Hour 1: Schatz Fired

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz: Hour 1 - "Schatz Fired"

Release Date: February 13, 2025

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Introduction

In the first hour of this episode titled "Schatz Fired," hosts Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, along with their co-hosts Mike Ryan and Greg Cody, delve deep into the evolving landscape of sports analytics and its impact on the enjoyment and coverage of sports. The conversation is vibrant, opinionated, and filled with insightful debates about the balance between statistical analysis and the visceral appreciation of sports.

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The Impact of Analytics on Sports Coverage

Key Discussion:
The primary focus of this episode revolves around the increasing role of analytics in sports journalism and its reception among fans and professionals alike. The hosts dissect whether the infusion of data-driven insights enhances or detracts from the traditional, more intuitive ways of enjoying sports.

Notable Points:

• Greg Cody's Perspective on NFL Media's Factions:
  Greg outlines three distinct groups within NFL media:

  1. Basic Fans: Those who enjoy the game without immersing themselves in detailed statistics.
  2. Advanced Analysts: Professionals like ball watchers, jargon users, and film analysts, whom Greg believes particularly irk personalities like Charlie.
  3. Stats Nerds: Individuals who delve deep into numbers, potentially diminishing the fun for others.

  Quote:
  Greg Cody (05:00): “I think it's... it's... It has ruined sports watching in a way, because you get extraneous information that's too much. I don't have the bandwidth to give a shit whether a running back is running 18.6 miles an hour or 19.4 miles.”

• Balancing Data and Enjoyment:
  The conversation highlights the challenge of integrating advanced statistics without overwhelming or alienating the average fan. Dan emphasizes the difficulty commentators face in delivering insightful analysis on the fly without losing the audience’s engagement.

  Quote:
  Dan Le Batard (09:19): “It's very difficult to do it well, especially to do it on the fly, like, when you're watching a game.”

• The Role of Personal Preference:
  Stugatz notes that while some fans appreciate deep analytical dives, others prefer the straightforward excitement of gameplay without the overlay of complex data.

  Quote:
  Stugatz (17:38): “It's very rare, Dan. I'm all for advanced metrics. As long as someone can explain them to me in a way that I could understand...”

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The Marlins Hall of Fame Debate

Key Discussion:
A significant portion of the episode centers on whether David Sampson, the former president of the Miami Marlins, deserves a spot in the team's Hall of Fame. The debate touches on his contributions, the financial deals he secured, and the ethical implications of his tenure.

Notable Points:

• Sampson's Contributions vs. Ethical Considerations:
  Greg Cody staunchly defends Sampson's role in securing the new ballpark and his business acumen, arguing that Sampson did his job by negotiating favorable terms for the Marlins. Conversely, Stugatz criticizes the long-term negative impacts of Sampson's decisions on the fan base and the team's reputation.

  Quote:
  Greg Cody (29:05): “David Sampson did exactly what he was supposed to do as a club president. It was the politicians' job to protect the citizens and they didn't do their job.”

  Counterpoint:
  Stugatz (29:28): “But when they got the new ballpark. David did that team did spend money.”

• Legacy and Public Perception:
  The hosts debate the notion of legacy within sports management, questioning whether financial success and infrastructure development are sufficient for Hall of Fame induction, especially when weighed against the community's sentiments.

  Quote:
  Greg Cody (33:52): “It's a great class. And by the way, throw in one Super Bowl, one World Series...”

• Accountability and Responsibility:
  Dan and Greg discuss the broader implications of holding individuals like Sampson accountable versus shifting blame to elected officials, underscoring the complex interplay between business decisions and public welfare.

  Quote:
  Dan Le Batard (37:38): “We live in a capitalistic society where money can exert influence over elected officials. It can win people elections.”

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Navigating Personal and Professional Relationships

Key Discussion:
The dynamic between hosts, particularly the teasing and ribbing among Greg Cody, Billy Corbin, and others, reflects the camaraderie and underlying tensions that often surface in collaborative environments.

Notable Points:

• Teasing and Banter:
  The hosts engage in playful mockery, especially concerning personal anecdotes and past interactions, adding humor and relatability to the conversation.

  Quote:
  Greg Cody (35:12): “He's a jackass. He can be in his... in his animus toward me.”

• Respect and Professionalism:
  Despite the banter, there is an undercurrent of respect and acknowledgment of each other's expertise and contributions to the show.

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The Future of Sports Media

Key Discussion:
Towards the end of the episode, the conversation shifts to the evolving nature of sports media, particularly the rise of podcasts and the abundance of both high-quality and subpar content available to listeners.

Notable Points:

• Diversity of Content:
  Dan reflects on how the proliferation of media platforms has democratized sports coverage, allowing for a wider range of perspectives but also leading to an influx of less credible or oversimplified analyses.

  Quote:
  Dan Le Batard (12:44): “But you can also find, like, way worse coverage. Like, you can find the dumbest, like, most overly simplified or just bad coverage of a play that's just incorrect and wrong because the access to posting that stuff's gotten a lot easier, too.”

• Quality Over Quantity:
  The hosts emphasize the importance of seeking out reliable and insightful sources amidst the vast sea of available content, advocating for a balance between entertainment and informative analysis.

  Quote:
  Mike Ryan (15:10): “...people will trust that you are informed enough with the right numbers and you will change their minds on Things with things that you have learned because you're able to back it up with facts that the open-minded will then become fans of consuming football through a different person.”

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Conclusion

In "Schatz Fired," The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz navigates complex discussions surrounding the role of analytics in sports, the contentious debate over David Sampson's legacy with the Miami Marlins, and the challenges of maintaining quality in the burgeoning landscape of sports media. Through spirited debates, personal anecdotes, and a blend of humor and critical analysis, the hosts provide listeners with a multifaceted exploration of contemporary issues in sports.

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Highlighted Quotes:

• Greg Cody (05:00): “I think it has ruined sports watching in a way, because you get extraneous information that's too much.”

• Dan Le Batard (09:19): “It's very difficult to do it well, especially to do it on the fly, like, when you're watching a game.”

• Greg Cody (29:05): “David Sampson did exactly what he was supposed to do as a club president.”

• Dan Le Batard (37:38): “We live in a capitalistic society where money can exert influence over elected officials.”

• Mike Ryan (15:10): “People will trust that you are informed enough with the right numbers and you will change their minds.”

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting the critical discussions and varying perspectives presented by the hosts, while omitting the segments dedicated to advertisements and non-content sections.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

You're listening to giraffkings Network.

[Stugatz]

You know that sound? It's the sound of money hitting your Venmo account. A friend paying you back. Or maybe it's getting cash back from your favorite business when you pay with the Venmo debit card. Or it's realizing you can pay with Venmo at checkout at thousands of brands. Now there are so many more ways to answer the question. What's your Venmo? Download Venmo. Today, the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. DOSH cashback terms apply. Wow.

[Greg Cody]

What's up?

[Stugatz]

I just bought and financed a car through Carvana in minutes.

[Dan Le Batard]

You, the person who agonized four weeks.

[Greg Cody]

Over whether to paint your walls eggshell.

[Stugatz]

Or off white, bought and financed a car in minutes. They made it easy. Transparent terms, customizable, down and monthly.

[Greg Cody]

Didn't even have to do any paperwork. Wow.

[Stugatz]

Hey, have you checked out that spreadsheet I sent? Dinner options.

[Dan Le Batard]

Finance your car with Carvana and experience total control financing subject to credit approval.

[Stugatz]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Mike Ryan]

As we celebrate 20 years around here in this particular room with my friends who are beat up and tired and have a lot to do. Greg Cody's got to run out of here a little bit before the chefs get here. Stu Gods has to run out of here because he's got a ton of things to do with God bless football, which is growing great. And Chris Sims is great and Bomani Jones is on a recent episode and that's great. And as they get tired and stuff and get beat up running trying to make this a video company as well as an audio company, I am reminded of the most wonderful times in this show's history when it behaved as only a radio show. Only a thing that was heard that didn't behave as if it was watched and was intimate. Watch intimate because it was heard. And I close my eyes during the break and I hear that show sometimes when Stugatz is talking to whomever it is that he's talking to off the air. And when my eyes are closed, it sounds like the voice of the devil wandering around trying to tempt people into bad things. And so what I just heard that put a smile on my face while my eyes were closed and I had gotten the breath, you know, the blessed relief of Stu got not Machine Gun talking at everybody all day. I heard our radio show when he simply said to somebody, I do not know who it is, Google obscure porn names and see if any of them sound like a fullback.

[Stugatz]

That was me.

[Mike Ryan]

He was talking to you. Yeah.

[Stugatz]

We're looking for a potential new game.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes.

[Stugatz]

Fullbacker. Porn star. Yes.

[Mike Ryan]

I thought he was talking to Mali because now all of a sudden. So I don't what I'm telling you about what's happening around here because we got so much spinning around at all times. The audio stugat and please, video. Let's check in right now with Jessica as she shovels oatmeal into her face. She's taken. She was very. She was very good about waiting today instead of eating it like the bird seed last week. But you must be hungry. We've gone two very fast hours and there hasn't been a lot of fuel around here.

[Dan Le Batard]

I made the mistake of making oatmeal today for my granola. It's like a oat on oat with oat milk crime, I guess. And it takes five to 10 minutes to like steep in the little cup. So the whole break I was just waiting for it to be ready. And now it's finally ready. But the show's about to start. But if I wait a half hour, it's going to be cold, so I have to eat it. I really don't have a choice. And I've heard that people really like when I'm eating on air, they like the sound of me chewing while I talk.

[Mike Ryan]

Is there honey on that? Do you put. How do you sweeten that up or is it just oats on it?

[Dan Le Batard]

My granola has a nice little brown sugar maple flavor, so it's very sweet. Dan J.T.

[Stugatz]

Blanco. Blondie Black. Fullback or pointstar. Blondie Black.

[Mike Ryan]

Keep working on it. We will see if what we can get off the ground there.

[Stugatz]

Fullback. Fullback.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, what a new game.

[Mike Ryan]

I think it's a good game. I think it's got some potential. Or fullback. Or we could do it this way. We can listen to Dominique Foxworth here and I want to get the analysis of the group on this and I will see if I agree with your analysis or if I disagree with your analysis of my analysis. But let's see. Dominique Foxworth talking about whether or not analytics have made the game less fun to cover. Talk about. Watch.

[Greg Cody]

Probably like three factions or I guess disciplines of NFL media and it's one like the guys who are probably closer to how we were when we were like teenagers and preteens where it's like that's just dope. Like, like you just like excited because something's cool. Like you don't you read a couple articles here or there? But you don't live and breathe this stuff. You're not like a crazy sports gambler. You're like, this is really cool. And it's just like the basic fan, and then there's like, an advanced level of it, I would guess. And that there is, like, the ball watchers and the jargon users and the film guys, which I think these two groups are the ones that I think offend Charlie specifically more than the other ones. And then there's the other group where it's like a. Like, this is homework, where it's like the. The stats nerds, where they just kind of suck all the fun out of it. And I think. Or not all the fun out of it, where they're looking to solve the.

[Stugatz]

Problem, which, like, speak definitively on topic. There would take out the gray area of a game that's really complicated.

[Greg Cody]

And I could speak to this specifically because I think when I first got into media, like, I recognized that I am who I am. So I try to overcompensate. Like, my own personal insecurity is like, oh, no, you guys aren't smarter than me. I can get as deep into these analytics as. As anybody can. And then I realized that I started dreading, like, getting ready for this, because it was much fun to watch the game and then be like, you know what? This is dope. Now let me go find what the numbers say about this particular player or this player. Because you know what the reason why we like sports is because it's cool, and somebody did something that was cool or interesting that drove me to want to go into it. Like, going the other way, I think sometimes is problematic. Yeah, it sounded like he was sort of seeing both sides, seeing the value in all of it, and at the same time, being afraid of it. I'm totally afraid of it and don't see the value in it. I think it's. It's. It's. It has ruined sports watching in a way, because you get extraneous information that's too much. I don't have the bandwidth to give a shit whether a running back is running 18.6 miles an hour or 19.4 miles.

[Mike Ryan]

You're just cleaning up in late life the clutter that is in your mind. You don't have time for those things in the attic. Like, you're just. You're doing some house cleaning and you're like this. I'm tapped out on all of this. Yeah, I've got enough information. More information is not helpful. So you're making anything that's more information, you're making it extraneous.

[Greg Cody]

The last advancement in analytics that I condone is when baseball invented a way to sort of combine slugging percentage and on base percentage. I thought that was pretty cool because that combined the guy who knows how to take a walk. Yeah, the guy.

[Stugatz]

Ops.

[Greg Cody]

That's.

[Mike Ryan]

That's the stat. Jessica's laughing through her oatmeal at the idea that that's the one that you thought was the cool one.

[Greg Cody]

She's snorting oatmeal.

[Mike Ryan]

Ops.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Stugatz]

But how do you feel about Ops Plus?

[Greg Cody]

I'm. Again, it.

[Stugatz]

How do you feel about Opp O. P.S.

[Greg Cody]

I like that, baby. Oh, yeah. Billy thought he was gonna sneak that past me. I'm hip.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, you're hip because you know Naughty by nature, baby. You're hip because you know something from the early 90s.

[Greg Cody]

Damn right I did.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

You know me.

[Stugatz]

I.

[Mike Ryan]

It's a good song. I'll turn it up every. I'll turn it up every time it's in my car.

[Greg Cody]

Great song. And listen. That's another song. I always turn up Vanilla Ice.

[Mike Ryan]

That's different. And we should stop talking about this now.

[Dan Le Batard]

I listened to this podcast yesterday on my run, and I thought they did a really good job of explaining, like, you know, what sort of resonates with people listening, because there are people that are really good at incorporating analytics into their analysis and not just sort of rattling off stats that most people just kind of tune out of because they don't really understand what they're listening to, but there's like, sort of a. Like, different schools of thought. And like, for me, like, I think that, you know, trying to remember that most people are watching the game because they like to watch the plays and they like the players. And it's very, like, person focused is kind of how I enjoy it and how I think most people enjoy it. And then if you have like a. A stat or something cool to back up what you're watching, that seems to be a good way to blend the two. But it's very difficult to do it well, especially to do it on the fly, like, when you're watching a game, which is why, like, you know, there are certain people that are very, very good at doing that, like the. The color commentators of the world not named Tom Brady. And it's a difficult. It's a very difficult job.

[Stugatz]

I think with you look at sports, there's only a certain faction of people that can look at sports in the Matrix. Sense of zeros and ones. Right. I feel like if you work for the team and your job is to figure out, all right, this guy is better than this guy because of this reason. That's when you can look at sports as just a binary set of numbers. Everybody else should be vibes, right? Like, that's what we should be doing. We should be watching the games and be like, wow, Josh Allen. I don't know how to quantify that. He's 6 5, and you could just be unstoppable at running. No, I know. Except when He Quantifying the 65 is easy.

[Mike Ryan]

Right?

[Greg Cody]

Of course.

[Stugatz]

But the quantifying, the part where why does he go to the left every time and then get stopped instead of going straight forward? That's the part where I'm like, all right, somebody explain to me why he just keeps going left.

[Mike Ryan]

One of my favorite things between Billy and Tony, it's been happening since I met Tony. When Tony geeks out on sports and gets excited about sports and makes a bunch of threes on Instagram, Billy gets there in a hurry to be like, you shouldn't be that serious about sports.

[Stugatz]

That's geeking out as him saying people should be about vibes.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, no, he's just excited about what he's talking about. Tony is still excited by sports.

[Stugatz]

He just. He's had a kid, and he just needs to talk to someone is what's going on. So now he has a microphone. He's like, oh, and everything's popping out.

[Mike Ryan]

All right, so. But because he's passionate about football. Football is one of his wheelhouses. Football is where he gets to unravel some of his personality and what Jessica's talking about. She says it's hard. Can you, in short bursts, give me information and entertain me so that I want to listen when you're talking and you're not droning. But you mentioned Jessica schools of thought. And I do believe that people do not want schools with their. Unless they're around the nil money. Like, they don't want to think of classrooms. They don't actually want to think too much about thought. But that part is confusing to me because we have an industrial complex that really feeds this thing that is filled with thought. So at the beginning, stug outs of my radio career, one of the things that I was doing is I was talking to Billy Beane about Moneyball. I was doing a lot on the air, off the air, and Billy Beane was, like, sort of interested in the way that mainstream media wasn't interested in the math of what it is that he was doing at a time that he was, you know, exploiting inefficiencies in his business model, the economy of sports. Well, but. But also somebody who's doing this stuff. We're talking about measurements, like where Billy Beane's trading for a player in the minor leagues and never sees him play. He's just looking at numbers on a sheet. And so we're doing this to sports with fantasy. And everywhere we do it where we get impatient with the Chiefs with three years of excellence, because it's like, I want to analyze all this, but the excellence keep entertaining me, keep giving me more. But Greg saying, not more numbers, not more math, not more information. And I think Dominique is right when he's saying the best parts of sports are where Tony geeks out because somebody makes an amazing catch. You don't need it quantified. You can't quantify it.

[Stugatz]

Dominique needs to name names because he's very much dancing around the. He has people in mind, and he's afraid to say the names of the people he has in mind. And he's dancing around it for some reason. Like who?

[Dan Le Batard]

There are some of his coworkers, probably.

[Stugatz]

Some of his coworkers, some of his friends, guests on this show. What you to name a Aaron Shots.

[Mike Ryan]

All right, Shots Fired. Shots fired. Go ahead and find that if. If you do have that music executive producer at your disposal, if you're going to do Shots Fired, you can put audio. Yeah, don't worry about the radio audience.

[Dan Le Batard]

They also talked on the podcast with Brian Curtis about, like, if sports coverage especially, like, football's gotten better or worse. And he was like, well, both, like, you can find really good stuff in podcasts or written form or on a substack or whatever that, like, you couldn't find, like, 20 years ago, wouldn't be in the newspaper or wouldn't be, like, on, you know, the ESPN home site. But you can also find, like, way worse coverage. Like, you can find the dumbest, like, most overly simplified or just bad coverage of a play that's just incorrect and wrong because the access to posting that stuff's gotten a lot easier, too. So, I mean, there really is something out there for everyone which, you know, is maybe good and also bad. Bad if you're trying to actually understand what you're watching.

[Mike Ryan]

You, though, I believe in terms of the people that we have here in this room, I believe amongst all of us, maybe Tony would have an objection to this, but I believe that you care enough about this sport. And being more informed about this sport because you're passionate about it, that you glide effortlessly between both of these worlds on wanting to be more informed, wanting to learn, not having the learning spoil your enjoyment. And then gravitate toward the people who are giving you that information in the smartest and most entertaining way. I would imagine that you're doing something that not a lot of people in this room are doing where they're going. They are seeking out some of the higher, better information to go with their candy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. And even that, I'm like, I wonder how much like to even incorporate into it. Like, Lucy and I do like a 25 minute college football segment when I watch games on Saturdays. I'm always looking at Game on Paper, which is a great website where they break down all of the different, like, advanced stats for every college football. Every FBS college football game that weekend. And like, I'll go back and I'll look at like, what was this team's success rate? Was, how does this team rank here, how does this team rank there? And like, sometimes it just like won't even come up. We don't have time to really talk about all of that. But you could also just look at it and be like, this team, like, if you watch the game, you might have thought like, it was not a great offensive performance, but the stats actually show that it was pretty good. What is. What is like an accessible statistic you can use? Like, is it just something like, you know, how well, how many times did they convert on third down? Like, how many times do they do this or that? You can sort of find easier ways to explain it sometimes. But I even wonder, like, how many people really care about that sort of thing. Or do they just want to laugh at, like, look at this funny blocked punt in this college football game. Like, I think it's just something that everyone has to find the balance.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, I would say though that one of the things that has to happen in the consumption of this information, specifically in the modern age stugats, because there are more avenues to your information and more menu choices than you have ever had. But I think what ends up happening is that somebody either likes you or believes in the way that you're chewing all of this up and regurgitating it. Like, perform your. I understand why it is that you would be hesitant to caught in the weeds for 75 seconds talking math in a way that is an obvious tune out. But over time, people will trust that you are informed enough with the right numbers and you will change their minds on Things with things that you have learned because you're able to back it up with facts that the open minded will then become fans of consuming football through a different person. Orlovsky has done this exceptionally. He has changed the way that people view Orlovsky. He was and I know people make fun of him at ESPN and I know that he's guilty of this thing that you're accusing Dominic of which he doesn't want to criticize anybody in a profession where he still wants jobs which is a really hard needle to thread on how you do criticism in public. You better be good at the other stuff. Giving people your weird, giving people your personality, having strong opinions if you're going to have what was his quarterback credibility which is you don't know how to do this. You ran out of the back of the end zone to. No, you're an expert and I trust your expertise because you're giving it to me in a way that's both digestible and entertaining in a way that impresses me. And furthermore, you don't seem to want to work in this business. You seem to want to work in football for real. Not off to the side in the middle of it. That's how much you love what it is that you're watching that you're not actually being very critical of some of the people in the way your colleagues are.

[Stugatz]

Billy's afraid to say it's Mina.

[Greg Cody]

I mean.

[Mike Ryan]

Is it they have to.

[Greg Cody]

Maintain a path r not like the Falcons and they'll have to do that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mean is actually the best example of like doing it all well. Like she can break down things really well but also just explain it like regularly. And it's not like you're like what the hell is she talking about?

[Mike Ryan]

Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

So good. I mean good for me.

[Stugatz]

It's very rare, Dan. I'm all for advanced metrics. As long as someone can explain them to me in a way that I could understand that I could digest them and they have impact on what it is I'm actually watching. To Greg's point, I don't need 18 miles per hour. I don't care how fast you're running, are you scoring touchdowns, I don't care how quickly you get there, are you scoring six points. That's all I care. And Tony is so right about the vibe. I love Tony Romo. That's how fans love football. It's a vibe.

[Mike Ryan]

Big play, right Jim?

[Stugatz]

Yes, they're down here.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying to my wife.

[Dan Le Batard]

Another good example though. Great vibes. He can explain what's happening on a play and he's not gonna get, like, super bogged down and stuff. And then he also just will say, like, he'll make a weird noise and it's funny.

[Stugatz]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's a legend. I love Tony.

[Mike Ryan]

I love him.

[Dan Le Batard]

They tried to turn me on. Tony Romo.

[Stugatz]

Don't let him. Don't let the haters do that. Why don't you?

[Dan Le Batard]

Can't make me hate Tony Romo. I think he's great.

[Mike Ryan]

I will. I will share with the audience what is happening there on a Wild Billy Thursday.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

Billy is executive producing his own show for the six fans who find him the most uproarious. Because he is the most uproarious when he makes these particular jokes for these six fans.

[Stugatz]

A to B, then.

[Mike Ryan]

So A to B. Billy Gill, in charge of. Billy Chill, in charge of executive producing, has just decided because I stared at him three minutes ago and he saw the furnace in my eye. He saw the rage in my eyes that we did not instantaneously have the Aaron Shot. Shots. Shots. Music. So that is Aaron Shots Laughing. No one in the audience knows that except for three people who know that Billy's producing the show and he's Shots fired. It's Aaron Shotz laughing.

[Stugatz]

Good laugh. I assume a Suey nominee.

[Mike Ryan]

Why can you not find in the library the Shots Shots Shots that plays every time we have Aaron Schatz on answering your fast phone calls?

[Stugatz]

I don't think we got that. That from espn. I put in here Aaron Shots. Aaron Shots. Laugh. Aaron Shots Interview. But there's no shots.

[Mike Ryan]

How are you spelling shots?

[Stugatz]

S, C, H, A, T, Z. And then I tried to misspell it a couple different ways, and all I found here. Yeah, I mean, in Billy's defense, he did have the Mina Kimes sound at the ready. And the laugh. I mean, who could forget what Greg.

[Mike Ryan]

Cody just did there where he turned shots to Shaq.

[Greg Cody]

Spells it with an A.

[Stugatz]

Probably a rough childhood for Larry, right?

[Greg Cody]

It's your own name.

[Mike Ryan]

Put it on the poll, please. Juju at Levitage show. Is it a rough childhood for you if your last name is Shat?

[Stugatz]

Try Wiener on for size.

[Greg Cody]

Want to hear about it?

[Mike Ryan]

Look at Billy admiring his own work there with the Hakeem Next laugh.

[Greg Cody]

That is a good laugh.

[Stugatz]

You think he gave me the joke.

[Greg Cody]

Of my last name?

[Mike Ryan]

He looked very pleased with. With himself. Yeah. I tend to recognize his look. Yes, I believe he reminded you what your last name is. Yes, I do believe that. I've been watching him do it for years, folks.

[Stugatz]

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[Dan Le Batard]

All right, I know I got to do this ad read, but hold on, let me reapply. Did you hear that? Yep.

[Greg Cody]

That's my new favorite lip gloss from Nyx Cosmetics.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Greg Cody]

Try Fat Oil Lip Drip from Nyx.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Stugatz]

Wow.

[Greg Cody]

What's up?

[Stugatz]

I just bought and financed a car through Carvana in minutes.

[Dan Le Batard]

You? The person who agonized four weeks over.

[Greg Cody]

Whether to paint your walls eggshell or.

[Dan Le Batard]

Off white, bought and financed a car in minutes.

[Stugatz]

They made it easy. Transparent terms, customizable, down and monthly.

[Greg Cody]

Didn't even have to do any paperwork. Wow.

[Stugatz]

Hey, have you checked out that spreadsheet.

[Dan Le Batard]

I sent you for our dinner? Options finance your car with Carvana and experience total control. Financing subject to credit approval.

[Mike Ryan]

Don LeBatard.

[Greg Cody]

Quiet, man.

[Stugatz]

Yes.

[Greg Cody]

You know, I'm a married man. I don't cheat on my wife. Despite that gratuitous line in back in my stugats, I wish you were here. My wife, I really miss her. No, I don't. That's the thing about being married, you know. You're not allowed to say, I don't miss my wife. I've been gone two days. I haven't been gone long enough to miss my wife. I'm sorry. I call her. I'm on the phone with her. 30 seconds. You know, what am I. Hello? All right. All right, we'll see you. All right. And then, you know, I'm gonna see her in two days. I was jumping Charlie.

[Stugatz]

Good. This is the Dan Levatar show with the stug.

[Mike Ryan]

Can you guys get for me, please? The sound yesterday from David Sampson when he was on with us. Because I came in today and people were arguing about it because Billy wasn't on yesterday and Jessica wasn't on yesterday, but Billy was delighting in the idea that David Sampson announced to everyone listening that he himself should be in the Marlins hall of Fame.

[Stugatz]

I'm guessing David thinks he should be in the Marlins hall of Fame, and I'm not. I'm not certain he's wrong. I mean, he did win a World Series as team president and got a ballpark opened. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

And so do I think that I.

[Stugatz]

Should be in the first class? Absolutely not. Do I think that when you look at important figures in the history of the franchise. Am I in that conversation? I don't. I don't know how to argue against that.

[Greg Cody]

Wow. How about that hall of Fame? The Marlins invent a Hall of Fame for themselves. How about joining a Hall of spending money on players? What they need is a new owner right now. And to David Sampson's credit, at least, when he and Lauria were running the franchise, they Went, you know, they had fire sales but they spent money. They gave, you know, Stanton a big contract.

[Stugatz]

How dare you say the Marlins didn't spend money. They signed Cal Quantrell yesterday. They are no longer the lowest spending team this offseason. Why don't you go talk to the Cardinals or the Brewers? Greg Cody, how about their owners? Samson is no longer running the team though. To Greg Samson could be in the hall of Infam.

[Greg Cody]

Me no.

[Stugatz]

But when they got the new ballpark. David did that team did spend money.

[Greg Cody]

Now they didn't spend it.

[Stugatz]

Well. What are we doing Revisionist history, guys. They really enough time passes and we can. Anyone can look good so bad. Well, it's just crazy.

[Greg Cody]

If you have Sherman.

[Dan Le Batard]

If you have a subheader in your wiki page that says subsequent ballpark related lawsuit also rico. Do you get. Well, also yes. RICO lawsuit following the sale of the Expo. So that's unrelated it to the Marlins, I guess. Do you get to be in that team's hall of Fame just going off Wikihead or Dan.

[Mike Ryan]

And so I ask you, are those convictions or those allegations like what are those settled? Like I think that lawsuits. I think O.J.

[Stugatz]

Didn'T kill anyone. Technically.

[Mike Ryan]

I. I don't know. I remember one time this, this, this will make you guys laugh. I went one time as an entrepreneurial reporter back when you would go to a library and actually just like look through things in film records and stuff. And I remember because I was and they had assigned me some things asking me to become a reporter when I wasn't really a reporter and didn't know how it is to go about this. And so I was looking up and found that the Miami Heat had been sued seven times. And so I'm looking at this and I'm like, okay, I've got something here. What is this? And alphabetically right after Heat is Miami Herald. It had been sued hundreds of times. Like, like I'm sitting there reporting on them on, on, on law. So I don't know here what is true and what is not true. Except beyond what Jeremy is saying, which is yes, if enough history passes, people will forget the bad things that you have done. Because there is no circumstance under which anyone in this town would make an argument on behalf of David Sampson for a Marlins hall of Fame after.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, you may not know about like the status of the lawsuit which was dismissed, but you do obviously know about the ballpark deal, right?

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, yes, yes. But they hall of Fame worthy. They didn't do anything illegal with the ballpark they did things that would be considered, I guess, business immoral. But everyone investigated everything. Like you can't. He got a ballpark built in a town that does not thank him for building that ballpark. And he's not wrong. They didn't want it, but he's not wrong. No, they didn't want it, but he's not wrong when he says the business of baseball still exists in Miami because of that ballpark. It would be Oakland if not for that.

[Stugatz]

That could be his hall of Fame, though, because he's never getting into the hall of Fame. Like, not never, not even on his deathbed will he get into the hall of Fame. He's just at the. As a position of president of the team. He's not going to get into the hall of Fame just because of his position. And he's the most infamous of them and not well liked by anyone. Billy, I think yesterday it was agreed that it would need to be a tragic death for David Sampson for him to get in. How tragic? Like tragic. He would have to have a tragic. He would have to personally in order to potentially get into the hall of Fame like in the next two years and then how long after the fact.

[Mike Ryan]

I want to explore what Greg Cody just did there because thank you for taking up for David Sampson there. Greg Cody said, as does Chris Cody. I like him.

[Stugatz]

They like him personally, not as president of the Marlins.

[Greg Cody]

Well, here's the thing. David Sampson's job in that stadium deal was to negotiate the best possible deal for his business, the Miami Marlins. It was the responsibility of the city of Miami and Miami Dade county to protect the taxpayers and do their job by negotiating a deal that didn't be so lopsided for the Marlins. David Sampson did exactly what he was supposed to do as a club president. It was the politicos in regards to.

[Stugatz]

The stadium, though, because he completely turned off fan base for generations as president with on the field moves. So I would argue you that he did not do what he.

[Mike Ryan]

But you would not allow him into the hall of Fame even. Even if wheeled in on his deathbed.

[Stugatz]

Just as a visitor, like, even like a paying visitor. He could come as a fifth floor. He could go as a guest if he wants of someone. Well, I don't even know if he can go as a guest. They may not have.

[Mike Ryan]

Would you be okay? Would you be okay? Would.

[Stugatz]

I don't care.

[Mike Ryan]

Would Bill what you just said, not even on his deathbed.

[Stugatz]

That I'm saying get in. Not because of me. I'm not a voter. I have no say in who gets in, who doesn't. I'm just saying reality says he's not going to get into that. There's four people.

[Mike Ryan]

Billy, given that you're somebody who cares about the Marlins still.

[Stugatz]

I don't have a vote.

[Mike Ryan]

I understand that you don't have a vote. You're not as important as Greg Cody, who has many hall of fame votes.

[Greg Cody]

1. You.

[Mike Ryan]

You are a big Marlins fan. So I'm telling you, when David Sampson is on his deathbed.

[Stugatz]

Yeah. I don't know why we're doing this.

[Mike Ryan]

That's fine. How about you just let me do the show? Show. David Sampson is on his deathbed and he is outside the gates of the Marlins hall of Fame because he wants.

[Stugatz]

Wondering which gates he was a couple of them.

[Greg Cody]

You know, the gates.

[Mike Ryan]

He wants to be. He wants to be let in as a dying wish at the end, as an act of compassion and understanding that forgiveness is something that we should all aspire to.

[Stugatz]

Aspire to. Not reach.

[Mike Ryan]

Understood. I'm making you on this one day the gatekeeper. The one day I'm okay with you protecting Marlins fandom and how the fans feel about the Marlins. Do you allow a dying David Sampson on his deathbed to be wheeled in by gurney into the hall of Fame as a visitor, as only or invited guests?

[Stugatz]

Like he just wants to see the Hall?

[Mike Ryan]

I know he's a short trip.

[Stugatz]

There's only four people in it.

[Mike Ryan]

I know he's not going to say. I know he will not say that he will allow him to be in the hall of Fame enshrined. Right. Or would you?

[Stugatz]

What? Tony was talking in my ear. What are you asking me?

[Mike Ryan]

Would you be okay with him enshrined in the hall of Fame for the Marlins? Okay. So the only way you will allow him in is with a paying ticket on his deathbed?

[Stugatz]

Possibly. Maybe. We'll see. How long off is this?

[Mike Ryan]

How long would you like it to be?

[Stugatz]

I'm just asking. He takes it seriously.

[Greg Cody]

Dan.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Stugatz]

I'm not taking this question lightly.

[Mike Ryan]

Right.

[Stugatz]

It took what, 30 something years to even come into existence. Every other team has a willy nilly hall of Fame, The Red Sox, the Cardinals. Exactly. Right. What's ridiculous about one hall of Fame? That's it. The major one. If you can't get into that, you don't belong to the others. Are you okay with the class for the Marlins hall of Fame? The first class? I mean. Wait a minute. What do you. What do you mean you love the Marlins?

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, I don't want to talk about the Marlins first class.

[Stugatz]

It's a great class.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm wondering why Eric Greg's not in it. That's, that's why. He was just setting up that joke. He rode home with that joke yesterday that like, that's. I didn't even see it coming. The old veteran threw one past me. An Eric Greg joke.

[Stugatz]

And Conine is the first person in his.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a funny thing to put in the Marlins hall of Fame because I would also put in that hall of Fame the Roy Halliday that he threw a perfect game against us and we sold the ticket stubs afterward for profit.

[Greg Cody]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

Another David Sampson original. This is a good hall of Fame.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you.

[Dan Le Batard]

I found column that says. It's from the Tampa Bay Times. It says, Greg Cody Colon Lauria must sell Marlins to elicit cheer. And then in paragraph two, it says, you thought the death of Fidel Castro was celebrated down here. The departure of Lauria might run a close second.

[Stugatz]

Wow.

[Greg Cody]

I did write that. I remember.

[Stugatz]

But now Sampson deserves to be in the hall of Fame. Because he saved baseball? No, because Greg likes him.

[Greg Cody]

Right. First of all, I never said he deserves to be in the hall of Fame. But he was largely responsible for the new stadium.

[Stugatz]

Did you say that was a good thing at the time?

[Greg Cody]

It was a good thing for them, for the Marlins and for baseball fans.

[Stugatz]

Did you say that at the time?

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I, Jeffrey Lauria actually got along with me because I was one of the few people in the media who supported that deal for the Marlins and for baseball fans. While acknowledging it was a terrible deal for the city of Miami. But I never blamed Sampson for, for getting the best deal that he could. That was his job. And it was, it was a elected officials job to protect the citizens and the taxpayers. They didn't do their job. David Sampson did his job. And if I'm inducting a, a, a club president into the Marlins hall of Fame, I would put Samson in before I'd put Derek Jeter, I'll tell you that.

[Stugatz]

Well, yeah, I mean, well, that's, that's fair.

[Greg Cody]

Okay.

[Stugatz]

But.

[Greg Cody]

But I, I think the average fan would go, oh, Derek Jeter, superstar, we hate Sampson. Sampson did a better job as club president than Jeter did.

[Stugatz]

Greg, I'll just flatly say it. David Sampson belongs in the Marlins hall of Fame.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not the hall of. Did a better job.

[Stugatz]

Exactly right. None of the presidents have been great. I mean, he got a stadium and that's his legacy. The stadium's his legacy. They got their two Managers. That's good enough.

[Mike Ryan]

The thing that I would say about Greg Cody and Billy Corbin has been making fun of Greg Cody about this particular thing for years. Because, Jeremy, you would indeed be wrong. Greg Cody was very much for the idea of bilking a very poor region so that Greg Cody would have a place to park for free and go up to the press box and have free media hot dogs. And he wanted the taxpayers to pay for what is good for Greg Cody. And the business of Greg Cody and sports of Greg Cody. We all vote with our own interests. And Greg Cody was very publicly rooting for David Sampson because it was good for business down here in South Florida as opposed to Jessica, who's bad for the business of. Of just sports and football because Nick Wright says she's a doofus.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're right.

[Mike Ryan]

You were voting for you there. Greg Cody. Greg Cody. Billy Corbyn and you do not get along. And you have. You don't like Billy Corbyn.

[Greg Cody]

He's a jackass. He can be in his. In his animus toward me. And in other words, he can. He's got some jackass in him.

[Stugatz]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

And don't put words in my mouth. What I'm saying is it's David Sampson's job to get a stadium built and to make the best financial deal he could. And he did. It's not David Sampson's responsibility to protect the taxpayers. Elected officials are supposed to do that. They didn't do their job.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but wouldn't you argue that the city's editorial board being very pro a stadium does actually matter in this sort of like support of its constituents and readers?

[Greg Cody]

I don't recall what the Herald's editorial.

[Dan Le Batard]

It was very positive about this. I was just reading a blog post. Some of their.

[Mike Ryan]

As were you. As were you through?

[Greg Cody]

Yes, I was. Yeah. And I don't recoil from that. I don't recoil from that at all. The taxpayers have elected officials to represent them. Those are the ones to blame. My whole point is I don't blame the Marlins for doing the best job they could on to get a financial advice good deal for themselves. They did a great job. David was just doing his job. It's.

[Mike Ryan]

Exactly.

[Greg Cody]

And now his job is to negotiate against me.

[Dan Le Batard]

And now we're saying as collective Marlins fans in the room that he did his job, but that is not hall of Fame worthy.

[Stugatz]

Yeah, it's not the do your job of fame.

[Greg Cody]

I think Billy made a good point. If all your legacy is is that you got a stadium built and that arguably that Stadium saved baseball in South Florida. That's a pretty good legacy.

[Stugatz]

That's fine.

[Greg Cody]

And by the way, throw in one super bowl, one World Series, one World Series title. Yeah, right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Regardless of how many people in the neighborhood were negatively impacted by.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, let's blame the politicians for that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wow, there's plenty of blame to go around.

[Stugatz]

Drain the swamp.

[Greg Cody]

Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

I really.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, I was like seven when this happened, and I didn't live in Miami. I'm just trying to make the argument for doesn't belong in the hall of Fame.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, so. So the Billy Corbins of the world think to themselves, you know what? David Sampson, businessman, should have been a philanthropist on the. On the part of the people of Miami and said, hey, city commissioners, this deal's too lopsided for the Marlins. You got to do a better. We got to give you more money. We got to make the deal better for you. No, that was the politician's job, and they failed. And to this day, I don't.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, but like, let's. Let's like, stretch this out a little bit. Do you not put any personal blame on any business person or oligarch who gets away with fleecing people out of money just because an elected official gives them the power to do that?

[Greg Cody]

I do.

[Dan Le Batard]

David Sampson, out of the equation completely because we all know him personally. That's, I think, a sort of a ridiculous stance to take that you should just expect everyone to be as selfish and greedy as possible. And if people elected to go in power, let them do it. Well, you can't blame them for it.

[Greg Cody]

Well, I can. And do I blame the politicians.

[Stugatz]

A lot of them got recalled.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I'm talking about not the non.

[Stugatz]

Politicians, the rich people who take advantage of the fact that they can influence power with their money.

[Greg Cody]

And they can and they should. But the firewall is supposed to be the elected officials. Okay, if you can blame Big Pharma because you're paying outrageous money for a medication that doesn't start with Big Pharma, that starts with the politicians allowing it. Now, if you're running, you know, and.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greg, we live in a capitalistic society where money can exert influence over elected officials. It can win people elections. Like playing out currently in Washington.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, but. Okay, if you're the president of a baseball club in any era, your job is to get a stadium built and strike the best deal that you can. I don't understand. You don't have to be an evangelist for the people.

[Stugatz]

I think no matter what politicians, anyone in any private sector, they're Trying to get the best deal for themselves. And in. In some parts of the private sector. No. No matter whether they're providing what we would view as a public good or not. Right. Having a baseball team in your town. Public good to an extent. But when you're in a private sector and you're trying to get that best deal for yourself and yourself alone, that's where we start to kind of blur those lines between what's okay, what's not morally. Not morally. You're right. David Sampson's job. Make the most money. I can get the best deal for me and my fellow people who are financially involved and move on. But to be in the position to sort of just write that off as that's what he's supposed to do and then make that the case for him to be in a Hall of Fame is an interesting one. In fairness. It's only been 13 years. It could still revitalize Little Havana.

[Mike Ryan]

The name of the podcast is nothing personal because he prides himself on business not being this kind of personal. Stugats. I was surprised, and perhaps I shouldn't have been, that the other day I got aggregated on some of the reporting that I was talking about as it related to the Durant and Miami Heat stuff, and it was specifically about Ishbia, the owner of the Suns, and how it is that he is a nightmare. I thought that that was the most common of knowledge. I thought people understood in no uncertain terms that the owner of the Suns was running the Suns in a way that made it pretty obvious that it was his toy. Different sons than the way that the owner of the jets did it. But that I thought you guys all understood and everyone knew that Ishbia was as being meddlesome owner guy. And because he has the money and the power, he's allowed to be. He can be and we can object to it, but it won't change the fact that the money and the power gets to run run those teams the way they want.

[Stugatz]

So you thought it was common knowledge.

[Greg Cody]

And you're wondering why it is you got aggregated.

[Mike Ryan]

Was it not something that.

[Stugatz]

I'm with you.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm totally with you. Everyone already knew.

[Stugatz]

Does it feel like a little bit of inside baseball? Because we had the episode with with PTFO where he was talking about how he had the leaked phone calls with kind of painting ISHB in a bad light. So it feels like us internally here at Meadowlark have seen the happenings of Matt ISHB and been like, oh, maybe he's not the most.

[Mike Ryan]

Well the Pablo Torrey Finds out episode goes and does a deep dive on like the mortgage industry and basically how it is that he and Dan Gilbert hate each other and how it is that they got rich. But nobody can be surprised that Ishmael would want to be like Dan Gilbert while fighting Dan Gilbert when you've made your money at the top of the mortgage game and just like given what the house housing problem is in this.

[Dan Le Batard]

Country, a big one. Ever since switching to T Mobile, something weird has been happening. I get to cut lines.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, right this way.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who me? I can stream shows at 30,000ft and I was able to buy reserve tickets for my favorite band.

[Stugatz]

It's not just you.

[Mike Ryan]

With T Mobile everyone can get VIP status. That means access to exclusive events and experiences.

[Stugatz]

Just for being a customer at T.

[Mike Ryan]

Mobile, VIP means Y o u check out the VIP treatment at T mobile.com benefits.

[Stugatz]

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[Greg Cody]

Celebrate responsibly.

[Stugatz]

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