Hour 1: Big Mac Refuses to Sacrifice Aaron Judge for a Knicks Championship

**Craig Carton** (0:00)
Two o'clock straight up!
It's The Carton Show with Big Mac! Felt number to join, as always. 888-808-109. Got a great show for you today. Obviously, getting ready for Game Two tonight, as the spread keeps going against the Knicks. All the money in the world, for some reason, on the Spurs right now. And then, of course, shortly after we got off the air yesterday, we got the official news on Aaron Judge. It is not thoracic outlet syndrome. It is a stress fracture in his first rib.
Neither here nor there, because he's going to be out for at least a couple of months. And I want to give you a quote from somebody on that injury in just one second, but first. Good afternoon, Big Mac. How are you today, Ken?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:48)
I'm doing great, Craig.

**Craig Carton** (0:49)
Are you?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:49)
I'm doing wonderful.

**Craig Carton** (0:50)
Well, I did not expect that even a little bit.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:52)
I'm okay.
Right? I didn't expect that. The NBA Finals.

**Craig Carton** (0:56)
There you go.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:57)
The Yankees will be okay. It's all right.

**Craig Carton** (0:59)
Is that right? Is that right?

**SPEAKER_2** (1:01)
No, it's not.

**Craig Carton** (1:01)
Let me read you a quote if I can.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:02)
Please read the quote.

**Craig Carton** (1:03)
Because I think there's a proper and appropriate way to start off this show because it caused quite the reaction, I thought, online. And I was just an innocent observer watching from my lawn chair today.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:16)
Okay.

**Craig Carton** (1:16)
But I'm going to read it to you anyway. And then I want to get your take on it because I think the way you react to this show will be interesting to how this show goes throughout the next four hours if I may, okay?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:27)
Okay.

**Craig Carton** (1:28)
Here's, I'm just going to read you the quote. I'll tell you the author of the quote after I read it. Is that fair?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:32)
Fair.

**Craig Carton** (1:33)
Okay, good.
Direct quote. I'm not going to add words. I'm not going to add any window to it. I'm going to read it word for word as it is, okay? Okay. Quote.
People say the Yanks don't know how to handle injury news with fans and media? Question mark. They just put on a master class on how to make fans feel positive about Judge being out for two to three months, period. End of quote.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:01)
Yeah.

**Craig Carton** (2:02)
Now, the author of that quote happens to be you.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:08)
Yes, it was.

**Craig Carton** (2:09)
You. Yeah.
Living up to Dr. Schillenstein, if I've ever seen before. Take it away.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:15)
I wish you would have run that by me because, you know, while I didn't hashtag sarcasm, I'm obviously being, you know, facetious there. I'm trying to have a little fun with my Schill. Because that's part of it. Like, we feel somewhat OK. When I got the news, I was doing the podcast live when the news broke.

**Craig Carton** (2:34)
OK.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:34)
And yeah, because of yesterday and the doctor they were meeting with and the idea that it could be for the entire season. And plus, like, we don't know. I know you said it'd be full recovery. I was reading some things that guys never come back and become the same player they were. Like, this was borderline, certainly end of the season, and borderline may be the end of Judge being Judge. Like, that was on the table for a lot of Yankee fans yesterday. So when you get the news that he's gone for two months plus, it's going to be at least two months, by the way. Like, we could stop, right? It's going to be two and a half months to three months. Like, that's what we're looking at right now. It's two months almost before even, you know, decide what to do with the injury.
So when you get that news, like, it was kind of a relief considering what we were discussing yesterday. But if you got this news as soon as he was pulled out of the game against the A's, or as soon as we found out he wasn't in the lineup that first game against Cleveland, this is devastating news. It's devastating news. But I did joke that the Yankees for all of our, all their foibles and all the issues they have, and how much the fans get mad, oh, he's not telling us their line, it was this. They did a great job of making us feel better about this injury because they scared us just enough. Is that right?