Hour 1: Carton and Big Mac Clash Over Gerrit Cole and Yankees Pitching

**Craig Carton** (0:04)
It's The Carton Show with Big Mac on a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon in New York City. Phone number to join, as always, 888-808-109, about an hour or so away from the starting quarterback of the New York Giants. Jackson Dart's gonna join us exclusively here on The Fan today. We're gonna find out, is Jackson Dart gonna start to get any snaps in the final preseason game against the New York Giants on Friday, or is he gonna go into this season with a grand total of 14 snaps from January through mid-September?
Dum-da-dum-dum-dum! We're gonna find out, but good to have the big fella back from a three-month vacation. Good afternoon, Big Mac, how are you today?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:51)
I'm doing fantastic. Glad to be back.

**Craig Carton** (0:55)
Good to have you back.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:56)
Thank you. It was a fun week, week and a couple of days, not three months.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:01)
A week and a couple of days is my real end, but look. A total of two weeks.

**Craig Carton** (1:05)
You got a nice tan, you got a great haircut, by the way.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:07)
Very short, very short.

**Craig Carton** (1:09)
And you come back on the Prescott Piss, of course, of the Jets and Giants final pre-season game. Obviously, Geno Smith looked great. We have not seen a lot of Jackson Dart, but you also come back.
To an interesting New York Yankee team. All right, now after last night's loss, but it wasn't because of the offense. Obviously, the pitching wasn't great. Bullpen wasn't great. And there was a big debate on the show yesterday, after the day off two days ago.
Why would Gerrit Cole not start yesterday in regular rest? Why would Will Warren pitch? And that where you get Gerrit Cole last night, and you get Gerrit Cole Sunday against the Boston Red Sox. I'm assuming you're going to defend the Yankees, because what's just one day is not that big of a deal. It was a big debate among some Yankee fans that the off day they got could have been used to their advantage. If you're concerned, as you should be, about the four game set with the doubleheader on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox, why not take advantage of Gerrit Cole, let him pitch last night, and then let him pitch Sunday to close out what is a huge series against the Boston Red Sox.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:24)
Yeah, I mean, I guess that's a debate. I could see that, sure.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:27)
Yeah, but you're going to go with the Yankees. No, listen.

**Craig Carton** (2:30)
Obviously, it didn't work out because the picture wasn't good last night.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:32)
I honestly think this plays into what we saw last night, too. Right? Because the New York Yankees, sure, it's a divisional push right now. We saw Tampa Bay, they've shortened this lead down, Craig, since I've been gone.
Down to four in the loss column.

**Craig Carton** (2:47)
It was three before the loss yesterday, by the way.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:49)
So four in the loss column still. We said they need to be close before that final four game set, and obviously, the Red Sox won last night in extra innings. They've made it close.
It's about making the playoffs, obviously, and you want the best position once you get there. But what you're seeing with this pitching staff, you're seeing now, weather's down, you've seen Fried, who they're hoping to be back for the double header on Saturday. You've seen the bullpen just be kind of, like, not be able to make it down the stretch of the season. This is part of the reason I was complaining at the trade deadline for not adding more bullpen arms. You saw, you know, you saw Hedrick last night have his first implosion.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:23)
He's been great, I mean.

**Chris McMonigle** (3:24)
He's been money good, right? We've seen Cruz kind of faulting down the stretch. And here's the question the Yankees have to have. And what their answer is, I kind of understand it.
Yes, you want to be in the best position. Yes, I've been on the record. You do not want to have to go to Fenway. But you look at where they are. You look at what this team is. You got Judge coming back. You got all these injuries to the pitching staff. What's more important, winning every single game down the stretch or is it more important to do what you think is necessary to be in the best position you can be once the playoff starts? They know their pitching staff better than we do.

**Craig Carton** (3:57)