June 9, 2026 • 54 mins
Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci discuss how the Yankees move forward without Aaron Judge for at least a couple of months. Tom reveals what he learned from a conversation with manager Aaron Boone. As a former catcher, Joe comments on the current state of catchers and the surprising batting averages around MLB. Plus, players have to adapt to the game as they get older. But how has analytics changed that process?
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
The Book of Joe Podcast is a production of iHeartRadio.
Hey there, and welcome back to the Book of Joe
Podcast with me, Tom Berducci and Joe Madden. Hey Joe,
I'm going to bring up a couple of your favorite subjects,
(00:27):
catching and umpires. We'll get to that in a minute,
but we need to talk about Aaron Judge. First of all,
give me a reaction of where you think the Yankees
might be without playing with their superstar Aaron Judge for
we don't know for how long.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It's probably going to.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Be at least a couple of months, because they're basically
going to wait until they about a month six weeks
past before they take some more images on the stress
fracture and his rib. So let's say he's out two
months minimum. What's your take on how the Yankees tread water, survive,
thrive whatever, next month or two survive in that division.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I mean, nobody's running away there. The race have come
back a bit. Seems like the Blue Jays have gotten better,
Baltimore's gotten a little bit better, so I don't think
there's a runaway train right there, so that benefits them.
They'll play probably near five hundred baseball. I can't see
them really playing well above five hundred. They still have
a lot of little innuendo going on there. The competition
(01:27):
with Vultpy now versus Cabaliro a shortstop, Bellinger seems to
be the rock. And of course Rice they're catching, they're
keep They're constantly worried about their catching, although they're you know,
they're starting.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Pitching is pretty good.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I know their bullpen maybe reads better than I'm actually
seeing them. So I just think the fact that the
division itself is not this grand division like it had
been a couple of years ago, they'll be able to
hang tight. But these as you just suggested, when the
reimaging occurs, there's no guarantees that the injury is going
(02:00):
to be healed and you can be able to start
heating it up again. So this is a real nebulous
situation for them right now. However, this is the year
to have that go on based on the rest of
the division.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
That's a great point about the not just the division,
the entire league. It's incredible stat to me that on
Monday night the Yankees beat Cleveland. It was a big
come from h Win Bellinger right in the middle of it.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Again.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
I mean, he's made himself such a tough at bat,
especially with two strikes. But that's only the fifth game
of this year the Yankees have won against the winning team.
They're five and ten for the year. I mean, even
the Rockies have eight wins. That's the next fewest wins
against winning teams. And it just I think it's more
(02:46):
a reflection of the league that it is about the Yankees,
because just not many good teams. I mean Houston's down,
Boston's down teams, Detroit way down. Teams he thought were
gonna be good or down. And I don't think it's
going to change much, Joe. I think we're probably looking
at a wild card in the American League entry to
postseason that's could barely be above five hundred. I'm talking
(03:06):
about maybe eighty two, eighty three wins. So it's very
forgiving for a Yankee team that, let's face it, the
last couple of years they've had June swoons, they've had
down periods in the middle of the season. They're definitely
due for one year with Judge. I think it's just
too big of a loss. I mean, you know, as manager, Joe,
when you're facing the Yankees or any team with a
(03:26):
great hitter who's missing in the middle of the lineup.
It affects the entire lineup with how the lineup is pitched.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
So I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I think they're probably looking at a five hundred team
for the next couple of months. Here's my question for you, Joe,
what do you do going forward with Aaron Judge? If
you look at his injury history, the most dangerous part
for Aaron Judge is playing the outfield. Right He said
it himself that this rib injury probably began diving for
(03:57):
a ball in Houston head first dive well in twenty nineteen,
similar injury to the ribcage, almost the exact same effort, diving.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Headfirst for a ball in the outfield. Of course, a.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Couple of years ago Dodger Stadium crashes into the wall.
You know, he tore a toe ligament out a couple
of months there. You've got the flexer strain that he
had last year. Comes from throwing the outfield. Everything is
related to playing defense with Aaron Judge. I don't want
him diving to prevent a single in right field if
(04:30):
it's gonna cost him two or three months of his
bet in the lineup. Here's the thing, Joe, he's six
foot seven, two hundred and eighty pounds.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
There's only he's thirty four years old.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
The only player in baseball history to play the outfield
at age thirty four was Frank Howard, and the next
year Frank Howard transitioned to first base.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
In the year after that, he was a DH.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
So essentially, you're gonna ask Aaron Judge starting next year
at age thirty five, to play the outfield, which we've
never seen anybody that big do at that age. I
think this is something the Yankees you really have to
think about. I'm not saying you he doesn't play the outfield.
We all know he's a very good defender. I'm saying
you have to mitigate the risk a little bit by
finding him more time at DH and telling him, basically,
(05:17):
he's not allowed to take.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
On walls and to die for baseball.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I know that's a hard thing to do with this game,
especially a competitor like Judge, but they've got to do
everything they can to mitigate the risk because the risk
is clearly spelled out here. Playing the outfield at six seven,
two eighty in your mid thirties is dangerous.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
First off, I didn't realize thirty four. I did not.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I mean, he's like a forever young kind of a
guy when you look at him, how he looks, how
he plays, et cetera.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
But you're you know, you're right on.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
I mean for me and I guess Staton's still under contract,
but he's heard even more than judges.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
I'd have to.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Not only strongly consider, I would more than likely make
him the DH. I know he's going to fight that
because he he is a good outfield's a. He's a
good baseball player, runs the base as well. He does
everything right when he throws, He's got great armstroke, his
mechanics are good. Because I watched the whole game. I
just don't watch him at the plate. But to miss
him at the plate is probably the most severe thing
(06:16):
that could happen to the Yankees on an annual basis,
even more than losing Garrett Cole for a bit.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
So they have to they have to.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
This is one, Like you know, I've always argued in
favor of show he doing both things because I think
he can, and he's done it before. But part of
it is d H. Part of it is the pitch.
But this guy here, I love the way he plays.
The dives to right center. I've seen him and I thought,
not long ago, I thought one at Yankee Stadium he
dove in away that I thought, my god, did he
hurt himself? But he, of course he did catch the ball.
(06:43):
It's hard to ask a world class athlete like that
to change his ways, like in other words, don't try
his hard on the field, back off, don't dive, stay
on your feet. All those different kinds of things man
hard hard to do. And then you see the reaction
from the pitchers when a ball falls that maybe could
have been caught. All those things compound. So I think
(07:04):
the best way to do this Yankee wise, listen, Statton's
done some really good work.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
You know, maybe throw him in.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The outfield and just put him out there as a
sacrificial lamb, because he is not as important as judges overall,
but you have to do something. And it makes all
the sense in what playing first base. I thought about that,
But he's still been in over a lot. There's a
lot of movement involved. I don't even know. Maybe he
has a great propensity to do it. Maybe it'll be
seamless who knows, but that would be the other option.
(07:33):
Frank Howard didn't realize he did play some first base also,
But that probably makes the most sense if he can
do that and they feel more comfortable without him getting
injured there, although there's still the potential for him to
dive there too, ball in a hole, ball down the
first baseline, all that stuff comes into play. So keeping
him on the field is priority number one.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, I don't know about first base. I mean, that
would be very difficult. I don't know that he's ever
played on the dirt in his life. I mean, you know, Joe,
that first base we like to think will just throw
somebody over there at first It's a very difficult position
to play if you have no experience there.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
It reminds me of Barry Bonds, who said he'd never
wanted to play first base. He just he wasn't going
to transition there because he wasn't comfortable, had never done
it before. And as he said, I've never worn a
protective cup and I'm never going to start, so I'm
not going to play first base.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
So there's another.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Reason, right.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Oh, you bring up a good point about Stanton though,
I mean Stanton has two more years left in the contract.
I'm not saying Aaron Judde stops playing the outfield. What
I'm saying is, I think you have to find some
more outlets for him to DH again, to mitigate the
risk and maybe not have him out there one hundred
and forty one hundred and fifty times in the regular season.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
That would mean, like.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
You said, either sitting Stanton more or having Stanton play
the outfield more. We've seen him do it. It's not pretty.
He can do it. It's a thorny issue. It's not
something the Yankees need to address immediately, but they have
to start thinking about the next phase of Aaron Judge's
(09:05):
career to make sure that they get as many plate
appearances out of him as possible.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
As he ages through his mid and late thirties.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
If you were to play Stanton out there the okay,
it's up obviously going to be deficient defensively, but of
course the whole point is the offensive side of things.
When I get in a situation like that, you catch
a lead, seventh inn, he after his last at bat,
maybe in the seventh, possibly the eighth, you just got
to get him off the field. That would be Stanton,
you have to mentally lower your standards, actually lower your
(09:37):
standards when it comes to defense if in fact you
want to do something like that. Again, is it's a
great conversation in a room. I'm just as we're talking
about it, sitting in a boardroom kind of a thing,
and you talk about all the ways, the positives and
negatives of doing something like this.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
It's a great conversation.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
And among the groups when you're in a dugout on
the field, know these people more personally on a personal level,
what their likes and dislikes, so are how they are
going to react to different things.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
It makes for more exact conversation. So that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Stanton's willingness to do something like this and Judge's unwillingness
to do something like this, and how this all plays
into it, and how it impacts the vibe and the.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
Entire situation with the team there.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
There's so many subplots involved in a movement like this.
It's not as easy as it sounds on paper. So
it's something that has to be I'm sure they're discussing it,
but it's an interesting discussion and at the end of
the day you decide what we're going to do here,
and you get everybody together and you decide this is
this is the plan, knowing that it's flexible. It's nothing
(10:41):
is here ext and stone. It's never written in ink.
But you have to come up with they plan and
then maybe, like you know, Plan B, Plans C has
got to be in the background to be discussed at
a later time. However, everybody needs to be involved in
this one. And knowing these two guys Stanton and Judge
very well matters a lot.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Great point and I think we have to remember too
with stant and obviously the injury risk is always there
with him, and not just the lower body injuries the
CAF strains, but you know that chronic elbow issue, actually
both elbows that he has. You're putting him more at
risk by asking him to be an outfielder, which it's
(11:23):
more than just standing out there in the field, right,
you know, you have to prepare yourself to throw and
get your legs under you to be a defensive player
at least a couple.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Of times a week.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
So in the meantime, both Stanton and Jason Dominguez are
working their way back from injuries. You're probably going to
see them in the next week or two. That will
help Dominguez. The Yankees have worked hard to make him
into a decent left fielder. I think you're gonna have
to put him in right field now, which is a
very tough situation to do. He's not a great defender.
(11:54):
He's got the ability to be a very good one,
but he's not. And they've worked really hard with him
in left field. But I think because of Yankee Stadium, Joe,
I don't see him playing left field and putting bell
in right field. Leftfield is the bigger field. Bellinger is
a great defender anywhere, but he's been especially great left field.
That's another kind of a dicey call for me. I'm
(12:14):
not sure, but I would ask Bellinger to stay in
the left field and see if Domegas can play right.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Well, if Domingus actually is going to play, and what
he's starting rehaber, is he in rehab right now playing?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Do you know that he's going to be back next week?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
He's rehabbing now, so he's the first one back a
little ahead of Stanton.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Well, here's what I would do then, because we did
it with Schwerbur a little bit. Play Domingus in the
smaller outfield corner if in fact there is a difference
between the two. So my point is I would playhim
in both places in his rehab assignment. The biggest difference
is just with the ball off the bat, as in
as a corner outfield, you have to know when remember
one thing all the time. The ball is always going
(12:56):
to hook or slice to the line. That's your first thought,
your first move. Whatever his weakness is, I would start
him closer to his weakness in the beginning position according
as well as you can according to the scatting reports.
So as a left field there if he goes better
to as it goes better to his left, get closer
to the line, move to the to the gap, and
vice versa. Whatever whatever this frends are. But if you
(13:18):
put him in this smaller field to to play, I
don't think it's impossible. It's just I did coach outfield
there for a while. I learned from sam Ciplasia who's
no longer with this, and Sammy was outstanding, had some
great great outfield drills that we ran in spring training
and I did during the season.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
There.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
There are a lot of it is controlled. It's not
just off the fungal it's controlled, you throw the ball
to the guys, et cetera. But the big thing you
have to remember in those on those corners is the
ball is always going to slice or hook to the line.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
That's a mental thing.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And so you're taking balls off the during batting practice.
You stand out there and you don't even have to
go catch the ball. You just have to take that
first step in the correct direction as you're reading the
ball off the bat. I don't think it's impossible, and
sometimes I actually think something like this makes it somewhat
easier for the player because he's not required us to
(14:08):
do one thing well, So it's almost like a built
in excuse maybe if I don't do it as well,
because you're asking me to do two things, kind of
like the pressures off a little bit. That's why I
used to like bringing guys, make guys like a utility player,
because if they had to practice the glove at a
couple different.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Spots, it took kind of some pressure off them.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
My thoughts, it's a weird, it's almost paradoxical, but I
believe that to be true.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
And I also believe when they do do.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
That, then they're they're hitting because they don't just spend
all this time on thinking about hitting. I have to
think a little bit more about defense and right field today. Okay,
ball is going to move to the line. My first step,
I'm going to be aware of that. Up the batterom VP,
et cetera. So I would always, if in fact they're
going to play them both simultaneously, I would pick the
bigger corner and put Beliger.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
In that because he can do anything.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
This guy is a baseball player, and I think, like
I said, in a paradoxical way, it actually may help
Domingos become better at it by kind of lessening the
pressure because I'm doing two things now, and it frees
the mind up a little bit, I believe, because he
just gets so locked in or paralyzed by one situation.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
All right, now, let me ask you what you would
do at the shortstop position. I asked Aaron Boone that
question Monday night, because Caballero has played a little bit
of right field since Judge went out, but with Dominga's
coming back, there's probably not as many opportunities for him
to play the outfield. He can do it, obviously a
good utility guy, but the shortstop position Aaron Boone basically
(15:34):
told me was an open competition that you know, he
sits down. Boon does with his bench coach Brad Alsmis
the night before and decides who's going to play shortstop
the next day based on matchups a set, especially based
on how that person that player either won is swinging
the bat.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Not a great scenario. I'd rather have a full time shortstop.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
But in this case, you know, you've got a guy
like Volpi who is not going to play another position Caballero,
can you know, switch to the outfield, switch a third base.
You can move him around the course of a game.
That's very valuable. He's played well for the Yankees. It's
a tough spot for Volpi to be in, Joe. I mean,
it looks to me like he's worked on his swing.
(16:16):
It looks to be a little more level, but I'm
not seeing an offensive game there yet either. With Anthony
Volpi and the defense to me is still weirdly below
average at shortstop, you're putting him in a very difficult
spot to make him into essentially a part time player
at his age, trying to resuscitate his career when he's
(16:40):
not really a versatile kind of player. Give me your
take on the Yankee shortstop position and the decisions that
Aaron Boone has.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Well, I hate to say this, but it appears as
like they're rationalizing. They want this to happen. I mean,
they want Volpi to be better than he actually is
right now, and so there's a rationalization process going on.
The Yankees played really well with Cavallero at short Celfic
really well. There's more of a fearless component to Caballero
to me observationally, then there is a fearless component of Vulpey.
(17:08):
And I've heard Volpi's listen. He seems like a great guy.
I get all that. I get all of that, but
and again I'm not in the room, but this is
from a distance. Caballero is the kind of guy to
me that on a daily basis, he might make a mistake,
but that's definitely not going to impact the next play,
the next throw, the next whatever.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
He just thinks he's that good.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
And on the other side, Vulpe, if he does make mistakes,
I see that it possibly can cause a concern at
the plate. I think Caballerero has got a much more
versatile swing. He is going to give you a consistently
a better at bat.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
I think that Volpi can right now.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Remember a couple of years ago, when Volpi just came up,
we were talking about him being the glue of the
Yankee team. He was playing that well at that time.
Everything is an entire game, But for whatever reason, it
just seems to have regressed a bit from what I'm
watching the whole thing, even like his defense, I guess
he's been making some plays, but still fundamentally coming through
the ball, the way he uses his feet, etc. The armstroke,
(18:00):
I think the other guy's more fluid. So for me,
I would for the Yankees to win. And you know,
if their goal is to get to the last game
of the year and win it this year, I mean
I think they have a better chance with Cabaio at
shortstop from what I'm seeing.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
What does that mean about Vulpe? You know, I.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Again almost the explanation I gave regarding the multiple positions
for Domingus. I think it actually may help a Vulpa
to do something like that. Also not be locked in
at one spot. Take a couple of gloves out there
in pregame, we'll figure out we're going to be tomorrow,
you might come into the game later doing this or
doing something like that. I think that might actually benefit
him weirdly, and it might benefit as bad too, because
(18:40):
at shortstop there's a lot of pressure, and there's a
spotlight if he makes an air at third base, not
as big as if he makes an air at shortstop,
if he makes an air at second base, not as
magnified as if he does as shortstop.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
In a weird way.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Again, paradoxically, I think it takes some pressure off of him,
even though it sounds like it you asking him to
do something more difficult. I would go that way. I
would try to make him more utility oriented. I'd give
Caballero the job at shortstop. He's really he's not an outfielder, Cabayer.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
He could do it. He could do it.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
He's not like Bautista when he came Backjose when he
started like killing it with Toronto and playing in the outfield.
He is more of an infielder. Caballero, and I like
him on the I field, like him on the dirt things.
Got a really good mind for the game, So that
would be observationally, That's what I'm seeing right now. Make
Vulpi your utility guy, and I think that takes pressure
(19:30):
off of him actually regarding making mistakes.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
I think it might actually help his bat.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
I think you're a better team with Caballero at shortstop
and put real outfielders in the outfield and let them bang.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Well in that case, and I'd probably agree with you.
You almost have to send Vulpi down, you could. I
don't like him sitting on the bench. Ye, Cabaliro is
going to be my everyday player. Anthony Volpi now is
coming up on two thousand major league played appearances. That
is a large sample size. He's a two twenty two
hitter with a two point eighty four on base percentage
and an OPS plus of eighty three. Major league average
(20:02):
is one hundred. That's a long sample where he just
does not turn to corner. So we'll see how long
the Yankees are patient with him, and if he's got
enough playing time to kind of resurrect his offensive game.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
We will see.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And speaking of the Yankees, you probably notice this, Joe
Austin Wells has not been hitting all this year and
now he's on the il with cervical headaches, which sounds
really serious. As part of the demands and pressures of
the job. What is going on with catching in the
major leagues, because right now I can tell you offensively,
(20:38):
at least it stinks. We're going to talk about that
next on the Book of Joe.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Hey, welcome back to the Book of Joe.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I mentioned catching, and this is unbelievable to me, Joe,
the major league average for catchers is twenty six two
twenty six. Only one year in the history of this game,
even going back to the nineteenth century, has hitting among
catchers been worse, and that was nineteen eighteen, smack in
(21:19):
the dead ball era. I mean, look around the game.
There are only four catchers who are hitting above the
major league average, which is two forty two. Drake Baldwin,
William Contrere, Shae Langleers Atlie Rushman. I mean, the Yankees
catching group is hitting one sixty seven. The lowest all
(21:44):
time is by the fifteen Mariners at one point fifty nine.
And I mentioned Wells because he hasn't been hitting, but man,
he has been banged up. I had actually never heard
of cervical headaches. It actually begins kind of in the
neck area. And I've seen him get smoked by a bunch.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Of foul balls.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
There's a lot of catchers do these days, and I
just I can't stand it when announcers start talking about
how tough guys are, because you really have to be careful,
especially with injuries from the neck and above brain injuries
we all know about, we should know by now about
the danger of concussions, and never anything to be taken lightly.
(22:22):
So there's definitely, as well said, a cumulative effect to
taking some of these foul balls. He's paying that price
now and that Aaron Boone doesn't think he's going to
be out that long. In fact, they think they think
it may be just the ten days. But the fact
is they're getting nothing out of him offensively, and they've
got nothing out of all of their catchers this year.
I want to get your take, Joe, on what we
(22:43):
ask of catchers in the game today and whether we
should start lowering our expectations for what they can do offensively,
because I think we ask more out of catchers than
ever before. And the way they run a game, the
pitching staffs, the pitch calling, you name it. Now you've
got abs on top of that one to challenge when
not to challenge, should we dial back our expectations on
(23:06):
catchers being able to hit well.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
First off, I think there's an analytical priority there. I mean,
the kid Bailey that just got traded from San Francisco
to Cleveland, I mean, one of the most anemic sets
of numbers offensively I've ever seen, but everybody loves his defense.
So I think right now the defense I mean I
was watching him, I was watching him against the Yankees yesterday.
It's almost like a National League lineup with the pitcher hitting.
(23:29):
I mean, he is at that level offensively. I think
analytics will take that from the catcher. They'll take the
less offense from the catcher in order to get the
framing numbers that they're shooting for. I think there's a
sliding scale there that is acceptable in regarding that position.
And again, if one organization does it and is somewhat successful,
(23:53):
others are going to buy into it and accept that
that's just the way this thing works right now. So
I think that's probably number one. And then you know
the pressure to play or the way that the game
planning occurs. Again, they know catch they being catchers, know
that their first priority to staying in the big leagues
and making some dough would be that they're good at this.
(24:14):
They're good at game prep, calling a game, calling the
game plan, et cetera. It's not even about throwing, although
it's a little bit more than it had been, but
it's still not It's more about, you know, receiving the ball,
framing it, calling the right pitches, putting the right fingers down.
Although I'm watching shoot, I was watching the Marlins the
other day and every pitch was being called from the
from the dugout Kim remember which coach was, But he's
(24:37):
holding up fingers uh to call the pitch to the catcher.
So okay, that's actually less pressure on the catcher right there.
He's relying on the guy from the bench telling him
exactly what to do. So maybe that's not the case,
but I think it's a priorities I've shifted. They they
they being the analytical departments who really pretty much run
(24:59):
you know, the team on the field.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
This is what they want. They want that guy they want.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Okay, that Bailey hits once something and has a home
run once in a while, swings with defenses. Listen, I
was watching him yesterday. The first thing I'd do is
put a huge bat in his hand, ask him to
choke up, and kid has put his hands against his
chest and just try to hit the ball back to them.
And I swear to God I would if he's that
good behind the plate. So it's a shifting priorities. It's
(25:24):
it's they're getting what they're asking for. You know, you're
getting what you wish. The thing that you know you
mentioned a couple of the bed hitters. The guy that's
a surprise this year is Rawley. I mean, gosh, the
poor guy and that last year, this guy, you know,
I thought was the MVP this year, you know, basically
just can't get out of his own way offensively. It's
a tough position, man. So again that's without being again
(25:46):
being on the field, being in a dugout, I'd be
able to give you a much more specific opinion to
what I'm what I'm seeing, because it really does for
me being on the field and a dugout watching from
field level really screams a lot more than me watching
it on a boxer of video replay. But that's what
it seems to be. It's a priority, priority level. We'll
take defense over offense. At last point, I'm surprised about
(26:08):
Wells it was a couple of years ago. I thought
this guy did a really good swing. But it's a
lot of pull Yankee Stadium. And again, I don't know
if he's just gotten so pull oriented that he he's
lost the other side of the field, he's committing too soon.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Who knows what's going on with him.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
But I do know I do like him and these headaches.
Maybe that's he's had headaches, But it also sounds like
a reset DL situation. Give him some extra work, get
them just back off a bit. I want to believe
this guy's going to come back.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
I do. I like to swing that much. So I'm
still a Wells fan.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
There's definitely an offensive game still in there. We'll see,
you know. Interesting when I brought this up to Aaron Boone,
he said that it's not a physical grind to the catchers.
He thinks actually the one knee stance for catchers has
made catching less physically taxing. And if you look at
the games caught teams now, you know they're not running
(27:01):
out there like you know Randy Hunley one hundreds times
in the course of a season. So I think it
sounds like to me it's the mental load of what
they asked these catchers to do.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I mean, if you talk to JT.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Realmuto and the amount of prep work he goes into
game planning for a game. These guys don't have time
to work on their offense. They can't be spending time
in the cage. It is crazy how much game prep
that these guys have to put in at the catching position.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
Well, the one nee does make a difference. Having done
it myself.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
We used to be able to do it. I would
do it with nobody on less than two strikes one knee.
That's fine because there's nothing going to happen. There's no
pass ball, there's no well pitchers, nobody's stealing. The problem
I had with one knee was that when you had
to get back into your regular stands to throw the ball,
I thought I developed some bad habits by having that
knee on the ground. So when you go to throw
the ball from a regular position, I thought it would
(27:54):
just drop my right knee before I got my body
and position to throw it. So you have to be
careful with those kind of things. Although I'm not necessarily
seeing that, but I will not dispute the fact if
you catch off of one knee. It is definitely wow.
It really makes a huge difference. But it also makes
a huge difference regarding not being able to block. I
don't think nearly as well. I see a lot of reaching. Again,
(28:17):
these are the things that are no longer important fundamentally
to the position based on analytical methods. So blocking, shifting
your body, turning your outside shoulder in. I mean, for me,
I still if a right hand slider, I got a
right hand breaking ball pitcher throwing the right hand and hitter,
I used to like to get on the outside edge
if that's where I want to turn my right shoulder
(28:39):
in and almost present the target to the pitcher coming
back at an angle to make the outside edge look bigger.
I don't necessarily just see all the elephant nose thing
where they they're just scooping the ball. They put the
glove on the ground and pull it back up, and
they're just trying to deceive the umpires constantly.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
So it's just a different method.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I'd like to see the morphing of both, meaning that yeah,
get on the knee whenever you can less than two strikes.
Nobody on base, go ahead, get on your wendy. But
when there's a thread of running and ball needs to
be blocked went around third base. It just doesn't make
any sense to me that you can be better with
a more passive physical position as opposed to a more
(29:19):
athletic one.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
By the way, I love the visual. I had not
heard that before. The elephant knows.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Yeah yeah, yeah, really good. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Speaking of.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
The guys behind the plate, I don't know if you
caught it, but there was a game Matt McClain was
the hitter last night.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Lance Barrett was the umpire.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
One at bet three pitches were challenged, all won by
the batter. I mean, Abs, We've talked about this. It
has put the spotlight on umpires like never before. But
you never want the spotlight on you. Like that one
plate appearance, three pitches missed, all overturned. So it got
(29:58):
me looking at the numbers here. Lance Barrett has the
sixth most overturns. The most he's had in the game
is seven and looking at and I don't want to
pick anybody out here, but we do have the daddy here.
The most overturns from umpires this year, Manny Gonzales, Las Diez, Hunter, Wendelstead,
(30:19):
many Gonzalez is forty six, Las Diez is sixty.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Three, Hunter Wendelstead is fifty four.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
The fewest overturns Eric Beckis and Job Lipka thirty five
and thirty eight years old.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
I've said this all along, Joe.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
These younger umpires, in a world where Velocity had spinner
way up and have come through the minor league system,
working under the laser guided strike zone, they have an.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Edge in today's game.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
I'm sorry if I'm an older umpire and the rules
changed on me all of a sudden when I'm ten, eleven,
twelve years into my career. Now you got to call
this laser defined strike zone and have challenges in front
of me. That's a big ask for these older umpires.
I really I sympathize with them. It's part of their job.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
They have get it done. But clearly the younger umpires
are performing better than the older umpires in general.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Yeah, listen, before the game begins. You know, you know
how you're gonna feel about this. If Manny's umpiring or whatever,
they're going to alert both the hitters and the catcher.
Of course, listen, this guy does miss a lot of pitches.
It's proven, So you know, trust your instincts right here.
If you're seeing something you know fully go ahead and
(31:30):
challenge it if you believe it to be the other
way around. So that's where we used to have heat
maps with umpires before it got to this point where
umpires would be exaggerated on one side or another or
up and down, and it would also be a different
heat map, like a left handed pitcher versus a left
a hitter, left handed pitcher versus a riety hitter, and
(31:51):
vice versa, so that there was like four heat maps
so that you can see where an umpire would exaggerate
or increase the strike z owner tien it up based
on handedness of the picture, handedness of the hitter. And
so that was what we had before, and it was
it was difficult sometimes believe it or not, to get
catchers who attempt or even pictures to attempt to take
(32:12):
advantage of this.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
And again you have that really good command to test that.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
So if you knew he was going to be wide
right handed pitcher, I got a writing tonight.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
The right handed hitters are up. This guy really often gives.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
You a little bit away, maybe an inch or two
two balls length off the with's off the plate, but
doesn't give you anything inside the guys that are down
the guys that are up.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
You knew that.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
You knew that going into it, and of course now
with the more exact exactitude of all this, you're not
going to see that as often.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
But that was it. So you know, like you said.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Hunter and Manny and you mentioned one other guy not yeah, Las, Okay,
So I would definitely alert my guys prior to that game.
And I would also do the same thing the other way.
The guys that are really good. Listen, you know this
guy is pretty solid. Let's let's be judicious with our
challenges right here. Listen, I don't want to get in
(33:07):
your head. If you really believe it, go ahead with it,
but just know these guys, these couple guys are better
than these other guys that are not as good at
this call. So that would be part of my strategy
on a nightly basis, based on who the home plate
umpire is. That would be the discussion. When in the
past it was heat maps. Now it is this statistical
(33:28):
information than the fact that you can.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Challenge Joe, did you happen to see the comments from
Manny Machado.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
The other day regarding it's.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
An interesting soliloquy you have basically had with reporters in
which is a lot of people wrote it off as
an anti analytics rant, and I think people are missing
a more important, larger point. I'll tell you about that
right after this on the Book of Joe.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Welcome back to the Book of Joe.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Interesting comments from Manny Machadro the Padres the other day,
As I mentioned, a lot of people thought it came
across as anti analytics, and it's hard to deny that
because here's what he said. Partly, I just wish we
can get analytics out of the way. I think there's
too many stats out there, too many stats, way too
(34:30):
many numbers. I don't even know half of the stuff
that goes up there. He's talking about what's on the scoreboard.
I look at the board sometimes and I even ask
some of the guys like what is WCCVBB or whatever
it is? What are these names that are being created?
I mean, it's just crazy to even keep up with.
So that came across as anti analytics, I get it.
(34:53):
It didn't sound like many was talking too much about
creeping into how the game is played as much as
how it is consumed. Here's the point I think everybody
missed with with Manny. You know, he's been around a
long time, right, his first full year was back in
twenty thirteen. I've noticed fifteen years of a lot of fastballs.
(35:13):
When I came up, it was ninety one, ninety two,
ninety three.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Maybe now it's just one oh one.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
The game's evolving, man, It's definitely getting harder to play,
it's definitely getting more strategic. And that is the point here, Joe.
Here's a fact about the way this season has played out.
It is the worst time in the history of the
game for hitters in their early thirties to get a
(35:42):
base hit, worse than even the dead ball. The average
for guys in a thirty one to thirty five range
is two thirty three.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
It has never been lower.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
And that's where Manny Machado is, That's where Trey Turner is,
that's where Adolie Scarcia is, that's where Marcus Simone is.
You can go up and down and I know kind
of cherry pick these, but it used to be and
you know this, Joe, you were getting guys into their
prime years in their early thirties, they were able to
track or dip into all their experience, all the pitches
(36:15):
they've seen, and still had the physical ability. But the
game has changed so fast on these guys thirty one
to thirty five that their institutional knowledge, I don't want
to say it no longer applies, but it applies a
lot less than it did. Manny's absolutely right. When he
came up, he's seen sinker slider guys throwing in the
low nineties. You'd never see those kind of pictures. Now
(36:40):
it is velocity and it is spin like he never
saw coming up. So the advantage that he has, and
there's a process called chunking where we use our minds.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
We take a whole slew of.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Information and we just kind of compartmentalize it and take
a little nugget or two out of it, the shape
of a pitch, the sequence of a bat of pitches
that you see. That the process of chunking is no
longer as valuable as it once was because everything you
have stored your hard drive now it's a different game
(37:12):
that you're tapping into. So Manny's point to me is
mostly that the game has conspired against the older players.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Okay, and it did that to the older pitchers for
many years too. I mean Franklin Ana lost his fastball
was still successful, and you could go up and down
the list of other guys that as they got older
they didn't throw as hard as they had at one time.
The point I'm driving at, maybe it's time to make
an adjustment. You know, it's the one side everybody still
chicks digged the long ball. These guys still swing out
(37:42):
of their butt all the time and are are still
I think a lot of lyft involved in the swing.
When Manny came up with Baltimore, this pitch he wanted
to throw to Manny was a change up, change up
down underneath, and that was right on right. Also, that
was our go to pitch when he was a baby
in Baltimore. Was more change up than anything to get
him out in front or over top of the ball.
So if an older as normally you know, i'd say
(38:06):
normally has to make some kind of adaptation or adjustment
based on something, has to slow down. It doesn't normally
get better unless you're playing the steroidal era, where things
somewhat stayed level or actually did get better as somebody
got older. So from my perspective, for guys like this,
I would take power out of the game. I would
(38:26):
take a different mental approach to hitting. It doesn't If
you take a different mental approach to hitting, you will
make unwittingly physical adaptations based on the fact that I'm
trying to do something different with this ball. In other words,
just like I was talking about Bailey earlier, I would
get him to hit the pants closer to his chest.
(38:47):
I'd have him focus more on the middle of the field,
and I would just start from right there. I'd give you, listen,
work a two strike approach. Just move the ball right here.
Because what happens then if you start moving the ball
and you start getting a knock or two, all of
a sudden confidence builds, and who knows, maybe all of
a sudden you start getting back on time and able
to get to that other pitch. But it's there's sort
of like the definition of insanity somewhere woven in there,
(39:10):
where doing the same thing over over again and getting
it expecting a different result. The result when you were
younger was that you can do this, and maybe there
was Although they said there's so much. I read so
much about velocity and where it's registered now out of
the hand as opposed thout the play. So is there
actually that much of significant difference overall? Is it just
the fact that bullpen arms are much more aggressive than
(39:32):
they had been. But my first thing would be for
these guys that are over thirty that are struggling, I
would make a physical slash mental adaptation here to try
to shorten up my swing, utilize more of the field,
get the power out of my brain, because the more
I think power, the more I'm going to punch out,
the more I'm going to be ahead, the more I'm
going to try to time this up and be fooled
if I'm not getting my fastball in it at the
(39:55):
velocity I want and the area that I want. Pictures
throw homers. Hitters don't necessarily hit them. They just have
to be ready to make when the picture makes the mistakes.
So maybe time for the hitting version of Franklin Ada
to show up and make that adjustment necessary to make
you a more productive hitter later in your game.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Well, it's a rare time in this game when players
twenty five and under are better than players thirty one
to thirty five, So start with that.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
And you mentioned the velocity. Yeah, that's a huge part
of it. We know that.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Just as an example, the pictures that Manny Machado faced
back in twenty thirteen, his first full season, the average
fastball velocity was ninety two point one. This year, the
pictures that many has faced, he's seeing an average of
ninety five point six. So that difference of three and
a half miles per hour, that's essentially like they took
the pitching rubber and moved its six or seven inches
(40:47):
closer to the plate. He has less time to react
while he's getting older. That's point one. The second thing is,
when we've talked this a lot, Joe, even though velocity
is going up, fastball use is going down. So he
sees four percent if you were four seemers now than
he did in twenty thirteen. The entire bulk of that
(41:09):
difference is being made up with spin. The spin rate,
the spin that he sees has gone up four percent.
Velocity has gone up on those breaking pitches, The spin
has gone up on those breaking pitches.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
They're nastier breaking pitches.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
And that is what is really devouring many mitchatdo right now. Again,
spin this year, he's hitting one thirteen and slugging two
twenty five.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
He's four extra base hits all year on spin.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
So we talk a lot about velocity, and I know
it's hard to just isolate a type of pitch because
everything is done, you know, in sequence, and one pitch
after another will set up another. I get that, But
the other thing you mentioned, you'd like even the right
on right change up on many mitchatdo. The other thing
is because starters don't last as long, he's not seeing
(41:57):
pitchers a third time. He's seeing so many specialist right
handers coming out of the bullpen for half of a
game that the percentage of left handers that he sees
has shrunk from one out of three about thirty two percent,
to one out of four even less twenty three percent.
So he's seeing nastier stuff and having the platoon disadvantage
(42:23):
much more often. That's how much this game has changed.
So I talked about the umpires. I sympathized with the
older guys. I feel the same way about hitters in
their thirties. I think the game has conspired against them,
and this year in general, players in their twenties are
hitting eleven points higher than players in their thirties.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
There never was that kind of gap before like we're
seeing now.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
So I'd be curious on the velocity averages of starters,
average right handed starting pitches, average velocity for the left
handed starting pitchers, and then also average velocity for right
handed relief pitchers, and average velosity for left handed relief pictures.
That would be interesting to me. Number one. Number two,
it's just everything you just mentioned screams to making an adjustment.
(43:08):
I mean, I don't know again, not in the field,
not in the dugout, not knowing, But listen, very there's
nothing wrong with choking up. There's nothing wrong if you're
gonna get, if you're gonna hit one thirteen, whatever it
was against breaking balls, and don't try to make some
kind of a mental adjustment at least okay after one strike, Okay,
give yourself the opportunity to air it out for your
(43:31):
first strike. And I don't want my B hack on
a two strike pitch. Make your B hack on a
one stripe pitch. If you if you know this guy
is tough on you, if you know you're having a
hard time seeing this guy, you start making your adjustments sooner.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
In the at bat, not later. In the at bat.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
These are the kind of things that I think I
would try to get across the different guys, and like
you're relating based on information. The guys that are listen
plus thirty thirty one, thirty two thirty three, it's time.
And now you look at schwarb. Swarb is obviously having
no problem with thelocity right now. But these other guys
that are this is where information is or analytics numbers
(44:11):
are good for me to look at to determine whether
or not I do need do need to adjust? Right
here base look at us right here, That's where I
really love that stuff. So that would be my suggestion.
Let's work a different path right here, Let's work a
different mindset. Let's take that line drive between first and second.
Let's take that dumper down the right, feeling that Paul
(44:31):
MOLITORI used to do so well, get jammed, get jammed,
barely get over the first baseman's head lands on the
first baseline. Here comes in two runs. There's nothing wrong
with that. I just we're so hell bent on just
trying to hit everything in the seats on every count.
I think in some ways that leads to these dismal numbers.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
Also yeah, And just to finish with Manny's comments, because
aletes and we love analog baseball here, but we also
love we also love the modern game and the tools
that are at every player's disposal.
Speaker 4 (45:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
Absolutely, this is what Manny said.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
It goes back to old school stuff. Man, just see
the ball and hit the ball. At the end of
the day, it's about competing. You got to go out
there and compete. Take away all these analytics, take everything
you could possibly think of, and go out there and
try to catch the ball and make more outs. Right,
It's about a team game. Play good defense, you win
a ball game. You make one more run than the
(45:27):
other team, you win a ball game. So that's what
we're trying to do here.
Speaker 4 (45:31):
I'm not arguing. I I love that.
Speaker 3 (45:33):
I mean, that's the word compete really stands out.
Speaker 4 (45:36):
I mean, when you get all this new.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
Age information or just information in gener I don't care
what even back in the day, you get too much
from a coach, never know when to shut up. That
becomes very confusing, paralysis through analysis. We've talked about that,
Bennie Hines talked about that for years. The word compete
needs to be said over and over because at the point,
I don't care how much great information you have. I
(46:01):
don't know many reams you have. I don't care when
it's eighth any whatever. I don't whatever the aning, whatever
the situation. You're on the guys on the mountain, you're
at the home plate. God, there is no time if
you're thinking about anything but seeing that ball and just
trying to do something with it. Hit it hard somewhere
you have your loss. You just you're not You're not
gonna do it. The ball is gonna be in the
catcher's mint, et cetera, et cetera. So I cannot agree
(46:23):
with them more on that. All this information is wonderful,
but you also have to understand how.
Speaker 4 (46:29):
To reduce, reduce, reduce, and.
Speaker 3 (46:32):
You have to understand how to give it to present
to your to your client, your player, and you when
whenever you work with a hitter prior to a game,
we would go over things, whether it was a t
soft toss, whatever it might be. Actual batting practice, velocity machines.
I was using that stuff in the mid eighties. I
used to bring the machine in at thirty three feet
from home plate, thirty six inches above the ground and
(46:54):
try to create ride with the with the ponds of machine.
It's gone through all this stuff, get it all. But
the point is you tell your guys, your clients all
the time when you get in the game.
Speaker 4 (47:03):
This is for now. The game is different.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
The game is about competing and we're going to try
to get what we which we attempted to accomplish.
Speaker 4 (47:11):
Here we're bringing into the game.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
And if you need one thought only, I'll give you one,
but no more than one top half of the ball
as an example, stay in the middle as an example.
I'm going to shoot a line drive to right field
as an example. Whatever that thought is, keep it to
one thought. But if you if the people that are
presenting information and they think that these guys could hold
onto it. There are presenters, and there are teachers, and
(47:37):
there's a lot of presenters out there, and it's easy
to present you just you just spit out a bunch
of information, you put in a nice folder binder, You
take it in front of a group and you start
reading down. But you don't know it. You don't know it.
You just know what that says on a piece of paper.
And then there's guys that really know what they're talking about.
You know what you know, and that only comes through time, experience, wisdom, whatever, repetition.
(48:01):
I don't care what you want to call it. And
that's that's what he needs to rely more upon. If
he needs a nugget before the game, if there's something
bothering Manny before the game about this picture tonight, ask
that question. There's one thing I'd just like to know
a little bit more about. Otherwise, stay out, stay away
from me. I need to get my head right for
the game. I need to go out there and compete.
I do agree with him, there is too much information
(48:22):
before the game. There's no question the information glut needs
to be applied in the off season. That's where you
want your information glut. That's where you're going to acquire somebody,
You're going to set up your team.
Speaker 4 (48:34):
What is it supposed to look like.
Speaker 3 (48:36):
That's where you could just dreams of information among the
people that love so much. But when the season's in progress,
it needs to be reduced, reduced, reduced on a daily basis.
Need to know basis among your guys. Some guys can
handle more than others. Know your clients, know your players,
know who you're talking to. There's not one size fits
(48:57):
oh my god. And I could go on and on
about this. So in a lot of ways, I do
agree with what Manny's saying.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
I like the fact that he mentioned that word competing,
because that's what game baseball is all about. This is
a big difference, as we know, between you know, hitting
on a turf matt under fluorescent lights in the batting
cage and getting out there and your spikes and the
dirt and going one on one against the pitcher who's
throwing ninety eight.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
We know that.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
But I also think man he has to understand, and
I'm sure he does. He's got a lot available to
him in that cage or even in the clubhouse in
terms of information. If there's something about his swing against
a breaking pitch that is not quite right, if his
tilt has gotten a little too severe, whatever it may be,
there are numbers that can help him. And like you,
(49:43):
I'm not saying those things are going to help him
in the heat of the moment in the box, but
preparation wise, yeah, take advantage of everything that's out there.
And maybe he's one of these guys. He's better off
giving him less information. He could be one of those guys.
And you have to honor that as well. But I
do like the fact that you know there's a lot
out there to use at your disposal. But when it
comes down on the game situation, that's the time, as
(50:06):
he said, to compete.
Speaker 3 (50:08):
I still always with KB, Chris Bryant. KB would get
like locked in on a bunch of stuff and he'd
I've talked about this. He'd be in the hole standing
next to me and the dougout at Wrigley, and I say, brother,
I said, ho old are you? He'said twenty four. It's
twenty four. You've been an MVP and you've been the
Golden Spike Player of the year. Good looking guy, great family.
(50:30):
You have one thing left to do when you go
up to the plate, right now. Just go up there
and compete. Stop thinking about everything else. You're good, You've
done everything. You're a very good baseball player. Please don't
forget to just go up there and compete. Just go
ahead and beat that guy. It comes down to nothing
more than that. Listen, in my meager existence, even in
literally I wanted to beat Stevie Felatovich or Larry Falvelo.
(50:53):
Absolutely left handed pitchers love him. Bring him on as
many as you possibly can bring out there. Don't ever
forget to just purely compete and want to beat that
guy at this particular event or item.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
It so much comes out.
Speaker 3 (51:08):
You talk about grinders when people mention the word grinder,
that's what a grinder is. That's a guy that maybe
knows how to compete one second longer than the other guy.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
And just to put a bow on a couple of
thoughts here, the Padres have given more plate appearances to
players in their thirties than any other team. And those
players are hitting two h five right now, so they've
leaned into the older player at a time when that
may not be returning all that well.
Speaker 2 (51:34):
So we'll keep an eye on that.
Speaker 1 (51:35):
Padres right now are in a bit of a slump
and they need Manny Machado to get himself going for sure.
That brings us here to the our ninth inning. Joe,
you've got the ball to close it out. What have
you got for us this time on the book of Joe.
Speaker 4 (51:47):
Before I go there?
Speaker 3 (51:48):
Okay, if you have all that information and then let's
let's let's start shooting some intel into that box. And
so what is the answer, what would be the logical
solution to a guy that's over whatever, thirty, what are
they common commonalities here regarding why they're struggling so much
like you're saying, chase sweeper seymore breaking ball? Can you
(52:10):
not catch up the velocity? Where's he trying to hit
the ball all the time? I mean, that's where I
would start. I would start. And that's like a really
calm conversation in a nice quiet moment that then leads
to a game plan that might be more successful. And
that could be like again, adaptations, adjustments, minor ones that
then permit you to gain your confidence again. And once
(52:32):
that confidence source, you can never tell you what's gonna
happen after that. Okay, and then yeah, we got some
good for today. It's exactly what we're talking about from
Frederick Nietzsche. Do not allow yourself to be yourselves to
be deceived. Great minds are skeptical, skeptical, so you have
to be skeptical about some of this stuff. You just
can't blindly accept everything that's somebody's pouring out at you.
(52:55):
And I know we're talking the age of information, and
there's a lot of good information out there, but.
Speaker 4 (53:00):
Man, it's not one size fits all.
Speaker 3 (53:03):
And not everybody here is it the same way, and
not everybody understands in the same way. It's it's it's
it's one set of instructions, but the human being attempting
to apply these instructions sometimes don't understand the vision, the verbal,
the war is the written word. Sometimes they have to
see it, they have to feel. There's different ways to
(53:23):
get your point across. So for me analogically, is that
the right way way to say it? But it is
now to me as a as an analog coach, the
biggest thing I try to do is get my hitters
to feel what I was talking about. And unless the
heater can say he feels it, well, now I'm observing
that he's doing it absolutely correctly, then he doesn't know it.
(53:44):
So there's the feel and information lead to knowing, and
if you're missing one or the other, it's very difficult
to sustain it over a.
Speaker 4 (53:51):
Period of time.
Speaker 2 (53:52):
Thank you, Frederick, and thank you Joe. Good job. We'll
see you next time. I'm looking at Joe, all.
Speaker 3 (53:58):
Right, brother, see a baby bye.
Speaker 1 (54:08):
The Book of Joe podcast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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or wherever you get your podcasts
The Book of Joe Podcast is a production of iHeartRadio.
Hey there, and welcome back to the Book of Joe
Podcast with me, Tom Berducci and Joe Madden. Hey Joe,
I'm going to bring up a couple of your favorite subjects,
(00:27):
catching and umpires. We'll get to that in a minute,
but we need to talk about Aaron Judge. First of all,
give me a reaction of where you think the Yankees
might be without playing with their superstar Aaron Judge for
we don't know for how long.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It's probably going to.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Be at least a couple of months, because they're basically
going to wait until they about a month six weeks
past before they take some more images on the stress
fracture and his rib. So let's say he's out two
months minimum. What's your take on how the Yankees tread water, survive,
thrive whatever, next month or two survive in that division.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I mean, nobody's running away there. The race have come
back a bit. Seems like the Blue Jays have gotten better,
Baltimore's gotten a little bit better, so I don't think
there's a runaway train right there, so that benefits them.
They'll play probably near five hundred baseball. I can't see
them really playing well above five hundred. They still have
a lot of little innuendo going on there. The competition
(01:27):
with Vultpy now versus Cabaliro a shortstop, Bellinger seems to
be the rock. And of course Rice they're catching, they're
keep They're constantly worried about their catching, although they're you know,
they're starting.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Pitching is pretty good.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I know their bullpen maybe reads better than I'm actually
seeing them. So I just think the fact that the
division itself is not this grand division like it had
been a couple of years ago, they'll be able to
hang tight. But these as you just suggested, when the
reimaging occurs, there's no guarantees that the injury is going
(02:00):
to be healed and you can be able to start
heating it up again. So this is a real nebulous
situation for them right now. However, this is the year
to have that go on based on the rest of
the division.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
That's a great point about the not just the division,
the entire league. It's incredible stat to me that on
Monday night the Yankees beat Cleveland. It was a big
come from h Win Bellinger right in the middle of it.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Again.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
I mean, he's made himself such a tough at bat,
especially with two strikes. But that's only the fifth game
of this year the Yankees have won against the winning team.
They're five and ten for the year. I mean, even
the Rockies have eight wins. That's the next fewest wins
against winning teams. And it just I think it's more
(02:46):
a reflection of the league that it is about the Yankees,
because just not many good teams. I mean Houston's down,
Boston's down teams, Detroit way down. Teams he thought were
gonna be good or down. And I don't think it's
going to change much, Joe. I think we're probably looking
at a wild card in the American League entry to
postseason that's could barely be above five hundred. I'm talking
(03:06):
about maybe eighty two, eighty three wins. So it's very
forgiving for a Yankee team that, let's face it, the
last couple of years they've had June swoons, they've had
down periods in the middle of the season. They're definitely
due for one year with Judge. I think it's just
too big of a loss. I mean, you know, as manager, Joe,
when you're facing the Yankees or any team with a
(03:26):
great hitter who's missing in the middle of the lineup.
It affects the entire lineup with how the lineup is pitched.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
So I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I think they're probably looking at a five hundred team
for the next couple of months. Here's my question for you, Joe,
what do you do going forward with Aaron Judge? If
you look at his injury history, the most dangerous part
for Aaron Judge is playing the outfield. Right He said
it himself that this rib injury probably began diving for
(03:57):
a ball in Houston head first dive well in twenty nineteen,
similar injury to the ribcage, almost the exact same effort, diving.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Headfirst for a ball in the outfield. Of course, a.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Couple of years ago Dodger Stadium crashes into the wall.
You know, he tore a toe ligament out a couple
of months there. You've got the flexer strain that he
had last year. Comes from throwing the outfield. Everything is
related to playing defense with Aaron Judge. I don't want
him diving to prevent a single in right field if
(04:30):
it's gonna cost him two or three months of his
bet in the lineup. Here's the thing, Joe, he's six
foot seven, two hundred and eighty pounds.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
There's only he's thirty four years old.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
The only player in baseball history to play the outfield
at age thirty four was Frank Howard, and the next
year Frank Howard transitioned to first base.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
In the year after that, he was a DH.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
So essentially, you're gonna ask Aaron Judge starting next year
at age thirty five, to play the outfield, which we've
never seen anybody that big do at that age. I
think this is something the Yankees you really have to
think about. I'm not saying you he doesn't play the outfield.
We all know he's a very good defender. I'm saying
you have to mitigate the risk a little bit by
finding him more time at DH and telling him, basically,
(05:17):
he's not allowed to take.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
On walls and to die for baseball.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I know that's a hard thing to do with this game,
especially a competitor like Judge, but they've got to do
everything they can to mitigate the risk because the risk
is clearly spelled out here. Playing the outfield at six seven,
two eighty in your mid thirties is dangerous.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
First off, I didn't realize thirty four. I did not.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I mean, he's like a forever young kind of a
guy when you look at him, how he looks, how
he plays, et cetera.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
But you're you know, you're right on.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
I mean for me and I guess Staton's still under contract,
but he's heard even more than judges.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
I'd have to.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Not only strongly consider, I would more than likely make
him the DH. I know he's going to fight that
because he he is a good outfield's a. He's a
good baseball player, runs the base as well. He does
everything right when he throws, He's got great armstroke, his
mechanics are good. Because I watched the whole game. I
just don't watch him at the plate. But to miss
him at the plate is probably the most severe thing
(06:16):
that could happen to the Yankees on an annual basis,
even more than losing Garrett Cole for a bit.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
So they have to they have to.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
This is one, Like you know, I've always argued in
favor of show he doing both things because I think
he can, and he's done it before. But part of
it is d H. Part of it is the pitch.
But this guy here, I love the way he plays.
The dives to right center. I've seen him and I thought,
not long ago, I thought one at Yankee Stadium he
dove in away that I thought, my god, did he
hurt himself? But he, of course he did catch the ball.
(06:43):
It's hard to ask a world class athlete like that
to change his ways, like in other words, don't try
his hard on the field, back off, don't dive, stay
on your feet. All those different kinds of things man
hard hard to do. And then you see the reaction
from the pitchers when a ball falls that maybe could
have been caught. All those things compound. So I think
(07:04):
the best way to do this Yankee wise, listen, Statton's
done some really good work.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
You know, maybe throw him in.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The outfield and just put him out there as a
sacrificial lamb, because he is not as important as judges overall,
but you have to do something. And it makes all
the sense in what playing first base. I thought about that,
But he's still been in over a lot. There's a
lot of movement involved. I don't even know. Maybe he
has a great propensity to do it. Maybe it'll be
seamless who knows, but that would be the other option.
(07:33):
Frank Howard didn't realize he did play some first base also,
But that probably makes the most sense if he can
do that and they feel more comfortable without him getting
injured there, although there's still the potential for him to
dive there too, ball in a hole, ball down the
first baseline, all that stuff comes into play. So keeping
him on the field is priority number one.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, I don't know about first base. I mean, that
would be very difficult. I don't know that he's ever
played on the dirt in his life. I mean, you know, Joe,
that first base we like to think will just throw
somebody over there at first It's a very difficult position
to play if you have no experience there.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
It reminds me of Barry Bonds, who said he'd never
wanted to play first base. He just he wasn't going
to transition there because he wasn't comfortable, had never done
it before. And as he said, I've never worn a
protective cup and I'm never going to start, so I'm
not going to play first base.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
So there's another.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Reason, right.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Oh, you bring up a good point about Stanton though,
I mean Stanton has two more years left in the contract.
I'm not saying Aaron Judde stops playing the outfield. What
I'm saying is, I think you have to find some
more outlets for him to DH again, to mitigate the
risk and maybe not have him out there one hundred
and forty one hundred and fifty times in the regular season.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
That would mean, like.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
You said, either sitting Stanton more or having Stanton play
the outfield more. We've seen him do it. It's not pretty.
He can do it. It's a thorny issue. It's not
something the Yankees need to address immediately, but they have
to start thinking about the next phase of Aaron Judge's
(09:05):
career to make sure that they get as many plate
appearances out of him as possible.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
As he ages through his mid and late thirties.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
If you were to play Stanton out there the okay,
it's up obviously going to be deficient defensively, but of
course the whole point is the offensive side of things.
When I get in a situation like that, you catch
a lead, seventh inn, he after his last at bat,
maybe in the seventh, possibly the eighth, you just got
to get him off the field. That would be Stanton,
you have to mentally lower your standards, actually lower your
(09:37):
standards when it comes to defense if in fact you
want to do something like that. Again, is it's a
great conversation in a room. I'm just as we're talking
about it, sitting in a boardroom kind of a thing,
and you talk about all the ways, the positives and
negatives of doing something like this.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
It's a great conversation.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
And among the groups when you're in a dugout on
the field, know these people more personally on a personal level,
what their likes and dislikes, so are how they are
going to react to different things.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
It makes for more exact conversation. So that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Stanton's willingness to do something like this and Judge's unwillingness
to do something like this, and how this all plays
into it, and how it impacts the vibe and the.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
Entire situation with the team there.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
There's so many subplots involved in a movement like this.
It's not as easy as it sounds on paper. So
it's something that has to be I'm sure they're discussing it,
but it's an interesting discussion and at the end of
the day you decide what we're going to do here,
and you get everybody together and you decide this is
this is the plan, knowing that it's flexible. It's nothing
(10:41):
is here ext and stone. It's never written in ink.
But you have to come up with they plan and
then maybe, like you know, Plan B, Plans C has
got to be in the background to be discussed at
a later time. However, everybody needs to be involved in
this one. And knowing these two guys Stanton and Judge
very well matters a lot.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Great point and I think we have to remember too
with stant and obviously the injury risk is always there
with him, and not just the lower body injuries the
CAF strains, but you know that chronic elbow issue, actually
both elbows that he has. You're putting him more at
risk by asking him to be an outfielder, which it's
(11:23):
more than just standing out there in the field, right,
you know, you have to prepare yourself to throw and
get your legs under you to be a defensive player
at least a couple.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Of times a week.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
So in the meantime, both Stanton and Jason Dominguez are
working their way back from injuries. You're probably going to
see them in the next week or two. That will
help Dominguez. The Yankees have worked hard to make him
into a decent left fielder. I think you're gonna have
to put him in right field now, which is a
very tough situation to do. He's not a great defender.
(11:54):
He's got the ability to be a very good one,
but he's not. And they've worked really hard with him
in left field. But I think because of Yankee Stadium, Joe,
I don't see him playing left field and putting bell
in right field. Leftfield is the bigger field. Bellinger is
a great defender anywhere, but he's been especially great left field.
That's another kind of a dicey call for me. I'm
(12:14):
not sure, but I would ask Bellinger to stay in
the left field and see if Domegas can play right.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Well, if Domingus actually is going to play, and what
he's starting rehaber, is he in rehab right now playing?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Do you know that he's going to be back next week?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
He's rehabbing now, so he's the first one back a
little ahead of Stanton.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Well, here's what I would do then, because we did
it with Schwerbur a little bit. Play Domingus in the
smaller outfield corner if in fact there is a difference
between the two. So my point is I would playhim
in both places in his rehab assignment. The biggest difference
is just with the ball off the bat, as in
as a corner outfield, you have to know when remember
one thing all the time. The ball is always going
(12:56):
to hook or slice to the line. That's your first thought,
your first move. Whatever his weakness is, I would start
him closer to his weakness in the beginning position according
as well as you can according to the scatting reports.
So as a left field there if he goes better
to as it goes better to his left, get closer
to the line, move to the to the gap, and
vice versa. Whatever whatever this frends are. But if you
(13:18):
put him in this smaller field to to play, I
don't think it's impossible. It's just I did coach outfield
there for a while. I learned from sam Ciplasia who's
no longer with this, and Sammy was outstanding, had some
great great outfield drills that we ran in spring training
and I did during the season.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
There.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
There are a lot of it is controlled. It's not
just off the fungal it's controlled, you throw the ball
to the guys, et cetera. But the big thing you
have to remember in those on those corners is the
ball is always going to slice or hook to the line.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
That's a mental thing.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And so you're taking balls off the during batting practice.
You stand out there and you don't even have to
go catch the ball. You just have to take that
first step in the correct direction as you're reading the
ball off the bat. I don't think it's impossible, and
sometimes I actually think something like this makes it somewhat
easier for the player because he's not required us to
(14:08):
do one thing well, So it's almost like a built
in excuse maybe if I don't do it as well,
because you're asking me to do two things, kind of
like the pressures off a little bit. That's why I
used to like bringing guys, make guys like a utility player,
because if they had to practice the glove at a
couple different.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Spots, it took kind of some pressure off them.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
My thoughts, it's a weird, it's almost paradoxical, but I
believe that to be true.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
And I also believe when they do do.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
That, then they're they're hitting because they don't just spend
all this time on thinking about hitting. I have to
think a little bit more about defense and right field today. Okay,
ball is going to move to the line. My first step,
I'm going to be aware of that. Up the batterom VP,
et cetera. So I would always, if in fact they're
going to play them both simultaneously, I would pick the
bigger corner and put Beliger.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
In that because he can do anything.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
This guy is a baseball player, and I think, like
I said, in a paradoxical way, it actually may help
Domingos become better at it by kind of lessening the
pressure because I'm doing two things now, and it frees
the mind up a little bit, I believe, because he
just gets so locked in or paralyzed by one situation.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
All right, now, let me ask you what you would
do at the shortstop position. I asked Aaron Boone that
question Monday night, because Caballero has played a little bit
of right field since Judge went out, but with Dominga's
coming back, there's probably not as many opportunities for him
to play the outfield. He can do it, obviously a
good utility guy, but the shortstop position Aaron Boone basically
(15:34):
told me was an open competition that you know, he
sits down. Boon does with his bench coach Brad Alsmis
the night before and decides who's going to play shortstop
the next day based on matchups a set, especially based
on how that person that player either won is swinging
the bat.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Not a great scenario. I'd rather have a full time shortstop.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
But in this case, you know, you've got a guy
like Volpi who is not going to play another position Caballero,
can you know, switch to the outfield, switch a third base.
You can move him around the course of a game.
That's very valuable. He's played well for the Yankees. It's
a tough spot for Volpi to be in, Joe. I mean,
it looks to me like he's worked on his swing.
(16:16):
It looks to be a little more level, but I'm
not seeing an offensive game there yet either. With Anthony
Volpi and the defense to me is still weirdly below
average at shortstop, you're putting him in a very difficult
spot to make him into essentially a part time player
at his age, trying to resuscitate his career when he's
(16:40):
not really a versatile kind of player. Give me your
take on the Yankee shortstop position and the decisions that
Aaron Boone has.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Well, I hate to say this, but it appears as
like they're rationalizing. They want this to happen. I mean,
they want Volpi to be better than he actually is
right now, and so there's a rationalization process going on.
The Yankees played really well with Cavallero at short Celfic
really well. There's more of a fearless component to Caballero
to me observationally, then there is a fearless component of Vulpey.
(17:08):
And I've heard Volpi's listen. He seems like a great guy.
I get all that. I get all of that, but
and again I'm not in the room, but this is
from a distance. Caballero is the kind of guy to
me that on a daily basis, he might make a mistake,
but that's definitely not going to impact the next play,
the next throw, the next whatever.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
He just thinks he's that good.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
And on the other side, Vulpe, if he does make mistakes,
I see that it possibly can cause a concern at
the plate. I think Caballerero has got a much more
versatile swing. He is going to give you a consistently
a better at bat.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
I think that Volpi can right now.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Remember a couple of years ago, when Volpi just came up,
we were talking about him being the glue of the
Yankee team. He was playing that well at that time.
Everything is an entire game, But for whatever reason, it
just seems to have regressed a bit from what I'm
watching the whole thing, even like his defense, I guess
he's been making some plays, but still fundamentally coming through
the ball, the way he uses his feet, etc. The armstroke,
(18:00):
I think the other guy's more fluid. So for me,
I would for the Yankees to win. And you know,
if their goal is to get to the last game
of the year and win it this year, I mean
I think they have a better chance with Cabaio at
shortstop from what I'm seeing.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
What does that mean about Vulpe? You know, I.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Again almost the explanation I gave regarding the multiple positions
for Domingus. I think it actually may help a Vulpa
to do something like that. Also not be locked in
at one spot. Take a couple of gloves out there
in pregame, we'll figure out we're going to be tomorrow,
you might come into the game later doing this or
doing something like that. I think that might actually benefit
him weirdly, and it might benefit as bad too, because
(18:40):
at shortstop there's a lot of pressure, and there's a
spotlight if he makes an air at third base, not
as big as if he makes an air at shortstop,
if he makes an air at second base, not as
magnified as if he does as shortstop.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
In a weird way.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Again, paradoxically, I think it takes some pressure off of him,
even though it sounds like it you asking him to
do something more difficult. I would go that way. I
would try to make him more utility oriented. I'd give
Caballero the job at shortstop. He's really he's not an outfielder, Cabayer.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
He could do it. He could do it.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
He's not like Bautista when he came Backjose when he
started like killing it with Toronto and playing in the outfield.
He is more of an infielder. Caballero, and I like
him on the I field, like him on the dirt things.
Got a really good mind for the game, So that
would be observationally, That's what I'm seeing right now. Make
Vulpi your utility guy, and I think that takes pressure
(19:30):
off of him actually regarding making mistakes.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
I think it might actually help his bat.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
I think you're a better team with Caballero at shortstop
and put real outfielders in the outfield and let them bang.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Well in that case, and I'd probably agree with you.
You almost have to send Vulpi down, you could. I
don't like him sitting on the bench. Ye, Cabaliro is
going to be my everyday player. Anthony Volpi now is
coming up on two thousand major league played appearances. That
is a large sample size. He's a two twenty two
hitter with a two point eighty four on base percentage
and an OPS plus of eighty three. Major league average
(20:02):
is one hundred. That's a long sample where he just
does not turn to corner. So we'll see how long
the Yankees are patient with him, and if he's got
enough playing time to kind of resurrect his offensive game.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
We will see.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And speaking of the Yankees, you probably notice this, Joe
Austin Wells has not been hitting all this year and
now he's on the il with cervical headaches, which sounds
really serious. As part of the demands and pressures of
the job. What is going on with catching in the
major leagues, because right now I can tell you offensively,
(20:38):
at least it stinks. We're going to talk about that
next on the Book of Joe.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Hey, welcome back to the Book of Joe.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I mentioned catching, and this is unbelievable to me, Joe,
the major league average for catchers is twenty six two
twenty six. Only one year in the history of this game,
even going back to the nineteenth century, has hitting among
catchers been worse, and that was nineteen eighteen, smack in
(21:19):
the dead ball era. I mean, look around the game.
There are only four catchers who are hitting above the
major league average, which is two forty two. Drake Baldwin,
William Contrere, Shae Langleers Atlie Rushman. I mean, the Yankees
catching group is hitting one sixty seven. The lowest all
(21:44):
time is by the fifteen Mariners at one point fifty nine.
And I mentioned Wells because he hasn't been hitting, but man,
he has been banged up. I had actually never heard
of cervical headaches. It actually begins kind of in the
neck area. And I've seen him get smoked by a bunch.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Of foul balls.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
There's a lot of catchers do these days, and I
just I can't stand it when announcers start talking about
how tough guys are, because you really have to be careful,
especially with injuries from the neck and above brain injuries
we all know about, we should know by now about
the danger of concussions, and never anything to be taken lightly.
(22:22):
So there's definitely, as well said, a cumulative effect to
taking some of these foul balls. He's paying that price
now and that Aaron Boone doesn't think he's going to
be out that long. In fact, they think they think
it may be just the ten days. But the fact
is they're getting nothing out of him offensively, and they've
got nothing out of all of their catchers this year.
I want to get your take, Joe, on what we
(22:43):
ask of catchers in the game today and whether we
should start lowering our expectations for what they can do offensively,
because I think we ask more out of catchers than
ever before. And the way they run a game, the
pitching staffs, the pitch calling, you name it. Now you've
got abs on top of that one to challenge when
not to challenge, should we dial back our expectations on
(23:06):
catchers being able to hit well.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
First off, I think there's an analytical priority there. I mean,
the kid Bailey that just got traded from San Francisco
to Cleveland, I mean, one of the most anemic sets
of numbers offensively I've ever seen, but everybody loves his defense.
So I think right now the defense I mean I
was watching him, I was watching him against the Yankees yesterday.
It's almost like a National League lineup with the pitcher hitting.
(23:29):
I mean, he is at that level offensively. I think
analytics will take that from the catcher. They'll take the
less offense from the catcher in order to get the
framing numbers that they're shooting for. I think there's a
sliding scale there that is acceptable in regarding that position.
And again, if one organization does it and is somewhat successful,
(23:53):
others are going to buy into it and accept that
that's just the way this thing works right now. So
I think that's probably number one. And then you know
the pressure to play or the way that the game
planning occurs. Again, they know catch they being catchers, know
that their first priority to staying in the big leagues
and making some dough would be that they're good at this.
(24:14):
They're good at game prep, calling a game, calling the
game plan, et cetera. It's not even about throwing, although
it's a little bit more than it had been, but
it's still not It's more about, you know, receiving the ball,
framing it, calling the right pitches, putting the right fingers down.
Although I'm watching shoot, I was watching the Marlins the
other day and every pitch was being called from the
from the dugout Kim remember which coach was, But he's
(24:37):
holding up fingers uh to call the pitch to the catcher.
So okay, that's actually less pressure on the catcher right there.
He's relying on the guy from the bench telling him
exactly what to do. So maybe that's not the case,
but I think it's a priorities I've shifted. They they
they being the analytical departments who really pretty much run
(24:59):
you know, the team on the field.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
This is what they want. They want that guy they want.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Okay, that Bailey hits once something and has a home
run once in a while, swings with defenses. Listen, I
was watching him yesterday. The first thing I'd do is
put a huge bat in his hand, ask him to
choke up, and kid has put his hands against his
chest and just try to hit the ball back to them.
And I swear to God I would if he's that
good behind the plate. So it's a shifting priorities. It's
(25:24):
it's they're getting what they're asking for. You know, you're
getting what you wish. The thing that you know you
mentioned a couple of the bed hitters. The guy that's
a surprise this year is Rawley. I mean, gosh, the
poor guy and that last year, this guy, you know,
I thought was the MVP this year, you know, basically
just can't get out of his own way offensively. It's
a tough position, man. So again that's without being again
(25:46):
being on the field, being in a dugout, I'd be
able to give you a much more specific opinion to
what I'm what I'm seeing, because it really does for
me being on the field and a dugout watching from
field level really screams a lot more than me watching
it on a boxer of video replay. But that's what
it seems to be. It's a priority, priority level. We'll
take defense over offense. At last point, I'm surprised about
(26:08):
Wells it was a couple of years ago. I thought
this guy did a really good swing. But it's a
lot of pull Yankee Stadium. And again, I don't know
if he's just gotten so pull oriented that he he's
lost the other side of the field, he's committing too soon.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Who knows what's going on with him.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
But I do know I do like him and these headaches.
Maybe that's he's had headaches, But it also sounds like
a reset DL situation. Give him some extra work, get
them just back off a bit. I want to believe
this guy's going to come back.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
I do. I like to swing that much. So I'm
still a Wells fan.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
There's definitely an offensive game still in there. We'll see,
you know. Interesting when I brought this up to Aaron Boone,
he said that it's not a physical grind to the catchers.
He thinks actually the one knee stance for catchers has
made catching less physically taxing. And if you look at
the games caught teams now, you know they're not running
(27:01):
out there like you know Randy Hunley one hundreds times
in the course of a season. So I think it
sounds like to me it's the mental load of what
they asked these catchers to do.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I mean, if you talk to JT.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Realmuto and the amount of prep work he goes into
game planning for a game. These guys don't have time
to work on their offense. They can't be spending time
in the cage. It is crazy how much game prep
that these guys have to put in at the catching position.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
Well, the one nee does make a difference. Having done
it myself.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
We used to be able to do it. I would
do it with nobody on less than two strikes one knee.
That's fine because there's nothing going to happen. There's no
pass ball, there's no well pitchers, nobody's stealing. The problem
I had with one knee was that when you had
to get back into your regular stands to throw the ball,
I thought I developed some bad habits by having that
knee on the ground. So when you go to throw
the ball from a regular position, I thought it would
(27:54):
just drop my right knee before I got my body
and position to throw it. So you have to be
careful with those kind of things. Although I'm not necessarily
seeing that, but I will not dispute the fact if
you catch off of one knee. It is definitely wow.
It really makes a huge difference. But it also makes
a huge difference regarding not being able to block. I
don't think nearly as well. I see a lot of reaching. Again,
(28:17):
these are the things that are no longer important fundamentally
to the position based on analytical methods. So blocking, shifting
your body, turning your outside shoulder in. I mean, for me,
I still if a right hand slider, I got a
right hand breaking ball pitcher throwing the right hand and hitter,
I used to like to get on the outside edge
if that's where I want to turn my right shoulder
(28:39):
in and almost present the target to the pitcher coming
back at an angle to make the outside edge look bigger.
I don't necessarily just see all the elephant nose thing
where they they're just scooping the ball. They put the
glove on the ground and pull it back up, and
they're just trying to deceive the umpires constantly.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
So it's just a different method.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I'd like to see the morphing of both, meaning that yeah,
get on the knee whenever you can less than two strikes.
Nobody on base, go ahead, get on your wendy. But
when there's a thread of running and ball needs to
be blocked went around third base. It just doesn't make
any sense to me that you can be better with
a more passive physical position as opposed to a more
(29:19):
athletic one.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
By the way, I love the visual. I had not
heard that before. The elephant knows.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Yeah yeah, yeah, really good. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Speaking of.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
The guys behind the plate, I don't know if you
caught it, but there was a game Matt McClain was
the hitter last night.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Lance Barrett was the umpire.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
One at bet three pitches were challenged, all won by
the batter. I mean, Abs, We've talked about this. It
has put the spotlight on umpires like never before. But
you never want the spotlight on you. Like that one
plate appearance, three pitches missed, all overturned. So it got
(29:58):
me looking at the numbers here. Lance Barrett has the
sixth most overturns. The most he's had in the game
is seven and looking at and I don't want to
pick anybody out here, but we do have the daddy here.
The most overturns from umpires this year, Manny Gonzales, Las Diez, Hunter, Wendelstead,
(30:19):
many Gonzalez is forty six, Las Diez is sixty.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Three, Hunter Wendelstead is fifty four.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
The fewest overturns Eric Beckis and Job Lipka thirty five
and thirty eight years old.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
I've said this all along, Joe.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
These younger umpires, in a world where Velocity had spinner
way up and have come through the minor league system,
working under the laser guided strike zone, they have an.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Edge in today's game.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
I'm sorry if I'm an older umpire and the rules
changed on me all of a sudden when I'm ten, eleven,
twelve years into my career. Now you got to call
this laser defined strike zone and have challenges in front
of me. That's a big ask for these older umpires.
I really I sympathize with them. It's part of their job.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
They have get it done. But clearly the younger umpires
are performing better than the older umpires in general.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Yeah, listen, before the game begins. You know, you know
how you're gonna feel about this. If Manny's umpiring or whatever,
they're going to alert both the hitters and the catcher.
Of course, listen, this guy does miss a lot of pitches.
It's proven, So you know, trust your instincts right here.
If you're seeing something you know fully go ahead and
(31:30):
challenge it if you believe it to be the other
way around. So that's where we used to have heat
maps with umpires before it got to this point where
umpires would be exaggerated on one side or another or
up and down, and it would also be a different
heat map, like a left handed pitcher versus a left
a hitter, left handed pitcher versus a riety hitter, and
(31:51):
vice versa, so that there was like four heat maps
so that you can see where an umpire would exaggerate
or increase the strike z owner tien it up based
on handedness of the picture, handedness of the hitter. And
so that was what we had before, and it was
it was difficult sometimes believe it or not, to get
catchers who attempt or even pictures to attempt to take
(32:12):
advantage of this.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
And again you have that really good command to test that.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
So if you knew he was going to be wide
right handed pitcher, I got a writing tonight.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
The right handed hitters are up. This guy really often gives.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
You a little bit away, maybe an inch or two
two balls length off the with's off the plate, but
doesn't give you anything inside the guys that are down
the guys that are up.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
You knew that.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
You knew that going into it, and of course now
with the more exact exactitude of all this, you're not
going to see that as often.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
But that was it. So you know, like you said.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Hunter and Manny and you mentioned one other guy not yeah, Las, Okay,
So I would definitely alert my guys prior to that game.
And I would also do the same thing the other way.
The guys that are really good. Listen, you know this
guy is pretty solid. Let's let's be judicious with our
challenges right here. Listen, I don't want to get in
(33:07):
your head. If you really believe it, go ahead with it,
but just know these guys, these couple guys are better
than these other guys that are not as good at
this call. So that would be part of my strategy
on a nightly basis, based on who the home plate
umpire is. That would be the discussion. When in the
past it was heat maps. Now it is this statistical
(33:28):
information than the fact that you can.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Challenge Joe, did you happen to see the comments from
Manny Machado.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
The other day regarding it's.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
An interesting soliloquy you have basically had with reporters in
which is a lot of people wrote it off as
an anti analytics rant, and I think people are missing
a more important, larger point. I'll tell you about that
right after this on the Book of Joe.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Welcome back to the Book of Joe.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Interesting comments from Manny Machadro the Padres the other day,
As I mentioned, a lot of people thought it came
across as anti analytics, and it's hard to deny that
because here's what he said. Partly, I just wish we
can get analytics out of the way. I think there's
too many stats out there, too many stats, way too
(34:30):
many numbers. I don't even know half of the stuff
that goes up there. He's talking about what's on the scoreboard.
I look at the board sometimes and I even ask
some of the guys like what is WCCVBB or whatever
it is? What are these names that are being created?
I mean, it's just crazy to even keep up with.
So that came across as anti analytics, I get it.
(34:53):
It didn't sound like many was talking too much about
creeping into how the game is played as much as
how it is consumed. Here's the point I think everybody
missed with with Manny. You know, he's been around a
long time, right, his first full year was back in
twenty thirteen. I've noticed fifteen years of a lot of fastballs.
(35:13):
When I came up, it was ninety one, ninety two,
ninety three.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Maybe now it's just one oh one.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
The game's evolving, man, It's definitely getting harder to play,
it's definitely getting more strategic. And that is the point here, Joe.
Here's a fact about the way this season has played out.
It is the worst time in the history of the
game for hitters in their early thirties to get a
(35:42):
base hit, worse than even the dead ball. The average
for guys in a thirty one to thirty five range
is two thirty three.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
It has never been lower.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
And that's where Manny Machado is, That's where Trey Turner is,
that's where Adolie Scarcia is, that's where Marcus Simone is.
You can go up and down and I know kind
of cherry pick these, but it used to be and
you know this, Joe, you were getting guys into their
prime years in their early thirties, they were able to
track or dip into all their experience, all the pitches
(36:15):
they've seen, and still had the physical ability. But the
game has changed so fast on these guys thirty one
to thirty five that their institutional knowledge, I don't want
to say it no longer applies, but it applies a
lot less than it did. Manny's absolutely right. When he
came up, he's seen sinker slider guys throwing in the
low nineties. You'd never see those kind of pictures. Now
(36:40):
it is velocity and it is spin like he never
saw coming up. So the advantage that he has, and
there's a process called chunking where we use our minds.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
We take a whole slew of.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Information and we just kind of compartmentalize it and take
a little nugget or two out of it, the shape
of a pitch, the sequence of a bat of pitches
that you see. That the process of chunking is no
longer as valuable as it once was because everything you
have stored your hard drive now it's a different game
(37:12):
that you're tapping into. So Manny's point to me is
mostly that the game has conspired against the older players.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Okay, and it did that to the older pitchers for
many years too. I mean Franklin Ana lost his fastball
was still successful, and you could go up and down
the list of other guys that as they got older
they didn't throw as hard as they had at one time.
The point I'm driving at, maybe it's time to make
an adjustment. You know, it's the one side everybody still
chicks digged the long ball. These guys still swing out
(37:42):
of their butt all the time and are are still
I think a lot of lyft involved in the swing.
When Manny came up with Baltimore, this pitch he wanted
to throw to Manny was a change up, change up
down underneath, and that was right on right. Also, that
was our go to pitch when he was a baby
in Baltimore. Was more change up than anything to get
him out in front or over top of the ball.
So if an older as normally you know, i'd say
(38:06):
normally has to make some kind of adaptation or adjustment
based on something, has to slow down. It doesn't normally
get better unless you're playing the steroidal era, where things
somewhat stayed level or actually did get better as somebody
got older. So from my perspective, for guys like this,
I would take power out of the game. I would
(38:26):
take a different mental approach to hitting. It doesn't If
you take a different mental approach to hitting, you will
make unwittingly physical adaptations based on the fact that I'm
trying to do something different with this ball. In other words,
just like I was talking about Bailey earlier, I would
get him to hit the pants closer to his chest.
(38:47):
I'd have him focus more on the middle of the field,
and I would just start from right there. I'd give you, listen,
work a two strike approach. Just move the ball right here.
Because what happens then if you start moving the ball
and you start getting a knock or two, all of
a sudden confidence builds, and who knows, maybe all of
a sudden you start getting back on time and able
to get to that other pitch. But it's there's sort
of like the definition of insanity somewhere woven in there,
(39:10):
where doing the same thing over over again and getting
it expecting a different result. The result when you were
younger was that you can do this, and maybe there
was Although they said there's so much. I read so
much about velocity and where it's registered now out of
the hand as opposed thout the play. So is there
actually that much of significant difference overall? Is it just
the fact that bullpen arms are much more aggressive than
(39:32):
they had been. But my first thing would be for
these guys that are over thirty that are struggling, I
would make a physical slash mental adaptation here to try
to shorten up my swing, utilize more of the field,
get the power out of my brain, because the more
I think power, the more I'm going to punch out,
the more I'm going to be ahead, the more I'm
going to try to time this up and be fooled
if I'm not getting my fastball in it at the
(39:55):
velocity I want and the area that I want. Pictures
throw homers. Hitters don't necessarily hit them. They just have
to be ready to make when the picture makes the mistakes.
So maybe time for the hitting version of Franklin Ada
to show up and make that adjustment necessary to make
you a more productive hitter later in your game.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Well, it's a rare time in this game when players
twenty five and under are better than players thirty one
to thirty five, So start with that.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
And you mentioned the velocity. Yeah, that's a huge part
of it. We know that.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Just as an example, the pictures that Manny Machado faced
back in twenty thirteen, his first full season, the average
fastball velocity was ninety two point one. This year, the
pictures that many has faced, he's seeing an average of
ninety five point six. So that difference of three and
a half miles per hour, that's essentially like they took
the pitching rubber and moved its six or seven inches
(40:47):
closer to the plate. He has less time to react
while he's getting older. That's point one. The second thing is,
when we've talked this a lot, Joe, even though velocity
is going up, fastball use is going down. So he
sees four percent if you were four seemers now than
he did in twenty thirteen. The entire bulk of that
(41:09):
difference is being made up with spin. The spin rate,
the spin that he sees has gone up four percent.
Velocity has gone up on those breaking pitches, The spin
has gone up on those breaking pitches.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
They're nastier breaking pitches.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
And that is what is really devouring many mitchatdo right now. Again,
spin this year, he's hitting one thirteen and slugging two
twenty five.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
He's four extra base hits all year on spin.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
So we talk a lot about velocity, and I know
it's hard to just isolate a type of pitch because
everything is done, you know, in sequence, and one pitch
after another will set up another. I get that, But
the other thing you mentioned, you'd like even the right
on right change up on many mitchatdo. The other thing
is because starters don't last as long, he's not seeing
(41:57):
pitchers a third time. He's seeing so many specialist right
handers coming out of the bullpen for half of a
game that the percentage of left handers that he sees
has shrunk from one out of three about thirty two percent,
to one out of four even less twenty three percent.
So he's seeing nastier stuff and having the platoon disadvantage
(42:23):
much more often. That's how much this game has changed.
So I talked about the umpires. I sympathized with the
older guys. I feel the same way about hitters in
their thirties. I think the game has conspired against them,
and this year in general, players in their twenties are
hitting eleven points higher than players in their thirties.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
There never was that kind of gap before like we're
seeing now.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
So I'd be curious on the velocity averages of starters,
average right handed starting pitches, average velocity for the left
handed starting pitchers, and then also average velocity for right
handed relief pitchers, and average velosity for left handed relief pictures.
That would be interesting to me. Number one. Number two,
it's just everything you just mentioned screams to making an adjustment.
(43:08):
I mean, I don't know again, not in the field,
not in the dugout, not knowing, But listen, very there's
nothing wrong with choking up. There's nothing wrong if you're
gonna get, if you're gonna hit one thirteen, whatever it
was against breaking balls, and don't try to make some
kind of a mental adjustment at least okay after one strike, Okay,
give yourself the opportunity to air it out for your
(43:31):
first strike. And I don't want my B hack on
a two strike pitch. Make your B hack on a
one stripe pitch. If you if you know this guy
is tough on you, if you know you're having a
hard time seeing this guy, you start making your adjustments sooner.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
In the at bat, not later. In the at bat.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
These are the kind of things that I think I
would try to get across the different guys, and like
you're relating based on information. The guys that are listen
plus thirty thirty one, thirty two thirty three, it's time.
And now you look at schwarb. Swarb is obviously having
no problem with thelocity right now. But these other guys
that are this is where information is or analytics numbers
(44:11):
are good for me to look at to determine whether
or not I do need do need to adjust? Right
here base look at us right here, That's where I
really love that stuff. So that would be my suggestion.
Let's work a different path right here, Let's work a
different mindset. Let's take that line drive between first and second.
Let's take that dumper down the right, feeling that Paul
(44:31):
MOLITORI used to do so well, get jammed, get jammed,
barely get over the first baseman's head lands on the
first baseline. Here comes in two runs. There's nothing wrong
with that. I just we're so hell bent on just
trying to hit everything in the seats on every count.
I think in some ways that leads to these dismal numbers.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
Also yeah, And just to finish with Manny's comments, because
aletes and we love analog baseball here, but we also
love we also love the modern game and the tools
that are at every player's disposal.
Speaker 4 (45:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
Absolutely, this is what Manny said.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
It goes back to old school stuff. Man, just see
the ball and hit the ball. At the end of
the day, it's about competing. You got to go out
there and compete. Take away all these analytics, take everything
you could possibly think of, and go out there and
try to catch the ball and make more outs. Right,
It's about a team game. Play good defense, you win
a ball game. You make one more run than the
(45:27):
other team, you win a ball game. So that's what
we're trying to do here.
Speaker 4 (45:31):
I'm not arguing. I I love that.
Speaker 3 (45:33):
I mean, that's the word compete really stands out.
Speaker 4 (45:36):
I mean, when you get all this new.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
Age information or just information in gener I don't care
what even back in the day, you get too much
from a coach, never know when to shut up. That
becomes very confusing, paralysis through analysis. We've talked about that,
Bennie Hines talked about that for years. The word compete
needs to be said over and over because at the point,
I don't care how much great information you have. I
(46:01):
don't know many reams you have. I don't care when
it's eighth any whatever. I don't whatever the aning, whatever
the situation. You're on the guys on the mountain, you're
at the home plate. God, there is no time if
you're thinking about anything but seeing that ball and just
trying to do something with it. Hit it hard somewhere
you have your loss. You just you're not You're not
gonna do it. The ball is gonna be in the
catcher's mint, et cetera, et cetera. So I cannot agree
(46:23):
with them more on that. All this information is wonderful,
but you also have to understand how.
Speaker 4 (46:29):
To reduce, reduce, reduce, and.
Speaker 3 (46:32):
You have to understand how to give it to present
to your to your client, your player, and you when
whenever you work with a hitter prior to a game,
we would go over things, whether it was a t
soft toss, whatever it might be. Actual batting practice, velocity machines.
I was using that stuff in the mid eighties. I
used to bring the machine in at thirty three feet
from home plate, thirty six inches above the ground and
(46:54):
try to create ride with the with the ponds of machine.
It's gone through all this stuff, get it all. But
the point is you tell your guys, your clients all
the time when you get in the game.
Speaker 4 (47:03):
This is for now. The game is different.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
The game is about competing and we're going to try
to get what we which we attempted to accomplish.
Speaker 4 (47:11):
Here we're bringing into the game.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
And if you need one thought only, I'll give you one,
but no more than one top half of the ball
as an example, stay in the middle as an example.
I'm going to shoot a line drive to right field
as an example. Whatever that thought is, keep it to
one thought. But if you if the people that are
presenting information and they think that these guys could hold
onto it. There are presenters, and there are teachers, and
(47:37):
there's a lot of presenters out there, and it's easy
to present you just you just spit out a bunch
of information, you put in a nice folder binder, You
take it in front of a group and you start
reading down. But you don't know it. You don't know it.
You just know what that says on a piece of paper.
And then there's guys that really know what they're talking about.
You know what you know, and that only comes through time, experience, wisdom, whatever, repetition.
(48:01):
I don't care what you want to call it. And
that's that's what he needs to rely more upon. If
he needs a nugget before the game, if there's something
bothering Manny before the game about this picture tonight, ask
that question. There's one thing I'd just like to know
a little bit more about. Otherwise, stay out, stay away
from me. I need to get my head right for
the game. I need to go out there and compete.
I do agree with him, there is too much information
(48:22):
before the game. There's no question the information glut needs
to be applied in the off season. That's where you
want your information glut. That's where you're going to acquire somebody,
You're going to set up your team.
Speaker 4 (48:34):
What is it supposed to look like.
Speaker 3 (48:36):
That's where you could just dreams of information among the
people that love so much. But when the season's in progress,
it needs to be reduced, reduced, reduced on a daily basis.
Need to know basis among your guys. Some guys can
handle more than others. Know your clients, know your players,
know who you're talking to. There's not one size fits
(48:57):
oh my god. And I could go on and on
about this. So in a lot of ways, I do
agree with what Manny's saying.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
I like the fact that he mentioned that word competing,
because that's what game baseball is all about. This is
a big difference, as we know, between you know, hitting
on a turf matt under fluorescent lights in the batting
cage and getting out there and your spikes and the
dirt and going one on one against the pitcher who's
throwing ninety eight.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
We know that.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
But I also think man he has to understand, and
I'm sure he does. He's got a lot available to
him in that cage or even in the clubhouse in
terms of information. If there's something about his swing against
a breaking pitch that is not quite right, if his
tilt has gotten a little too severe, whatever it may be,
there are numbers that can help him. And like you,
(49:43):
I'm not saying those things are going to help him
in the heat of the moment in the box, but
preparation wise, yeah, take advantage of everything that's out there.
And maybe he's one of these guys. He's better off
giving him less information. He could be one of those guys.
And you have to honor that as well. But I
do like the fact that you know there's a lot
out there to use at your disposal. But when it
comes down on the game situation, that's the time, as
(50:06):
he said, to compete.
Speaker 3 (50:08):
I still always with KB, Chris Bryant. KB would get
like locked in on a bunch of stuff and he'd
I've talked about this. He'd be in the hole standing
next to me and the dougout at Wrigley, and I say, brother,
I said, ho old are you? He'said twenty four. It's
twenty four. You've been an MVP and you've been the
Golden Spike Player of the year. Good looking guy, great family.
(50:30):
You have one thing left to do when you go
up to the plate, right now. Just go up there
and compete. Stop thinking about everything else. You're good, You've
done everything. You're a very good baseball player. Please don't
forget to just go up there and compete. Just go
ahead and beat that guy. It comes down to nothing
more than that. Listen, in my meager existence, even in
literally I wanted to beat Stevie Felatovich or Larry Falvelo.
(50:53):
Absolutely left handed pitchers love him. Bring him on as
many as you possibly can bring out there. Don't ever
forget to just purely compete and want to beat that
guy at this particular event or item.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
It so much comes out.
Speaker 3 (51:08):
You talk about grinders when people mention the word grinder,
that's what a grinder is. That's a guy that maybe
knows how to compete one second longer than the other guy.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
And just to put a bow on a couple of
thoughts here, the Padres have given more plate appearances to
players in their thirties than any other team. And those
players are hitting two h five right now, so they've
leaned into the older player at a time when that
may not be returning all that well.
Speaker 2 (51:34):
So we'll keep an eye on that.
Speaker 1 (51:35):
Padres right now are in a bit of a slump
and they need Manny Machado to get himself going for sure.
That brings us here to the our ninth inning. Joe,
you've got the ball to close it out. What have
you got for us this time on the book of Joe.
Speaker 4 (51:47):
Before I go there?
Speaker 3 (51:48):
Okay, if you have all that information and then let's
let's let's start shooting some intel into that box. And
so what is the answer, what would be the logical
solution to a guy that's over whatever, thirty, what are
they common commonalities here regarding why they're struggling so much
like you're saying, chase sweeper seymore breaking ball? Can you
(52:10):
not catch up the velocity? Where's he trying to hit
the ball all the time? I mean, that's where I
would start. I would start. And that's like a really
calm conversation in a nice quiet moment that then leads
to a game plan that might be more successful. And
that could be like again, adaptations, adjustments, minor ones that
then permit you to gain your confidence again. And once
(52:32):
that confidence source, you can never tell you what's gonna
happen after that. Okay, and then yeah, we got some
good for today. It's exactly what we're talking about from
Frederick Nietzsche. Do not allow yourself to be yourselves to
be deceived. Great minds are skeptical, skeptical, so you have
to be skeptical about some of this stuff. You just
can't blindly accept everything that's somebody's pouring out at you.
(52:55):
And I know we're talking the age of information, and
there's a lot of good information out there, but.
Speaker 4 (53:00):
Man, it's not one size fits all.
Speaker 3 (53:03):
And not everybody here is it the same way, and
not everybody understands in the same way. It's it's it's
it's one set of instructions, but the human being attempting
to apply these instructions sometimes don't understand the vision, the verbal,
the war is the written word. Sometimes they have to
see it, they have to feel. There's different ways to
(53:23):
get your point across. So for me analogically, is that
the right way way to say it? But it is
now to me as a as an analog coach, the
biggest thing I try to do is get my hitters
to feel what I was talking about. And unless the
heater can say he feels it, well, now I'm observing
that he's doing it absolutely correctly, then he doesn't know it.
(53:44):
So there's the feel and information lead to knowing, and
if you're missing one or the other, it's very difficult
to sustain it over a.
Speaker 4 (53:51):
Period of time.
Speaker 2 (53:52):
Thank you, Frederick, and thank you Joe. Good job. We'll
see you next time. I'm looking at Joe, all.
Speaker 3 (53:58):
Right, brother, see a baby bye.
Speaker 1 (54:08):
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