October 31, 2024 • 18 mins
Gene Watson from the Chicago White Sox Front Office joins the show to discuss the Dodgers winning the title, the Juan Soto Sweepstakes and the headlines going into the baseball off season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's the one two pitch from Bueler.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Got them swinging.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
That's a World Series wind for Lay.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
They've done it.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
They've finished the job, and give Los Angeles the parade.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's been waiting for.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
And there it is, twenty twenty four season in the
books and a brand new Major League Baseball World Series champion.
We're welcome you back here to the program on Sports
Radio AM thirteen under the Zone. Craig away with you
and Ta help us wrap up not only the World
Series but the twenty twenty four season overall. Is our
(00:40):
good friend, our MLB insider, as Geene Watson from the
Chicago White Sox front office.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
How you doing today, GenAm? Hey guys, how are you great?
All right?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
First things, first, credit goes to you for picking the
Dodgers to win the World Series, but you did pick
them to win in seven, so we won't quibble over
the number. And I would submit to you this, Geno,
and I bet you may agree. If this thing the
way it started, the way it started with La winning
the first three, if it had wound up going to
a seventh game, I'm not sure the Dodgers went at
that point because couldn't you start to feel the momentum
(01:11):
shifting toward the Yankees after Game four, going into the
last night, and especially when they're up five to nothing
through four innings last night in Game five.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yeah, and I tell you what if they come back
on Walker Bueller, now we're really off to the races
because you've got Yamamoto. And if Yamamoto can't take care
of business in game six, now you're looking at a
bullpen game in Game seven. And that would have been very,
very problematic for the Dodgers and something we were really
up against in twenty fifteen when we were in Game
(01:39):
five versus the Mets in New York. We did not
want to go back to Kansas City and have that
rotation roll itself back around. But you know, Craig, oftentimes
teams lose the World Series more than they win the
World Series. And that fifth inning last night was one
of the hardest things I've ever watched in thirty five
years of professional baseball. When you look at that, you
(02:01):
look back at you know, when we beat the Cubs
in three, the Bartman play and the and the Alex
Gonzales air you look at you look at the air,
the Astros made in fifteen against the rules. I mean,
like there's a lot of teams Billy Butner, Tony Tarasco
in the ninety five ALCS. Teams lose the World Series
(02:22):
oftentimes more than they win it, and your flaws as
a team tend to come out in October. And that's
certainly what happened in the fifth inning last night of
that game.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, you mentioned this back.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
This was weeks ago, because we've been doing this every
every week throughout the course of the season. When I
asked you about the Yankees at one point and their
battle with the Guardians to see would wind up with
the best overall record in the American League and in
the battle with the Dodgers overall, so he would have
the best overall record, you mentioned you said, well, one
flaw the Yankees have is defensively. You said they're not
(02:55):
the soundest defensive team. They've been able to overcome it.
And it was funny as I was hearing Carl Ravits
this morning saying the way that the Yankees overcame a
lot of their defensive lapses is simply the bludgeon the
other team, and they had done that in a lot
of cases. But it finally kind of called up to
them last night, especially when juxtaposed against the team that
is as fundamentally sound as the Dodgers are, and all
(03:17):
the small details and running out all the ground balls
and making the routine plays in the difficult plays. But
I've thought about what you said back several weeks ago,
and if the Yankees have a shortcoming, you know you
said other than Weaver, or maybe it's the bullpen and
then their defense, Well.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Let's speak to the Dodgers first.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
And I covered the Dodgers organization from top to bottom,
and people can say, well, they spend a lot of
money on players, and they have a lot of infrastructure
with analytics, and they have a tremendous scouting staff. But
when you go into whether it's Rancho Cucamonga or Great
Lakes or Tulsa or Oklahoma City, and even the major
league club at Dodgers Stadium, this organization works. And I'll
(03:58):
go so far as to say I was in Salt
Lake City, Oklahoma, seeing Oklahoma City the last weekend of
the season, and those players were still working. And that's
what makes what the Dodgers do so impressive is they
don't take anything for granted they assume nothing on the
flip side with the Yankees, just an awful you know,
an inning after Judge makes the unbelievable play in center
(04:20):
field and he begins to hit and you think everything's
turning right for him, he drops the routine ball. Volpi
with the play to his right where he's thrown to
Jash Chisholm, and Jash Chisholm has not played a ton
of third base in his career, and that was just
a real a great decision by Volpi on the play,
but a very difficult throw for Chisholm to pick. And
(04:42):
then when you look at what Colb had done, what
Cole had done, just emptying the tank on the two strikeouts,
then you have the air, then you have the air,
and then he you know, you're so physically beat up
and mentally drained that the ground ball to the right
side you forget to cover and the wheels completely come off.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
And so just a really super unfortunate for the eight.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
You bring up a good point. I want to ask
you a couple of things about that ending in question.
First of all, as you point out, the two errors
come when there's nobody out, because Key k Hernanas gets
the Dodgers first hit of the ball game with that
single off of Cole to start the fifth. Then is
the fly ball to center off the bat of Edmund,
and it looks like it's going to be caught, and
then as we know, Judge drops the ball, and then
(05:26):
unfortunately key K is hustling enough so that it doesn't
become a force play at second base, he's able to
slide in just head of the tack. So now you
got first and second, nobody out. Then the ground ball
off the battle, Will Smith goes in the hole at
short as you point out at Volpi makes the right
decision on where to go because he really only has
that one realistic play is just the throw wasn't on
(05:48):
the money, So now the bases are loaded. Then Cole
comes back with two brilliant four pitch strikeouts to get
Gavin Lux and Shoe Eyotani. So he's won out away
from doing it. And I heard that also they might
be a big gassed on the ground ball. There was
the spin and Rizzo had to shade a little bit
(06:08):
towards second to field it because and that that kind
of threw things off. And then and then basically Cole Froze.
But even then, Gino, even then it's still it's five
to one with two outs, with bets at first and
bases are loaded, he still has a chance to get
out of the inning. But Freddie Freeman hits him for
a two run single, and then Teo Hernandez Toosk Hernandez
(06:30):
a two run double. So my question to you is this,
do you think he was gassed in facing those last
two guys that got.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Him for the hits?
Speaker 4 (06:38):
They're the single from Freeman, the double from Hernandez on
that do you think that that was also a part
of the deal why the Dodgers were able to reach
him when he still needed only one more out just
to make it a five to one ball game.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Absolutely, And the breaking ball to show Hey for the
strikeout might be the best breaking ball I've ever seen
in my life, I mean. And he was putting everything
he could into the lux at bat and the Otani
at bat. And as you begin, and this is where
the pitch clock kind of comes into plays, as the
pitches begin to mount up and you get to twenty
(07:15):
five and you get to thirty, and now you're trying
to make perfect pitches and you give everything you've got
for the lux and Otani at bat, and now you
have the air. Now you begin to like leave pitches
up out over the plate.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
You just the mental grind.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
As I've said before in October, one pitch is two
pitches on the body physically, when you're talking about one
hundred pitches and then forty pitches in that stressful situation,
you begin to leave pitches up out over the plate.
And Freddie Freeman, I mean, what can you say about
that at bat? You know, he's homered in four straight
games and it would have been easy for him to
(07:50):
stay big. I'm going to try to hit the ball
out of the ballpark, especially in the Yankee stadium.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Well what does he do.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
He shortens up and he puts the ball right up
the middle for a nice base hit, just completely changing
his approach to get the to get the game towards
their side. And just I mean, the whole team hit
a buck ninety eight for the World Series and he
hits three eleven. That just that just speaks a lot
to his impact on this team, even after the bad ankle,
and just an incredible, incredible inning in baseball.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, no doubt about.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
As we talk baseball, in the World Series here with
Gene watching on Sports Radio AM thirteen hunder the zones.
You know, let me ask about two other elements of
the of the series. Blake Trinon is there. He'd come
on and get him out of one tough spot, then
the seventh. Then in the eighth and the basis loaded
and Dave Roberts comes out. And as I mentioned, I
watch at least one hundred Dodger games a year. I've
(08:42):
seen Dave Roberts come out a million times and not
even hesitate.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
He's gonna go to the bullpen.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
And I know it's different in the playoffs, and it's
especially different in the World Series, but I thought it
was some kind of amazing that he went out, because
normally he doesn't go out just to talk to the pitcher.
He'll send Mark Pryor out to do that. But went
out to say that, trying what he got left and
trying and said I want this guy. And that's when
you saw him reach out with both hands and pat
him on the chest and say you're my guy. Go
(09:08):
get him something like that. That's a calculated risk a
to go with that. And then in the ninth, like
you said, to bring Walker Bueller out. I know it's
a side day throwing, and we explained it, and you
can explain it because you've done it, your son has
done it, and you've been around hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of pitchers have done it. Throwing on the side
on a side day is a lot different than coming
(09:28):
in the ninth inning of a World Series game.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Ended it is, and what he did with Tran was
just brilliant. That was just being in the moment and
understanding like you could throw all the process out of
last night's game. And I think you saw that with
Garrett Cole going eighty eight pitches in Game one and
then going one hundred and eleven pitches last night. Everything
was just amped up and you can throw all the
(09:51):
process out and it lended everything to competition. And I
think that was Dave roberts moment to go out to
Blake and just find one of the elite relief in baseball,
to one make him believe that, hey, I believe in you,
and I know you can do this. But to get
a temperature on top of on top of him meant
to also get Walker Bueller's mind right, and and the
(10:12):
adrenaline in that moment for Walker Bueller, like the minute
he knows he's got a chance to pitch in that game.
I mean when they would when he was walking down
to the bullpen, you knew the game was over. This
is you know, this is a Madison Bumgardner moment. It
was a Josh Beckett moment. And uh and and Dave
Roberts did such a tremendous job of just managing the
(10:36):
moment and understanding his players and taking them where they
needed to go to get them right to go out
to perform and win a world championship.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
All right, uh G, you do?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
I want to ask about baseball in general, now that
that the season's in the books, that they already put
up the the odds for next year, and they put
the Dodgers right up to the top end, and every
analyst is saying, plus, showe A, Tony's gonna pitch next year.
You you worked for the Angels when show a pitching
as well as playing. Are you expecting to see him
go to the mound and pitch next year? And how
(11:06):
different will that be for him? I don't expect to
see him steal fifty nine bases in that kind of situation,
but if he goes to the mound. I've heard John
Smoltz and others say it's he's really gifted when he
can go to the mound.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
It's really it's like acquiring a number one starter. Now,
the management of it all because I lived it for
a year in twenty one will be completely different. His
workload on the base paths will be completely different, and
I think it takes a toll on his offensive performance.
And I've said before that I feel like this type
of offensive year only happened because he wasn't pitching, and
(11:40):
so I think there will be some minimization of that
in twenty twenty five. But think about this, Craig, you
got sho hal Tani coming back. You just won a
World Series without Glass now, Gonsolin Kershaw, Dustin may River,
Ryan Emmett Chehan, and Gavin Stone. You had seven of
your starting pitchers out within without Shoheo Tani, and you
(12:02):
still won the World Series. And that's what's going to
make them the hands on favorite to be the champion
again next year.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
All right, let's talk about some other teams. First. I
haven't seen an official announcement.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
You don't have to say anything as your organization getting
closer to hiring a new manager.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
We did.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
We announced Will Vinable today, the associate manager of the
Texas Rangers.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Super excited about that.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Will, obviously a nine year playing career, was a basketball
baseball star at Princeton. He's played and worked with some
of the top managers, Joe Madden, Alex Korra, Bruce Bochi,
Dave Roberts, and so we're really super super excited about
bringing him on board today.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Okay, all right, I saw today the Braves dealt Jorge
Solaire to the Angels. So Solaira continued, I know, you
know Jorge very well from his time with the Royals.
In fact, always think of my son Andy when he
was working in the Royals organization in Omaha, and he's
worked for the storm Chasers, and he said, whenever Solaira
would come to the bat, come to bat, they would
strike up to this chant hip hip or hey hip
(13:01):
hip or hey. So so the uh, the Braves traded
so Lair to the Angels for Griffin Canning today, So
that starts off the hot stove league.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
What's your what's your take on that?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Well, look for the arms race in the American League
West to be very interesting. I think when you look
at Seattle and the number of pitchers that they have, uh,
they're gonna have to have some offense. I would look
for them to be very active in the third basement market. Uh.
The Rangers, obviously with lighter rock, are going to impact
more next year.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
They're going to get healthy. Uh, They're going to be
back in.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
But the Angels felt like that they needed to make
a move to build up their offense a little bit,
to add some power to the middle that lineup, to
give Mike Trout some some protection. Uh. And but but
that American League West is going to be very very
interesting next year, and look for the Rangers to to
be right back in. And if you notice Bruce Bochi
from his time in San Francisco, it was every other
(13:54):
year that they won a World championship and they'll certainly
compete for one again next year.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
In Houston.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
You know, they're gonna be very very creative and they
how do you count the Houston Astros out in any circumstance,
And they'll have a busy offseason.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
I think this has got a chance to.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Be one of the busiest, most active offseasons that there
could be once we get past the Wan Soto sweep stakes,
and that's going to be the one domino that kind
of slows the market because the winning teams that were
in the playoffs that are going to be in on Soto,
that money is going to hold up the entire market
when it comes to free agent pitchers, what teams are
(14:28):
going to be able to acquire via trade, and so
I think it'll be slow in the beginning, but really
really speed.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Up as the Wan Soto Sweepstakes picks up along the winner.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Well that's where I was going next with Soto.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
I'm hearing that the bidding will start with the first
digit being a seven, as in the seven hundred million
dollar range or something like that, kind of like the
show a deal as well. And could you see a
lot of teams, even with that price tag, being active
in the market to perhaps be interested in Soto.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
I don't know, Craig. You know, the television contracts and
the issues that teams have been having with TV deals
are really impacting the financial situations for a lot of organizations.
But I do think you'll see some teams try to
be very creative and much like the Dodgers did the show, Hey,
and the deferment. I don't expect one to take a
huge deferment, but I think to be with a winning
club and to have a chance to win another championship,
(15:21):
he will be creative financially and look for the Mets
to be very, very active and try to make a
splash with one. The Yankees obviously will be heavily involved.
The Phillies are going to be heavily involved. So it's
going to be a super crazy sweepstakes when it comes
to one Soto.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
And then one other thing.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
When I ask you, we haven't heard much, and a
lot of people would say good, but we haven't heard
much out of the A's and owner John Fisher and
this whole thing about the impending move to Vegas. But
it was announced today that Fisher and his family are
going to invest one billion dollars into the construction of
the new ballpark in Las Vegas. US Bank and Goldman
(15:58):
Sachs are going to offer three hundred million dollar loan.
So it looks like the thing will finally get done.
But we're still talking about what it says maybe being
ready in time for twenty twenty eight, so there could
be three seasons in Sacramento coming up.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
How about you? I know you were sad to see
the A's leaving Oakland.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
I really was that that ball apartment so much to me.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
And just the identity of the organization kind of a
you know, a dirt bag, you know, underdog type of
environment that the players truly embraced and the organization embraced,
and it really became a home field advantage to the
organization into the team, and kudos to the players for
always embracing it.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
But it's going to be very, very interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
They did make the decision to make Sacramento to keep
it grass for the health of the players, so it
be interesting to see how that works out. But hey,
look at Oakland the second half of twenty twenty four.
They had a great second half and they've got some
very very good young players. They've got a very good
minor league system, and they're going to have money to
spend and look for them to make a big jump
during the twenty twenty five season.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Are you hearing?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Also, because Tropic Canna Field had so much damage that
the Rays may start playing in some of the spring
training ballparks next year until they get the drop rebuilt.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Well, it's been rumored that they could be in Orlando
playing at Disney World that Major League Baseball will help
out with some of that. It's also been rumored that
they could play at Steinbrenner Field, which would be an
oddity because George and George Steinbrenner and Tampa, you know,
that rivalry was always well known. But that's a pivot
that they could make, is have them at Steinbrenner Field.
But now it was announced today that the Panelis Counties
(17:32):
come out and said that they may not fund the
new ballpark if they plan on playing anywhere else but
in the Tampa Saint Pete area. So it's going to
be interest to see how that plays out. But just
a super unfortunate incident that that ballpark had the damage
that it had, and it just displaces a.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Lot of employees, and people don't realize.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
You think about the players and the team, but you
don't realize the employees and many of the employees that
have been there have worked there twenty twenty five years
and what it does to them, and they're like and
so you just hope that it all works out for
the best for the entire organization.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
He's our MLB insider Gene Watson, Gino, we'll talk again
during the hot stovely we'll keep in touch. Appreciate the
time and of course the weekly updates all season long.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
It's a sad day no baseball tonight, but I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Okay, thanks Gino.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Thank congratulations, Craig way to go.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
All right, that's Dean Watson, our MLB insider. We'll get
to some football modes coming up when we continue on
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
You have thirteen hunderd the Zone
Here's the one two pitch from Bueler.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Got them swinging.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
That's a World Series wind for Lay.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
They've done it.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
They've finished the job, and give Los Angeles the parade.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's been waiting for.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
And there it is, twenty twenty four season in the
books and a brand new Major League Baseball World Series champion.
We're welcome you back here to the program on Sports
Radio AM thirteen under the Zone. Craig away with you
and Ta help us wrap up not only the World
Series but the twenty twenty four season overall. Is our
(00:40):
good friend, our MLB insider, as Geene Watson from the
Chicago White Sox front office.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
How you doing today, GenAm? Hey guys, how are you great?
All right?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
First things, first, credit goes to you for picking the
Dodgers to win the World Series, but you did pick
them to win in seven, so we won't quibble over
the number. And I would submit to you this, Geno,
and I bet you may agree. If this thing the
way it started, the way it started with La winning
the first three, if it had wound up going to
a seventh game, I'm not sure the Dodgers went at
that point because couldn't you start to feel the momentum
(01:11):
shifting toward the Yankees after Game four, going into the
last night, and especially when they're up five to nothing
through four innings last night in Game five.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yeah, and I tell you what if they come back
on Walker Bueller, now we're really off to the races
because you've got Yamamoto. And if Yamamoto can't take care
of business in game six, now you're looking at a
bullpen game in Game seven. And that would have been very,
very problematic for the Dodgers and something we were really
up against in twenty fifteen when we were in Game
(01:39):
five versus the Mets in New York. We did not
want to go back to Kansas City and have that
rotation roll itself back around. But you know, Craig, oftentimes
teams lose the World Series more than they win the
World Series. And that fifth inning last night was one
of the hardest things I've ever watched in thirty five
years of professional baseball. When you look at that, you
(02:01):
look back at you know, when we beat the Cubs
in three, the Bartman play and the and the Alex
Gonzales air you look at you look at the air,
the Astros made in fifteen against the rules. I mean,
like there's a lot of teams Billy Butner, Tony Tarasco
in the ninety five ALCS. Teams lose the World Series
(02:22):
oftentimes more than they win it, and your flaws as
a team tend to come out in October. And that's
certainly what happened in the fifth inning last night of
that game.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, you mentioned this back.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
This was weeks ago, because we've been doing this every
every week throughout the course of the season. When I
asked you about the Yankees at one point and their
battle with the Guardians to see would wind up with
the best overall record in the American League and in
the battle with the Dodgers overall, so he would have
the best overall record, you mentioned you said, well, one
flaw the Yankees have is defensively. You said they're not
(02:55):
the soundest defensive team. They've been able to overcome it.
And it was funny as I was hearing Carl Ravits
this morning saying the way that the Yankees overcame a
lot of their defensive lapses is simply the bludgeon the
other team, and they had done that in a lot
of cases. But it finally kind of called up to
them last night, especially when juxtaposed against the team that
is as fundamentally sound as the Dodgers are, and all
(03:17):
the small details and running out all the ground balls
and making the routine plays in the difficult plays. But
I've thought about what you said back several weeks ago,
and if the Yankees have a shortcoming, you know you
said other than Weaver, or maybe it's the bullpen and
then their defense, Well.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Let's speak to the Dodgers first.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
And I covered the Dodgers organization from top to bottom,
and people can say, well, they spend a lot of
money on players, and they have a lot of infrastructure
with analytics, and they have a tremendous scouting staff. But
when you go into whether it's Rancho Cucamonga or Great
Lakes or Tulsa or Oklahoma City, and even the major
league club at Dodgers Stadium, this organization works. And I'll
(03:58):
go so far as to say I was in Salt
Lake City, Oklahoma, seeing Oklahoma City the last weekend of
the season, and those players were still working. And that's
what makes what the Dodgers do so impressive is they
don't take anything for granted they assume nothing on the
flip side with the Yankees, just an awful you know,
an inning after Judge makes the unbelievable play in center
(04:20):
field and he begins to hit and you think everything's
turning right for him, he drops the routine ball. Volpi
with the play to his right where he's thrown to
Jash Chisholm, and Jash Chisholm has not played a ton
of third base in his career, and that was just
a real a great decision by Volpi on the play,
but a very difficult throw for Chisholm to pick. And
(04:42):
then when you look at what Colb had done, what
Cole had done, just emptying the tank on the two strikeouts,
then you have the air, then you have the air,
and then he you know, you're so physically beat up
and mentally drained that the ground ball to the right
side you forget to cover and the wheels completely come off.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
And so just a really super unfortunate for the eight.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
You bring up a good point. I want to ask
you a couple of things about that ending in question.
First of all, as you point out, the two errors
come when there's nobody out, because Key k Hernanas gets
the Dodgers first hit of the ball game with that
single off of Cole to start the fifth. Then is
the fly ball to center off the bat of Edmund,
and it looks like it's going to be caught, and
then as we know, Judge drops the ball, and then
(05:26):
unfortunately key K is hustling enough so that it doesn't
become a force play at second base, he's able to
slide in just head of the tack. So now you
got first and second, nobody out. Then the ground ball
off the battle, Will Smith goes in the hole at
short as you point out at Volpi makes the right
decision on where to go because he really only has
that one realistic play is just the throw wasn't on
(05:48):
the money, So now the bases are loaded. Then Cole
comes back with two brilliant four pitch strikeouts to get
Gavin Lux and Shoe Eyotani. So he's won out away
from doing it. And I heard that also they might
be a big gassed on the ground ball. There was
the spin and Rizzo had to shade a little bit
(06:08):
towards second to field it because and that that kind
of threw things off. And then and then basically Cole Froze.
But even then, Gino, even then it's still it's five
to one with two outs, with bets at first and
bases are loaded, he still has a chance to get
out of the inning. But Freddie Freeman hits him for
a two run single, and then Teo Hernandez Toosk Hernandez
(06:30):
a two run double. So my question to you is this,
do you think he was gassed in facing those last
two guys that got.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Him for the hits?
Speaker 4 (06:38):
They're the single from Freeman, the double from Hernandez on
that do you think that that was also a part
of the deal why the Dodgers were able to reach
him when he still needed only one more out just
to make it a five to one ball game.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Absolutely, And the breaking ball to show Hey for the
strikeout might be the best breaking ball I've ever seen
in my life, I mean. And he was putting everything
he could into the lux at bat and the Otani
at bat. And as you begin, and this is where
the pitch clock kind of comes into plays, as the
pitches begin to mount up and you get to twenty
(07:15):
five and you get to thirty, and now you're trying
to make perfect pitches and you give everything you've got
for the lux and Otani at bat, and now you
have the air. Now you begin to like leave pitches
up out over the plate.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
You just the mental grind.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
As I've said before in October, one pitch is two
pitches on the body physically, when you're talking about one
hundred pitches and then forty pitches in that stressful situation,
you begin to leave pitches up out over the plate.
And Freddie Freeman, I mean, what can you say about
that at bat? You know, he's homered in four straight
games and it would have been easy for him to
(07:50):
stay big. I'm going to try to hit the ball
out of the ballpark, especially in the Yankee stadium.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Well what does he do.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
He shortens up and he puts the ball right up
the middle for a nice base hit, just completely changing
his approach to get the to get the game towards
their side. And just I mean, the whole team hit
a buck ninety eight for the World Series and he
hits three eleven. That just that just speaks a lot
to his impact on this team, even after the bad ankle,
and just an incredible, incredible inning in baseball.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, no doubt about.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
As we talk baseball, in the World Series here with
Gene watching on Sports Radio AM thirteen hunder the zones.
You know, let me ask about two other elements of
the of the series. Blake Trinon is there. He'd come
on and get him out of one tough spot, then
the seventh. Then in the eighth and the basis loaded
and Dave Roberts comes out. And as I mentioned, I
watch at least one hundred Dodger games a year. I've
(08:42):
seen Dave Roberts come out a million times and not
even hesitate.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
He's gonna go to the bullpen.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
And I know it's different in the playoffs, and it's
especially different in the World Series, but I thought it
was some kind of amazing that he went out, because
normally he doesn't go out just to talk to the pitcher.
He'll send Mark Pryor out to do that. But went
out to say that, trying what he got left and
trying and said I want this guy. And that's when
you saw him reach out with both hands and pat
him on the chest and say you're my guy. Go
(09:08):
get him something like that. That's a calculated risk a
to go with that. And then in the ninth, like
you said, to bring Walker Bueller out. I know it's
a side day throwing, and we explained it, and you
can explain it because you've done it, your son has
done it, and you've been around hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of pitchers have done it. Throwing on the side
on a side day is a lot different than coming
(09:28):
in the ninth inning of a World Series game.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Ended it is, and what he did with Tran was
just brilliant. That was just being in the moment and
understanding like you could throw all the process out of
last night's game. And I think you saw that with
Garrett Cole going eighty eight pitches in Game one and
then going one hundred and eleven pitches last night. Everything
was just amped up and you can throw all the
(09:51):
process out and it lended everything to competition. And I
think that was Dave roberts moment to go out to
Blake and just find one of the elite relief in baseball,
to one make him believe that, hey, I believe in you,
and I know you can do this. But to get
a temperature on top of on top of him meant
to also get Walker Bueller's mind right, and and the
(10:12):
adrenaline in that moment for Walker Bueller, like the minute
he knows he's got a chance to pitch in that game.
I mean when they would when he was walking down
to the bullpen, you knew the game was over. This
is you know, this is a Madison Bumgardner moment. It
was a Josh Beckett moment. And uh and and Dave
Roberts did such a tremendous job of just managing the
(10:36):
moment and understanding his players and taking them where they
needed to go to get them right to go out
to perform and win a world championship.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
All right, uh G, you do?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
I want to ask about baseball in general, now that
that the season's in the books, that they already put
up the the odds for next year, and they put
the Dodgers right up to the top end, and every
analyst is saying, plus, showe A, Tony's gonna pitch next year.
You you worked for the Angels when show a pitching
as well as playing. Are you expecting to see him
go to the mound and pitch next year? And how
(11:06):
different will that be for him? I don't expect to
see him steal fifty nine bases in that kind of situation,
but if he goes to the mound. I've heard John
Smoltz and others say it's he's really gifted when he
can go to the mound.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
It's really it's like acquiring a number one starter. Now,
the management of it all because I lived it for
a year in twenty one will be completely different. His
workload on the base paths will be completely different, and
I think it takes a toll on his offensive performance.
And I've said before that I feel like this type
of offensive year only happened because he wasn't pitching, and
(11:40):
so I think there will be some minimization of that
in twenty twenty five. But think about this, Craig, you
got sho hal Tani coming back. You just won a
World Series without Glass now, Gonsolin Kershaw, Dustin may River,
Ryan Emmett Chehan, and Gavin Stone. You had seven of
your starting pitchers out within without Shoheo Tani, and you
(12:02):
still won the World Series. And that's what's going to
make them the hands on favorite to be the champion
again next year.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
All right, let's talk about some other teams. First. I
haven't seen an official announcement.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
You don't have to say anything as your organization getting
closer to hiring a new manager.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
We did.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
We announced Will Vinable today, the associate manager of the
Texas Rangers.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Super excited about that.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Will, obviously a nine year playing career, was a basketball
baseball star at Princeton. He's played and worked with some
of the top managers, Joe Madden, Alex Korra, Bruce Bochi,
Dave Roberts, and so we're really super super excited about
bringing him on board today.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Okay, all right, I saw today the Braves dealt Jorge
Solaire to the Angels. So Solaira continued, I know, you
know Jorge very well from his time with the Royals.
In fact, always think of my son Andy when he
was working in the Royals organization in Omaha, and he's
worked for the storm Chasers, and he said, whenever Solaira
would come to the bat, come to bat, they would
strike up to this chant hip hip or hey hip
(13:01):
hip or hey. So so the uh, the Braves traded
so Lair to the Angels for Griffin Canning today, So
that starts off the hot stove league.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
What's your what's your take on that?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Well, look for the arms race in the American League
West to be very interesting. I think when you look
at Seattle and the number of pitchers that they have, uh,
they're gonna have to have some offense. I would look
for them to be very active in the third basement market. Uh.
The Rangers, obviously with lighter rock, are going to impact
more next year.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
They're going to get healthy. Uh, They're going to be
back in.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
But the Angels felt like that they needed to make
a move to build up their offense a little bit,
to add some power to the middle that lineup, to
give Mike Trout some some protection. Uh. And but but
that American League West is going to be very very
interesting next year, and look for the Rangers to to
be right back in. And if you notice Bruce Bochi
from his time in San Francisco, it was every other
(13:54):
year that they won a World championship and they'll certainly
compete for one again next year.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
In Houston.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
You know, they're gonna be very very creative and they
how do you count the Houston Astros out in any circumstance,
And they'll have a busy offseason.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
I think this has got a chance to.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Be one of the busiest, most active offseasons that there
could be once we get past the Wan Soto sweep stakes,
and that's going to be the one domino that kind
of slows the market because the winning teams that were
in the playoffs that are going to be in on Soto,
that money is going to hold up the entire market
when it comes to free agent pitchers, what teams are
(14:28):
going to be able to acquire via trade, and so
I think it'll be slow in the beginning, but really
really speed.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Up as the Wan Soto Sweepstakes picks up along the winner.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Well that's where I was going next with Soto.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
I'm hearing that the bidding will start with the first
digit being a seven, as in the seven hundred million
dollar range or something like that, kind of like the
show a deal as well. And could you see a
lot of teams, even with that price tag, being active
in the market to perhaps be interested in Soto.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
I don't know, Craig. You know, the television contracts and
the issues that teams have been having with TV deals
are really impacting the financial situations for a lot of organizations.
But I do think you'll see some teams try to
be very creative and much like the Dodgers did the show, Hey,
and the deferment. I don't expect one to take a
huge deferment, but I think to be with a winning
club and to have a chance to win another championship,
(15:21):
he will be creative financially and look for the Mets
to be very, very active and try to make a
splash with one. The Yankees obviously will be heavily involved.
The Phillies are going to be heavily involved. So it's
going to be a super crazy sweepstakes when it comes
to one Soto.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
And then one other thing.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
When I ask you, we haven't heard much, and a
lot of people would say good, but we haven't heard
much out of the A's and owner John Fisher and
this whole thing about the impending move to Vegas. But
it was announced today that Fisher and his family are
going to invest one billion dollars into the construction of
the new ballpark in Las Vegas. US Bank and Goldman
(15:58):
Sachs are going to offer three hundred million dollar loan.
So it looks like the thing will finally get done.
But we're still talking about what it says maybe being
ready in time for twenty twenty eight, so there could
be three seasons in Sacramento coming up.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
How about you? I know you were sad to see
the A's leaving Oakland.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
I really was that that ball apartment so much to me.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
And just the identity of the organization kind of a
you know, a dirt bag, you know, underdog type of
environment that the players truly embraced and the organization embraced,
and it really became a home field advantage to the
organization into the team, and kudos to the players for
always embracing it.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
But it's going to be very, very interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
They did make the decision to make Sacramento to keep
it grass for the health of the players, so it
be interesting to see how that works out. But hey,
look at Oakland the second half of twenty twenty four.
They had a great second half and they've got some
very very good young players. They've got a very good
minor league system, and they're going to have money to
spend and look for them to make a big jump
during the twenty twenty five season.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Are you hearing?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Also, because Tropic Canna Field had so much damage that
the Rays may start playing in some of the spring
training ballparks next year until they get the drop rebuilt.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Well, it's been rumored that they could be in Orlando
playing at Disney World that Major League Baseball will help
out with some of that. It's also been rumored that
they could play at Steinbrenner Field, which would be an
oddity because George and George Steinbrenner and Tampa, you know,
that rivalry was always well known. But that's a pivot
that they could make, is have them at Steinbrenner Field.
But now it was announced today that the Panelis Counties
(17:32):
come out and said that they may not fund the
new ballpark if they plan on playing anywhere else but
in the Tampa Saint Pete area. So it's going to
be interest to see how that plays out. But just
a super unfortunate incident that that ballpark had the damage
that it had, and it just displaces a.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Lot of employees, and people don't realize.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
You think about the players and the team, but you
don't realize the employees and many of the employees that
have been there have worked there twenty twenty five years
and what it does to them, and they're like and
so you just hope that it all works out for
the best for the entire organization.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
He's our MLB insider Gene Watson, Gino, we'll talk again
during the hot stovely we'll keep in touch. Appreciate the
time and of course the weekly updates all season long.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
It's a sad day no baseball tonight, but I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Okay, thanks Gino.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Thank congratulations, Craig way to go.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
All right, that's Dean Watson, our MLB insider. We'll get
to some football modes coming up when we continue on
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
You have thirteen hunderd the Zone
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