Hey, it’s that time again. Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, with Art, Laura, Mark, and you. Email us: [email protected], [email protected]. So much to talk about. You know, people are complaining about the Dodgers and picking up Skubal and this and that, and of course, I’m a Dodger fan, but I don’t necessarily think that they should be attacked for picking him up. And I’ll tell you why. The Dodgers make, are you ready for this, folks: $355 million every year from local television. Art, let me ask you a question. You take Prevagen, so you might have this answer. The Dodgers make $355 million every year from local TV, which pays 90% or 80% of the players’ salaries before you go, the first game of the season. How much you think the Mets or the Yankees make on their local TV situation, Art? You have any thoughts?

I’d say, I’d say probably between $200 and $250 each. And I think the Yankees with the YES network probably are a little bit higher than the Mets. But, you know, I think the Dodgers have such an advantage with that deal they have with Spectrum. And you remember that wasn’t so long ago when you couldn’t watch Dodger games on TV for a long time,

Right.

I remember.

And they did the right thing, and it paid off. So, you know, I think the Dodgers are a phenomenon; they really, truly are. And you know, I think they’ve kind of surpassed the Yankees in modern times in terms of being, you know, America’s team. I really have to say that.

Okay, but, but, I think you have to say the fans are more rabid in New York than Los Angeles. I don’t think there’s any question about that.

Rabies?

You’re right, they have rabies, too. Okay, okay, but here’s the thing. The Yankees make about half what the Dodgers make; it’s about $175.

That’s what I was thinking.

But the Mets, you know, with King Cohen, only make a quarter. They make, like, $87,000, $87 million a year. So the Dodgers start almost $300 million ahead of the Mets. They’re doubling up on the Yankees. They make the most by far. Chicago, the White Sox, don’t make anything like the Dodgers. I think you give him credit for it. Laura, what do you think?

You know, LA is an entertainment town. It’s not really a sports town, although when sports are entertaining, there’s a lot of fan support. I wouldn’t compare, you know, Dodger fans to, like, Philly fans, for example, where that’s like a real sports fan. But yeah, I mean, it’s just the way, the nature of our system; it’s capitalism. Those who make the most money are going to have the biggest reward. And you know, people want to play here. Skubal basically said to the, to the Tigers, you know, I want to play for the Dodgers. So either you trade me to the Dodgers, or I’ll wait till the end of the season, and I’ll sign with them as a free agent. So I think they have an, you know, an advantage over a lot of teams because the players want to play here and it kind of feeds on itself.

So the players love these things called rings, you guys, Championship rings. The players love them, and they all play. Years from now, and this was told to me by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus; long after the money is spent, seeing your name on the Championship trophies is really an incredible feeling, and luckily I have four trophies from playing golf and from football. And I tell you, you know, it kind of, it warms my heart sometimes when I go back and look at that stuff.

Mark, your Pittsburgh Pirates don’t make a whole lot from local TV. Any comments about the Dodgers’ $355 million a year? Mark, do you have any idea? I think we’ve lost Mark. All right.

How do you compete with that, though, Fred? Really and truly, Fred, how do you compete with that?

No, New York and Chicago,

I would’ve thought that at least the Yankees would have at least been $250 or something of that nature, but that’s a local TV contract. That’s not, that’s not something small. But then again, you got a marketplace in California of, you know, 30 million people, so,

And pretty much 50,000 people at every game. I mean, and that’s not their TV revenue.

Those seats are not cheap, and you know that.

I do know that.

Okay, I think their total payroll is,

And my Dodger dogs.

I think their total payroll is like $420 million dollars. And this is $355, so it’s 80% of their, their entire payroll paid off before the first pitch. So it’s a very interesting detail. All right, keep it in,

Weren’t they the first team to defer money, Fred?

Oh no.

First team to seriously defer money?

Oh, no, let’s talk about July 1.

Plus, I don’t think the Dodgers get revenue from the parking lot. I think it still goes to the former owner.

That’s right, the old owner gets that.

They get half, Frank McCourt.

That’s a lot of money, man.

And they raised it to $45 a head.

I had a, I had a friend go to the game two weeks ago. He said he spent $600 dollars, and I said, Say what? What did you? $45 to park. He said his seats were a hundred, the hot dogs, the beers. I said, Dude, I’m gonna show you how to get in there just buying a $15 ticket and seeing, sitting in $500 seats.

Making your own sandwiches in the bleachers, if I know you.

Bring in Cavaretta’s sandwiches, your Arizona teas, and your own peanuts from the Dollar Tree, and you park outside.

I love you, Mark. You’re the greatest of all time, Mark. I wish you’d have been my grandpa.

Mark, Mark,

PB&J, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the left field bleachers.

$600 – what are you doing? That’s a mortgage.

Mark. If it takes $45 bucks parking a Dodger Stadium, do you know what it takes it for the Pirates?

I’m walking. Hey, listen, I’m taking the boat over the river, man. I’m not paying $45.

No,

It’s $10 bucks for Pittsburgh.

No, let me ask you a question. What do you think the Pirates charge, 15 bucks?

$10 bucks.

How much?

$10 bucks.

Wow, that’s unbelievable.

And Baltimore is the same way.

My wife and I went to a Baltimore game, sat in the bleachers,

Yeah.

And it cost us, literally, for everything – dinner, the whole shot – less than $50 bucks.

Yeah,

Wow.

All right. Let’s talk about the Angels. Folks, this is a Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. It’s about one o’clock Pacific Time on Friday afternoon. The Angels fire sale: Laura, if you’re an Angel fan, would you go and watch them play after, what, getting rid of six or seven players, the last at the deadline point as far as baseball is concerned?

Well, my apologies to Angel fans, but I don’t think I would have gone to a game before the disaster.

Maybe when Shohei was still playing for them.

I watched them on TV when Shohei was playing. Yeah, I don’t know what, what? I don’t know. I’m not sure I understand Moreno – is that his name, the owner?

Artie Moreno, yeah.

One thing I wish he would do is let Mike Trout go to Philadelphia.

Yeah.

I mean, Mike Trout has been such a loyal guy for so many years. He’s having a great year again this year. Not hitting that well average-wise, but everything else is back. You know, the, the guy grew up in Millville, New Jersey, right across from Philly. And you know, he’s always at the Eagle game, sitting in the, in the field-level seats. I just think it would be a lot of class from Artie Moreno. And it would also help build his farm system. And Fred, that’s what the Angels need to focus on, building that farm system back up. Because for years, they had a very good farm system and they were competitive. And it’s just not the same anymore.

They have, they haven’t had a winner there.

Explain the Red Sox: they won 26 of the last 29 games. Art. What do you think?

I Think that’s those guys like each other. I mean, they got a sneaky little hit. They get a sneaky little lineup. They got, they got the right guys in the right place. Contreras is a stud. I mean, everybody’s afraid of him. He’s got a leadership role, and he seems to come through in the big time for them. It seems like everybody’s participating. It’s not one guy. It’s, it’s one guy this night, another guy the next night. And then I think it’s marvelous. You know, and let’s not sell them short, you guys there. They’re not a small-market team. They’ve got money. So they went out, and they made some moves. And I’m gonna tell you something right now. They got the, they got the Devils or the whatever, the Tampa Bay and the, and the, the Rays, I call them the Devil Rays. It’s weird. I forgot that they’re just the Rays. But, you know, they got the Yankees, and they’re on there, and the Yankees have a lot of injuries right now. I mean, they. What is the story with Giancarlo Stanton? What is the story with Judge? Now Belli’s hurt. Bellinger’s down. I mean, they’re, they’re in big trouble right now, you guys.

Laura. Red Sox-Yankees: who ends up on top in that division?

Wow, well, right now it looks like the Red Sox, of course. I mean, they are just playing such good baseball, I mean, as a Dodger fan. I was heartbroken to watch them just get demolished by the Red Sox in that last series. So, you know, like Art said, they’re playing really basic, good baseball. And I think they’re unless the Yankees can get their injury situation worked out, because they’ve got their, like, their three top players,

Wait until they get Crochet back. They have a couple guys hurt, too.

Yeah.

Yeah. Sorry.

I think they got a good manager there. That’s Jim Tracy’s son that’s managing.

Yeah. The son of the old Dodger manager.

Jim Tracy was a class act. I’ve always liked Jim.

Always, always.

I’ll tell you who made, I think, the best, one of the best deals at the trading deadline. I think the Luis Arraez going to the Phillies, I think the Phillies, they move Harper to the outfield and Arraez playing second base and, of course, the first few games he’s hitting the ball very, very well. He’s going to hit .350 or .320 wherever he goes.

Hey Fred. How many people do you really think know that Luis Arraez is a three-time National League batting champion?

Yeah, Hey. And he learned, listen, I made a crack about never playing second base again. I watched a lot of the Giants games this year. He played very well at second base. He may have been their best defensive player. So it’s a long story. We’ll take a break.

Okay, Fred,

And come back with more right here. On Fred and the Fantastics, on BLEAV and on PodClips.

Folks, we’re back on Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. There’s so much to talk about, Art, Laura, Mark, and Fred. And you can join us, [email protected], [email protected]. But I played fantasy football; I used to play on a daily basis. But I used to play it where, before the season started, to play in two or three different leagues. But it would take three hours to draft everybody, so I stopped doing that. But you’d always draft a running back number one, but the NFL doesn’t think that way. You still draft in fantasy. You still draft the running backs number one. But now the running backs are up to what, $25 million a year, or $75 million over three, and that’s great, versus, you know, your income or my income. But it’s not great versus the quarterbacks in the NFL, not even great versus the wide receivers in the NFL, and not even some of the defensive linemen in the NFL. So, Art, why are running backs – $25 million is a lot of money – but why are they really put down versus the other players?

It’s, it’s called shelf life, Fred. For some reason, there’s this dystopian viewpoint of running backs in the NFL. They got five-year windows now. Derrick Henry’s proven that wrong; I believe Jonathan Taylor’s proven that wrong. I believe Jahmyr Gibbs is gonna prove that wrong. I also believe Bijan Robinson is gonna prove that wrong. I think these guys take better care of themselves now. I think Saquon Barkley is another one of those guys who went through a very devastating knee injury, and he came battling back. I think the game of football is turning again from a fast-paced, down-the-field passing game to a control-the-ball, let your defense set you up. I think we’re going back on that pendulum we always talk about. I think you’re gonna see more running backs be treated the way I think they should be treated. And. And they are valuable, Fred, because not only do they keep the clock running, they keep the defense off the field. But that’s important in football. I mean, that’s a long season, 19 games, 20 games, preseason.

I beg to differ, Artie. I think it’s obsolete. I think, you know, the Earl Campbells, Chuck Foremans, the John Riggins that I grew up with, they were very important. I think these guys today, it’s, it’s, they’re kind of looked at as wide receivers. Yeah, they make a big money, but you can replace them real fast.

Derrick Henry, if he came at you with a business decision,

That might, that’s the only exception to the rule. You got to get other guys in here, and you know, let’s face it.

That’s the exception, yeah.

Yeah, he’s an exception to the rule. He’s out of that Earl Campbell, you know, Chuck Foreman type of thing. But today it’s not. I think teams, you’re finding that out with the Steelers. They’re moving, got wide receivers,

What would, what would a guy like Eric Dickerson command nowadays, Laura? Just to give you an idea? Think about that. What would he,

And Jahmyr Gibbs, and whatever he gets, you renegotiate within a year. True or false?

And call his buddy, the sportscaster, and tell him about it.

Laura, what do you think? Wide receivers or running backs, in your mind, watching the game? What do you think?

You know, I think the fans like, you know, the fast-paced game. But I’m kind of old-school; I like the old-style football, you know, the, the running game, and, and, and I love, I love defense, as you know, so. But I think it depends on the personnel that the teams have as to what kind of game they’re gonna play. I mean, if they have a really good running back like Jahmyr Gibbs, they’ll highlight that; if they don’t have a really good running back. I like the passing game if they have good passers and good wide receivers. But, you know, I think from a, from the average fan standpoint. They want to see, you know, long passes and exciting, you know, athletic,

But does Ja’marr Chase deserve to get paid twice as much as Derrick Henry?

No. But Artie, I’ll give you a Bubby Brewster, Bam Morris and Yancey Thigpen any day of the week.

Can I have Mike Tomlin and Hines Ward? Did you hear Mike Tomlin talking about Hines Ward last night, you guys?

No. What’d he say?

He called him the quintessential Hall-of-Fame candidate, thousand catches in the NFL, great blocker, great teammate, one of the greats of all time, and nobody really could dispel what he said. Because Hines Ward, if you were on the field playing defense, you had your head on a swivel. Ask Ron Rivers.

Yeah. But Hines Ward, better than Swan and Stalwart? Swan and Stalwart, with the best two tandem in Pittsburgh.

All right, before we go, San Francisco,

No, I’m not saying that, I’m saying the guy played wide receiver the way it should be played.

But before we go, in San Francisco, the Giants’ Buster Posey, of course, a great catcher. He’s gonna make the Hall of Fame, but so far as the CEO, he stinks. If you watched him, I listened to him on the radio, and I say to myself, What is he talking about? Of course, the fire sale for the Giants at trading deadline time. Art. You know, just because you’re a good catcher doesn’t make you a good guy to run a team. What do you think? Art, what do you think?

Oh, what do I think? Yeah, you know, I loved him as a catcher; I thought he won three world titles. I think they put him in a position that he wasn’t prepared for. Okay. In other words, I think he should have been an assistant GM for a little while, worked his way into it. I actually liked the guy that they fired before him, who came from the Dodgers, but you know, he went out and got a manager from college. He was a nice guy, Tony Vitello. But, you know, do you take a college Tennessee manager coach and make him your manager in the big leagues? Mike Krukow doesn’t think that was a very good deal.

And next year, of course, they’re gonna have to get rid of Adames, I think, because he’s making a lot of money and he’s not the player he was before. And, and I think they’re in trouble. As a Dodger fan. I don’t really care, except I just don’t like the fact that, you know, you change a person’s life because maybe you did a bad job. I’m talking, again, as far as Posey is concerned, should change a guy’s life. I know Arraez probably wanted to leave, but there are other guys who didn’t want to leave, and he sent them away. Because he maybe chose the wrong manager, and maybe he, last couple years, yeah, made some bad decisions.

I like Vitello. I mean, I think the biggest thing that I lost Posey on was when he got rid of Patrick Bailey. I like Patrick Bailey a lot. Went to Cleveland. So that’s where I lost, you know, out on Posey. The guy was a good catcher there.

I don’t think, I think they sent him away from Cleveland.

Yeah. Yeah. Good catcher. Good job.

I don’t think; I think the trading deadline, I think he’s elsewhere now.

Wow.

Laura, 30 seconds. Wrap it up. Wrap up the weekend sports.

Well, I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing the Dodgers regain their form. I’m really looking forward to the beginning of football. It’s not happening yet, but I can’t wait for football to start. You know, let’s see what happens with that. You know,

That was a fun game last night.

This time of the season, it’s so baseball, so exciting. Everybody’s jockeying,

All right for Laura, for Art, for Mark, for Mario. Thank you for listening to Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. We’ll do it again, folks. Bye.