Episode 255
Cal Clutterbuck Reflects on His NHL Career and the Current State of the Knicks
Hosts Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo welcome former New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck, who reflects on his extensive career with the team, which spans over a decade. Clutterbuck shares his insights on the Islanders' current status, particularly regarding their recent acquisition of the number one overall pick in the NHL draft, signaling potential future developments for the franchise. Additionally, Mike and Chris talk with Clutterbuck in a discussion about the New York Knicks, analyzing their performance in the playoffs and the challenges they face against the Boston Celtics. The episode encapsulates a blend of nostalgia for Clutterbuck’s playing days, along with a critical examination of both the Islanders’ and Knicks’ trajectories in their respective sports. As the dialogue unfolds, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of professional hockey and basketball, alongside personal anecdotes from Clutterbuck’s journey.
Cal Clutterbuck’s discussion on the show provides a comprehensive exploration of his illustrious career with the New York Islanders, marked by resilience, physicality, and a profound connection to the Long Island community. Clutterbuck, who has recently announced his retirement, shares his journey from a promising junior hockey scorer to a tenacious forward known for his unparalleled hitting ability. His reflection on the evolution of his game reveals the intricacies involved in adapting to the demands of the NHL, and the dialogue with hosts Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo highlights the importance of mentorship and learning throughout his career. Clutterbuck’s candidness about his love for the Islanders and the emotional experiences tied to his time with the team resonate deeply with fans, showcasing the unique bond between athletes and their communities.
As the conversation progresses, Clutterbuck candidly discusses the current state of the Islanders, addressing the team’s struggles with identity and performance in the previous season. His insights into the importance of establishing a cohesive team identity echo the sentiments of many fans, as he emphasizes that understanding who they are is essential for achieving success on the ice. The anticipation surrounding the team’s number one draft pick serves as a pivotal point in the discussion, with Clutterbuck underscoring the need for elite defensemen to bolster the roster. This segment not only provides a retrospective on Clutterbuck's career but also invites listeners to engage with the future of the Islanders as they navigate the complexities of offseason decisions.
Late, Mike and Chris transition into an analysis of the New York Knicks, juxtaposing Clutterbuck’s reflections on hockey with the current dynamics of the NBA playoffs. The hosts delve into the Knicks’ playoff series against the Boston Celtics, highlighting the challenges faced by the team and the need for strategic adjustments. The serious tone of the discussion underscores the intensity of professional sports in New York, where fan expectations are exceedingly high. This episode encapsulates the essence of sports dialogue, weaving together narratives of past triumphs and present challenges, ultimately providing a rich and engaging experience for listeners.
Takeaways:
- Hosts Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo featured an engaging discussion with former New York Islanders player Cal Clutterbuck, who shared insights from his distinguished hockey career.
- Clutterbuck reflected on the Islanders' recent successes, including winning the first overall pick in the NHL draft, highlighting the importance of this moment for the team's future.
- The conversation transitioned to basketball as the hosts analyzed the New York Knicks' performance, particularly their struggles in the playoffs and the need for a stronger team identity.
- Clutterbuck expressed gratitude towards Islanders fans and emphasized the importance of community support in his career, noting that he has developed a deep connection to Long Island over his 11 years with the team.
- The hosts discussed the challenges facing the Knicks in their playoff series, analyzing their inconsistent performance and the potential implications for the team's coaching staff moving forward.
- Overall, the episode provided a comprehensive overview of both hockey and basketball perspectives, with Clutterbuck's experiences serving as a bridge between the two sports.
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the.
Speaker B:Staff, management or owners of wgbb.
Speaker B:Live from the WGB studios in Merrick, New York, this is SPORTS Talk New York.
Speaker A:From the crossroads of Merrick Avenue and Sunrise highway in beautiful Merrick, Long Island, New York.
Speaker A:This is Long Island's WGBB Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:I'm your host, Mike Coydone, joined as always by the man we call Cappy, Cris Caputo.
Speaker A:Phone lines are open for a little bit.
Speaker A: -: Speaker A: -: Speaker A:But before we get started with anything and our special Islanders guest tonight, like to say hi to Cap.
Speaker A:How you doing?
Speaker A:Happy Mother's Day to your mom.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And same to you and to your wife.
Speaker A:Thank you very much.
Speaker B:It's a great time of the year to give them one day to take all the pampering and make sure that they are, you know, loved and told that.
Speaker B:So it's a.
Speaker B:I was lucky.
Speaker A:Spent a great day with my mom.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker A:Glad to see you were able to spend time with yours.
Speaker A:And here we are sitting pretty on a Sunday evening, gonna talk some hockey tonight.
Speaker B:It's gonna be fun.
Speaker B:We have New York Islander great Cal Clutterbuck is going to join us in just a few moments to talk about his Islanders career.
Speaker B:And I think, Mike, that kind of, you know, leaves us as to where the Islanders are at this point.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's funny, you know, to think to lead with the Islanders tonight, but here you go.
Speaker A:Won the number one overall pick in the draft, which if you don't make the playoffs, there's not much better than that, that's for sure.
Speaker A:So I'm sure we're going to pick his brain a little bit about, you know, where he thinks the team might go.
Speaker A:He officially retired this year, but basically didn't play this year after playing 82 games for the Highlanders.
Speaker A:So a little interesting story there, but we're going to talk Knicks a little bit later on.
Speaker A:Out to a 21 lead in there series.
Speaker B:Although such an odd series, it's a.
Speaker A:Tenuous lead at best.
Speaker B:I mean, They've in all three games they've trailed by 20 or more points.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And one of you know, I don't want to get in on this too quickly, but a lot of the phrasing yesterday was that they didn't come out with a sense of urgency and they, I don't know, maybe in the back of their minds they felt satisfied.
Speaker A:Could you imagine being one of those people that paid.
Speaker A:It was an all time high at the Garden for the end and they didn't.
Speaker A:These are professional basketball players.
Speaker B:But Mike, did they come out with a sense of urgency in the first two games do.
Speaker B:Yes, great points.
Speaker B:But we'll get into that.
Speaker B:We'll talk about the Knicks.
Speaker B:And now it's a 2:1 series still with some more games left to be played at Madison Square Garden.
Speaker B:And strangely enough game seven could be on a Monday night in Boston on the same night that the Mets play at Fenway.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:And it's also a seven line game.
Speaker B:So there could be thousands, thousands of New York fans.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And could you imagine it already got a little dicey in Boston Garden there after the first two games.
Speaker A:I hope it doesn't after that.
Speaker A:If it goes, I mean it's looking like it's going to go well obviously deep into this series but yeah, we'll get into that.
Speaker A:And you mentioned the Mets, you were out at Citi Field this week, got a one of the losses unfortunately you got to see.
Speaker A:But you got a close up look.
Speaker B:We saw the Mets win on.
Speaker A:Oh, that's right.
Speaker A:I'm sorry you went Friday night.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And the Mets have been, been good at home.
Speaker B:You know, they've just found a way to win home run first at bat from Lindor.
Speaker B:And I have to say I know it was a giveaway and they have giveaways all the time now, you know, but it was a kind of a rainy day.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was nice.
Speaker B:Weren't sure if it was going to.
Speaker A:Not a nice evening.
Speaker B:Then all of a sudden by like 2:30.
Speaker B:It wasn't that bad for I believe you know it was a cool night but the Mets are drawing really well.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker B:You know and even last night in a loss 40 something thousand.
Speaker B:I just don't like that last night was a Fox game followed by today being a Roku game.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker B:Do we have to have two non, you know like national television slash non regular games?
Speaker B:Can we just like do one per weekend?
Speaker B:Such, such a strange thing.
Speaker A:I don't know if you remember my Roku rant from last year.
Speaker A:I'm not much of a ranter but that was definitely something.
Speaker A:But before we get to any of that, we're very pleased to welcome former New York Islander, former Minnesota Wild player, recently announced his retirement officially.
Speaker A:And that's Cal Clutterbuck.
Speaker A:Cal, Mike and Chris here on Long Island.
Speaker A:Welcome to the program and thanks for joining us.
Speaker C:Hey guys, thanks for having Me?
Speaker A:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:It's our pleasure.
Speaker A:And, you know, a lot of different things we'd like to touch on with you tonight while we have you.
Speaker A:You know, certainly your announcement, your quick announcement that you made a couple weeks back about your official retirement, but we can get to that in a minute.
Speaker A:But we just, as a former Islander, you have two Islander fans sitting here.
Speaker A:Full disclosure.
Speaker A:So love the way you played, loved your style, and just we want to thank you for, you know, everything you did for the island.
Speaker C:I appreciate you saying, you know, I also love it here.
Speaker C:I've been here a long time now.
Speaker C:I think I'm on year 12 here on Long island.
Speaker C:So I can't say that I was expecting to fall in love with this place as much as I did when I got traded here.
Speaker C:But, you know, here we are 12 or so years later, and I was glad that I found such a home here and on and off the ice.
Speaker C:So it was a nice ride and it continues to be a great place to be.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:Growing up, who were your teams that you rooted for and, you know, maybe some of the guys that you looked up to, some of your idols back then?
Speaker C:Well, I was born to a French Canadian mother and most of my extended family were Montreal Canadian fans.
Speaker C:I wasn't really, maybe in my early years, but I was more of a, more of a fan of the Colorado Avalanche, actually.
Speaker C:I was a big Joe Sackic fan and I loved the jerseys.
Speaker C:They were, you know, pretty new and cool and I think mostly because of Joe Sackic and they had such great teams and, you know, it was just a really, really fun time for them with the rivalries with the Red Wings and all that.
Speaker C:So I kind of fell in love with the AVs.
Speaker A:So, Kat, in junior hockey, when you were a little bit younger, considered more of a scorer, I believe that was kind of your game.
Speaker A:And as you kind of evolved, your game became more physical.
Speaker A:Obviously you're the all time leader in hits in the NHL.
Speaker A:When they started to measure that you get drafted by the Minnesota Wild.
Speaker A:Can you talk about just the draft experience and your first NHL game and how, how exciting that must have been and just how your game kind of evolved over the years?
Speaker C:Yeah, my game was always a little physical, but I did score a lot more in junior than I ended up scoring in the NHL.
Speaker C:You know, like most kids, when you start playing minor hockey, scoring was the focus.
Speaker C:But, you know, when contact started to come into the picture for us, I think we were much younger back then.
Speaker C:When we started playing, we were.
Speaker C:We started having contact be allowed, so it was much younger.
Speaker C:So, you know, I.
Speaker C:I was always pretty good at.
Speaker C:Was always part of my game.
Speaker C:But as I got drafted and especially when I turned pro, I started to kind of assume the role and really started paying attention to the details of the game.
Speaker C:And, you know, I really enjoyed.
Speaker C:I was lucky.
Speaker C:I had a couple good coaches along the way that are very detail based and.
Speaker C:And I was able to kind of learn the ins and outs of the game.
Speaker C:And it just, you know, kind of worked out that that was what I was really good at, just paying attention to detail, killing penalties, playing kind of a defensive shutdown role with the capability of scoring a big goal when you need one.
Speaker C:And obviously, the physicality part of it was always pretty consistent.
Speaker B: es, and then in the summer of: Speaker B:Can you kind of give us the mindset of being traded from Minnesota to Long island and trying to figure out what that's all about?
Speaker C:Yeah, it was interesting.
Speaker C:I was in Minnesota, obviously, for what I thought was going to be longer than six years, really at the time.
Speaker C:And then right around the lockout was my last year there.
Speaker C:I think they had signed Ryan Suter and Zach Parisi, and with the cap being the cap, there was really no opportunity for me to stick around there.
Speaker C:So I knew a move was inevitable.
Speaker C:I just didn't know where.
Speaker C:And like I said, I ended up here at the draft.
Speaker C:And I would be lying if I said I was completely thrilled about it at the time, but, you know, you never know.
Speaker C:And it turned out to be one of the.
Speaker C:Obviously one of the best things that could have happened to me.
Speaker C:So it was interesting times, trying to kind of move here and figure out logistically where we wanted to be, but kind of got lucky and, you know, we've been here, like I said, ever since, so.
Speaker B: In: Speaker B:I believe in 23 years.
Speaker B:1993 was the last time the Islanders had won a playoff series.
Speaker B:Can you talk about what that was like in being part of a team where, you know, people are jumping for joy?
Speaker B:I believe at that time that the Islanders weren't even playing in the Old Coliseum.
Speaker B:At that point, you guys had shifted to the Barclays Center.
Speaker C:We won that series at the Barclays Center.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:The last year we played at the Coliseum, the first time was the year before that.
Speaker C:I think we lost in 7 to 10 to the caps.
Speaker C:And, you know, I felt the feeling surrounding that series was we had taken another step forward.
Speaker C:I think we felt that we were building something as a group of guys.
Speaker C:You know, the group of guys who was in that room stuck together for a number of years.
Speaker C:You know, the original crew was, you know, the Franz Nielsens, Kyle Apostos, John Tavares.
Speaker C:And then we kind of injected a couple other guys in there.
Speaker C:Ryan Strom came along.
Speaker C:The emergence of Brock Nelson, Anders, Lee, Casey, Marty and I kind of doing our thing.
Speaker C:And so.
Speaker C:And then you add.
Speaker C:We added Boychuk and Letty.
Speaker C:And I think those two additions kind of put us over the top.
Speaker C:And I felt like we all knew as a team that we were trending in the right direction.
Speaker C:And we felt that way, you know, all the way through until probably until Johnny left to go to Toronto.
Speaker C:And then maybe that belief kind of wavered for a second and then we regained it pretty quickly the following year and swept the Penguins in the first round and went on to lose to Carolina, but really had that feeling like we were capable of doing a lot more.
Speaker B:Good memory there.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Cal Cloterbach joins us here on the program.
Speaker A:Cal, I wanted to ask you, and I always.
Speaker A:I'm very curious about this because I'm in my 50s.
Speaker A:I was a young kid when the Islanders won their four Stanley Cups.
Speaker A:So I go way back.
Speaker A:You know, the Coliseum was my place, first place to see games.
Speaker A:The old barn, you know, Fort Neverloose.
Speaker A:When you guys moved from there to the Barkley center, was that transition tough for the team and for the identity at that time?
Speaker A:You know, as a fan, it was kind of a weird time in the history of the team for us.
Speaker A:What was it like moving to the Barclays center and trying to get re established there?
Speaker C:It was a very weird time for us as well.
Speaker C:I think we were.
Speaker C:We almost felt like we were in between two places.
Speaker C:We weren't sure.
Speaker C:We were hearing rumblings that it wasn't going to be a permanent home.
Speaker C:Clearly there were no sort of improvements being made that would point towards it being a long term solution.
Speaker C:You know, we still practice here on Long Island.
Speaker C:The practice rink was brand new out here on Long Island.
Speaker C:We were driving into games.
Speaker C:You know, I was leaving my house at like 1:32 o' clock to get in the car to drive down there.
Speaker C:And the amount of time I spent on the Jackie Robinson Parkway is ungodly.
Speaker C:You know, five years of that.
Speaker A:You are a real New Yorker now when you're saying that, Cal.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right.
Speaker C:I found out real quick, you know, and it was, you know, the interesting part about it was I think our winning percentage was pretty good there.
Speaker C:We won a lot of games there.
Speaker C:I think it's because other teams hated going there so much didn't show up.
Speaker B:The ice was pretty damn close to go.
Speaker C:Ice was bad.
Speaker C:It was a long drive.
Speaker C:It was definitely a unique time.
Speaker C:But I think, again, that group of guys that we had, these experiences seemed to bring us closer together as a group.
Speaker C:We always kind of.
Speaker C:We had an underdog mentality because we didn't have the luxuries that other teams would have.
Speaker C:So we used that as sort of motivation.
Speaker C:I think that's why you saw such a, you know, tight knit and gritty group of guys emerge from that situation.
Speaker C:Because, you know, there's two ways that that could, that could, you know, affect the team.
Speaker C:And I think we, we did a pretty good job of harnessing it and, and using it for good.
Speaker B:Yeah, we hated the, the sight lines there, too.
Speaker B: And eventually in: Speaker B: And then eventually in: Speaker B: d round back to back years in: Speaker B:How did you guys, how were you guys able to kind of stay together when you didn't even know what county you were going to be in again?
Speaker C:It wasn't, you know, we were just a group of guys that it didn't matter.
Speaker C:You know, it didn't matter where we were, didn't matter where we were playing.
Speaker C:I just, you know, we were a determined bunch.
Speaker C:We, like, just enjoyed being around each other.
Speaker C:And, you know, at that time, too, UBS arena was already well underway and we had something to look forward to.
Speaker C:But we really put a lot of pressure on.
Speaker C:I think when Lou came in, we put a lot of pressure on Lou, and then Lou, in turn, probably put a lot of pressure on Gary Bettman just to allow us to go back to what it was, the renovated version of the Coliseum, just to finish it off.
Speaker C:I think he understood once he got there.
Speaker C:Lou, I mean, and Gary, as Well, that.
Speaker C:That was just.
Speaker C:That was the proper way to do it.
Speaker C:And it really gave us a shot in the arm being able to go back into that old barn and play because, you know, as old and.
Speaker C:And it needed to be replaced, obviously.
Speaker C:But, you know, there.
Speaker C:There's just.
Speaker C:There's not a building like that that exists today.
Speaker C:You know, they just don't.
Speaker C:They don't exist.
Speaker C:They don't make them like that.
Speaker C:Just the.
Speaker C:The concrete, you know, building that just reverberates sound and it could be 7,500 people in there.
Speaker C:There could be 15,000.
Speaker C:Place could be louder than any other rank.
Speaker C:So we loved it.
Speaker C:It was a great.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:It was definitely the right way.
Speaker C:Way to go about things is just to finish it off there and then transition.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:You were with the Islanders for 11 years.
Speaker B:Do you have a favorite teammate?
Speaker C:I have plenty.
Speaker C:I don't have one.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:I do.
Speaker C:You know, there's too many and guys for different reasons.
Speaker C:But, you know, for argument's sake, it's probably Casey and Matt.
Speaker C:You could probably throw Josh Bailey in that mix.
Speaker C:Those are the guys I spent the most time with and still do today.
Speaker C:You know, our kids are very close, Josh's boys and my son and Jack Suzikis, River, Casey's son.
Speaker C:They're all very close.
Speaker C:You know, Matty's here all the time, so I'm very close with those four guys.
Speaker C:Kind of the original four, but a lot.
Speaker C:A lot of really good teammates.
Speaker C:You know, I keep in touch with a ton of the guys that I played with.
Speaker A:That's fantastic.
Speaker A: You know,: Speaker A:Cal, you play 82 games for the Islanders, and then this past year you didn't play.
Speaker A:What was your thought process kind of after that last year?
Speaker A:Were you not thinking that you were going to possibly not, you know, play again?
Speaker A:Or were you on the fence about it?
Speaker A:Or were you.
Speaker A:Were you pretty much thinking you were going to get a contract and play again?
Speaker A:Where was your mindset after that last season when you were on the ice?
Speaker C:I honestly didn't think it was going to be the last season that I played, but I definitely felt like I was capable to play last year.
Speaker C:I still feel that way.
Speaker C:There was no situation that presented itself to me that made sense for me to go out there and do it.
Speaker C:And, you know, I take a lot of pride in the role that I was able to play for most all of my career.
Speaker C:I felt like with the Islanders and the direction that, you know, it was heading, it was that role was going to be diminished considerably.
Speaker C:And I wasn't really, you know, and I'm, you know, self aware enough to know that when things are kind of nearing their end or it might be time to go look somewhere else.
Speaker C:So I just looked to see what was out there.
Speaker C:And when all the chips were down, there wasn't a situation that really enticed me to go and do it again.
Speaker C:And I just felt like my investment needs to be there 100% emotionally.
Speaker C:That's kind of how I always played the game.
Speaker C:I needed to be all in or nothing and just felt like if I'd given it a go.
Speaker C:Even looking at other teams other than the Islanders, I think the more I looked at those teams, the more I felt like, you know, if I wasn't going to do it here, I didn't really have the juice to go out and do it for a full 82 and then probably a playoff run.
Speaker C:So I just decided to take a couple months from September to November and just not play and give myself a little break.
Speaker C:And, you know, I ended up on TV instead.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So things kind of just fell into place and, you know, I never really looked back and.
Speaker C:And then was able to finally make the video a couple weeks ago.
Speaker C:But, you know, that was just because I'd been out in public for the whole year.
Speaker C:You know, we do tv.
Speaker C:We're on the concourse at ubs.
Speaker C:I was getting asked a lot.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker C:Individually, what my plans were.
Speaker C:So I figured I would let let everyone know and then.
Speaker C:Then I can kind of break free from the career and start looking forward.
Speaker A:From this year's team.
Speaker A:No offense to it at all.
Speaker A:Again, we're fans and we respect the team very much, but I think one of the things perhaps that the team was missing this year was your style.
Speaker A:Just hard hitting, kind of that line that you were on with, as you mentioned, with Casey and Matt and just that kind of energy.
Speaker A:Anything you saw in this year's team that maybe you were surprised with or that maybe was something that you could point to, that they didn't quite live up to what we were hoping for.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think there was a little bit of an identity crisis in the.
Speaker C:And I don't mean that in the sense that, you know, that was sort of our nickname for a line.
Speaker C:It's just that there was.
Speaker C:I'm not sure that they knew who they were heading into the season.
Speaker C:How are the, you know, 24, 25 Islanders going to hockey games consistently?
Speaker C:And you have to know that when you go into a season, because, you know, the only way to stick to and look consistent and produce consistent results in this league, in the NHL, is to know who you are and go out and try and execute it to the best of your ability.
Speaker C:You know, there are times I think this team's frustrating because you look at a lot of names on the roster, you come to the conclusion that they should be good enough to at least make the playoffs and potentially, you know, with maybe an addition or two mid season or at the deadline, potentially, you know, get back to a place similar to where we were a couple years ago.
Speaker C:I think the main issue with that is, is that the team really kind of lost its way and didn't know who it was and.
Speaker C:And, you know, it's too bad.
Speaker C:But again, it's.
Speaker C:I think it's.
Speaker C:It's an easy fix.
Speaker C:I think you figure out, you know, there's a new general manager that's going to be coming in here.
Speaker C:He's going to have his idea for what he wants for the team.
Speaker C:And just like it was with Lou and Barry, when they came in, they told us exactly who we were going to.
Speaker C:We needed to be in order to be successful.
Speaker C:And we just went out and tried to work every day towards being, you know, that team and being that team consistently.
Speaker C:And we were.
Speaker C:And we had a lot of success doing it.
Speaker C:We didn't do anything special.
Speaker C:We just were the same every day, which is not as easy to do as people think.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Were you surprised that Brock was traded?
Speaker A:Were you thinking that he was going to resign?
Speaker C:You know, interesting situation.
Speaker C:I know it was very difficult on him either way, even after he left.
Speaker C:Those couple weeks leading up and a couple weeks after were difficult on him.
Speaker C:I know, but, you know, these things kind of happen.
Speaker C:They come to a head.
Speaker C:I have no idea what the future holds for him.
Speaker C:He got a.
Speaker C:I'm sure, a great experience in going to Denver and playing with those players of that caliber and seeing, you know, different viewpoint.
Speaker C:Don't forget, you know, Brock's been here for 12, 13 seasons.
Speaker C:He's known nothing but the Islanders.
Speaker C:I think he just felt that at the time.
Speaker C:And you have to remember, in March, things weren't looking great for the Islanders.
Speaker C:And, you know, I know they balanced.
Speaker C:They got close to a playoff spot a couple times, but it wasn't.
Speaker C:I think we can all agree that the substance really wasn't there for us to be all that excited about it.
Speaker C:So all these things factor in and, you know, he's.
Speaker C:We'll see.
Speaker C:We'll see where he ends up.
Speaker B:Cal, sticking on the, the current Islanders, you played for part of a season for Patrick Waugh.
Speaker B:What was that experience like?
Speaker B:And, and kind of, you know, I'm sure knowing that you were an AVS fan and watching Joe Sakic, you probably watched him in the net a lot growing up, too.
Speaker B:So what was it like playing under Patrick as a coach?
Speaker C:Yeah, you never know what to expect.
Speaker C:Obviously, the household name in my household being that most of my family were huge Montreal fans and right around that time where he was his client for them.
Speaker C:But, you know, he was good.
Speaker C:He's full of energy, clearly loves the game.
Speaker C:You know, big, big into the cheerleading and the motivation.
Speaker C:And you can see that he shares a lot of personal experience.
Speaker C:He draws on his past and his former teammates, and he tells a lot of stories about things that went on on the teams that he played on that were very successful and sometimes on the teams that weren't so successful.
Speaker C:So he's got a lot of big time experience in that way.
Speaker C:And, you know, for me, it was just, it was cool to just hear that sort of perspective from somebody who is held in such high regard in the game.
Speaker A:Once again, we're joined by New York Islander great Cal Clutterbuck.
Speaker A:And Cal, now the Islanders not making the playoffs this year, but miraculously draw the number one pick in the NHL draft, which we were saying before we got on the air.
Speaker A:I guess that's the best consolation prize you can ask for if you don't make the playoffs.
Speaker A:Any thoughts on where, if you're the gm, where the team should go or where they might go?
Speaker A:You know, it's pretty exciting.
Speaker A:There's three or four names being bounced around.
Speaker A:Have you been following it and you have any idea what they might do?
Speaker C:Yeah, if I knew who the GM was going to be, I have a decent idea of what he's going to do, he or she.
Speaker C:But I, you know, if I look at this team from, you know, after watching them all year, I think, and I'm watching other teams, you watch the teams that come in that have a lot of success.
Speaker C:And I think there's one thing in common with those teams, and it's an elite defenseman.
Speaker C:And they're very, very hard to come by.
Speaker C:Very, very hard to come by.
Speaker C:And, you know, I know that there's.
Speaker C:There's a young man that's from Long island that's a huge Islander fan that.
Speaker C:That is right there in the mix as well.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:And a kid who went and tied John Tavares Jr.
Speaker C: aying on my line back in like: Speaker C:So they've got some great options, you know, but I think when it boils down to it, I think generationally, from a franchise sort of changing perspective, it's really hard to pass up a defenseman who's considered to be the consensus number one pick.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's kind of exciting times for the Islanders to be able to look for something and, you know, I think even in your role as an analyst, you get to kind of look at that.
Speaker B:So it gives them a chance to look at a Long island kid in Hagan's.
Speaker B:And then also Schaefer is the defenseman.
Speaker B:So I guess for you it kind of gives you, you know, knowing that a lot of these guys played with you, something to kind of look up to, to say, hey, if we just add one guy here or there, it might change the team considerably, right?
Speaker C:It does.
Speaker C:It definitely.
Speaker C:A player of this caliber has the chance to change a team considerably.
Speaker C:And then you have to remember they also traded for Cal Ritchie when they traded Brock.
Speaker C:So you've kind of got your, you know, your top three, top one forward kind of in the pipeline replenished.
Speaker C:And so, you know, the question becomes, do you add another forward of that caliber or do you, you know, mix him in with the already, you know, pretty high end talent they have at the forward position?
Speaker C:I think if there's anything that's pretty glaring for them, their goaltending is great.
Speaker C:Listen, Ilya has had some good years and bad.
Speaker C:I know what he's capable of, and I truly believe he's a top five goaltender in the National Hockey League.
Speaker C:So you got that position taken care of.
Speaker C:I think the one position that they could use a little help in his mobility and a dynamic player on the back end that can run a power play, you know, something along the lines of Warrenski or a, you know, Hughes or Makar.
Speaker C:First overall picks have that, that potential.
Speaker C:So if you have a chance to grab one of those three guys in this draft, it's kind of hard to pass that up.
Speaker B:So, cal, thinking back 11 years on the island, do you have a favorite moment at all?
Speaker C:Not one in particular.
Speaker C:You know, I do have one moment.
Speaker C:There was a.
Speaker C:In.
Speaker C:I think it was game.
Speaker C:I think it was game three or game four.
Speaker C:We were at the Coliseum Tampa series the second time we played them when Ryan Pulak made a goal line save.
Speaker C:That was pretty incredible.
Speaker C:That was cool.
Speaker C: in the Washington series in: Speaker C:I scored the NC Net goal to kind of feel that.
Speaker C:So that was really fun.
Speaker C:You know, the couple playoff clinching games against Pittsburgh and Boston that year where we beat them up pretty handily.
Speaker C:And I remember the place being really crazy.
Speaker C:The fans were finally allowed back in after a year and a half, two years of COVID And then my whole experience in the bubble with the guys was, you know, people think that that must have been horrible.
Speaker C:It was like actually one of the funnest times of my life.
Speaker C:I felt like I was able to kind of get the college treatment for three months.
Speaker C:So I never got a chance to go and do that.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But, you know, just living in a hotel with 25 year best friends with nowhere to go but, you know, having to hang out.
Speaker C:We had guitars and beers and cards and, you know, just.
Speaker C:It was fun.
Speaker C:It was fun.
Speaker C:And along the way we were, you know, getting closer and closer to what was all of our collective's ultimate goal.
Speaker C:You know, it was a crazy time, but it was pretty cool.
Speaker A:So what does the future hold, Cal?
Speaker A:Are you going to continue with TV and being an analyst, or are you kind of looking into some other things besides playing golf?
Speaker A:What are you looking at in retirement?
Speaker C:You know, I'm just trying a little bit everything right now just to see what kind of stays sticky.
Speaker C:Seems just to find out what I like to do.
Speaker C:And tv, I definitely enjoyed it.
Speaker C:I'd like to continue doing it in some capacity for sure.
Speaker C:And I think in the near term that's probably going to continue.
Speaker C:And you know, the other things, I do like to play a lot of golf, maybe try and play some amateur events around the Met and PGA here.
Speaker A:And what's your favorite course in the area?
Speaker C:That's a tough question.
Speaker C:As you can see, I don't like to pick one favorite of anything.
Speaker C:I do love.
Speaker C:I do love Shinnecock.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think it's hard to turn that one down, but, you know, the best day in golf might be Shinnecock and National Links of America in the same day with a little lunch in between.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker A:That's a.
Speaker A:That's a retirement dream right there.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, we really liked you doing the MSG stuff.
Speaker B:It's a lot of fun to see a former player and for you, you were pretty new from it you officially hadn't even retired.
Speaker B:To see you there with Thomas Hickey, it's kind of a nice connection sometimes.
Speaker B:So, you know, if you can stick with that, I think that's a good start, and it allows the Islander fans to still have that connection with somebody that's new off the ice.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was great that way for me, too, because I think if I would have just been away from it all, I would have missed it a lot more than I end up missing it.
Speaker C:You know, I was still part of it, still felt like I was invested in the success of the team and being able to be there and just trying to explain to people a different perspective on not only the players and their personalities, but the game itself.
Speaker C:So it was a lot of fun.
Speaker B:And lastly, the way you've made the announcement for the retirement, you said you went to the Masters on Thursday, and there you were at home on a Saturday.
Speaker B:And honestly, Cal, you really didn't even say much.
Speaker B:You just said, oh, that's it.
Speaker B:How was it that you kind of knew you wanted to say something?
Speaker B:You probably did about 10 takes of those, and you still basically didn't even know what to say when you were retiring.
Speaker B:What was that moment like?
Speaker C:It was more difficult than I thought it was going to be, honestly, because I started speaking, I knew I was going to mess up a couple of those videos.
Speaker C:So it actually ended up.
Speaker C:That was the first one I actually shot.
Speaker B:Oh, geez.
Speaker C:And I made about 10 more, and they were not the same.
Speaker C:And I showed my wife that one.
Speaker C:She just kind of laughed and she's like, it's very you.
Speaker C:I didn't want to make any noise.
Speaker C:I just wanted to have people understand that, like I said, I was done.
Speaker C:I wasn't looking for a job.
Speaker C:I was having that conversation on a daily basis.
Speaker C:You know, 10 to 15 times the same conversation.
Speaker C:I felt like I was explaining myself to every individual that I knew or that I crossed paths with.
Speaker C:So I figured if I just made one announcement and people would know and then we could talk about something else, and that was really the motivation behind it.
Speaker C:And, you know, there's a ton of people I could have thanked.
Speaker C:I definitely want the Islander fans to know how much they mean to me, but I think that's going to be.
Speaker C:That's already evident through, you know, me being here and living my life here and being with MSG and interacting with them individually on the concourse and stuff.
Speaker C:So I wanted to keep it short and sweet.
Speaker C:And, you know, it does get to that point where there's nothing really else to say.
Speaker C:You know, I'm just, that's it.
Speaker C:I'm going to hang them up and I'm done.
Speaker C:And I don't like to really, you know, I didn't feel like adding lipstick to any of it.
Speaker C:I just kind of said it.
Speaker A:Well, I'm sure you're going to hear this a lot this year, but thank you for everything you did for the team.
Speaker A:You know, as I mentioned, you have two lifelong Islander fans here.
Speaker A:You brought it every game, you brought it every shift.
Speaker A:And that's what New York was all about and is always looking for.
Speaker A:And that's what made you so endearing to us.
Speaker A:And in retirement, we wish you all the best.
Speaker A:We're looking forward to seeing you on TV and what comes next for you.
Speaker A:And hopefully we can have you on again maybe when the season comes in and talk a little hockey, see what the Islanders decided.
Speaker A:But again, enjoy your time off and keep hitting them straight.
Speaker A:And thanks for everything as a New.
Speaker C:York Islander, I appreciate that.
Speaker C:Thanks for having me on.
Speaker C:I'd love to hop on whenever you guys need me.
Speaker C:You know where to find me.
Speaker C:Have a great night.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Thanks again.
Speaker A:Thanks, Cal.
Speaker A:Cloterbach.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:A great New York Islander.
Speaker A:Great guys.
Speaker A:You can hear really what you see is what you get.
Speaker A:And that was a fantastic.
Speaker B:Glad he's become a Long Islander, too.
Speaker B:It's really nice.
Speaker A:That's very nice.
Speaker A:We're going to take a quick break and then we'll be back.
Speaker A:Talk a little Mets and Knicks here on Sports Talk New York.
Speaker C:You're listening to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker B:Sports talk.
Speaker B:You're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgpp.
Speaker B:And now back to the show.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the second half of Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:Mike Woodone, joined as always by my co host Chris Caputo, just finished up a fantastic interview with Cal Clutterbuck, former New York Islander.
Speaker B:Great.
Speaker A:Going to do a little TV probably this year, but just, you know, I hate to keep saying this over and over again, Cap, but he to me was a real throwback guy, you know, in that Clark Gillies, you know, Bobby Nystrom mode.
Speaker A:He just knew how to bring energy to the team and I think he was very.
Speaker A:I think he was very cordial and very nice and how he was kind of breaking down this year's team because you could see you wanted to play.
Speaker B:You have to take an opinion if you're going to be in that role.
Speaker B:Like, they're not putting you on in between periods to talk about how the puck rolled upon the ice into the goalies glove.
Speaker B:Like you have to say something.
Speaker B:But at the same time, you played for that team for 11 years.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And a lot of those guys on the ice you were in the locker room with.
Speaker B:So you're not going to bring up old stories.
Speaker B:You can't just focus on the positive if the team's not playing well.
Speaker B:I thought he did a great job of talking about what the Islanders needs were and maybe the lack of identity this year that they needed.
Speaker B:And as you said, like, good teams needed defensemen.
Speaker A:It seemed like.
Speaker A:And I could be wrong, but I got the feeling he was kind of a big Barry Trots fan.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, that type of.
Speaker A:Yeah, it seemed like.
Speaker A:Because he talked about identity, like you mentioned, and then I think he liked playing for Patrick Awa, you know, in between those two, who knows?
Speaker A:But interesting how he kind of said that Patrick Awa was a cheerleader.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's interesting when you think about some of these guys because, you know, let's say you did make it to the high level and whatever you did, Mike, whether you're a tennis player, a football player, basketball player, would you enjoy more playing for a guy who seems to know how to make the ship Right.
Speaker B:And the system?
Speaker B:Or would you maybe say, man, it would be great to play for, you know, Mookie Wilson or a guy that, like, you grew up idolizing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You know, it's kind of like a tough situation because some of these people that you grew up idolizing, it's nice to have them next to you, but at the same time, maybe they're not the right situation to be as a coach.
Speaker B:And again, you and I have had this conversation about Patrick while, you know, I don't even know if this is going to be long term.
Speaker B:If you have a new GM come in, is he going to quickly make a change in the middle of a summer?
Speaker B:It's only been a year and a half with Patrick wa, but at the same time, if somebody else wants somebody new in, they're going to do that.
Speaker B:And you may bring in more of a defensive coach, I don't know.
Speaker B:But I thought Cal was great and, you know, I wish him all the best in retirement.
Speaker B:Because I think he's going to make some waves.
Speaker A:And as you mentioned, he is really a Long island guy now.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's cool that he stuck around.
Speaker A:You could see he wasn't all that thrilled when he was traded here.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, you know, you become friends with guys like Matt Martin, who you.
Speaker B:You were on the line with, and Casey Zizikis like you, you kind of still have that bond.
Speaker B:You can still see those guys even though you're not playing.
Speaker B:And I think that's the other thing is I think that's the end of the line for Matt Martin, too.
Speaker B:So he might have to make that announcement at some point that he's no longer playing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Interesting times on the island for the.
Speaker A:For the Islanders.
Speaker A:It's going to be a cool couple of months here.
Speaker A:See where they go, who comes in, who goes out.
Speaker A:And certainly that story is not.
Speaker A:Is not written.
Speaker A:But let's change gears here a little bit.
Speaker A:Let's go over to the.
Speaker A:To msg, the Madison Square Garden, talk a little New York Knicks basketball got off to the fast start here after taking care of business with the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker A:But how fast?
Speaker A:That's the question.
Speaker A:We started to get into that a little bit before Cal called in.
Speaker A:Being down in two wins, down 20.
Speaker A:And then in the third game, your first game at home, you kind of lay an egg there, too.
Speaker A:I think you and I met, we might have a little different stance on the future of this series.
Speaker A:I'm a little bit more optimistic.
Speaker A:I think the Knicks can rally.
Speaker A:I think they can make it.
Speaker A:Even though how bad they looked and how bad they have looked at times, I think they can make the corrections.
Speaker A:I'm a little worried about Karl Anthony Towne's hand.
Speaker A:You know, it seems that could be maybe a little bit more of a factor than anything else.
Speaker A:But what are you looking at here?
Speaker A:You have as sunny an attitude as I do.
Speaker B:Well, I think, you know, as we talked about last week, I said if the Knicks can steal game one.
Speaker B:Well, not only did they steal Game one, they stole game two, and they won both of the games up in Boston.
Speaker B:But I just felt like during the regular season, the Celtics were the better team.
Speaker B:I still think the Celtics are the better team.
Speaker B:I'm not out there saying the Knicks are dead.
Speaker B:I just think that the performance that they put up in three games for the first three quarters has been pretty poor.
Speaker B:And then to come back and make a comeback in both the first two games but not do it in the third game kind of gives you a little bit of a worry because the Celtics started to connect from three point range.
Speaker B:And I think as much as people want to say, oh, it's not just that.
Speaker B:It is a lot about the Celtics ability to shoot the three, you know, if they're 12 for 20 at.
Speaker B:At halftime or they're, you know, 16 for 32 at the end of the game, that's a big difference than going 12 or 48 over the first two games when they were wide and couldn't hit anything.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:And I feel like it's almost been the Celtics game to take.
Speaker B:And then if they're not taking the game, is Jalen Brunson at the end still going to steal it?
Speaker B:Because as bad as The Celtics shot 12 for 48 from.
Speaker B:From.
Speaker B:From three point range for the, for the first two games, they still were 1.11 away from winning those games.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's almost, it's almost hard to fathom that an NBA team that has shot so well, I mean, one game.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But two games at home in a shooting slump and then, and then to come out of it at Madison Square Garden is quite an accomplishment.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't think the Knicks have such a home court advantage there either.
Speaker B:Seems like the Celtics have no problem coming in.
Speaker B:And remember that the Pistons had no problem coming in there trying to take games.
Speaker B:Also, the Celtics defense inside was better.
Speaker B:I think more Porzingis in game three helped.
Speaker B:You know, I really thought Hauser was a big loss for the Celtics.
Speaker B:And you need more.
Speaker B:And we were talking about this before.
Speaker B:You need more from the Knicks to start the game.
Speaker B:You know, your starting group needs to give you a little bit more.
Speaker B:You can't wait for a Mitchell Robinson or, you know, a bench player to come in and give you a spark.
Speaker B:They need a little bit more from their starting group to start the game.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A: -: Speaker A: -: Speaker A:If you want to talk a little islanders like we just did or Knicks, we're going to talk a little Mets and Yankees coming up.
Speaker A:Yeah, the starting group.
Speaker A:And it's not like they can plug somebody else in there.
Speaker A:I mean, that's.
Speaker A:That's what it is.
Speaker A:Mikhail Bridges, I was very high on him coming in.
Speaker A:I think he's done some great things.
Speaker A:He just seems super inconsistent.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:To me, which I never thought they gave up a lot to get him.
Speaker B:Yeah, he did well in the fourth quarter in game two.
Speaker B:He, you know, he kind of, he had no points going into that quarter, but then he stepped it up.
Speaker B:I just think in general, and I'm sorry to go a little bit wider, but in general, the NBA playoffs are just very odd.
Speaker B:Indiana leads their series two to one and is leading in game.
Speaker B:For the Thunder and the Nuggets, it's like one game, team's up by 40 and the next game it's close.
Speaker B:The Timberwolves should be blowing out the warriors every game they lead two games to one.
Speaker B:Without Steph Curry, they're a totally different team.
Speaker B:So I think these series have just taken on a totally different vibe than what I thought they would.
Speaker B:One game a team scores 140 points.
Speaker B:The next game it's 91 90.
Speaker A:So yeah, and I was, I mean, not that I was surprised that they lost, but I thought the Lakers would at least make a little bit more of a series than they did against Minnesota.
Speaker A:But you know, once they were out of it, a lot of the storylines of people talking Boston, LA final and that lost it, I just think that, you know, they're called the best players in the world and I really think they are in the NBA, but they're not the best teams.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's just, it's a lot of just running up and shoot, which we get.
Speaker A:You know, the coach, Tom Thibodeau of the Knicks, he was talking the other day about the Celtics running this five out series and that's what it is.
Speaker A:It's just drive, dish, shoot threes.
Speaker A:You know, that's what the game has kind of become.
Speaker A:But I think that's what makes it so wide open.
Speaker B:Yeah, and I think the, it has been less on the referees in the past in these series that are going on now, and more on the players.
Speaker B:I don't think it's been as controversial, but the Knicks need some inside presence and I think they, you know, at this point cannot come out in game four and put themselves in a big hole.
Speaker B:They've got to find a way to put some points on the board and to play some defense.
Speaker B:And if you're just going to give up.
Speaker B:Wide open threes, wide open threes.
Speaker B:And the Celtics are knocking it down by halftime, you're going to be in that same situation.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You got to change it up.
Speaker A:I don't know exactly what they could do if, you know, I think back to the late 80s when Pitino was coaching, he put that full court press on him even in the NBA and that today you would never see that.
Speaker B:Never.
Speaker A:And they're not going to switch to his own because it's a shooting team, but it is what it is.
Speaker A:You know, I hope that just that the next, you know, are they going to win this next game at home?
Speaker A:Who knows?
Speaker A:But at least make.
Speaker A:Make the game competitive, start off, make it a little different than it's, and.
Speaker B:Win one out of the next three games that you have a Game seven.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:That's the whole point.
Speaker B:You got to put yourself on Monday the 19th, having a game seven up in Boston, and that just takes winning, you know, one of these games to put themselves in that Game seven.
Speaker B:That's what happens when you win the first two.
Speaker B:So should be good.
Speaker B:I don't count them out.
Speaker B:I think they could win two more games, but I think it's going to take a game where they actually start out on fire, play some good defense, you know, limit what Jaylen Brown has in the lane.
Speaker B:I think he's gotten too many easy looks.
Speaker B:And you got it.
Speaker B:I keep saying it.
Speaker B:You got to get something from your bench.
Speaker B:And I feel like they don't get that if you're still going to do the whole hack of Mitch, you know, you have to make them pay for that.
Speaker B:And, you know, him throwing up air balls, I think.
Speaker B:I don't know if I said it on the air last week, but you have to play him in the beginning of a quarter.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Because they're not going to foul him to put the team in the bonus.
Speaker B:No, they're only fouling him because they're already in the bonus and they're taking a guy who's not in foul trouble and putting them on a line three times.
Speaker B:We can go one for six and you get, you know, one point out of three possessions.
Speaker B:You have to be a little bit smarter about when you play them.
Speaker A:You can see now also, this is a professional basketball player, and it's just completely in his head now about shooting.
Speaker A:I mean, he wasn't.
Speaker B:I'm sure he's practicing, Mike.
Speaker A:Oh, of course.
Speaker A:I had this conversation with a couple of friends at work this week, and they were asking me, doesn't this guy practice?
Speaker A:I'm sure he does.
Speaker A:And, you know, they're shooting coaches and all sorts of things, but he's a human being.
Speaker A:And I'm sure being out there and getting fouled and having to go.
Speaker A:Go to the line and the embarrassment of.
Speaker A:I mean, it's embarrassing for anybody, but for a professional basketball player to throw up an air ball in that ugly form that he has.
Speaker A:I feel for the guy, but.
Speaker A:Yeah, Tib said it the other day.
Speaker A:If he's not going to at least be competitive out there making a couple.
Speaker A:They can't use him.
Speaker B:That's tough.
Speaker B:You know, I think at some point, you got to at least put the ball near the rim, give it a shot to go in.
Speaker B:It should be interesting to see how.
Speaker B:How game four goes.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm excited, I think, for at least the New York fans to have something to.
Speaker B:Because, as I think we said, like, the Knicks have done this, gone past the first round three years in a row, but is that what the Knicks are.
Speaker B:Are we okay with that?
Speaker B:And if, for whatever reason, they lose this series, whether it's in six games or seven games, are we okay with that, too?
Speaker B:Is.
Speaker B:Is Tibbs getting another round or is it time to.
Speaker B:To move on?
Speaker B:Like, what is the.
Speaker B:What is the okayness?
Speaker B:Like, it's a two, three series.
Speaker B:It's not like the Knicks are a six seed playing a two seed.
Speaker B:This is a two versus three.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, making.
Speaker A:Make it to a game six, at least game seven.
Speaker A:You know, don't.
Speaker A:Don't lose the next three in a row and go out with a whimper.
Speaker A:I really think they need one more piece.
Speaker A:Somehow.
Speaker A:I don't know how they're going to do it.
Speaker A:I don't know how they're going to trade for it or, you know, they can't sign anybody, really.
Speaker B:I'm like, if they stay healthy, okay.
Speaker B:But now with the.
Speaker B:The injury to Carl Anthony Towns, where you could see him in his hand go, I just broke it.
Speaker B:I think I just broke it.
Speaker B:You know, like, that's going to be interesting to see if they don't have him or if he can't really play up to his potential.
Speaker B:You know, how bad things start to fall apart.
Speaker A:That's going to be tough.
Speaker A:Well, that'll be something.
Speaker A:The next time we're on the air, we'll definitely have, hopefully a.
Speaker A:Not a post mortem, but look, maybe.
Speaker B:They'Ll be playing, you know, Tyrese Halliburton and his dad.
Speaker B:I mean, holy cow, what the heck?
Speaker B:We stay off the court.
Speaker B:This is not meant for your family.
Speaker A:Well, and the funny thing was with that, you know, Giannis didn't even know that that was his dad.
Speaker A:I mean, he's.
Speaker A:He would have every right to punch him in the mouth.
Speaker A:Can someone come up to you like that?
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:But a little less.
Speaker A:Little less fighting, a little bit more, you know, pitching and catching here with it with the Mets.
Speaker A:As we mentioned, you were out at Citi Field earlier.
Speaker A:Looked like Juan Soto was starting to get hot now.
Speaker A:The last couple days cooling off again.
Speaker A:But Lindor.
Speaker A:Pete, you don't have to worry about it.
Speaker A:Brett Beatty had two home runs left.
Speaker B:I mean, two games.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Coming out of nowhere.
Speaker A:I'm a big Brett Beatty fan.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker A:I hope it works out for him.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But pitching, I mean, has been unbelievable still.
Speaker A:What do you think in the next couple of games, next few series as we get ready for the Yankees?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So the interesting thing is Paul Skeens pitches tomorrow night against the Mets in New York.
Speaker B:They've already fired their manager.
Speaker B:Shelton.
Speaker B:I think he's gone.
Speaker B:The Rockies just fired their manager today.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:After starting, I think 40 games at a 7 and 33 pace, they are horrendous.
Speaker B:So maybe you're getting a team that's down, but at the same time you're still getting Paul Skanes.
Speaker B:Yeah, but if you look at eras, the.
Speaker B:The Mets eras are great.
Speaker B:David Peterson even being the worst ERA of the five or six starters that the Mets have is only at like a 303, which is slightly worse than Paul Skeins at like 273.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then the edge goes to the Mets for Kodai Senga, who's in the ones with his era.
Speaker B:And I believe the Wednesday matchup, you're gonna get Clay Holmes, who's close to the ones in his era.
Speaker B:Now after that, the Yankees, you have to go across town to the Bronx to play the Yankees.
Speaker B:And I believe the Mets then will be throwing Tyler McGill against Carlos Rodone, undecided against, let's see, Griffin Canning would pitch on Sunday night, and then against Clark Schmidt and then I think undecided for the Mets it would be.
Speaker B:Sorry, I'm missing out on the last starter here.
Speaker B:So again, I just.
Speaker B:You're not putting your.
Speaker B:Your aces in the Yankee series, but I don't think it matters, Mike.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's going to be fun.
Speaker B:I don't think it's going to be like the rocking, but you have.
Speaker B:Both teams are in first place, so it's.
Speaker B:It's going to be good.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Both teams are in first place.
Speaker A:The Yankees a lot of up and down so far this year.
Speaker A:Although, you know, any Yankee Mets series is going to bring the juice for sure.
Speaker A:I just think that the Mets are starting to, you know, really establish here that they're a little bit more entertaining team to watch.
Speaker A:Although that's very difficult for me to say.
Speaker A:I completely understand when you're talking to Aaron Judge, who's, you know, probably the best player or second best Player in the game next to Ohtani, but pretty darn close.
Speaker A:I hope that.
Speaker A:I hope Soto wakes up before that or at least gets.
Speaker A:Gets a little bit.
Speaker B:That's going to be the whole talk of that Series, though.
Speaker B:He's going back to the Bronx.
Speaker B:So what's the reception he's going to get?
Speaker B:We could talk about this for five minutes.
Speaker B:Mike, what is the reception that Juan Soto is going to get when he steps into right field?
Speaker B:They're not going to DH him just to avoid the bleacher creatures.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:What's the reception that he's going to get?
Speaker A:Not good.
Speaker A:I can't imagine it'll be good because, look, did the Yankees lose out on him fair and square?
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker B:I mean, they put up what they wanted to.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:The money was very, very close.
Speaker A:And, you know, Soto's the only one who can.
Speaker A:Can explain that.
Speaker A:Then there was the stories that he kind of misses being with the Yankees.
Speaker A:I mean.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Come on.
Speaker A:You know.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:All it comes down to is he signed with the Mets when he was a Yankee.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So now when you go back to Yankee Stadium, there are going to be fans who are going to call you.
Speaker B:You pick the name from trader to 10 times worse.
Speaker B:And is that going to be in his head?
Speaker B:I think if he has a good series against the Pirates, he could demolish it, because when you're at the plate, you can zone that stuff out.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Might he have a terrible fielding against the Yankees?
Speaker B:Fine.
Speaker B:Just hope the ball's not hit to him.
Speaker B:If it does, it goes over his head.
Speaker B:Fine.
Speaker B:But I think if he has, you know, a good series against the Pirates and it's good.
Speaker B:But of course, weather plays a factor in that.
Speaker B:He seems to play better in the warmer weather.
Speaker B:Rain for Tuesday and Wednesday again, we're meteorologists here for a second.
Speaker B:But then you go into the weekend, more rain possibly, you know, and him at Yankee Stadium with rainy weather, but still getting the game in.
Speaker B:Not on his best, but I think if he can get hot, hit one off of Paul Skeens and it's not even hitting one.
Speaker B:I say home runs.
Speaker B:He just has to get into a groove, going, hitting the ball the opposite way, getting a double, you know, looking good at the plate.
Speaker B:I just think sometimes he doesn't even look good at the plate.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:He gets on base so much because he takes so many pitches and walks.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And guys don't want to pitch to him.
Speaker A:So it probably is a little difficult to get in that groove.
Speaker A:But I think there's just something And I think you're alluding to that, that when he's at the plate, he just.
Speaker A:There's just that comfort factor.
Speaker A:Like, look at the difference this year between Pete Alonso this year than Pete last year.
Speaker A:You can see it in the face, you can see it in the body language.
Speaker A:I mean, Pete last year was at times looked lost, and then he turned it on late in the season.
Speaker A:Now he looks like one of the best hitters in the game.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's pretty interesting to watch this team, you know, top to bottom, be able to have guys on a particular day hit a couple of homers, get five RBIs.
Speaker B:You know, Alvarez being back, I think has given them a spark plug.
Speaker B:And, you know, having Lindor hit four leadoff homers already this year, that gives the Mets that feistiness that we're going to start the game off ready to go.
Speaker B:And just the pitching, to me, has just been phenomenal.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's lapses in a bullpen, but for the most part they've been Good.
Speaker B:Alonso with 34 RBIs, watching guys at the bottom of the lineup.
Speaker B:I think Acuna at this point needs to play every day or just about, you know, six.
Speaker B:Six out of seven games a week because he's just that good.
Speaker B:He's just giving them so much of a crunch.
Speaker B:Jeff McNeil kind of getting a little bit hot.
Speaker B:There's just so many weapons right now that there are certain days where the team is down, but you could still get that one big hit from somebody to still win the game.
Speaker B:Two to one.
Speaker A:Are we going to see Sean Manea this year or Frankie Montas?
Speaker B:Montas, I would say is, is.
Speaker B:Is maybe August, September.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker A:What a disappointment.
Speaker B:I think Shamani is close to coming back.
Speaker B:He had a little bit of a setback here there.
Speaker A:Looks like he, the last thing was two days ago.
Speaker A:He's throwing from 120ft.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So he's stretching it out like second base to home plate.
Speaker B:You have to pitch off a 60 foot six mound, though.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So he's, he's working on it.
Speaker A:You know, I was very excited that they brought him back and I'm sure he's going to, when he gets back, he's going to be pumped up.
Speaker A:And you know, if you add him even close to last year's form, that's a great addition.
Speaker A:You don't even have to worry about anything at the All Star break then.
Speaker B:Not sure if you know this, but Mets minor leaguer Jonah Tong yesterday.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Pitched 6⅔ of Perfection.
Speaker B:Ball closed out by another guy.
Speaker B:So they did pitch a perfect inning.
Speaker B:A perfect game.
Speaker B:7 inning.
Speaker B:There are a lot of guys in this Mets organization who are moving up and are almost ready to hit the major leagues.
Speaker B:You know, there are teams that called about Blade Tidwell, who pitched not a great game for the Mets, gave up like nine hits.
Speaker B:But the White Sox are calling about him for Luis Robert, you know, so are you ready to put him in center field?
Speaker B:Because he's got like a four year, $40 million contract, but he has the ability if he gets out of Chicago, maybe to heat up.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think those are the moves that David Stearns makes.
Speaker B:He tries to go get a guy that maybe just needs a change of scenery.
Speaker B:And they've done that with Griffin Canning.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker B:He's Tyrone Taylor.
Speaker A:Oh, my God, both of them.
Speaker A:I mean, just.
Speaker A:Just unbelievable.
Speaker A:Griffin Canning, if you look at the back of his baseball card, so to speak, and look at his stats, he's.
Speaker B:Going to eat innings.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:And he's doing it way more than that.
Speaker A:Way more than that.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And he doesn't really go past six innings, but he's going to give you a great six innings.
Speaker B:And I think the Mets have had great success.
Speaker B:They're about a quarter of the way through the season, and I think at this point, nothing but praise for putting this team together.
Speaker B:And I think that's the big thing.
Speaker B:We were talking about the Mets, Yankees.
Speaker B:When you have so many other guys on this team, it takes that pressure off of Juan Soto to not have to go in there and do too much because you're going to have somebody else pick you up.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, you know what?
Speaker A:I'm looking forward to this Yankee Mets series just because it's great theater, but also, you know, as you mentioned, Juan Soto going back and, you know, hopefully the weather gods will cooperate and by.
Speaker B:The next time we're back on the air, the Mets have already have also played the Dodgers at Citi Field.
Speaker B:So they have a big schedule.
Speaker B:People like, oh, the Mets haven't played anybody.
Speaker B:The Mets have just demolished teams that are over.500.
Speaker B:Don't tell me they haven't played anybody.
Speaker B:They put themselves in first place and they put other teams under.500.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:They just beat two out of three with the Cubs, who's a very good team.
Speaker A:Arizona.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:I mean, they, they wind up splitting the season series.
Speaker A:But that, that's a solid team right there.
Speaker B:Very good.
Speaker B:And, and I've been impressed and I think there's some solid things to come.
Speaker B:So we'll see what happens next week will be fun.
Speaker B:Get out and watch some games.
Speaker B:Enjoy it.
Speaker A:You brought up the Chicago White Sox.
Speaker A:Their biggest fan is our new pope.
Speaker A: interesting going back to the: Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:And you see people running around with pope hats and Brunson on.
Speaker B:So we'll see what happens there.
Speaker A:Well, thank you to Cal Clutterbuck, our great guest tonight.
Speaker A:Thanks to Brian Graves, as always behind the glass.
Speaker A:Kathy, great job.
Speaker A:Enjoy the rest of the week as we get close in on summer vacation here.
Speaker A:We can do it.
Speaker B:Let's go.
Speaker A:And we'll see everybody in a couple of weeks.
Speaker B:The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of WGBB.
