September 30, 2025 • 10 mins
Jon Paul Morosi of MLB Network and FS1 joins the show to talk MLB playoffs, including a preview of Tigers @ Guardians in the Wild Card Round. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tigers and Guardians open up among other teams in the playoffs.
Nobody covers baseball better than John Paul Morosi, my friend
from the MLB Network also NHL Network. You know, we
always talk about baseball with JP, but really knowledgeable about
the NHL. He does a podcast on MLB Network Radio
and probably should be doing a lot more on that
(00:21):
station since he brings so much knowledge and he joins
us here on Exus and Bros. JP. I appreciate it
because I know your time is valuable, and I know
a lot of people are tugging edges, so I appreciate
you covering out a few moments for us. Hope you
and the girls are well When you look at the
Tigers season, do you think Tigers fans should be looking
at the first two months of the year or the
(00:42):
seven and seventeen record in September?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, sh up, good morning, and thanks so much for
the invitation to be on the show today. All the
best you and your family do. The Tigers season is
quite a It's almost like a psychological evaluation for all
of us. Right, So this glass half full or glass
half empty based on the way things have unfolded. To me,
(01:05):
it's this this team, they got to this spot. They
probably certainly should have actually won the division, but they're
one series away from a lot of those a lot
of the talk about the collapse sort of being put
to the side. If you win this series, if you
win two out of three in Cleveland, then you're able
(01:26):
to basically say to yourself, well, we got to where
we're supposed to be all the way all along, and
get to get to the division series. And I like
their chances of doing it. I think that Schooble on
the mount in Game one is a great way to
start any series. This is a team that, for all
their struggles in September, was able to right the ship
(01:47):
just enough in the very end of it to get
into the postseason. And I think in some way shep
they had to really get tested. They tested themselves. It
wasn't by design at all, but they had to play
really meaningful baseball right until the end. And I think
that you saw a team when they were celebrating Saturday
at Fenway taking a big exhale. They really seem to
(02:11):
enjoy and appreciate what they were able to achieve. Yes,
they should have done more at the deadline. That is now,
as of today ancient history, they're in the playoffs, and
we can talk about that probably in November sometime. But
this is a team that has still a lot of flaws.
They do not play situational baseball terribly well. Five sacrifice
bunts in the entire season. So when we talk about
(02:35):
the little things that off the win in October, this
is not a little things kind of a team. They
need to hit some home runs and some balls in
the gap because they're not a team that's going to
necessarily execute in an ideal situation. Later on. They need
Carpenter and Green and the big guys to have some
huge moments. And I think that we saw still just
(02:56):
enough magic, not quite as much magic as they had
a year ago, but enough magic, I think down the
stretch and that last weekend or so the last four
or five days that proved that they still have something
left in the tank to hopefully at least win one series.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, I suppose Cleveland could use the exact same analogy.
I mean, they can talk about playing playoff baseball all
down the stretch here, and maybe that's why they believe.
And I think Gavin Williams is a really good pitcher
what do you like And you just mentioned your concerns.
I think the concern of bullpen consistency is fair in
Detroit's regard to But what do you like about what
(03:33):
they can do or have been doing, even though they
went seven and seventeen down the stretch and just their
offense was basically putrid.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
It was it was I think what I do look
at SHEP is that they have the ability to hit
the long ball, and whether it's Carpenter, we saw even
bias over the weekend, certainly Riley Green when he's dialed
in Torkles, and I think Torque is a much different
player now than he was a year ago, certainly, and
(04:04):
I think in a lot of different ways that the
ability for this team to still have an offensive outburst
is there. They're gonna have to, though, have really good
at bats against really good pitchers, and and that's something
that at times they struggle with. You think about the
they struck out darn near twenty times once in the
(04:25):
last week, and you can't you just can't have games
like that, and and that's that is one of the
concerns I've got. But you you watch postseason games, you
think about how the Yankees won the pennant in this
league a year ago, and they won the pennant because
John Carlos, Stan and Wansoto hit a bunch of home runs.
That was that's what carried them through the multiple rounds
(04:47):
of the playoffs. And and if the Tigers can get
just enough of the home run power. I still, as
much as I realized we all watched the last couple
of series that the Tigers and Guardian has played, I
still think the Tigers are a better and deeper lineup
than what the Guardians. The Guardians that's the best player
(05:08):
their mirrors is the best player in this series period.
He's the best. But after him, I think the Tigers
top to bottom have had the better ball club. And
let's let's also not forget a couple of things. You know.
I was there in New York covering the Tigers Yankees
series a couple of weeks ago. It was it was
not that long ago that on the tenth of September
(05:31):
we left the ballpark. The Tigers had the best record
in the American League and they had just scored double
digit runs on the Yankees and back to back games.
So they haven't forgotten how to hit they just they
just haven't done it consistently enough. And and we're not
for one of the flukiest innings that we've ever seen
with scoobl on the mountain in Cleveland where they're barely
(05:52):
the ball didn't leave the infield. If that, if that
inning doesn't happen, the Tigers won the division and we're
playing today in Detroit. So it's just there's there's a
lot of it's all a matter of perspective right now.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Chep.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think that there's there are plenty of reasons for hope.
And it starts for me with the fact that this
team still has I think a deeper lineup the Tigers
do than what the Guardians have. But the Tigers are
going to have to find an answer for Rosie Ramirez.
He's he's the guy that if you're in the advanced
meeting today, Chris Fetter I'm sure is standing in front
(06:26):
of the team saying, listen, we're not going to let
this guy beat us. And and if if Kyle Manzardo
has a series of his life, then you tip your cap,
but you cannot you cannot go home because Jose Ramirez
hit a bunch of home runs in doubles because that
would be a really tough way to start the offseason.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Agreed to one hundred percent. You could, you could. I
suppose to make the argument that Stephen Kwan might be
the second best player in this series. You guys, only
he's all start at sixty times. He's a goal glove
left fielder, he makes contact, he takes counts deep into
deeper counts, forcing choose to throw more pitches. But yeah,
I agree with one hundred percent of you. I've said
(07:04):
that for a while. The Tigers have a deeper lineup
and the home runs is big. I know people don't
want to hear it JP, but slugging ops, but especially
slugging and homers are a difference in today's baseball. I
said it the trade deadline that I thought Seattle and
Philadelphia the best teams in baseball. I could be wrong there.
Who do you like in the American League? Who do
(07:25):
you like in the National League?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So great question, great point there on the trade deadline,
because they made I think both Seattle and Philly they
made the most impactful moves. I like Seattle as the
best team in the American League right now. I know
they don't have the most wins at the moment. But
they are the best team I believe on the field.
Their rotation is now finally healthy. They have very possibly
(07:48):
the MVP and cal rally or the runner up depending
how you look at it. And their lineup is the
deepest now that it's been all season long. They added
some talent of the deadline. They got Victor Roblaz back healthy,
of course at Rose Arena was an addition last year
at the deadline. Julio Rodriguez has bounced back and looks
like himself now in a in a really impressive way. Uh.
(08:09):
They've got an excellent starting rotation that they've got a
really good closer Andres Munos so there there might pick
to win the American League. I think they're they're the
best team top to bottom. Like Billy a lot too.
Christopher Sanchez is at a really a breakout season. Rangers
Suadez as well. They've got a really good uh left
side of their rotation. Of course, that they're going to
(08:30):
miss Zach Wheeler though, I mean, there's there's no question
about that. His his absence is going to be felt.
I'm a big Zach Wheeler fan and and really bummed
out that we're not going to see him Fitch in
October because he has a lot of fun to watch,
especially that ballpark, the way that he feeds off the
fans there. So that's that's a significant absence for the Phillies.
I think a team that could very easily win the
(08:51):
National League that we don't talk about, probably as much
as the San Diego Padres, and they're they're going to
start Game one today at Wrigley. Nick Paveta on the
mound is at a career your year for San Diego.
It's you know, Matthew Boyd of course, someone that Tiger
fans know and really respects and love a lot. Still
he's on the mountain for the Cubs. But it's gonna
be a tough matchup for Matthew because you've got to
(09:12):
deal with mat Shadow and Tatis, a couple of major
righty bats in that ballpark. I like the matchup for
San Diego from a standpoint of just the strategy of
it here at this point, and I would not be
surprised at all if the Podreis and Phillies hook up again,
and if this time it's the Podreys getting the better
of the Phillies after of course, the Phillies won that
(09:34):
NLCS against San Diego back during the NLCS of twenty
twenty two.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
You are the best man. I love listening, reading and
talking to you. JP. All the best to you and
your family. Thanks for some time here on a Tellymore Tuesday.
All the best, enjoy the playoffs, my friend.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Sep, Thank you so much for the conversation you do.
That's great work for all everybody in our state and
we're blessed to have you, my friend. Thanks for the invitation,
and then having good rest of the week.
Tigers and Guardians open up among other teams in the playoffs.
Nobody covers baseball better than John Paul Morosi, my friend
from the MLB Network also NHL Network. You know, we
always talk about baseball with JP, but really knowledgeable about
the NHL. He does a podcast on MLB Network Radio
and probably should be doing a lot more on that
(00:21):
station since he brings so much knowledge and he joins
us here on Exus and Bros. JP. I appreciate it
because I know your time is valuable, and I know
a lot of people are tugging edges, so I appreciate
you covering out a few moments for us. Hope you
and the girls are well When you look at the
Tigers season, do you think Tigers fans should be looking
at the first two months of the year or the
(00:42):
seven and seventeen record in September?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, sh up, good morning, and thanks so much for
the invitation to be on the show today. All the
best you and your family do. The Tigers season is
quite a It's almost like a psychological evaluation for all
of us. Right, So this glass half full or glass
half empty based on the way things have unfolded. To me,
(01:05):
it's this this team, they got to this spot. They
probably certainly should have actually won the division, but they're
one series away from a lot of those a lot
of the talk about the collapse sort of being put
to the side. If you win this series, if you
win two out of three in Cleveland, then you're able
(01:26):
to basically say to yourself, well, we got to where
we're supposed to be all the way all along, and
get to get to the division series. And I like
their chances of doing it. I think that Schooble on
the mount in Game one is a great way to
start any series. This is a team that, for all
their struggles in September, was able to right the ship
(01:47):
just enough in the very end of it to get
into the postseason. And I think in some way shep
they had to really get tested. They tested themselves. It
wasn't by design at all, but they had to play
really meaningful baseball right until the end. And I think
that you saw a team when they were celebrating Saturday
at Fenway taking a big exhale. They really seem to
(02:11):
enjoy and appreciate what they were able to achieve. Yes,
they should have done more at the deadline. That is now,
as of today ancient history, they're in the playoffs, and
we can talk about that probably in November sometime. But
this is a team that has still a lot of flaws.
They do not play situational baseball terribly well. Five sacrifice
bunts in the entire season. So when we talk about
(02:35):
the little things that off the win in October, this
is not a little things kind of a team. They
need to hit some home runs and some balls in
the gap because they're not a team that's going to
necessarily execute in an ideal situation. Later on. They need
Carpenter and Green and the big guys to have some
huge moments. And I think that we saw still just
(02:56):
enough magic, not quite as much magic as they had
a year ago, but enough magic, I think down the
stretch and that last weekend or so the last four
or five days that proved that they still have something
left in the tank to hopefully at least win one series.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, I suppose Cleveland could use the exact same analogy.
I mean, they can talk about playing playoff baseball all
down the stretch here, and maybe that's why they believe.
And I think Gavin Williams is a really good pitcher
what do you like And you just mentioned your concerns.
I think the concern of bullpen consistency is fair in
Detroit's regard to But what do you like about what
(03:33):
they can do or have been doing, even though they
went seven and seventeen down the stretch and just their
offense was basically putrid.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
It was it was I think what I do look
at SHEP is that they have the ability to hit
the long ball, and whether it's Carpenter, we saw even
bias over the weekend, certainly Riley Green when he's dialed
in Torkles, and I think Torque is a much different
player now than he was a year ago, certainly, and
(04:04):
I think in a lot of different ways that the
ability for this team to still have an offensive outburst
is there. They're gonna have to, though, have really good
at bats against really good pitchers, and and that's something
that at times they struggle with. You think about the
they struck out darn near twenty times once in the
(04:25):
last week, and you can't you just can't have games
like that, and and that's that is one of the
concerns I've got. But you you watch postseason games, you
think about how the Yankees won the pennant in this
league a year ago, and they won the pennant because
John Carlos, Stan and Wansoto hit a bunch of home runs.
That was that's what carried them through the multiple rounds
(04:47):
of the playoffs. And and if the Tigers can get
just enough of the home run power. I still, as
much as I realized we all watched the last couple
of series that the Tigers and Guardian has played, I
still think the Tigers are a better and deeper lineup
than what the Guardians. The Guardians that's the best player
(05:08):
their mirrors is the best player in this series period.
He's the best. But after him, I think the Tigers
top to bottom have had the better ball club. And
let's let's also not forget a couple of things. You know.
I was there in New York covering the Tigers Yankees
series a couple of weeks ago. It was it was
not that long ago that on the tenth of September
(05:31):
we left the ballpark. The Tigers had the best record
in the American League and they had just scored double
digit runs on the Yankees and back to back games.
So they haven't forgotten how to hit they just they
just haven't done it consistently enough. And and we're not
for one of the flukiest innings that we've ever seen
with scoobl on the mountain in Cleveland where they're barely
(05:52):
the ball didn't leave the infield. If that, if that
inning doesn't happen, the Tigers won the division and we're
playing today in Detroit. So it's just there's there's a
lot of it's all a matter of perspective right now.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Chep.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think that there's there are plenty of reasons for hope.
And it starts for me with the fact that this
team still has I think a deeper lineup the Tigers
do than what the Guardians have. But the Tigers are
going to have to find an answer for Rosie Ramirez.
He's he's the guy that if you're in the advanced
meeting today, Chris Fetter I'm sure is standing in front
(06:26):
of the team saying, listen, we're not going to let
this guy beat us. And and if if Kyle Manzardo
has a series of his life, then you tip your cap,
but you cannot you cannot go home because Jose Ramirez
hit a bunch of home runs in doubles because that
would be a really tough way to start the offseason.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Agreed to one hundred percent. You could, you could. I
suppose to make the argument that Stephen Kwan might be
the second best player in this series. You guys, only
he's all start at sixty times. He's a goal glove
left fielder, he makes contact, he takes counts deep into
deeper counts, forcing choose to throw more pitches. But yeah,
I agree with one hundred percent of you. I've said
(07:04):
that for a while. The Tigers have a deeper lineup
and the home runs is big. I know people don't
want to hear it JP, but slugging ops, but especially
slugging and homers are a difference in today's baseball. I
said it the trade deadline that I thought Seattle and
Philadelphia the best teams in baseball. I could be wrong there.
Who do you like in the American League? Who do
(07:25):
you like in the National League?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So great question, great point there on the trade deadline,
because they made I think both Seattle and Philly they
made the most impactful moves. I like Seattle as the
best team in the American League right now. I know
they don't have the most wins at the moment. But
they are the best team I believe on the field.
Their rotation is now finally healthy. They have very possibly
(07:48):
the MVP and cal rally or the runner up depending
how you look at it. And their lineup is the
deepest now that it's been all season long. They added
some talent of the deadline. They got Victor Roblaz back healthy,
of course at Rose Arena was an addition last year
at the deadline. Julio Rodriguez has bounced back and looks
like himself now in a in a really impressive way. Uh.
(08:09):
They've got an excellent starting rotation that they've got a
really good closer Andres Munos so there there might pick
to win the American League. I think they're they're the
best team top to bottom. Like Billy a lot too.
Christopher Sanchez is at a really a breakout season. Rangers
Suadez as well. They've got a really good uh left
side of their rotation. Of course, that they're going to
(08:30):
miss Zach Wheeler though, I mean, there's there's no question
about that. His his absence is going to be felt.
I'm a big Zach Wheeler fan and and really bummed
out that we're not going to see him Fitch in
October because he has a lot of fun to watch,
especially that ballpark, the way that he feeds off the
fans there. So that's that's a significant absence for the Phillies.
I think a team that could very easily win the
(08:51):
National League that we don't talk about, probably as much
as the San Diego Padres, and they're they're going to
start Game one today at Wrigley. Nick Paveta on the
mound is at a career your year for San Diego.
It's you know, Matthew Boyd of course, someone that Tiger
fans know and really respects and love a lot. Still
he's on the mountain for the Cubs. But it's gonna
be a tough matchup for Matthew because you've got to
(09:12):
deal with mat Shadow and Tatis, a couple of major
righty bats in that ballpark. I like the matchup for
San Diego from a standpoint of just the strategy of
it here at this point, and I would not be
surprised at all if the Podreis and Phillies hook up again,
and if this time it's the Podreys getting the better
of the Phillies after of course, the Phillies won that
(09:34):
NLCS against San Diego back during the NLCS of twenty
twenty two.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
You are the best man. I love listening, reading and
talking to you. JP. All the best to you and
your family. Thanks for some time here on a Tellymore Tuesday.
All the best, enjoy the playoffs, my friend.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Sep, Thank you so much for the conversation you do.
That's great work for all everybody in our state and
we're blessed to have you, my friend. Thanks for the invitation,
and then having good rest of the week.
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