The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 3 - Clayton Kershaw, MLB

Episode Date: July 19, 2022

Looking at the career of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw Previewing the MLB All-Star game   Guests: Gregg Berhalter, Tom VerducciSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Foxxport's. Sports Radio. Greg Burkhalter for the last four years, Greg Burrhalter has been the coach of the United States men's national team.

And why this is significant is because the team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. So Greg, when you took this team over, there was anger, disillusionment from people. And as we get, you're about four months out from leaving for guitar. And I just discovered moments ago that you can make a change. change up till November 14. Somebody gets hurt, you can make a change. You would prefer that you kind of have the chemistry going. But when you took it over and what was the first thing you said, okay, this has got to change?

Yeah, for us, it was doing a deep dive on both what's happening on the field and what's happening off the field. And we knew the strengths of Americans. We knew that the tighter we can get this group, the more cohesive, if we can get this group, the more successful will be on the field. So it was two-fault. It was how do we address what's happening off the field with team culture and how do we get better on the field?

Greg, is it harder for American players because the greatest leagues are overseas? So if you have a great domestic player, so you have Pulisic is playing for Chelsea, and you've got Weston's playing for Juventis, Sergio's playing here. So our players to get the highest rewards athletically and financially are going to leave. So they're splintered all over Europe, not even our country.

Did you find it a great challenge as a European, an English player? He's playing in the English primarily. And it's easy. It feels like it's always the chemistry is easier. Is chemistry a dynamic among United States men's national teams that is underrated that's harder than people think? You know, from one side, yes, I completely agree. When you have guys playing all over the world, logistically, it's difficult just to keep them tied together. But the one thing I know is the best thing in camp is the first day when players arrive,

and they're coming from all different countries, and they come into camp, and you just see the joy that they have on their faces to be together again and to be with fellow Americans. And that's a great moment. So I think that, you know, they step right back into it and the team cohesion there right away. But it is common when you think about countries like Brazil, probably one of the best soccer player nations in the world, right? All their players play all over the world also. So it's not an uncommon problem. Your group is England.

Many believe there is deep as any World Cup team. Wales, you'd be favor over. Iran, not sure who the coach is, but one of their better teams. So let's talk about England. As you scout them and look at them, is it the best England club you've seen in a while? When I look at them position by position, they're like four deep in every single position. That's what people are saying. They're like an SEC football team.

It's just all pros. It's crazy. And, you know, the total value of their squad is over a billion dollars. Wow. So we're playing against a billion dollar team. But what we know can happen in sport is once you're on the field, anything. can happen. And that's what we're banking on. We're banking on, you know, we're going to be up for that game. We're going to have the whole country behind us. And why not beat them? This is the most

unique team ever. Generally, American teams in my life, and I'm in my 50s, we were great at goal. It's a hands country. We've always got a good to excellent global elite level goalie. Now we have Turner, Stefan. We're not, we're kind of undecided it feels like to me at the position, we've been strongest at. Now, I look at that and think, good, because our skill is greater than I ever remember it. Our youth, our energy, our skill, our coaching, I love. But at goal, it's a little unsettled. That's my takeaway. Is that fair? Who today would you go with? Yeah. So the, the byproduct of having young goalkeepers and having guys that are just starting off in their careers is that they're not established and you don't have that body of work that you can go on. So it's

It's challenging. For the coaching staff, it's challenging. Matt Turner just made his move to Arsenal. He's in a fantastic spot, but we're watching anxiously to see if he's going to get game time. Zach Stephan was at the best club in the world in Man City, and he just wasn't getting enough game time. But at a very high-profile club, and I think in those environments, they definitely have learned and improved. You've got Dest is playing in Barcelona. You've got guys in EPL, La Liga, all over the world. What is the advantage that you can get playing in the top leagues in the world that you can't get in America?

Like what is the sense? Is it the pressure? Is it the intensity of competition? What is the – because now this has never happened in my life. We got guys at Juventus, Dortmund, Chelsea, Barcelona, Leeds, everywhere. In my life, we'd have two or three guys sprinkled in. What is the advantage to that? When you're playing in those environments, when you're playing for clubs like Maine City or Chelsea,

or Barcelona or Juventus, you can't lose any game you're in. Every game you're expected to win. So with that comes a tremendous amount of pressure. And because of those high expectations, the squads are extremely deep. So if a player, for example, Christian Pulisic, if he's not performing well, he knows there's someone behind him ready to take his position. So there's pressure both from the fan expectations about the results, and then from a performing standpoint because the squads are so deep

been there's so many good players at those clubs. This is the youngest World Cup team, yours. Average age is 24, which shocks me because many of your stars are 21 and 22. Is the argument, could the argument be made if you get out of the group stage, that's a win. It's not a World Cup winning team. But if you can get out of the group stage, that includes England, a very good Iran team, that would be seen as a massive success. The way I look at it, Colin, is there's two different tournaments here.

The first tournament is a group stage tournament, right? It's four teams, the top two go. And you earn the right to play in the knockout tournament. And we know once you're in a knockout tournament, anything can happen. But we have a difficult group, and our first priority is how do we get out of our group? How do we earn the right to play in this knockout tournament? So what I'm about to say is just aesthetically what I've seen, and I could be totally wrong.

call me out. I'm thick-skinned. So I always said to soccer fans who it was always the coach's fault. And I've said throughout all of sports is that the game plan will dictate what a coach thinks of his personnel. And when we played a lot of top international teams, we played a more defensive style. I see with this group, and maybe Greg, Greg Burholter joining us by the way, if you're listening on radio, I see with this group more confidence in you to attack, leave yourself vulnerable on the back end. That said, when you play England, would you approach it like that? I can see with Iran and Wales, you feel like more of an attacking coach.

You could get in trouble very quickly against England with that. How do you attack with your youth, a team like England, who many subscribe is the best, deepest team in the entire World Cup? It's about balance, I think, especially against England. We know that we can attack them. We can be aggressive against them, but we have to be well-balanced because they have huge threats on the counterattack. We haven't come up with a specific game plan yet for this game.

There's two sides. One side of it is, you know, do we sit back, do we be passive, let them come to us and then counter them? Or do we apply more pressure? Are we the aggressor? Do we really want to get after them? And, you know, we're continuing to study the tape and seeing their strengths and weaknesses,

and then we'll come up with an appropriate game plan. In my eyes, Pulisic is now become a target. You can see teams physically going after him. Like, this is commonplace. And, you know, in hockey, Wayne Gretzky always had the protector. Do you worry because Pulisic is highly energized and he can be a very emotional guy? And as I watch over the last year, people are taunting and poking and they're trying to get him worked up. What are the discussions you, your team and Pulisic have about what appears to be a fairly obvious trend?

Well, first of all, we want to take advantage of those set pieces when he does get foul because he is getting fouled often. But for us, it's about, you know, continuing, especially in difficult field conditions, we want him passing the ball and moving. I think he's got such great quickness, such great speed. We want to take advantage of that. And then when he is getting fouled a lot, you know, guys stick up for him. You know, there was in the Orlando game against Panama, you know, Luca Delo Tore.

He's getting into it. Weston always gets into it. Kellenicosa always has his back. And that's what really makes this team special. It's a group of guys that really care about each other, really care about our country, and are really motivated to do well at this World Cup. I said the other, I don't know if I was on a podcast or here. I said I feel like Clint Dempsey played angry, and I liked it about him.

A little bit of an ass kicker. And I thought, do we need one on this team? I know our skills high. Is that a missing piece? Or do you have that? Who is our Dempsey? You know, so Clint has had a fantastic career, a long international career. We don't have any players right now that are the stage that he was at in his career when he was playing with the nationally.

We have young players. So their identity is being created as we speak. And this World Cup will help form their identity and what we think of them. But when I think of guys that can play that type of role, Tyler Adams certainly comes to mind. He doesn't take anything from anyone. Weston McKinney is another guy. Weston's got a real chip. I like that. Exactly. Eunice Musa is a guy that just unbalances people

and is exceptional on and off the ball. So we have that type of group, and the beauty of the World Cup is the public's going to get to see what we have and really understand these guys as players and personalities. What's the advantage to youth? So I think people talk about inexperienced, you know, we're inexperienced team.

We're a young team. team, right? That's a disadvantage. But if you think about every other country that's been in the World Cup before, they're going to be comparing the Qatar World Cup to pass World Cup. And this is a completely different animal, right? The whole World Cup is in one city. The teams get together a week before the tournament. Normally they have a month lead into the World Cup. So the teams that can adapt and are flexible are going to be the ones that can really shine in this tournament. And youth, I think about, you know, us being a fit team, a team that recover. covers really well because we're young.

That's a good point. Yeah. So we're going to use youth as our advantage. Well, there is a weather situation. Brazil was very obvious. When you would start these matches and guys' uniforms were clinging to them, it's like rainforest. I think about that all the time is that you have a chance to be the fittest team

and one of the more skilled teams. How do you think your team views itself to now? because whether you're starting a business or have a team, self-identity, how do you're, if I said, here's a pen and paper, give me one sentence to describe yourself to your players. How do you think they view themselves? Well, I know that over the last three years we've been developing our identity, and I know it's a group that's relentless.

We don't give up when we're on the field. We keep fighting. We keep pressing. We keep playing. We're brave. We don't fear any opponent, but we respect our opponents. And it's made up of, you know, diverse team members. When you look at the group of players, you know, we have so many,

with such a diversity of personalities, of sizes, of attributes. You know, it's really a good group of guys to be around. And again, for me, one of the most exciting things about the World Cup is that the U.S. public will have a chance to see these guys and see what they're really about. And that's going to be a fun part. Greg Berlter is the coach of the United States men's national team. Is there ever pressure because Max Bredos is a friend of mine and I was just watching a tweet, he said, oh, United States women's team remains the global leader.

They're kind of pivoting to some new players. Is there any pressure that they're so dominant and you miss the cup? Is that disgust? Do you sense that? No, I think that everything that the women's team does is exciting. Every time they win a World Cup is exciting. And when we can have the United States on the top of the stage and winning the World Cup and holding that World Cup trophy up,

it's an amazing feeling, whether that's men or women. So it's been amazing watching the women's team be dominant in world soccer. And our hope is that they continue to do so, and our hope is that we continue to rise amongst the ranks in men's soccer. When you got this job, you were at the Columbus crew, and now you coach the national team. are soccer fans in America realistic?

I think so. I think that... There's some a couple Looney Tunes out there on my Twitter account. I mean, what I'd say is, you know, it's a good question, but what I'd ask you, are any fans realistic?

That's a good comeback on me. I think you won that one. The answer, of course, Greg, is no. But you know what? It is a privilege to have pressure. It's a privilege. to me, what's the thing that surprised you about coaching our young lads? Like the moment, is there been a moment you've thought, wow, this is way cooler than I ever envisioned.

It's just the whole process has been amazing for me. I think the one surprise, I guess, was, you know, just taking over after not qualifying, like the work that we needed to do to gain the public's trust again. And, you know, the public wasn't going to be fully at ease until we qualified for that World Cup. no matter what we did leading up to the qualification, they weren't going to be pleased. And that was something that was a little bit surprising. But now our next goal, after qualifying, the next goal is to perform well at the World Cup. How often do you talk to Christian Pulisic? He's a busy guy.

We talk often, whether that's in text or in phone. We have a great relationship, a close relationship. The whole staff is there supporting him. And, you know, what I've been impressed with, with Christian in particular, is his growth as a person over these last three years. And, you know, we have to understand how difficult it is to play for Chelsea. And what pressure he has is being the American superstar. And he handles it with such dignity and grace. And he's such a good person, a good teammate.

And he's really, he's really gotten to a point. where he's embraced the struggle. You know, for a superstar, he's really embraced it. He's going to have to go back and compete at Chelsea for game time. And he's okay with that. And when you have your superstar with that mentality, you're in good shape. Who's going to surprise us on your team? Ooh, who's going to surprise us?

That's a good question. Joy, did you see that? That's a journalism at work. That is. Good reaction. I hope the whole team does. But I think Eunice Musa is a guy that's going to surprise the world with his performance at the World Cup. You said he's got a little chip, a little tough guy.

He's a tough guy, but he puts people on skates. When you see him play, I mean, you can't get the ball from him. He's an interesting guy to watch. What a pleasure. Can't wait for it. You leave in about four months in Qatar. You can make changes up, I was told, by your staff, November 14th. You'd ideally not want to make a change, but if an injury happens.

I can't wait. I really, I'm so excited for it. Are you coming over? No. I have this thing called a radio show. me down. Do it from Qatar. You can do it. Tell what I'm doing the morning. Two in the morning I'd be doing a show. I will watch

every second of it. My mom, I've said this before. I can remember watching Johann Croif when I was overseas as a kid. And my mom bought me a little soccer game over in Lancashire at a little store. And I grew up in the Northwest,

which as you know, it's a great soccer region in America. So I feel lucky. Clive Charles, the late Clive Charles. the Seattle Sounders, the timbers. Greg, it's a pleasure. Good luck to you. Can't wait. I appreciate you taking time. You're a busy guy. Thank you for having me, Con.

All right, Greg Burrell Hall to the coach, United States, Men's National Team. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from Bats, basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks. I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, there are a lot of rumors about Kyrie and the Lakers this offseason. There's been no move in negotiations between L.A. and Brooklyn. But reports are indicating that the Lakers don't want to deal their future first round picks. Yeah. There's still two months of summer left until training camp starts. So a deal could still come together. But with a move to L.A. looking bleak, Jake Fisher of Bleacher Report revealed that Kyrie is accepting the fact that he will likely still be a

part of the Nets organization going into this season. By the way, that story came out that he's accepting it. The same time the Lakers story came out that Westbrook, LeBron, and AD love each other. I do not think the timing is coincidental. Lakers try to make a deal. It didn't work. And now everybody's saying, Westbrook's great, Kyrie's great. It's all one way.

We're all just going to make it work. Yeah. All same day, stories came out. Well, Kyrie is entering the last year of a four-year deal. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season. which could be another reason why the deal has not been done because Kyrie is, of course, very unpredictable and he could be traded and then what's he going to do next season? So you're going to sign him before you move him?

Like there's a lot of things you have to consider when you're talking about Kyrie and how is that going to fit with Anthony Davis. Obviously, we know it could work with LeBron James, but there's a lot of moving parts here. I don't really love the idea that the Lakers are terrified to move off of those picks. I don't know why those picks matter. At this point, there's no team in the league that is in a more win-now situation than the Lakers with LeBron James. So you already went all in. You might as well go a bit further.

What difference does it make at this point? We know there are certain organizations, Utah, which is not a free agent hub, they love picks. Right. And then that's the understanding in the NBA, you know, there's going to be teams that hoard picks, and then there's going to be teams that do really well in the free agent space. You can win both ways in this league. Yes, you can win both ways. For all the panic and outrage, you can win both ways.

The thing with Brooklyn is Brooklyn has all the leverage in both of the situations with KD and Karee because if there's no market for Karee, they don't have to move him. Karee gave up a ton of money last season by choosing not to play. So is he going to give up another year of money with this contract by not playing this season for Brooklyn? Doubtful. Doubtful. Especially with the shoe situation changing. So, I mean, that's just a lot of money to give up when you're supposed to be playing

basketball. So I think it's at this moment, it's looking very, very much like we might have Kyrie and Katie back in Brooklyn next season if some drastic moves aren't made for all this drama. All that noise and no movement. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd line. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben. Host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascon, would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour?

I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports, and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok. Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it

and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

All-Star Game tonight, 7 Eastern on Fox, live from Dodger Stadium. He's won four Emmys, covered baseball for more than 30 years and done it brilliantly. Tom Verducci now joining us live. He'll be on the coverage tonight. So, you know, it's funny about it. In every other sport, All-Star games are sometimes a nuisance for players. Baseball's different. Curshaw tonight's starting first all you know dodger stadium hasn't an all-star game in forever i i would imagine it's a big deal for kershaw i think he'll be kind of amped up tonight your thoughts on you know it's funny his legacy is like sandy cofax but longer it's that it's brilliant um what do you expect his emotional range to be tonight tom yeah i i think it's going to be super high for a guy who's done

basically everything in the game right one a world series one MVP one sigh youngs but this is actually his first time starting an all-star game. And as he said, I'm glad I at least lasted long enough to when the Dodgers actually got the game. The last time they had it was back in 1980. So here he is on the mound, Dodgers Stadium, first all-star start. As he said, it's pretty cool that his two oldest kids are probably even old enough now, four and seven to really understand the magnitude of this to see that out there on the mound. That has another emotional layer to it as well. So home crowd, 53,000 at Dodger Stadium, waiting a career for this. Remember, he should have started a game back in 2013, but it was at City Field.

Matt Harvey got the start. He understood that. You're thinking, oh, there's plenty of times this guy's going to start the All-Star game. And he's waited this long to actually get the ball. It's pretty cool. I was talking about this yesterday, Tom. Baseball is very unique. In basketball, if not marginalized, I can shrink a less talented player.

LeBron can get 20 shots. A less talented player gets three. In football, Brady touches the ball 60 times. The blocking tight end doesn't. But in baseball, Trout gets four A-Bs, so does the number seven hitter. And it's just random where the ball is hit to you. And I said, in baseball, average players can wait down stars. So when the Mariners pay all that money for Canoe, they limit what they can put around him.

Otani and Trout are absolutely gifted, two of the four most gifted players in the sport. But because of their payroll limitations, they can't surround them with all. All-Stars. It's going to be interesting to watch tonight. And I may have asked you this the other day, but between Trout and Otani, I would move one, Trout, get picks and good players to put around Otani. I think Otani is literally Babe Ruth, except he's doing it simultaneously. For people that have never seen him play, is there even a comp in the last 40 years to Otani? No. And Colin, I'm going one step farther. Babe Ruth really is. the comp either because what he's doing he's doing at a higher level than babe ruth

ruth really didn't do it for a full season he started doing the two-way thing a month or two into the 1918 season that season was shortened because of the war the next year he came back he did it and then by august he was like i'm done with this i just want to hit otani's doing this now full time for a second consecutive year in the last say five weeks he is an era under one it starts with a zero and a slugging percentage about 600. It's just ridiculous. He's better than ever. Certainly on the mound. This pitching has been off the chart. So if you're going to trade Mike Trout, and I don't think they will, I understand the thinking. I don't think they will. But if you do that, you better be darn sure you can lock up Otani for the rest of his career. He's a free agent in a

couple of seasons here. And I have no idea where those numbers are going to go because we always look for comps in this game that, oh, he's worth more than Mani Bacchato, Francisco Lador. There's nobody you can compare him to. So good luck getting that contract done. So, you know, there's going to be baseball is a full of young talent right now. It's a global sport more than ever. Many of the great players are under 25. It's in a, it's in really good shape. Some changes coming. We're going to have, I think, a little clock in baseball, home plate umpires. Now they're going to make that thing. Is it robotic by 20? 24. Is that what they're going to do, the home plate umpire?

Well, that's, you know, they're trending there, but I don't think they're going there fully. First of all, the clock is going to come next year. You're going to see that. So a guy like, say, Gianni Gallegos, so the Cardinals, they're closer. He takes more than 30 seconds between every pitch when there's a runner on base. That should never be allowed. We've seen golf have speed up rules. You know, NBA has done things at the end of games to move it along faster. This is absolutely needed. And as Garrett Cole said, as far as players go, it's our fault. We have to deal with this now with the clock to solve the issue because it's gotten so bad. So the game will move faster.

As far as the Robo Strike Zone, I think that creates a lot of problems because you know as an umpire, if the scores 10 to nothing and the counts 3 and 0, the strike zone is a little bit different than it is if it's 1, 1, and 8th inning, right? You need a little human element there. What baseball is starting to lean towards is a system they're trying in the minor league, a challenge system. The batter, the pitcher, and the catcher. Those three guys can challenge an umpire's call three times a game. And it works just like Hawkeye and tennis. You think that serve is out. You go to replay two seconds, you find out whether it's in or out. That's what you do on the key calls of the game.

So you can't challenge every little call first inning, two outs, nobody on base. But base is loaded, one one game, eighth inning that pitches a foot off the plate. You could challenge that. And the robo will tell you whether it's a ball or a strike. I actually like that system. I like the fact that, and you've seen this in tennis, Colin, the fans get engaged when you show that Hawkeye replay on the Jumbo Trond and a tennis match. The same thing that happened at Ballpark. Is it a ball or a strike? Let's go to the Jumbo Tron and find out. So I think that's where it's headed. It's not there next year, at least two years away. About a minute and a half left. What is a storyline tonight that intrigues you? Well, I love the better pitcher matchups in the all-stitch.

our games. I start with Kershaw against Otani. That's how the game actually starts. Right. Otani's 0 for 8 with three punchouts against Kershaw. So I do want to see that, see if you can solve Kershaw. I want to see the events for Albert Puholson and Miguel Cabrera. I thought this was a

cool thing. The commissioner's office did. They added these legacy roster spots Pooholz and Cabrera. And you saw in the homerun derby how beloved Albert Poole's is about players in the game. And he didn't wear the Dodger uniform for quite a bit of time here at last year. So there's the hometown, if you will, aspect to it. I think it's cool that these guys

get to get out there and take a bow. All right. Tom Verducci, baseball All-Star Game tonight, 7 on Fox at Dodger Stadium. It is weird that there's been no All-Star games in 42 years at Dodger Stadium. They've had a bunch of new stadiums. They want to try it out. So here we are, Tom. I'll be watching. Thanks for stopping by the show. You got it. Thanks, Tom. You bet. Otani's unbelievable. good looking 100 miles an hour slugger i mean he's one of those if you put him in certain markets it's like wow wow he is an all-time talent i go back to something i said yesterday because the way baseball is your average players wait down your great players because everybody gets four at bats you never know where the ball is going to get hit i think i would move trout lock in otani and i would

get so much for trout that i could surround otani with on average better players because baseball very unique. It's not a criticism. It's a reality. Everybody's getting four at bats. You know, maybe the lead-off guy on some nights gets five and the number eight hitter gets four. But that's very unique to the sport. And so I think if you're the angels, you can keep going back and forth on this. But if the A's hadn't decided to be a AAA team, you'd be in last place. So it's like you can get so much for Trout. And he's also, Trout's starting to get a little worn. There's more and more injuries. Atani's got another seven, eight years of peak. So stuff to think about tonight.

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Tom Verduci, Greg Burrhalter, U.S. Men's National Team Coach, Tom Rinaldi, Greg Jennings. and we're done talking today. Speak for yourself on a Tuesday is right around the corner. We will see you tomorrow. Be safe. Have fun. Alive in L.A. It's the hurt. Another podcast from some SNL,

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