Takes

The Houston Astros are going to kill the New York Yankees in the ALCS

The Astros are going to kill the Yankees. the Twins should stop I feel bad for the twin if that's what's gonna kill the Yankees. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole... he's insane. he's on a different level... the Astros are going to win the World Series.

I'm staying off social media to avoid cause trouble and responding to chirps

I decided this year, you know what, I'm not going to cause that much trouble on social media. ... I won't be responding [to Trevor Bauer] anymore.

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to win games in 'stupid ways' all through October

I have a bad feeling that the fucking Cardinals are just going to do this shit all October long. ... And just do it in stupid ways and just like come back. I know. I've seen this before.

The Chicago Cubs' championship window is still open

The window's open. As long as Javi Baez and Kris Bryant are on the team and Anthony Rizzo, the window's open.

The Nationals are a team of destiny

I'm beginning to think team of destiny. The oh the Nats. Yeah. Okay, prove me wrong.

The Dodgers will beat the Nationals

I think the Dodgers will [prove you wrong].

Joe Maddon will not return as the manager of the Chicago Cubs.

Joe Maddon out as Cubs manager... Joe Maddon will not return as manager of the Cubs. What's your Source? My brain.

The Chicago Cubs are the most maddening and frustrating team I've ever watched

My fire fest is the Chicago cups. They're the most maddening team, frustrating team I've ever watched. They just want to toy with everyone's hearts and they win one game, lose one game, lose two games. Don't score for a week. Then they look awesome... I am at the point where I'm just I don't even know what I want anymore.

MLB general managers should be fired if they ever miss the playoffs

If you're not going to make the playoffs... you're only as good as this year, though, and they're not going to make the playoffs. If you can't make it... you've got to go. If you ever miss the playoffs, you should be fired.

The Mets' season is officially over after their 7-run ninth-inning collapse

My hot seat is Mets... They blow a 7-run lead in the ninth... it's clearly over.

The Yankees will win the World Series this year

Yankees gonna win the World Series? I really think they are. This feels [right]. I feel like in couple of years past last two three years, we've been optimistic... I feel like we're [due].

The Cubs didn't need Bryce Harper because they need professional hitters like Nicholas Castellanos

Bryce Harper would be a very redundant talent to what the Cubs have right now, and the Cubs need professional hitters, not more guys who hit home runs and strikeouts... I wish they had more [Nicholas] Castellanos, not more Harpers.

Daisuke Matsuzaka's gyroball was the biggest lie in sports

Daisuke Matsuzaka... I was promised the gyro ball. I was promised the gyroball. Okay, and I never got the Gyro Bowl. I was told that he had like 500 different pitches that he could throw that he was going to come over and do things that no human arm had ever done before... then he came over and he threw like 93 on the black.

MLB should have its pros pitch to kids during the Little League World Series game

I wish they played on an actual Little League dimension field... Kids pitching, Paxton Lynch just went deep... Major League Baseball players hit it. Yes. And just have it be.

Regional Little League World Series games are more exciting than the actual World Series in Williamsport

I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but the regional part of it before the actual Little League World Series is almost more exciting because... the America versus America, like Kentucky, Iowa versus Minnesota, those games are electric.

Tim Tebow should retire from all sports

Tim Tebow is out for the year and he should probably just retire from all sports... It's over. PFT, it's over. I've firmly been in the Tim Tebow is not a baseball player. This is all a gimmick in a carnival act. And he should probably just stick to doing TV.

MLB's black and white jerseys are heinous but a genius marketing move

Way to stay relevant baseball. It's Players Weekend, and they have the new jerseys... This year... Straight black and white. I actually think this is a genius move by baseball. They're heinous, the jerseys. But genius move to get everyone to talk about them.

The Red Sox season is over because they have no pitching

I'm putting the Dunchain on the Red Sox... I mean, it's about time. They got no pitching.

The Yankees are only trying to win softball games by not acquiring pitching

I love that the Yankees just are saying, fuck it. We're going to try to win softball games for the fourth year in a row. And didn't do anything. Didn't get a pitcher.

Trevor Bauer is a 'dumb smart person' whose antics are good for baseball

Trevor Bauer... he's a dumb, smart person. ... I think that he might be exactly what baseball needs. We always talk about baseball. We don't have a face of the game. Lean into marketing this dumbass. ... Baseball hasn't really had an asshole for a long time.

You cannot fire Joe Maddon unless there is a clear replacement like David Ross

Whenever you fire a guy, you have to be able to say, hey, we've got the next man up. Like, who is the one lurking in the wings? I think people think it's David Ross... if it's Rossi, then I'm all in.

David Ross would be a great manager because modern baseball is about clubhouse management over X's and O's

I think the way that the manager position in baseball has moved to now, it's less about the X's and O's... It's a lot more about keeping a clubhouse together... and I think David Ross would be great at that aspect.

Baseball needs mic'd up manager arguments to be more interesting

When we get these sound clips [of Aaron Boone], baseball becomes more interesting. So figure out a way to have the manager mic'd up... Stop asking, why isn't Mike Trout a great star that we can all market? We don't care about Mike Trout's mammoth home runs. We want to see two grown men yell at each other.

Edwin Encarnacion hasn't earned his Yankees pinstripes yet because the team lost the game where he hit two home runs

Newly acquired Yankees, Edwin Encarnacion... He had two home runs and the MLB tweeted out that the parrot has earned his pinstripes. But they lost the game, and then home runs meant nothing. You can't earn your pinstripes until you stop getting paid from your former employer.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. should be in every single Home Run Derby for the rest of time

I want Vlad Guerrero in every single home run derby for the rest of time. He is electric... if you watch Vlad Guerrero take any of his practice swings like a week ago, you knew that he was going to be a show. You knew he was going to be awesome to watch.

Pete Alonso winning the 2019 Home Run Derby will be a Slumdog Millionaire trivia question because Vlad Jr. dominated the aggregate

In about five years, you're going to be asked who won this home run derby. Just remember, it was Pete Alonso. I'm giving you money right now... [Vlad Jr.] didn't win the derby itself because of the way that they reset when you go into the final round.

Hitting a home run is the ultimate way to beat the shift

You learn the rules of baseball because isn't hitting a home run beating the shift every single time? You just actually blew my mind. You beat the shift when you hit a home run over everyone.

The only thing that ruins baseball is when the game ends in a tie

The only thing that ruins baseball is when the game ends in a tie. Right. And we're not doing that anymore.

Mic'ing up baseball players might actually save baseball

We were watching and they had someone at bat who was mic'd up. I think it was Freddie Freeman. And I have to admit, I think it might save baseball. With all that said, it could definitely save baseball.

MLB baseballs are definitely juiced and it's stupid to deny it

Well, there's absolutely I mean, there's something different I don't think any I mean Manfred's the only guy that's denying this but i mean they're on pace record pace for homers... there's no doubt. I mean, it's juiced. I can't believe they keep denying it.

The 2019 World Series will be Diamondbacks vs. Yankees

I think you asked me this last year... oh you have to say diamondbacks yeah i have to say the diamondbacks yes okay against the yankees okay okay the yankees little throwback to what was that 2001

Christian Yelich is not a true home run hitter because he's too skinny

Yellich sucks. He's not good enough to win a home run derby. I still, even a year later, even though he's, like, got 31 home runs or whatever. He doesn't have a home run swing. No, he does not. He's too skinny.

The 'ass-eating' bet with Christian Yelich is a lifetime commitment

I think it only should count for the one time. Like, you can't do the home run derby every year. I think it should be a home run derby. The next one you do, when you have to enter it and play in it, and that will be the bet.

Tim Tebow should be the manager of the New York Mets

There's one clear pathway out of this, and that's Tim Tebow. Why don't they make Tebow the manager? Because he can't hit a baseball. Right. He won't ever threaten to fight a reporter. Right.

The MLB draft system is essentially a servitude that hurts the sport

The common theme was you get what the guy got last year, and if you don't accept it, you're greedy... So it basically turned into a servitude. And I really felt that was not good for the game because I felt we're going to lose the great athletes to other sports.

MLB draft caps incentivize teams to lose on purpose

When they put that [draft] cap in, what did it do for the game? It had a horrible impact because what it created is... teams say, 'Wait a minute, I don't want to be competitive at the big league level because I want these draft picks.' So one-third of the league says, 'Why win 80 games when I want to really only win 65 and get top picks?'

Long-term baseball contracts are actually deferment portals for the player's true value

Long-term contracts are... for the true value of the player in the short term being a deferment portal for those values that you didn't pay up front in the future years. For example, a player is worth $80 million a year... they pay him $32 million over 10 years. And then we have the public complaining that the last four years he didn't earn the $32 million when they forgot that he was worth $80 million the first four.

Baseball should adopt an 8-team wildcard 'March Madness' playoff format

My feeling is we have to make the game more competitive... we're going to create a baseball March Madness so that you have the bottom three teams. So you have five, six, and seven. Seven... will play six, one game. Then the winner of that will play team five... Then you get into the divisional playoffs. So you're going to have three days of sudden death Major League Baseball playoffs.

Baseball needs 'old school' guys like Madison Bumgarner to keep the ecosystem balanced

Madison Baumgartner is one of the last guys that we need in this league because he is an anti-bat flipper, anti-pimp your home run. Goose Gossage is actually very important. He's like a beaver for the ecosystem. If you don't have someone yelling about bat flips... then we're all on Twitter being like, bat flips are awesome. Fuck the old guys. It's like, dude, you're talking about no one now.

Only 66% of first-round MLB draft picks will ever end up playing in the major leagues

Even for the first-rounders taken last night in Secaucus, only 66% of them will end up in the majors.

The New York Yankees' no-beard policy is the dumbest rule in all of sports

[The New York Yankees' no-beard policy] is the dumbest rule in all sports. What happens if [Dallas Keuchel] signed? I would love to see Scott Boras right now if he finds out that Keuchel already gave away the beard in the negotiation for free.

Bartolo Colon is definitely going to return to MLB

So he [Bartolo Colon] is going to be back. It's a pre-laden back. I saw a tweet saying that he was signed with the Tigers, and then everyone's like, that's fake news... but he is going to be back.

RBIs are the most important and only truly meaningful stat in baseball

RBIs are actually the most important stat when you actually look at it... The team who has the most RBIs... I'm not even counting runs anymore.

Bartolo Colon is not a Hall of Famer despite his longevity and wins

Bartolo Colon is one of those guys that we should make a special rule where he should get to start one game for every single team for an entire season. ... Not a Hall of Famer, but a very good, memorable pitcher. He has more families than home runs. Four-time All-Star and a Cy Young in 2005. That's pretty damn good. Good job for you, Bartolo.

St. Louis Cardinals fans have been pieces of shit forever

The St. Louis-Chicago rivalry, St. Louis Cardinals fans have been pieces of shit forever with the way they treat Cubs. Best fans in baseball. Careful. Anyone who's listening right now is a Cardinals fan. They'll admit this. They made all the jokes. They said the Cubs would never win one.

Modern baseball players lifting heavy weights leads to more oblique and muscle injuries compared to the past.

Aaron Judge, someone wrote an article that said it's because they lift too many weights... Baseball players look like linebackers... I personally [think it has something to do with higher injury], yeah, with all the obliques and stuff like that.

A modern hitter will never hit .400 again because of the prevalence of specialized relief pitchers.

No, I don't think [hitting .400] is [going to happen again]. I think there's too much specialty in pitching... You've got a guy, a lot of the three, four, five starters, you get five innings... Then they bring in a guy that's making probably $6 million a year to pitch the sixth, maybe the seventh.

If modern teams used the defensive shift against George Brett, he would have hit .450.

If they put the shift on me, I'm not bullshitting you. I'd hit 450. Because I could hit a ground ball to the shortstop or third baseman whenever I wanted... I stood far enough off the plate that it didn't matter.

Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez should not be in the Hall of Fame.

[Barry Bonds, in or out?] Out. Alex Rodriguez. Oh. [Steroid era guys] had already broke my record... they were always saying, if they let these guys in, I'm never coming back. And I respect their opinion.

The Chicago Cubs organization banned the 'circle game' fan without a proper investigation to gain positive PR.

If the Cubs didn't actually investigate it and they were like, hey, we can get a quick fucking W here before we have Addison Russell, who is a shitty person... Cubs, if you didn't actually, if Crane Kenney didn't actually investigate this, I fucking hope he did. Because if he didn't and he was just like, we got to catch a quick W right here. Yeah, that sucks.