but I thought he pitched well enough to maybe win a game if they had some offense but he his top pitch velocity today hit 98.3 I don't think he had the velocity today um I'm not concerned about that I know they kept bringing it up uh flare actually brought up multiple times like that velocity is is way lower than normally is and I you I get it like 91 92 M hour you know we saw that today like low um but I'm not concerned uh because like when he needed to really you know get that fast ball by The Hitter he did it and it just kind of tells me I have a theory with Lis heel um I said it early on in the in the season and I've continued to say it Lis heel I think is giving up that 100 1012 M hour fastball because he's trying to he's he's honestly doing what is very mature of him regardless of if the pitching coach had any impact in it or not which I would assume Matt Blake did but you got to give L Hill credit because he's essentially realizing it's fun to throw 102 but it's way more fun when you're striking out guys or pounding the strike zone and you're winning at bats and that's what it's all about and so Gary I think Lu heel is holding back vo um and sacrificing maybe some of that to be more consistent and controlling and honestly I I I think it's a breath of fresh air to see that determining factor of it yeah it shows a maturing pitcher and Luis Hill did this early in the season for those of you who don't believe this and go back and watch the film yourself that opening Series against Arizona it's a series I love to go to because when you watched Luis Hill pitch it was 101 100 101 and a lot of people were oooing and awing at the stuff but once you start giving up runs in baseball you start walking four or five guys in a start the 100 miles hour Isn't So enjoyable anymore no one really gives a rip and so that's the way Yankee fans were taking it they were saying does this guy have what it takes to come from the bullpen and be a starter and give us say 15 to 200 Innings does he have that potential is he polished enough right does he have that third pitch that's going to get it done or is he just an arm or a flamethrower well Lis heel what he did deliberately dialed back his fast ball went back to 96 97 miles an hour which sounds ridiculous but it wasn't 100 anymore and he was trying to pitch to the corners and it was working and he did that almost to the break and he started getting hit and getting erratic but to tie this whole idea in a bow this needed to happen this start we need to start seeing some things be built upon for Luis heel because you just brought up our last episode that Clark Schmidt's somebody who's pitched predominantly really well in the ninth inning it's somebody that you think can be the closer it's someone your dad thinks can be the closer so what really matters here is that if you want Clark Schmidt or anybody else to be the closer or you think that Luis heel is a part of this rotation well you have to pitch like it too you can't just say someone should be in the rotation because they obviously have shown they can pitch Innings and then they go out and get rocked against the Chicago Cubs team in early September you can't do both so I think this start had to happen and I'm I'm excited to have seen it because if it didn't happen now we're looking at Clark Schmidt as more of a necessity in the rotation yeah and I mean if they didn't get this start the way the bullpen has been as of late this was just a really good day to be a Yankee pitcher I mean unless you're clay Holmes maybe they looked a little like or Jason Dominguez oh well yeah I mean good point and before we get into that because that is going to be the Hefty part of this show yep we know that you guys have been waiting for that because we've been waiting to talk about it but before we do get into that because I do think it's going to get lost I mean we'll get we'll be talking about Luke uh Luke Weaver after that whole thing when we get to Brian Cashman and everything but I just have to point out Jake cousins look spectacular Canley looks spectacular and Luke Weaver you know the the name of the game is prevent runs I Don't Love Walks and I don't love giving up hits the Yankees only gave up one hit today and it really goes to show you they could have pitched what is really funny because it was like the first time in 50 plus years the Cubs just had a no hitter a combined no hitter um the Yankees almost like they could have done that today against the Cubs right after they just did it so yeah I mean I'm sure you know Luis heel will want that one back but he'll have plenty of opportunities to get a no hitter in his career he's a very good young pitcher the bullpen looked good today a lot of good things we'll get back to Luke Weaver but we have to talk about Brian Cashman because Brian Cashman will just be that guy that kind of hides in the shadows not say anything but then he says stuff and it's like I don't know why he even bothered I mean remember I mean I obviously during winter meetings and things like that you're going to hear him a little bit more but like the Jean Carlo comment that he made about like how he just expects him to get hurt I don't care if this dude is always hurt to the point where he hasn't played in four years you don't say that I you know so it's not necessarily that level on you know cashman's comment but it's still insane so I just wanted to preface that Gary before people thought that he said something like Jason Dominguez actually is trash and you know it's nothing like that but he basically confirmed that Alex Verdugo is going to start and Jason Dom Jason Dominguez is deemed ready right they're basically saying they know he's ready it's not a Dominguez thing it's actually a Verdugo thing and they don't want to play him over Alex Verdugo because they said once he comes up he's playing every day well I still Gary deep down kind of think that this is just what we see in today's Sports World you say one thing and then a week later it changes and you just pretend that everyone else is stupid and they don't care and they have they don't have short-term memory they don't have long-term memory they have no memory of it um they do the the Men in Black thing uh but that's not how it works because you and I will hold them accountable all year long we have um and our audience will 100% do it because if we miss anything our audience is right there to be like hey you didn't bring this up and it's like yeah we're stuck in it now yeah so Gary throwing this over to you because I know you're chomping at the bids talk about this thing um when you first saw the the Cashman quote I sent you what were your first thoughts like was it were you angry were you annoyed upset depressed like how did you react to that immediately cuz I was just pissed I I don't know I just don't even want to hear it at this point just call them up I may surprise you here I felt relieved relief you know why because now you know because the way Yankees fans feel about this process there's so much question there there are so many questions from Yankees fans Yankees fans have in large part felt like been left in the dark with a complete misunderstanding of who thinks what within the organization is this an Aaron Boon problem is Aaron bu not pushing hard enough from The Dugout down to the front office is he not can he really not have the authority to say hey get this guy up here this guy stinks out in left field does is he not have that type of Authority or is it really the GM is the GM just the authoritarian guy who it's his way or the highway no one else has any input on what happens no one can override him and I didn't I wanted to know the answer to that question too I really did I had questions right but guess what Jake we got our answer our answer is that Brian Cashman believes Alex Verdugo is the best option for the Yankees in the short term and this has nothing to do with service time now because now Jake statistically speaking if Jason Dominguez was called up right this second as we record this podcast he would not surpass the bats it would need to no longer make him a rookie so now at this point Jason Dominguez is a minor leager because the Yankees want him to be a minor Leaguer Brian Cashman wants him to be in tripa a or double A and not on the big league team in place of Alex Verdugo and what's so funny about that is that before this quote came out I was almost upset at Aaron Boon for not taking a stand but you know what those quotes and for those of you wondering which quotes I'm talking about the quote of that that there's budding of heads in the front office people have varying opinions about what should be happening you know whose varying opinions those are that's Aaron Boone Aaron Boone wants Jason Dominguez up here but guess what guys when he was hired part of the job is you can't throw your general manager under the bus that's something that's a prerequisite to this job it's unfortunate and you would like to call it accountability of saying hey the best players should be up here and I should be able to call that out for what it is but Jake that's what this is who else in the Yankees office what is it the players because remember Michael K mentioned Alex Verdugo is liked in this locker room they love playing with Alex fugo I'm not gonna bite back on that if that's what the players are saying then so be it right but now that we're hearing that there is a budding of heads of Jason Dominguez being up on the big league roster who everyone agrees should be playing every day well who is that other person it's not the players you just told me Alex fugo is someone that they're struggling to get off the field who else could that be it is the manager Aaron Boone so when you have Aaron Boone more than likely I don't want to say it's for certain believing that Jason Dominguez is ready to play at the big league level and the Yankees have admitted he's ready to play at the big league level but the big catch is that Alex fuga is also someone that they're being patient with and they believe he gives them the best chance now I know Jake I can put a square or a circle whatever you want to put around Brian Cashman and conclude this guy does not know how to differentiate between quality baseball players and not he is very good at finding projects or players in general that are not playing well with another organization and we can get more out of that player that's what his expertise is that's what he's good at but you know what he's not good at making the obvious choice the common sense Choice which is why Jake we spent hours on this podcast saying hey let's clap our hands for that decision and people on our comments and rightfully so said why are we so excited about this this is common knowledge common sense and we told you guys we're going to acknowledge when common sense is utilized because based on what this General management has exercised over the years common sense is not so common Jason Dominguez according to anybody withholding common sense that person would conclude that Jason Dominguez is very obvious very obvious your left fielder for the New York Yankees but here we stand it is now I don't even have my phone on me what is it September it is September 6 you guys are going to be watching this probably late night September 6 Jason aming is is a minor league baseball player no no one can possibly show me an analytic that makes that make sense and now we know that it's not an analytic because every analytic in the book says that Jason Dominguez is a better replacement than Verdugo is currently so it's just the eye test for Brian Cashman Brian cashman's mind whatever that's worth says that the Yankees don't get better by calling up Jason miguez and that tells me I need to know as we go into 2025 somebody else needs to be making that call yeah absolutely I think you just become complacent if you're just going to stick with Verdugo um this is a little off topic but kind of on it at the same time and I'm not trying to take the you know a three nothing win and just trash Boon but this came out today uh Earth to delusional Yankees everything is not okay uh Clapp is of uh nj.com mhm and in there was an excerpt that Bobby Malone on Twitter posted that I thought was interesting I recently had an eye-opening conversation with a Yankees veteran who asked with a straight face why everyone's flipping out about the club's recent slide you actually think we're in trouble in quotes he said sarcastically well it's not what you want I answered channeling Joe gerardi and their response in quotes you know how many teams would trade places with us right now he said with some irritation quote we're going to be fine we're a good team man people get so upset so Gary well full disclosure to everybody uh watching I did not I don't think Gary even saw this I think this is first time hearing that this is my first time hearing it I'm my life got worse having do do you want my comment on what to think about it because I think this is not just Boon I think this goes as high as Cashman I think that this is the issue even in wins even in a three nothing day I think it's important to bring this to the Forefront and understand hey you at home that's constantly questioning even after wins you have your your picks you can't really enjoy it you find why is Jason dingz not called up why is common sense not being used like even you after a win complaining you're Justified this is this is the type of stuff we're talking about we're not trying to make this a negative show but I want to cover all bases in all avenues and this is news this came out today this was um nj.com Bob kapich who does a great job um he dropped this 951 amm and you know again it's it's a pay wall on nj.com but you know there's uh there's excerpts of it because everyone's sharing around like quotes and stuff from it and it's just you know it's it's ridiculous and you know you have the defensive people like people on Twitter saying um you know he's he's a hack and he he basically writes tabloid stuff but I disagree I mean I I think he's he's finally like you know I think we see it Chris kersner does it at times but I think he's calling out the Yankees for essentially like being delusional not I we keep talking about this you know now they're 81 and 60 I mean they they do have to win like the next 13 14 games right if they want a good standing in the playoffs it's that simple so I I think the reason I bring that up Gary I don't mean to hijack the show but I think it coincides with Cashman I think the culture is not just Boon I think Cashman is around the building a lot and I think Cashman rubs off on Boon Boon rubs off on the players and so it is an organizational failure we've talked about that that only way that this gets solved is a World Series win but it kind of you know it coincides with what we're talking about Alex fugo because this is the type of stuff like oh what do you mean everything's fine we're gonna keep Alex fugo there he's doing he has a negative defensive War as of late so it's like they're trying to tell me that he's in there because of defense and then Meredith morovic asked okay well you know where are you on Jason Dominguez and they're like yeah we think Jason Dominguez will be a good Fielder perfect question like a total normal question for a reporter to ask who by the way is on the Yes Network so but I give Meredith a lot of credit I think she asked some good questions uh Michael Kay has uh has called them out quite a few times Michael Kay deserves a ton of credit for today because that Verdugo point that he made is never brought up I don't care that he's you know he's hitting 341 in his last 44 at bats he's 15 for 44 Kay didn't say that but I'm saying that Kay said this basically along the lines of Alex Verdugo is hitting 341 as of late he's 15 for 44 but he doesn't slug it's not those aren't damaging at bats and I thought that brought up a really good point because not all hits are created equal uh low leverage it still matters it's still in the the you know hit column and everything of course but Gary that is exactly the point like Michael Kay the whole meme of oh they missed the plot no no no Michael Kay understands the plot the plot is if Alex fugo was doing damage like he did in the first month and a half everyone's off his back everyone of course but he was hitting homers I mean he hit double digit homers within the first couple months of the season so of course talk is gonna slug like we know that of course yeah if Jon Carlos Stan was hitting 345 you would imply that damage was coming with those numbers he's not just slapping a single to right field we know the type of player he is if he's getting hits a lot of those baseballs are 120 off the bat and they just so happen to end up in the stands so that's where the slugging comes in that's where Michael K's Point comes in so let's be very clear I'm going to get this out of the way about Michael K if Michael K he knows the job he knew the job in '92 when he took it any time he offers an opinion right these are his own opinions he never holds back he says what he feels a lot of times when you talk every day about the Yankees you're going to disagree with the listener individually right yeah that's going to happen naturally as human beings and people are going to associate you for being a shill when they disagree and then when you agree they're G to they're just going to act like they're going to forget about it they're going to say oh look finally Michael K speaking up and then tomorrow he may say something that you disagree with again and then he's back to being a shill what do you guys think you you think that Aaron Boone and H Stein Brer call him and say hey lay off of us no if they thought that they would fire Michael Kay and they would hire somebody who never criticizes them Michael K if you guys listen to him as much as we do you would know he does criticize him and he's doing it now and this isn't criticism this is acknowledgement of fact of baseball he's just talking about the numbers yes he's hitting 354 that is good but it's not some Saving Grace for him on this roster in Alex Verdugo he's not slugging this is not really an opinion this is him just telling you the numbers and then when you have people at yes asking questions about the defense and then the Yes Network they get an answer which says yeah we think Jason aminga is a really good defensive player Okay then if it's not about defense what is it about what is it about we don't know and by the way remember how you just brought up if Alex Verdugo stays in left field I don't know why everyone's freaking out they think we'll be fine remember that quote we'll be fine don't you know I actually agree with that they're absolutely right we will be fine and here's why Jake and and then stick with with me here because I'm not agreeing with what they're saying but I'm agreeing with their conclusion the conclusion is that the Yankees will be fine 2017 record 91 and 71 right of course they go on to lose um in the ALCS to the Houston Astros 2018 they win 100 games a huge Benchmark in Major League Baseball they go on to lose in the ALDS to the Boston Red Sox in four games 2019 they win 103 games they get even better they didn't get last they didn't relax they went out there and dominated 103 and 59 records super exciting everyone's head over heels for the postseason can't wait they go out there and lose to the alc in the ALCS to the Houston Astros in six games man tough twice in three years go out in 2020 we have the covid season we went 33 and 27 a lot of people ignored the record short season you go out there we lose in the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays John Carlos Stan has a historic postseason but we fall just short dang 2021 92 wins 2022 99 and 2023 our first season where we really fell short in the regular season which is their actual goal is to play good regular season baseball um so that's actually my conclusion when they say fine what they mean is by the time the regular season's done you guys will be watching that's the goal yeah there you go and that is the mission statement because if the Yankees were looking at this by saying we're fine if they thought okay we lost in the ALCS we lost in the ALDS lose in the ALCS losing the DS losing the Wild Card losing the DS and no playoffs they would look at that as 0 for six that's the way that they would look at it and fine would no longer come out of their mouth but it does why why does it come out of their mouth because of the regular season the regular season doesn't matter fine is also hilarious choice of words I mean first off text your girl right now uh and if she says it's fine you're in trouble you don't know what you did but if if she texts you back and says it's fine it's not fine uh fine is like not it's not like good it's not an above average comment it's just like yeah it is what it is that's what it is that fine isn't is what it is comment if I asked you great like they're not saying that they're saying yeah it's fine Jake if I asked you hey in 20125 M Fillin the blank baseball team they had a fine season does that sound like it they won a championship no that sounds like they were probably not expected to be very good and they shocked a lot of people to be fair I think it was passen who had them winning like 70 games something like that in the 7s yeah which was obviously a an opinion we disagreed with but at the very least what it introduced was that Jeff pan or passen Jeff he doesn't buy into what the Yankees are selling which is that you're a regular season product and then when you get to the postseason the Yankees brass believes it's a crapshoot for all these teams but in actuality when you pull back the hood there are some key contributors in this league that get consistent results when it actually matters now they might not win the World Series but they sure as hell are part of the dance at the end not in the Middle where the Yankees are at the end the Dodgers have been to the World Series three or four or five times since the last time we were there okay we haven't been to a World Series in 2009 and yet a year ago Brian Cashman said the postseason is a tossup we just need to make sure we're in positioned and healthy and ready to go so that we've got a shot since when did any player Bernie Williams sedeki matsi Alex Rodriguez any of those players from the past that were hoisting all those World Series Championships since when did they ever talk about the postseason as a crapshoot since when did they talk about it as March Madness because that's the way Brian hasman looks at this he looks at it like my job is to build a contending unit to go punch through the ceiling for regular season victories and then now we're in the big dance he's going to treat it like we're Michigan like we're Michigan State playing college basketball that's not what this is this is a team that is fine being fine and that's when you see episodes like this where we win a game three to zero Luis heel looks really good right Bullpen finally gets we finally get homes out of the closers roll we go close it down no problems everything looked great and yet we talk about what can improve it's because we know if things continue at the trajectory we are going to end exactly where We've Ended 15 years in a row so we're not going to wait until November 1st to start pumping out post postseason episodes upset when in actuality we can see the trajectory going where we don't want it to go a good sign that this team is is actually going to do something come October is that they make they start making decisions that are different from what you expect the past 15 years Jason Dominguez being called up a month ago or whenever he was healthy this past stint he should have been called up immediately and that would have been your first sign to say maybe this team is going about their business differently maybe I can lay off of Brian Cashman but until he starts making decisions like that that have only to do with winning and not about ego not about saving himself from looking like he made a bad trade with Alex Verdugo not about any of that stuff spare me with the ego spare me with the contractual obligations go out there and make the best possible decision and when you start doing that Brian we are going to look at this Yankees team as no longer a team with just a crapshoot in October with low pitching in the back end of your Bullpen no we're goingon to look at this team and say we may have flaws but at the very least we're doing everything we can with Personnel I love that and you know I'll take it a step further here I feel like they look at the postseason like their job is to just get in the postseason you know they can say yeah we want to win the division I'm sure they want to but do they want to like I think they're lacking that Derek Jeter want like Derek Jeter's want was a need Kobe Bryant's want was a need these are guys that like they needed to win like that the job's not finish type deal right you're up two games you know in the uh in the playoffs and you're getting interviewed and you see these guys like why are you celebrating like like they're looking like the job's not finished this team because that looks spoiled team well yeah it does this team you know they like in the organization if they're like uh Aaron how do you feel about being up two games uh you know right now in the uh in the World Series like yeah feel great you know or you know just like and then you talk like you'd see judge and so forth and they'd be like yeah you got to win them but we're we feel great about where we are whatever and you know it's the it's and like obviously feel good I'm not saying you can't but it doesn't have that same vibe that it used to and I think that's really the deciding factor for people when they talk about whether or not they think the Yankees can win the World Series does it still have that the Yankees can absolutely win the World Series but they can win the World Series because this year just isn't that talented there's not a team that stands out that's like oh no one has a chance they can win the World Series because it is going to be essentially a crapshoot but what I'm saying is the Yankees it's like jobs finished once they get into the dance and now they they will never say this but they kind of allude to the idea it's all just luck that's the way they take it sometimes you win sometimes you don't you know oh yeah we just didn't have it tonight I mean this is where you know like today's game against the Cubs I don't want that to not you know look like it doesn't matter this is a good home team this is a above 500 team that needs every win to try to get into the postseason this is a good win but I mean obviously Brian Cashman knew he was going to be the talk of the town when he came out today and said what he said I mean he wants us to talk about it for whatever reason so that's why you know what can I can I say something though about what they're really comparing themselves to because if you think about this when they say that the team's fine and everything is fine there's now's not the time we just won a game right against an above 500 baseball team we just did what you asked about closer we've got some Schmidt potit heel all returning to this rotation super exciting stuff gar Cole's looking better well I guess the way I look at it is that they don't compare their win loss record and their postseason unfortune to themselves in their own past they compare themselves to the fate of teams like the San Diego Padres to the teams like the New York Mets right they they're looking at teams like the Baltimore Orioles and they say well those teams are considered contenders but look what they had to go through to get to that point you're looking at the Boston Red Sox who have won three or four World Series Championships since the last time we even attended one and yet they've won multiple championships and yet the Boston Red Sox have to go through a 70 and 70 season so aren't you guys glad that you don't have to go through Seasons like that under Brian Cashman he deserves a round of applause super exciting stuff it's just a that's why the Yankees think that this product is such a good product that's why they're so happy Michael Kay has brought this up before on yes and it's his personal opinion he's allowed to have it yes if you're a Yankees fan chances are incredibly High regardless of what happened in 2023 the Yankees are going to be a good maybe great regular season baseball team but they're rarely ever going to be horrible rarely ever are they going to be below 500 rarely ever happens because Brian Cashman and the job he does it's good enough to make sure that the Yankees are a winning ball club for the most part and you're going to be satisfied if you turn on a game in June that the Yankees are GNA have a good shot to win a baseball game that is true but again it's a totally different mentality on what actually matters to this organization not everybody else so if you're comparing yourselves to these other teams and what goes on in their process how they get to where they go well I know you're not cut out for this job and that's the reason why a lot of people they want Derek Jeter they want madting Lee they want showa Walter they the list goes on they want old school Minds because Alex Rodriguez isn't gonna come to New York it won't happen A-Rod sued the team he's not gonna be the GM but if Alex Rodriguez show and he knows this if Alex Rodriguez showed up let's just say they let's wipe our hands clean we've made mistakes both sides made mistakes we're going to have you be the general manager of the team you think Alex Rodriguez is coming in and putting on a Yankees Polo as GM and he's saying man aren't you guys glad I went out and got you 97 wins what do you guys think he thinks he's being judged on he knows we're waiting until October to either criticize or crown you that's the way New York's always worked that's the way it worked with CC sebia it's the way it worked with Hideki matsi it is the way it goes and guess what guys they have been players who have had amazing careers even in a short span as Yankees and they didn't win a world series title and they're remembered but they're not at old's day they're they're not celebrated in the same way and who knows better than me because Gary Sheffield who showed up in 2004 almost W MVP in his age 36 season do you think my dad's over at Yankee Stadium at Old-Timers Day do you think people remember him in the same way they remember CC Sabathia no why because of winning is that short-sided wasn't he really close to winning in 04 absolutely he played incredibly well about as good as you can play but guess what guys you're judged in New York based on winning and my dad knew that coming in it's fairly unfair that's the way this process works and Brian Cashman and a lot of people who cover this team they want it to work another way they want it to mean something big that you win a lot of regular season games consistently they want me to clap for that and then seem like a negative fan when I bring up the inconsistencies of what you do with your roster and how it impacts you in October and now suddenly we're we're this fan base that wants to go at it no we want to win that's what this is if we criticize you after a three Z game and not criticize you we mention what can improve we really care I promise you that's exactly what this is it's the reason you get to enjoy the benefit of going to Chicago at field and you see a bunch of pinstriped jerseys these same people that's those people so I don't understand the idea that it all has to be sunshine and rainbows when we win I don't necessarily think so I think we cover both sides I think we do it well and it is what it is yeah and I just want to remind people in case you have forgotten which you haven't Brian cashman's a four-time World Series champion as a GM like he won in '98 he won 99 won 2000 and he won in 2009 doesn't it feel like at some point or another and by the way the guy's young too he's still he's not even 60 so doesn't it feel like at some point or another Brian Cashman had a partition of his body and he's like a completely different dude from that he has he's a four-time World Series winner as a GM you can say what you will you can't take that away from him but the problem is I think he lives off that I think truthfully he's that guy that lives off that now he he's like if you you know you question me I've won four World Championships I mean it doesn't matter that Derek Jeter who is the captain of those teams didn't like him like you know what I mean like he doesn't care he's I've won four championships and I think that's the reality Gary is that I think we we kind of forget about it but four time World Series champion and he's not even 60 years old and it feels like he's like regressing like he's like 80 like it's just like we we can give you credit but we're not going to give you a pass you can't do whatever you want in 2024 and then say Epstein didn't get a a pass he's I think he's out of the league yeah people you don't you just shouldn't get a pass but obviously the pass is coming because of the relationship between how Stein rder and Brian Cashman Brian Cashman does a good job but he doesn't have the ceiling that we're looking for very clearly it seems like there's a lid over the top of what we're building and is it okay to come into the season and know it's going to be really good but man you're going to look at the roster and say I can really see the last 15 years why we fell short and it's not all because of a cheating scandal in Houston there are some real inconsistencies here with our roster there's an inconsistency as to what's at the back end of our Bullpen we're in the bullpen period we didn't necessarily go get the starting pitching that a lot of us anticipated we would have we all liked not we all not speak for everybody here but Jake and I liked the pickup with Marcus strowman we thought that he can absolutely be a guy at the back end of the bullpen he has pedigree to pitch some big games and that matters here in New York but to be the only pickup that that's interesting right so all these different moves makes me feel like they're building a team to be really good again and try to just be good and that's the goal so as of right now it doesn't seem like the staff and the fans have the same goals and that to me seems obvious a little more of an obvious statement but it's obviously not that obvious because if it was how Ste Runner would be making different decisions here right that these decisions would be made so here we are and um thankfully we won the game today that's what I guess matters on this day and we're now going into getting a lot closer to our Target date Jake that we gave our audience we said September 10th through the 14th was going to be that roughly that Boston series that we were talking about as to when Jason Dominguez would be called up because we kind of said that the Yankees were going to give us word salad about when to bring up this player when he suddenly became good enough to play every day and that's actually what we got there was actually a quote I wanted to read today God that was such a funny quote Brian H he tweets and it really was just a deliberate quote from Brian Cashman because the question was about defense Alex fugo is his defense that good to keep Jason Dominguez off the field Brian Cashman says I think Jason is a good Defender I think Verdugo is a good Defender Verdugo is a left-handed bat Jason's a switch hitter but predominantly a left-handed bat too so ultimately those are the things we're trying to work through right now we're staying online so he said nothing is he on like aim like what does he mean by we're online that was something that Arnold Schwarzenegger would have said in the Terminator he said nothing right there there was nothing of substance you didn't say anything you just told me that Jason's good at defense verdugo's good at defense he hits left should run for pres we're staying online that is literally just a huge that is the definition of word salad and it's very clear regardless of what you think about the quo that you're not being given any bit of the truth they're not giving you any indication on what's to come and that's the whole point of the conversation and Cashman knows it and yet he still doesn't he doesn't give an inch nothing all I just hear is like this guy's going to be a great politician I mean when he wants to hang up the uh the polo he could put on a suit and go around and you know run for president he's already got the the sound of it it but uh yeah you know frustrating obviously we wanted to talk about that um I wanted to to say really quickly before we dive into Luke Weaver topic yeah I don't know if you picked up on it I don't know if anybody at home picked up on it they uh they do their promos on yes and they did a promo for the the Red Sox series and they had Alex rugo as the player I swear to God is that wait was that yes that created that yeah okay so do you think yes was trolling I honestly Wonder because is there so with the Yes Network and the Yankees how much are they really a thing like are the is yes somewhat like a partition of the like it doesn't feel like it's the Yankees organization this is all propaganda I do feel like there are people trying to do a legitimate job like yeah they have better access though they Yankees entertainment and sports network but I don't feel like they're literally the Yankees does that make sense cuz they're not literally the Yankees because I'll tell you this if they were you wouldn't see periodic moments of the light shining through that just wouldn't be part of the conversation because if you do watch yes because I know there are a lot of people who criticize yes but don't have yes app or they don't partake in watching yes in any way they tell you they haven't watched yes in 10 years well that matters when you're offering your opinion on yes okay I'm sorry yeah but for us who we do watch yes I do watch Michael K all the time now when I'm listening to these guys talk about the team they know okay if I criticize the team it's going to be not enjoyed by Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman that's very simple why would they want you to criticize the decisions they're making it doesn't help him make the decisions because all it does when Michael Cas says something that is critical right he brings forward a number and we now take it in we want to now know what is the answer so when we go to Aaron Boone and say what's the answer to this question well it doesn't help him do his job now he's got to come up with this word salad of a politician answer and it's not fun for these guys so no yes network is not an extension of the Yankees they are like you said people with more access they obviously were hired for a reason they're good at their job but I I I just I can't be overcritical of what yes is because yes at the same time has a job and that is we have to take a step back and look and say okay this is the circus this is sports this is entertainment and the job of of entertainment is to entertain it's not to be right or wrong right so yes network is hired they've got to sell the product at some point guys they can't just bash the team every day and and that's just kind of where I'm at with it so no they're not in they're not an extension of the Yankees that I just I've never seen them that way but every once in a while when they say something that we disagree with we attack that one point and not the brand as a whole I wish more people would be like that yeah so I actually always thought that they were a total extension but um I have the official ownership here so the Yankee Global Enterprises which was originally Yankee Nets um they own 26% of YES Network Diamond Sports Group owns 20% Amazon owns 15% the Blackstone Group owns 133% Redbird Capital Partners owns 133% and M mbadala investment company owns 133% this is not like yeah this isn't just the Yankees own this like the Yankees don't own this te technically speaking Yankee Global Enterprises I mean the Yankees own a stake in it the the New York Yankees own a stake in the Yankee entertainment and Sports Network um their company is Yankee Global Enterprises but they only own 26% so okay so I that okay that makes more sense this like Jay-Z when he used to own the Brooklyn Nets but really he owned 2% of the team Jay-Z is not going to get you traded because you cursed him out court side well it's the same thing with Magic Johnson how people are like oh yeah he owns the commanders he doesn't own the commanders close he is a uh minority owner is that what it is like when you have that's what it's considered yeah he's a minority owner he has some stake in it um Tom Brady has some stake with the Raiders right or he's going to that's that it's really that simple you can have a stake in in a company that doesn't mean that you're the owner so I'm glad we did that because I bet you a lot of people are like I had no idea well it's hard to disagree so this is the thing if you see somebody in a position of power or they have a a huge platform and yes is a big platform regardless of what people think the branding is the same color you know yeah if you have Michael K come out there and say hey I think that Alex fuga is a really good Defender what if Micha K really thinks that what if what if right like what if con like really thinks hey uh I think verdugo's playing really that arm is worth having in left field well we may disagree with that opinion but a lot of people when they see an opinion they disagree with on a platform they immediately associate it with Shilling and being bought and owned and that's just not that is the drawback of working at these companies there is no doubt about it and there are are there people within these organiz ations that are going to shill absolutely 100% they're going to say the right thing it gets him in the right room but tell me which room is it Michael K is trying to get into that he's not already in tell me turned ESPN's giant deal like he took he yeah he said oh ESPN you know keep your money I'm gonna go stay over here and do the Yankee stuff and suddenly where's Michael K going Michael K is going to choose to retire at some later date that we have no idea when's coming and and he's going to be making the decision of where he's going with this Yankees organization you guys really think that Michael K has to get out here and tell us something first of all we have podcasts that run every day and he knows it our fans are listening to these podcasts no one is listening to the word salad or propaganda it's just it's just not happening we all think what we think anyway we're not watching yes and going what what to think Michael no Michael K is having a conversation on the air that's what it is they take calls for Christ sake so I mean it that they take calls that one dude that tells you all you need to know they take calls on the radio that one dude who uh was going at him and he was like called him a little boy he he killed oh Michael K killed that guy he destroyed him he destroyed that guy he does not exist what happened in the body we do not care yeah we don't care no but every once in a while I get the criticism I do but just criticize what someone says you don't have to criticize their whole upbringing and and where they work and what it's about goodness gracious I know especially like you do that on Twitter and the argument is well Twitter doesn't exist so like who cares right but then like you do it like on the radio and it's like bro that's that's insane that's just unhinged behavior um I wanted to point out by the way Amazon is trying to buy out the uh they were eyeing it in January to buy out the Diamond Sports stake so Amazon would technically own 35% of yes and uh would basically be the majority owners of yes more than okay so should I go to Amazon help if I have a complaint about Aaron Boone next year it's so funny because you've been saying for a while you've been making tweets about like Amazon like delivery service and all that it's like Amazon's probably loving it they're like yeah like you know free product placement in your tweets about the Y they're welcome yeah I hey I I would take an Amazon patch more take a star insurance but I'll take no patch get I don't like the patches at all period if I didn't see a patch on bab Ru stuff they could have put some farming patch some random Garbage Patch Coca-Cola they could have done all of it they didn't so just leave it alone the Yankees don't need that money you're worth $7.4 billion I don't even use it anyway yeah exactly I know technically being worth $7.4 million as opposed to 7.2 is better and everyone would do it but man it's just there's something about protecting the brand and I just think putting patches and slogans and bunch of sayings all over just doesn't need to happen it's no it's actually my biggest issue with soccer because what do you what do you know these soccer teams as you know them for their brands that's ridiculous that's absolutely insane like so you're you're telling me you're going to wear a jersey of your favorite soccer team and the soccer team like across the chest is going to say something about an a line that I can't even go to in the United States like are we serious right now likees doesn't look good so yeah I I mean the Yankees really have one of the best uniforms in all baseball in all sports iconic I think the star patch is terrible I've always hated it I no the only thing better is the the St Louis Cardinals when they wear their powdered Blues that's pretty much it Phillies powdered Blues I mean you can't beat the Dodgers have a really nice uniform as well they do um I do like the Dodgers but but yeah I mean I just think that like the patches are stupid I was just saying making a joke basically like if Amazon was the patch over Star Insurance I would take that because I think I just Star Insurance yeah the first thing I think of with the Yankees is Star Insurance I'm sure that 12-year-old kid is totally happy that you're selling those $20 Star Insurance patches for his jersey give me a break I will say though if the Yankees were winning world series title like World Series titles I don't even think I would care what was on their jerseys but now that you're not winning you kind of take a step back and say well what is this about is it about winning because the same people are in the building so if it's not about winning what is it about and then you see Star Insurance you think oh this must be business and long behold that's the conclusion a lot of people come to the Yankees care more about business than winning and it's not something I like to blurt out as much as a lot of people do but man when you you keep losing and then all of a sudden Star Insurance just comes out of nowhere and it's on your chest yeah it doesn't it doesn't look good hey it did lower the price of uh chicken buckets I can tell you that much it did no it didn't it did not it didn't yeah no it's not and we're gonna be at the stadium here in a couple weeks so uh yeah we'll have to meet all of you well the food's gonna be included for us so I don't think I'm worried about chicken buckets I'm not eating any chicken they're probably going to give me food poisoning I'll have diarrhea by the fifth inning that'll be my luck at the stadium it'll be steak and Brussels sprouts for your boy oh man you're you're funny um so yeah to to kind of wrap up the show we just wanted to hit on Luke Weaver you know double back on that um and then talk about Clark Schmidt and Ian Hamilton coming back so Luke Weaver uh where are you on on him I mean I don't think they have to commit to him as the closer but I really liked what I saw it might be best for him because lately he he's been struggling the seventh and eighth and they even brought him in the sixth thing the other day like so I actually and remember when we went over the closer options he was one of the guys I mentioned like I think he's got great stuff obviously he's got the vo he can miss bats I don't mind them keeping this open as a competition like the next time we see Jake cousins so the next time we see Canley you figure it out I mean even if it results in losing a game that you know you don't want to lose I would rather find the perfect closer um if you're not going to go with Clark Schmidt because I think they should just go with Clark Schmidt in the postseason but I would rather find the perfect closer and give up like a win or two than win all of those games and not know who the hell's closing in October at all okay so I agree with you now I don't believe Luke Weaver should be the closer for this team but there's one thing's for certain I do believe he should be somewhere in high leverage and I'm comfortable using him in high leverage situations and I don't want to steal your idea I want to make sure it get some shine here before we went live you were talking about the fact that Luke Weaver had a very strong start to the season and he's really kind of lost his way towards the middle but those situations that he was Finding himself in still weren't High leverage a even after he was pitching really well for this team it almost seemed like he was the first guy out the bullpen okay Luis heels tired who we going with Luke Weaver right and that's sort of the way it was and occasionally they'd be comfortable giving him that two-inning role the way you saw with Michael King now who's to say Luke Weaver wants that role maybe some guys are cracked out to be in a higher leverage situation and you looked up the numbers Jake and you brought them up Luke Weaver has very good numbers late in games and high leverage situations and Clark Schmidt does as well so having said that why not give this an opportunity I know for a fact it won't be worse than what we've had so let's go ahead and use these situations and see if we can get the 31y old right-hander to be our closer or somebody that we can guarantee can do a job in high leverage so I led what happened today and I thought it wasn't necessarily the reason we won but I mean it damn sure was more comfortable having him out there I loved every pitcher that pitched on the mound today for the Yankees agree like I I mean all four of those guys that you saw today will be on the postseason roster I can I can take that to the bank I mean Jake cousins had two bad outings and people want to get rid of him that's just the way it works um I still think the Yankees made a mistake DFA Michael tonin because I actually when I went back and I looked he had some potential in those like higher leverage situations um you know based on where you put him inning wise and he's actually one of the only guys that they let close aside from homes but we're we're moving forward not backward here um I do think that bringing in Ian Hamilton is going to be really interesting because I think you pitch him in the fifth inning if it's like one of those type of games where you know it just gets away from you can't you know you don't have length but because I mean that's his best inning but he's also good in the eighth he's just been hurt this year remember I said that I was like I just don't think that's the same Ian Hamilton is last year because I think he's banged up so that's kind of something I'm interested to see Gary um if he can come back and get back to what he was last year he can be an absolute weapon for this Bullpen you know what Hamilton actually reminds me a lot of Johnny low Jonathan Leisa and and not necessarily stuff related or anything that has to do with the pitches he utilizes it's more so about yes I've seen you be successful before but I can't just watch you be hurt for two seasons in a row and then just place you in a situation of high leverage no there's a reason that guys have to pitch in the fifth through seventh inning as well and sorry to say it but you don't have the pedigree healthwise to put you in any other position so I completely agree with you I think he comes out maybe he's the first arm out the bullpen in a low leverage situation you see what you have there and you don't have to bite the Apple you know if you don't want to they don't have a ton of stuff tied up into this player and they do have other options so I love the idea throw them out there in the sixth inning maybe you're up 5 to2 5 to one and you see what happens and if he gets himself into trouble if he has some control issues which we've seen him have before then you pull him off the mound you put someone out there that you do trust but I'm not going to go out there and just say oh Ian Hamilton be super excited he's here and then throw him in the eighth inning so totally agree yeah no I absolutely agree with that um last thing I'll say about the bullpen I really think the Yankees and this is this is cashman's ego getting in the way because they already moved on from anel De Los Santos me I I I really deos meall I really feel like Mark ligher Jr's got to go you got to cut the bait I understand you gave up guys you potentially gave up who could have been the closer of the future in Jack Neely for being honest um I think that Mark leer Jr cannot pitch like currently like he is a he's got stuff he can miss bats but he's that guy that will give you three strikeouts and also give up three runs I don't need the three strikeouts after you've given up three runs I'm not having it for for you know oh this this is a dramatic effect I don't need strikeouts for dramatic effect I need strikeouts for you to put guys back on the bench and generate outs without giving up runs so Gary I will push back a little bit on them because I I I do that a lot but but I I had an issue so they sent down Ron Mario that actually wasn't my biggest issue although I would take ronar naio any day over Mark leer Jr I actually really had an issue with Scott EOS it it went you know kind of by the wayside no one talked about because it happened during their off day I don't understand he he gave his best outing one of his best outings period as a Yankee I mean he hasn't been with the Yankees that long he's been with them a while hasn't pitched that much I don't know why they set him down after that and I just don't understand why I mean Mark ligher Jr I you can look up the stats he's not good in high leverage medium leverage he only works in low leverage situations stats right in front of me yeah he's thrown in his last 15 games to the Yankees he has pitched 14 Innings flat You' think oh well they brought him here to miss bats he's obviously his splits are very good against lefties they did go get that Lefty they told us about this was their best way of doing that so his whip being 1.93 which is dismal oh my God he must not be missing bats that must be What's Happening Here nope he's strucking out 20 guys in his 14 Innings at work so he's doing what they brought him over here to do but he's so bad at missing bats when they actually do make contact it is launched launched the exit is insane it's nuts how hard of contact this players this is not even what Klay Holmes is doing Klay Holmes is he's creating traffic with poor control then he gives up ground balls with a team that doesn't utilize the shift they don't have infielders with a ton of range so it's not working no this player is giving up Rockets like you could have Omar vcel at every position in the infield and balls are not being fielded they're not I'm sorry so if you're going out there and you're still striking out players but you're giving up a ton of runs you're year is almost six well you're going to give you're I'm going to look like a fool here on this podcast saying that not just that you shouldn't be in high leverage situations but that you're on the roster at all because if you can't get out players he let's let's remember here let's slow down he was pitching against below 500 teams predominantly with the Yankees Bad baseball players yeah okay so in comparison and they're not bad baseball players in comparison to the rest of the world they are amazing ball players but compared to the players that we're going to be seeing in October lighter Jr if you your ER is six against the white socks tigers and the angels and whoever else we need a name there for you well then why is it that this player is going to go out there and be like yeah my whip is two against the dookie of the Major League Baseball but South now suddenly we're going to face the Baltimore Orioles and you're going to go see gunar Henderson and you trust this player to pitch in the sixth inning I sure as hell don't if gunar Henderson comes up against this this player I expect a ball to be launched I'm probably going to leave my seat and run out to the right field bleachers and hope I can catch a souvenir that's literally what I would do so yeah this player I completely agree with you do I think he's dead to rights no because I think Brian Cashman is delusional enough to hang on to any asset he's traded till the literal last second so I think there is a chance that this player he has the pedigree to pitch well but do I think it's gonna happen no can it probably so I think they're going to wait till the last second Pitch him the rest of the regular season and then just make a decision then is he pitching well at all and if the answer is yes they're just gonna find a way to throw him on the postseason roster like it's a shame because he's got an amazing splitter but using the he's got an amazing splitter as the reason why you can't send him down you know how many people have I mean you just brought up these are the best baseball players in the World Bar None you know how many guys come into the major leagues and they have an amazing pitch like they could strike out 200 guys in a season but they'd also give up eight runs a game there are tons of guys out there that their slider it might be way more devastating than anybody else in the league but they don't have another pitch you can't just there's a reason Emanuel CL is not a starting pitcher Emanuel CL exactly if they made him a starter he would strike out 280 guys a season but the Cleveland Guardians believe that he can't be extended to that point why because he doesn't have two or three polished pitches so that's the reason why there's your answer and right now lighter Jr has one polished pitch the rest of his two pitches are just getting shelled and it is what it is yeah it's a a bummer but that's the way it is Clark Schmidt and Hamilton activated tomorrow so that's good rar AA was sent down in a corresponding move and I think we're waiting on another move Gary um because I don't think it you know there wasn't another move made yet so I think we'll wait on that um they'll send down Duke Ellis and call up Jason Dominguez here pretty shortly I would say in the next four days four days yeah I think so and the fact is you and I both have thought that even though we're choosing to be you know upset about the whole situation when we hear it and all that and I mean you you you said you were relieved but you know we've been annoyed at it you know we always deep down we we've talked about this would not be surprised if he's called up and they just say bye Verdugo and they're just trying to basically save face because again it's another Cashman ego thing I well I traded for Verdugo I gave up actual assets and we're paying him 10 million a year whatever for this year for him so yeah I I think I think they're going to kind of just be like we don't have a choice and it's not not even Verdugo can continue hitting in the 340s I don't really care if he's not doing what Jason Dominguez is doing Jason Dominguez is way more dangerous and this is an offense that instead of having three today maybe you have a Jason Dominguez in the lineup instead of rugo be a five or six that's what we're talking about it's the difference between having like two extra runs and I I think that's kind of the reality of it is that yeah it's nice to have a guy who can slap a single and what not have you know contact and everything and be I guess consistent in that sense and not strike out a lot but these I mean these hits are just nobody on two outs he's the only and it's like another thing I'll say because batting 340 is not bad but we're talking about like over the course of the year he's been terrible and now he's going to go on this run that's the first thing the second thing Gary we've brought him up on the show quite a bit uh uh and I totally blanked on his name um oras oras has those hits he doesn't slug he just gets on base you know what oras can do he can steal oras actually hustles yeah but oras also hits three4 they might talk about Verdugo hitting 340 for for a day you know for 10 days for a yeah they he hit 340 for the day but Alex it doesn't matter if you hit 340 for two weeks who gives a rat's ass what matters is who you are I've said this a million times what matters is who you are who are you going to be tomorrow what can I can I guess that you're gonna be this version like yeah you played well today Alex fugo had a hit today drove in a run I believe so Alex no actually he didn't drive in a run but he had a hit so if Alex Verdugo gets a hit today am I supposed to say well man thank goodness he was in the lineup no I look at the context of who he's been over the long term and if you've been atrocious well then I don't care what you've been the last 10 days don't tell me on yes don't tell me on any other broadcast or YouTube show that this player is hitting 335 his last six games they do that without they do that with Anthony vulpi all the time all the time they'll tell me he's hitting 321 his last 15 games I go oh okay good what what did he hit the the previous 65 games oh uh 142 his slugging was 399 okay then so it doesn't his batting average over that short period of time does not matter it doesn't it's called context and you cannot leave out context when you provide short-term numbers you cannot so yeah I totally agree with you the prospect of what Jason Dominguez can keyword can do is something that the Yankees should not feel comfortable leaving in the minor leagues it is as simple as that what he's capable of is way too dangerous for Major League Baseball to possibly leave him down there and have Alex fedoo on the field I don't give a rip if Alex F has a roll or not next year in Major League Baseball all the power to him I want him to make as much money as possible it just shouldn't be with us so I got to do a football analogy here real quick I see this as poor Case Keenum I'm about to dunk on Case Keenum so Case Keenum is a career backup very good backup one of the best in the league so I guess giving him uh praise there Case Keenum started quite a few games for the Rams so I know him very well uh case keum also was with the Texans that's he made a name for himself at uh University of Houston a lot of fans there so Case Keenum in 2016 was named the starting quarterback over Jerry G who the Rams traded three first round picks and they were willing to start case Keenan over Jerry golf week one do you know why because golf wasn't ready golf was not ready and we realized it pretty quickly golf was not ready the team wasn't that great even though they started off I think they won the first first three games and they didn't win a game until like later on the year um GF went 0 and7 that year when he took over the point I'm making CJ Stroud last year same team by the way Case Keenum was on that team I believe I'm pretty sure he was so yep Case Keenum they could have started him over CJ strad they chose not to CJ strad is potentially going to win the MVP this year in his second season okay pretty good to me when I look at Jason Dominguez I see CJ Stroud that's like that level that we're talking about yeah potential star that's what we're that's what we're discussing a potential Superstar so they didn't bench him for they benched G who wasn't ready you know G was like Jackson holiday when he first came up he just wasn't ready we're like okay fine he's not ready that's fine if Jason Dominguez wasn't right he's hitting 180 he has strikeout issues he doesn't have any defense totally understandable but Jason Dominguez we're talking about is potentially being a superstar level player like one of the franchise guys and you're Bing at the opportunity and you're just and the thing that annoys us the most is because we know what they're doing they're they're trying to act like it's not you know the service time manipulation make sure he can um have that Rookie of the Year eligibility it's 100% that when he gets called up in the Boston series that will literally confirm what we've been saying and what other people have been saying because I don't want to take credit for that I think a lot of other people brought that up so Gary the reality is this Case Keenum started over gof because he wasn't ready the the Yankees are essentially starting Case Keenum because he's been around a while and he's liked you know how liked Cas Keenum is there liked yeah MH he's liked they're starting him over CJ strad I hope everyone understands what I'm saying some of you that don't watch football you have no idea but we are an analogy show we we use it a lot we like our context we like stats we need Colin coward to join our show for I know Colin cow oh my God our show would be three hours and people would be like I'm never watching you again that it'd be longer than the movie Lincoln oh man well that's uh that's all I got I just wanted to throw that out there to wrap you got a movie for us don't you oh I oh well we have the mailbag as well I also got to throw that out there so Ed W whatever happened to that apicius quote unquote audit that was supposed to happen after last year's clown show at w so great uh great question I don't think anything actually happened I think that was just something that was leaked if you ask me I don't think the audit ever really happened and if it did it was very surface level they didn't get into much and I just wish they didn't leak it because it made it made the organization look embarrassing and that's saying a lot since they already have looked embarrassing yeah the way I take it I don't think it necessarily was something leaked per se for me I just think the Yankees want to come across as an organization that's accountable and where everything's on the table at all times and everyone has to do the necessarily necessary job to have a job the next year and I don't necessarily think that's the case case I don't I think there are a lot of people who are just just cannot be moved they're unmovable so where we are with this team by the time we if we lose right if we lose in October we don't win a title we're gonna have a show it's gonna you guys are all going to watch it lot of views right everyone's show is gonna have a lot of views in October and the conversation is now going to transfer over to Brian Cashman but then after they tell us we're going to get serious about what happened in this front office then the conversation turns over to who Juan stto then after more than likely Juan stto returns as a Yankee because the Yankees usually are going to invest in a player that's going to make them more money than they're investing okay so that's the reason why we think Wan will be back okay just too good of a fit he's gonna make them too much money he'll be brought back then after that what happens next do we start talking about the trades and the the next moves following from Brian Cashman nope we won't we'll talk talk about oh the Yankees are kicking the tires on Corbin Burns oh the Yankees are kicking tires on trading for this potential player who might be leaving this organization who's not winning maybe a Mason Miller now when we're talking about these things we're not talking about the audit anymore we're talking about the potential of what the Yankees should be doing and then they'll probably do something less than what we were hoping for and then you rinse and repeat again the next season that is that's exactly how it goes and that internal audit Ed is is a uh it's a hogw was it is nothing they don't audit anything it's funny though it sure is funny they they're auditing nothing they're auditing themselves I will say keep up the the civil unrest if you will of this whole Verdugo thing because the louder you are when Michael K points it out they're they're seeing it they're hearing it and it's basically saying if you ever at any point and this is how we'll end the show and then I'll have the movie if you at any Point seriously Cashman and how and anyone if you at any point thought you were going to get away because Gary you've mentioned this before it I don't think it happens like you just said but if you thought at any point that we were going to be okay with you saying you know what if we lose Verdugo they'll be happy with Jason Dominguez no what we're telling you is we're we're not we're not taking that it's not you be happy be be happy we called up Dominguez it's no you need to call him up you need to you owe it to the players you owe it to everyone that's paying money to watch you whether it's the $20 a month yes app whatever cable going to the actual Stadium you owe it to these people to put the best damn product on the field and at the end of the day Jason Dominguez Aaron judge and Juan SoDo is the only Outfield that we should be seeing from now until the rest of this season and next season that is that if you want and next year if you want to put Aaron judge at first by all means we've been talking about it like crazy I'd be for it that'd be the only way that's the only scenario these three aren't in the Outfield because one of them has been moved to first base it is unacceptable and is an absolute failure if you lose Juan stto and try to do the whole we'll just replace him with Dominguez no no no no no no he's part of the Dominguez thing he's part of the judge thing I'll if that happens I tell you that you don't even want to see our show after that yeah so I mean you get what I'm saying I just wanted to put that out there you guys keep making your noise because being complacent as a fan base you're going to get complacent ownership because once they realize oh they're not that demanding that's that's a stressful thing to have to deal with uh got Boris for the whole offseason now I don't have to do it so so yeah they're like all right fans don't care we don't care we're gonna get paid either way um and Brian cashmir has four World Series he doesn't need one for his legacy in his mind so that's my thought I just I like that people are complaining about it they deserve to be complaining about it if Verdugo was putting in so much work it still wouldn't matter because it like I said it's the Keenum CJ St effect CJ stra brought the Texans to the playoffs last year he's a big reason why I think they're going to go to the Super Bowl this year case keenum's not bring you into a Super Bowl just like Alex Verdugo isn't going to win your World Series but having Jason Dominguez now getting these reps getting ready and reved up for the postseason I think he is going to be a game changer and that's what they need so to wrap it up if you got to this point longer episode than we were planning but pretty Fire episode I'm gonna give you a fire movie uh Bill Murray hilarious back in the day um Groundhog Day and the reason I chose Groundhog Day besides the fact that you need to watch it it's a great movie it's about the same day repeating over and over again it we finally saw the anti- groundhog day it finally it wasn't oh three nothing a game that we should win we're about to lose this aren't we look at you maturing with your movies this is excellent good work so yeah it's the anti- groundhog day today but definitely go uh Groundhog Day has some of the best messaging in it um not any of that stupid [ __ ] that we see today in 2024 but actual messaging about living life to the fullest uh it's a wholesome movie when you really understand the meaning of it and I think everyone should see it okay I've never seen the movie so I'll definitely I'll chalk that up as another movie I've got to see so we we'll see maybe so that's going to do it we appreciate you guys uh be sure to like sub subscribe comment also if you're listening to this on audio uh you know be sure to hit the Subscribe button if you haven't already also uh you know give us a festar review wherever you're doing the podcast wherever you listen to it um and that's going to do it we'll see you guys tomorrow early game Clark Schmid on the Mound versus Javier Assad yep see you guys after breakfast like this video