Transcript of David Samson Shares The Most Interesting Part of the Clippers News | Hour 1

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A fat episode of this live appears on Pablo Torre Finds Out. It's got a lot of details in it. And I want to say again, because I really don't think, Damashek, people understand why it is that journalists don't often do this work, because it's really hard and you need resources and it's dangerous. And so what he just did was really extraordinary. I haven't seen anything like it in in my sports journalism career. No one got close to him on this story. And he seems to have had all of his facts straight in a way that's been validated by the NBA. David, I bring you in here and I wanna talk to you about some of that because I know that you love the hardest things. You run, you know, ultramarathons. You're just a crazy person. And this is the very hardest thing that you guys have done. From yesterday, what was most interesting to you?

That we were all willing, along with Meadowlark, to not take victory laps. And why do I say that's interesting? Because you talk about the way Pablo got attacked. It was coming at all angles. The trapdoor was coming from other journalists. It was coming from leagues. It was coming from lawyers. I lost friendships over this. We've been dealing with this story since last May. So we're talking about a year and a half. And when you go public with an allegation the way we were doing starting September 3rd, You've got to have your ducks in a row. We didn't do it as a fly-by-night irresponsible episode. And then we built and built and built. And what happened yesterday was a total validation. And it would have been on point for Pablo or for Amin or for any of us to just stand there and peacock. But instead, what we wanted to do is explain to the audience what you heard and what you're reading. We will explain what it is. But there's more. And even in the Wachtell report, they pointed out there is still stuff to go over and to be released and to be investigated.

And I got great satisfaction in that.

David, I'm very interested in how the ESPN story from a few weeks ago went down. Those are, those are super, super respected reporters, okay, who had their name attached to that story. You have to— or am I wrong in figuring that just all of those sources were clearly coming from the Clippers and the Clippers throwing BS at them.

Yeah, it's really hard to say that you can be respected when you write that article, you put your name to it, and then you go silent when the truth comes out because you're so angry that you got scooped by Pablo Torre Finds Out and you got rolled by them in a way that is unbelievable. So ESPN allows themselves because they get beaten by The New York Times, The Athletic, and Meadowlark Media to endorse a story that was just fed by the Clippers, corroborating sources from where? How do you responsibly put that article out? And the NBA in 53 minutes releases a statement saying that ESPN article, what are you even talking about? So what happened? Steve Ballmer and Steve Ballmer's crisis PR people said, you know what, we need an article out there saying there's no thread that can get Steve Ballmer to salary cap circumvention. Let's release an article. Anyone interested? No, no, no. ESPN, they're in. They do it. They put their names behind it. And it was all wrong. Every bit of it. Do I take satisfaction in that? No, because it's misleading to the public when you've got an article like that that is not properly vetted and ends up being completely incorrect.

And then you stay silent when the investigation is complete and you see a 36-page report right in front of you.

Uh, Zaz, I have been very happy with all of the things you do around here except for occasionally listening. Um, you just let David get away with— when I'm sitting here saying how it is that he's been great and Pulitzer Prize-worthy with all of his analysis that's different from everyone else's, I just asked him what was most interesting about yesterday's story, one of the biggest sports scandals of all time, and he said that we didn't take a victory lap. An astonishing— an astonishingly bad answer to that question.

No, let me explain why it's not, Dan. We, we had a strategy session before we went live. We talked about what's the tone, how do we want to approach this, because you can bet that we were covered with brute— Strategy session?

David, you guys don't know what's interesting. You really think that's interesting, huh?

Yes, I do.

Oh, okay.

The most interesting thing—

I think it's very important, Dan.

The most interesting thing from yesterday is that we had a strategy session about not taking a victory lap.

About what the tone should be, about what we want to deliver to an audience who's been with us for over a year.

And put me into a coma.

I was breathless for 15 minutes.

So not how we started.

So $30 million.

A little bit more than 15 minutes, by the way.

Yeah.

Still, by the way, the penalty was so soft when I read that 36 pages. I would have—

you really think it was soft? Yeah.

So soft. So soft.

Wow.

I mean, should have been fired. Frank fired and Bomber suspended.

That's what I want to hear.

If not forced to sell.

That's what I want to get to, the penalty phase of this conversation, and specifically, how severe is this from where you sit, David? Is this— does this kill the Clippers franchise? Do they need to rebrand it? I mean, 5 first-round picks, what's it all amount to? Are they wounded or are they dead in the water?

Well, let's see what the NBA allows. If Kawhi gets traded to the Raptors and they get 2 of those 5 back, then they're a net down 3. If the NBA does not approve the trade or they don't approve the return, then we will see what the final loss of picks is. $30 million. Steve Ballmer is not going to change. It's a capped league. He will still spend to the cap each year and try not to circumvent it for what will be a record 3rd time. But in theory, he's still going to be able to spend what he's always been able to spend. So it's not going to have an impact on the operation. Will they fire Lawrence Frank the way Jim Crane fired Jeff Lunow the next day after the Astros scandal? Maybe you bring in another GM. So I don't see it as impactful on the court as other people are. It's not the Death Star to the Clippers franchise whatsoever. It's not that sponsors are running away from Intuit Dome or from Steve Ballmer. So that's why I don't think it was harsh enough.

Zaz is stunned by that.

Yeah, I don't agree. What? I mean, I think they sent them to the Stone Age. Like, it's losing those draft picks 5 straight years. It wasn't even like, okay, we're gonna do every other year. Okay. It was 5 consecutive years on a team that's already going to be terrible by the time that 2029 pick rolls around. No one's gonna wanna play for them. I think it is a death blow.

And who's gonna go to their games, David, is another question. You know now they stink. you know they're cheats, what's the incentive to buy tickets?

Well, and I'll add, Dave, like, who's gonna play for them? There's no such thing as free agency anymore in the NBA. The great players, they demand trades. No one is demanding to be traded to the Clippers. And so yeah, the Clippers will have cap space. Like, I know they have cap space next year. They're gonna overpay some 2nd, 3rd tier guy. That's how they're gonna spend their money. Like, this was a death blow to them for the next 8, 9 years. They're gonna be so bad.

But it's not as though they've been a successful organization. They haven't won even with circumventing the salary cap.

Well, yeah, you're right.

With Kawhi Leonard. Yeah, they've done no winning whatsoever. So I'm just not sure what the increment down is. Not nearly as big as the possibility of up. Steve Ballmer wakes up today, misses a full year, but he'll be behind the scenes. They will have money to spend. So I just don't see it as harsh as you are, Zaz.

Now, with the money to spend, it's the Like I said, there's no one to spend it on. They're going to get some— like whatever free agent was available a month after free agency, that's the guy they're going to give money to, a guy who's not even remotely a difference maker. They're going to be terrible.

Dan Wetzel pointed out, all in all, to acquire and then later via NBA sanctions, Kawhi Leonard, this is what it cost for the Clippers: 2021 first-round pick, 2022 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick swap, 2024 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick swap, 2026 first-round pick, 2027 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 first-round picks. Shea Gildress-Alexander, who was the 2-time MVP. Danilo Gallinari, a $30 million fine. Steve Ballmer suspended for a year. Lawrence Frank suspended for 6 months. Gillian Zucker suspended for a year while Kawhi Leonard averaged 47 games per season in his 7 seasons with the club.

Dan, I, I think the Kawhi Leonard transaction— and I'm calling it transaction because The trade for Paul George was really for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The transaction to acquire Kawhi Leonard back then, it's the worst transaction in the history of the NBA.

Sads, I'm sorry to laugh at the moment.

This is bullshit. I'm making a good point and everybody's laughing around me.

It's because Tony's laughing.

I don't even know what Tony's up to.

He called him Kalai by accident.

Kalai Leonard.

I mean, it should be—

It's perfect.

It should be Kalai Leonard, but he didn't mean to.

According to the report.

According to the reports.

Yeah, according to reports, y'all.

Pardon me.

Dan Le Batard.

I don't like the word blue, but I do have at least one pal that I can think of who has— he actually, he says he fell asleep in coitus.

Dave Demachek.

You may look at me and be surprised to hear this. I happen to be a vigorous lovemaker, so that would never happen to me.

This is the Dan Le Batard Show.

Pablo said on the live show last night that if he had just been given the report and asked, what do you think the punishment will be, he would have guessed that they would take the team from Ballmer. You agree with that?

Yeah. When I got done reading, we had 90 minutes basically to prepare, to read it, and to get on the air. And there's no punishment. Wachtell investigated. They gave the investigation and the report to the NBA, and then the NBA decides on the punishment. while negotiating with the union and in theory with the Clippers. When I read what Wachtell had, which is even more than what we had, I assumed what was coming was either a forced sale or a multi-year suspension for Ballmer and an elimination of the employees in that report who are just all over it. Zucker got crushed in that report, who's the president of business operations.

Zucker.

She knowing Excuse me?

Zucker.

It's not Zucker. We were corrected yesterday, actually.

I heard Bomber introduce her as Gillian Zucker as they were doing the Intuit Dome reveal. I went and I was like, I was like a dog with a bone on this.

Bomber's a known liar.

All right, fair.

According to their words.

They conned me, y'all.

David, I also remind you, Dan, one more thing about the first-round picks, please. Do you remember when the T-Wolves had the salary cap circumvention with Joe Smith?

Yes.

Do you recall? I don't know if you report on that story. they lost a bunch of draft picks. 5.

Yeah, and then it became 3.

Right. So there— so we really don't know the final final here with the Clippers. It could get worse for them, it could get better for them. So we just— it's just— we're just starting.

Okay, but would you advise— just starting is crazy here— if you're the Clippers, do you think the NBA would take a deal of, okay, we won't fight you at all, at all, but no more penalties, no more penalties, we stop the investigation now and we shut it down? Wouldn't that be what you'd be advising the Clippers to do?

Yeah, but the NBA is not going to take it because they got embarrassed with the Rozier situation. So remember, they're bruised from that and they're worried that Pablo has more. And Wachtell acknowledged in the report that there's stuff that's still being corroborated and investigated and looked at. So you don't want to cut a final deal with prejudice and then say, hey, sorry, we can't get back at the Clippers because we agreed not to prosecute.

What does the fight look like when the Clippers take the fight to the NBA here? What do you think is going to happen, what it's going to look like, and the optics of most people for some reason seem to have wanted Pablo to be wrong about this and the Clippers to be right. I was really confused by that.

It was confusing to me because what we did on the show was basically explain how it is that an organization led by a man who's the 5th richest person, the richest owner, how does he skirt the rules and make it uncomfortable for the other owners in basketball who are trying to compete on a level playing field? And the reality is Ballmer makes it impossible if he's going to have the largesse that he has, and he's also going to lie, cheat, and steal and violate the rules. So when I think back to what Ballmer can do, given their statement, the only thing he can do right now is you go to the court and you file a lawsuit. But when you file a lawsuit, you have to show in a document what are the grounds for this lawsuit, what are you trying to prove, and what do you want back. Do you want your $30 million back? Do you want your draft picks back? Do you want Adam Silver to be fired? You can't really sue for that, but you have to have an injury and then you have to have a, a penalty for that injury.

So Steve Ballmer has to get a lawyer to agree to write on a piece of paper that he got injured here and that's why he's suing. And I can't wait to read it.

David, I'm going to give you some time to think about this so you don't say the answer of the most surprising thing from yesterday was a strategy session that you had about taking a What do you guys think was the most surprising thing yesterday? Because David's got real expertise here. He's gone through way, way too many documents, and I want to know what surprised him yesterday. What were you surprised by yesterday? Because even listening to the 14 episodes, I was surprised that there was so much more here. Like, you can't just give a player an expense account. You can't just allow a player to run around and not reimburse you on things. That's outside of the salary cap by itself, and it's crazy by itself.

I couldn't believe that there were 2 more companies that hadn't yet been mentioned.

At least 2.

Right. At least 2 more companies. There was also the fact that, that Ballmer, at least according to the reports, y'all said that the Clippers personnel were all, quote, collective workers to try to help Mr. Leonard achieve his financial goals. Like, that is crazy that he would say that to Uncle Dennis. Like, that part of it is nuts. And that that comes from Lawrence Frank's notes.

According to reports.

According to reports, y'all.

I—

the most surprising part to me, look, I gotta raise my hand. Adam Silver's a nothing, and this doesn't change my opinion of Adam Silver being a nothing, but I have to tell you, like, I'm surprised that he brought the hammer down. He— this is a very appropriate consequence.

The most surprising thing to me that happened yesterday was Mark Cuban congratulating Pablo.

Yeah.

I don't think it was enough.

That was great.

The congratulations?

Mark Cuban? Yeah.

I mean, what do you want?

All he did was write, congrats, Pablo.

He declined to come on with us today. We asked him to come on with us.

Pablo Torre is a woke liberal shit eater who only covers one type of person and actually does it terribly. No, he does it well.

Uh, who's that from? Like, what?

It was just somebody on the internet that said that.

That was the most interesting thing?

Yeah, he covered it well because we have a lot of stuff that comes up and it's like—

That was the most interesting?

Yeah, that was also mine.

A comment on the internet was the most interesting thing from yesterday. David, what surprised you?

I mean, it's either that or he could argue with a football stuck in a tire.

Coker's got something coming to him later, by the way.

What surprised you, David?

Talk to me, David. No sound, David.

While you wait for him, I'm with Zazz. Dan, listen.

I hear you.

Don't you think that the actions of Ballmer indicate to me that he thought that ultimately his pals were going to—

Hold on, Dave.

Hold on.

Dave, you said enough.

I appreciate you stepping up, trying to help Samson, but he seems to have gotten his back. Go ahead. Continue, David.

Sorry, Dave. I would just say it's surprising the actions of the president of business operations, who maybe she just— Ballmer said to her, you're going to do this because if she of her own volition did the type of activities that she did around Kawhi Leonard and the signing with these sponsors, there was such a conflict. It was such a violation of the rules. And she lied to Wachtell. That's in the report. And that's a major thing that she did as well. So I was very surprised that in an investigation you would have someone at my level, a president, lie to a law firm and act the way she acted. I was asked by my owner to do a lot of stuff over my 18 years. I would never do something that would have gotten me in trouble ever, no matter what. And this woman was willing to do it, I guess.

But wasn't Balmer operating like somebody who anticipated his peer group ultimately having his back no matter what they said about this feels out of bounds? Didn't he think that Adam Silver was going to be his white knight ultimately and not take him to task?

He's a well-liked owner, Steve Ballmer, and so this is painful. But at the end of the day, if you're another owner, you're saying to yourself, we all have to do whatever we have to do to sign players. We're all doing things that may be in the gray, but we can't have someone operating this far outside of the boundary. because then it will maybe force us to have to do worse things or spend more money, and we simply can't compete that way. So that's a miscalculation by Ballmer if he thought he had the support of the other owners.

Dan Levitar.

Let's throw it to my boy Jeremy Taché, who's sidelined right now.

Cash money.

What you got for me?

Jeremy Taché.

Thanks, Jax.

This is the Dan Levitar Show.

I should pause for a moment here and remind the audience that David Sampson has been just Crushed in his personal life over the last year by the death of his daughter, and the Kira Fund is something that he has established in the wake of some really great suffering that he has tried to work through around here in an impossible situation. Over the course of the last year, and and now over the course of the last month, he has raised an extraordinary amount of money because of how wounded he is by what the last year has been. And nothing personal makes its return next week. For those of you who have missed it, greatly. Next week, here from Miami, and it'll be live on our YouTube channel beginning at 7 AM all week as David continues to fight through an unimaginable pain. Real quick, what can we tell people without, you know, doing too much with this wound that is important for them to know about the CURE Fund?

We're trying to find a cure for glioblastoma because right now doctors are batting zero, and when you get diagnosed with it, you're going to die. And Kira only lived 9 months and 11 days after being diagnosed. The show that came out when we won the Pulitzer on September 3rd, that's the last show of mine she ever heard. And a year later, here we are. And September 12th was the day. And I'm just committed the rest of my life to having no other families suffer the way Kira suffered, the way our family and her friends have suffered. And to do it, we need research. We need meaningful movement in this area. All federal funding's basically been cut off because in glioblastoma you die, and I'm trying to make it so that doesn't happen.

Can you explain to us differently than Pablo did, and forgive the clumsiness of the segue after that particular subject matter, on what you believe actually happened with the plea bargaining that the Clippers and the NBA were doing so that it would not get to this point where it seems like the Clippers are pissed and surprised that the NBA did what it did yesterday? Do you think I have it accurate when I say the Clippers were both pissed and surprised because I'm imagining they still wanted to talk about a settlement that involved their cooperation?

What is fascinating, Dan, is that they said in their statement that they saw that report 1 hour before it was released and they were completely blindsided by it. And in my experience, that is total absolute malarkey. The truth is that back when that ESPN article came out, What would be absolutely normal is that the Clippers were very well aware of what the punishments were going to be, of what the findings were. That's how leagues work. They investigate. Then you go to the team, you go to the union, you start negotiating a settlement. What are we going to do here given this set of facts? The Clippers were not happy. And so they get an article written saying there's nothing to see here. But the fact is, they knew there was something to see here. Is it possible they hadn't seen the actual report until an hour before? Yes, but that's parsing words. At the end of the day, the negotiation between the NBA and Steve Ballmer was about punishment. And in order for Steve Ballmer to agree to a punishment, he has to get rid of the notion that he did nothing wrong. And he's been saying that since he went on the air with Ramona Shelbourne day one after our first episode, and he has maintained that contrary to every bit of evidence.

At what point does he open his eyes and say, genug, I can't fight this anymore?

Good. No.

Before he files a lawsuit, will it be— that means enough in Yiddish.

Pig Latin. Oh, I thought—

Aslow was stunned by that one.

I thought you were doing enough backwards there. Genug.

Genug means enough. Like, it's enough.

Genug.

Look, I'm not, I'm not doing this anymore.

I don't know that one, Zaz.

Are we trying to claim that that's Yiddish?

Not— I'm not claiming it is. It's Yiddish.

Zaslow seems to dispute this vigorously.

Seems like you don't know Yiddish.

Vigorously and vehemently.

Ridiculous word.

Wait, you're vigorously saying that that's not Yiddish?

I'm just saying it's not. Not vigorously.

According to reports, y'all.

Go ahead, Damashek. What do you have here for Samson?

I'm just curious what you think Ballmer is doing in a year from now. He just waits out this penalty and returns as sort of the Al Davis of the NBA, and, uh, you know, he digs his heels in and moves forward. Where does he go? Don't— I mean, the Clippers brand, is it fair to say— I don't know if I'm prisoner of the moment and this is hyperbole— the Clippers brand is now officially worse than the Jets or the Browns or SMU.

I think Boomer has to sneak into games as Miss Doubtfire.

Oh, Bobby Valentine.

Little mustache.

Bobby Valentine.

I'm with Dan.

He can't sneak in. He's going to try, but he, of course, is going to be involved over the next year. He just can't be in the arena. But part of the rule is when you're suspended is you can be there up until game time, often with players who are suspended, and then leave when the game is starting. But the punishment was clear. He cannot be around any team activities. That includes practices that happen, walkthroughs that happen. He cannot be around the team. It doesn't mean he can't be in his office. It means he can't be around team and league activity.

Best guess.

So he's—

is that the thing that hurts him most here? Best guess?

Yes. Yes.

I think the Raptors should adjust the parameters of the Kawhi trade. What are the Clippers gonna do? Raptors should say, all right, we're still giving you the same players because salaries have to match, like, to make the trade work. But you know those 2 first-round picks we're gonna trade you? Nah, we're gonna keep those actually. What are you gonna do? You, you're gonna keep Kawhi, Clippers? You're gonna sell it to your fan base?

Zaz, there may be a possibility here that that trade does not get approved by the league as is and that it has to be adjusted, or they knew in advance that that trade was going to happen and they did 5 first-round picks knowing the net-net would be 3.

Baseball is super interesting and we are terrible in not acknowledging how great the Marlins are in making this season—

wow—

still interesting. Yeah, I know, I know. But because I want to talk baseball with Sampson and we've been one subject for a long time, which we're not usually, but I do want his expertise on one more question here before it is we get into other subject matter with him. And the question is, If the Clippers hadn't been a repeat offender here, how do you think the penalty would have been different?

I believe actually that it would have been exactly the same. While they did mention the Wachtell report that he's a recidivist, the fact is it was so blatant and so beyond the pale, worse than the Timberwolves, worse than what Steve Ballmer himself did with DeAndre Jordan, that these penalties would have been what they were. Will it stop other teams from doing it? That's what you want with penalties. You want it to be a deterrent. You want owners to look and say, I don't want a $30 million fine or lose picks or to be away from my team for a year. In that regard, I think the punishment is sufficient to stop blatant salary cap circumvention, but I just don't think it was harsh enough to what Ballmer and his staff did. Good enough.

What's the movie you're reviewing for us today?

So I watched a documentary and I wanted to know whether any of you had spent a minute watching the Novak Djokovic documentary called The Wolf in Winter.

No.

So the U.S. Open is going on now, and the Joker, who has the most Grand Slam titles of anyone— it's a documentary, not really a love letter like the Federer sort of end of Federer was. This is more interesting about what kind of person he is. How he can be the best and continue to fight against everyone hating him. Remember Federer? And you had Nadal, and all of a sudden Djokovic tries to crash the party. It's a documentary about what it means to try to become the best, stay the best when everyone's after you. And I found it extraordinarily compelling. Sad for the streaming service that has it. He lost in the first round of the US Open. And it was released to have him not lose in the first round of the U.S. Open. But it's still a very good documentary.

What did you think of Coker's performance yesterday on behalf of your show at our giant DraftKings Takes Over a Gas Station event?

He called me after he won the football competition to say that he could not believe how bad Tony was.

Wow.

Was not at his best, but still good enough to win. And to remind everyone that when it gets stuck in the tire, in this sort of competition, that is the same as getting through the tire.

No, it is not. And what planet is getting stuck in it going through?

The tire made the catch.

That's a lie, Leonard.

All right, rest my case.

You're fighting, Tony, for— Oh, you're at it again with you?

What are you doing?

Not for a win, Tony. You're not fighting for a win, you understand? You're fighting for us to acknowledge that you tied somebody who you should—

It would have gone to sudden death. That's what you don't understand.

It would have?

Yes, of course it would have gone to sudden death.

Me versus Coco.

One throw.

That's not a throw for at all.

You see how Coca throws a ball though, right? He has no business.

Look at the wind-up on that thing.

Oh, you're bragging.

You should have obliterated him.

I hit the tire every time.

You're arguing that 2 out of 5 should be the winner.

This guy's still arguing. You hit one. By the way, Coca's outside right now. I'm gonna have everybody set up the tire. We're gonna go in the garage, rematch.

Choka! Why does he get to do a rematch? What, that's a reward for you? Like, why?

Of course it is.

Or it's double shame.

Okay, so more pressure. He didn't seem to do very well with the pressure. Uh, David, some baseball things. Can you just condense into a top 5? I'm sorry we took up so much time with your Kawhi Leonard. Can you just scribble together a top 5 off the top of your head real quick? Because I know you've got a ton of baseball information. I really urge you, okay? I know I've been telling everybody for a while. Nothing Personal is the best at business, sports business, and it is. But his baseball coverage is also extraordinary. Like, it's really strong. He's on Pitch Clock today with Jeremy, and what he does on baseball this month is the best work he does in sports every year. So, David, cobble together here a top 5 things we should be looking at here, paying attention to over this month, because the Marlins have to— I'm assuming the Marlins are going to be one of them because they're right there. The Padres are no better than the Marlins.

Okay, let's go OLI. Let's start with that. Could a losing team win a division like the AL Central? That would be outrageous, wouldn't it? One more OLI. Will Aaron Judge actually play again this year? Everyone's saying yes, but maybe not. Number 5, are you watching Houston? Will Yordan Alvarez win the Triple Crown? That would be cool. Last guy to win the Triple Crown, a player we used to love on the Marlins. Number 4, is PCA the NL MVP? That the end of Ohtani's reign as MVP because he's not pitching anymore and frankly not hitting well and the Dodgers can't win? Number 3, can the Brewers finish with the best record in baseball again? My Milwaukee team, baby. They're back just to lose in the playoffs. Number 2, will the Dodgers be forced to play in the wildcard round? Is Atlanta going to finish with the 2nd best record in the National League and force the Dodgers to play a 2-out-of-3? And the number 1 thing I am looking at for September, can the Marlins bring it home and be a 3-time World Series champion? Eli Leonard!

I'm, I'm dying for a Marlins at Dodgers wildcard round where the Marlins would be the most beloved underdog going up against the behemoth of the Dodgers.

What's wrong with the Dodgers?

What's wrong with the Dodgers, Samson?

They can't hit. Let's start with Mookie Betts is so overpaid and so bad that he's just a waste of money in the lineup. Freddie Freeman hasn't— has lost his power. One of the greatest guys you'll ever meet in the game. I think he hit his first home run yesterday since Independence Day. Ohtani doesn't look right. The pitching strong, bullpen mediocre. Diaz done. Tanner Scott, Tanner Scott overpaid, mostly ineffective. At the end of the day, are the Dodgers ruining baseball? Absolutely not. Are the Dodgers beatable? Absolutely. Could you have Sandy and Yuri going against the Dodgers in games 1 and 2 of a 3-game wildcard series? That would be extraordinary. And the Dodgers would not like to see that.

No.

Why isn't anybody talking about the cruel baseball gods taking down the feel-good story of 2026 and the Pittsburgh Pirates injuring Conor Griffin and O'Neil Cruz? Skeens for way too—

Skeens can't pitch anymore.

What's going on with Skeens? I'm very sad about all of it, David.

It's hard to be put in the Hall of Fame as a rookie. There are way more rookies of the year and early, early career Cy Young winners who become maybe Tim Lincecum with 3 rings, bunch of Cy Youngs, and no Cooperstown.

I don't think it's going to be that.

He's already in Cooperstown.

That's what, that's what makes it so bizarre is that he is not Tim Lincecum. He's, he's a giant human being out there. There was no indication this was coming. They got to fix him up in the offseason, right?

It's a major question for the Pirates because you don't want to— he's going to get paid, believe me, because of all his special accomplishments and arbitration. And at some point the Pirates are going to be forced to trade him because if you can capitalize on his value. I don't think Skienz is riding the Pirates into any sort of playoff contention. And if he is a 4 ERA guy, then they wasted what would have been the most valuable piece in franchise history, which is why next season becomes the most critical season of Skienz's career by far.

Sampson, his velocity is down, right? Like, I don't know what's going on there, but that's what's going on.

Walks up, velocity down, social media coverage sideways.

All right, Sampson, Nothing Personal next week is going to start on our channel. It's going to make its return 7 a.m. On YouTube beginning on Monday. Look forward to you getting down here, uh, David. Tuesday.

I'm sorry.

Okay, see you Tuesday. Thank you, buddy.

Thank you.