Locke'd In Baseball

We start with our Yankees–Red Sox series recap (2:35), where we dive into the Yankees’ 2–1 series win over Boston, highlighted by Aaron Judge’s historic home run that moved him to 4th all-time in franchise history. We also break down Jose Caballero’s continued playing time and whether he’s now overtaken Volpe as the full-time starter, Will Warren’s tough outing on Sunday Night Baseball and what his role might be on the playoff roster, Jazz’s postgame quotes after Saturday’s game, why the AL MVP race feels completely over, and whether finishing this brutal 12-game stretch 7–5 moves the needle for us.

Finally, in our MLB Weekend in Review (30:49), we break down the results across the AL and NL Wild Card races, look at the future schedules to project who could claim the final playoff spot, react to Tarik Skubal’s scare on Friday (thankfully he seems fine), Nick Kurtz’s mammoth home run, the Cubs’ great season and why the fan energy feels muted, whether anyone can get to 100 wins this year, and much more.

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CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

2:35 Yankees-Red Sox Series Recap

30:49 MLB Weekend in Review

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In today’s episode (0:00), we begin by honoring the victims of 9/11, reflect on the world of sports at the moment, and even extend an open invite to a guy on TikTok who’s been beefing with us in the comments.

From there, we dive into the Yankees-Tigers series recap (8:01), where we break down the bullpen meltdowns on Tuesday and Wednesday and why that has us worried heading into October. We also discuss the looming question of who will start Game 3 in the playoffs, whether Cam Schlittler has an innings limit this season, and the Yankees’ big 9–3 blowout win on Thursday night - the classic fashion of salvaging the last game in a bad series. We wrap the segment with a preview of the big Boston matchup this weekend.

Finally, in our MLB Week in Review (28:10), we look at the wide-open NL Wild Card race after the Mets’ disastrous four-game sweep in Philly, give our predictions for the AL West and explain why there’s a clear favorite there, wonder if the Padres can realistically catch the Dodgers in the NL West, and much more.

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CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

8:01 Yankees-Tigers Series Recap

28:10 MLB Week in Review

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We opened things up by talking about the weekend of NFL and College Football, which featured a wild Bills comeback and a tough Michigan loss (0:00). From there, we wrapped up the final game of the Astros series on Thursday night, a Yankee win that once again featured some questionable umpiring from Brian Walsh, before diving into the Yankees-Blue Jays series from the weekend (5:13). The Yankees took 2 of 3 to move just 2 games back of the AL East lead, highlighted by Ben Rice’s huge home run, a great Max Fried start, David Bednar stepping up as the bullpen dog, Anthony Volpe’s continued struggles, and a discussion on Jasson Dominguez’s future in pinstripes.

Finally, we went around the league for our MLB Weekend in Review, recapping each series and giving our hottest takes for every team (30:50).

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0:00 Intro (CFB and NFL Thoughts)

5:13 Yankees-Blue Jays Series Recap & Astros Game 3 Thoughts

30:50 Hot Takes for Each Team

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We’re recording a day early this week due to travel this weekend (0:00).

We dive into the Yankees-Astros series, which so far includes the first two games with Game 3 coming Thursday (1:50). Monday’s 7-1 Yankees win featured Max Fried’s brilliant start and a Trent Grisham grand slam, while Framber Valdez bizarrely crossed up his catcher on purpose (??). Wednesday’s 8-7 loss was a different story - Devin Williams blew another lead in the 8th, home plate umpire Brian Walsh made some questionable calls, and the Yankees unraveled down the stretch again.

We wrap with our MLB Week in Review (27:10), where the Red Sox lose Roman Anthony for 4–6 weeks with an oblique injury, the Giants keep winning (with Rafael Devers getting into it with Kyle Freeland after a homer), the Padres keep squandering chances in the NL West, the Rays sweep Seattle to launch themselves into the AL Wild Card race, Colson Montgomery crushes the Twins, and much more.

---0:00 Intro

1:50 Yankees-Astros Games 1 & 2 Recap

27:10 MLB Week in Review

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We kick things off (0:00) by quickly talking about the exciting opening weekend of college football, as Luis is excited about Miami's big win over Notre Dame.

At 4:40, we dive into the Yankees–White Sox series recap. New York took three of four, but Sunday’s 3-2 loss left some meat on the bone. We break down another encouraging start from Cam Schlittler, who continues to make a case for being in the October rotation conversation, while Luis Gil looked shaky and raised some questions about his reliability down the stretch. The bats went nuclear on Thursday and Friday, putting up crooked numbers early and often, but once they ran into good pitching on Saturday and Sunday, the offense cooled off. Still, Saturday’s extra-inning win was a big one, showing resilience when they needed it. Most importantly, we look ahead at the next two weeks - a stretch that will define this season for the Yankees.

At 26:34, we reveal our August Team of the Month, spotlighting the players who had big months across the league.

Finally, at 35:51, we close with the MLB weekend in review. We discuss how the Padres missed a huge opportunity to gain ground in the NL West, wonder if the Tigers might be the most beatable AL team in October, and shine a light on Bobby Witt Jr.’s quietly excellent season that still feels underrated. We also question whether the Giants are actually dead yet, look at Boston’s rough series loss to Pittsburgh, break down the mighty Marlins taking three of four from the Mets, and much more!

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0:00 Intro

4:40 Yankees-White Sox Series Recap

26:34 August Team of the Month

35:51 MLB Weekend in Review

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It’s good vibes all around as we head into the long Labor Day Weekend (0:00).

The Yankees rolled through the week, sweeping Washington and taking Game 1 in Chicago against the White Sox (5:30). But does beating up on bad teams really mean anything? We break down Cam Schlittler’s strong start and ask if he could be a Game 2 playoff starter, plus dive into Anthony Volpe’s continued struggles and how the Yankees’ strong defense of him has only magnified the spotlight.

Around the league (27:58), Cal Raleigh crushed his 50th home run of the season, setting up an extremely tight AL MVP race. The Mets shocked the Phillies with a sweep in New York - could the division be back in play? Kyle Schwarber made unique history with four homers on Thursday night against the Braves. We also touch on the Cubs failing to gain ground after being swept in San Francisco, Yordan Alvarez’s return from injury, the A’s sweeping Detroit, historically low attendance numbers in St. Louis, a Red Sox sweep, and much more.

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0:00 Intro

5:30 Yankees-Nationals Series Recap (plus White Sox Game 1)

27:58 MLB Week in Review

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It's finally time. It's our 2025 MLB Worst Contracts Draft. Each of us builds out a full roster, from catcher through starting pitcher, made up of the deals we think belong in the Hall of Shame. Some contracts make the list because teams wildly overpaid for mediocre (or declining) production, while others land here because players sold themselves short with deals that were far too team-friendly.We debate every pick, weigh which deals hurt the team or the player more, and laugh at just how lopsided some of these contracts look in hindsight. By the end, you’ll have two full rosters of the worst contracts in baseball today and plenty of ammo for arguing about which squad is truly the ugliest.

We open the podcast with a quick intro (0:00) recapping our respective weekends.

The conversation shifts at (2:56) to the Yankees–Red Sox series, where we break down another disappointing performance from New York as they lost 3 of 4 against Boston and were, frankly, embarrassed on the weekend. We discuss the ongoing leadership issues in the Bronx, why the Yankees continue to come up short in big series, and why that finale win doesn’t erase the disaster that came before it.

Then at (21:02), our MLB Weekend in Review covers Cal Raleigh breaking the single-season catcher HR record, Bubba Chandler’s MLB debut, the Padres’ huge series win over the Dodgers, Samuel Basallo’s extension in Baltimore and what it means for their young core, Zack Wheeler’s season-ending injury in Philly, the Cubs’ critical west coast trip, and much more.

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0:00 Intro

2:56 Yankees-Red Sox Series Recap

21:02 MLB Weekend in Review

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We kick things off with a very random conversation (0:00) about the Labubu craze, and we wonder whether their values might crash sometime soon. From there, we turn to expansion cities (5:43), where Nashville looks like a lock to land a new team, but the big question is whether Salt Lake City or Charlotte will snag the other spot.Next up is the Yankees recap (10:55), starting with the two-game sweep over Tampa that featured a staggering 19 home runs—every run coming via the long ball. We break down David Bednar’s blown save, Devin Williams’ near-disaster, and how important these two wins were. Then we shift to Thursday night’s series opener in Boston, a 6–3 loss full of frustration thanks to four errors and nine walks. Why do the Yankees shrink when the lights are the brightest? We also share our thoughts on how the rest of the series could play out.Finally, we wrap things up with the MLB Week in Review (33:06), talking about Kyle Tucker playing through a broken hand, the Cubs taking three of five from Milwaukee (but why Thursday’s loss makes it feel meaningless), Detroit getting back on track, a sliding mitt epidemic, the Reds pushing the Mets for the third Wild Card spot, why Shea Langeliers deserves more credit, the Dodgers splitting with the Rockies, Philly continuing to set records, and plenty more.---CHAPTERS0:00 Intro5:43 Expansion Cities10:55 Yankees-Rays & Red Sox Game 1 Recap33:06 MLB Week in Review---

After briefly talking about Hurricane Erin in the intro (0:00), William dives into his review of Busch Stadium (1:54) after traveling there this weekend to watch the Yankees play Saturday and Sunday - and braving the heat in the process.

From there, the conversation shifts to the potential MLB expansion (7:22) and realignment that Rob Manfred discussed on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Are we in favor of expansion? Do we like the proposed divisions? Which teams might join the league?

We then move into the Yankees-Cardinals series recap (20:13), where the Yankees swept St. Louis. We cover Jose Cabellero’s much-needed pest role, Max Fried’s struggles since July, and who the team’s potential Game 1 starter should be, Aaron Boone’s strong weekend managing, Camilo Doval’s struggles, and more.

After that, the Fish Files (42:51) focus on Miami’s series loss at Fenway, highlighted by a come-from-behind win on Sunday that stunned the Red Sox.

Finally, in the MLB Weekend in Review (49:44), we touch on the Aaron Judge–Cal Raleigh MVP race, Milwaukee possibly burning too much of its magic now, Kyle Tucker getting booed at Wrigley, Toronto’s balanced lineup production, the A’s’ bright future, reports of Ketel Marte being a locker room diva, Houston likely losing Josh Hader for the season, the Dodgers’ dominance over the Padres, and much more.

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0:00 Intro

1:54 Busch Stadium Review

7:22 Potential Expansion and Realignment

20:13 Yankees-Cardinals Series Recap

42:51 Fish Files

49:44 MLB Weekend in Review

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