Hour 1 – Dodgers Land Skubal, Aaron Donald Getting Closer, Tim Kurkjian

Summary

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The Dan Patrick Show – Hour 1

August 3, 2026
Main Theme:
A dynamic hour of sports talk centering on the Los Angeles Dodgers' blockbuster trade for Tarek Skubal, what it means for baseball’s competitive balance and economics, the looming specter of a lockout, and lively debate about salary caps, with expert opinions from baseball insider Tim Kurkjian. Other segments touch on NFL news (Aaron Donald, preseason bets) and colorful listener participation.

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Episode Overview

This episode opens with reaction and analysis of the Dodgers' acquisition of star pitcher Tarek Skubal. The crew debates whether this cements LA as World Series favorites, the implications for the rest of the league, and the larger issues of baseball’s payroll disparity and looming labor uncertainty. Tim Kurkjian of ESPN joins for an in-depth breakdown. Along the way, the show keeps its trademark balance of serious sports debate, humor, nostalgia, and fan interaction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dodgers Land Tarek Skubal: Super-Team or Super-Problem?

• Dan Patrick on the Trade's Impact

  • Raises questions about the price paid by LA and whether other teams could have matched it.
  • Notes that Skubal’s leverage—wanting only the Dodgers—hurt Detroit’s negotiating power.

    “Skubal had the leverage by saying he wanted to go to the Dodgers... you took away a lot of the leverage that maybe the Tigers would have had.” (03:07)

  • Predicts that this elevates LA’s championship odds but cautions that baseball is unpredictable.
  • Wonders if concerns about Shohei Ohtani’s injuries forced the Dodgers’ hand.
  • Cites LA’s dominance:

    “For all the spending the Dodgers had. How close did the Blue Jays come to winning the World Series last year? ... When you are in a seven game series and all it takes is one pitcher or two pitchers to get hot or one bat or two bats to get hot and all of a sudden things change.” (05:30)

  • Current World Series odds: Dodgers +150, Yankees +600, Brewers/Braves +1000, Rays +1400.

• Paulie on LA’s Machine-Like Dominance

  “The fact that you had to pause before picking the field, it’s like the field should be the pick, but the Dodgers are that threatening.” (07:30)

[06:53] Poll Question:

• Dylan O’Grady: “If you had to bet on the World Series winner today, are you taking the Dodgers or the field?”
• Dan leans toward the field, citing the unpredictability of postseason baseball, but admits the Dodgers are clearly the favorites.

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2. The Salary Cap Debate: Is Baseball Broken?

• Debate on Payroll Disparity

  • Dodgers’ luxury tax: $180M—more than 12 teams’ entire payrolls.

    “The Dodgers, they are now paying $180 million in luxury tax. That's more than 12 total teams’ entire payroll.” (09:55)

  • Is a salary cap the answer, or should the focus be on raising the salary floor? (“If you’re a Pirates fan... they made the postseason three times in the past 33 years. That’s less than 10%. You want to get a chance to have a chance.” – Paulie, 09:39)

• Dan:

  • Points out that a salary cap only works if it comes with a raised floor to ensure competitiveness league-wide.
  • Acknowledges nostalgia for dynasties but admits parity brings more general excitement:

    “I would say most people outside of the player association and Dodger fans would be in favor of a salary cap.” (08:45–09:38)

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3. NFL Quick Hits: Aaron Donald & Preseason Betting

• News: Rams coach Sean McVay hints that Aaron Donald may return, saying “things are going in the right direction…if there’s an arrow, it’s trending upwards.” (13:09)
• Discussion: Dan expects Donald will play, but advises coaches to keep timelines vague to avoid future controversy.
• Lighter moment:

  “The deadline for Aaron Donald should be during the national anthem in week one. If he walks on the field shirtless, I’d put him in the game.” – Paulie (14:14)

[11:41] Sports Betting Digression:

• Dan and crew reminisce about the “sad” but thrilling nature of preseason football and hockey bets.

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4. Tim Kurkjian on the Dodgers, Salary Cap, and MLB’s Future

[18:04] Dave Roberts, Dodgers Manager, Responds to Criticism:

“There’s nothing that we did that no one else couldn’t have done… it’s a credit to a lot of people in this organization.” – Dave Roberts (18:04)

[19:04] Tim Kurkjian Joins

On LA's Success and Competitive Balance:

“A lot of other teams could have gone out and gotten Tarek Skubal ... but the Dodgers are an exceptionally run organization. They draft and develop better than most teams. They teach better than most teams.” (19:04)

On Ohtani’s Health and LA’s Rotation:

• LA now can rest Ohtani, focus on his offense, and still field a dominant rotation.
• Dodgers’ starting five (Snell, Yamamoto, Skubal, Glasnow, Sasaki) is “ridiculously deep.” (20:09)

How do the Dodgers not win?

“Anything can happen in baseball… Shohei is only going to bat four or five times a game and they might not pitch to him.” (20:58)

On Labor Uncertainty:

“Mess is a good word for it, Dan… I am worried like everyone else that there will be a lockout, there will be games lost next year, we might lose the whole season. ... The two sides are really far apart.” (21:54)

On Salary Floor vs. Cap:

“I’m not even sure a floor fixes the situation either... Just because you have a floor doesn’t mean you’re going to solve the problem… The problems are too big to be solved just by a salary floor.” (23:10)

Baseball’s Unpredictable Storylines (with Classic Tim Humor):

• Reminisces about strange trades — like teams trading managers and the infamous Yankees’ wife/children swap:

  “It just goes to show you how beautiful this game is, that just when you think you’ve seen everything, something else happens… it's just the craziest, stupidest, best game ever.” (24:30)
  “[Wife swap story]…I think for a fifth grader to be named later…” (25:43)

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5. Listener Calls and Fan Perspectives

[27:42] Gus in LA:

• “When did it become we were the villains in all of this when baseball owners around the league make almost as much as the other owners do, but all of a sudden it’s our fault that we’re the ones that are taking advantage of the opportunities that we have. It’s not our fault.”

[33:04] Solomon in LA (Dodgers fan):

• “In the last 20 years, two of the top payroll teams have won the World Series. Two. ... It’s not just the money, it’s how you spend it.”

[34:45] Marvin (on Yankees teams):

• “Even when they had all those big names... they won one World Series when they really started spending a boatload of cash. So it doesn’t guarantee you anything... like a good farm system and having a good well run organization.”

[35:37] Paulie (on small-market frustration):

• “Paul Skenes will not finish his career with your team. There’s just zero chance of it. … He won’t finish his 20s with your team. Unless he is just the anomaly that passes on millions of dollars.”

[45:01] Buddha in San Francisco:

• Compares the Skubal deal to “Warren Buffett finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk.”
• “It’s not like we’re out here banging on trash cans.”

[47:16] Adam in Michigan:

• Asks if any NFL head coaches should be traded for each other, which sparks playful speculation among Dan and the crew.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan Patrick:

  “I’m okay if you want to do a salary cap. If you’re going to have a floor that’s raised as well... You can spend money stupidly, like the Mets did. Dodgers know how to do this organizationally, that’s what separates them.” (04:10)
  “The difference was [the Yankees] were able to keep the homegrown talent. ... Most teams can’t keep their talent.” (35:11)

• Dave Roberts (Dodgers Manager):

  “There’s nothing that we did that no one else couldn’t have done… We still got arguably one of the top two or three... farm systems in baseball, a day later.” (18:04)

• Tim Kurkjian:

  “The Dodgers are an exceptionally run organization… That’s how they have a really, really good farm system and are able to make a deal like this.” (19:04)
  “This is the craziest, stupidest, best game ever.” (24:30)

• Caller Gus (fan reaction):

  “It’s not our fault. You guys need to turn back, look at your owners and say, hey, why can’t we do that?” (28:06)

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Important Timestamps

• [02:25] Show proper begins: Dan sets up discussion points for the hour.
• [05:30] Dan breaks down Dodgers’ trade and its impact on the league.
• [06:53] “Dodgers or the Field?” – Poll question debate.
• [09:39] Paulie bemoans the Pirates’ lack of postseason opportunities.
• [14:14] Paulie on Aaron Donald’s “deadline.”
• [18:04] Dave Roberts responds to critics of the trade.
• [19:04] Tim Kurkjian interview starts.
• [21:54] Kurkjian addresses collective bargaining concerns.
• [24:30] Kurkjian on the unpredictability of baseball (“craziest, stupidest, best game”).
• [27:42] Start of robust listener call segment.
• [33:04] Solomon’s perspective on payroll and fandom.
• [35:37] Paulie on small-market heartbreak.
• [41:06] Play of the Day: Mariners walk off (Mariners Radio Network).
• [45:01] Buddha in SF celebrates the trade and the Dodgers’ front office.
• [47:16] Adam in Michigan asks about the possibility of coaching trades.

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, candid, humorous.
• A mix of honest fan frustration, insider perspective, and classic Dan Patrick Show chemistry.
• Blends serious analysis with playful banter and audience participation.

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Summary

Hour 1 is a vibrant mix of immediate sports analysis, big-picture debate, and fan energy around the Dodgers’ seismic trade for Tarek Skubal. The episode delves into what makes LA’s front office so successful, where baseball’s financial system may be headed (and where it’s broken), and whether the proposed fixes can ever restore fairness. With expert insight from Tim Kurkjian and lively, witty calls from listeners, the conversation cycles from the micro (trade mechanics, fan experience) to the macro (labor fights, the soul of baseball) without missing a beat.

Perfect for listeners seeking both information and entertainment, and for anyone trying to understand the ripple effects of one blockbuster trade across all of baseball.

Transcript

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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human Sometimes work takes more than just getting an answer. That's where ChatGPT work comes in. It's a way of working for bigger multi step projects. It can connect to the tools where work happens, stay with the task from start to finish and turn a goal into finished work. Preparing for an important meeting. ChatGPT can build a polished brief. Put Chat GPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started chatgpt.com Selecting mode available on plus and Pro plans My goal was always to make game day legendary. And I think I accomplished that because when I show up, I don't show up empty handed. And you don't leave empty handed because I make sure I have Miller Light. Go to miller light.com patrick find delivery options near you or pick up Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. When I show up at a barbecue, I show up ready to go and I'm a five tool player. I've got five hands. It feels like handed out Miller like to all my friends. Game time, Miller time, my time. Celebrate responsibly. That didn't sound too bad. Game time, Miller time, my time. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, WI 96 calories, 3.2 carbs for 12 ounces. I love my phone but not my carrier.

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[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio.

[Dan Patrick]

Hope you had a great weekend. Everybody gangs all here ready to go. The Minister of Humor, Todd Fritz Also, Dylan o' Grady in the back row. You guys on your best behavior, smiling and perhaps up to no good. Front row always Marvin and Paulie, the back row guys as well. Backroom guys as well. 8773 DP show you email address dpadanpatrick.com Twitter handle @dp show as we always do every Monday, best and worst of the weekend. What you saw that you liked, you didn't like. Operator Tyler sitting by. He'll take your phone calls. Dylan will have the poll question today. We'll hear from Tim Kirchen, the great baseball insider, historian, reporter from the mothership. He'll join us in about 20 minutes from now. We'll talk about to no one's surprise, the Dodgers get Tarek Scubal. I think the surprise might have been, are you giving up big time talent to get him? And I think the general consensus was could other teams have done this? Probably. But here's the problem with that. Terry Skubal had the leverage by saying he wanted to go to the Dodgers, wanted to go to the West Coast. Therefore, you took away a lot of the leverage that maybe the Tigers would have had of what they got in return. The key will be moving forward the kind of contract Tarek Skubal is going to want. And of course, looming large is, is there going to be a lockout at some point? Do we lose a baseball season? Do we look back on Terry Skubal and go, that's when we finally decided we had to do something, get a salary cap. I'm okay if you want to do a salary cap. If you're going to have a floor that's raised as well, I think you got to be fair to the amount of money that the owners are making. The players association is going to be if you're having a salary cap, you got to at least raise the floor. So we know that you're going to have salaries that are at least commensurate to other teams in the league. Now you can spend money stupidly, like the Mets did. It's not the Dodgers know how to do this organizationally, that's what separates them. You can have a really good minor league system. You can also go out and spend for free agents. You can, you know, trades. They've done everything. And you got a brilliant front office who found a way to circumvent the salary cap and the rest of the baseball hierarchy here. So I applaud them for what they did. If I'm a Dodger fan, that's what I want. My ownership to do now am I worried about the rest of baseball? I guess if you said, hey, you know what, because of this, the way your team is, this is what's going to happen. In the meantime, hey, I'm riding the merry go round. This is great. I wonder if Shohei Ohtani's injuries may have led to the Dodgers saying we have to have Tarek Scubal. It's not a situation of, hey, this would be a luxury item. It might be something that they truly need. And keep this in mind for all the spending the Dodgers had. How close did the Blue Jays come to winning the World Series last year? When you are in a seven game series and all it takes is one pitcher or two pitchers to get hot or one bat or two bats to get hot and all of a sudden things change. So, yes, the Dodgers prohibitive favorites even before the trade deadline. By the way, later today is the trade deadline. But if you're looking at World Series odds, yes, the Dodgers are prohibitive favorites at plus 150, the Yankees at plus 600. That's really it. Then it goes down to the brewers at plus 1000, the Braves plus 1000, the Rays plus 1400. So yes, is it top heavy with the Yankees and the Dodgers? Yes, it is. But I thought the brewers going to try to jump in. And if you put Tarik Skubal with Misorowski, look out because then you can take on anybody if you have two hammers like that. I always go back to Randy Johnson and Kurt Schilling. When the Diamondbacks had them, they had hammers and you had to deal with them. But back then, pitchers were going seven, eight, maybe even nine innings. Obviously the game has changed. And the Dodgers, the Dodgers did what I thought they were going to do. I'm wondering if they're done at the trade deadline, but we'll talk to Tim Kirchen. He'll join us coming up. All right, Dylan, poll question for the first hour is going to be what?

[Dylan O'Grady]

Well, if you had to bet on the World Series winner today, are you taking the Dodgers or the field?

[Dan Patrick]

I'll take the field. I'll take the field. I'm not fully committed to that, but I, for content purposes only, I would take the field. I just, I've. I've been around this too long where you just see something and you go, I didn't think that was going to happen. Now, do I expect the Dodgers to win? Yes. But can you see where something happens? Yes. Yeah.

[Paulie]

Paulie, the fact that you had to pause before picking the field, it's like the field should be the pick, but the Dodgers are that threatening. They're, they're removing any possibility for an injury that messes them up. They could afford them.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, and I think that's really the key, that if, if Shohei Ohtani can't pitch again or they're not going to pitch him. Okay, problem solved. I bring in Tarek Skubal. They already got the lineup there. They're outscoring the opposition by what's the number now, Paulie?

[Paulie]

The Dodgers have outscored their opponents by 150 runs this year. There's only two teams that are over 105. They're always one of them.

[Dan Patrick]

Stat of the DAY is always brought to you by Panini America, the official trading cards of the program. You got a big project coming up. Chat GPT has a new agent for larger projects. ChatGPT work. You give it a goal. Help turn scattered material into finished work. Get started@chat GPT.com selecting work mode available on plus and Pro plans. What else do you have there? Dylan? Possible poll questions for hour one.

[Dylan O'Grady]

A simple one. Are you in favor of a salary cap in baseball? Yes or no. And does this change the school to the Dodgers thing influence you in that way?

[Dan Patrick]

I would think that everybody is going to be in favor unless you're a Dodger fan for the salary cap. The players association wouldn't be in favor of it. But I think as a sports fan, if you look at the NBA and you've had eight different winners the last eight years, if that's what you want, instead of when I was growing up, you always had that team. You had to beat that team. There was always the dynasty, whether it was the UCLA Bruins or, you know, I grew up with the Big Red machine. You know, there was the Steel Curtain. You had that team you set your sights on and say, we got to be better than them. You might be kind of parody. Everybody has a chance. The NFL gives you that every single year. So I would say most people outside of the player association and Dodger fans would be in favor of a salary cap. Yeah, Paul.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Paulie]

You know, like you said, that the salary floor has got to be more important because if you're a Pirates fan, I just looked up the Pirates history. They made the postseason three times in the past 33 years. That's, that's less than 10%. You want to get a chance to have a chance.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, the Dodgers, they are now paying $180 million in luxury tax. That's more than 12 total teams. Entire Payroll. So there is a problem with that? It sounded like a stat of the day. Maybe you were just letting it breathe. Is that what you were doing? The anticipation there?

[Marvin]

I didn't know if you were still going or not, but I was ready.

[Bob Pittman]

Okay.

[Chris]

All right.

[Dan Patrick]

I made eye contact with you. I was, you know, like laser focus.

[Marvin]

I looked right into those blue eyes.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All righty. So come up with a poll question. Phone calls. As always, with best and worst of the weekend, I do have updated odds. By the way, Dylan will be betting on the hall of Fame game on the next gambling podcast, right? Yes, sir. Okay. The Panthers are favored by one and a half over the Cardinals and the over unders 36 and a half. Just let you know.

[Solomon]

And.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes, I used to bet on preseason football. I used to bet on the hall of Fame game. Oh, I was. That was sad, that. Very sad. Yes.

[Solomon]

Marvin, how.

[Marvin]

How low did you have to go? Preseason football.

[Dan Patrick]

I know, but you're so. You're. You're so energized for football. You're waiting for it, and you're like, all right, preseason football. And, you know, I've got depth charts. I'm thinking, who's playing, how long they're playing, starters aren't playing, how good's their second string, you know, quarterback, running back, all of that stuff. No, sad. Really sad. Yes, Dylan, you could argue that.

[Dylan O'Grady]

That's the sharp play. Like, the mo. The best run I ever went on betting was I had a time where I was all over the preseason hockey point totals.

[Tim Kirchen]

Sad.

[Dylan O'Grady]

They worked,

[Dan Patrick]

man. All of a sudden, Brendan Sorsby doesn't look that bad.

[Paulie]

Yes, Paulie, which is worse, Betting on the hall of Fame game or being cited that your team wins the hall of Fame game? Like, a fan base goes, like, if I'm a Cardinal fan, you know, we won that game. 14, 13.

[Dan Patrick]

You know, I'm just saying, if I'm a Cardinal fan, I'll take any victory I like a scrimmage. Hey, you know what? We beat the Commanders.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes. Mark.

[Marvin]

No, don't do that. Because the Lions won all four of their preseason games, and they went 0 16. So I'm not sure if they want to do that.

[Dan Patrick]

Speaking of football, Sean McVeigh at his press conference was talking about the possibility of Aaron Donald returning.

[Sean McVay]

Here's what I would tell you. There won't be any news on that front until we get back to Woodland Hills. You know, we have some different things, which, you know, I totally understand. What I don't want to do is put there's some conversations that we've had. We've loosely had some different timelines that are kind of temporary. I want to keep those between us. Just, you know, if something unforeseen happens out of respect for. For him and the situation. But I know this. You know, the things are going in the right direction, and if there's an arrow, it's trending upwards.

[Dan Patrick]

You know, I'm even surprised that he's talking that much about this because it feels like now I do. I think something's going to happen. Yes, I do. I think that Aaron Donald will play because he's saying it's trending upward. I think you have an idea, a sense of this. If I'm Aaron Donald, I don't want to go to camp any sooner than I have to, but if I'm Sean McVay, I would probably take the approach of, hey, I want to talk about the players who were here instead of the hypothetical, because then people will, you know, you're going to write down his words, record his words, and then play the words back to him and what happened. So I think staying off the topic, even though he's excited about the possibility, I would probably remove myself from the hypothetical of Aaron Donald. Just say, you know, I got to set a deadline at some point. I think when they go back from training camp, then he's going to have something to say. And I think that it probably will be that Aaron Donald is going to come back.

[Paulie]

Yeah, Paulie, the deadline for Aaron Donald should be during the national anthem in week one. If he walks on the field shirtless, I'd put him in the game.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I think he's gonna play. It feels like there's. I haven't heard any setbacks. I haven't heard anything of. You know what? There's a chance that maybe he's not coming back. But I do think that when you can hear it in his voice, you can hear it in his voice that he's having some fun with this. He's excited about this and rightfully so. All right, we'll take a break. We'll talk to Tim Kirchen about the situation not only with the Dodgers and any other moves that were made or weren't made and why or why not. We're back after this Dan Patrick Show.

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Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

[Dan Patrick]

Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.

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And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.

[Dan Patrick]

That's right, you can now watch the Odd couple live on YouTube every day.

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All you got to do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again. YouTube just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe

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[Dan Patrick]

We have our play of the day coming up. We'll settle on our poll question. Your phone call is always welcome. Best and worst of the weekend. Here's Dodger manager Dave Roberts on criticism regarding the trade for Tarek Scubal.

[Dave Roberts]

There's. It just seems like there's always blowback with us. People are passionate. We feel good about it. There's nothing that we did that no one else couldn't have done. You know, I just laud our front office. Our, you know, we have to have the players to be able to pull something like this off. And, you know, we still got, you know, arguably one of the top two or three or one or two or three farm systems in baseball, you know, a day later. So it's a credit to a lot of people in this organization.

[Dan Patrick]

He's right about that with the farm system to have the, you know, pieces that you can trade away to get Tarek Skubal. Tim Kirchen, Tim Kirkjin, ESPN Baseball tree deadline. They have a special on the mothership from 4 to 6 Eastern. Tim will be there with Jeff Pass and Buster. Only Eduardo Perez and Kevin Connors. The trade deadline, 6pm Eastern. All right, Timmy, where do you stand on what the Dodgers pulled off here with Tarek Scubal.

[Tim Kirchen]

A problem with this? I mean, is it healthy, Dan, that the payroll disparity is what it is in the major leagues right now? No, it's not healthy. But that's not the Dodgers fault. A lot of other teams are spending a lot of money and people don't like to hear this, but the Dodgers are an exceptionally run organization. They draft and develop better than most teams. They teach better than most teams. So they were in a position to do this. And a lot. And Dave Roberts is right. A lot of other teams could have gone out and gotten Tarek Skubal with the understanding, of course, they have the resources and the money that other teams. But when it comes to the resources, they built that organization so well. That's how they have a really, really good farm system are able to make a deal like this.

[Dan Patrick]

Does getting Scubal now give the Dodgers a luxury of not having to pitch Ohtani at any time over the next month or so?

[Tim Kirchen]

Yes, I think it does. And I think they want him. I know they want him to pitch in October. But when you get Blake Sn back and you have Snell and Yamamoto and Scubal and when they get Tyler Glass now Back and they have roki Sasaki throws 100 miles an hour with a great split. That's already five guys right there without Ohtani. Now they want Ohtani to pitch. I think Ohtani will pitch before the end of the season. But this indeed gives them the opportunity to say we need him as a great offensive player and if pitching is in any way going to get in the way of that, we don't have to pitch him because we just acquired the best pitcher in the American League.

[Dan Patrick]

How do the Dodgers not win the World Series?

[Tim Kirchen]

Well, Dan, you played both sports and you recognize that anything can happen in baseball when you have the best players on a basketball team and they work really well together. And Michael and Larry touch it on every possession. That's different than in baseball because Shohei is only going to bat four or five times a game and they might not pitch to him. But I think the Dodgers are the clear favorites to win the World Series again in part because their roster is just so ridiculously deep and now their pitching staff is equally deep.

[Dan Patrick]

Let's get to the the expensive elephant in the room about what this is going to mean for baseball as we move forward and the CB and Players association and all that mess that we know is looming here. Tim?

[Tim Kirchen]

Yeah, mess is a good word for it, Dan. And I am worried like everyone else that there will be a lockout, there will be games lost next year, we might lose the whole season. Let's hope none of that is true. But this, you know, this is where we are right now. The two sides are really far apart. Wasn't that long ago. So someone who would know told me never seen the sides this far apart with a deadline looming this close. So let's just hope that everyone recognizes there is so much money to be lost in this game if we don't play by the players and by the owners and maybe somehow someone will find a way to put this together. But if the owners think they're gonna get a salary cap from the players, I just don't think that's going to happen. And that's why I think we're going to have a work stoppage at this point.

[Dan Patrick]

But if you look at 70% of teams reinvest less than 50% of their revenue back into their own teams. Recent study had that. So is it a salary floor that we need more than we need a salary cap?

[Tim Kirchen]

I'm not even sure a floor fixes fixes the situation either, Dan. Let's just say you have a 90 million dollar payroll and you're not very good. And you're gonna lose, you know, you're gonna win 68 games and then they make you spend 150 million. And then you win 72 games and you only finish, you know, four games higher and you still don't make the playoffs. Just because you have a floor doesn't mean you're going to solve the problem. Is it worth a try? Yes, it's worth a try. Am I in favor of it? Yes, I am. But it's. It's not. It's not going to solve all the problems. The problems are too big to be solved just by a salary floor.

[Dan Patrick]

I thought about this. I saw this, the anniversary, 1960, and I thought of you. The Tigers traded their manager, Jimmy Dykes, to the Indians for their manager, Joe Gordon. I figured you would have a story, something to add to this. Knowing you,

[Tim Kirchen]

I'm not sure I have a manager for manager story. I was only three years old at the time, Dan. But it just goes to show you how beautiful this game is, that just when you think you've seen everything, something else happens.

[Solomon]

It's just.

[Tim Kirchen]

It's just the craziest, stupidest, best game ever. And it's going to be proven again today because something's going to happen at the trade deadline. It's just going to make our slap our foreheads like we do all the time. But that's why baseball is so great, is it's so unpredictable. And I never know what's going to be around the corner this year. I've been wrong, Dan, so many times about so many things, so many teams, and I'm not apologizing to anybody for it because it just proves that the game is so beautiful. It's too good to be predicted. And Dan, it troubles me a little bit that we're trying to predict what a player is going to look like five years from now or a team is going to look like five years from now, and we don't even know what going to look like five minutes from now. That's just how the game operates.

[Dan Patrick]

Are you surprised like I am that the Mike Kekich Fritz Peterson swapping wives, they were teammates, hasn't been made into a movie yet.

[Tim Kirchen]

And they swapped the children too. Dad. Imagine doing that. I mean, I just.

[Solomon]

Yes,

[Dan Patrick]

children be named later.

[Tim Kirchen]

I think for a fifth grader to be named later. No, I'm. I'm shocked that more wasn't made out of that at the time. Imagine, Dan, if something like that were to happen today with Twitter X whatever it's called, the Internet, all that stuff. It would be total bedlam. Yes. I think at some point someone needs to make a move about that because it actually happened between Major League Baseball players.

[Dan Patrick]

Thanks for squeezing us in. I know you're busy. Safe travels. Thank you, Tim.

[Tim Kirchen]

All right, Dan. See it.

[Dan Patrick]

That's Tim Kirchen of the Mothership. They got their trade deadline special from 4 to 6 Eastern tonight. Jeff Pass and Buster. Only Eduardo Perez, Kevin Connors in the studio. And the trade deadline at 6 Eastern. I know that, but we've had Matt Damon on and he and Ben Affleck. I think we're looking, circling that project of the two Yankee pitchers who basically traded families. Amazing. I think that was 1971. Fritz Peterson and Mike Keckich, and I think one of the two stayed married. The other one's marriage broke up, but they traded kids, too. Yeah.

[Paulie]

Paulie, you can look up this story and you can see, like the New York Times page, a sports page the next day. It's a real headline and it's out there. It happened in 1973 after the trade deadline, Dan, by the way. Which seems to be a violation. But, yeah, about 10 years ago, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck talked to some of the people involved about making a movie. It's stalled a little bit, but this has to happen.

[Dan Patrick]

It just feels like if you said to somebody, hey, I'm thinking about two teammates and they traded their families and you'd go, well, nobody's going to buy into that. Well, it happened in 1973. A couple of phone calls here lead us off. Gus in la. Hi, Gus. You got to be feeling good today.

[Caller]

Good morning, Mr. Patrick. Hope you and the boys had a great weekend. Well, aside from I had the worst of the weekend before, the best of the weekend. Saturday afternoon, I unfortunately had a brachial. Brachial radialis tear. You ever heard of that? I tore.

[Dan Patrick]

Sounds painful.

[Caller]

I. I tore the tendon in my forearm that pretty much goes down to the wrist, not allowing me to properly grip anything or rotate my wrist without excruciating pain. So I was dealing with that. And then Saturday night, that's when the real fun kicked in, when I saw that the Dodgers acquired arguably the best pitcher in baseball for apparently three people that the brewers and the Braves could not find in their farm system. That is when I saw how soft Major League Baseball fans have become. I'm sorry, when did it become that it was our fault that the Boston Red Sox called up the Dodgers and said, hey, can we have Mookie Betts in Exchange for two in and out burgers. Hey, Atlanta, you know, they didn't care about Freddie Freeman. They let him walk. Is it the Dodgers fault that Shohei Ohtani went back to the Angels and said, hey, the Dodgers are offering me this. Can you guys match it, please? No. Enjoy the drive up to five. When did it become we were the villains in all of this when baseball owners around the league make almost as much as the other owners do, but all of a sudden it's our fault that we're the ones that are taking advantage of the opportunities that we have. It's not our fault. You guys need to turn back, look at your owners and say, hey, why can't we do that?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I agree with you, Gus. Sorry about the injury, but hopefully you're healing with Tarik Skubal on the mound. You start to look at this and you go find the brewers or the Rays. Okay, maybe I can't keep Tarek Scubal, but how important is this season? How good is your team that you might have a chance? And I think that's the key. Just get to the World Series. Like if you're an American League team, just get there. Yes, you'll probably meet up against the Dodgers, but if you can take school away from the Dodgers, maybe you have a chance when you get there. And I think that's the important part with this. I'm looking at the guys the Dodgers gave up. I think two of the prospects are top 40 prospects. But there are other teams that had some players that maybe you could trade if it's important now. For the Dodgers, every year is important. And yes, do they have the resources. I know that. But they treat every year as a lost opportunity if we don't win the World Series. Other teams, the Yankees used to be that way. Lost opportunity. Now they're just hoping to get back. Thank you, Gus. Chris in Syracuse. Hi, Chris. What do you have for me?

[Chris]

Hey, thanks, Dan. Yeah, a couple best and worst for you. Best of Fernando Mendoza's comments about Kirk Cousins being the number one quarterback going into training camp. Yeah, his self awareness and humility is awesome. And I hope the Raiders don't completely hand over the reins till to Mendoza till they shore up that offensive line. And another best to J. Davian Clowney signing with the Texans yesterday. How many more contracts is that guy going to get? It seems like he's been around forever and it looks like he may end up ending his career where it started 12, 13 years ago. And of course, Baker Mayfield this weekend talking about a Netflix in Omaha Productions, which I think is Peyton Manning. This upcoming series, which supposedly is a behind the scenes look at some NFL quarterbacks this year. And Mayfield said that the quarterbacks have veto power over any part of the content they don't want to air. So if that's the case, how can to be a behind the scenes look and fans now knowing the content is edited, I think it will hurt viewership. And lastly, Friday night, the Big Ten and SEC both jumping on board with the idea of passing a senate bill to regulate college football. And Dan Hurley also this weekend saying in a colorful way, college sports needs to be saved, but I hope not by the federal government.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, Chris. Yeah, Friday was fascinating from what I'm told by a source that President Trump got directly involved on Friday notifying the SEC and Big Ten that if they didn't fall in line supporting this bill, he would make it clear to the American people how all of college sports's ills were their problems. He said he would hit them hard and repeatedly. So you got the SEC in the Big Ten that they are playing nice. I think all the conferences want this to happen. And once again, they, they didn't mind their own business. They needed help and that's why they're going to Congress because it got out of hand. It got out of hand quickly and there was nothing they could do. Now they're hoping Congress is going to be able to help them help college athletics. Solomon in la. Hi, Solomon, what's on your mind?

[Solomon]

Hey, Dan, thanks for taking my call. Yeah, you know, Dr. Fan here, you know the slings and arrows are coming today. So I got three things to say. Number one, in the last 20 years, two of the top payroll teams have won the World Series. Two. Okay. Three under the top ten won the World Series. Number two. Oh, the Dodgers. They got the money. Yeah. Steve Cohen has, is a multi billionaire. How is the match doing? And number three, it's not just the money, it's how you spend it.

[Tim Kirchen]

And even if you spend a lot

[Solomon]

of money, the Boston Red Sox just came in and swept the Dodgers. So there you go. They may not be sitting always on top of the mountain and you can always get knocked off. So I'm happy the Dodgers got them moving forward. It looks good and let's see what happens. You play the game on the field.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, Solomon. You have, I mean, Andrew Friedman pulled this off when he was with Tampa. He made great moves and didn't have money. You have to have smart baseball people. It's not just Steve Cohen's like I'm going to buy a winner and then what's that look like now? Now you're selling off parts. I think you have to have some kind of game plan here. Yes, you do have money. Yes. You have to be smart and say to show a Ohtani, hey, would you defer this money? And he's willing to do that. You know, getting Freddie Freeman, getting Mookie bets, you know, the Braves aren't going to resign him or the Red Sox are willing to trade Mookie. You know, they've taken advantage of a lot of different teams, but I think they've done it in a smart way. It's not just we're going to come in and bulldoze you. Yes.

[Marvin]

Marvin, you even look back at the 90s Yankees when they were winning championships, those four World Series titles, they had homegrown talent. Posada Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams. Even when they had all those big name Giambi A Rod, even Teixeira Cece, they won one World Series when they really started spending a boatload of cash. So it doesn't guarantee you anything really like a good farm system and having a good well run organization.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I think and people talk about the Yankees, they had homegrown talent. The difference was they were able to keep the homegrown talent. Most like the Pirates have homegrown talent. They can't keep it them. The Yankees were able to spend that money on Jeter and Posada Mariano. That's the difference. We can, we can grow them, but can we keep them? And most teams can't keep their talent. Yeah, Paul.

[Paulie]

Yeah, I agree that other teams, lesser spending teams do have a chance to make the playoffs and win the World Series. But I think what really bums people out if you're a sports fan of like the again to bring in the Pirates. You know, Paul Skeens will not finish his career with your team. There's just zero chance of it. He won't finish his 20s with your team two years from now or less. Paul Skeens will be a Dodger or elsewhere. Unless he is just the anomaly that passes on millions of dollars. He has to do a Jalen Brunson. Yeah, I can't think of any other way.

[Adam]

Yeah,

[Dan Patrick]

Dodgers just made a smart move, that's all and we saw it coming. But, and granted, did they have leverage because Derek Scuba wanted to go there. Yes. But team, you know, players are going to want to go to that team. They're going to want to play because you're playing for championships and That's a testament to what they've done, what they've grown. But they came within an eyelash of not winning the World Series. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion, but I thought some of these teams now I'm looking at the payrolls. So the Dodgers right now have the best odds. They have the number two payroll. The Yankees, they have the third payroll. Then it's the brewers, third best odds, by the way, to win the World Series. They have the 19th payroll, Braves the sixth, followed by the Rays, the 23rd highest payroll. Then the Red Sox, Cubs, Phillies, Astros and the Marlins.

[Paulie]

Yeah, Paul, but if we want a salary cap in baseball, should we root for the Dodgers to win this year or root for like if you don't have a dog in the fight, the brewers, because they're lovable and they don't spend a ton.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I think it's hard to root for the Dodgers if you're saying I'm going to root for the Dodgers just so they win the World Series. And then we can tell everybody, the owners that we need a salary cap, right? I guess. But it's not like, you know, you don't know the Dodgers aren't the evil empire. Like they have great personalities there. You can't help but love Dave Roberts. It's not one of those where like George Steinbrenner with the Yankees, hard to like, but he was brilliant at what he did and you took your money and reinvested it in your team. That's what I want. Any other fan base. If you could trade your team for the Dodgers and their philosophy, their front office, you'd be like, yep, I'd do it. Play the day next.

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The Play of the Day.

[Dan Patrick]

This is the play of the day.

[Tim Kirchen]

Check this out.

[Dan Patrick]

Swinging the lines right face in right field.

[Caller]

Here comes Fairchild on the score. Walk up winner for the second day in a row. Mariners win it 7 to 6 over

[Dan Patrick]

the Twins this afternoon courtesy of the Mariners Radio Network. The Mariners have 19 walk off wins since the start of last season. That is the most in Major League Baseball. That's your Play of the Day. Play of the Day brought to you by REC Tech recteq.com More heat, more consistent temperature control. More stainless steel rectech wood fired grills built like a tank. Built to last. Recteq.com Nothing compares to cooking on a Rec tech. More of your Phone calls coming up. 8773-DP-SHoSH email address [e-mail] Twitter handle @dpshow hall of Famer in waiting, Larry Fitzgerald will join us. Coming up at the top of the hour, I was looking at the 2024 class of wide receivers. Remember this was the loaded with wide receivers class. Marvin Harrison Jr. III, Malik Neighbors, Roma Dunesay, Brian Thomas Jr. Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pierce saw Xavier Leggett, keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey. Okay, how many out of that group hit Malik Neighbors Coming back from an injury? Marvin Harrison Jr. He's not great. I think we expected him to be great. Fourth pick overall. Brian Thomas was a surprise and kind of a mixed bag. Now a Dunes A with injuries. Xavier Worth, Ricky Pierce was out for the year. Keon Coleman, Xavier Leggett, lad McConkey. So you do have some names there and still a chance to kind of resurface as you know, the player, the talent we thought you were going to be. But that's the 2024 loaded wide receiver class. That not exactly impressing.

[Paulie]

Yeah, Paulie, I went back and look at Marvin Harrison Jr. S draft profile. You know, they always put weaknesses. The person analyzing said, we're really nitpicking here because there aren't any. This is one of the more complete receivers ever to come out of college football. But it was the sure thing of wide receivers like, like Trevor Lawrence was to quarterbacks.

[Dan Patrick]

Jadavian Clowney is back with the Texans and that defense is already the best in football with Danielle Hunter and Stingley and Will Anderson. But Clowney quietly had eight and a half sacks for the Cowboys last season. Now it comes down to CJ Stroud because David Montgomery, Nico Collins, Jaden Higgins, Tank Dell, you got, you, you got everything there. This could be a Super bowl caliber team. It's just, you know, C.J. stroud can't lose games for you. Last year in the loss to the patriots, he completed 42% of his passes, four interceptions, finished the postseason two touchdowns, seven turnovers. That's it. Probably simplify it and just say you gotta have a quality year. You know, I'm not asking for 35 touchdowns, but if you can give me, I want to know the touchdown to interception and fumble ratio because if I can get good numbers there, I can't have my defense be putting us in a position to win. You're putting us in a position to lose. Yeah. Paul, C.J.

[Paulie]

stroud is a rookie. 15 starts, four 100 yards, 23 touchdowns. He was eighth for MVP as a rookie and cleaned up for rookie of the year.

[Dan Patrick]

And you'll take those numbers if you, if you play clean games. That's what you're asking for you don't have to win them, just don't lose them. But I think the Texans. Texans are going to be in that conversation for best team in the afc. Really feel it. Buddha in San Francisco. Hi, Buddha. What do you have for me?

[Caller]

What up?

[Buddha]

Happy Monday, boys. Let's go. Dodger nation, baby. Was it me, Dan, or did Solomon in LA sound like Dave Roberts? That was wild. But my phone Dan on Saturday was blowing up and when we. When I saw that we acquired Terry School, I just chuckled. It's like, like us getting schools like Warren Buffett finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk, man. And like to everyone who's upset about he wanted to come and he picked us, you know, I mean he's. We still have to go out and play the games and win them. Nothing is promised and it's not like we're out here banging on trash cans.

[Tim Kirchen]

Fritz, he.

[Buddha]

And best of the weekend, Dan. The Los Angeles Avengers getting stronger and bolstering up their bullpen with Terry Scubal and shout out to Dodger run house. The front, the front office man and the farm system. It's always been the class of the major leagues and worst of the weekend, Dan. The wnba. I mean it's just been a bad summer for them. It's starting to feel like reality TV with some basketball games sprinkled in between the drama that's going on all the time. It's just not.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, Buddha. Edgar in Anaheim. Hi Edgar. What do you have for me?

[Caller]

Hey, Dan. Just want to let people know being a Dodger fan, it hasn't always been glory. You know, I grew up in the 90s watching a horrible your team year after year after year. Last place, last place. So this nowadays, you know, everybody thinks it's easy and it's not easy. Remember we lost a bunch of World Series. We choked a lot. We were getting clowned on every time by a bunch of fans all over baseball. So now that we're actually winning, we're getting a lot of hate that we're buying championships. We're not like this guy that they traded for school. We got him from Chicago Cubs that say your hope. It wasn't even our draft pick. So it's management doing the job too. It's not all money. Money's not everything. Look at the Mets.

[Solomon]

The method.

[Caller]

Freaking horrible.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes, they are. Yes, the number one payroll in baseball. I don't know if it's going to get any better anytime soon there. Adam in Michigan. Hi, Adam. What do you have for me?

[Adam]

Hey, so Gus and Buddha are not wrong about the Dodgers. The rest of the league, just as malpractice. They just phenomenally run and they're doing it like everybody should just, like, take notes. But going back to your conversation with Tim Kirchen, I had never heard about managers being traded like that. That's mind blowing. Is there an NFL trade of 2 head coaches that we could love to see? I'd like you guys to ponder in on that.

[Dan Patrick]

Who would be the number one coach or manager traded? Like, if you were going to trade a coach, Sean McVeigh would probably be high on that list. Mike McDonald, he just won a Super Bowl. Yes, Marvin.

[Marvin]

Andy Reid.

[Dan Patrick]

Andy Reid. Yeah. Andy Reid. No, no, too old. As far as how long he. I mean, he. I don't know how much time he's going to be coaching.

[Paulie]

Right, Okay.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't mean he's too old. I mean, you know what I mean.

[Marvin]

I got you.

[Dan Patrick]

He's coaching old. Todd, you're in the confessional. Start us off on this Monday, best and worst of the weekend. What you saw that you liked, you didn't like. We'll talk to Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals. He'll join us next Dan Patrick show. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.