Big Mac Defends Aaron Judge Against Yankee Leadership Critiques

Craig Carton (0:00)

Brother, it's the fabulous Stunderbird.

Chris McMonigle (0:02)

Okay, the beginning reminded me, I told you my father used to fancy himself as a musician. We had a lot of keyboards.

Craig Carton (0:07)

That a play, little bit, dude.

Chris McMonigle (0:09)

We had a lot of keyboards in the house, and when the keyboard would have like three or four sample songs, he would just push the button, and it would like to show you all the different things you could do, and that beginning of the song reminded me of it.

Craig Carton (0:21)

Got it, okay, great.

Chris McMonigle (0:21)

One of those just like, organs, different things.

Craig Carton (0:26)

I remember him, so glad I heard that.

Chris McMonigle (0:27)

Yeah.

Craig Carton (0:28)

Makes me feel a little closer to you actually.

Chris McMonigle (0:30)

Yeah, it's true.

Craig Carton (0:30)

Yeah, the old Casio synthesizer.

Chris McMonigle (0:34)

Yeah. Father's keyboards, he had them stacked.

Craig Carton (0:36)

There you go. Did your dad ever play the accordion? Was he old enough to play the accordion?

Chris McMonigle (0:40)

No.

Craig Carton (0:41)

Got it. My dad played the accordion.

Chris McMonigle (0:42)

Really?

Craig Carton (0:43)

Yeah. I need to walk around the house like some random satirist, like he was in the Polish polka band. Fing the fing the fing the fing the fing the fing the fing.

Chris McMonigle (0:52)

Like Weird Al Yankman.

Craig Carton (0:53)

It's such a weird instrument, you know?

Chris McMonigle (0:55)

Yeah, it is.

Craig Carton (0:56)

Yank the fing. It's like a piano, but not a piano. Right. It's a piano and bagpipes basically connected.

Chris McMonigle (1:01)

Correct.

Craig Carton (1:02)

That's actually what it is. Fing the fing the fing the fing the fing.

Chris McMonigle (1:04)

I don't know why you give it that accent.

Craig Carton (1:06)

Because that's what it is. It's like polka kind of. Fing the fing the fing the fing the fing the fing.

Chris McMonigle (1:10)

Yeah, but that's kind of Swedish. Is polka Swedish, I guess. It's Polish.

Right.

Craig Carton (1:14)

That's the POL and polka.

Chris McMonigle (1:15)

No? Is it?

Craig Carton (1:16)

I have no idea.

Chris McMonigle (1:16)

Yeah.

Craig Carton (1:17)

My family is Romanian. I don't know what else to tell you.

Yeah.

Chris McMonigle (1:21)

So he's walking around. The famous Romanian accordion. Fing the fing the fing the fing. You're either making dinner for the Muppets or you're playing the accordion. Those are the only two times you talk like that.

Craig Carton (1:36)

Fing the fing the fing the fing the fing the fing.

888-808-1019. You know the story. It's out there now. I know nobody read it or heard it, but we did. So we're now just trying to get to the bottom of it.

Chris McMonigle (1:53)

Because I think it speaks directly to the issue with this team.

Craig Carton (1:57)

The lack of that in factor kind of thing.

Chris McMonigle (1:59)

Yeah.

Craig Carton (1:59)

Who's the guy that's going to make a play?

Chris McMonigle (2:01)

And who's the guy who's going to hold this? Like, there's got to be more. And this isn't a way to defend Aaron Boone.

But there's got to be a presence on the team that they hold themselves accountable. Because I refuse to believe, refuse to believe that Derek Jeter wouldn't have had this, wouldn't have been the mental toughness Derek Jeter without Joe Torre. I refuse to believe that Jorge Posada or Bernie Williams or Paul O'Neill or any of those guys would have allowed their teams to play like this or wouldn't have been devastated if they lost or didn't have that mental toughness that Joe Torre is the reason they had it. And that if Aaron Boone was the manager of that group, he would rub off on them and Jeter would be making misplays all over the place, and nobody would care, and they would fall into this comfortability. Like, I refuse to believe that. I think Derek Jeter was Derek Jeter, no matter who his manager was.

Craig Carton (2:56)

He didn't need somebody to motivate him.

Chris McMonigle (2:58)

I'm saying that Joe Torre wasn't the right man at the right time. Clearly, he was great manager, loved Joe Torre, have stuff of Joe Torre's hanging on my house, on my walls. Loved Joe Torre. But did Derek Jeter need Joe Torre to beat Derek Jeter?

Craig Carton (3:09)

No, he didn't.

Chris McMonigle (3:10)

Did that dynasty, like again, he helps them win or whatever, but like the mental toughness that they preside, wasn't Jeter and his leadership and everything that went on in that clubhouse, didn't they hold themselves accountable?