Hour 2: Mike Lupica

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Michael Kay (0:41)

You know, we only know what's going on in our house, right? But sometimes over the fence, things are worse with another family. So I told you yesterday, Joe Espada was interviewing for the Seattle Mariners manager's job. But he was still the manager of the Houston Astros. Well, today they solved that and they fired Joe Espada. They fired him the day after it was said that he was going to interview for the Seattle job. I mean, I think Joe Espada did an unbelievable job with the Astros this year. With the injuries, with the players that they've lost through attrition over the years because the owner doesn't want to give long-term contracts, they had their run. And they had their run after they bagged four seasons in a row, and they put together a really good team. And helping with a little shenanigans, they won a couple of championships, they competed every single year. But the last championship they won, they ended up firing the GM, James Click.

And now, this guy, Joe Espada, gets them to win the American League West with a nothing team, a team that was ravaged by injuries, and they let him go.

I want to see who's going to take that job now, because they don't have a great team. They don't have a great team and they have a manager, or they have an owner who is diametrically opposed to signing long-term big free agent contracts. You know, and in theory, he might end up being right, because the back end of those contracts are always going to haunt you. But if you don't get involved in those contracts, and I've said this about David Stearns too, then you're not going to get the players that can help you win right now.

You watch, you mark my word, the Padres are going to be saddled with awful contracts, because they signed Machado for too long, they signed Bogarts for too long, they signed a lot of players for too long, because they wanted to win, they wanted those players under contract. Darvish for too long.

So yeah, they have a nice run going now, but there's gonna be time where they're gonna pay the piper. Dodgers, Dodgers are gonna, they're gonna see that long-term contract with Betts, and the last couple of years with Freddie Freeman as well. People get old.

And how about Otani, the decision they made with Otani? He is gonna play tomorrow. He is gonna play, because he told them he's fine. Sometimes players manage teams, not managers.

And Otani was not gonna go quietly, he said, I'm fine, I've made some swing adjustments, I'm gonna be fine. He's been awful the whole postseason. He hasn't had a homerun since August 16th. This guy in his career hits a homerun every 14 at-bats. It's been over 100 at-bats. The highest exit velocity he's had in the postseason so far is 86 miles an hour on a single. But you tried benching Shohei Otani. They talked to him and I told you, this is a decision that goes higher than Dave Roberts. When you have players of that stardom, they have power and he doesn't want to sit. Maybe it pays off. Remember, Kirk Gibson had one at-bat in that World Series 1 He was hurt. They put him on the roster for that one at-bat, and he hits a homerun off Eckersley, and the Dodgers end up beating a much better A's team. Maybe, maybe Otani gets that one at-bat. Maybe. 1-800-919-3776. Let's go to David and Charlotte. David.

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Michael Kay, you there?

Michael Kay (4:20)

I'm here, David. What's up, man?

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Hey, thank you for everything you do.

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Glad you're a voice of the Yankees.

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I just feel like what Judge is talking about is the frustration of every Yankee fan.

You don't build a team in one season. You build a team collectively over a couple seasons typically. When you get close to the advance and get close to the World Series or the playoffs, you've got to add the right pieces. If you're going to go all in, you're going to add the right guys. So like in 2019, they had the hitters.