October 28, 2024 • 15 mins
Gene Watson, our resident MLB insider, and Director of Player Personnel with the Chicago White Sox, joins the show to discuss the World Series and the his thoughts on how the series will go with it switching to New York.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our MLB insider from the Chicago White Sox front office team,
Watson joins us on the hotline. Gino, Uh, I know,
when when I asked you before the season, before, I
mean before the series began, if you who you thought
would win? And you and you picked the Dodgers and
seven but and and they're halfway there. But would it
(00:21):
be safe to say you didn't think it would go
exactly how it's laid out?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Where the starting pitching has been as solid as it's
been for rely in the first two games.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, And that's really been the key, and that's the
key to any team that wants to win a World
Series is the starting pitching. And I think probably the
swing of this series so far is Garrett Cole being
pulled after eighty eight pitches and it's uh, I know
there's a lot of unknown there's a lot of things
that we don't know that go on in the dugout
and in between the white lines. But when your number
(00:53):
one starter, uh, you'r the bell Cali, your rotation, uh
doesn't get the link that's necessary. And what I believe
this would be the difference of the series the bullpens.
That's what happens is your bullpens get over exposed. But
so far, it's been a wonderful series, as we all expected.
And I'm sure you've got to be feeling pretty good
right now, Craig.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I'm half good. You know.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
There's always the worry because I think about these other things,
and this gets back to the starting pitching. Would it
be fair to say, I don't know if you want
to use the word advantage, but I would say the
Yankees might be in slightly better position in Games three
and four.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Walker Bueller look better.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Last time, but it was four innings what he was
able to get them last time. And then the Dodgers
are definitely going to go with a bullpen game in
Game four. So I guess the question is how much
work does the bullpen get tonight if they've come back
with a bullpen game tomorrow the very next day. But
I guess also when you're down two games to none,
you have to have the answer, and the Yankees have
(01:59):
to have the answer when they start with the man
to night.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, this is a very big start for Clark Schmid.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I mean, the Yankees really need him to step up
and be the guys that they've expected him to be
you know, he's a he's a multiple pitch guy. He'll
sink it, he'll cut it, he'll ride the fastball up
in the zone. He's got a great breaking ball. But
they really need to get some linked out of him tonight.
And and and the same goes for the Dodgers with
Walker Bueller, who threw four very.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Good innings his last start out.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
But but you really need guys to go at least
five and maybe six if they can. And the difference
between you know, pitching throughout the one hundred and sixty
two game season and pitching in October is in October
one pitches two to your body. It's very, very taxing
the stress level that's on your body when you're out
there making those starts. And tonight in Yankee Stadium, in
(02:48):
that crowd, it's going to be extremely taxing on Walker Bueller.
But they really need to get a good start out
of him with a bullpen day coming tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
All right, looks like Otani at least is good enough
to go tonight. He's in the line up. There was
that sublexation of the left shoulder. What's your take on
that and how it affects a hitter. Everything I've rd
and heard says for a left handed hitter, it's better
that it's that shoulder, that back shoulder, left shoulder than
it is the right shoulder one percent.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
The lead shoulder is always the more difficult one. And
the way show Hey coils up in his swing, I
think it's gonna be less painful, you know, leaving New York.
I was there over the weekend. It is it has
been cool at night, and so that could play into
a little bit of a factor. But the other factor
is you've got such a short right field in that
ballpark that you know, he doesn't have to hit a
(03:37):
ball one hundred percent to get it out. He could
go probably sixty seventy percent and hit the ball out
the right field. So and it'll be interesting to see
how the shoulder holds up to the cooler weather.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But but he should be fine.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Talking with Geene Watson here, our MLB insider, you've been
around the game a long time. I think the casual
fan might ask, how how can a guy who's had
an almost historic season in Aaron Judge have the struggles
that he's had, not only in this World Series, but
(04:10):
in the postseason overall. Some staggeringly low numbers for him
to this point, what and all of stuff that goes
through his mind and what Aaron Boone and the Yankee
staff must be going through when they try to get
him back on track. They how do they work through
something like that?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Man, it's so.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Hard, so personal to the player, and it's something that
only he's going to be able to work himself out of.
He's six for forty in the playoffs, he's zero for
ten with runners in scoring position. He's won for nine
in the World Series with six strikeouts. He's swinging and
missing at almost a sixty percent rate. And really last
night had to be the big knight for him and
(04:48):
just getting himself back mentally, because you know, he was
back at Yankee Stadium for the workout and just it's
really one swing at a time. But what he really
needs behind him tonight more than anything is the Yankee
Stadium crowd. They've got to believe in him and get
behind him and support him, because that's gonna be really important.
A couple of overtues with some strikeouts and this thing
(05:10):
could really turn on him quickly with the fans. But
but it's really really, I mean, these guys care so
much and they work hard for these moments and their
careers that it really comes down to just one swing
at a time, one at bat at a time, and
really just trying to find that groove again and just
do it one app bad at a time if you can,
but very very difficult to do it this time.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Of the year.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well, and and beyond Judge, clearly, Stanton has played well
throughout the course of the postseason. But they've got to
get some other guys on track, don't they. Just like
when when the Dodgers had some slump going against San
Diego early in that division series, they had to get
other guys on tracked, and it took guys like Mookie
get Betts getting back on track and then and then
(05:54):
also Tommy Edmund who's been red hot ever since that
in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
But what about for the Yankees and the.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Guys have got to start hitting other than Stanton right
now with Judge still struggling.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, they need gliber Torres and Alex Verdugo to really
step up there. They're kind of the complimentary players that
have been able to step up in big moments like
you see Alex Verdugo and Tommy Edmund doing for the Dodgers,
and that's really been the difference in the series. When
you look at what Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and
Tommy Edmond have done. I think they're like six for
(06:26):
eight last game, and they've really been the catalyst.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
But the Yankees need some unsung.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Heroes to step up, and Verdugo is certainly capable of
doing it. Gliber Torres is certainly capable of doing it.
Austin Wells can pop a ball every now and then,
but they just can't let the workload fall on the
middle of that order, especially when you have an Aaron
Judge struggling like he is.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Let me ask you about another guy.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
He was red hot in the first parts of the postseason,
but not so much here in the world too.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
So that's jazz chism.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, And Jazz is a money player and this is
going to be his kind of stage, and I've been
somewhat surprised at his performance so far, but he's a
very confident player and tonight will be a good stage
for him to come out of it.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
You've known Freddie Freeman a long time and you know
what an unassuming guy he is, and He's just kind
of an aw shucks guy. He's just a grinder and
he shows up the ballpark and he's always wanted to play,
and he's had a.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Fight, thrill his ankle stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It just seemed like, you know, all of stars and
planets aligned every I had several people tell me when
I got to Vanderbilt, when I got to the stadium
on Saturday, did you.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Know did you know?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Did you know that when he hit his home run
it was eight thirty seven pm the same time as
Kurt Gibson hit his to Beta's eight thirty seven pm.
And I was like, I didn't know it, But somehow
it doesn't surprise me with that kind of thing. And
that was that was truly a special woman, whether you
were a Dodger fan or not.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Yeah, and you know, Craig, you know, the Atlanta Braves
drafted Freddie and the scouting director that took him was
my first boss in baseball, Roy Clark.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
And you know Freddie.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
You evaluate the tools, the hit tool, the power tool,
the arm tool, the field, but that makeup tool is
so important. And Freddie Freeman has been an absolute dream
for the LA Dodgers. It was such a catastrophic thing
for him and his family to have to leave Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
That Atlanta area meant so much to him, The Braves
meant so much to him.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
And he goes out to la and he goes home,
and he's just found himself.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And people have no idea.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
I'm on this USA Baseball committee for the Olympics and
a lot of the Dodgers major league coaches are on
this committee with me, And throughout the playoffs they've been
talking about his ankle and how swollen it's been, and
he's just kept grinding.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
He's never let his team down.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Nobody would he would even know how serious that the
ankle has been. And it just speaks to the leader
that he is, the way he goes about his business,
and how much the Dodgers organization and his teammates mean
to him. And in their biggest moment in almost thirty
four years, he steps up big and and those moments
I may not be over for him as the.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Series moves forward. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You know another thing that I thought was was pretty
interesting is after the game, after Game two, I guess
it was he was. He was on the Dodgers local
post game. Yes, I'm obsessed. I was watching on my
iPad in my hotel room in Nashville their postgame show,
(09:26):
and he mentioned, uh, I think he was He was
asked about the ankle. Do you think it'll be all right?
He said, it's been okay. It tends to swell up
on airplanes, so we'll see. And of course they went
and went and flew kind of their own charter red
eye overnight to get You've been on some of those
(09:47):
as well, and he said, it swells up on flights,
and we'll see. So clearly they had to, I'm sure,
just to give folks an idea of it. G know,
I got to believe they had that ankle packed in
ice when he was on that flight all the way
to New York.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
My guess it was air packed. And that's the thing
that I mean.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And again, the fourteen and fifteen series, not even playing
a pitch, those plane rides were so taxing from Kansas
City to San Francisco and Kansas City to New York.
It was incredible that the players could even you know,
even had the stamina to play. But that's what makes
them the best in the world. And I'm sure they
air packed it all the way. And once he got
(10:26):
to New York. He got immediate treatment. And he's just
such a player, like many of these guys, his routine
is so important him. And I'm sure that once they
got to New York, even though it was the wee
hours of the morning, I think they landed at like
seven am. I'm sure he went straight to the ballpark
and got his treatment and did everything he needed to
do to get prepared to go through the workout last
(10:47):
night in a limited form and get some swings. But
you have no idea when you're a hitter what one
little pain in your lower half from your hips to
your toes can do to your swing, because it's all next,
so the very next thing that happens, and so for
him to be able to do what he's done has
just been incredible.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Gee know, I think it's probably fair to say if
the Dodgers do find a way to win the Night
three nothing, I think it's all but done.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Obviously.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
No team has ever come back in a World Series
from down three. You oh, the Red Sox and the
Alcs against the Yankees twenty years ago. Oh four is
the only time it's ever happened in any postseason series.
If the Yankees win the night, you get a feeling
it's a brand new series. It's right back on since
that old saying goes the best of seven series doesn't
start until the road team wins a game. So maybe
you know, all the Dodgers have done is whole serve
(11:36):
even though they're halfway there. And I think, what is
it eighty four percent of teams that win the first
two games of the best of seven going to win
the series.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
But you know, whereas like.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
People like to talk about the pivotal game four or
the pivotal game five, if you're down to nothing, game
three is every bit of pivotal in it. It is.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
And it's not just that, it's it's who you're up against.
At this point, it's two nothing, you're back in New York.
It's gonna be really, really difficult for you go back
to LA and win two games in that environment. And
I really feel like they've got, especially with a bullpen game,
they've got to get all three games in New York.
And once you get to game five, I think you
(12:17):
can look for Aaron Boone to really pull out all
the stops in the way he uses that pitching staff
and using more of his high leverage pitchers in high
leverage situation. But to go back in LA and to
try to win two is going to be really, really difficult.
So look for them to pull out all the stops,
win tonight and get to two to one. Win tomorrow
(12:38):
in the bullpen game, and it's two to two, but
even Game five becomes personally important. I think that Game
five could be the swing game, and I've got it
going seven.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
I've got the.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Dodgers winning in seven, but if they don't pick off
all three in New York, it's gonna be extremely hard
for them to go back to LA and win both.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Hey, there's one other thing I want to ask about.
It has nothing to do with the Dodgers or Yankees.
It's about your old pal from your days with the Royals,
Salvador Perez. It was announced he's the winner of the ROBERTA.
Clementi Award. That's a huge award, you know, for the
service of the community everyone justin Turner won it, for
the Dodgers and the others that have won it as well,
and for Salvid Perez to get it, that's a pretty
(13:18):
cool deal.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
It did.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
It's incredible and we're just so proud of Salvador. I
texted with him this morning. He you know, people know
my wife's journey the last fourteen years, and Salvador has
just been such a driving force for her morale and
picking her up and lifting her up, and you know,
all the things that he does within the community, you
(13:40):
get about one tenth of what he really does. He's
such a tremendous human being. In every scenario, every room
he walks into, every restaurant, whatever it is, Salvador Perez
is impacting the lives of people around him. And just
to see him from when we signed him when he
was sixteen years old to winning a World Series in
twenty fifteen where.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
A lot of people would have shut it down.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
He's the last remaining player from the two thousand and
fifteen World Series championship team at the catcher's position.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
For his size, it's truly incredible, but what he does.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
On the field pels and comparatison to what kind of
person he is. And he's never changed one bit since
he was sixteen years old. And we're just so incredibly
proud for him and his family today, and what a
tremendous honor to receive that award.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
How much longer can he play.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
I think he's got four years because he hasn't really
you know, he hasn't started to do the first base thing.
He hasn't really done that a lot. He hasn't really
done the DH thing. And truthfully, I mean they had
the tremendous season this year. He's got Bobby Witt Junior
in that lineup. But you put Salvador Perez in either
one of these lineups tonight and he can do some
real damage in the six holes. So I mean, knowing him,
(14:53):
he's gonna play four or five more years at least,
I would.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Say no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
He's Gene Watson on our MLB Insider, Gill. We talk
again this week whether the series is done or whether
it's shifted back to LA.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I appreciate the time today. Okay, guys, have a great week.
Take care YouTube. All right. That's Gene Watson, our MLB Insider.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
We'll hear more from Logorn's head coach Steve sarkasheen coming
up on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone and
the iHeartRadio app.
Our MLB insider from the Chicago White Sox front office team,
Watson joins us on the hotline. Gino, Uh, I know,
when when I asked you before the season, before, I
mean before the series began, if you who you thought
would win? And you and you picked the Dodgers and
seven but and and they're halfway there. But would it
(00:21):
be safe to say you didn't think it would go
exactly how it's laid out?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Where the starting pitching has been as solid as it's
been for rely in the first two games.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, And that's really been the key, and that's the
key to any team that wants to win a World
Series is the starting pitching. And I think probably the
swing of this series so far is Garrett Cole being
pulled after eighty eight pitches and it's uh, I know
there's a lot of unknown there's a lot of things
that we don't know that go on in the dugout
and in between the white lines. But when your number
(00:53):
one starter, uh, you'r the bell Cali, your rotation, uh
doesn't get the link that's necessary. And what I believe
this would be the difference of the series the bullpens.
That's what happens is your bullpens get over exposed. But
so far, it's been a wonderful series, as we all expected.
And I'm sure you've got to be feeling pretty good
right now, Craig.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I'm half good. You know.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
There's always the worry because I think about these other things,
and this gets back to the starting pitching. Would it
be fair to say, I don't know if you want
to use the word advantage, but I would say the
Yankees might be in slightly better position in Games three
and four.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Walker Bueller look better.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Last time, but it was four innings what he was
able to get them last time. And then the Dodgers
are definitely going to go with a bullpen game in
Game four. So I guess the question is how much
work does the bullpen get tonight if they've come back
with a bullpen game tomorrow the very next day. But
I guess also when you're down two games to none,
you have to have the answer, and the Yankees have
(01:59):
to have the answer when they start with the man
to night.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, this is a very big start for Clark Schmid.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I mean, the Yankees really need him to step up
and be the guys that they've expected him to be
you know, he's a he's a multiple pitch guy. He'll
sink it, he'll cut it, he'll ride the fastball up
in the zone. He's got a great breaking ball. But
they really need to get some linked out of him tonight.
And and and the same goes for the Dodgers with
Walker Bueller, who threw four very.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Good innings his last start out.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
But but you really need guys to go at least
five and maybe six if they can. And the difference
between you know, pitching throughout the one hundred and sixty
two game season and pitching in October is in October
one pitches two to your body. It's very, very taxing
the stress level that's on your body when you're out
there making those starts. And tonight in Yankee Stadium, in
(02:48):
that crowd, it's going to be extremely taxing on Walker Bueller.
But they really need to get a good start out
of him with a bullpen day coming tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
All right, looks like Otani at least is good enough
to go tonight. He's in the line up. There was
that sublexation of the left shoulder. What's your take on
that and how it affects a hitter. Everything I've rd
and heard says for a left handed hitter, it's better
that it's that shoulder, that back shoulder, left shoulder than
it is the right shoulder one percent.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
The lead shoulder is always the more difficult one. And
the way show Hey coils up in his swing, I
think it's gonna be less painful, you know, leaving New York.
I was there over the weekend. It is it has
been cool at night, and so that could play into
a little bit of a factor. But the other factor
is you've got such a short right field in that
ballpark that you know, he doesn't have to hit a
(03:37):
ball one hundred percent to get it out. He could
go probably sixty seventy percent and hit the ball out
the right field. So and it'll be interesting to see
how the shoulder holds up to the cooler weather.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But but he should be fine.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Talking with Geene Watson here, our MLB insider, you've been
around the game a long time. I think the casual
fan might ask, how how can a guy who's had
an almost historic season in Aaron Judge have the struggles
that he's had, not only in this World Series, but
(04:10):
in the postseason overall. Some staggeringly low numbers for him
to this point, what and all of stuff that goes
through his mind and what Aaron Boone and the Yankee
staff must be going through when they try to get
him back on track. They how do they work through
something like that?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Man, it's so.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Hard, so personal to the player, and it's something that
only he's going to be able to work himself out of.
He's six for forty in the playoffs, he's zero for
ten with runners in scoring position. He's won for nine
in the World Series with six strikeouts. He's swinging and
missing at almost a sixty percent rate. And really last
night had to be the big knight for him and
(04:48):
just getting himself back mentally, because you know, he was
back at Yankee Stadium for the workout and just it's
really one swing at a time. But what he really
needs behind him tonight more than anything is the Yankee
Stadium crowd. They've got to believe in him and get
behind him and support him, because that's gonna be really important.
A couple of overtues with some strikeouts and this thing
(05:10):
could really turn on him quickly with the fans. But
but it's really really, I mean, these guys care so
much and they work hard for these moments and their
careers that it really comes down to just one swing
at a time, one at bat at a time, and
really just trying to find that groove again and just
do it one app bad at a time if you can,
but very very difficult to do it this time.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Of the year.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well, and and beyond Judge, clearly, Stanton has played well
throughout the course of the postseason. But they've got to
get some other guys on track, don't they. Just like
when when the Dodgers had some slump going against San
Diego early in that division series, they had to get
other guys on tracked, and it took guys like Mookie
get Betts getting back on track and then and then
(05:54):
also Tommy Edmund who's been red hot ever since that
in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
But what about for the Yankees and the.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Guys have got to start hitting other than Stanton right
now with Judge still struggling.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, they need gliber Torres and Alex Verdugo to really
step up there. They're kind of the complimentary players that
have been able to step up in big moments like
you see Alex Verdugo and Tommy Edmund doing for the Dodgers,
and that's really been the difference in the series. When
you look at what Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and
Tommy Edmond have done. I think they're like six for
(06:26):
eight last game, and they've really been the catalyst.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
But the Yankees need some unsung.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Heroes to step up, and Verdugo is certainly capable of
doing it. Gliber Torres is certainly capable of doing it.
Austin Wells can pop a ball every now and then,
but they just can't let the workload fall on the
middle of that order, especially when you have an Aaron
Judge struggling like he is.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Let me ask you about another guy.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
He was red hot in the first parts of the postseason,
but not so much here in the world too.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
So that's jazz chism.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, And Jazz is a money player and this is
going to be his kind of stage, and I've been
somewhat surprised at his performance so far, but he's a
very confident player and tonight will be a good stage
for him to come out of it.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
You've known Freddie Freeman a long time and you know
what an unassuming guy he is, and He's just kind
of an aw shucks guy. He's just a grinder and
he shows up the ballpark and he's always wanted to play,
and he's had a.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Fight, thrill his ankle stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It just seemed like, you know, all of stars and
planets aligned every I had several people tell me when
I got to Vanderbilt, when I got to the stadium
on Saturday, did you.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Know did you know?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Did you know that when he hit his home run
it was eight thirty seven pm the same time as
Kurt Gibson hit his to Beta's eight thirty seven pm.
And I was like, I didn't know it, But somehow
it doesn't surprise me with that kind of thing. And
that was that was truly a special woman, whether you
were a Dodger fan or not.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Yeah, and you know, Craig, you know, the Atlanta Braves
drafted Freddie and the scouting director that took him was
my first boss in baseball, Roy Clark.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
And you know Freddie.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
You evaluate the tools, the hit tool, the power tool,
the arm tool, the field, but that makeup tool is
so important. And Freddie Freeman has been an absolute dream
for the LA Dodgers. It was such a catastrophic thing
for him and his family to have to leave Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
That Atlanta area meant so much to him, The Braves
meant so much to him.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
And he goes out to la and he goes home,
and he's just found himself.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And people have no idea.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
I'm on this USA Baseball committee for the Olympics and
a lot of the Dodgers major league coaches are on
this committee with me, And throughout the playoffs they've been
talking about his ankle and how swollen it's been, and
he's just kept grinding.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
He's never let his team down.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Nobody would he would even know how serious that the
ankle has been. And it just speaks to the leader
that he is, the way he goes about his business,
and how much the Dodgers organization and his teammates mean
to him. And in their biggest moment in almost thirty
four years, he steps up big and and those moments
I may not be over for him as the.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Series moves forward. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You know another thing that I thought was was pretty
interesting is after the game, after Game two, I guess
it was he was. He was on the Dodgers local
post game. Yes, I'm obsessed. I was watching on my
iPad in my hotel room in Nashville their postgame show,
(09:26):
and he mentioned, uh, I think he was He was
asked about the ankle. Do you think it'll be all right?
He said, it's been okay. It tends to swell up
on airplanes, so we'll see. And of course they went
and went and flew kind of their own charter red
eye overnight to get You've been on some of those
(09:47):
as well, and he said, it swells up on flights,
and we'll see. So clearly they had to, I'm sure,
just to give folks an idea of it. G know,
I got to believe they had that ankle packed in
ice when he was on that flight all the way
to New York.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
My guess it was air packed. And that's the thing
that I mean.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And again, the fourteen and fifteen series, not even playing
a pitch, those plane rides were so taxing from Kansas
City to San Francisco and Kansas City to New York.
It was incredible that the players could even you know,
even had the stamina to play. But that's what makes
them the best in the world. And I'm sure they
air packed it all the way. And once he got
(10:26):
to New York. He got immediate treatment. And he's just
such a player, like many of these guys, his routine
is so important him. And I'm sure that once they
got to New York, even though it was the wee
hours of the morning, I think they landed at like
seven am. I'm sure he went straight to the ballpark
and got his treatment and did everything he needed to
do to get prepared to go through the workout last
(10:47):
night in a limited form and get some swings. But
you have no idea when you're a hitter what one
little pain in your lower half from your hips to
your toes can do to your swing, because it's all next,
so the very next thing that happens, and so for
him to be able to do what he's done has
just been incredible.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Gee know, I think it's probably fair to say if
the Dodgers do find a way to win the Night
three nothing, I think it's all but done.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Obviously.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
No team has ever come back in a World Series
from down three. You oh, the Red Sox and the
Alcs against the Yankees twenty years ago. Oh four is
the only time it's ever happened in any postseason series.
If the Yankees win the night, you get a feeling
it's a brand new series. It's right back on since
that old saying goes the best of seven series doesn't
start until the road team wins a game. So maybe
you know, all the Dodgers have done is whole serve
(11:36):
even though they're halfway there. And I think, what is
it eighty four percent of teams that win the first
two games of the best of seven going to win
the series.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
But you know, whereas like.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
People like to talk about the pivotal game four or
the pivotal game five, if you're down to nothing, game
three is every bit of pivotal in it. It is.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
And it's not just that, it's it's who you're up against.
At this point, it's two nothing, you're back in New York.
It's gonna be really, really difficult for you go back
to LA and win two games in that environment. And
I really feel like they've got, especially with a bullpen game,
they've got to get all three games in New York.
And once you get to game five, I think you
(12:17):
can look for Aaron Boone to really pull out all
the stops in the way he uses that pitching staff
and using more of his high leverage pitchers in high
leverage situation. But to go back in LA and to
try to win two is going to be really, really difficult.
So look for them to pull out all the stops,
win tonight and get to two to one. Win tomorrow
(12:38):
in the bullpen game, and it's two to two, but
even Game five becomes personally important. I think that Game
five could be the swing game, and I've got it
going seven.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
I've got the.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Dodgers winning in seven, but if they don't pick off
all three in New York, it's gonna be extremely hard
for them to go back to LA and win both.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Hey, there's one other thing I want to ask about.
It has nothing to do with the Dodgers or Yankees.
It's about your old pal from your days with the Royals,
Salvador Perez. It was announced he's the winner of the ROBERTA.
Clementi Award. That's a huge award, you know, for the
service of the community everyone justin Turner won it, for
the Dodgers and the others that have won it as well,
and for Salvid Perez to get it, that's a pretty
(13:18):
cool deal.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
It did.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
It's incredible and we're just so proud of Salvador. I
texted with him this morning. He you know, people know
my wife's journey the last fourteen years, and Salvador has
just been such a driving force for her morale and
picking her up and lifting her up, and you know,
all the things that he does within the community, you
(13:40):
get about one tenth of what he really does. He's
such a tremendous human being. In every scenario, every room
he walks into, every restaurant, whatever it is, Salvador Perez
is impacting the lives of people around him. And just
to see him from when we signed him when he
was sixteen years old to winning a World Series in
twenty fifteen where.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
A lot of people would have shut it down.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
He's the last remaining player from the two thousand and
fifteen World Series championship team at the catcher's position.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
For his size, it's truly incredible, but what he does.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
On the field pels and comparatison to what kind of
person he is. And he's never changed one bit since
he was sixteen years old. And we're just so incredibly
proud for him and his family today, and what a
tremendous honor to receive that award.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
How much longer can he play.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
I think he's got four years because he hasn't really
you know, he hasn't started to do the first base thing.
He hasn't really done that a lot. He hasn't really
done the DH thing. And truthfully, I mean they had
the tremendous season this year. He's got Bobby Witt Junior
in that lineup. But you put Salvador Perez in either
one of these lineups tonight and he can do some
real damage in the six holes. So I mean, knowing him,
(14:53):
he's gonna play four or five more years at least,
I would.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Say no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
He's Gene Watson on our MLB Insider, Gill. We talk
again this week whether the series is done or whether
it's shifted back to LA.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I appreciate the time today. Okay, guys, have a great week.
Take care YouTube. All right. That's Gene Watson, our MLB Insider.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
We'll hear more from Logorn's head coach Steve sarkasheen coming
up on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone and
the iHeartRadio app.
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