MESSI THE KING OVER LeBRON, OHTANI, DJOKOVIC? Can any of them top Tom Brady?

You gotta love sports. Wow, are we lucky to be witnessing, on a daily basis, some of the greatest athletes to ever walk the Earth. Messi, still the best player in his sport. Shohei Otani, doing things that have never been done before in Major League Baseball. Novak Djokovic, on the verge of a 25th Grand Slam title in tennis. And then there's LeBron. 16 years ago, to the day since his decision, and the NBA universe is on the edge of their seats to find out what, and where, you will decide next. And are any of these guys greater than Tom Brady? We'll break it all down, right now, on Shine Time. Messi did it again! Scoring in a record six straight World Cup knockout match, helping Argentina complete a stunning comeback to reach the quarterfinals. This was a comeback of legendary and epic proportion. Are you kidding me? Egypt up, the defending champs were down 2-0, before Messi provided assists for Romero in the 79th minute. Then a goal of his own, a banger! Four minutes later, to tie the score. And then Enzo Fernandez scored on a header in the second minute of stoppage time for an improbable comeback, a where will you win sports moment, and a win. This was the first time in World Cup history that a team had won a knockout match in regulation after trailing by two goals in the 75th minute. That, that was absolutely incredible. And how improbable was it? Oh, I don't know! Tom Brady inserted himself into the conversation. The NFL GOAT chimed in. Yeah, that might even top 28-3. And I remember I was doing a post-game show after the Falcons and the New England Patriots Super Bowl. And I wrote in a script at 28-3, congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons on winning the Super Bowl, because I was trying to get ahead on my work, because that game was over. And at 2-0, based upon just how Egypt was dominant and how it just appeared over and time left, this game was over. That felt like 28-3. I don't think that that was exaggeration by Tom Brady in any way, shape, or form. And when you consider what Messi was able to do, I referenced scoring in six straight World Cup knockout matches. How about the fact that he has now scored in nine straight World Cup matches, regardless of round? Nine strikes. The fact that he smashed it in on the 83rd minute, unbelievable. The fact, and Tom Brady's part of this conversation, too, when you start thinking of GOATs at a certain age, right? Messi's still the best. This is still his tournament. He is still unbelievable. He is still the player. If you said, I'm gonna choose a player, my team, your team, this is still the guy. Messi still saved the day. How is he still doing this? It's unbelievable. Watching him in action, doing his thing, I'm awestruck. It's jaw-dropping. Watching a legend like this and a comeback like that, and look, I understand who Messi is and what soccer and the World Cup means to Argentina, so I wanna be careful before I say it's house money the rest of the way, but that is one of the all-time great comebacks in the history of big-time sports, and to do that on the World Cup stage at this stage of his career, that's like nothing we've ever seen before, and watching that unfold in real time, and listen, if I bet on Egypt, if I'm an Egypt fan, I'm absolutely livid, and I was rooting for Messi and rooting for Argentina, so I was thrilled. Clearly, on the call and on VAR, that was a complete and utter disgrace, and the fact that they reviewed that and there was a penalty that wasn't even close to the goal that was disallowed, honestly, that was garbage, that was nonsense, that was bush league. Everything wrong with soccer and VAR, that was on display there, but you can't sit here and say that is what determined the outcome because Argentina scored three times down two nothing late in this match, and it's all because of Messi. His greatness, his goateness, and watching this on display, man, I say it all the time, you gotta love sports, sporty sports, sports, sports, sports, and to see Messi do that, and then another member of the GOAT train, Shohei Ohtani, maybe more unicorn than GOAT doing what he did last night. How about the fact that we have Shohei Ohtani becoming the seventh fastest player in MLB history to hit 300 home runs? He launched a 409-foot bomb, a leadoff bomb, against the Colorado Rockies. By the way, by the way, he has 31 leadoff bombs, hasn't been a leadoff hitter his entire career. I mean, that's crazy. Think about this. Shohei Ohtani is now the first player in Major League history with 300 home runs, 100 stolen bases within his first nine seasons. The first to do that in the first nine seasons of a baseball career, and he pitches. I mean, look at the nuggets of domination for perspective on your screen. I mean, by the way, Ohtani, according to our guy Jack Harris, he's ready to rock and roll, recovered from the biceps injury, slated to make his last pitching start before the All-Star break coming up on Friday. Seventh fastest to 300 homers, fastest to 300 homers and 100 stolen bases, and I can't stress this enough, right, because we focus on seventh fastest to 300. We focus on the 100 stolen bases. He pitches. He's been pitching this year at a Cy Young clip. This is, I mean, I don't even know how to rank Shohei Ohtani. Like, the Post pays me to put this in word perspective. It's almost an impossible thing. You want to tell me there's been a better hitter? You want to tell me there's been a better pitcher? We could have a really intelligent conversation. You want to tell me that, let's hold the GOAT conversation? I mean, he's a freak. He's the greatest unicorn in the history of Major League Baseball, and there is a conversation about Shohei Ohtani as the greatest baseball player of all time. When you combine hitting, hitting for power, hitting for batting average, run scored, stolen bases, and pitching, this is GOAT territory. Like, if you want to tell me anybody else in terms of a GOAT, insert hitter here. You want to argue Barry Bonds? Here, you want to argue Billy Mays, Hank Aaron, anyone else you want to throw at me, right? I mean, there is a case for Shohei Ohtani, who's putting up these numbers on offense while he's pitching. I just want to go back to the fact that it was a lead-off home run, right? Because I've always argued, in some ways, Ricky Henderson is the most underrated player in baseball history, right? Darren Jeter and Ricky Henderson, I always say, are underrated because everyone always thinks of power. Ricky Henderson, if you start talking about an all-time lineup, he's my starting left fielder, right? And he has only, and I mean this as only, 50 more lead-off homers than Shohei Ohtani. Shohei Ohtani batted third for a vast majority of his career. Mookie Betts was supposed to be the lead-off hitter on this team. I'm just, I'm mesmerized. Mesmerized by Messi, mesmerized by Ohtani, and how about the fact that we had Messi, and we had Ohtani, and we had this guy, Novak Djokovic, all doing GOAT things on the exact same day. This is one of the great special days in my sports lifetime with sports individuals. The seven-time Wimbledon champ prevailed in five sets yesterday to advance to the semifinals against Yannick Silva. Five-hour, 15-minute match, the longest quarterfinal Wimbledon match in history. When asked to compare himself with another 39-year-old to perform at the highest of levels, our guy Messi, he said, it would be nice to play 90 minutes like him. Listen, I think, and I've made this case before, so I don't want to be prisoner of the moment. We're talking about the greatest player in the history of men's tennis. And I want you to take a look at what Novak Djokovic did yesterday, right? I mean, we're talking about the longest Wimbledon quarterfinal match. And I want to hit this home, because this is a record. 15th, 15th when you look at it. His 15th Wimbledon semifinal. That's unbelievable. He reached a record setting, eighth consecutive Wimbledon final four. And that to me is such a huge deal, right? Because when you make the final four, and by the way, I referenced Sinner. At this stage, you expect, and I think Djokovic is the greatest of all time. You expect Sinner to win. Sinner's a better player. He's number one. The final four, this stage of his career, he's on the back nine, right? Just like Messi. And he's still doing goat things. It's unreal. So now when you're in that kind of stage for the final four, and you move ahead of obviously Roger Federer, that is unbelievable when you look at what he's able to accomplish in that category. And take a look at Novak Djokovic and his career highlights, right? When you look at what he's accomplished throughout the course of his career. 24 Grand Slam singles titles. That is the most in men's tennis. Look at the singles titles on the tour. Look at what he's been able to accomplish as, look at this. When you look at winning the Grand Slam titles across three decades, this is the goat case. And honestly, there've been so many amazing men's tennis players, and we're at such an unbelievable stage over the last couple of decades in terms of the quality of play in men's tennis. I don't even know how you can make a case for anybody else. And watching Novak Djokovic, and how he plays, and how the Joker's able to kick ass and kick names, but I'm just so impressed with his ability to sustain. I'm gonna give you another nugget here on Djokovic. 38 wins in five set matches at majors. I want you to think about this for a second. 38 wins in five set matches at majors. That's the most ever. Because the longer a match goes, single elimination, the more pressure is on the performance. And for Djokovic to have that mark, that shows you not only his unbelievable skill, shows you his mental fortitude, it shows you how he's able to go out there and kick ass and take names on a regular basis over the years, over decades. This is unbelievable. I don't even hesitate or sweat it when I call him the greatest men's tennis player in the history of the sport. And again, there are so many great ones that you can argue that have had great careers, but I don't even think it's a touchable conversation or debate. Novak Djokovic and watching him persevere, dominate, do what he does. And I wanna seize the moment here. I'm not expecting him to win Wimbledon. We're not gonna judge him as the greatest of all time as the GOAT based upon whether or not he wins right now. That was unbelievable theater and unbelievable drama. And watching Djokovic and watching Otani and watching Messi all on the same day, just a reminder of why you love the sport. Now, of course, you have LeBron James, the king who laughs at the exploits of 39-year-olds. He's 41, still has the NBA world in the palm of his hand. 16 years to the day after the decision, he's still the face of the NBA, the most coveted free agent on the open market. Could Philadelphia be his next destination? Bob Myers has thoughts on why it should be. If he was here, I'd say I honestly believe this is your best chance to win. You have to decide all the other things that are equally important, because it's his life, right? I don't, he has to play with the face, the scrutiny of his decision that'll have people say, you should have done this or should have done that. Take him, they'll criticize him or whatever, which is his life, so he's been through all that. What I would just say is, if it's about winning, and that, let's talk about this game, because you can win here in Philadelphia. I mean, it's amazing. It's 16 years to the day of the decision, and we still are waiting for LeBron, still a summer of LeBron. It's kind of crazy, and you think back to 16 years ago, and he's making that decision in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a lot of Knicks fans thought he was going to New York, and he takes his talents to South Beach, and now after the parting of ways with the Lakers, we're waiting. I've heard from a couple of people who would know that we would know who won the World Cup before LeBron makes his ultimate decision. We'll see. I think, and by the way, credit to Max Kellerman and Rich Paul and the Game Over podcast. They have turned the summer of LeBron into great podcast episodes and unbelievable content, and after we did the whole whiteboard thing yesterday, analyzing, psychoanalyzing, overanalyzing, Rich Paul putting all the candidates for LeBron's next team on a whiteboard, he got Bob Myers. I mean, this is Bob Myers, the architect. He's a former agent, former architect of the Dynasty Golden State Warriors, and now he's the SVP of the Philadelphia 76ers, and he's literally on Rich Paul's podcast laying out the case for Rich Paul's client, LeBron James, to join the Philadelphia 76ers. What a time to be alive. It's kind of crazy. I also think, this is very calculated and very smart on Bob Myers' part, showing that there's no fear in talking on camera, on record, of LeBron's agent, and he's also right. Like, you can make a case that the Sixers are already without LeBron James, the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. You could make a case if they sign LeBron James, the Philadelphia 76ers for championship, and in that basketball market, which I love Philly fans, I think Philly fans are amazing. They're passionate. They're super smart. I think they're the worst when it comes to basketball. I think that they've been fed garbage and nonsense, and the whole process is fake, and it's a broken basketball fan base and market on so many different levels. The Jalen Brown deal was unbelievable. Love Maxie, love Edgecombe. I really don't think that Joel Embiid is a winner, but that's part of this. If LeBron takes the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid to a championship, takes his resume, his game, to a different level. Look, I think he could win in Cleveland. I think he can win another championship in Cleveland, take Donovan Mitchell to a different level. I think that Cavs team would be very dangerous, and obviously, going home, third time in Cleveland. I'm of the opinion, LeBron always wins two years in, right? Every stop, he's won in year two, so while I think there is a retirement tour quotient to all of this, I think that LeBron, I don't need to get this from the Rich Paul podcast, is looking at this as a two-year situation, wherever he goes. Listen, I still think that Golden State makes sense. Our friend Sham Sharania was on Stephen A. Smith's Sirius XM straight shooter show, and he said LeBron and Draymond Green are going to get together. That counts as news in the summer of LeBron here. I still selfishly, as a fan of basketball and sports and greatness, and we're talking GOATs today, would love to see Steph and love to see LeBron team up. The unbelievable. That is what I'm rooting for. But I get it in terms of Philly and Cleveland. I think right now, when you start talking about likelihood, and you start talking about fits, and you start trying to read the tea leaves here, which is a dangerous game when it comes to the summer of LeBron. Listen, I think there are three teams that have a leg up. I think it's going back to Cleveland. I think it's Golden State. And I think the Philadelphia 76ers are very violent. Because I watched the entire interview that Kellerman and Rich Paul did with Bob Myers. And I'm a Bob Myers fan. I think he's fantastic. And I think everything he laid out in terms of the case on why James should go to the Philadelphia 76ers, spot on. Absolutely, positively perfect. So, we've got a lot of GOAT talk today. So how would I rank these guys? We're talking Messi, Otani, Djokovic, LeBron. They all have arguments to be the GOATs in their respective sports. And I think it's important here to kind of go case by case a little bit and explain an overall ranking. Number one, I think the safest case for a specific sport for any of those guys is Djokovic is the greatest men's tennis player of all time. And I will absolutely say that forever, okay? I think, I know, I believe, Messi is the greatest soccer player of all time. There's more of a conversation, in my opinion, about that. But I would go Messi, if we're gonna go GOAT of GOATs, right? Among the current stars, I think you'd go Messi. Then I think you'd go Djokovic. I also think that all three, Djokovic and James and Messi, doing this at this stage of their career, all punching father time in the face, it's remarkable. And adds to the genius, frankly, of this conversation. Now, I don't want LeBron lovers coming after me because I love LeBron James. I just think unequivocally, and I mean this as a compliment, and sometimes in the court of public opinion, this gets all wild and askew. I think LeBron James is, without question, the second greatest basketball player alive. Second greatest basketball player in the history of the sport. I think it's Michael Jordan, draw a line, LeBron James, draw a line. Then we can fight about who's number three. That's how I look at it. That's my take on it. That's how I analyze it. So I wouldn't put, or I can't put, and it's not exactly, and I hate the expression, you know, apples and oranges. I always hate that. I had a math teacher in high school, Ed Taylor. Ed Taylor was a gem. He was a beauty. Great teacher, also didn't really care. He was ripping heaters in the hall back when that was a thing. I mean, I love Ed Taylor. Ed Taylor would say it's like comparing apples and Oldsmobiles. That's how I feel about this conversation, right? I mean, LeBron James versus Djokovic, LeBron James versus Messi. That's kind of an apples and Oldsmobiles conversation. Then, of course, you have Otani. And Otani is the weirdest thing in terms of the court of public opinion when it comes to this kind of ranking. Because Shohei Otani, in so many ways, is, first of all, let's just say this. Most talented player in the history of Major League Baseball. There are no more words to be added to that sentence. I don't even know how you debate that. Is he the greatest? Well, you can find greater pitchers, obviously. You can find better pitchers, more dominant pitchers on the 2024, 2025, 2026 L.A. Dodgers. But when you factor in his power, his batting average, his stolen bases, and he pitches, this is unprecedented. Babe Ruth never did this. There's a reason why no one else did this. My favorite thing in all of any sports conversation I have on any platform is talking to John Smoltz about this. Because the way Smoltz attacked pitching was remarkable. And he is mesmerized. And Smoltz doesn't do mesmerized. He doesn't get mesmerized. He's mesmerized by what Otani does as a pitcher. He thinks he's a better pitcher than a hitter. Because he has to hit and run every single day. It's kind of crazy. You could easily make the case that Djokovic, James, Messi, in terms of athletic accomplishments, they have to look up to Shohei Otani. Like, there is a real conversation about that. I mean, if I was doing a ranking and they made me do it, and we made sure we're gonna flesh this out instead of putting up a graphic where you could say, gotcha, I would do Messi, Djokovic, Otani, James. But that doesn't do it justice because LeBron James, in my opinion, is the second greatest basketball player in the history of the NBA. And I think in terms of athletic accomplishments, the guy we're showing you now, Shohei Otani, is the greatest performer in the history of sports. I don't think that's crazy. We could even go playoffs, international stage, however you wanna do it. But Messi is, to me, the greatest soccer player, men's soccer player I've ever seen. Djokovic is the greatest men's tennis player we've ever seen. And the fact that this is a conversation today because of all of this, I mean, look, it's kinda wild. Now, we saw Tom Brady chime in on Messi's epic comeback against Egypt. And of course, he was the architect of the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. So, this is a different and separate conversation that we'll now put together. Any one of these guys greater in his sport than Tom Brady was in his. So, the answer to that is no. And I am going to give you a monster bias that I have. And I will fight people on it, but this is how you have to separate all the goats and the greats. Tom Brady played the most important position in all sports. So, if you have to start separating, right? And look, Tom Brady didn't play defense. There's a lot of ways you can kinda part and parcel the conversation. But Tom Brady doing this, winning all those championships, making all those Super Bowls, playing in, I cited this for Djokovic, right? I've always argued this in terms of the Patriots, their dynasty, which I call the greatest dynasty in the history of North American sports. Go look at the championship games Tom Brady played. Playing in the Final Four in the NFL, that is a monster deal in a single elimination tournament. How many times in the NFL do we talk about upsets here, upsets there? That is maintain goatness and greatness. So, I'm obsessed with Tom Brady. I think he's the greatest quarterback of all time. Some people have argued Patrick Mahomes is the greatest quarterback they've ever seen. Look, I go Brady one, I go Patrick Mahomes number two. Then you start getting into the John Elways, the Joe Montanas, and the Peyton Mannings of the world as a top five before you get into my guy Aaron Rodgers. So, the answer is no. I don't think any of these guys are better than Tom Brady. I have a bias and I stand by it when it comes to the quarterback position. When you do that, and also, and this is part of it, and this factors into the summer of LeBron, Brady winning away from Belichick and winning in Tampa and winning that Super Bowl, if there was any doubt, there's no doubt. So, LeBron James could land in Philly to play alongside Jalen Brown. Jason Tatum used to play alongside Brown. He spoke about the trade for the first time with Howard Bryant while promoting his new children's book. We also heard from Jalen Brown at an event of his own. Take a listen. I mean, to be honest, it's weird. It's just weird to push each other to be the players that we are today. You know, you just kind of feel like, because that's all you know, it's just like one day. And, you know, we're all going into the facility and going into that thing as teammates. It's a little bit different. It's okay. Things happen. I love the city of Boston, I always have. I've been here for 10 years, third in my life, I'll be 30 in October. So Boston is home. No management, no organization will take that away. No organization will take that away. And obviously Brown honoring a commitment at a charity event in Boston. That's great stuff. So Tatum was able to speak, Brown was able to speak. I've been speaking about this Sham Sharania, the aforementioned Sham, was talking to our friend, the aforementioned Stephen A. Smith on his great shooter show yesterday. Sham said, you know, by the ends, you know, these guys just did not have any off-court relationship. I think in the NBA, keeping duos together is very difficult. It's, there's ego involved. Oh, we could go throughout history on this. We've seen it countless times. It usually never ends where the two stars play together forever. Shaq and Kobe, Steph and Klay, you know, even if it's just age like it was with Steph and Klay are contractual, it usually never ends where everyone stays together forever. Just in nature of the beast. Now, I think that Boston originally had no interest in breaking this up. I think that when they won a championship, and I remember saying this, when they won a championship and that team, that Boston team was so amazing. And remember, Tatum was unbelievable and climbed that mountain and the tour to public opinion and his ranking on, you know, where he was, you know, in terms of basketball players, you know, in 2024. The MVP of the finals was Jalen Brown. He was the MVP, not Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown. But Brown became such a, at best, wild card, at worst, pain in the ass of a nuisance. And when he went on social media, didn't have something set up with Celtics PR, anything like that. He's on Twitch after they lost to Philly and he says, this is the worst. He said, it's the best year of my life. After the worst year of Jason Tatum's life. I mean, you can't say that. And that's why I kept saying, I mean, you know, GD's out of the bottle, had to trade him. And the fact that they had to trade him and they had to send him to Philly and sell low on him, that's the theater of the absurd. So I was right in terms of, and you listen to Tatum and Brown and, you know, Brown puts it on the organization and Tatum takes the high road, which you would expect. These guys didn't like each other. And I think Tatum felt wrong by Brown's comments at the end. And Brown has felt wrong by the organization, coaching staff, Stevens, ownership, the fans, which, you know, they paid him a boatload of money. I think a lot of that was, you know, that blurred line between perception and reality. And now Jason Tatum's gonna have to own this and wear this. Everyone expects, I know I do, Jalen Brown to be more successful than Jason Tatum. Whether it's individual play, whether it's team, I think the Boston Celtics, I think Joe Mizzoula's a fabulous coach. Like one of the, you know, four best coaches in the NBA. I thought Joe Mizzoula this past year, coach of the year. Like he was the absolute best. Miss Johnson had a case, a bunch of, the Redick had a case, I thought Baker's staff had a case. I thought the best coaching job was Joe Mizzoula. He is phenomenal. But I don't know what the Celtics are doing here. I mean, the roster stinks. The team is not very good. And Brown, who has proven he could win in a cauldron, a media market, a fan base like Boston, he goes to Philly? I mean, that's a phenomenal fit. You don't have to wonder aloud about, can he handle the big bad Philly media? He's gonna embrace it, he's gonna be great. He's viewed as the savior. By the way, I saw Maxie and Embiid and Edgecombe and maybe LeBron James. So the genie was always out of the bottle. He was gone the minute he went on Twitch after they lost the first round. Never even got that Celtics next series. It was over with a capital O. We were light years ahead of the curve on that. You had a lot of smart people saying, oh, maybe they can figure it out, have a nice dinner in a little Italy section of Boston. That was never gonna be the case. It was done. But telling Lowe, telling him the Philly, hated rival, that's, I still can't believe we're here with this as a topic for conversation. So the Celtics might suck. Time will tell. You know who absolutely sucks right now? The New York Yankees. They're striking out at a historic, alarming rate. I mean, it's just absolutely embarrassing. But for some reason, Aaron Boone doesn't see any reason to change things up. You guys have the most strikeouts in the majors over your last 19 games or so. Do you feel like there needs to be a change in approach at all? Approach? I mean, we don't wanna lead in that number, clearly. But as far as approach, I'm confident in our approach. But we gotta get some guys on track right now that some really good players, obviously, that are going through a tough time right now. So we're not gonna overhaul and change. But part of our approach is being a tough out and being situational. And we gotta do a better job of that right now. Aaron Boone is okay with the approach? I mean, do I say congratulations? First team in American League history to have 17 strikeouts in back-to-back games. Congratulations to the New York Yankees. History, what the Yankees are all about. Ruth, Garrick, Mantle, DiMaggio, Reggie, Jeter, Judge, and back-to-back games with 17 strikeouts. Congrats on making history. And Aaron Boone's okay with it? I mean, by the way, we have all 17 strikeouts. We've got all the video and still pictures to pick from. I mean, look at this. It's more clueless and inept after the next. And it's just awful watching these at-bats and they snowball. And I love Bellinger. He's one of my favorite Yankees, big market players, going to the All-Star game. You watched Bellinger from the jump last night. He has no idea. Speaking of no idea, Goldschmidt struck out four times last night. He's 0 for his last 30. 0 for his last 30. This team, and this is part of it, is unwatchable. I'm an idiot. I watched that baseball game last night. That was insufferable. Watching the Yankees strike out 17 times. No fundamentals. And honestly, none of it's the reason they lost. Will Warren can't pitch. He's throwing 91, 92, 93 mile per hour cookies right down Broadway to the bottom of the Rays lineup. He gave up seven hits and six earned runs. Three homers. I mean, this was like the Home Run Derby. It was akin to batting practice. Why am I watching Will Warren still pitching for the New York Yankees? My goodness. At least Anthony Volpe wasn't in the starting lineup last night. Then of course, you have the Michael K. reports that Volpe refused to play second base in the minors. I mean, Michael walked that back a little bit. I'll tell you something. There's something there. It's all based on a true story here. And the Yankees, whether Aaron Boone wants to admit it or not, and this all plays, need to do something dramatic, right? They're four game, they're five games behind Tampa Bay. Five games behind Tampa Bay. Shane McClanahan pitches tonight. Shano is a terrific strikeout pitcher. I can't even get excited about Garrett Cole on the bump. I lived for the days as a Yankee fan when we're Cole and Pam Flitler. They're pitching for my New York Yankees. The Yankees feel like they're dead on arrival. Flat as a pancake. No juice, no approach. They need to do something big. Because if they lose tonight, if they lose tomorrow, four game series, I'm just telling you, I don't know how they get out of this haze and malaise. Now in theory, right? You're not gonna see Bellinger. In theory, theory. Bellinger and Jazz and, you know, Goldschmidt all slumping at the same time. But right now it just, it's a slippery slope. It's a downward spiral of negativity. It's bad at bats. It's contagious. 17 strikeouts in consecutive games? So this team needs to do something if they lose three out of four against Tampa, right? Like we're at a stage right now, I sign up for a split. That should not be the Yankees mentality. And I know Aaron Judge isn't there. They shouldn't be striking out 17 times. Okay? I mean, Trent Grisham and Cashman fouled out up in the off season, hitting 230. He's the leadoff hitter for the Yankees. Yankees are gonna have to do one of two things. I'm just telling you right now. They're either gonna have to cut or ship Volpe to the minors, or they're gonna have to fire Aaron Boone. They're not gonna fire Aaron Boone because he's got more job security than the Supreme Court justice. Because Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner just don't care about the manager. They're just gonna keep rolling him out there. That's documented. I've always said this when it comes to the players. The players in a clubhouse know. They know better than anyone. They see the work. They see the effort. They know the truth. They know the story. They see the at-bats. If they think, if they know that this Volpe situation is real and he doesn't always come across as the greatest guy or the best teammate, I think the Yankees gotta get rid of him. You wanna wake everyone's ass up in that clubhouse and that dugout? Ship Volpe to the minors. And look, I've been ahead of the curve on Volpe. And I don't say that with joy. I don't say that with jubilation. I said I never wanted to see his face again last year in Toronto. End of June, early July, they went up north and got swept in that series in a four-game series. By the way, that was different between wild card and division when it came down to the playoffs last year. The Yankees are just comatose. Dead on arrival. There's no heartbeat. There's no effort. There's no oomph. There's no reason to sit down and watch them play. This is my pleasure as a sports fan, watching the Yankees. This is a defunct, awful, atrocious, poorly managed baseball team. And if Volpe refused to play second base in the minor leagues, if, and I'm guessing, this is an educated guess, right? Michael K has a radio show where he's pretty opinionated. He also is the voice of the Yankees. I'm going to guess a couple of people that are influential with the Yankees gave Michael K a trial balloon. Kind of stick your finger out the window, see where the wind is blowing. Because there still are some people, Yankee fans, who are on planet delusional and still think Volpe's good. Still think he's going to be a big time player. You need to do something to wake everyone up. Yankees need a bat at the trade deadline. Yankees need three to four relief pitchers at the trade deadline. Yankees right now are a wild card team. And again, it's a weird thing doing what I do for a living, because I always have to give this caveat. I can't go full mode of just trashing everyone, because the American League sucks. The Yankees' upside is still to go to the World Series. But if they keep playing like this, they're going to miss the entire boat and window of getting there. They're still the favorites in Vegas to win the American League. I don't think that's crazy, because everyone else stinks. Watch the Rays go make a trade or two. Watch the Rays go and trade for Schuble. If the Yankees are a wild card team, they're not winning. Simple as that. We're going to find out if anybody involved in this sad sack organization actually gives a damn. 17 strikeouts, back-to-back innings. Do you know what it's like watching 18 consecutive innings of baseball as a fan, and this team can't make contact? It's putrid. It's pathetic. It's Aaron Boone, Anthony Volpe, Brian Cashman baseball. I have had about enough. Enough. But wait, there's more. Justin Verlander announced he's going to retire at the end of this season. Injuries have sidelined him in Detroit for all but one start this year. He's going to make the All-Star team. I love how Rob Manfred has this new Legends of the Game spot. This is absolutely terrific. It's absolutely tremendous. So he will be in Philly next week. He'll be able to tip the cap, soak it in, and I will make this case, right? Justin Verlander is not only a first ballot Hall of Famer, he is a unanimous Hall of Famer. And I don't want to hear, well, this guy wasn't unanimous, and that guy wasn't unanimous, and Tom Seaver. Just because idiots and dopes and morons and gatekeepers found it up in the past, don't mess it up here. Justin Verlander, you look at his resume. This is, without question, first ballot unanimous Hall of Famer. Simple as that. I mean, he's won a couple World Series, won three Cy Youngs. Look at the top five and top 10 finishes as well. Won an MVP, won a Triple Crown. You know, sometimes All-Star selections for hitters can be inflated. You have to get picked based upon genius as a pitcher. 10-time All-Star, that's a big deal. If you don't think Justin Verlander's Hall of Fame worthy, honestly, A, I don't like you. B, I don't respect you. C, you should lose your vote. That's the show. If you miss any portion of the show, just do what I do. We watch the show over and over and over again. Go to the New York Postsports YouTube page and, of course, the California Postsports YouTube page and search Shine Time. I'll see you tomorrow on Shine Time.