Jayson Werth on the 'Month of Hate', Xander Schauffele's Claret Jug, and Round Things
Training camp is finally here, which means Jim Harbaugh is back in our lives giving quotes about being born out of a football womb. While the NFL world wakes up, the NBA world is apparently obsessed with the concept of "aura." Big Cat and PFT Commenter pointed out that they basically started this Jayson Tatum discourse just to annoy Hank, but now that it's reached Stephen A. Smith and Carmelo Anthony, it's officially a national crisis.
Jaylen Brown has an aura rating of +1000
Jalen Brown actually has overflow of aura. He's got, he's got aura. He actually has overflow of aura—plus a thousand aura.
Jayson Tatum's aura rating is currently -650
If you were to do like statistics on Jayson Tatum's Aura? I'd say he is like negative six 50.
Beyond the vibes, the sports world is getting hit with the reality of new media deals. With the NBA spreading across Disney, NBC, and Amazon, the cost of being a fan is hitting an all-time high.
Sports leagues are pricing out fans by fragmenting media rights across too many streaming platforms
This is what the leagues are doing. They're just chopping it up and they're cutting it and they're selling a bunch of NBA to us that we have to buy individually. I feel like that's the real inflation in the United States right now. It's becoming expensive to be a sports fan. They're pricing a lot of people out of watching sports. And that shouldn't be right.
Mount Rushmore of Round Things
Hank returned from his pre-vacation vacation to join the Mount Rushmore of Round Things, and things got contentious immediately. Big Cat led off with pizza, arguing it's the ultimate utility food compared to other circular treats.
You would choose pizza over donuts for the rest of your life because you can't eat donuts every day
If it's pizza or donuts for the rest of your life, you'd have to take pizza. Like, I'm just being honest, like I love donuts, but you can't eat donuts every day. You could eat pizza almost every day.
As the list went on, the debate shifted to the desert category. PFT and Big Cat formed a rare alliance against the traditional birthday cake, opting for superior circular options.
Pie is vastly superior to cake as a dessert
I'm more of a pie guy than I'm a cake guy. I think pie clears cake all day. Birthday cake. Pretty decent pie. Vastly superior.
Ice cream is vastly superior to cake for birthday celebrations
Ice cream is better than cake. Why don't they just do ice cream at every birthday? No, they do cake way more than ice cream at a birthday. [Ice cream] is better.
Hank tried to get technical with the physics of a "bullseye" vs a "dartboard," but he did make a solid point about which ball is actually the most fun to play with when you're just killing time by yourself.
The tennis ball is the most versatile ball for individual use
Tennis balls I think are more versatile than a baseball or a golf ball. If you had the option to be left alone with a tennis ball, a golf ball or baseball... it's tennis ball all day. You throw it against the wall, bounce it off the ground, throw it up to yourself.
A bowl is a perfect delivery vessel because you never have a bad meal served in one
There's nothing really that you have a bad bowl of. You know what I mean? When you're getting, when you're getting a bowl out, you're getting just good. It's like soup, ice cream. Cereal. A bowl delivers great things.
Jayson Werth on the DC Strangler and the Month of Hate
MLB legend Jayson Werth stopped by the studio to talk about his 15-year career and his new life as a Belmont-winning horse owner. Werth was incredibly candid about his transition from being a 6'5" catcher to an elite outfielder, mostly because he hated the physical toll of being behind the plate.
Catching is a miserable position, especially for players over 6'4"
Catching fucking sucked. I'm six five... I did not even like catching. You're always getting second guessed by the pitching coach and if somebody hits a home run, it's your fault. Stand out in the outfield and picking daisies that sort of thing is more my style. Save your knees and your back. I caught over a hundred games four years in a row in the minor leagues. It's terrible.
Werth also gave us a masterclass in clubhouse dynamics, specifically regarding the infamous 2015 incident where Jonathan Papelbon—aka the DC Strangler—tried to choke Bryce Harper. According to Werth, these things are inevitable when the calendar hits August.
August is the 'Month of Hate' in Major League Baseball
August is always the month of hate in the MLB. So no matter, you know, if your team's good or bad, you get, everybody wants to fucking kill each other. And it's literally, it's the month of hate just from being around each other for so much.
He didn't hold back on his former NL East rivals either. Despite his success in both Philly and DC, Werth still finds the entire Mets organization to be a total mystery.
The Mets are a fundamentally confusing and failing franchise
The Mets do things sometimes that I think would probably fall under [hating each other], you know, but they're the fucking Mets. So that's just what happens. I just don't, I don't get their franchise at all. I played the East for too long and played against them. They just suck.
Beyond the beefs, Werth emphasized that the modern game is moving away from the things that actually make baseball great: chemistry and contact hitting.
Clubhouse chemistry matters more than individual talent for winning championships
I think the Yankees have proved you can have all the best players, but If, you don't have the chemistry. It doesn't matter. You know, you gotta, you gotta gimme a, gimme a, a group of guys that might not be the best players, but they get along and they're all moving in the right direction and we'll go win.
MLB is losing fans because hitters no longer prioritize batting average
The game's changed... now it's like everyone's throwing a hundred and wearing oven mitts. No one hits for average. I don't know, it's the game cycles through these things... but it is weird that batting averages have plummeted. I feel like we're losing fans [because of it].
Xander Schauffele: Two-Time Major Champ
Fresh off winning The Open at Royal Troon, Xander Schauffele joined the show to discuss his second major of the year. Xander talked about his dad (the ultimate hoss) drinking red wine out of the Claret Jug and how his win at Valhalla calmed his nerves for the back nine at Troon. Big Cat, ever the fashion critic, decided to pivot the conversation to Xander’s questionable footwear choices.
Xander Schauffele's black Adidas shoes look like server shoes and make him look slow
The all black shoes are tough because you kind of look like a server. Like you look like you're gonna ha pass me some like bacon wrap scallops. I'm telling you, you look slow. White shoes look faster.
With the Olympics on deck, Xander explained why playing for a gold medal changes the strategy for a professional golfer compared to a standard tour event.
The Olympics place a unique emphasis on finishing top-three that is not found in other golf tournaments
In the Olympics everyone's fighting to finish in the top three more so than any tournament. You know, you podium versus if you don't do well and you come in second or third. I think the emphasis on second and third is a lot more than a normal tournament.
Big Cat ended the interview by placing the ultimate jinx on Xander, declaring that the drought is over for good and the floodgates are officially open.
Xander Schauffele will never lose another major championship in his career
Xander Schauffele has lost his last major ever. I'm gonna see if I can parlay all four. You've already lost your last major. That's crazy.
Fyre Fest of the Week
We wrapped things up with Fyre Fest, where Intern Huey’s first foray into coaching softball was described as a total disaster involving three beers and a lot of unnecessary chirping. Big Cat finished with a relatable dad moment, realizing his kids have officially clocked his bathroom habits.
Taking a long time to poop is a masculine dad move
I actually kind of feel like this is like my first, like I'm feel like a masculine dad because I feel like that's a very big dad move for the all the kids in the house to be like, yeah. Dad goes and takes long shits. Being like, I'm going to the shit or I'll be back in three hours.
It’s officially fatherhood when your kids define you by the length of your scrolling sessions on the porcelain throne.

