Takes

MLB is currently in the best place it's been in a decade

This is the best baseball it's been in 10 years. I think Rob Manfred has done an incredible job with the with the time clock, with the basis, I mean the pace of the game.

The Dodgers/Blue Jays 2025 World Series was one of the greatest ever

That was one of the greatest World series, like start to finish. ... every game had its own like little unique personality to it and was crazy. It, it was nuts.

Yamamoto is the first pitcher to win 3 World Series games since Randy Johnson in 2001

Yamamoto is not human. ... Denny comes back and pitches game six and then he comes back and wins game seven. It's insane. ... Randy Johnson in 2001, Mickey Lolich in 1968, Bob Gibson in 1967 and Lou Burdette in 1957. ... He won three games in the World Series, hadn't been done since I think Randy Johnson.

The 18-inning game took more out of the Dodgers than the Blue Jays due to their age

They were saying that the 18 inning game took more out of the Dodgers than the Blue Jays because the Dodgers are considerably older of a team.

The Blue Jays are playing free with nothing to lose compared to the pressured Dodgers

The Jays are in a great sweet spot right now. Very talented team. And they're playing free with nothing to lose.

Dodger Stadium has a very cool vintage 1970s aura

I don't know, I was seeing some people say that there's a lack of aura in Los Angeles... at least just from personal experience, we went to that stadium. That stadium has Aura. Yeah. That stadium is cool as fuck. It's the worst place to get in and out of. But when you're in there, it has like a very cool vintage seventies type vibe.

The Dodgers will win the World Series in five games

I'm gonna say Dodgers in five.

Aaron Judge's postseason home run is a footnote if the Yankees don't win the series

Aaron Judge hit that home run. Listen, that one foot. I said it. If they [the Yankees] don't win that series, it is a footnote and it is absolutely a footnote.

The Cubs should always play afternoon playoff games and the Phillies should always play night games

I have a take about the Cubs games. I think the playoffs, whenever possible the Cubs should play afternoon games. And the Phillies should play night games... Because Wrigley Field looks awesome. Especially like in the sunset... the stadium is perfect for Twilight. And then Philly, the SEC environment... it works at the bank.

Aroldis Chapman is officially unhittable again

I didn't know Aroldis Chapman was just like Unhittable again. ... He's like truly unhittable again. ... 0.33 ERA over his last 30 appearances. That's insane.

The Milwaukee Brewers never lose

The brewers do just never lose. I said it on Wednesday and they still haven't lost. They don't lose. They never lose. It's crazy. This team never loses.

MLB should stop doing experimental stadium games and just do Field of Dreams every year

Why not just do it at Field of Dreams every single year. ... This is such a situation where like baseball had a really cool thing that White Sox Yankees game was insane. And why not just go back there and do it?

I have no confidence in the Phillies right now

I, I, I'm, I'm tuned in. I watch every game. It's just, I, it's, I don't know. They're frustrating squad... Dude, I just don't have a lot of confidence in this, in this team right now.

Fixing blackouts is at the top of Major League Baseball's priority list

Blackouts number one are at the top of my list in terms of things we need to deal with. Ideally where you would like to be is if you have a digital home for baseball, you can go there and buy what you want to buy.

Stephen Strasburg at his peak was the filthiest pitcher I ever faced

Steven Strasburg, when he first came to the big leagues... he made his debut against us. He threw a hundred and you just threw me two off speed pitches in a three-two count... I was like, bro, like this dude is not real. His first five years... it was a joke. It wasn't fun.

Trey Turner not receiving an MLB All-Star reserve spot is a snub

Trey Turner leads league in hits and he didn't even get a reserve spot... say what? Christopher Sanchez should have been in over MacKenzie Gore. That makes no sense.

CJ Abrams is the best Saber Metric pick in the Dingers Only draft because he leads off

Ideally you want your players to get as many opportunities to hit home runs as possible. Why not take a guy that hits lead off shortstop. CJ Abrams. He's gonna get like four more at bats than some of your guys' clowns.

MLB is failing by not having wall-to-wall nationally broadcast games on Memorial Day

I don't understand how the MLB still can't figure it out. That like, Memorial Day happens to start summer every year and you haven't figured out a way to have wall to wall baseball games. It's crazy to me. And it should be like, there should be games starting very early and it'd go all day and it should be all nationally broadcast. Like why, why wouldn't you do that?

Errors in the outfield are significantly worse than errors in the infield

Errors in the outfield are way worse than errors on the infield for whatever reason. 'cause anytime you're like backed to the field, you are chasing the ball after.

Shohei Ohtani has reached maximum aura and is the definitive face of baseball

Does Shohei Ohtani have Aura? Because I think he has maximum Aura. First pitch home run. Just, he doesn't change anything about his expression, swing anything. It's just business as usual. I think Shohei Ohtani has reached the next level of Superstardom where he just has the most aura in the game. It's settled. Shohei is the face.

I am fading the White Sox, Marlins, and Rockies for the entire 2025 season

I'm diversifying. I'm gonna be fading what I project to be the three worst teams in baseball, which would be the White Sox, the Marlins, and the Rockies.

Baseball is the worst of the four major North American sports

I'm not a ball guy. Slow game. Bottom, bottom of the four major sports for sure. Hockey, football, then to throw the NBA. And then we gotta drop to MLB.

Rickey Henderson is the best lead-off hitter of all time

Rickey Henderson... was such a awesome, awesome baseball player to watch. All his base stealing records are just insane... Best lead off hitter of all time.

The pinnacle of pitching is winning a World Series ring

I just wanna win. I think the best thing in sports is winning. It cures everything. Individually, Triple Crown, Cy Young, obviously you wanna do that again. But it all wouldn't mean as much if I don't have a ring. If not multiple. That's why you play. At least that's why I play the game is to win World Series rings and go perform on that stage.

I can throw a fastball 64 miles per hour

What how fast do you think my fastest pitch was? [64]. Oh boy. That's gonna be a lot of home runs... I guess [my fastest was 64].

The Dodgers won the World Series because they are a fundamentally better team than the Yankees

The Dodgers did it by just being the better team and being the fundamentally better team. Because like, if you look at it... the Dodgers did, don't make mistakes like the Yankees made mistakes. And that showed a hundred percent in game five when the Yankees had a complete and utter meltdown.

Tarik Skubal will win the Cy Young

Tarik Skubal, who's a Cy Young, shout out... he's gonna win it. I bet it instantly... he's gonna win the Cy Young. He was an absolute beast.

The Philadelphia Phillies will defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series

World Series? I think the Philadelphia Phillies are the best team... Philly's over Yankees.

The feeling of hitting a home run like Barry Bonds is the best sports superpower

Hitting like Barry Bonds is the like, I mean throwing, throwing like Paul Skenes would be pretty sick. No, the feeling of hitting a home run, like if you just got that feeling 700 whatever times, that's the best. That's awesome.

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.

If Tarik Skubal gets traded to the Dodgers, my Cy Young bet is in trouble

Tarik Skubal, who is the presumptive Cy Young favorite... is possibly gonna get traded... I bet it right then and there. So I have plus 400. I think he's like minus 125 now. But he might get traded to the Dodgers. If he gets traded to the Dodgers, I'm fucked. You don't want him in the National League. They only base their voting on what you did in your new league.

Tarik Skubal will win the AL Cy Young

Tarik Skubal is not starting [the All-Star Game]. And he is going to be the AL Cy Young as that guy sent me the envelope... per the guy who gave me the envelope that said bet him right now. He is the odds-on favorite right now.

I will compete in a Home Run Derby at some point in the future

I can confirm I'm not competing in this year's Home Run Derby... [but] that's the plan. I think that'd be a good goal to have... not if we do it, but when we do it.

Baseball has the highest amount of celebratory ass slaps in sports

Baseball for sure. Football probably second... baseball, that's how they shake hands.

Ryan Mountcastle will have a massive second half because he's over his vertigo

Ryan Mountcastle. He seems to be over the vertigos, but yeah, he does hit a lot of homers. So he's been saving them. He, this is what he told me. He's been saving them for the second half. And I got him having a big second half.

MLB will fix the uniform lettering and sweat-wicking issues by the 2025 season

There was a report that came out that basically said Nike fucked up the uniforms. We're working to fix 'em. We're gonna get the bigger names in the back of the jerseys and everything should be fixed at the latest, at the start of the 2025 season.

The obsession with velocity is destroying MLB pitchers' arms

Everyone's obsessed with velocity... everyone just looking at the numbers being like, you gotta throw a hundred, you gotta throw a hundred. And arms are just getting pushed to this max at a early age and everyone's destroying their arms.

Fanatics MLB jerseys are complete pieces of shit

It's starting to bother me now that I'm watching a little more baseball. Just like not being able to read the pitcher's jersey. And it seems like every single night there's a new example of the jerseys just being pieces of shit.

The Shohei Ohtani investigation will take a long time to resolve

I think it's gonna be a long time... This is such a tiny little speck of a much larger investigation that's going on right now into this alleged illegal gambling ring in Southern California... Major League baseball doesn't wanna step on the toes of federal investigators.

October baseball is a complete crapshoot

October baseball is a complete crapshoot... What that suggests to teams is October baseball is a complete crapshoot... You don't have to be great, right? You just have to be competitive and get to October and then once October comes, anything really can happen.

The Yankees have already won the World Series after their opening sweep of Houston

I'd just like to be the first to congratulate Jake's New York Yankees on winning the World Series. Yeah. Four game sweep in Houston. Congrats. Jake. Juan Soto got his pinstripes. New era.

The Rangers will beat the Dodgers in the World Series

I'll go Rangers over Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers is not more impactful than Jackie Robinson

Ben Verlander... said that Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers is the most important signing in Dodgers history... Jackie Robinson? ... Pretty impactful. The word impactful was really interesting to us. Most important, most impactful.

Shohei Ohtani's contract is actually a natural progression from Aaron Judge's, valued around $460 million in real dollars

This is a 450-460 million dollar contract because of inflation and interest... If you actually think about it, this is a natural progression of contracts. Shohei Ohtani signed for 10 years, 460 million. That's a natural progression from Aaron Judge's nine for 360.

The MLB pitch clock has significantly improved the game for everyone

The biggest is the clock, no question about it. And I, I think it has really worked out well. I love it personally. Keeps the game moving action. They took the shift away. So I think it's a better game. No doubt about it. They're shorter, they're crisper.

Gary Sheffield had the most intimidating and unique sound off the bat in baseball

I coached third when Sheffield was with San Diego. This is back what, 93, 94. And oh my goodness, the sound of coming off his bat. It's just different. And you know, those guys, the elite players, you, you, you can tell when that ball's hit who, who's hitting sometimes.

Signing Will Smith is the best investment for any MLB team

Will Smith... is a three time World Series champion. First player to ever win three consecutive world series on three different teams. I think his salary this year was $1.5 million. Best investment of all time. Go, go. Every, every team should try to go sign him.

I would rather the Phillies play the Rangers than the Astros in the World Series

I would rather play the Rangers. [than the Astros]

Bryce Harper embodies the city of Philadelphia more than any superstar

I'm so jealous of Philly fans because you got a player that is a superstar potential Hall of Famer someday. And he's such a dirtbag—like Phillies fans. He is one of them. When he signed his deal, he was like 13 years, I don't want any opt-outs, I want to die here. Bury me in Philly. He embodies everything that fan base is all about.

The Phillies will beat the Rangers in the World Series

World Series prediction: Phillies over the Rangers. It just feels like the Phillies won't be denied. They feel more inevitable this year.