Episode 232
High School Sportsmanship and Referees, Mets and Juan Soto, Penn State Football
Host Chris Caputo welcomed Justin Jonas from Nassau County Section 8 Athletics to discuss the pressing issues surrounding high school sports, including the importance of sportsmanship and the challenges faced by referees. The conversation highlighted how the organization is taking steps to ensure a positive experience for student-athletes while addressing incidents of poor behavior at games. Later, Mets podcaster James Ciano joined the show to delve into the latest Juan Soto trade rumors, analyzing the implications for both the New York Mets and Yankees in what has become a heated bidding war. The episode wrapped up with AJ Rovner sharing insights on Penn State football and the newly introduced College Football Tournament, emphasizing the team's potential path to success in the playoffs. Tune in for an engaging discussion that covers everything from local athletics to major league trade dynamics.
Show Notes:
Chris Caputo led a dynamic conversation on the latest episode of Sports Talk New York, featuring a trio of insightful guests. The show opened with Justin Jonas, the Assistant Executive Director of Nassau County Section 8 Athletics. Jonas provided a detailed look into the world of high school sports, highlighting the importance of sportsmanship and the ongoing challenges faced by referees. He shared personal anecdotes from his time overseeing athletic programs, emphasizing the need for better support for officials amid rising tensions in youth sports. The discussion delved into the legislative aspects of maintaining eligibility for high school athletes in the wake of the changing landscape of college athletics, particularly with the emergence of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) opportunities. Jonas's passion for fostering a positive environment for young athletes resonated throughout the conversation, as he explained how Section 8 is taking proactive measures to enhance the experience for student-athletes and their families.
As the episode progressed, the focus shifted to Major League Baseball with guest James Ciano, a prominent Mets podcaster. Ciano provided an update on the ongoing Juan Soto saga, dissecting the implications of his free agency and the potential bidding war between the New York Yankees and the Mets. With Soto's rumored contract exceeding $700 million, Ciano analyzed the financial strategies of both teams and the broader impact on the MLB landscape. The conversation also touched on the Mets' offseason strategy, with fans eager to see how the organization navigates the competitive free agency market. Ciano's insights into the dynamics of player negotiations and the role of agents like Scott Boras added depth to the discussion, making it clear that strategic maneuvering will be key as teams prepare for the upcoming season.
The episode concluded with A.J. Rovner sharing his thoughts on Penn State football and the newly introduced 12-team college football playoff system. Rovner expressed optimism about Penn State's chances after a strong season, despite some lingering doubts about head coach James Franklin's ability to secure wins against top-tier opponents. The conversation highlighted the excitement surrounding the upcoming playoff match against SMU and the potential for Penn State to make a deep run in the tournament. Rovner’s perspective on the atmosphere at Beaver Stadium and the passionate fan base underscored the significance of home-field advantage in college football. This episode of Sports Talk New York not only covered a broad spectrum of sports topics but also engaged listeners with passionate discussions about the future of athletics at all levels, underscoring the deep connections fans have with their teams and the ongoing evolution of sports in the modern era.
Takeaways:
- Justin Jonas discussed the challenges of maintaining sportsmanship and ensuring eligibility for high school athletes amidst growing NIL influences.
- The struggles in recruiting officials for high school sports have reached a crisis point, affecting game scheduling and student experiences.
- James Ciano highlighted the ongoing Juan Soto free agency saga and the implications for both the Yankees and Mets.
- The new 12-team college football playoff format offers Penn State a favorable path to potentially reach the Final Four next season.
- AJ Rovner expressed skepticism about James Franklin's ability to win crucial games against top teams in college football.
- The need for more transparency and communication regarding sportsmanship rules was emphasized by Justin Jonas during his segment.
Chapters:
- 00:00 - Introduction to Sports Talk New York
- 02:47 - Transition to High School Athletics
- 10:41 - Addressing Sportsmanship in Athletics
- 17:50 - Challenges in Recruiting Officials for Modified Sports
- 25:21 - The Future of High School Sports in Nassau County
- 30:20 - MLB Trade Rumors and Free Agency
- 38:41 - The Future of the Mets: Resetting for Success
- 42:55 - Analyzing the Mets' Offseason Strategies
- 46:31 - Trade Talks and Future Prospects in the MLB
- 52:37 - The Future of College Football
- 56:02 - The Future of Penn State Football
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
Speaker A:Live from the WGBB studios in Merritt.
Speaker B:New York, this is Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:Good evening everyone from the studios in Merrick, New York.
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker B:My partner Mike Boudone is traveling home after celebrating his daughter's 21st birthday.
Speaker B:Happy birthday, Maggie.
Speaker B:And we're going to get things started tonight by introducing you what we're going to be having on.
Speaker B:And we'll talk some sports tonight.
Speaker B:So sit back, relax.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:If you want to call in and ask a question, make a comment, that would be great.
Speaker B:The first thing we're going to be doing is speaking with Justin Jonas, the assistant executive director of Section 8 athletics here on Long Island.
Speaker B:Later on we'll be talking to James Ciano who is from the Mets up podcast.
Speaker B:We'll talk some MLB rumors and finally, if we have some time, we're going to talk to A.J.
Speaker B:rovner about the College Football Playoff, including Penn State University.
Speaker B:So tonight we're kind of going past a little bit of football for those of you that are Giants and Jets fans is really not much looking forward to as they both find ways to lose strangely and eerily tonight.
Speaker B:Giants on a blocked missed field goal and the jets on an overtime touchdown.
Speaker B:And the Buffalo Bills actually just tried to make a comeback but fell two points short as well.
Speaker B:But I just want to make mention before we bring in our first guest that about a week ago Louis Carnesecca passed away the all time big time St.
Speaker B:John's basketball head coach on November 30, just weeks shy of his 100th birthday.
Speaker B:On January 5, Mike and I will welcome in some special guests to commemorate Louie, which will be his would have been his actual 100th birthday.
Speaker B:We had planned it beforehand but unfortunately Coach Carneseca did not make it that far.
Speaker B:Rick Pitino wore a tailor made sweater just like Louie yesterday in their win over Kansas State.
Speaker B:And then he laid the sweater at center court after the game against Kansas State, a win for the Red Storm.
Speaker B:We'll be having on Robert Wordan, Matt Brust and Marco Baldi and that will be on January 5th.
Speaker B:So just kind of put that on your calendar.
Speaker B:We'll be talking Lou Karnaseka for probably close to an hour.
Speaker B:Just that night, our first Guest is going to be welcomed in right now, and that is Justin Jonas of Section 8, the Assistant Executive director, which is the governing body of Nassau County Public High School Athletic Association Sports.
Speaker B:So, Justin, thanks for joining us tonight.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely, Chris, thanks for having me.
Speaker B:All right, so Justin, you started out as a sports management major at Towson University and then finished with a master's in athletic administration at Adelphi, is that correct?
Speaker A:That's correct, yep.
Speaker B:So what kind of got you towards this role now in Nassau County?
Speaker A:Yeah, so as you stated, I went to college for sports management.
Speaker A:I really wanted to be involved in some way in the sports world.
Speaker A:I think a lot of high school kids don't know exactly.
Speaker A:They'll know if they're not good enough to play in the pros, but they don't know how exactly to get into the sports field on a professional side.
Speaker A:So I started at Towson, took an internship at the football program down there, worked my way up, got my first part time gig with the now Washington Commanders from New York from Long island, wanted to move home, so took a position with the Brooklyn Nets.
Speaker A:Was there for about six years, Did a lot of work with the Nets and you know, then Nassau Coliseum with the G League franchise, Long Island Nets.
Speaker A:And, you know, through those roles was able to make some, you know, great contacts.
Speaker A:Always knew I wanted to give back to my community and work in the high school atmosphere of things.
Speaker A:So, you know, I was lucky enough to get, you know, brought in for an interview with Sexy Nate Athletics, which, as you said, is the pretty much the overarching body for high school athletes in Nashville county.
Speaker A:And kind of the rest is history.
Speaker A:I've been here for about three years and, you know, loving every day of it.
Speaker B:Okay, so about three years doing this.
Speaker B:Talk a little bit about your experience with both the Long Island Nets and Brooklyn Nets.
Speaker B:You did a lot of youth basketball things for them and you also had some experience as an account executive.
Speaker A:Yeah, so I started, as most people do in professional sports, on the ticket sell side of things.
Speaker A:So usually how it works is you get in on the ticket sell side, kind of find where you want to go with your next step and then you pursue that.
Speaker A:And I, I found a very quick transition to the youth basketball side of things from the accounting executive position.
Speaker A:So I was able to really bring back Long island basketball to Nassau Coliseum.
Speaker A:We did the Long island championship, I believe my second year with Nassau Coliseum, which was the first time in over 40 years it was played there, in my opinion should be the home of it Every year it's a perfect venue for it.
Speaker A:But we were able to do that really kind of give back to the youth basketball community and give kids a really cool opportunity to play professional courts both at Barclays center as well as National Coliseum.
Speaker B:Again, we're talking with Justin Jonas, the assistant executive director of Section 8.
Speaker B:So in your role as assistant executive director, you're under Pat Pizzarelli, I believe, right?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:So what is that like?
Speaker B:What is it like on an everyday basis?
Speaker B:What is your role?
Speaker A:Yeah, so we really oversee everything as it relates to Nassau county sports and for high school athletics.
Speaker A:So we oversee all the high schools and middle school programs in the county.
Speaker A:For public schools, I should mention, really oversee everything, you know, day to day operations.
Speaker A:So we handle, you know, assigning the officials, hiring the officials, getting, you know, obviously the officials to the right positions.
Speaker A:We also, you know, oversee the scheduling aspect of things, making sure that all the games are played on time.
Speaker A:But the biggest role we have outside of running the playoff and championship games is really the legislative side of things.
Speaker A:So we're always on top of making sure everyone's following, you know, by the state rules, which we abide by following by the Section 8 rules, which we have some things that delineate off of the state rules.
Speaker A:But our real main focus is just making sure things are running smoothly.
Speaker A:And obviously we're keeping everything as student athletes because now in a time where NIL is growing at the college level and that entire landscape has changed, we have to keep an eye on our high school athletes and make sure they can keep their eligibility moving forward.
Speaker B:Okay, so do you have a typical day or when you go in, do you not know what to expect when you walk in the office?
Speaker A:That's a good question.
Speaker A:I'm a very calendar driven person, so I time my day as I see fit.
Speaker A:But I guess a typical day.
Speaker A:Get in, obviously, as I think most people do, check your emails, catch up on what you may have missed the night before.
Speaker A:But right in the morning, we're making sure all the games for the day and outlook for the week are covered by officials making sure that there was no issues.
Speaker A:I'm a co chair of the sportsmanship committee, so we oversee anyone that we're in basketball season now, so that's a good example.
Speaker A:We oversee all the technical fouls, injections, any issues as it relates to spectators or student athletes.
Speaker A:So that's in trouble.
Speaker A:A really good portion of the day.
Speaker A:But also we're going over meetings with our coordinators for sports, meeting with coaches, athletic directors, really Just kind of keeping the ship afloat.
Speaker A:So I'm more calendar driven, like I said.
Speaker A:But it's one of those positions where something happens and on drop of a dime, you gotta be there to handle it again.
Speaker B:Chris Caputo here with Justin Jonas from Section 8.
Speaker B:So you're working with high school athletics and sometimes the back end of it, and sometimes there's good stuff and sometimes there's bad.
Speaker B:What would you say the best part of the favorite part of your job right now?
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm a big fan of our playoff and championship structure.
Speaker A:I think we're one of the best counties in the state of how we do things, where we get the college venues.
Speaker A:So the best part of my job, obviously every day is a grind, but when you're able to get out to, to Hofstra for football or Farmingdale for basketball, you know, really whatever venue, you know, we're able to get a contract with.
Speaker A:Just seeing the excitement on the kids faces and really just kind of put showing that, you know, all the hard work you put in really pays off when you're giving kids, you know, one a great experience, you know, experiences that will, you know, shape their life, you know, hopefully for the foreseeable future, but you know, also for yourself.
Speaker A:It's self gratifying knowing all that hard work goes into something that's, you know, just something personally very important to you.
Speaker B:And I guess on the other end, what's the least favorite part of the job?
Speaker B:What do you have to do that you wish you didn't have to?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I think that's a good question to answer it.
Speaker A:In short, as I said, I'm the coach head of the sportsmanship committee.
Speaker A:So my least favorite part is having to sit kids down for a couple games if they act out of line or coaches or even on the spectator side of that.
Speaker A:And unfortunately, it's nothing new to Nassau county or really any county in the country.
Speaker A:But we have a large issue with sportsmanship and behavior at games.
Speaker A:It's gotten a little bit better, we've gotten a little bit stricter.
Speaker A:But you know, having to make that phone call to, you know, that the athletic director of the school having, you know, tell their kid they have to sit the next couple games or something that, you know, we either see on film or we get reports on, you know, doing investigations.
Speaker A:Definitely the worst part, because you don't want to take any experiences away from the kids.
Speaker B:Yeah, and what does that entail?
Speaker B:Like how frequently do you have to meet and how do you go about addressing some of these issues that are happening for sportsmanship reasons.
Speaker A:Yeah, so we only, we have a committee.
Speaker A:We only meet when it gets, when it gets to the point where we have to meet.
Speaker A:I try to keep it as broad as possible, but day to day, I mean, we'll get, depending on the sport, we'll get maybe two or three reports a night that we have to address.
Speaker A:Most are pretty clear cut and dry.
Speaker A:I'll use soccer as an example.
Speaker A:Soccer would be if you get two yellow cards in the game, it's a red card and that's an automatic two game suspension.
Speaker A:So that's a quick and easy one.
Speaker A:You shoot the athletic director a note, make sure they receive it.
Speaker A:You know, the athlete has to sit the next two games.
Speaker A:But the complicated ones where you get into like a football when it comes to a targeting and you have to look, you know, review the film on our end to make sure that it's one targeting because we don't have the luxury of, you know, the college or professional game where yet they get to look at film on the field, it's called, and that's that.
Speaker A:And then we have to address it afterwards, all the way down to, you know, unfortunately, you know, spectators saying something inappropriate, a coach may be taking things a little bit too far.
Speaker A:We've had a good year so far with that, which I'm thankful for, but it really comes case by case basis, which obviously makes things a little more difficult.
Speaker B:So I know from teaching in the schools over at East Rockway and also from my kids being involved in athletics that this year, each season we've gotten this email that basically states that some of the rules of sportsmanship have changed and this is what you can be accountable for.
Speaker B:And also basically like a spreadsheet, these are the ramifications.
Speaker B:This is how long someone would have to sit out for this violation.
Speaker B:And something else, is that something that you guys had to come up with to combat some of the problems with sportsmanship?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So Section 8, we've taken a much stronger approach when it comes to that.
Speaker A:We had.
Speaker A:So the state has their rules and then we can add if we feel necessary, based on last school year, the 23, 24 school year, things got a little bit out of hand.
Speaker A:So we came down into that spreadsheet that you mentioned.
Speaker A:We came down and created that really as a, as a stance saying, hey, we're not going to, you know, we're not going to let this go any further.
Speaker A:Things have to be addressed and truthfully, for the most part, they have been kids, you Know, once you see what, you know, what your actions can create and the consequence for it, you know, they'll take a step back, they'll think about that next move, you know, the words they say, the actions they take.
Speaker A:So it's worked, but it was a necessary step for us to take because again, things, especially in the last year, got a little bit, you know, out of our comfort zone when it comes to sportsmanship.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think some of that stuff has kind of, you know, hit everywhere.
Speaker B:But I think when you take a kind of a personal stance and you kind of say, this is what Nassau county is going to do about this, I think people take a little bit more of a look at it because now they know that there are some ramifications.
Speaker B:And if you want to see your child play a game, you have to act responsibly.
Speaker B:And if you want to stay on the court, then you have to make sure that you're not, you know, leaving the bench or getting involved in something that's a little bit, you know, extracurricular, kind of pass the whistle.
Speaker B:Because I think those are some of the things that maybe have haunted not just high school athletics, but youth athletics in general.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:And you see it on the youth level, and we get video sent to us, even if it's not in our jurisdiction all the time, where, you know, you see the influence of a TikTok, you know, call like an Instagram reel, whatever it may be, where now the feds on Tick Tock are the things that are coming out where.
Speaker A:Use an example, there was a football trend where at the handshake line, one of the teams that won the game would virtually smack the other team with towels.
Speaker A:And that was used as the cool thing on Tick Tock.
Speaker A:And on the sportsmanship side of things, obviously that's not acceptable, but that's the influence that's coming up.
Speaker A:And we have to be able to have a stance, have our directive of, hey, listen, we're not going to accept these things, you know, it may be acceptable, you know, the AAU game or at, you know, your local rec league game.
Speaker A:So when it comes to, you know, Section 8 athletics and really New York State athletics, it's not going to be tolerated.
Speaker B:Again, we're talking with Justin Jonas from Section eight.
Speaker B:Let's just.
Speaker B:I'm going to leave it out there.
Speaker B:Officials, how tough has this gotten over the years?
Speaker A:Very tough.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, we're struggling, and it's not just a Nassau county thing.
Speaker A:It's a countrywide issue where we're losing Officials in big numbers and we're having a hard time recruiting officials.
Speaker A:I'll use last year as an example because it's quantified data that we can use.
Speaker A:We went, I want to say, not want to say we have the data.
Speaker A:Over 40% of modified games, which are middle school games, went without officials.
Speaker A:So those games automatically become scrimmages.
Speaker A:And it's really a trickle down effect where if you have those officials that aren't going to be there, those games become scrimmages.
Speaker A:Kids may not get the experience that they need and they opt out of playing and then you're going to see numbers dwindle as it goes to that AVSY level.
Speaker A:So, you know, I'm not hitting the crisis button yet.
Speaker A:You know, we have some good initiatives that we're working on that can get officials in the door.
Speaker A:But it's one of those things where, you know, officials are going to games and getting, you know, getting harassed.
Speaker A:And you look at anywhere from the high school level all the way through the college and you know, professional level, everything's on social media now.
Speaker A:Everyone's got their opinion.
Speaker A:Everyone can post whatever they want to post and you know, criticize what they want to critic.
Speaker A:But you know, these people are humans too.
Speaker A:And you know, you go to a game, everything's in a split second and you can slow mow everything down.
Speaker A:And we don't have that luxury.
Speaker A:So, you know, we're looking at, you know, different initiatives to get officials in the door and it's really imperative that we do a good job with that or you know, again, these programs and you know, the futures of some kids in athletics are definitely in jeopardy.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I think, you know, on the negative side, the officials have to listen to a lot of things and I think that's, you know, a downfall.
Speaker B:Some of the officials not getting any younger.
Speaker B:And what's one way that if somebody does want to become an official that they could start that process, whatever sport that might be.
Speaker A:Yeah, so we do a pretty good job on our website.
Speaker A:So we're so section 8.
Speaker A:We are actually in the Nassau boces sphere of things.
Speaker A:So what we do is to give you a quick rundown.
Speaker A:If you say yourself you want to be an official, you do it to be fingerprinted and background check because you are working with, you know, high school, middle school age students so that, you know, you have to pass those background checks fingerprinted and then you enter the boces system.
Speaker A:So what we do is we post on our website, which is secbii.org we post all of our official organizations.
Speaker A:The organizations themselves actually will do the training and hiring of the officials.
Speaker A:And then ourselves, which is Section 8 athletics, will utilize that pool of officials to fill our needs.
Speaker A:So I would always recommend, check out our website again, secvii.org that way you can see all the latest postings, the upcoming clinic dates for whatever sport it may be.
Speaker A:But the easiest way to even get started is talk to your local leagues.
Speaker A:A lot of the local leagues, whatever sport it may be, I'll call it a basketball, baseball, softball, even lacrosse obviously is very big in Long Island.
Speaker A:Talk to the officials in those sports in your local leagues.
Speaker A:And we oversee a lot of them.
Speaker A:Well, our officials, organizations oversee a lot of them.
Speaker A:So it's an easy way to get started, see if you like it.
Speaker A:And then we love to obviously utilize anyone's services when it comes to our games.
Speaker B:And as far as financial compensation, the money that they're getting paid for some of these games, especially if they're doing them by themselves, is actually a pretty decent amount of money that somebody as a young, maybe 18, 21 year old kid could, could make some decent money in the afternoon.
Speaker A:Yeah, I tell my friends, family, whoever it may be, it's the biggest cheat code if you're looking for something to even do on the side.
Speaker A:I'll use modified baseball for an example, like a concept sport.
Speaker A:So you're only there for a maximum of 2 hours and 7 innings.
Speaker A:Because of the shortage, you're usually working alone.
Speaker A:You can work and because you're working alone, you get pretty much paying a half.
Speaker A:So you're walking out of there.
Speaker A:You know, I'll quote a general number, you might be walking out of there with $150 really to just, you know, sit behind the plate and, you know, watch some modified baseball and obviously officiate.
Speaker A:But it's a great gig and there's a lot of opportunities to grow within it too.
Speaker A:You get raised rates when it comes to playoffs.
Speaker A:So, you know, if you do enough games for us, if you're, you know, highly regarded by the coaches and athletic directors, you're able to work more games, get more, you know, obviously get more money.
Speaker A:And then throughout the years, you know that you're invested in it, you can really, you know, make quite a, quite a living or even a side living off it.
Speaker B:Justin, do you think that some of the shortage in the officials happened with COVID or did it kind of start before that?
Speaker A:I think it was a mix of both.
Speaker A:I think before COVID I don't want to speak out of town because I came into section 8 after, but I know there was issues.
Speaker A:But really, Covid kind of put it, you know, really put a damper on what we're trying to do because obviously, you know, the official base, a lot of the officials could be older in age.
Speaker A:So we're trying to recruit younger officials.
Speaker A:But because of COVID you know, I'm sure you can attest to family and friends.
Speaker A:You know, a lot of people moved out of state down south just for the time being and ended up staying.
Speaker A:We lost a lot of officials, obviously, during COVID because they didn't want to be around people.
Speaker A:And then Covid, in my opinion, again, this is my personal opinion, kind of put something in people's minds where they weren't as willing to take out a side job or do the extra work.
Speaker A:And that's seen across the board.
Speaker A:You look at a restaurant business, for example, they always had trouble finding people.
Speaker A:So it's not specifically officials, but I think it hits.
Speaker A:It hit that market the most.
Speaker B:Again, we're talking with Justin Jonas, the assistant executive director for Nassau County Public high school athletics.
Speaker B:You touched on it a little bit when, you know, there's no referees there.
Speaker B:But can you talk a little bit about modified sports here in Nassau county and you know where that's at and where you guys hope it to be?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So to give a general basis around modified sports, it's middle school athletics.
Speaker A:The big misconception, something that we're currently reevaluating on it is so modified sports.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's modified.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So you.
Speaker A:I'll use football, for example.
Speaker A:It's a five quarter game.
Speaker A:Basketball, five quarters.
Speaker A:So there's certain things you can and can't do within the sport.
Speaker A:So we're looking at now how to make it a little bit more competitive.
Speaker A:It really is a breeding ground for kids to learn the sport and understand.
Speaker A:But I think the landscape has changed a lot where a lot of these kids are coming into the schools and they know how to play these sports.
Speaker A:So it's not their first taste of a lacrosse or it's not their first taste of a basketball.
Speaker A:They even playing, whether it be CYO or I know, you know, the club lacrosse team in Long island, you know, a different.
Speaker A:A different monster.
Speaker A:But they're coming in, they're playing the model at the modified level.
Speaker A:And the issue is, say you're, you know, say you're a star athlete, you can only play a quarter.
Speaker A:You got to come out of the game.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:In Basketball, something that's popped up a couple times this year is you can only run the 2, 3 defense under the 3 point arc.
Speaker A:And what that that creates is if you get beat on the wing side, for example, and if you try to double team, then the official is supposed to stop play because you technically can't double team.
Speaker A:So you can't really run that defense correctly.
Speaker A:So we're looking at across the board on the modified level, how we can make it more competitive, but kind of keep that philosophy.
Speaker A:This is supposed to be a breeding ground to help kids grow and understand and learn the sport.
Speaker A:So we're really looking at a lot of things, you know, within this year.
Speaker A:We've had a couple meetings on it.
Speaker A:Just trying to really tune it up a little bit, but there's a good future there.
Speaker A:But again, the official issue is a major concern, especially for the modified level.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And modified even years ago, you weren't even allowed to play 2, 3.
Speaker B:That's kind of a new thing.
Speaker B:So I know there's some things you got to work out to make that.
Speaker B:And you know, there, I think kids who maybe are excelling at that point are trying to get to pass the acceleration exam to be able to play at the freshman JV and varsity levels when, you know, maybe they're in seventh or eighth grade and they're excelling over some of their other players.
Speaker B:Do you think that's because of the modified rules placed on the middle school?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it's the modified rules.
Speaker A:I think some of it has to do with the lack of officials as well, where if you are that good of an athlete that you know, you're able to move up level, for example.
Speaker A:So if you're.
Speaker A:We call it the apt process.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:If you're a good enough athlete where you can move up, it's worthwhile in my opinion, to take that chance.
Speaker A:I'm not saying everyone should be accepted to move up.
Speaker A:I think we overdo it a little bit sometimes.
Speaker A:But if you were to move up, you're probably more likely to obviously play within their actual rules of the game, not that modified style.
Speaker A:But you're also more likely to see officials, which as a parent, as someone who hopes that your son or daughter might have a future in athletics worth the shot.
Speaker A:But again, it's a deep concern because we have to start back selling these officials at the modified level.
Speaker A:So that experience is somewhat the same.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That comes from somebody who was out there this year on the soccer field officiating middle school soccer scrimmages.
Speaker B:Because nobody was there.
Speaker B:Which I would gladly do anything to get the kids on the field and not have to have the coaches do it.
Speaker B:You know, let the coaches be on the sideline and do what they have to do.
Speaker B:But you obviously want to get these things in as much as possible.
Speaker B:As far as the middle school goes, when you do those games, is there any way to make it so that it's not just teams that are close in proximity, but maybe to understand what schools are strong at what sports and match them up in the middle school so that you don't have soccer games that are 13 nothing and basketball games that are 85 to 10.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So we did the best we can with that.
Speaker A:It's the valid concern.
Speaker A:So I'll preface with this.
Speaker A:Nassau county is very unique and how we structure things.
Speaker A:I'll use lacrosse for an example.
Speaker A:So varsity lacrosse, we actually do.
Speaker A:We do put teams in conferences based on their skill levels.
Speaker A:So yeah, so it's ability based sports.
Speaker A:So you'll see in some sports and Nassau county, we'll do that.
Speaker A:And then when it comes to the playoffs, we actually pull them back into their beds.
Speaker A:Numbers or the numbers of kids in their school schools, and they'll go through playoffs based on that.
Speaker A:So the modified level is tricky and the reason for that, and we can always work on it because it's a little bit different.
Speaker A:There's a lot less things at stake when you.
Speaker A:When you work at the modified level, it's tricky because of the busing situation, which is a whole other thing that we can get into.
Speaker B:Yeah, but we.
Speaker A:But Nassau county and really Long island wide, there's a tremendous shortage of bus drivers.
Speaker A:So we have to be able to work with the athletic departments to get kids to the games at the right time.
Speaker A:Now, the issue with doing it ability and not geographically based is if you see Rockway, for example, if you can play a game versus Hewlett, doesn't matter what kind of bus is going to get there, you'll be at Hewlett high school in 10 minutes.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So we try to schedule it around that.
Speaker A:There's always room to improve.
Speaker A:But that's one of the main reasons why it got towards that geography side of things.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Especially if teams don't have lights.
Speaker B:That becomes an issue at some point in the fall as well.
Speaker B:One of the things that I enjoy, I get to coach the unified basketball team at East Rockaway.
Speaker B:And you know, some of those sports have kind of kicked up.
Speaker B:You guys now have, you know, both basketball and bowling and some other sports you know, can you talk a little bit about what that experience is like for you guys?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, unified, in my opinion, is the best thing we do.
Speaker A:I oversee unified on our side of things, so, like assigning the officials, getting the venues, things like that.
Speaker A:We have a great crew that helps us out do that again.
Speaker A:It's the best thing we do because there truly is no winner and loser, even though there is that every.
Speaker A:Every person on the court, in the bowling alley, whatever it is, is just having the absolute best time.
Speaker A:It really is for the love of the sport, whether it's bowling or basketball.
Speaker A:The kids absolutely love it.
Speaker A:They go nuts for it.
Speaker A:You know, it's going to the championships, and I stopped by some games here and there, just, you know, based on scheduling.
Speaker A:It's the best atmosphere.
Speaker A:Everyone's cheering.
Speaker A:There's not a negative thought in sight.
Speaker A:Everyone's just super excited to be there and participate.
Speaker A:It's one of the best things we do and very fortunate on our end that we're able to help out with it.
Speaker B:All right, so I have one other thing that I want to make sure I touch on football.
Speaker B:Long island does their own championship.
Speaker B:Is there any serious consideration for Long island joining the New York State Championships in Syracuse?
Speaker A:Yeah, so it's been discussed.
Speaker A:I think last year was probably the best.
Speaker A:The best opportunity we had to potentially join it this year.
Speaker A:The issue among the Long island football community is, and I don't want to speak out of turn on this, but the biggest issue that we face when.
Speaker A:I'll wrap it up on this one, but the biggest issue we face is if we were to do that, you would most likely have to forfeit the Long Island Championship.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And not the best State Championship.
Speaker A:It's awesome.
Speaker A:They do it, you know, in Syracuse.
Speaker A:It's a fantastic event.
Speaker A:But the Long Island Championship in Long island gets more.
Speaker A:Gets more of a draw than the State Championship.
Speaker A:So do you want to forfeit something that's been going on for, you know, decades to do the State Championship?
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:It depends on what coach you ask, to be honest.
Speaker A:We as section 8 in the office, we rely on the coaches and what they want to do.
Speaker A:And obviously, it's been.
Speaker A:It's been voted down quite a few times.
Speaker A:So I'll say never say never, but it's one of those things.
Speaker A:We want to rely on the people that have boots on the ground, on the field that are able to give us the best advice that they want to do.
Speaker B:Again, we're talking with Justin Jonas from Section 8, talking athletics here Are there any other things that you have to address or things that you have to be responsible for that we didn't talk about?
Speaker A:Yeah, we covered a wide array of things.
Speaker A:We're pretty much responsible for A to Z when it comes to high school athletics.
Speaker A:So anything, you know, I call it street to seat.
Speaker A:So anything from getting kids getting on the bus, going into the stadium, sitting down, you know, fans sitting down, kids getting to their benches, we have to make sure that that runs as seamless, as smooth as possible, you know, without any interference.
Speaker A:So yeah, I think we covered it, you know, a good basis of things.
Speaker A:And obviously, you know, our office, section, office were incredibly transparent.
Speaker A:Happy to, you know, take any calls to our office, talk about, you know, what may be a concern for any parents or students.
Speaker A:Happy to know people through what we do and how we do it.
Speaker B:As we said earlier, Justin is also the co chair of the sportsmanship committee.
Speaker B:He's doing a great job and hopefully, Justin, you stay long enough to take over as executive director since you'll already have some experience and keep helping Nassau county sports grow.
Speaker B:So thanks again for your time tonight and we appreciate it.
Speaker A:Yeah, Chris, appreciate it.
Speaker A:And again, anyone listening that wants to be an official, interested in talking about it, happy to talk about it.
Speaker A:And I just want to encourage people keep supporting Utah athletics.
Speaker A:It's incredibly important and one of those things that will never go away.
Speaker A:So support your communities and come out the games.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Again, be loud, be proud, but be positive at the games.
Speaker B:That's our motto at the games.
Speaker B:And again, we thank Justin Jonas for joining us tonight.
Speaker B:We're going to take a quick break and when we come back, we're going to talk with James Ciano about some MLB Hot stove.
Speaker A:You are listening to Sports Talk New York.
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Speaker A:You're listening to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:On Long Island's wgb.
Speaker B:And now back to the show.
Speaker B:Welcome back to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:I am your host Chris Caputo here on a Sunday night in December.
Speaker B:Hope you are enjoying your nights.
Speaker B:I'm solo tonight.
Speaker B:My co host Mike Widone is on the road coming back to Long island and we just had Justin Jonas from Section 8 Athletics to Talk about the highs and lows of his job and all of the things that are involved with keeping athletics on the field, on the courts and all of that stuff, it is not an easy job.
Speaker B:There's a lot that goes on.
Speaker B:And one of the big things we talked about is officials, officials trying to get them at games and keep them there.
Speaker B:And sometimes it just becomes too much for them and they leave the business.
Speaker B:So think about that the next time that you're at a game and you know how much abuse that they have to take.
Speaker B:Our next guest is going to be James Ciano.
Speaker B:He's going to help us talk a little bit about the MLB trade rumors and all kinds of stuff going on.
Speaker B:But obviously the big thing and the reason why we'll have him on is to talk something that has lasted way, way longer than I think most of us expected.
Speaker B:And that is the fact that Juan Soto is a free agent.
Speaker B:And since the last game of the World Series, he has hinted that he wanted to talk to all the teams.
Speaker B:Well, the hinting and the talking has gone on.
Speaker B:And we are now at the winter meetings, which is going to last from Monday all the way through Thursday.
Speaker B:And at this point, we still do not have an answer.
Speaker B:And most of the other players are waiting to see how much money he will get and from which team, because that will then determine whether or not they will sign with one of those two or three or four or five teams that he's supposed to sign with or if they go elsewhere.
Speaker B:So at this point, I think the numbers are above $700 million for 15 years, and the two major teams would be New York Yankees and New York Mets.
Speaker B:Now, will there be some type of discount or will there be something that maybe holds him back from going to another city?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:The Blue Jays and even the Dodgers tried to throw something in.
Speaker B:The Red Sox were meeting with him as of recently.
Speaker B:But we shall see what happens with that.
Speaker B:There are some other big names out there that are looking to sign and maybe even some trades that could possibly come up.
Speaker B:So at this point, we are kind of in a waiting pattern, almost like we're at the airport and we are trying to see what's going to happen with some of these things.
Speaker B:And I think things will speed up.
Speaker B:I think in the next 24 to 48 hours, things will start to speed up and some of these guys will get together and maybe their agents will do the right thing and sign with the team that they want to.
Speaker B:So right now we're going to join in from the metslop podcast.
Speaker B:James Ciano So, James, you've been on before, and tonight's kind of one of those nights where your fingertips are moving around a little bit.
Speaker B:What are you thinking right now?
Speaker A:Yeah, what's up?
Speaker C:Thanks for.
Speaker C:Thanks for having me back.
Speaker C:But it's just.
Speaker C:I don't know, it just feels like the Yankees.
Speaker C:It kind of does.
Speaker C:It feels like every single thing has gotten to this point where, if you ask us, anytime in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, most of October.
Speaker C:Like, where's Juan Solo going to sign?
Speaker C:You listen to the Yankees.
Speaker C:You go back to Yankees.
Speaker C:Spent the year there.
Speaker C:They're the Yankees.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:They're judged his teammate.
Speaker A:They made the World Series.
Speaker C:It's going to be the Yankees.
Speaker C:And I think we all probably let ourselves get a little too excited these last few weeks here, feeling it was possible, knowing that Steve Cohen wouldn't be outbid.
Speaker C:But now we're in the end game, it feels like house timebrother pony up.
Speaker C:What?
Speaker C:He had to pony up.
Speaker C:Steve probably did beat him, but I guess not by enough to make it.
Speaker C:To make it worth his while.
Speaker C:And that just seems like the end of the story here, sadly.
Speaker B:All right, so do you think that possibly the Mets just kept going up and up and up, and do you think that, you know, maybe they're going to get used and, you know, as long as they keep driving the price up, that the Yankees are going to match some of that and as long as, you know, they hit the magic number of, say, 700, that Juan Soto was going to go back to the Yankees.
Speaker C:Yeah, kind of.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:And I'm sure.
Speaker C:I don't know, I don't love this trope that everyone keeps saying the Mets get used.
Speaker C:Mets get used.
Speaker C:Like, yeah, sure, they're in a bidding war.
Speaker C:They're probably not going to win it again.
Speaker C:They're going to offer the most money, which always keep going detention.
Speaker C:You can lead the horse to water.
Speaker C:You can't make him drink.
Speaker C:But also it's like, all right, like, at some point, for any player wants to show a time Yoshino beyond Moto, the contract isn't.
Speaker C:Isn't.
Speaker C:Isn't feasible.
Speaker C:Like, you can't offer Juan Soto $850 million.
Speaker C:You can't pay Juan Soto $55 million a year against your own competitive balance pack.
Speaker C:You won't be able to build a successful baseball team.
Speaker C:And I think that those are the conversations probably happening internally right now, but do think they, Scott, Boris, and Solo kind of did leave the door open a crack.
Speaker C:Like, putting all these, like, smokescreens out there, like, oh, there's it, last few hours, last few hours, blah, blah, blah, very positive Yankees.
Speaker C:So I think they are open minded.
Speaker C:If there's some kind of crazy Godfather offer that hits, but it just also feels like nothing's going to happen, then you have kind of another side that isn't being talked about as much.
Speaker C:You have the appearances out of it for the mess.
Speaker C:And Steve Combs now this will be the third or third free market free agent that he wasn't able to get with just money.
Speaker C:I didn't really seemingly take the team seriously.
Speaker C:And then there's a worry that if you do still drop the Godfather offer and the Yankees don't blink and then they keep their offer the same and let's say Juan Soto went back to the ankles and Steve Cohen offered 60, 70, 80 million more dollars.
Speaker C:That's, that's a very bad look.
Speaker C:That's something that it's hard to recover from as this franchise.
Speaker C:And now you're like, okay, that's like, that's when it gets to really dangerous.
Speaker C:We got used like we're not, like we're not in the same level as these other franchise.
Speaker C:I feel like that's probably also a conversation happening in that room right now, wherever they are.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And I don't know if necessarily it's so much a bad thing.
Speaker B:I just, it comes to the point that people are, hey, you're going to go up as high as you want.
Speaker B:We're using that as leverage to get more money from somewhere else.
Speaker B:You know, obviously they didn't want to come to the Mets, but I think if push came to shove and these other teams were given another number, if they didn't meet it, then they would go to the Mets.
Speaker B:It's almost like, hey, if they don't meet this, we'll come back to you.
Speaker B:And I think that it's going to be tough.
Speaker B:What do you think?
Speaker B:You think we're in within 24 to 48 hours of a decision?
Speaker C:I think within three to five hours of decision.
Speaker C:Honestly, everything that's coming out in the last hour from Martino, from Puma, from Heyman, they're all saying it's tonight, they're going to get this done before the winter meeting.
Speaker C:It kind of feels like, sure, there's the exact same situation that happened where it was a Sunday evening and it went, it went official Monday afternoon, Monday, late morning, just feeling exactly the same scenarios that way.
Speaker C:Like, we're going to drag this out right now.
Speaker C:Again, doors cracked, you could do something crazy but just seems like this is going to be it.
Speaker B:All right, so let's just say that for whatever the price is above 700, which I think is crazy, by the way.
Speaker B:James, I think that the fact that, you know, shohei Ohtani made 700, which is really not 700.
Speaker B:I mean, it's more like 400.
Speaker C:700.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's like 470.
Speaker B:But, you know, to think that someone's really going to be making more per year than Shohei Ohtani is crazy.
Speaker B:But I guess this is kind of what it's going to.
Speaker B:These guys are going to take as much as they can, and the market value is pretty high for a lot of these guys.
Speaker B:So it seems like a lot of these guys are probably going to get more than what maybe somebody out there who is a prognosticator is going to guess.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I think part of that, too, is the way Ohtani's market developed last year.
Speaker C:It wasn't the same kind of bidding war this is become.
Speaker C:This isn't even just a bidding war.
Speaker C:This is the Mets vs.
Speaker C:Yankees in free agents for, like the first time I can remember in my short life.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, Ohtani last year seemed like it was very codified.
Speaker C:He always wanted to be a Dodger.
Speaker C:Didn't really seem like it was a shock or a surprise at all.
Speaker C:They did some.
Speaker C:They played around with the Blue Jays a little bit, but didn't really seem serious.
Speaker C:And his market never really got crazy.
Speaker C:And again, maybe that was just him, maybe his management team, his agent, Nezvillello, not really understanding this at all.
Speaker C:Or maybe every other team in the league knowing full and well what that was.
Speaker C:Whereas Scott Borz and Juan Soto played their hands really close to the best year.
Speaker C:Juan.
Speaker C:So though the World Series ended nine minutes later, he wasn't wearing a hat.
Speaker C:And he said, All 30 teams have a chance to bid on.
Speaker C:This has been a very, very.
Speaker C:Like, this is.
Speaker C:This is a very particularly strategic move here by Soto and Boris forever.
Speaker C:I mean, when Soto was still 21 years old, he was in LA at the World Series watching the Dodgers like, this is.
Speaker C:This has been going on.
Speaker C:They've been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
Speaker C:They knew that he had all the makers of getting the highest contract in the history of baseball.
Speaker C:And it cats off to them to running this incredible campaign, being so specific and so cunning in every single move they made.
Speaker C:But it feels different than Ohtani because it is like this was a true bidding war that never got to that point.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And I've heard people say who had Boris as their agent.
Speaker B:Hey, listen, instead of going to where you live, stay in Boston.
Speaker B:I know you were in Boston kind of hanging out with some friends.
Speaker B:Stay in Boston for an extra day and have the Dodgers fly you out from Boston just so they can think that Boston is involved in the sweepstakes.
Speaker B:It's a borough's thing to do to make every little thing seem like it's, you know, some type of droppings, that something else is out there.
Speaker B:So let's go with that.
Speaker B:He goes to the Yankees.
Speaker B:At this point, what could the next or what should the next immediate move be?
Speaker C:Honestly, like, people probably aren't going to like this.
Speaker C:I'm sure Mets fans aren't.
Speaker C:I don't know if I do deep down, but it makes sense.
Speaker C:I think that if you don't get one Soto the Mets will have like a true reset year.
Speaker C:Like, I think that they're in a unique spot where they just got all the dead money off the cap where they can go into next season team next, next season with a team that's remarkably similar talent wise and projection wise, the team they went to last season with, but without the dead money.
Speaker C:You can reset your luxury tax penalties, you can reset your draft penalties.
Speaker C:I think that's something where if you don't get this big fish, you're probably not going to be able to build a World Series contender with what's out there right now.
Speaker C:You're probably resign P.
Speaker C:Alonso, hopefully a market rate just to keep the fans from bringing pitchforks in the city field.
Speaker C:But it seems like then they probably just add Alonso.
Speaker C:One pitcher, one reliever, maybe one very cheap DH, like similar to J.D.
Speaker C:martinez.
Speaker C:He ended last year.
Speaker C:You wind up with a $240 million payroll, you reset all your taxes and then you just kind of go out there again with the team that you think is going to win between 75 and 85 games and just play ball.
Speaker B:Okay, so what are your thoughts so far?
Speaker B:The Met sign montas, Frankie Montage, two years, basically one year with an option, and then Clay Holmes for three years.
Speaker B:$38 million.
Speaker B:You got yourself basically at this point turning one into a starter, but two more starters.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think it's great.
Speaker C:I think that's something that we've kind of learned after last year to trust with David Stearns and what this pitching staff could do.
Speaker C:A lot of really smart baseball people, a lot smarter than me, love to Clay Holmes as a starter.
Speaker C:I think it makes a lot of sense too.
Speaker C:Just the guy who's so hyper sinker to be in the rotation rather than the bullpen.
Speaker C:Because if someone hit the ground two ground balls in the wrong spot in ninth inning, it feels way worse than someone hits two ground balls in the wrong spot in the fourth inning.
Speaker C:I think as long as his body can stand up to it like he's going to be good.
Speaker C:Montas will take some more massaging, but he has a deep repertoire.
Speaker C:He's got five pitches, one of them, the splitter being elite.
Speaker C:He can throw against guys on both sides of the plate.
Speaker C:I think the Mets really beautifully filled out the middle of this rotation for $30 million combined.
Speaker C:And a guy like Luis Severino is going to make $23 million himself.
Speaker A:I think there's a good chance that.
Speaker C:Both the pitchers, the Mets side are going to be better than Severin are going forward.
Speaker C:So I think it's just.
Speaker C:That was, that was really good by David Stearns.
Speaker C:I think that probably is forecasting what the rest of the offseason will look like too.
Speaker B:And I think that's.
Speaker B:I think that says a lot about the Mets pitching staff as far as their coaches and also all of the analytics that they do and their pitching, you know, academy that they have down in Florida.
Speaker B:So I think it says that, you know, you could take a guy like Clay Holmes and make him into a starter, you know, almost like the Royals redid with, with Seth Lugo is.
Speaker B:I think he has a lot of faith in, you know, resurrecting some of these guys.
Speaker B:Yeah, it does.
Speaker C:I think.
Speaker C:I also think it's just something that it's the confidence in your organization.
Speaker C:It's almost getting to a bit of hubris at this point, but just trusting Eric Yeagers, trusting Jeremy Heffner, knowing how much we're able to squeeze that and put it here, over here, and also.
Speaker A:Being able to do that and showing.
Speaker C:That that's a sign for Holmes to come here, be like, okay, if I'm going to do this, this is where I want to do it.
Speaker C:And that's a.
Speaker C:I think that's a really big deal.
Speaker C:It says a lot about where this organization is coaching and player development wise.
Speaker C:That wasn't a few years ago.
Speaker B:All right, so at this point, I would say the Mets have Peterson, Montas, Holmes, Senga and McGill, you know, maybe a couple others waiting around.
Speaker B:Do you think they go after another big name?
Speaker B:I'm not talking a Montas or a Holmes, but do you think they go after a big name?
Speaker C:Honestly, no, I really don't.
Speaker C:David Stearns has showed in his past he's usually not willing to sign pitchers for like for big big value.
Speaker C:It seems like Corbin Burns want eight or nine years.
Speaker C:The fact that I don't even think.
Speaker B:They'Re talking to him.
Speaker C:I don't think so even honestly I don't.
Speaker C:I don't even hate that either.
Speaker C:I think if there's any picture of the Mets do sign who's like relatively big name at air quotes it would be Nathan Ubaldi.
Speaker C:You could probably sign him for a.
Speaker A:Two or three year deal if you.
Speaker C:Really squeak it out and then past that like doesn't really feel like they're that in a miniature either.
Speaker C:I think what they wind up doing is signing another guy in the same bucket as Matthew think like Holmes like a cheap one year, two years that's a Turnbull cheap one year two year Cal quadrille.
Speaker C:It seems like that's what his team's going to shop because again I really feel like if we don't get one total which doesn't seem like we are as of the second right now Sunday night you probably just say that's it, you put your hands in the air.
Speaker A:You didn't choose us.
Speaker C:I wish you chose us.
Speaker C:They didn't choose us and you just move forward and try to reset the tax.
Speaker C:The money with extra money that we've been spending last year is 110% tax.
Speaker A:Rate and the way we're losing our.
Speaker C:Drastics and international swap pool money that's killer.
Speaker C:That's the kind of thing that really affects your organization as you go five, 10 years in a row doing that very important for the next 10, 15 years this team to reset that at some point and this is the best chance they have to do it before.
Speaker B:We get to hitters.
Speaker B:Any chance on Roki Sasaki coming to.
Speaker C:The Mets another one just doesn't feel like it.
Speaker C:He seems destined for the west coast between LA and San Diego.
Speaker C:I know he has a close personal.
Speaker A:Relationship with you Darvish as well but.
Speaker C:That kind of seems like to me like his zig over the over the zag from the Dodgers but I mean I'd love that it'd be great.
Speaker C:I'm sure they're going to try.
Speaker C:Steve Cohen went to Japan personally himself and support show of respect to Roquey and we can both like I was saying before some great pitching development, some really really good things we're doing biomechanical to keep pitchers healthy.
Speaker C:I know that Frankie Matto specifically talks with Lisa Brino about that and you know he had really good things to say.
Speaker C:So if he looks at the whole picture then possibly.
Speaker C:But again he just, he seems destined for the west coast.
Speaker B:Again, we thank James Ciano from the Mets Stuff podcast is on tonight giving us a couple of minutes of Hot Stove.
Speaker B:I'm just going to go through and tell me if you think there's a team that you.
Speaker B:That this person, that the player might definitely go to.
Speaker B:Teoscar Hernandez Teoscan.
Speaker C:I see that being back to the Dodgers, I think that makes sense for everybody.
Speaker C:I think that.
Speaker C:I think he got a qualifying off from the Dodgers this offseason.
Speaker D:If I remember correctly.
Speaker C:I don't really see a team committing enough years to Teosco Hernandez where giving up the draft pick makes that worth it.
Speaker C:So I think that that makes sense.
Speaker B:Into the Dodgers only because it's come out now.
Speaker B:The Yankees and the Red Sox are big on them.
Speaker B:Max Freed.
Speaker C:Max Free, the weird one.
Speaker C:I could really see him going to the car.
Speaker C:I mean I guess I was before the Matt Boyd deal.
Speaker C:I don't know what Max Reed.
Speaker C:I'm safe.
Speaker C:I have to pick a place for him right now.
Speaker B:Not Atlanta.
Speaker C:Not Atlanta.
Speaker C:It seems like they're.
Speaker C:They're not willing to spend money.
Speaker C:They seem very comfortable with their rotation as well.
Speaker C:I could see him Baltimore depending on how that happens or Boston.
Speaker C:I think both those teams are going to spend some money and I think whoever doesn't get Corbyn Burns might be who winds up with Max Reed.
Speaker B:Anthony Santander.
Speaker C:Santander.
Speaker C:I have no idea because I think, I think he's incredibly overrated.
Speaker C:I think he's going to be the one who like he signs a deal with a stupid team in the next four years are a disaster.
Speaker C:Maybe, I don't know, maybe I see a team like the Royals who really need some dump in the middle of the order.
Speaker C:I can see that happening.
Speaker C:I have to guess anybody I'd say the world looking for a middle lineup power back.
Speaker C:I'm not the biggest fan of stumps out there.
Speaker B:Okay, so again, Juan Soto, let's say just for argument's sake goes to the Yankees, Pete Alonso.
Speaker C:I think, I think that will be very, very likely comes back to the Mets.
Speaker C:If that's the case I think you're going to need something to sell the fans on next season.
Speaker C:You're going to need to at least have some kind of triumph in this free agency.
Speaker C:You're going to have to have some.
Speaker A:Breast confidence for something.
Speaker C:I think if you.
Speaker C:I think even if they get one so which I don't Think so it happened but I think he's to get one so the P loans I think is very likely to come back to.
Speaker B:The Mets and I think he's going to give the Mets, you know a last right of refusal to meet to meet something.
Speaker B:But I, you know, I think that's going to be, that's going to be the tough one for Mets fans.
Speaker B:If you don't get Soto and you don't get Alonso, then what?
Speaker B:Any chance Jock Peterson comes to the Mets?
Speaker C:Yeah, possibly.
Speaker C:I could see the Mets really looking into just a DH type corner outfield thumper bat.
Speaker C:They don't get Soto.
Speaker C:I see Jock as an option.
Speaker C:I see Winker as an option, just a left handed bat to even the line about because you're going to have a bunch of you're going to see expecting two big mighty power hitters and Markos and the Anzac.
Speaker C:So I can see Jock.
Speaker C:I said before I truthfully see a one year union with Michael Kitor though.
Speaker C:I think that makes sense to both sides.
Speaker C:I think he's a pretty underrated player in this free agent class.
Speaker C:I think there's a couple options.
Speaker C:I also think there's a really good chance that we're going to see Brett Beatty play some baseball next year.
Speaker C:They're going to give him one more shot to see what he can do anything.
Speaker C:Truthfully, I think that's a really, really.
Speaker A:Good chance that happens based on where.
Speaker C:We'Re at right now.
Speaker B:He'll be playing quadruple A.
Speaker B:So I thought it was a little high Willie Adamas, what he got from the Giants.
Speaker B:I think it does show that the Giants intend to spend some money, but I thought that was a lot.
Speaker B:What about Alex Bregman?
Speaker C:Bregman?
Speaker C:There's a lot of weird connections in Alex Bregman's family to the Washington D.C.
Speaker C:area.
Speaker C:He had an uncle, a couple uncles that were lawyers, the original rescue team.
Speaker C:He had someone that was instrumental bringing that Washington franchise back also in his family.
Speaker C:Very weird stuff there.
Speaker C:But I could see him winding up in Washington then wanting kind of a new leader like a fiery type, someone who's been there and done that to kind of ease in this next generation of big players they have coming up.
Speaker C:But it's not him, it's not them.
Speaker C:I think Houston Astros will just go.
Speaker A:Wind up going back to them.
Speaker C:I think those are the two I like the most for Bregman.
Speaker B:And lastly, do you think the Mets are going to be involved in any trades then?
Speaker B:You know, I don't really think at this Point, they're going to be going after Garrett Crochet, but who knows?
Speaker B:Would they be going after anybody in a trade?
Speaker A:Oh, for sure.
Speaker C:I could see the Mets going after Crochet pretty harshly.
Speaker C:I could definitely see that.
Speaker C:I can also see the Mets kicking the tires on Luis Castillo, just kind of evaluating where he is money wise compared to how much you're probably going to have to pay Shawn Meniere and Nathan Vivaldi.
Speaker C:It might be worth the bit of prospect capital it takes to get him, considering the managers probably want to get rid of him more for money than prospects anyway.
Speaker C:So I think those are two people that would be pretty interesting for the Met to go after.
Speaker C:As far as other trades, I'm trying to think of another picture.
Speaker B:The Mets would give up a decent amount of prospects to go after Devin Williams of the Brewers.
Speaker C:I think definitely not.
Speaker C:That's not the kind of move that David Stearns makes.
Speaker C:David likes to create his own relievers.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And get ones that are already made.
Speaker C:I think we're going to have the best relievers in the Mets next year.
Speaker C:We don't even know their names yet.
Speaker C:Like, truthfully, it could be, it could be anybody.
Speaker C:It could be someone listening to us right now.
Speaker C:You might not even know yet next year.
Speaker C:I think that's just, that's how we're going to go about this for a long time.
Speaker B:Well, I appreciate it because I think what I got from you is that if the Mets are not going to get Soto, that this could be kind of a sit back and hold on to some of your money and get out of that big luxury cap year.
Speaker C:Yeah, I truthfully think that's the path that makes the most sense and the path that probably leads to the most success for the Mets in the next decade as what they could possibly do right now in the players available.
Speaker C:I really just don't see them throwing out a bag for Corbin Burns.
Speaker C:I don't see them being very interested in Max Reed.
Speaker C:I could possibly see them swinging a trade and if they do that, I would even be better for them to stay under luxury tax.
Speaker C:But it just doesn't feel like they're going to go nuclear like Steve Cohen did a few years ago and I'm sure regretted it when Steven Matt spurns him famously once upon a time.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:Well, again, we appreciate your time.
Speaker B:We had James Ciano here from the Mets podcast.
Speaker B:I think you need to go find your partner Mark Luino, give him a glass of water.
Speaker B:He's, he says he's pretty much ready to follow up.
Speaker B:Yeah, he's freaking out over there.
Speaker B:So appreciate your time tonight, Mark.
Speaker C:Thank you so much.
Speaker C:Good to hear from you.
Speaker B:All right, that was Marc Ciano from the Met Stuff podcast.
Speaker B:We talked MLB rumors where everybody's going, and obviously we are waiting on Juan Soto, which could happen tonight.
Speaker B:Everybody keeps talking about it, but I think it's more drama to what's going on.
Speaker B:We've got a couple of minutes left and at this point, going to finish out the show by welcoming in AJ Rovner, who is a Penn State grad and also was at the Giants game today.
Speaker B:Hello, A.J.
Speaker B:how you doing?
Speaker D:How you doing, Chris?
Speaker D:Thanks for bringing me back on a third time.
Speaker D:I just read a couple tweets from Mike Puma.
Speaker D:He works for the New York Post.
Speaker D:He said the Soto deal is coming to a front tonight, so I would think that he's going to sign and officially make his decision before the evening comes to an end.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:At least at that point, A.J.
Speaker B:it'll be over and you can think about what's next.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:I had some speculation that he was going to come to the Mets.
Speaker B:I really did think he was, but as time goes on, I really feel it's kind of like one of those Aaron Judge things where he.
Speaker B:Oh, the Giants, the Giants, the Giants.
Speaker B:And then he winds up going back with the Yankees.
Speaker B:So I think that's what's going to happen.
Speaker B:I think a lot of, you know, that stuff kind of happened that way.
Speaker B:But we'll see.
Speaker B:We'll see sometime tonight.
Speaker B:So what was it like today at Giants Stadium?
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker D:It was the most interesting crowd I've ever seen.
Speaker D:When Graham Gno's field goal gets blocked at the end of the game, fans are cheering.
Speaker D:I guess it's the cheering for Shabir Sanders or Cam Ward.
Speaker D:I mean, I'm a Giants fan at heart, so I'm rooting for him to win.
Speaker D:Of course, I don't really believe in tanking for an unknown prospect.
Speaker D:I've said that before.
Speaker D:I thought Caleb Williams is going to be the answer.
Speaker D:He got bench today for Tyson Bajan, who was a Division 2 quarterback.
Speaker D:Undrafted Trevor Lawrence was supposed to be the answer in Jacksonville.
Speaker D:I mean, we all know he hasn't lived up to expectations.
Speaker D:Won one playoff game, so difficult loss.
Speaker D:I'm happy they showed resiliency, but ultimately it wasn't enough.
Speaker D:And now the Giants currently have the best odds to secure the number one pick.
Speaker D:So next week against the Ravens, I think they open up as a 14 point underdog.
Speaker D:So that could get real.
Speaker D:Ugly at MetLife Stadium next weekend as I expect it to be.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Were you in at the Garden last night when all the former Knicks and alumni came back?
Speaker D:I was, yeah.
Speaker D:I was working that event last night.
Speaker D:It was really cool.
Speaker D:I've seen kind of it both ways because with the Giants as well, with two different teams, it's their hundredth year.
Speaker D:So the night before the season started, they actually brought back all 100 guys.
Speaker D:And if the player had passed, they brought some family members back.
Speaker D:So Rosie Brown was one of the best Giants ever.
Speaker D:They brought back his family.
Speaker D:He passed away.
Speaker D:So it was really cool that they had that happen.
Speaker D:Lt came back.
Speaker D:I actually think Strahan was one of the only guys that didn't go.
Speaker D:But the Knicks did something very similar lined up across the court.
Speaker D:Almost 60 years of basketball, but funny, Carmel Anthony goes to like every Nick game and he didn't go last night.
Speaker D:So it was a very cool thing though, for sure.
Speaker B:Yeah, I thought that was pretty cool.
Speaker B:To see him go down the line and, you know, no names all the way up to guys that were big shots out on the court at the same time seemed pretty cool.
Speaker B:So one of the reasons I have you on Today is the 12 team college football tournament has come out and the first round schedule is going to match up Penn State against SMU.
Speaker B:That game will be at Penn State on December 21st.
Speaker B:Your first thoughts?
Speaker B:I guess we'll start with yesterday's game and what you thought of that and then kind of moving forward.
Speaker B:What you think about Penn State?
Speaker D:I think it showed that Penn State could contend with anybody in the country, which gives me hope.
Speaker D:But what doesn't give me hope is that James Franklin continues to find ways to lose against teams that are superior to him.
Speaker D:Now he's 1 in 15 against top 10 opponents in his coaching career.
Speaker D:10 state, he's 11 and 2 this year.
Speaker D:His only two losses, of course were to Ohio State, Oregon, both teams of which are in the college football playoffs.
Speaker D:But I actually think with the loss 10 states path is a little bit easier than what Oregon's is, to be completely honest.
Speaker D:Penn State and no bias.
Speaker D:But 111,000, it don't matter to the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania.
Speaker D:There's no pro sports around.
Speaker D:If you're in that area, you're going to a Penn State football game, it don't matter if you're 80 years old, 90 years old, you see the same people every week.
Speaker D:It will be packed.
Speaker D:It's going to be freezing.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker D:So it's definitely a home Field advantage.
Speaker D:And if you win the Big Ten title game, you don't get a, you don't get a home game.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Get a buy and you don't know at that point.
Speaker D:Exactly.
Speaker D:And then if you beat smu, the College Football Playoff works now as they take the three best ranked conference champions and then one.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:You got four school which is Boise State and that's who Penn State would play next.
Speaker D:So group of five school.
Speaker D:Penn State has a really good pass.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because they could then play New Year's Eve and then you know, who knows in the finals.
Speaker B:But at least at that point you've gotten two kind of not power teams.
Speaker B:But I think, you know, not that I want to talk about it, but I think they're, they're sitting down right now trying to find they'll have 12 teams next year.
Speaker B:But these will not be the criteria of how they put it together.
Speaker B:They just know that this is not a good situation for Oregon.
Speaker B:But that's for another time.
Speaker B:Any, anything that kind of stuck out at you amongst the 12 teams, you know, either seed wise or you know, matchups that kind of sticks out besides Penn State playing smu.
Speaker D:I'm happy that Alabama didn't get in.
Speaker D:They didn't deserve it.
Speaker D:I and so many years past I felt that Alabama and Saban, and don't get me wrong, he's the greatest collegiate coach of all time.
Speaker D:But there was some bias involved and oh yeah, for Alabama to lose to a 6 and 6 Vanderbilt.
Speaker D:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker D:Two 6 and 6 teams.
Speaker D:So it was definitely the right decision.
Speaker D:I thought it was really cool after winning the ACC title game.
Speaker D:But David Sweeney was really pushing for SMU to get in.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker D:So of course it's nice for Big Ten schools to really be in there.
Speaker D:But I love the Indiana matchup between Notre Dame and Indiana.
Speaker D:I mean what a story Indiana is.
Speaker D:So I'm really looking forward to that game.
Speaker D:That'll be a freezing atmosphere but I'm definitely looking forward to Penn State's path.
Speaker D:I think they have a legit shot to get into the Final Four.
Speaker D:But as you said, the way that the criteria is it's simply not good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I'd love to see Tennessee take down Ohio State.
Speaker B:I think that would be great to see because I really don't want to see Oregon and Ohio State again.
Speaker B:Just like I didn't want to see them in the Big Ten championship game.
Speaker B:But you know, negativity still even though after that game is over towards James Franklin or do you think, you know, one win in this tournament will kind of let people forget about some of that stuff.
Speaker D:Personally, I'm not a Franklin guy.
Speaker D:All my friends know it.
Speaker D:It's very hard to consistently perform well against teams you're supposed to and consistently perform bad against the teams that are superior to you.
Speaker D:And people bring up, hey, James Franklin has the longest streak of winning in games he's favored or in games against non top 25 opponents.
Speaker D:But I tell everybody in response that's not how you win a national championship.
Speaker D:That's just not how you do it.
Speaker D:Oh, what a big win against Minnesota to keep your season alive.
Speaker D:Minnesota has seven or eight wins, like it's not that impressive.
Speaker D:So he's got to win big games.
Speaker D:It's what it comes down to, Chris, he's got to get to the, you got to get to the Final Four.
Speaker D:I mean, you're playing a Mountain west school and a team that just joined the ACC like it's time, man.
Speaker D:You got to start winning big games.
Speaker D:You're going to have 112 plus behind, 112 plus thousand people behind you.
Speaker D:And then you go play in the Fiesta Bowl.
Speaker D:And it's crazy because Arizona is where that game is played.
Speaker D:And for the first week of the season I was actually in Arizona with my friends and there's a huge Penn State chapter out there.
Speaker D:So I know that if they go play in the Fiesta bowl, there's it's going to be full of white and Penn State fans because I saw many fans went for their first week game against West Virginia.
Speaker D:I could just imagine how it would be a State Farm Stadium if they wind up playing Boise State there.
Speaker B:All right, we'll see if Penn State gets there.
Speaker B:Thanks for joining us tonight.
Speaker B:AJ Giving us a quick minute on Penn State.
Speaker B:So once again tonight our guests, we had Justin Jonas from Section 8.
Speaker B:We had James Ciano and A.J.
Speaker B:roepner.
Speaker B:That's going to do it for tonight.
Speaker B:I'm Chris Caputo.
Speaker B:We'll see you back in two weeks here on Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of WGB.
