Takes

The Phillies home environment is unlike anything else in professional sports

I stand by it. I mean, I'm not the only one who's been saying... like, that video of the crowd singing Bryson Stott's walk-up song as he walks to the plate and then five seconds later hitting a grand slam is like one of the coolest sports videos of the year.

Playoff baseball at Citizens Bank Park is one of the hardest environments in all of professional sports

Playoff Baseball at the bank is one of the hardest environments in professional sports. It's different. It's different than any other stadium. I mean, you just see it, the feels different. It sounds different.

Booing doesn't work for baseball players because it's a game of confidence, but it works for football players

Baseball's a different sport. It's about confidence. Booing doesn't do anything for a Baseball player, for a football player. Getting booed gets a little driving, you get a little angry. You, you maybe get a little push on the guy next to you and Baseball. It's a mental game, it's a game of confidence.

The MLB pitch clock is more of a hitter's clock than a pitcher's clock

I kind of think it's more of a hitter's clock personally. It speeds them up. You know, it seemed like we were always waiting on the hitter. You know, they had their walkup song and they were stepping out and calling timeout all the time. So I think as a pitcher, for me personally, it'd be great because I think it speeds the hitter up and kind of keeps the game moving.

If the Orioles suspend their announcer for stating facts, they should also suspend the production truck and PR team

You're suspending the broadcaster for stating those facts. Where did he get those facts from? The truck. ... Where did the truck get those facts from? The team's pr game notes in that case. Suspend all of them. ... If you're gonna just suspend him, you gotta suspend everyone else involved with making that decision of making these facts come to light.

Shohei Ohtani's recent hitting slump is caused by the Drake curse

My Hot Seat is Shohei Ohtani. ... Drake a week ago was spotted out wearing a Shohei Ohtani jersey. And since then he is gone two for 12. So the Drake curse is back.

Hitting a home run foul is a sign that the batter will likely strike out later in that plate appearance

If anybody ever hits a foul homer during that bat, they're fucked the rest of that bat. ... There's three options from that point on: it's another homer, which is like a small percentage, or a punch out or a walk, and the punch out is the highest percentage there. ... You're like, 'Damn it, that was my one chance. I'm fucked.'

Baseball should allow mutual combat fighting like hockey

I like seeing guys square up. This needs to happen in baseball. It was awesome. It should be like in hockey, it should be like in lacrosse—if two guys engage in mutual combat, I love the umpires stepping back... let the boys swing.

Shohei Ohtani took the coward's way out by staying with the Angels

After the pressure of the trade deadline gets lifted, he decided to stay with the Angels. A team that has no expectations on it. That's interesting. He took the coward's way out. Is he afraid of the bright lights? If I was Shohei Ohtani, I would be demanding a trade to the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani's viral bat flip against the Yankees was awkward and forced

I'll stand by this take. I didn't think it was a good flip. He looked awkward. It looked like an awkward bat flip. Everyone was freaking out about it. I thought he looked awkward. It didn't look natural. It looked like he forced that bat flip.

MLB has the most competitive All-Star game of any major sport

Somehow Baseball does have the most competitive All-Star game when you look across every sport. Yes. They all sucked. They all sucked.

The stamina-based Home Run Derby format is inferior to the old 'out-based' format

They've screwed it up. I know what it used to be with the 10 outs. It took forever cuz guys were just taking pitches. But yet again, we have a home run Derby where we just, it's essentially a stamina competition of who can hit the fastest home runs and it has nothing to do with the long ball. I want that back.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is a 'vibes guy' you want in your clubhouse despite the PED suspension

Tatis is a vibes guy. I mean, that's a guy you want. That's a guy. I wanted my clubhouse... Tatis is a vibes guy. I mean, that's a guy you want. That's a guy. I wanted my clubhouse. [PFT: He's always suspended] Nah, he's a great guy.

Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player to ever live

I think we can say Ohtani's the best baseball player to ever live.

Las Vegas residents should boycott Oakland Athletics games in solidarity with Oakland fans

If I lived in Las Vegas, I would not go to an Oakland Athletics game once they moved to town. I think Las Vegas needs to stand, or at least threatened to stand with Oakland fans. It just feels dirty. I would not be comfortable supporting that.

The Oakland A's are getting a raw deal and owner John Fisher is a piece of shit

It just dawned on me that the A's are getting such a fucking raw deal and the city of Oakland's getting such a raw deal... John Fisher. Fuck you John Fisher. Piece of shit. You fucking dick.

Every MLB team should be required to play a series in Mexico City

Every team should have to play like a series in Mexico City because it was awesome... The Giants and Padres played in Mexico City, which is 2000 feet higher than Denver. And on Saturday it was like a softball game. There were 11 home runs.

The MLB pitch clock makes fans feel rushed and ruins the 'fuck around' time at the stadium

I fucking hate the pitch clock... because I sit down there... I'm trying to chit chat, socialize like how I usually do... I feel like I'm rushed at a table, at a restaurant that's trying to flip table. I want there to be more fuck around time. So if I get food, I don't miss anything.

Alex Rodriguez never earned his pinstripes

Did A-Rod earn pinstripes? Oh no. Not even for 2009. No. He got all his numbers. All his stats came in like blowout games.

Giancarlo Stanton has not lived up to being a Yankee

What about Giancarlo? Does he have his pinstripes? Stanton? No. He plays shitty. He's never lived up to it. He never lived up to that concept.

Brett Gardner earned his pinstripes through hustle

Brett Gardner... everyone's like 'Brett Gardner pinstripes.' Like that's just because he hustles, he plays the right way. Yeah, definitely pinstripes. He earned them.

Combined no-hitters are fake and shouldn't count the same as a single-pitcher no-hitter

There are so many no-hitter. Fake ass, no-hitter mouth. No. I think it's actually history is going to look... in college baseball, it's every single day I see something else for a combined no-hitter. Well, because it's so much easier to get a combined no-hitter. That's fake. ... It doesn't feel the same. Zero hits is not the same as no hits.

Bunting to break up a no-hitter in the World Series is acceptable

If it's like seventh, eighth inning, I don't know... but in like a World Series playoff game... you kind of have to. It's the World Series. Anytime it's a playoff game. It's when it's like 10 nothing and a guy's bunting, it's like, what are you doing right then? But in that [World Series] situation, you have to.

Catchers are the biggest psychos in baseball because they stop projectiles for three hours

I think there's different tiers of it... but catchers, yeah, they're crazy. Who would want to crouch for three hours every day? Just stopping projectiles. Getting hit with bats and foul tips and all kinds of things. You guys are crazy. I wouldn't wanna do that. Any catcher in the league is a different brand of psycho.

Christian Yelich looks like Jackson Mahomes

I got a vacation take. Taking a thought of over vacation. Okay. Christian Yelich. Looks like Jackson Mahomes.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is a joke because Barry Bonds is not in it

And Barry [Bonds] is not on there? This whole thing is a joke. The best player of all time is not in the fucking Hall of Fame. It's just funny that baseball writers take themselves so seriously. We just need all these guys to die and then maybe we can get the real players in the Hall of Fame.

Jonathan Loaisiga is the toughest pitcher to face in MLB right now

Toughest guy I think to face is probably Loaisiga from the Yankees. That is elite stuff. I mean, he's, he's really, really good.

Kyle Schwarber brought leadership to the Phillies similar to Darren Daulton

Dave Dombrowski said something the other day about Kyle Schwarber and he said Kyle Schwarber, when he walked in that clubhouse reminded me when he traded for Darren Daulton when he was with the Marlins in 97... He said, when Darren Daulton walked in that room after getting a trade, he said, we had a leader. And I think Kyle Schwarber has, and he compared Kyle Schwarber to Darren.

The Padres made a huge mistake not bringing in Josh Hader to face Bryce Harper in the NLCS

And I mean, Harper the biggest at bat of his entire career... They don't bring in Josh Hader to face Harper, which I think was a huge mistake even though Suarez had pitched extremely well. It's like you have the best left-handed guy ready in the bullpen and he's on fire.

The Yankees are a bad franchise

Congratulations the Red Sox, the Phillies, the Cubs and the Nationals have all gone to the World Series and the Yankees have not... That's a bad franchise. No hiding from it. It's a bad franchise.

The MLB Division Series is too short and should be seven games

I think the division series is too short though. Ooh, I don't understand. I don't understand why you play 162 and then it's gotta be five games. I think the, the better team would win out more often in a seven game series.

Yordan Alvarez is the best hitter I have ever had to scout

We've faced Yordan [Alvarez] this year. He was, he's the best hitter I've ever had to advance scout. Whoa. I'm talking about covering all the pitches, hitting lefties, everything. He's the best hitter I've ever had to had to scout.

The Dodgers' 2020 World Series title doesn't count

The Dodgers have not won anything. We can We agree The bubble, the bubble championship didn't, didn't count.

Yankee fans only care about what players do in the postseason to earn their pinstripes

You gotta do it in the playoffs. At least now you have to do it in the playoffs. Because there's this level of expectations that come with playing for the Yankees... Yankee fans pay attention to what you do in the postseason. They can pretty much care less [about the regular season].

Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn might not have had long careers in today's analytics-driven MLB

Man, you just go through the Hall of Fame and just think of how many players because of Launch Angle and exit velocity probably would've never had a long career. Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn... The job was to get a hit and get on base.

New York is a bad sports town because Yankees fans celebrate team records too much

This is embarrassing that [Yankees fans] are celebrating this hard when they just went down from four to three in the bottom of the ninth. Are the Yankees a bad sports town? Yes... I just don't get all the hoopla around it... Whatever, it's a team record. He's going for a team record.

Fans who return historic baseballs for little reward are likely getting paid secretly

I have a take. I think that [MLB teams] are paying these guys a lot, but they don't make it public how much they're giving them because they don't wanna raise the price for future type memorabilia. All those times you're like, oh, this person's stupid for just taking that much... I think they're getting paid off behind the scenes.

Albert Pujols' late-career home run surge is suspicious and 'not normal'

Albert Pujols, 42 years old. July 4th he was hitting .189. And since then he leads the league in batting average and has like 11 homers. That's totally normal... Why does Sam Querrey not do fucking drugs before he retires? He should have done some fucking Winstrol.

MLB should cover up steroid use for players who are great for the game

David Ortiz was like, they, they just shouldn't suspend him because he's so good at baseball. And he is a face of the game... That's actually that's that makes more sense than what his own dad is doing. David Ortiz is right. It's like, if you're awesome at baseball, they should just cover it up.

Juan Soto is Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds combined

I'm gonna miss him. [Juan Soto] is 23. He's Ted Williams. He might be better than Ted Williams. He's Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds combined.

The pitcher-catcher chemistry is overrated; catchers are pros

I think it's ridiculous when guys have to have a certain catcher behind the plate. I think it's stupid. As long as you got a catcher's mitt behind the plate and you've gone over the hitters with me in the pre-game meeting and we're on the same page, I don't give a shit... some of these starting pitchers need to take a step back and maybe take some of the blame... If you're in the big leagues, your job description is the same as the next guy.

Jacob deGrom is the best starting pitcher to ever put on a uniform

I've blown the guy for years. I just think he's the best. And I've said this, I think he's the best starting pitcher to ever put the uniform on. If he stays healthy people might think that's crazy. Some people love it. Just watching him live and on TV... he struck out nine out of ten. It's the best shit I've ever seen ever from any pitcher.

MLB players should wear their own team jerseys during the All-Star Game

My second take is... the jerseys. I do think it's bullshit. They should wear their own jerseys in the all star game. I don't like these... Everyone's wearing the same color. The cool part of it is like one side wears all road and one side wears all home. That's cool. You get to see all of the jerseys on the field at once.

The MLB All-Star Game should still decide home-field advantage in the World Series

My second take is... now this one's gonna get hated on, but I kind of sort of wish the all star game still decided home field advantage in the world series. I like it. It was one of those rules that was objectively unfair... but it still was kind of fun.

The Home Run Derby should return to the 10-outs format instead of using a clock

My third old man take is I wish the homerun Derby went back to 10 outs. Because they took the simplest thing in sports, which is big man, standup plate, mashed dogs. And we not... the most simple part is we get to watch dogs. Yeah. We get to watch the dingers land... Now, it's just chaos. There's three balls in the air at the same time. It's hard to keep up with.

The MLB Home Run Derby was rigged for Albert Pujols

MLB homerun, Derby rigged. Big time. One of Albert Pujols' home runs should not have counted. He also, his pitcher had not even started his wind up when the clock hit zero and then Schwarber may or may not have had dinger taken off the board because they couldn't keep track of all the balls in the air.

Albert Pujols shouldn't be in the All-Star game because he 'fucking sucks'

People getting mad about Albert Pujols being in the home run Derby, which is a crock of shit. But I'm also at the point in my life where I, cause he fucking sucks. He can't even walk. He shouldn't be in the all-stars. He made the all star game... and Albert Pujols is taking a spot away from someone who could [hit home runs].

Tennessee Baseball are clowns for missing the College World Series

I don't think... it's a fine line between being a bad boy and being a clown. I think if you don't actually make it [to Omaha], then you're a clown. Yeah.

Robotic umpires are less accurate than human umpires

The biggest problem with this K-Zone system is it's not exactly accurate. ... They grade the umpires on a machine for home plate every game. ... We didn't have a single umpire—not one umpire—that scored under 95%. ... They already know [the robotic computer] misses 7% of the pitches. We don't have an umpire missing five.

Jacob deGrom is the best starting pitcher to ever play the game

I think [Jacob deGrom] is the best starting pitcher to ever put on the uniform... just what he's able to do with the baseball... it's just, I think he's in his own league. And I hope he stays healthy for another 15 years because if he can do that, I think it'll be the best ever.