Levi Weaver: The Yankees Might Be Cursed

0:00We all know Saturday's game time can get a little messy. Your crew just came over to watch. Snacks on the table, drinks in hand, and somebody's celebrating like they just won the whole season and beyond. And when that energy gets going, your walls can end up taking the hit. Whether it's a big spill or a noticeable scuff, that's where Behr Ultra Interior Paint comes in. It adds an extra durable, stain-blocking finish that helps your walls hold up for the whole season. It also delivers outstanding coverage and hide in fewer coats. with easy application and a smooth, even finish that goes on clean from the first pass.

0:34Plus, that easy, clean finish helps walls stay looking new longer. So before the next kickoff, give your space game-ready defense and coverage that goes the distance. Bear Ultra, only at the Home Depot. Hey, Chicago. Class it up with Crocs. You know back-to-school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local croc store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest croc store today. I'm living my best life.

1:18Yeah, yeah. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Here's the other surprising part. With guest host, Brian Weber. Yeah, big shoes to fill. Eisen's a legend. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Rich Eisen Show. Do you know who I am? I'm a guy on television. I have my own show. And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. It is the final hour of the program. I appreciate you spending part of your holiday with us. 844-204-7424. The number to call. A groundbreaking program so far. Historic, not only because we've been documenting the excellence of Joey Chestnut, we took a phone call in the very first hour of the program.

2:05It was the day the earth stood still. So we can keep that going next week. I'm back with you on Monday. I presume there'll be more NBA news. We're going to talk much more about the ramifications and the consequences of what has happened so far, dating back to the agreement between the Rockets and the Suns to send Kevin Durant to Houston. A reminder that deal cannot become official until Sunday, so we're back on Monday. will I be talking about a historic, unprecedented seven-team deal being finalized across the NBA. We will tackle that coming up, and we'll do it concisely because in 20 minutes, we'll say hello to our second and final guest after we had a great NBA conversation with James Jackson of The Athletic.

3:00With a reminder, if you miss any portion of any program, you can listen anytime on demand. And the podcast will be up not too long after the end of the show. Levi Weaver of The Athletic will talk baseball with us coming up in 20 minutes. And I cannot close the program without a smidge of football. So in 40 minutes, as you're filling hack with verbal pyrotechnics, fireworks coming up. who has the most combustible quarterback room in all of football that is on the agenda. If you want to have that and on social media, based on how old my references are, it's probably pretty clear that I don't have much of a life.

3:46We can go back and forth after the program on the X platform. That is B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. As I mentioned at the conclusion and just got back to it. Really enjoyed that conversation with James Jackson, staff editor of The Athletic. In addition to the writing he does, editing matters, and he gets to interface with their lineup of terrific NBA scribes like David Aldridge, Hall of Famer, Sam Amick, and other terrific writers. And as we think about what has been going on and what the impact is, it's pretty clear. And I'm trying to tap into my memory without Googling. This is just pride.

4:31Pretty clear. We have the broadest disparity between East and West since the initial years of this century. That sounds like a long time ago. It's not a black and white movie. But the broadest distinction I can come up with in the NBA between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, based on the implosion of the Celtics and all the moves that have solidified Denver and Houston, most notably. OKC hasn't had to do anything because of how well built they were and are by Sam Presti. But the biggest gulf between the conferences that stands out to me would be those finals between the Lakers with the Pacers and the Nets.

5:18And if you think about historically low ratings, even 25 or 22 years ago, those numbers were ghastly. Now, today, executives would cut off a finger to get them because the whole world has changed. and you kids won't put your phone down and nobody's watching TV. But to me, that's the comp. You got to go back to that Laker team that ran it back three years in a row with those championships, including the win over the Sixers. That's how long it's been since we've had this kind of disconnect, East versus West. Now, one move for the Nuggets, and I'm not trying to get too deep in the weeds because I realize this is a national platform.

6:04Nobody combines sports and entertainment better than Rich. I try to bring a lot of energy and keep it light on a holiday, but it is my job. And I take this stuff seriously. Hopefully, I don't take myself too seriously. And I know that's probably not accurate. As I was thinking about what the Nuggets have done, and everyone's going to gravitate towards the Cam Johnson move, as they should, because he's an upgrade over Michael Porter Jr. I'm not talking about the raw counting stats. I'm referring to his versatility and Denver blowing up, quote unquote, their big three. And in no way my bashing Michael Porter Jr.

6:44I admire anybody with that kind of commitment to coming back from multiple back injuries. And he was a part of that championship run. The problem in Denver was ownership. Yep. Stan Kroenke, who has all that sweet Walmart money, didn't want to spend to keep the core of that team intact, referring to key reserves like KCP, Jeff Green and Bruce Brown. So what do you know? Bruce Brown came back this week. Not an earth-shattering development, but we saw after the title was won, back-to-back losses in a Game 7, reflecting that the team was too Joker-centric. Now, it's wise to build around the most versatile big man we've ever seen, but it's not arm wrestling.

7:37He can't go out there and play one-on-one basketball. Even a generational talent like Nikola needs more help. So all the moves Denver has made, headlined by Johnson, augmented by Brown. I like the pickup of Tim Hardaway Jr. All of this had one goal in mind that was more depth because seems like OKC now has laid out the formula. You have the face of the franchise. You have that transformational talent, SGA versus the Joker in this case. Then you need a bunch of dudes because this league is all about depth. Look at Indiana. If we're thinking about the comp, East versus West, unfortunately now everything's changed for the Pacers.

8:23Halliburton presumably lost for the year with the torn Achilles. And I feel good for Miles Turner because I'm with you usually in February. So I spend time talking about what's coming up, heading into the trade deadline, then nothing happens. Every year felt like we talked about Miles Turner going someplace, and he got paid by Milwaukee. And now he's in a situation where he can run with Giannis. But Indiana was the one team that could match the depth, Talking about this season before all these moves occurred. Indiana, if you looked at their roster, had equal or better depth than OKC. And that's how they hung around with Halliburton, dealing with the calf injury.

9:06And even when he went down with the torn Achilles, I keep repeating this because it was fascinating to watch him real time. They let it halftime. Game seven was tied with about four minutes to go in the third quarter. and then TJ McConnell realized he was TJ McConnell. For all of the gym rats who lived through him vicariously, you did see all those turnovers, right? And the five count, there's a reason why he was undrafted coming out of Arizona. I am not burying him. Talk about a guy maximizing your potential. But there's also a reason why he was supposed to be a backup and not get the kind of minutes he had to play in Game 7.

9:48But if we're stacking up rosters now, looking for who's winning the war of depth, Denver is in an interesting situation. And again, this is not something that's going to lead SportsCenter if Rich was hosting it back in the day. But Joker really hasn't had a legitimate backup for a long time. So when I saw Jonas Valanciunas, plus I just like saying that name, I miss working at Tennis Channel because after 20 years, I could actually say all those interesting international names like Anna.

10:28Valanchunas, according to reports, may not be going to Denver. Now, the trade could still go through from Sacramento, Denver, but according to reports, he could be going to Greece. Now, again, this is not breaking news, but I think the separation between OKC, Houston and Denver has gotten so narrow. These are the kind of secondary acquisitions that matter. Or perhaps this is just his agent looking for some leverage. But back to the notion that, hey, nothing happened this week in the NBA because Kevin Durant didn't summon five teams to go see him in the Hamptons like it was 2016. That's just intellectually lazy and false.

11:16A lot happened. You just have to take the time. And that's what I'm trying to do without belaboring things. understanding the audience is always changing, especially on a holiday, to sum up the impact of all of these moves. So what's it mean? OKC, in my estimation, still clearly the team to beat. Now, I'm trying to be consistent because there's a reason why we've had seven consecutive different champions in the NBA for the first time ever. Never happened before because of unprecedented dented parody. And a lot of that also a reflection of the new collective bargaining agreement. So, for example, when the Bucs broke through and won that title, a lot of us, myself included, thought Giannis, top three player, still is, will be stacking multiple championships.

12:14Not one, not two, not three, not four. Didn't happen. Denver, I alluded to their big three. I figured, okay, here's a team that's going to at least win an additional championship or two. And they still might, but it feels like they squandered a couple years of Joker in his prime by not building that supporting cast the way you need to. And I was dead wrong about Boston, but forgive me, I could not have foreseen that Tatum would go down with that Achilles injury. And the new ownership group would come in and effectively say to Brad Stevens, listen, we're paying$6.1 billion for this team. We're not going to spend as wildly as the previous ownership group did.

13:01So you got to make the moves to get the books to align. But if we're thinking about where things stand right now with the Thunder, tell me why at 844-204-7424, even with Denver aggressively and creatively building that roster. We've gone through all the moves made by the Rockets with potentially more to come as that deal between them and the Suns could expand. Tell me why, barring injury, the Thunder are not poised to win multiple titles. Second youngest team in the Shot Clock era to win it all. SGA, many of you don't like him, primarily because you think he's got some cheat code with his ability to draw fouls and get to the line.

13:49Every superstar does that. Last time I checked, it's still within the rules, and we know in the NBA, more than any other league, stars get whistles. That's how it works. Now, you could say, hey, you didn't like James Harden having that same approach and that same cheat code, but it worked for him at SGA, is not flopping like a European soccer player. He's creating contact and getting to the line. Nothing wrong with that. But I keep reading things, and yeah, maybe I need to get off social media. Like, SGA is the most boring MVP we've ever seen. And then we're going to break it down. We're going to do a list because you've got to do a list of everything now in sports media.

14:34That's just people hating to hate. And that's what the trolls do. But that big three that's already in place with SGA and J-Dub, I'll roll it out there like I'm hip, and Shed Holmgren, who eventually is going to weigh more than 180 pounds, plus a bunch of guys we never talk about like Dort and Alex Caruso, who I think I went to high school with. He's not 55, but he looks like it. And Hartenstein. You get my point. They have overwhelming depth. They have plenty of draft capital. The question for the Thunder will be, will ownership spend to keep that team intact? And I don't know. You're going to believe Clay Bennett and his family?

15:21Because part of my pushback on OKC, and this is my own bias, I always go back to they shouldn't exist. The Thunder should only be around as an expansion team. That team being ripped from Seattle still bothers me just because I love that town. And I know how passionate a hoops city Seattle is, having covered NCAA regionals there and having friends who grew up going to the Sonics games years ago. So Clay Bennett's the guy who told everybody in the Emerald City, no, no, this team's not going anywhere. Don't be concerned with the fact that I still have a house in Oklahoma and my money there. No, no, no.

15:57We're going to stay here. So if you believe that that was only one lie and you're not what you consistently do, that would be my concern about OKC. Here's a team that figured out how to win on the road in the playoffs because you can't skip steps in the NBA postseason. You got to build up that scar tissue. Mission accomplished. Now, it felt underwhelming because it took them seven games, but that was just a misperception from Vegas. And I fell victim to it as well. I thought OKC in five. I'm just glad we got a game seven for the first time since LeBron shot the Warriors on the road. But as we think about now what it's going to mean moving forward, OKC, and then you can slot it any way you want.

16:51I'd go Houston, then Denver, and we still have a lot to process in the Western Conference. How about Minnesota? All they've done is made back-to-back trips to the conference finals. Now, my concern would be they didn't get better. And if you're not improving, you can say, well, at least we're going to have continuity, and I'll do the Larry Bird. You're getting better, you're getting worse. and I have an issue with a team that's relying on Julius Randle to be their second best player, but I cannot kick them for being four wins away or however many wins they fell short of going to the NBA Finals in consecutive years.

17:36Notice I've done something record-setting. 16 minutes in, I have not mentioned the Lakers because they're not worthy of conversation on a national platform other than hosts who just want to grab the low-hanging fruit. LeBron, we'll skip him for next week. I'm sure there'll be more earth-shattering developments. Luka has his decision to make. Does he decide to sign the extension this summer or wait for a year? They finally did something, anything, picking up DeAndre Ayton. and I realized that this team was a donut with nothing in the middle. Well, who's responsible for that? Rob Palenka. And for all the people who just bow at the basketball IQ of J.J.

18:26Redick, who's a bright guy, I'm not going to undermine his hoops intellect. Did he forget he had a bench matching up with Minnesota? Did he go to a Tom Thibodeau TED Talk who said, no, no, no, just play your starters and beat them into the ground? Because he got outcoached by Chris Finch. Also, it's an indictment that if you want to support J.J., who's he going to put in? Because that's how flimsy this roster is. So all Laker talk all the time is the same as all Cowboy talk all the time, understanding the Lakers have actually won something. That was hyperbolic. Cowboys haven't even made a conference championship game in nearly 30 years.

19:12But this is what we do in sports media. We gravitate towards the bright, shiny objects. I could talk about Memphis. I haven't even hit on the Warriors, although age is your concern. And if Steph is already now breaking down, it's not going to get better or worse. And Jimmy Butler is 140 years old. But to me, here's why I enjoy the NBA, because the transaction, and Dan Lebitard came up with this line, I want to give him credit, the transaction in hoops is often more fascinating than the action, and we'll have plenty of time to continue this conversation when I'm back with you on Monday. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen, 844-204-7424.

19:56Last call for phone calls, hit me up on the X platform, BWWeber. Weber with two Bs straight ahead. We return to the diamond. We've hit on the Yankees. The Mets, the Dodgers, I'll stay big, market-centric. We'll take you to Chicago as well. Are the Cubs still the team to beat in the National League Central? Looking forward to spotlighting the bigs with Levi Weaver of The Athletic. I'm Brian Weber, always having a good time with you. When I'm in for Rich, this is The Rich Eisen Show.

20:36Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports. Teams battling through adversity. Athletes fighting for every yard. The toughest warriors I've ever seen, though, aren't on the field. They're kids fighting cancer. They're families standing beside them. Doctors, nurses, caregivers. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 28 years, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research, raising more than$303 million and supporting over 40 ,000 children. Learn more and donate at HyundaiUSA.com backslash hope on wheels. Replace your worn out wiper blades during O 'Rewards member appreciation month at O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

21:12Receive two times O 'Rewards points and save$10 when you purchase a pair of Rain-X Latitude wiper blades. They will even install them for free at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. It's Saturday. Kickoff's getting close and your weekend project just hit a wall. You're short on materials or you need one more tool for the job. Turns out that quick fix needs a quick assist. That's the perfect time to call an audible with express delivery from the Home Depot. Order in the app or online. Get what you need delivered fast and track updates along the way so you can finish your project in time for the first snap. Get what you need in two hours or less with express delivery from the Home Depot.

21:47Subject to availability, order select in-stock items by 4 p.m. Restrictions and fees apply. Pleased to be joined now by Levi Weaver. He handles the Windup MLB newsletter for The Athletic. And Levi, as we have our first conversation, I want to tell you, you have the greatest X-handle I've encountered in a long time as someone who loves baseball history and often throws out the name Rip Sewell. Tell me how you arrived at the 3-2 Ephus as your Twitter. I don't work for Eli. I don't work for Eli. How did you get 3-2 Ephus as your X-handle? Yeah, so I am not a pitcher. I played infield in high school, and then when I was like 19, I was playing in an amateur league, and they asked, hey, do you want to try to pitch?

22:38And I was like, sure, I'll try it. And I was not very good. I walked a couple guys, came up a couple hits, two outs, bases loaded, a full count, and I was like, all right, I got to trick this guy. so I acted like I was really upset stomping around the mound and I I leer in with my my best uh just sort of glare kick the dirt a little bit and wind up and just throw the slowest pitch I could possibly throw and it was like a Bugs Bunny like he swung at it three times grounded out to second base and I remember thinking like in those moments when you're frustrated like maybe don't take yourself so seriously and maybe try to do something fun even when it's stressful and so that's kind of and a mantra for me, and that's how I came up with the handle.

23:19I love it. Should I tell the kids Rip Sewell threw the EFAS pitch and then Ted Williams hammered them? But I'll save that for my podcast. Back in the day with B-Webb, I want to be more contemporary. Levi, this is a simplistic question, but that's what we do in Sports Talk Radio. What is wrong with the Yankees? Boy. I mean, they're cursed, I think. I don't have a good explanation. They've got good players. And yeah, you could point to things like Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a very good second baseman and not a very good third baseman. So why are they accommodating DJ LeMahieu and moving Chisholm to third by letting LeMahieu play at second?

24:03LeMahieu's been one of the worst players in the league. Why not just sort of jettison him and let Chisholm be good at second baseman and figure out third base? Then you've only got one. There are a few little things, but I can't say that I can point to one thing and go, well, this is a very easy thing that they could fix. It just may have some injuries in the bullpen. But I don't know. And I know that's not a great answer for bringing an analyst. No, you can also say that's baseball. And look, let me be transparent. I talk too much about sports media and how we've arrived at our current dilemma of just talking all football all the time.

24:42And, Levi, if I'm giving you Rip Sewell, that should tell you I love baseball. There you go, yeah. The problem with trying to analyze baseball is it's random. It's flipping a coin 162 times. So football's easier. We just talk about quarterbacks. But I prefer baseball because it's more of an intellectual exercise. Right. I mean, the Pirates swept the Yankees last weekend. And that should not happen. And you can point to reasons of, like, here's what the Yankees – sorry, the Mets. Pirates swept the Mets. You can point to reasons. Here's what the Mets did wrong. here's what the Pirates do right, but play that series 100 times in a simulation, and the Pirates sweep, what, maybe five times out of 100.

25:22It could happen. There are things that they did wrong that you can point out, but those things just happen in baseball, and there's so many different ways the ball can bounce. There's so many different ways that a throw can go wrong or a pitch is half an inch off of where the pitcher aimed, and you're right. It is kind of like there's reason, but it feels very random, and I love that too. But it makes it very hard for me to tell you what's wrong with the Yankees. Sure, sure. And I was being glib, too, as a fill-in guy. But you know how it works. It's an overarching question, and then you have plenty of room to take it anywhere you want.

25:55Check out Levi Weaver's great work, the Windup MLB newsletter. Levi, I'll just have you online for a few more minutes because I appreciate you making yourself available. You mentioned the Mets. to me, if I'm just trying to be objective and put the rosters Philly versus New York, I think the Phillies are a better team. That's why they're in first place. How do you view them comparatively, Phillies versus the Mets? I mean, the Phillies definitely have a stronger rotation on paper. The Mets have kind of shown that their philosophy is to spend money more on position players and kind of just play it as they go with the starting rotation.

26:33As a result, I think the Mets need at least one more starting pitcher, maybe two. The Phillies, if they get Nolapak, Zach Wheeler, that rotation is one of the better rotations in baseball if they're healthy. And when it comes to being in the playoffs, being in the strong rotation is just such a differentiator. The Mets have a very good set of position players. I think their offense is right there with Philadelphia. But yeah, if you ask me right now who I think is going to win the NL East, I do give the Phillies a nod just by a narrow margin. Final question. I devoted a good portion of the last hour to trying to add context to the brilliant career of Clayton Kershaw, just the fourth left-hander to get the 3 ,000 strikeouts.

27:19Now the pushback would be, and to me this is just lazy, but yeah, but the postseason. So how do you balance everything he's done magnificently over the course of 162 with an ERA over four and a half come playoff time. I think it's what we were just talking about with baseball being as random as it is because the performance by Kershaw has not, if you go back and watch the games, like it's not been that he all of a sudden sucked. It's that the pitches that he was making during the regular season, that would be a fly out. He's been fine. and it's such a, and I get it that it's a big sample size as far as, you know, careers go, but just being in the playoff period is a small sample size.

28:06You would not look at, you know, a batter after 80 games in the big leagues and go, well, we know who exactly this guy is. But if they do 80 playoff games, you go, wow, that's a huge sample size for the playoff. It is a crapshoot. There's so much randomness. And that's why you get teams like, you know, I always harken back to 2023. when the two World Series teams were the Rangers and the Diamondbacks. And it's like neither of those teams should have been the best team in their league. So you get in the playoffs, you get hot, and you go. And so for Kershaw, sure, it's been not a great track record in the playoffs, but the consistency is in the grind of the year after year after year after year.

28:45He has absolutely been one of the best pitchers in the league. So I think it's unfortunate for him that his playoff track record is what it is, but I'm not going to be like, you know, this guy doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame because he's spit the bit a couple of times in the playoffs. I don't think that has anything to do with him not being a competitor or choking or any of that. I mean, I'll say the same thing about LeBron James until he wants some rings. Levi, we greatly appreciate you taking the time, especially on a holiday. As we say goodbye, you mentioned the Bugs Bunny pitch, one of my favorite cartoons as a kid.