October 7, 2025 • 20 mins
Texas baseball broadcaster and former MLB player Keith Moreland joins the program to break down the Dodgers' game-saving bunt defense in last night's NLDS victory over the Phillies.
They also discuss their favorite Texas-OU memories and the other MLB action from this week.
They also discuss their favorite Texas-OU memories and the other MLB action from this week.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The immortal TeV Rayvaughn on a Texan Tuesday in the
two o'clock hour here on thirteen undred the Zone. Glad
to have you with us. Coming up with a few
minutes we have inconceivable, which will include in our junk
food fast food up date some of the great ballpark
cuisine going on during these playoffs.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We'll get to that, among other items as well.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Speaking of Texan Tuesday, next guest, of course, is a
native Texan, a lifetime Longhorn, former outstanding option quarterback in
his high school football playing days at RL Turner played
in the secondary of Texas for Coach Royal, but also,
of course, was a three time All American in baseball
(00:41):
and spent a dozen years plus in the BIGS and
broadcast partner on Long Horn Baseball with Keith Morland. George,
I'm going completely off the grid here. I asked you
to come on because I want to talk to you
about the wheel play last night in the baseball playoffs, and.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
But you worked with Cameron Parker on the McNeil van
Griff telecast for KXAM plus the other night. Do you
have any kind of a handle on what's going on
in twenty five to six A.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I have no earthly idea, and I thought I knew
the district pretty well. We knew what was going on
the way Round Rock started and now has started to
come on. And then on the other side of that,
the way you know, Vandy struggled in that opener you
had that game against Cedar Park, but I had really
thought they'd righted the ship.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I can't tell you what's going to happen, but I
know one thing.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
The McNeill Mavericks put themselves in great position with the
a heck.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Of a ball game on Friday night.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Okay, so consider this from this is something I texted
to you, to you and Cameron the other night. So
y'all we already have this in the file. McNeil has
beaten Vandergriff, Vandergriff has beaten Vista Ridge, Vista Ridge has
beaten Round Rock, Round Rock has beaten McNeil, and Huddle
is unbeaten district. And how about this For this week
(01:52):
Huddle plays round Rock and Vista Ridge plays McNeil. This week,
Huddle's last three games are at home against Vandergriff, at
Vista Ridge, and at home against McNeil, So it may
be a few weeks before we get this thing figured out.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Oh, I don't think there's a question about it.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
And it's always fun.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I mean, when you get to the second Saturday in October,
is there anything more fun?
Speaker 4 (02:17):
You got to Major League for me?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Anyway? You got the Major League playoffs. You know how
I feel about high school football. I think it's the
lifeblood of everything in sports. I just think it's such
a unique thing. And then what's going to take place
in Dallas on Saturday is always something that people don't
realize how special it is because it's special.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
You've had some pretty famous quotes through the years, but
I don't think anyone was more impactful to people. The
quote where you said you stood at the plate in
the World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies in nineteen eighty
against the Kansas City Royals and you said I and
I'm paraphrasing, you can straighten me out if I'm off.
(02:57):
Based on this where you said, I've had this feeeling
before where you literally don't feel your feet touching the
ground and you remembered it was when you were in
the tunnel at the Cotton Bowl before Texas ho you
is is that sort of correct?
Speaker 4 (03:11):
You know? Yees, Craig, the teams used to walk down together.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
They don't dare do that anymore, right, I mean, but
at that time you walked down and you looked over
and I would see, you know, Greg Thruitt and Joe
Wassington and and then then on my side, I'm looking
at Doug English and Roosevelt Leaks and I don't cam
I'm going, this is you know what I'm this is
pretty special. And uh then I stepped out in my
first batage in the vet in the vet at Philadelphia,
(03:36):
in my first playing appearance in the World Series, and
there's cameras going off, and I'm going, I've only seen
this one that felt like this one other time, and
that's walking down that tunnel.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
So you you know, it's just such a great time.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
You got to measure leagu playoffs going on in which
are very interesting, and I know we want to.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Get to that.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
And then obviously the high school football situation in the
area is just so much fun right now. And then
the last part of it is gonna cummin eate Saturday
in the Cotton Bowl.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Absolutely visiting mcckeith Morland here on the thirteen hundreds, and okay,
let's go to the Baseball playoffs. Before I get to
the Nationalague, let me get your thoughts in the American
le because Game three of Tigers and Mariners will start
at the top of the hour.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
It's one to one. It's been two really good games.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
This is the one series out of the four that
that has definitely been the outlier. First of all, it's
the only one where one team isn't up to nothing,
and both games have come down to the wire, the
first one going eleven innings, the second one coming to
Julio Rodriguez double in the bottom of the eighth being
the difference there. How do you see this Tiger's Mariners series? Now,
(04:37):
they as they work to Game three this afternoon. The
next two games are in Detroit, and we're told that
may be a little bit of a delay due to
rain there, so we'll see how that is.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I think there's some weather issues. And before we can
get there, let me just back up a second. Pitching
was so important in the Walk series. You just saw
what it meant. All the games came right down. There
was very little scoring. You knew once you get through
that because there is more pressure, and people don't realize
that there's more pressure playing than that particular series that
(05:14):
to get to the next level than it is maybe
to get to a championship series where you've got a
long series where you can say we can have a
bad game here or there. So there's so much intensity
in those short playoff series and pitching was just dynamite.
The only series. Now that's interesting you picked that out.
The only series is really held up pitching wise as well.
(05:34):
Excluding last night's Phillies game Dodger game, which I thought
was a very well pitched game. The other games pitchers
have struggled and we've seen offenses get involved except this series.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
And I think it's so important for Detroit to take
care of business at home.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I just cannot see them getting in a situation where
they got to go back to see that on win
two ball games. I just can't see them moving forward
if that happened. So that's one of this game today
is so important if they if and when they get
it started.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, they've got Jack Clarity going today and Logan Gilbert's
going for the Mariners. If it does get back to
Seattle for Game five, that that I could definitely see
aj Hinch rolling out Trek Scuball on short rest to
do it one day's last rest.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Do you do you see it similarly?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Yeah? I do. I mean you can't.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
It's hard to go home and look at yourself all
winter long if you had a bullet that you didn't pull.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
And I go back to eighty four. We had Rick Sutthiff.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Ready to go in Game five and the Championship Series
in San Diego. He was a cy Young Award winner
that time, and our head, our manager decided to say,
we're gonna go another route.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
We're gonna have him ready for the World Series.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
You got to get there first. You got to get
there first. You can't you can't count your chickens before
they hatch. So you just got to get there. So
that's interesting. And then you know, I think the Yankees
are in real trouble. Uh just this moving forward with
each series. I think that's a real troubling series. I
do think that the Cubs will play well at Wrigley
(07:07):
when they get back, but that's they may be in
as much trouble, even though I'm rooting for him as
much as as hard as I can. And then the
last one is is is your favorite team playing a
team that I want a World series with? So last
night was a really interesting ball game, and how that
turned out.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
No doubt. All right, let's let's shift to that.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
And I was talking about a little bit in the
first segment of the show. So it gets to the
ninth inning and Los Angeles is up for to one
and Blake Trenton's out the pen. Dodger fans would say, God,
I don't know why, but anyway, he's.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Here's any other word other than that.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Yes, So he comes out and uh and and promptly
gives up two runs without recording an out. And Castiano's
got did a really good job. I thought on the
slider that was Alizon to flick it down the left
field line there, uh to to get the double one.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
So it got the runs home.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
And so now it's a four to three ball game,
and Roberts is going to the pen to bring out
Alex Vessia and uh so uh with uh with the
bunt situation coming up and uh Bryston Stett and Bryson
Stott is pinch hitting.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Thank you for Edmundo Sosa. So he's coming to the plate.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
He's going to lay down the bunt and we and
you know me, I watch every postgame thing, whether my
team's involved in or not. I watch a lot of
the postgame I want to hear what the managers and
players have to say. And the universal response was that
when they came together, uh, Mookie Betts said the max buntzy,
(08:39):
we got to run the wheel play. We got to
run the wheel play. And and Dave Roberts came out
and hearing him about it, it sounds like he had
the same idea. They got to the mound. He's like, yeah,
you guys, you can run it and make sure you
got it going. So explain to folks, A, uh, the
idea behind it, b how it's executed, and c the
(09:00):
degree of difficulty when it's a non force plays as
the Dodgers were having. They were going to have to
have a tag play at third on Castianos because there
was not a runner at first base. And I know
you and I have done a lot of long run
baseball games, and I've seen Texas coaches and other coaches
use that wheel play, but it seems to me every
time I saw it put on, it was in a
(09:22):
force play situation with runners in first it runners at
first and second base.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Craig, you're right. At first of all, they made that.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Decision, and I'm glad everybody was on the same page
with it, because you can you can not only preserve
the game and preserve the victory, which they did by
performing well, but the other part of that, if you
don't do it well, you got a really good chance
to lose the game right there in that moment because
you're going to more than likely if you run it.
You try to get the guy at third, and most
times it's really tough and difficult to get. Then you
(09:53):
got first and third in nobody out. So let's start
with that. So it starts with you got to know
who's on the That's one of the first things and
that might have been one of the thinking that Mookie
Betts and Dave Roberts had. Obviously, our guy on the
mound doesn't move well. He's not a great fielder. If
you have Greg Maddox on the mound, you probably don't
put the wheel play on. He was so good at
fielding his position he could get to a bunch quickly
(10:15):
and make that same throw that instead of having to
run the wheel play. The second one is the communication
from the catcher. As an ex catcher and a third baseman,
the one thing you've got to know is you have
got to make sure that guy's running with his back
to the runner. And the runner may have broke with
Mookie say you you've got to let him know you've
got a shot. You're coming up saying third, third, third
(10:36):
or first. You know it's instantly out of your mouth.
So that communication has got to be perfect. And then
the last thing is the guy a second base can't
give it away and what I mean, the shortstop Mookie
Bets cannot give away that you're doing it and let
that and take off so quickly in front of that runner,
because if the runner doesn't see it perfect bunt, he
may hold up. So there's timing, there's everything that happens.
(10:59):
And you know, well, they don't work on this in
the regular season. They didn't work on it this week
and bunt kind of practice they're hanging out in spring training. Yes,
they worked on it all the time. This is six
months away from the last time they probably had run
this play, and they ran it to perfection. And like
you said, you just don't see it without it being
first and second and nobody else and a man on
(11:19):
second and no outs. But I think the Dodgers probably
were looking at that scenario thinking, this is our best
chance to come out of here two and oh and
go home with a two zero lead. And I thought
it was very aggressive for everybody's style and then execute
it as well as it could ever be. I looked
at the replay again three or four times this morning.
(11:41):
Everybody did exactly what they were supposed to go. Bets
did not lose leave until the ball was being delivered.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
And the other part of that, the last thing it
I'll throw out there.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
The picture's got to throw a strike and force the
guy to bunt. You have to throw a strike there
because it doesn't work if it's second pitch and it's
one and oh or oh to one, it's really difficult
to get that out of the third best. You got
to make it all happen on that one pitch.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
That's a great it's a great point because Alex Vassio
when he misses, he usually misses upstairs.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
He misses a pie. Uh. But but he throws the strike.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
He gets Bunny down there months he breaks and then
the and then there's two other there's a couple other
wrinkles about this too, Keith one.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Uh, you know.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And I heard a lot of people talk about this,
and you see it on the replay once he's like
a quarterback and that he's throwing to a spot.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
He's not throwing right to the bag.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Mookie's on the run, And you're right, he didn't give
away the intent and and a lot of people were
wanting to blame Castiano's for not breaking sooner, but Muki
didn't give it away. And so then as he's yeah,
so then as he's breaking.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Replay from home plate.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
I loved the second replay that I saw. That one
is from the home plate camera where you see best.
He's not even creeping up, he's right there. You see
Costallano turn and look at him and then look back.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Toward the picture.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
And as soon as he turns his head, it was
like a break to go behind him to take a
throw at second base he broke or third and he
was there so ok. That allowed Munsey to lead him
a little bit and allowed Bets to, you know, sort
of gather himself to make the play where.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
He'd get his eyes level.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Because you always hear me talk about outfielders if you're running,
sometimes the ball has a tendency to bounce, especially one
of his thung that firm and that close to you.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, all right, now there's there's one other one other
the part. I wanted to get your your thought on
on this. And Rob Thompson, the Phillips manager, made a
reference to it in the postgame press conference. But Steve
Phillips on MLB Network, I thought, really drew it out well.
He said, Now this is clearly from the hindsight being
(13:39):
twenty twenty department. But both of these guys said it,
and especially Phillips said it if if Stott is really
dialed in looking but all clearly on his mind was
to focus in on laying down a bunt. But he said,
if he's really looking at the when he sees Mookie break,
and Phillips choose this exact phraseology I first heard from you.
(14:00):
He said, I would have gone, butcher boy, play pull
back the bat, slash it up the middle, because now
that there's such a gap there because Edmund the second
basement is breaking the first, so it's wide open there
up the middle.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
He said, I would have gone butcher boy. And Thompson
even said that.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
He said he could have done that, but we thought
the best option was to go ahead and lay down
the bunt. It's a tough thing to execute, and obviously,
hindsight being what it.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Is, Yeah, you have to be pre you have to
pre thinking in your mind that this may happen. And
you just said it first first and second, Yeah, you're
thinking they may be coming chopping down on top of me.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
That o'd infield's moving. I know.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I did it in the big leagues as a young player.
Pulled it back and I had a third basement that
was a good friend. Terry Piddleton came back to me
and he said, I saw my whole life flash.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Because he was right down on top of me and
I just did a weak ground all up the middle.
I mean I made contact, got it by.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
The picture, and oh lord, the whole world was running,
you know, because but you have to be aware of that,
and that's something you're thinking because you're just not anticipating
the wheel play with nobody on first. You know it's first,
it's just a man on first and you're up there
at the bunt. You just you know, if you get
it down up the third baseline, more times than not,
(15:20):
you've done your job, and everybody's gonna.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Be high fiving in the dugout. Well, that wasn't what happened,
no doubt.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
I want to ask you one other thing here before
I let you go, because you're such a student of
the science of the game and the mechanics of baseball
in the way this thing works. Shoe a Otani, of course,
started the other night and did well six innings, he
got the win or whatever. There's a lot of debate
about show Hey, whether to use him as a starter
(15:45):
or out of the pen, And a lot of this
goes to the science of the rules themselves. For a
lot of folks didn't understand. And we see it at
the collegiate level quite frequently. We used to see it
every time Texas would play a Mark markis coach Stanford
team where one guy's list it as the pitcher slash
d H and and you can do that, obviously, and
the long runs have done it before, and you can
(16:07):
do that, and the and the guy who starts the
game on the mound can remain in the game as
the d H as long as it's predetermined or designated
before the game begins. What a lot of folks did
not realize is for those who are saying no, bring
him out of the pen, bring him out of the pen.
If he starts as the DH, then he goes to
the mound and.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Then is lifted. He can't be the DH anymore, and
so the game.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Yeah, so I mean that's yeah, and and and as
important as he is to that lineup, that's why I think,
you know, that's why I think you've got him at
shen and the bullpen, and Clayton Kershaw in the bullpen,
and even Glass now who was going to pitch three
four days later coming out to get five outs the
other night, that sort of thing. I don't think Dave
Roberts wants to deal with that possibility. If and and
(16:55):
that's why we saw him start Otani and why if
they had if they had been yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
It's got to be an opener.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
You got to give it. If you want to give
him the ball, you gotta And you're saying, I'm gonna
go and get as much as I can.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Get out of him, and I'm going to remain the
game in the DH.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You got to list him in both spots. If you
bring him out in a ballgame when he's the d H.
You obviously he's got to stay in the game when
he gets through a pitching if you're going to take
him out pitching, if you want to keep that guy
in the spot, and then whoever the picture comes in
and wherever uh.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
He moves to, he has to the pitchers in the line.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
So it is a it is a a cumbersome rule sometimes,
but I think it's the right rule.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I don't think you should have ten players. I'm an
old traditional.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
He shouldn't be ten players that you can play at
all times with the exclusion.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Of the DH he hits for the pitcher.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yeah, yeah, And by the way, uh, like you said,
it would uh, if you can get six innings out
of him, that'd be pretty good. And if he had
to if he came out of the bullpen, whoever replaced him,
like you said, would have to take his spot in
the order. Well, that's at the top of the batting order,
since he's the leadoff guy. That is, you know, it's
the best maybe the best hittern game. You know, he's
not coming out of the game. And then the flip
(18:02):
side of that is a guy like Will Smith who
comes in and takes the place of wart pet who's
a left handed hitter.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
To get a right handed batter.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
In the lineup and he's in the nine spot, it's
like having a cleanup hitter in the nine spot. He
comes through with a big RBI singal to add to
the Dodger lead. I mean, that's that's managing work, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
You got you got to know your personnel. And the
other part of that is you got to give Dave
Larberts a lot of credit. But so many times it's
the bench coaches that are thinking about this three thing.
That's their job on the bench, say if you want
to do this, and then they're talking about it, say
if you want to do this in this spot, you
got to have this ready and this ready.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
So it's you.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Know, there's a couple of minds there because they're always spinning.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Everybody thinks the games really could.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
I think the quick story is, I told you I
played with Sparky Anderson for one season and I was
just amazed at how how good his brain was and
how many things he was thinking about. Somewhere four or
five hitters down the line. You know, not not be
in the lineup one day, but he'd walk by you
in the third innings they at Police Act comes into
this game and this inning you're hitting for this guy
(19:06):
in this scenario.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
And you know, you don't even know it was happening.
All of a sudden you're looking up and the inning's
about to start and see, well this could happen.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I'm better be ready.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
He's so so far ahead of his ahead of what
is going on.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
And then he talked the game.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
He taught me a lot about the game, and I
was in my chance year in the big leagues.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Uh, I'll end it where I started with you. You
and Roger Wallas have a good one on Friday night
with Cedar Park and Rouse.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Correct, Oh, no doubt this this. I think it's Georgetown
and Ralph. I'm sorry, Georgetown and Ralsh.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Yeah, uh huh, and yeah it is a good one. Looking.
I was doing my charts while ago and I'm sitting
here going.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
This could be renough for really good matchup on Plus.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, no doubt about That's on k XAM Plus on Friday. Hey,
I appreciate the time, Thanks so much. I'll see you
around the corner.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Sounds good. See all right.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's Keith Morland, a man of many sports and seasons.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
Who.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Yeah, he's the science and the strategy of baseball. So
that's why they that old saying goes is that you
should go to the ballpark. You might see something you've
never seen before.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Right, And he's right.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
I pulled up the high home during that conversation, the
view from way up in the press box, and there
was some room up the middle, and you can see
that exact moment Mookie bet starts to sprint to third
after Castianus turns his head.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, and it's all about the timing on that, all right.
Up next, we bring in Conceivable here on a Tuesday
afternoon on thirteen under the Zone
The immortal TeV Rayvaughn on a Texan Tuesday in the
two o'clock hour here on thirteen undred the Zone. Glad
to have you with us. Coming up with a few
minutes we have inconceivable, which will include in our junk
food fast food up date some of the great ballpark
cuisine going on during these playoffs.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We'll get to that, among other items as well.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Speaking of Texan Tuesday, next guest, of course, is a
native Texan, a lifetime Longhorn, former outstanding option quarterback in
his high school football playing days at RL Turner played
in the secondary of Texas for Coach Royal, but also,
of course, was a three time All American in baseball
(00:41):
and spent a dozen years plus in the BIGS and
broadcast partner on Long Horn Baseball with Keith Morland. George,
I'm going completely off the grid here. I asked you
to come on because I want to talk to you
about the wheel play last night in the baseball playoffs, and.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
But you worked with Cameron Parker on the McNeil van
Griff telecast for KXAM plus the other night. Do you
have any kind of a handle on what's going on
in twenty five to six A.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I have no earthly idea, and I thought I knew
the district pretty well. We knew what was going on
the way Round Rock started and now has started to
come on. And then on the other side of that,
the way you know, Vandy struggled in that opener you
had that game against Cedar Park, but I had really
thought they'd righted the ship.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I can't tell you what's going to happen, but I
know one thing.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
The McNeill Mavericks put themselves in great position with the
a heck.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Of a ball game on Friday night.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Okay, so consider this from this is something I texted
to you, to you and Cameron the other night. So
y'all we already have this in the file. McNeil has
beaten Vandergriff, Vandergriff has beaten Vista Ridge, Vista Ridge has
beaten Round Rock, Round Rock has beaten McNeil, and Huddle
is unbeaten district. And how about this For this week
(01:52):
Huddle plays round Rock and Vista Ridge plays McNeil. This week,
Huddle's last three games are at home against Vandergriff, at
Vista Ridge, and at home against McNeil, So it may
be a few weeks before we get this thing figured out.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Oh, I don't think there's a question about it.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
And it's always fun.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I mean, when you get to the second Saturday in October,
is there anything more fun?
Speaker 4 (02:17):
You got to Major League for me?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Anyway? You got the Major League playoffs. You know how
I feel about high school football. I think it's the
lifeblood of everything in sports. I just think it's such
a unique thing. And then what's going to take place
in Dallas on Saturday is always something that people don't
realize how special it is because it's special.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
You've had some pretty famous quotes through the years, but
I don't think anyone was more impactful to people. The
quote where you said you stood at the plate in
the World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies in nineteen eighty
against the Kansas City Royals and you said I and
I'm paraphrasing, you can straighten me out if I'm off.
(02:57):
Based on this where you said, I've had this feeeling
before where you literally don't feel your feet touching the
ground and you remembered it was when you were in
the tunnel at the Cotton Bowl before Texas ho you
is is that sort of correct?
Speaker 4 (03:11):
You know? Yees, Craig, the teams used to walk down together.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
They don't dare do that anymore, right, I mean, but
at that time you walked down and you looked over
and I would see, you know, Greg Thruitt and Joe
Wassington and and then then on my side, I'm looking
at Doug English and Roosevelt Leaks and I don't cam
I'm going, this is you know what I'm this is
pretty special. And uh then I stepped out in my
first batage in the vet in the vet at Philadelphia,
(03:36):
in my first playing appearance in the World Series, and
there's cameras going off, and I'm going, I've only seen
this one that felt like this one other time, and
that's walking down that tunnel.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
So you you know, it's just such a great time.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
You got to measure leagu playoffs going on in which
are very interesting, and I know we want to.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Get to that.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
And then obviously the high school football situation in the
area is just so much fun right now. And then
the last part of it is gonna cummin eate Saturday
in the Cotton Bowl.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Absolutely visiting mcckeith Morland here on the thirteen hundreds, and okay,
let's go to the Baseball playoffs. Before I get to
the Nationalague, let me get your thoughts in the American
le because Game three of Tigers and Mariners will start
at the top of the hour.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
It's one to one. It's been two really good games.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
This is the one series out of the four that
that has definitely been the outlier. First of all, it's
the only one where one team isn't up to nothing,
and both games have come down to the wire, the
first one going eleven innings, the second one coming to
Julio Rodriguez double in the bottom of the eighth being
the difference there. How do you see this Tiger's Mariners series? Now,
(04:37):
they as they work to Game three this afternoon. The
next two games are in Detroit, and we're told that
may be a little bit of a delay due to
rain there, so we'll see how that is.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I think there's some weather issues. And before we can
get there, let me just back up a second. Pitching
was so important in the Walk series. You just saw
what it meant. All the games came right down. There
was very little scoring. You knew once you get through
that because there is more pressure, and people don't realize
that there's more pressure playing than that particular series that
(05:14):
to get to the next level than it is maybe
to get to a championship series where you've got a
long series where you can say we can have a
bad game here or there. So there's so much intensity
in those short playoff series and pitching was just dynamite.
The only series. Now that's interesting you picked that out.
The only series is really held up pitching wise as well.
(05:34):
Excluding last night's Phillies game Dodger game, which I thought
was a very well pitched game. The other games pitchers
have struggled and we've seen offenses get involved except this series.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
And I think it's so important for Detroit to take
care of business at home.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I just cannot see them getting in a situation where
they got to go back to see that on win
two ball games. I just can't see them moving forward
if that happened. So that's one of this game today
is so important if they if and when they get
it started.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, they've got Jack Clarity going today and Logan Gilbert's
going for the Mariners. If it does get back to
Seattle for Game five, that that I could definitely see
aj Hinch rolling out Trek Scuball on short rest to
do it one day's last rest.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Do you do you see it similarly?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Yeah? I do. I mean you can't.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
It's hard to go home and look at yourself all
winter long if you had a bullet that you didn't pull.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
And I go back to eighty four. We had Rick Sutthiff.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Ready to go in Game five and the Championship Series
in San Diego. He was a cy Young Award winner
that time, and our head, our manager decided to say,
we're gonna go another route.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
We're gonna have him ready for the World Series.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
You got to get there first. You got to get
there first. You can't you can't count your chickens before
they hatch. So you just got to get there. So
that's interesting. And then you know, I think the Yankees
are in real trouble. Uh just this moving forward with
each series. I think that's a real troubling series. I
do think that the Cubs will play well at Wrigley
(07:07):
when they get back, but that's they may be in
as much trouble, even though I'm rooting for him as
much as as hard as I can. And then the
last one is is is your favorite team playing a
team that I want a World series with? So last
night was a really interesting ball game, and how that
turned out.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
No doubt. All right, let's let's shift to that.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
And I was talking about a little bit in the
first segment of the show. So it gets to the
ninth inning and Los Angeles is up for to one
and Blake Trenton's out the pen. Dodger fans would say, God,
I don't know why, but anyway, he's.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Here's any other word other than that.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Yes, So he comes out and uh and and promptly
gives up two runs without recording an out. And Castiano's
got did a really good job. I thought on the
slider that was Alizon to flick it down the left
field line there, uh to to get the double one.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
So it got the runs home.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
And so now it's a four to three ball game,
and Roberts is going to the pen to bring out
Alex Vessia and uh so uh with uh with the
bunt situation coming up and uh Bryston Stett and Bryson
Stott is pinch hitting.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Thank you for Edmundo Sosa. So he's coming to the plate.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
He's going to lay down the bunt and we and
you know me, I watch every postgame thing, whether my
team's involved in or not. I watch a lot of
the postgame I want to hear what the managers and
players have to say. And the universal response was that
when they came together, uh, Mookie Betts said the max buntzy,
(08:39):
we got to run the wheel play. We got to
run the wheel play. And and Dave Roberts came out
and hearing him about it, it sounds like he had
the same idea. They got to the mound. He's like, yeah,
you guys, you can run it and make sure you
got it going. So explain to folks, A, uh, the
idea behind it, b how it's executed, and c the
(09:00):
degree of difficulty when it's a non force plays as
the Dodgers were having. They were going to have to
have a tag play at third on Castianos because there
was not a runner at first base. And I know
you and I have done a lot of long run
baseball games, and I've seen Texas coaches and other coaches
use that wheel play, but it seems to me every
time I saw it put on, it was in a
(09:22):
force play situation with runners in first it runners at
first and second base.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Craig, you're right. At first of all, they made that.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Decision, and I'm glad everybody was on the same page
with it, because you can you can not only preserve
the game and preserve the victory, which they did by
performing well, but the other part of that, if you
don't do it well, you got a really good chance
to lose the game right there in that moment because
you're going to more than likely if you run it.
You try to get the guy at third, and most
times it's really tough and difficult to get. Then you
(09:53):
got first and third in nobody out. So let's start
with that. So it starts with you got to know
who's on the That's one of the first things and
that might have been one of the thinking that Mookie
Betts and Dave Roberts had. Obviously, our guy on the
mound doesn't move well. He's not a great fielder. If
you have Greg Maddox on the mound, you probably don't
put the wheel play on. He was so good at
fielding his position he could get to a bunch quickly
(10:15):
and make that same throw that instead of having to
run the wheel play. The second one is the communication
from the catcher. As an ex catcher and a third baseman,
the one thing you've got to know is you have
got to make sure that guy's running with his back
to the runner. And the runner may have broke with
Mookie say you you've got to let him know you've
got a shot. You're coming up saying third, third, third
(10:36):
or first. You know it's instantly out of your mouth.
So that communication has got to be perfect. And then
the last thing is the guy a second base can't
give it away and what I mean, the shortstop Mookie
Bets cannot give away that you're doing it and let
that and take off so quickly in front of that runner,
because if the runner doesn't see it perfect bunt, he
may hold up. So there's timing, there's everything that happens.
(10:59):
And you know, well, they don't work on this in
the regular season. They didn't work on it this week
and bunt kind of practice they're hanging out in spring training. Yes,
they worked on it all the time. This is six
months away from the last time they probably had run
this play, and they ran it to perfection. And like
you said, you just don't see it without it being
first and second and nobody else and a man on
(11:19):
second and no outs. But I think the Dodgers probably
were looking at that scenario thinking, this is our best
chance to come out of here two and oh and
go home with a two zero lead. And I thought
it was very aggressive for everybody's style and then execute
it as well as it could ever be. I looked
at the replay again three or four times this morning.
(11:41):
Everybody did exactly what they were supposed to go. Bets
did not lose leave until the ball was being delivered.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
And the other part of that, the last thing it
I'll throw out there.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
The picture's got to throw a strike and force the
guy to bunt. You have to throw a strike there
because it doesn't work if it's second pitch and it's
one and oh or oh to one, it's really difficult
to get that out of the third best. You got
to make it all happen on that one pitch.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
That's a great it's a great point because Alex Vassio
when he misses, he usually misses upstairs.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
He misses a pie. Uh. But but he throws the strike.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
He gets Bunny down there months he breaks and then
the and then there's two other there's a couple other
wrinkles about this too, Keith one.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Uh, you know.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And I heard a lot of people talk about this,
and you see it on the replay once he's like
a quarterback and that he's throwing to a spot.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
He's not throwing right to the bag.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Mookie's on the run, And you're right, he didn't give
away the intent and and a lot of people were
wanting to blame Castiano's for not breaking sooner, but Muki
didn't give it away. And so then as he's yeah,
so then as he's breaking.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Replay from home plate.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
I loved the second replay that I saw. That one
is from the home plate camera where you see best.
He's not even creeping up, he's right there. You see
Costallano turn and look at him and then look back.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Toward the picture.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
And as soon as he turns his head, it was
like a break to go behind him to take a
throw at second base he broke or third and he
was there so ok. That allowed Munsey to lead him
a little bit and allowed Bets to, you know, sort
of gather himself to make the play where.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
He'd get his eyes level.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Because you always hear me talk about outfielders if you're running,
sometimes the ball has a tendency to bounce, especially one
of his thung that firm and that close to you.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, all right, now there's there's one other one other
the part. I wanted to get your your thought on
on this. And Rob Thompson, the Phillips manager, made a
reference to it in the postgame press conference. But Steve
Phillips on MLB Network, I thought, really drew it out well.
He said, Now this is clearly from the hindsight being
(13:39):
twenty twenty department. But both of these guys said it,
and especially Phillips said it if if Stott is really
dialed in looking but all clearly on his mind was
to focus in on laying down a bunt. But he said,
if he's really looking at the when he sees Mookie break,
and Phillips choose this exact phraseology I first heard from you.
(14:00):
He said, I would have gone, butcher boy, play pull
back the bat, slash it up the middle, because now
that there's such a gap there because Edmund the second
basement is breaking the first, so it's wide open there
up the middle.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
He said, I would have gone butcher boy. And Thompson
even said that.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
He said he could have done that, but we thought
the best option was to go ahead and lay down
the bunt. It's a tough thing to execute, and obviously,
hindsight being what it.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Is, Yeah, you have to be pre you have to
pre thinking in your mind that this may happen. And
you just said it first first and second, Yeah, you're
thinking they may be coming chopping down on top of me.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
That o'd infield's moving. I know.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I did it in the big leagues as a young player.
Pulled it back and I had a third basement that
was a good friend. Terry Piddleton came back to me
and he said, I saw my whole life flash.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Because he was right down on top of me and
I just did a weak ground all up the middle.
I mean I made contact, got it by.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
The picture, and oh lord, the whole world was running,
you know, because but you have to be aware of that,
and that's something you're thinking because you're just not anticipating
the wheel play with nobody on first. You know it's first,
it's just a man on first and you're up there
at the bunt. You just you know, if you get
it down up the third baseline, more times than not,
(15:20):
you've done your job, and everybody's gonna.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Be high fiving in the dugout. Well, that wasn't what happened,
no doubt.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
I want to ask you one other thing here before
I let you go, because you're such a student of
the science of the game and the mechanics of baseball
in the way this thing works. Shoe a Otani, of course,
started the other night and did well six innings, he
got the win or whatever. There's a lot of debate
about show Hey, whether to use him as a starter
(15:45):
or out of the pen, And a lot of this
goes to the science of the rules themselves. For a
lot of folks didn't understand. And we see it at
the collegiate level quite frequently. We used to see it
every time Texas would play a Mark markis coach Stanford
team where one guy's list it as the pitcher slash
d H and and you can do that, obviously, and
the long runs have done it before, and you can
(16:07):
do that, and the and the guy who starts the
game on the mound can remain in the game as
the d H as long as it's predetermined or designated
before the game begins. What a lot of folks did
not realize is for those who are saying no, bring
him out of the pen, bring him out of the pen.
If he starts as the DH, then he goes to
the mound and.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Then is lifted. He can't be the DH anymore, and
so the game.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Yeah, so I mean that's yeah, and and and as
important as he is to that lineup, that's why I think,
you know, that's why I think you've got him at
shen and the bullpen, and Clayton Kershaw in the bullpen,
and even Glass now who was going to pitch three
four days later coming out to get five outs the
other night, that sort of thing. I don't think Dave
Roberts wants to deal with that possibility. If and and
(16:55):
that's why we saw him start Otani and why if
they had if they had been yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
It's got to be an opener.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
You got to give it. If you want to give
him the ball, you gotta And you're saying, I'm gonna
go and get as much as I can.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Get out of him, and I'm going to remain the
game in the DH.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You got to list him in both spots. If you
bring him out in a ballgame when he's the d H.
You obviously he's got to stay in the game when
he gets through a pitching if you're going to take
him out pitching, if you want to keep that guy
in the spot, and then whoever the picture comes in
and wherever uh.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
He moves to, he has to the pitchers in the line.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
So it is a it is a a cumbersome rule sometimes,
but I think it's the right rule.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I don't think you should have ten players. I'm an
old traditional.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
He shouldn't be ten players that you can play at
all times with the exclusion.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Of the DH he hits for the pitcher.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yeah, yeah, And by the way, uh, like you said,
it would uh, if you can get six innings out
of him, that'd be pretty good. And if he had
to if he came out of the bullpen, whoever replaced him,
like you said, would have to take his spot in
the order. Well, that's at the top of the batting order,
since he's the leadoff guy. That is, you know, it's
the best maybe the best hittern game. You know, he's
not coming out of the game. And then the flip
(18:02):
side of that is a guy like Will Smith who
comes in and takes the place of wart pet who's
a left handed hitter.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
To get a right handed batter.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
In the lineup and he's in the nine spot, it's
like having a cleanup hitter in the nine spot. He
comes through with a big RBI singal to add to
the Dodger lead. I mean, that's that's managing work, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
You got you got to know your personnel. And the
other part of that is you got to give Dave
Larberts a lot of credit. But so many times it's
the bench coaches that are thinking about this three thing.
That's their job on the bench, say if you want
to do this, and then they're talking about it, say
if you want to do this in this spot, you
got to have this ready and this ready.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
So it's you.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Know, there's a couple of minds there because they're always spinning.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Everybody thinks the games really could.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
I think the quick story is, I told you I
played with Sparky Anderson for one season and I was
just amazed at how how good his brain was and
how many things he was thinking about. Somewhere four or
five hitters down the line. You know, not not be
in the lineup one day, but he'd walk by you
in the third innings they at Police Act comes into
this game and this inning you're hitting for this guy
(19:06):
in this scenario.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
And you know, you don't even know it was happening.
All of a sudden you're looking up and the inning's
about to start and see, well this could happen.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I'm better be ready.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
He's so so far ahead of his ahead of what
is going on.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
And then he talked the game.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
He taught me a lot about the game, and I
was in my chance year in the big leagues.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Uh, I'll end it where I started with you. You
and Roger Wallas have a good one on Friday night
with Cedar Park and Rouse.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Correct, Oh, no doubt this this. I think it's Georgetown
and Ralph. I'm sorry, Georgetown and Ralsh.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Yeah, uh huh, and yeah it is a good one. Looking.
I was doing my charts while ago and I'm sitting
here going.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
This could be renough for really good matchup on Plus.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, no doubt about That's on k XAM Plus on Friday. Hey,
I appreciate the time, Thanks so much. I'll see you
around the corner.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Sounds good. See all right.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's Keith Morland, a man of many sports and seasons.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
Who.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Yeah, he's the science and the strategy of baseball. So
that's why they that old saying goes is that you
should go to the ballpark. You might see something you've
never seen before.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Right, And he's right.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
I pulled up the high home during that conversation, the
view from way up in the press box, and there
was some room up the middle, and you can see
that exact moment Mookie bet starts to sprint to third
after Castianus turns his head.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, and it's all about the timing on that, all right.
Up next, we bring in Conceivable here on a Tuesday
afternoon on thirteen under the Zone
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