Hour 2: Buster Olney

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This is The Michael Kay Show podcast.

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Listen live weekdays at 1 on the Espn New York app and your smart speaker.

Michael Kay (0:41)

Welcome back to the show, everybody.

It's still raw. The Yankees getting eliminated in a sweep in the ALDS by the Tampa Bay Rays. And the fallout continues with fans voicing their extreme displeasure, screaming for change.

What change will come? We're not sure, if any, at all. Let's bring in our good friend, Buster Olney, who worked the series on Espn Radio and was there the whole time. And he joins us now on our Espn New York YouTube channel presented by the Parisman firm. Buster, how are you doing, my friend?

Buster Olney (1:17)

I'm doing great, Michael. Got a chance to talk with the other night. That was fun.

Michael Kay (1:21)

That was fun.

When we talk beneath the stands at Yankee Stadium, a lot of things are said. So let's get some of them out in the open right now. Anything in the series jump out and surprise you about the way the Yankees performed?

Buster Olney (1:36)

They were completely outplayed. Like this was not a case where you got at the end of the series and said, well, if this happened and if this happened and this crossroad went this way, maybe it could have gone differently. Tampa Bay totally dominated them. You know, the five runs allowed in three games.

The way the Yankees played defensively in game two in particular, I thought they were tight in game two. I thought they were aware of the fact that they had not played well down in Tampa, you know, during the course of the year. And I think those, you know, guys put pressure on themselves. They were completely outplayed. That was not something I expected.

Michael Kay (2:15)

So what happens with the post-mortem Buster is you take a look at the broader picture, and they have not won a championship now in 17 years. And I think sometimes fans' expectations might be a little unrealistic. But I don't think it's unrealistic that they would run into a title or two after spending $4 billion in player salaries over that time. Do you think it's unrealistic that they should have won a championship during that time? And since they haven't, what do you think is the issue?

Buster Olney (2:42)

So I do think that over the course of, you know, the time, the 17 years, you would have thought at some point that they would have put themselves in a position where they would win a championship. And I think that they believe that in some respects in 2017, that they were the better team, right? In the year the Houston Astros. I mean, Brian Cashman's comments certainly suggest that, that he's made since then.

Look, some of it is timing to me a little bit. Like this year, I thought this was an excellent team. It was on the rise, but not having Judge, I think in the postseason, really made a difference. Like to me, he would have been a potential, a healthier in Judge, potentially could have made a difference because they have a rotation. And as they move forward, they're actually going to be in a great place with all the young players that they have established. I think they'll be going into 2027, they'll be the favorites to win the American League. But, as you and I talked about the other night, I do think there's some things that can improve. It's been interesting over the last month to see the Milwaukee Brewers and to see the layers of accountability within that group of players.

Pat Murphy, the Brewers manager, benching Cooper Pratt, their shortstop, because he didn't feel like he was into the game. William Contreras getting benched when he didn't run hard to first base. And then to hear Cam Schlitler after game two, and I understand you can't always take at face value the words of a competitor after they lose, but what jumped out to me was, man, it's been a long time since you had a player on the Yankees come out that forcefully and call his teammates out and say we need to be better. And I do think going forward, there needs to be a higher layer of accountability within that group.