PTI - Should We Be Worried About Shohei Ohtani's Struggles?

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

Tony Kornheiser and Frank Isola discuss the Blue Jays crucial game three win, concerns on Ohtani's slump and the battle of the 40+ QBs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Frank Isola in Milwaukee, just days after co-hosting for Minneapolis. Tony Kornheiser. Where's next?

Sheboygan? Is that where you're going? Hachkosh. Oshkosh. Oshkosh. Oshkosh. Pick up a pair of overall. That's on the way home.

Right? Aren't Oshkosh. I think that they were famous for making overalls. Oshkosh for guys. They're not still. Yeah. Welcome to PTI Boys and Girls. Wilbon is off today, so I am joined by our great friend from the starting line.

lineup on Sirius XM, Mr. Frank Isola. And we begin today with the Toronto Blue Jays getting their first win in the ALCS by pounding Seattle last night, 13 to 4. The Blue Jays hit five home runs. They were all over Seattle's starter, George Kirby, by the third inning. Seattle had won the first two games and gone back home, presumably in the driver's seat. So, Frank, does this result change how you see this series? You don't win 94 games like the Blue Jules?

Blue Jays did, and the way they outclassed the Yankees, you're not going to give up after losing two home games. And, you know, Seattle's been their home away from home. They've scored 34 runs there in the four games they played. That includes the 13. And let's face it, Tony. It all begins and ends with Vladimir Guerrero, who was so good last night, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. I love when his dad used to hit bare-handed. He uses his gloves, but he could hit like his father.

I mean, he is so dangerous at the plate. I love the fact that he could have gotten the hit for the cycle, but as he was. was rounding second. I think he said, you know what? Let me just stop here. I'll probably get thrown out and who knows, maybe I can get injured. But their offense finally came to life. And I think it was big because they trailed in this game. They came back in one and you knew what was going and they're going to have Max Scherzer going. And Max Scherzer has struggled in September. But you know what? In moments like this, I wonder if he could rise to the occasion one more time. It might be his last ever postseason start. Maybe he can get it done.

So it's interesting that you would say you knew it would happen because I didn't know it would happen. This changes my view a little bit because of the way Toronto won, because of the way they pounded Seattle at that point. But let's, I mean, let's look at this. Yesterday on the show, I said I thought Toronto had a better chance of making up ground against Seattle than I thought Milwaukee did against the Dodgers because Toronto hits the ball better. But they are down, they go, they're on the road down to nothing and down to nothing in that game in the first inning. Julio Rodriguez had say two-run, home run in the first inning. So if I'm on Toronto, maybe I'm thinking of myself, is this it? You know, they responded like champions. As you said, Vlad Guerrero went four for four. He hadn't had a hit in the series. I think the team was batting 131. And last night, the team batted 409. They had five home runs. They had four doubles. I mean, this is what they're

supposed to do. This is what they're built to do. But I don't, I don't find it remarkable that the series is two to one. Most series in the third game are two to one. And I don't find it remarkable that Toronto won on the road because in both LCSs, only the road teams have won. The trouble for Seattle, I think, down the road is if they lose one more and they have to go back to Toronto. Because Toronto behaved last night like they did against the Yankees. And that, that's scary. Glad Guerrero was 0 for seven with six groundouts in this series before he came to life last night. And I know that you love Alejandro Kirk. If Seattle's got the big dumper, Toronto's got the little bumper.

How about that guy? Small dumpper. And the whole one that he hit last night. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. He's a lot of fun. All right.

Let's move to the NLCS and one weakness in the Dodgers' dominance so far. Shoyotani. He's one of the greatest hitters in the world, and he's also just two for 25. with 12 strikeouts since the wild card round. Shohei says he doesn't think his recent return to the mound has hurt him at the plate. Tony, how concerned should the Dodgers be about Otani's hitting slump? A lot, a little, or not at all? Well, I would point to what you just said about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. last night.

O for seven and then four for four. Because sometimes it's the pitchers. It's not the hitters. Maybe Shohay Atani will find a pitch tonight that he loves He drills it out of the park and it lands on a freeway. I mean, I would say, I'm tempted to say that the Dodgers should be a little bit concerned, but they're up too O. Maybe they don't have to be concerned.

His recent at-bats are discouraging. You know, it's a two-for-25 against good teams, against the Phillies, against the Brewers. I mean, and the 12 strikeouts, and if you watch him at the plate, he sometimes seems to be flailing at the ball, except when he's taking a call third strike very often from left. I bring up the same thing that you just brought up, Frank. I wonder, has the pitching changed Otani, you know, when he gets to the plate? Because before he pitched at all in this series, he was three for nine for two home runs.

And since then, it's the two for 25. And I was given a statistic today that when he pitched during the regular season, however long the duration was, even if it was just one inning, that the next game, his batting average was 147. Yeah, I'm going to say a little bit just because, you know, he took batting practice on the field at Dodger Stadium, and they say he rarely does that. So clearly it's something that he's thinking about. And, you know, I remember covering years ago when, you know, Barry Bonds is playing for the Pirates, great hitter, struggled in the playoffs. Aaron Judge, the Yankee fans, you know, they're ready to jump off the George Washington Bridge because he's struggling. Look what he did against the Blue Jays in game three. Guys do eventually come to life. something about Otani. Two times already he's made a huge impact without having to swing the bat.

He's been intentionally walked, game four against the Phillies, and then game one against the Brewers to load the bases. Mookie Betts ends up walking, even though Mookie didn't get a hit. So even though Otani is struggling, they're putting him on base, and both of those runs ended up being used. By the way, Mookie Betts thus far, two walks with the bases loaded. The record for the postseason is three, and a guy that you know, Jim Palmer has also been walked twice with the bases loaded in the postseason. A little interesting stat there. Really? That's weird. That's weird. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Let's go to the Thursday night game. Aaron Rogers at 41 will start against Joe Flacco at 40. This is only the fourth time since 1950, the two quarterbacks over the age of 40

will start against each other. And the previous three times were all Tom Brady against Drew Brees. Frank, is this a fun curiosity to you, or does this matchup have real appeal? It's a lot of fun to me. Come on. How often do you see this? You mean, you just gave the stat how rare it is. And let's face it, too, for Aaron Rogers. Think about what happened to him the last two years in New York. A lot of turnover, sacked all the time and a lot of losing, and he was also hurt. And you know, Tony, in New York, they were giving Aaron Glenn a lot of praise for making Aaron Rogers fly across country to tell him essentially to kick rocks, right? You look at the way the Jets are struggling. Aaron Rogers lands in Pittsburgh, and right now, I still expect Baltimore.

I think they could write the ship. Maybe if Joe Burrow comes back, Cincinnati can go on a bit of a run here. But right now, they're the class of that division. Aaron Rogers is in a really good position to make it back to the playoffs after two disastrous years in New York. And since he's gone, it's actually worse. So I'm interested in it because you don't see this very often. And listen, Joe Flacko needs to hold down the fort because right now Cincinnati certainly teetering. Yeah, I'm glad that I have the chance to talk about this because as the oldest working human being in the United States of America, I laugh at 40 and 41.

And I will undoubtedly tonight sit in front of the TV set, until I fall asleep, I'll be wearing slippers and holding up my AARP card. Look, I think that this would have more appeal if Rogers were still in Green Bay and Flacco were still in Baltimore because they won Super Bowls there. Flacco, there's a move out of desperation to bring Flacco onto Cincinnati because their own four since Burrow got hurt. But in the second half of the first game he played in last week, he was 21 out of 30. So he can still throw it. But I agree with you that the referendum here is on Aaron Rogers and the Steelers.

They're four in one, but here's who they beat. They beat the Jets who stink, right? They beat New England before New England turned the corner and got good. Yeah. They beat Minnesota. But Carson Wentz was the quarterback, and they just beat Cleveland with Dylan, whatever his name is. Let me get his name here. I don't even know his name.

I forgot his last name. Dylan Gabriel, all right? So there's not, Frank, there's not a signature win there. And this won't be a signature win because Cincinnati isn't any good. So Rogers is having a very good year, not just for being 41, for being 31. I think his ranking, his rating is eighth in the whole league. but are they good? Are they good? How good are they?

Let's take a break. Coming up, how have the Falcons gone from one of the worst defenses in the NFL to one of the best? We will ask Booger McFarland. No, no Trey Henderson tonight, by the way, for the Bengals. We'll also ask him how he's sizing up Saturday's games between six ranked SEC teams. Dylan Gabriel, Oregon, right? Played at Oregon. Got the job.

Shador Sanders knows that name. Not Roman Gabriel. No, not the angel Gabriel. No, Dylan Gabriel. Welcome back to Pardon the Interruption, presented by Twisted Tea, hard iced tea. Part of Happy Hour. Let's get back into some football with ESPN NFL and college football analyst. Booger McFarlane, today wearing his shirt from the San Francisco Golf Club, which I have played.

Let's start with this. The Steelers visit the Bengals tonight. The Steelers defense, which was supposed to be so great, struggled in weeks one and two. But it's been much more effective of late having at least five sacks in each of their last three games. What have you noticed there about this improvement? Well, Tony, sometimes, like, there's no magic formula. Guys just start to play better. You know, they brought in some veterans this offseason, Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey.

Those guys have started to play better. One of the guys they drafted up front, Keanu Benton, he's playing better. He had a sack and a half. Derek Harmon, their first round pick this year. He had a knee injury early on. He's starting to come along. So oftentimes it's nothing magic. Their best players are starting to make plays.

There is one guy, though, I want to single out. They got this linebacker Nick Herbert. He is all over the place. And he's a rookie. And so for a guy who's that young to be out there making plays like that, to me, that's something that's been very exciting to see. All right, let's stick with defense. Falcons had a really big win the other night.

You know, last year, their defense, it's near the bottom of the NFL. Now they're ranked number one in total defense. Why is this happening? How is this happening with the Falcons Booker? Or everything's a new. Remember that. They got a new defensive coordinator in Jeff Arbrick.

And to me, that's been the whole key. He's a more aggressive guy. Like, he loves to be aggressive with this front. And so now you got a new defensive coordinator. That means new schemes. And you got a bunch of young rookies. Jalen Walker, James Pierce, Jr. You got this rookie safety,

Billy Bowman out of Oklahoma. Those guys are starting to make plays. You sprinkle in the addition of Leonard Floyd. That's how a defense goes from one of the worst that getting to the quarterback, pressuring everyone, to one of the best. It's a new scheme, it's new energy, it's new focus, and they're starting to show on the field.

I just hope they can keep it up and give this offense not a lot of opportunities because B. John Robinson is one of the best players in all of football, and the more they get stops on defense, the more we get to see B. John Robinson. All right, let's move to college football. In the SEC, you got a lot of games between ranked teams. Got LSU Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama.

Which one or ones do you feel most confident about? You know, I would probably say Alabama and Tennessee, and that's because of the quarterback, Ty Simpson. Like, everybody remembers what happened against Florida Stadium week one. But since then, Ty Simpson has played the quarterback position as well as anyone. And I'm not just talking about being a game manager. He's putting the football down the field. There was a fourth and eight against Missouri.

He threw it 29 yards down the field, and you couldn't have walked it out there any better. He's playing the quarterback position as well as anyone, and that's the reason I think I feel more confident and more comfortable picking Alabama over Tennessee because of how he's playing. As far as George and Ole Miss, I think there's going to be a little bit of get back in there. All right? Kirby remembers a couple things from the last meeting, primarily that Ole Miss beat him. And then there was also a comment that Lane made this week saying, you know, he was asked, about who's burning more calories on the sideline. And Lane said, and I quote,

I saw a picture of Kirby. It doesn't look like he's burning too many calories. So I think all of that's going to be in the back of Coach Smart's mind, the loss last year, the lack of burning calories this year. I guarantee you, Georgia's going to want to put a little bit on Ole Miss. And as far as LSU against Vanderbilt, I honestly have no idea. Vanderbilt's favorite, go figure. First time they've been favorite against LSU and God knows how long.

But you got to give credit to Vanderbilt. They're one of the best teams in the SEC. Clark Lear, I love him as a coach. He has a fundamental tenacity and a culture that he's built and Vanderbilt. And they're a really, really good football team. I think that game is a toss-up, so I have no confidence in which way to lean there. I will just point out before we get to the last question that over your left shoulder is an LSU helmet and you went to LSU, and I think you're not giving us the whole stuff on LSU.

Let's get to the last question. Four and one Louisville visits number two Miami in any sense. does this smell even faintly like an upset to you? Not at all. That would be like somebody telling me that it smells like Wilbon is going to join us in this segment when you know he's not. Like there's no chance whatsoever.

Miami's biggest strength on their team is their defensive end, Bain and Mezzador. Like those guys are going to be top picks. The weakness of Louisville is their offensive line, primarily their tackles. And I get it. Jeff Brom is one of the best coaches as far as a big game coach that we've seen.

And Louisville, it's a Friday night. I understand. But when your biggest weakness is opposing the other team's biggest strength, to me, that's a mismatch. And I suppose the weather could be a factor. Turnovers could always be a factor. But I think this smells like Miami blowout at home, and the Louisville Cardinals are not going to have any magic on Friday night. Booger, as always, thank you so much. Thanks, Booger.

Always enjoy. Frank, glad to have you along for the ride, sir. Thank you, brother. Let's take one last break. Still to come, Indiana backs up the Brinks truck for Kirk Signetti. And will Jason Kidd back away from his idea of starting Cooper Flagg a pointler? At least someone's happy to see me. Good.

We're all happy to see you. We're all happy to see you. Thank you. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Very happy to see you. Pardon the Interruption is presented by the refreshing taste of twisted tea, hard iced tea. Please drink responsibly. Part of Happy Hour.

Happy time people. Happy 33rd birthday, Bryce Harper. Two MVP's, but still no World Series ring. The Phillies went out in their first playoff series this year, and Harper batted 200 with one extra base hit and no RBI and four games against the Dodgers. Harper hit 261 in the regular season, with 27 homers and 75 RBI, a down year for him.

Harper signed with the Phillies through 2013. But there is impending free agency for home run champ Kyle Swarber, veteran catcher J.T. Real Muto, and starting pitcher Ranger Suarez. But the Phillies have spent a ton of money, and they've won a lot of games with this crew. They've been in the playoffs four straight years, and they got to the World Series four years ago, and yet, Frank, it feels underachieving. Well, they better. They better bring back Kyle Schwabber. They need to do that. You know, I thought that Harper, he looked a little overmatched against the Dodgers. He was three for 15. You gave the stat. Wouldn't you agree probably the biggest knock on him? He's a great player. But right now the biggest knock on him is he leaves Washington

and they went on to win the World Series without it. Yeah, it made me happy as someone who rooted for the Washington Nationals, I have to admit. Though I don't begrudge Harper for leaving for that contract. I don't begrudge it. I'm not so happy anniversary, Indianapolis Colts. On this day, 10 years ago, Indianapolis ran what might be argued is the worst play in NFL history.

After lining up in an illegal formation, the Colts attempted a swinging gate. trick play on fourth down against New England that went horribly wrong. The intent of the play was to trick New England into an illegal substitution, get that flag, and keep the ball. Instead, the ball was snapped, which was never the intent. Quote, I didn't do a good enough job coaching this during the week, said coach Chuck Pagano afterwards. Quote, we weren't lined up correctly and we had a communications breakdown between the quarterback and a snapper, unquote. But other than that, it was perfect, right?

Pat McAfee, who punted for these Colts, has a good, long recap of this play on YouTube. It's the thing about these trick plays, when they work, they look great, when they don't, it looks terrible. But you know what? The Jets might be giving them competition for bad plays. How about the no play that they had at the end of the first half in England the other day in London? Absolute disaster. That was bizarre. They didn't even try to do something.

That was crazy. Happy trails to Kurt Signetti's old salary. Indiana has moved quickly to start. sew up their star football coach, agreeing with him on a new eight-year deal worth an average of $11.6 million per year. That would be the third highest salary nationally this season. The 64-year-old Signetti just joined the program last year, and he has an overall record of 17 and 2. His salary has gone from $4.2 million to $8.3 million, and now to $11.6 million. Signetti released a video this afternoon in which he says he hopes to retire as the head coach

the Hoosiers, which means coachless schools like Penn State got to go fish for now. It's amazing. The job that this guy has done, who would have ever thought in our lifetime, Indiana would be a football school, not a basketball school, but in terms of rebuilding a program, you know, you think about Jim Calhounan basketball up at Yukon. How about what this guy's doing in Indiana? Really, really, really impressive. Yeah.

Yeah, so let me deal with this for a second. He was at James Madison, which nobody has heard of outside Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. And he was making, I guess, three years ago, $67,000. He's now making like almost 20 times that. And as you're pointing out with Indiana, they've lost the most games in the history of college football. Let's go to the big finish. The Hornets cut Spencer Dinwiddie.

Are you surprised? Well, that means that Pat Connington, a former Baltimore Orioles minor league pitcher used to play at Notre Dame, means he's going to make the team. So good for him. Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd is not yet committed to opening the season with the number one overall pick Cooper Flagg

at the point, should he? Jason Kidd was a terrific point guard. He either sees it or he doesn't in Cooper Flagg. Trinity Rodman left last night's spirit game with a right leg injury. Is that cause for concern? Let's hope the best for Trinity Rodman. You know, she's dealt with a lot of injuries.

She's our best attacking player. When I mean us, Tony, I'm talking about the US national team. So hopefully everything turns out okay. Mike Evans, return to practice for the bucks. Is that a big deal? He's a Hall of Fame receiver, and many of their receivers are heard. Baker Mayfield's happy. It is a big deal.

Last one, the unbeaten NHL, Carolina Hurricanes, tried to move to 4-0 tonight. Do you like their chances? They're on the road at Anaheim. The Ducks are 2-1-0. I like Anaheim tonight.