The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Clark Connors Returns for Week 2 of Celebrity Prognosticator | Hour 2

Episode Date: September 16, 2026

"Why do we always have Vaudeville as our go-to?" After dominating Colin Cowherd in Week 1, 5-1, Clark Connors is back for another swing at Celebrity Prognosticator, and Dan might never let him go. He offers his condolences to Greg Cote after his layoff at the Miami Herland, and it seems the two superstars may be making peace. Afterward, we discuss Eddie Johnson claiming Kawhi Leonard may be held out of the Hall of Fame for a couple of years, New York Mets fans applauding Pete Alonso's 300th home run, and whether the standard for the New York Yankees is too high. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My favorite part of the football season is the confidence everybody has before it kickoff. Zaslo already knows how the game is going to end. Tony has studied every possible matchup and Chris Cody is convinced his fantasy team is unbeatable. Then the game starts, everything immediately goes off the rails and suddenly nobody remembers making any of those predictions. That's why a legendary game day starts with an ice cold Miller light. Whether I'm at a tailgate, watching with friends, or settling in for a full Saturday of college football. Miller Light is the beer I can depend on. It's crisp, refreshing, and has a clean finish that hits perfectly during a hot South Florida game day.

Miller Light is the original light beer with great taste, and beer lovers have trusted it for more than 50 years. Make game day legendary. Go to Miller Lite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Game time is Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 caps. calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Let me give you a true story.

I was at my favorite bar. Guy working behind the bar, a good friend of mine, huge Bills fan. I opened up the game time map and a spur in the moment decision, let's go to Bill's Lions, home opener at the brand new stadium. And game time delivered,

as it always does for me. It makes finding tickets incredibly easy, even when I decide at the last minute that I need to be at a game, even if it's not even in the state I'm in. I can see a panoramic seed view before I buy. The price shown includes all fees. What you see is what you pay, period. Game Time also has zone deals. You choose a section, they choose the seats, and you save money.

Plus, every purchase is backed by the Game Time Guarantee, including on-time ticket delivery and their lowest price guarantee. Get your friends together, get your tickets, and tell them, it's Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Dan for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and use code D-A-N for $20 off. This is the Dan Levator show with the Stucats podcast. As catch as catch can, a little bit dirty, Russi. What you learned, huh? What you learned, huh?

Only now, oh. Who won? Who won? Who? Chinkia is back. Jack. Look. The champion will up break. A huge showman, one of the great entertainers in show business.

Clark Connors, show business is what I meant to say there. Clark Connors is with us. Greg, how do you feel? What is your present temperature on Clark Connors? The Rifleman. I'm all for them. Oh, my God. No, Chuck Connors, the rifle.

Clark Connors, by the. I call you the Rifleman because before you were born, there was a great Western called the Rifleman, and it started a guy named Chuck Connors. So I always think of Chuck Connors when I hear your name. Love this guy, big fan of pro wrestling, biggest fan of Clark Connors. Clark, are you aware of how well you did with your picks? Are you aware that you have started Celebrity Prognosticator the best way possible?

Well, I mean, I fully expected it. But yeah, yeah, I was watching his glue to football at Sunday. Maybe Sundays are back, so I guess. All right, so he was five for five, and Colin Cowherd was one for five. so you've got a problem on your hands if you're Colin Cowherd because Clark didn't get any wrong and you got almost all of them wrong and look at that smile on his face.

He's very pleased. Are you happy to see Greg Cody? I think the last time that you were on with him, he accused you of stealing his stuff and you told him you don't steal any of his stuff. He's just frozen in thought. Who won? Just really thinking about what he wants to say.

He's just holding up the number one there which is redundant when it comes him. That's a pretty good start for celebrity prognosticator. Freezing. Can't start any better. No, no. I mean the record. I mean, he's, I mean, he picked five games and he got all five of them right. And then Colin Cowherd, who's talking to all sorts of people, picks five games and gets one of them right. Sometimes you just think a little too hard. And that's probably what Colin did. Too much analysis. Yeah. You can overanalyze, no doubt.

I think my dad stunned Clark with his energy there. And Clark's just like, I can't handle this guy. How, Greg, how did you do with your first week of picks and your 36 years of picks? I'm not particularly proud to say that against the spread, I was 7, 8, and 1. One game pushed based on the – I follow Draft King's odds as of Thursday afternoon. So 7, 8 and 1, it's not terrible. Obviously, you want to be over 500 every – it's tougher as when you pick every game. All right. Greg, are you still going to do upset bird or no?

Yes. That will continue. Let's substack that, put that behind the paywall. Should I do substack, it will include a continuation of my NFL picks. You're thinking maybe you won't do the substack now? It's to be determined. It's TBD at this point. Whatever website gives them the best deal, right?

Yeah, it's TBD. Clark is back now. Clark, you were saying, before we so rudely interrupted you. I, you know, we kind of got off on the wrong foot last time, but Greg, great to see you. Thank you. How are you doing? Anything new with you or what's going on? Yeah.

You know what? There is a bit of news. I got laid off from the Miami Herald. They jettisoned my career. And, you know, I'm flailing. I'm in the water right now. I'm looking for a lifesaver. And, you know, that kind of thing and so forth.

I do think Greg could be a good wrestling manager if you're in the market, Clark. Well, you know, AW's here next month, Greg. How about that? I'm there. coming down to Coral Gables. Damn right. Gables on the 21st. Greg, if you want to come by,

maybe we could get you in the ring a little bit, or at least around the ring, getting in sometimes a little dangerous. Yeah. But getting up those stairs isn't at your age, got to be careful. But if you're around the ring a little bit, maybe we can work something out.

Yeah, you got an escalator there that you can have installed? No. I'll have some carry up in the ring for you. Thank you. I appreciate that. Clark, were you about to give him some condolences there for the news?

It seemed to shock you that he's been laid off from the Miami. Harry Harold after 54 years? 54 years. Yeah, I mean, anybody doing something that long is either a legend or they've been doing it for too long. So I do, you know, Greg, yeah, I'm sorry, man. That's a bummer, man. Yeah.

I don't like his snide tone, Greg. Do you notice this kind of? I like a snide tone. You do? Yeah, I like a snide tone. Snide tone. What are you talking about? He's a showman.

He's number one. How do you feel about that accusation, Clark? Yeah, not great. Yeah, who is that? Who's, I haven't, the Zoom pops people in when they talk, but I didn't see who that last one was. Trista, that's Trista. Trista, how you doing? Hey.

I mean, I would say, pleasure to meet you, but not when you're going to come in, just talk it to me right away. What do we doing? I was just noticing the tone where you're smiling, you're making little subtle digs, like, oh, you're either a legend or you've been doing it too long. What's been going on with you? Anything new? Yeah. I feel like it's a snide off, though. My dad's giving it right back to him.

No, he's not snide. He's just confident. Yeah. Look at me. If you look like this and you're as good a wrestling as I am, you'd be pretty snide too. Everything sounds a little snide. Let's do the celebrity prognosticator.

I'm very excited. I want him to be here every week. I don't want anybody. I don't want to be talking to anybody else but him every week all season. Let's go ahead and play the music. And now it is time for Celebrity Prognosticator. Let's win some money. How old is this music?

Why do we always have vaudeville is our go-to? What is this? Is this rag time? Is this like a, what is this? Is this like a saloon in the 1900s? Like, what? All right, let's get a picks now. This man's a master showman.

Like, look how cool he is. Look how confident he is. He deserves better music than public domain crap from the 1800s. It's like vaudeville. Chuck Conner's music right here. There you go. good callback. Lions at Bills.

The Bills are a five and a half point favorite. Who do you have? I got the Bills at home, baby. Open up a new stadium. Bengals at Texans. The Texans are a three-point favorite at home. Oh, Bengals. Bengals.

I like Burgo, baby. What happened, Tony? You don't like his pick? He was undefeated. Clark. No, I like it. That's a bold one. Texans coming off.

a huge loss against the bills, and they're going to lose to the Bengals over next week. Yeah, it's not a great year down there for in Houston, man. I don't see a lot of big things happening. Vikings at Bears, the Bears are a five and a half point favorite at home. Oh, that's a tough one because the Vikings actually watched that game on the airport last week. But the Bears, man, yeah, let's go Bears. They look great.

Jags and Broncos, Broncos are two and a half point favorite at home. Have to go Jags. TK stand up, baby. And Dolphins at 49ers, the 49ers are 13 and a half point favorite at home. Niners with extra points. So you've got them winning by more than 13 and a half, a good deal more than 13 and a half. Yeah, I think it's going to be like a three touchdown type deal. Once again, it's the Dolphins, Dinant Dolphin, and the White Running Backs.

That's great. Five and O last week. No one has done it better around here coming out of the gate. Clark, nice seeing you. I'm going to take you up on your offer and make sure that Greg Cody is around your wrestling exploits and gets to get some of the radiance that's always around you when you come to Coral Gables, sir. Those teeth, gleaming, glistening. Perfect.

Teeth. Absolutely, Dan. Thanks, buddy. Thank you. Very excited about this. Can't start better than that. We have had an assortment of people picking games against Colin. Cowherd, we've beaten him several seasons.

It is one of our greatest works of art. It'd be great if he can have a run straight through to when he's here next month. They're here October 21st. He's got to do really well to get there, you know? I could see my dad as a wrestling manager using the catchphrase. Like that kind of thing. Yeah, I'll have a cigar, an unlit cigar in my mouth for effect. How come you guys haven't noticed or commented on the fact that he had a match in his

mouth. Oh, I thought it was a toothpick. Was it a match? It was a match. That's even cooler. Yeah. He's got an oral fixation. Oh, man, I'm just seeing this. I didn't notice that. I think the last time, the only time I saw that, I think Sylvester Stallone did that in Cobra, in the movie Cobra, where he had a... What a movie.

And this is actually a very funny sentence that I'm about to utter that I'm guessing some of you have no idea about. U.L. Washington, a shortstop for the Kansas City Royals, used to play. shortstop with a toothpick in his mouth. Did any of you know that? Yes. How do you spell UL? Yes, the letter. How do you spell UL? Yeah, because it could be Y-U-L-E. I don't know. Yule Breeder. It's a good question for a dummy. You should read my substack. Put it on the poll at Lebitard show. Did you know that U.L. Washington played shortstop? I'm a bad ally, but I thought it was a good question. What is substack? With a toothpick in his mouth.

someday you guys are going to let me finish these without getting in there and just because you don't know how hard it is to not derail my thoughts at this age. Like to get your jokes off, like there's going to be a day where I forget and I'm going to go in there and beat you to death is what's going to happen. I'm going to just swing you around over my head by your ankles because you've got to get your joke in and I'm going to forget my thought. I don't think you can pick him up. Yeah, I want to see that.

By his ankles. Yeah. Also put it on the poll at Labitart. Go ahead. continue. Also put it on the poll at Lebitard show. Cooler thing to have in your mouth a matchstick or a toothpick because

he makes them both work. But I hadn't noticed before now. I wonder if he doesn't like, didn't Cobra use the matchstick at some point in that movie? Yeah. Yeah. How did he use it? I don't remember. I had been 45 years ago. You just said what a great movie it was.

Because I've seen it many times and I was a kid. But how do you not remember what a few years? But if was the matchstick? integral to what it is that he was doing in the movie? Was there a plot twist toward the end of the movie where he uses the matter? Is it the very last thing? I will watch Cobra on my plane ride this weekend, actually. I'm going to watch Cobra for the first time in 40 years.

Yes. I am going to watch it. Didn't do anything with it. You can just look it up. You can just find out for me whether the matchstick was used for a plot twist. It was. It was not. It was.

I say it was. Greg, you know nothing about movies. Matchstick. I know about match sticks. But you're making that up. You can't tell me anything about Cobra. In fact, if we were to do the quiz, let's see this. Let's see. Outside of the Rocky movies and naming all of them, go ahead and let's see if you can name five Sylvester Stallone movies. Let's do this as a quiz. And you know what? I'll give you one. I'll give you the Rocky Franchises one. So name four Sylvester Stallone movies. Go ahead. Me? Dan, you're playing Greg doesn't know.

movies wrong. You could ask him. Ask him to name three. Five's way too many. Like two. Rocky. That's one. That's one.

If you like this segment. Because he said I'm going to take Rocky out now name four instead of five. Then he gave you Rocky two after that. Rocky two. He literally put him together as one. I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be very supportive of you. Right.

And that's just I have to call you. I'll like just keep you accountable. Okay. Yeah. I don't know any Stallone movies other. than Rocky. And Cobra. And Cobra. You don't know about over the top? No. Come on.

No. It means nothing to me. Do you know the gesture that he was just making as he pantomimed what over the top is about? Go ahead and try and guess based on just what Zaz is doing. Can't lose when you do that. Can't lose. Guess what Zaz is doing? What's the movie about when he says over the top? You need to know. A Sylvester Stallone movie. And he's showing you the signature way to win as Sylvester Stallone in that movie. what is that movie about?

Making a bad fist. Keep trying guesses there on just how Zaz is trying to pantomime what that movie is about. Pro wrestling. Closer. Arm wrestling. That's hard to make a movie about arm wrestling. Yeah, it really is.

Frank Lojo was such an asshole in that movie. Put it on the poll at Lebitard show. Is it hard to make a movie about arm wrestling? My favorite part of the football season is the confidence everybody has before it kickoff. Zaslo already knows how the game is going to end. Tony has studied every possible matchup and Chris Cody is convinced his fantasy team is unbeatable. Then the game starts, everything immediately goes off the rails and suddenly nobody remembers making any of those predictions. That's why a legendary game day starts with an ice cold Miller light.

Whether I'm at a tailgate, watching with friends, or settling in for a full Saturday of college football. ball. Miller Light is the beer I can depend on. It's crisp, refreshing, and has a clean finish that hits perfectly during a hot South Florida game day. Miller Light is the original light beer with great taste and beer lovers have trusted it for more than 50 years. Make game day legendary. Go to Miller Lite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Game time is Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96. calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Dan Levitar. 16. Great Cody. Take the rest of the day off. This is the Dan Levitar show. He Johnson said here about Kauai Leonard because I have not heard this opinion given by anyone other than Eddie Johnson. And so I want to ask you guys what your thoughts are about the following sound.

When he retires, he will not get in a. at the first or second time. I just truly believe that they're going to blackball him for about three or four years before he gets voted in. He'll eventually get in. But I think they're going to make him sweat. It's not going to be a cut and try. And it's going to show when guys that he played with gets in before he does.

That's going to be the message sent to Kauai. And rightly so. It's possible. I don't think what he's saying is nonsense at all. I mean, we saw with the NFL Hall of Fame not letting Belichick in and the repercussions of that, just because you had a qualified career doesn't mean that off-field stuff isn't going to keep you out. You know, I think as a baseball voter, I think people punish you for a minute. People go, all right, he's a Hall of Famer, but not a first ballot of Hall of Fame.

There's a big distinction there. Yeah, I think you're right about that. I think he will make the Hall of Fame, though. Yeah. When you are as good as Kauai and have as many accolades as Kauai, and you cooperated with the NBA. You didn't really have any big repercussions other than the $700,000. Well, but basketball generally doesn't do the moral stuff to keep you out of a very easy Hall of Fame to get into. That's a baseball thing.

Yeah, I don't agree with Eddie Johnson. I think he's going to get in right away. First of all, it's a really lame Hall of Fame. Like, everyone gets in. and he is one of the great players of all time. I don't think he's going to have to wait. You don't think there's going to be any punishment? Because a lot of people think, why didn't Co-I. Leonard have anything, any price to pay for this controversy?

Well, the explanation on that is actually pretty simple, even though some of the subject matter around Pablo Tori finds out in this story can be dense, in order to box in Balmer so that Balmer couldn't go through arbitration the way Latour. Trell Spreewell did in order to have the players union aligned with Balmer in fighting the NBA. They took the players union off of the table so that Balmer's only choice was to go through the court system. And Balmer, you saw how he put down his sword because that's a very bad choice. They cornered. They used Kauai Leonard at the end to totally corner Steve Balmer so he would be out of moves.

That's why that happened that way. Because I think everybody listening to this understands the stupidity of what do you, you mean a guy got almost $50 million of extra money and then only had to pay $700,000 of it back? The reason for that is because they paid for his cooperation. And he was a snitch at the end. Like, it is amazing to see that Kauai Leonard not only ruined the clippers, but the punctuation on all of that embarrassment is he took all the money. He turned the rich man into a booster. And at the end, he just snitched on him to get out of the penalty. Allegedly, I get scared. I just want to say that.

Like maybe, maybe I would think there's a chance that he would have to wait, that he would be punished as far as the Hall of Fame if he did any kind of winning with the Clippers. He didn't. Like, he had a Hall of Fame career before, you know, this impropriety with the Clippers. So I don't think he's going to be punished at all. Well, but the impropriety had him at the center of it and had him benefiting from it. So I... Financially. It's not like he'd been...

No, but it's not like he did something to cheat the game. I know, but financially is a big thing. It's what got Steve Ballmer in trouble. It's what brought the Pulitzer Prize to Pablo. It's what brought these record penalties to the Clippers. And I think there's a lot of voters who are going to say, Kawhi Leonard was at the center of this, reaping tens of millions of dollars from this.

Is that the guy that we want to decorate as a first ballot Hall of Famer, or we're going to make him score him for a year or two? I just think Eddie Johnson's got a good point. You're getting upset for him at getting a bag? Nothing happened on the court that was like, oh, he took steroids. Oh, he did this. Oh, he did that. It's like all of his stuff between the lines is on the up and up.

Stuff outside of it. Okay. Let me ask the question, though. Where's the precedent for basketball Hall of Fame voters being precious about the moral stuff? Just off the top of your head or looking it up, Can you guys think of somebody who's been punished for non-basketball stuff by not being allowed into the Hall of Fame? This doesn't feel to me like it's anything but a baseball thing. That I would say that Greg Cody and his ilk, these gatekeepers who are real precious about protecting the sanctity of the Hall of Fame, I think they only exist in baseball.

I don't know whether O.J. Simpson is still in the Football Hall of Fame, but I don't think that football does. does any of that either. They did with Bill Belichick as the recent example. Right, it's baseball and Belichick. Yeah, okay, that's pretty much true. I'm not an expert on the basketball hall except having the opinion that everybody gets in. You know, the assistant junior college coach from East St. Louis is going to get in someday. Not that she doesn't deserve it.

Don't get me wrong on that. But you know what I'm saying. But Belichick, that caused the pro football hall of fame to completely gut their entire election. threat because of the Belichick thing. So it does happen. And I think Eddie Johnson raises a good point. That's all. I'm looking at the list of NBA players who had to wait to get in the Hall of Fame.

And the only one here that could be something to do with like other than basketball reason, Dennis Rodman had to wait four years. He did? After he became eligible. Wow. Rebounding machine. That's ridiculous. Like there are other players on here, but I don't think it was because like Ben Wallace,

Chris Weber, Bernard King. Rodman's a good example. But Greg, you said it does happen. It doesn't happen in basketball. It's not a thing. It's an easy Hall of Fame to get into, and I don't associate a morals clause with anything but baseball. And so it doesn't happen in basketball.

But he just said Dennis Rodman took four years to get in. I thought that's because he said, look, we don't just give the guy who only plays defense or only rebounds a spot in the Hall of Fame. Did Ben Wallace make it on the first ballot? No, that's another one on here. He had to wait several years. years. I have to see the exactly. Generally speaking, the players like Draymond and Ben Wallace and Dennis Rodman, if you're only good at one thing in basketball, it needs to be offense. It can't be just rebounding or defense. Dwight Howard thinks that his off-the-court stuff has kept him from

the Hall of Fame, that he didn't get along with Kobe, some of the rumors of what he's into. You know, we don't kinkshame, but apparently the Hall of Fame might. I think that's a legitimate example. And I also think that a lot of voters, even in basketball, are going to say, when you're at the center of a scandal, when you're the benefactor of this scandal, you have to have some responsibility. There has to be some punishment, some punishment. And if enough voters think that, Eddie Johnson's right. Tony, you know that moment at a party or a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks. I know it well. It's usually when I show up. Everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it,

but it's because Tony usually walks in with Quervo. Walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night. It has that effect on people. It does. You usually take the credit for it, but again, it's the Quervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up,

hooting and hollering. Keep it quervo. Keep it quervo, baby. Down Leveratar. Can't wait for 39. Yeah, I can't either. 40 comes first. Do you know what 40 is yet?

Not yet. What are we doing? Greg, did you just laugh? Did you just laugh out loud at something Lewis said in your ear? Greg, Cody. Yes. I couldn't help it. It was funny.

Thanks, Lewis. Gagging the goose. Of course. Choking the frog. I mean, there's a million of them. Half of them would sound dirty if we keep doing it. This is the Dan Levitare show. The story.

last night from baseball that created a bit of a stir which was amusing because anything that bad anything bad that happens around the Mets is funny and enjoyable. They spent a whole lot of money to be worse than the

Marlins this year in a way that's a bit inexplicable beyond just baseball funny that way. But Pete Alonzo goes back to the field and he hits his 300th home run and the fans give him a standing ovation, and some of the Mets got mad at the fact that the Orioles won that

game in extra inning seven to five, and they're in their home ballpark, and their customers, their fans are celebrating a former player that they love, who is also a bit of an avatar for why it is that they're mad at the Mets. The Mets gave a bunch of money to a lot of other people who aren't quite as beloved as Pete Alonzo was. So a couple of questions for you guys on this. Does 300 home runs still mean anything? Because it's a weird thing to celebrate. It's just a round number. Yeah, but I think you could still celebrate round numbers.

So I do think it means something, yeah. What does it mean? It's a lot of home runs. Depending on your age, it means you're pacing towards a really good career. Unless you're really old at that 300th home run. I feel like he's still kind of in his prime. It's not even halfway to the record anymore. Right.

I think the number of batters who had 300 or more home runs is high in terms of who's not in the Hall of Fame. 300 home runs does not guarantee you anything. 500 used to until Konseko came along. I thought 500 was the number. I didn't even think 400 was the number. 300 is about six years of Otani. It's not that much anymore. Not the way they're playing baseball now where it's all strikeouts and home runs.

but the other part of this that is more interesting is the idea that the Mets got mad at their own fans for remembering a player that they love that they gave a tribute video to before the game. So it's not like they weren't already celebrating him. Did you guys have any thoughts on the idea that Mets fans would put their voice on the display? I'm sorry, Mets players would put their voice on the displeasure and it would look like this. It would say, hey, I respect Pete Alonzo the most, but what just happened there is, bullshit. That's what they're feeling in the Mets dugout. Hey, Mets players, how about you give your fans something to cheer about?

As a Marlins fan who has watched many a player come back and hit home run, yeah, if my team is in last place, I'm going to cheer for Miguel Cabrera if he hits a big home run because I used to love Miguel Cabrera. I just don't get, like, you're not giving a shit to cheer about. They're a terrible team. So it's like, don't, don't pick at, I don't get to cheer a lot as a Mets fan, okay? Let me cheer if something cool happens at my ballpark. famously Billy Gill went to Detroit and got like rained out and stayed the night over to watch Miguel Cabrera hit his what a 3000th hit and he was there for like six days? I think this is a interesting situation where I don't think anyone is necessarily wrong. I understand the Mets players don't want their home fans cheering for the other team that ties the game in the ninth inning.

They're totally right to be upset about that atmosphere. and I also think the Mets fan is okay cheering in that spot for a couple of reasons. One, they're being consistent here. They love Pete Alonzo. He's one of the all-time great Mets over the last 20, 25 years. And they were very loud about not wanting him to leave. And the franchise decided not to pay him. So the Mets fan is being consistent in this spot.

And I also don't believe that the Mets fan would be cheering in that spot if they weren't terrible and it's late in the season. Like the Metfan is kind of, they're almost sending a message to ownership in that spot where it's like, you see what you did? Oh, they were chanting about firing people also in that game. And the reason

the 300 is an important number is not because it's a round number. It's because he's gotten there in eight seasons and only two other players ever have done that, Ralph Kiner and Albert Puhl. So it's how fast he's gotten to 300. And I

understand why Mets fans are mad. I mean, that team was supposed to be Lindor and Juan Soto and Pete Alonzo at the top of their lineup. And it really is hard to fathom with that payroll, with an owner who behaves the way all of us would want our owners to behave, which he just spends all over the place. How is that team worse than the Marlins? The Marlins have the lowest payroll in baseball. My guess is that you can find some funny numbers if you were to start looking at what the Marlins are paying people versus what it is

that the Mets are paying people. They're always the stepchild in New York because the Yankees exist there and your Mets fandom has earned you the right to boo or cheer whenever it is that you want if you're still going to that ballpark in September when that

team's the biggest disappointment in the entire sport. Yeah, like if the Mets were in a playoff chase year, I don't believe they have been cheering in the ninth inning. But, you know, give me something to cheer about. And we're really angry that you let this guy go, who clearly did not want to leave either. Putting 300 home runs in perspective, can anybody guess how many players in Major League history have hit 300 career home runs?

Any guesses? 59. Higher. Wow. I'll just say it. 150. That's close. 170 players all time.

I think, too. If I'm a fan of the Mets and have been for a long time, I'll just. And you pay Juan Soto almost $800 million, and he's not our guy. He's not the guy that we've come accustomed to loving and doesn't have the polar bear nickname and how bad he played for the Yankees. He was already on the rival team. Like pay Pete Alonzo then. It feels like you wanted to go after the shiny toy and didn't keep the guy that everybody loves.

Yeah. It is weird that you don't pay him, but then you put a tribute video, which is inviting your fans to cheer for the guy in the other uniform. That part, though, she mentions about Soto, okay? Everyone was talking about Soto when he was 22 years old as, when he was a national. They were saying, this is Ted Williams, this is the best hitter that there has been since Ted Williams. And then he signs a $700 million deal, which would have been unfathomable as recently as what, six or seven years ago, the idea that a $700-plus million dollar deal for Juan Sos?

and then the reports come out that he's not even getting along with Lindor, and Lindor is also paid a ton of money. And then the one guy who's actually got a connection to your team that is beloved Met status. I don't know how many, I don't know how many players this century the Mets have that you could say beloved by their own fan base. I really don't know. It ain't many. And Pete Alonzo is at the very top. He's one of them.

He's at the very top of the list. It's very few. The Mets do not have, in their history of epic failure, the Mets have very few this century players who connect with their audience in a way that's meaningful that makes them not feel pathetic, not feel like losers, not feel like the second-class citizen in the city dwarfed by the shadow cast by the Yankees. Right, Reyes, certainly Alonso is one of them. Murphy. Any others?

Well, the thing that Alonzo does that the others didn't do is he's not associated with any real winning. Like, he was great. He was a rose growing in a sewer. Like, he's somebody who is excellent and excellent for a good amount of time, but everything around him was not excellent. And so that was a moving emotional moment. And when there are emotions, you're going to get both the happiness and the anger of this. franchise consistently embarrasses me, spent a bunch of money on a couple of mercenaries who are not ours, right? Because Lindor and Soto are not, they're not Mets in a way that conjures anything in the way of allegiance, and Alonzo is. People get on me sometimes when I say this, but I think

it's part of being a fan. Yes, you want to win. But sometimes there are certain ways you want to win as a fan. And you want to win with your guys. Yes, winning is by far the most. important thing. But I really want to win with my guys. And the Mets decided to go a different route where we think the best way to win or the easier way to win is to go get these guys. I remember doing WFAN when it was Hardin, Kevin Durant and Kyrie. And fans just did not care. They did not want to get behind that team. They didn't care that they were winning and that they were one of the best shows on the court. It was, we like our scrappy little secondary team that's with homegrown stars, and being able to buy players is not nearly as enticing as it is

to watch someone grow from scratch in your system. I don't know about that. And the example I would use is if Yanosanta Tacompo turns the heat into something special, he's an instant hero in Miami, instantly, right? And nobody's going to, all of a sudden, when Tyler Hero comes back, they're going to cheer him. He'll get a nice hand. but nobody's going to miss him because it's all about Janus now. I just think, you know what I'm saying?

Well, no, I don't, because you compared Pete Alonzo to Tyler Hero. No, I compared Pete Alonzo to Janus. He's the new star in town. That's all you care about. You don't care about homegrown players or who they get rid of. Well, it depends, though, if you're winning, right? What this particular player, what he's tapping into is, these people really love baseball to be going into.

a game in September involving the Mets of any kind. That team does not deserve the support that it is getting in September. It has been an abject failure, bottom of the measure. However it is that you measure these things. And he is associated with feel good. And the Mets just have precious little of that as a customer commodity. They have a lot of anger. They have a lot of frustration. They have a lot of embarrassment and I understand why the players are upset but I understand why the fans are upset in that spot too. You've got the owner that you would want behaving the way that you'd want, right? Like everybody wants the owner who is willing to spend all the money. All the other owners are mad at Steve Cohn because of how he spends. There's going to be a salary cap in that

sport and a work stoppage because Steve Cohen exists. Because Steve Cohen is out there, stealing Juan Soto from all the other teams and making the salaries rise to $700 million. That is the reason the sport is about to shut down and demand a salary cap, because Steve Cohen's cannot be trusted to run their sport correctly. They're all going to be greedy and selfish, and you have to put rules on them in order to govern the greed. If you're going to get rid of the players who the fans love and who are homegrown to bring in the guys that you buy, you better win.

because remember here, and the Mets are terrible, because remember here, you know, we went through this with Shaq, where the heat were getting rid of their young guys who everybody loves, Karam Butler specifically, you better win then, and they won. Well, but the model in New York for baseball for now, half a century, is the other team in New York, that's how they do it. Now that team hasn't won in a long time in New York. But that wasn't how they originally won those four and five years.

Like, it was homegrown guys, Jeter and Posada. and Mariano. Like, that was the crux of the team. Oh, but I'm talking about Steinbrenner, always going after the big free agents and being what the Dodgers were before the Dodgers. The Yankees would always get the big free agent. Whoever the big free agent was,

that's what the Yankees were known for. You're right. That the allegiance to those Yankees teams, like, look, the connection between the Yankees and everything that happened with 9-11 is at least in part because of them seeing all of those players go from their minor leagues to being Hall of Fame.

that you watch them grow up right before your eyes. What happened there? That was an homage to our friend Stugats, who says growing up before your eyes in a way that stumbles over some roadblocks on the way there. But the Yankees created the standard for baseball love in that town. The Mets have always been the lovable loser, and the way they did it was by going and getting all of the free agents.

And George Steinbrenner was a great owner, even though he was often a terrible owner because he spent all the money and he did some meaningful winning. How long has it been since Cashman's won a World Series? Has he been? 09. So it's 17 years. I was asking for the math more than the year. I was trying to do it. I was unable to the nine confuse me because of the 20, 26. 17. So that alone is a standard that has not existed in my lifetime where a guy who has that perfect a name, the general manager of the Yankees, is named Cashman. and for 17 years he has not won a World Series and he's kept that job.

I mean, baseball's a weird sport and they've been close a ton. Like there's been very few seasons they're not competing. So I get what you're saying, but it does make sense to like, they're in the hunt. I'm a Yankee guy, as you can tell by my hat, but it's just they put together a good roster every season. I don't think the Yankee standard is we've been close a ton for 17 years. No, you're right. And I think there's a lot of Yankee. Yankee fans that are saying, well, at the end of the day, you've got baby Steinbrenner who has

Cashman in that spot and he's never going to fire him. And it doesn't really matter what we do. It's very similar to how Bulls fans feel as well. And that loyalty only goes so long when it comes to fans. Agreed. Well put, Dad. Cody, you haven't had a lot to offer over the last 90 minutes or so. And I think it's because you're tired of all of the emotion of being laid off? No, that's not it at all. I do happen to have a substack-related

thing in front of me right now. I knew it. Maybe my mind has been a little distraction. Watch talk after? Pfbi. me numbers? What is substack? No, I have... PfPI. I don't check that while I'm doing other work. But can we revisit, please? I just want to

revisit the Stallone-Cobra thing that happened with him where he clearly wasn't listening to anything that I was saying because he's looking at his computer just self-involved with all the sub-stack things he's not going to do. Yeah, it is true. No, I'm pondering it. I'm doing my due diligence is what's happening. Marcus Mariotta growing up right in front of our eyes.