September 29, 2025 • 12 mins
Willie talks with the voice of the Reds Tommy Thrall about the Reds making the 2025 MLB Postseason, and what the series against the Dodgers might look like.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Bill cunning into Grant America and all begins tomorrow night,
first pitch about nine oh five, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,
maybe just Tuesday and Wednesday, as the Red should win
tomorrow night and Hunter Green see what happens after that.
Tommy Thrall, who walks in the shoes and Marty Brenneman
is the voice of your Cincinnati Reds, and Tommy Thrall,
welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And first of all,
(00:27):
where were you during the celebration in the clubhouse with
Brent Suter doing the Appelican? Where were you when that
was going on?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Gosh? I would imagine that happened probably while I was
finishing up upstairs, So we had there were there were
a lot of moving parts there. We tried to account
for everything, and then of course it all happens, and
and maybe the one scenario we hadn't really thought about
(00:57):
kind of took place. So we on the air upstairs,
trying to extend as long as I could until the
Marlin finally finished off their win. They won. I did
a really short segment then the segment with Chris and I,
and during that segment, I was I was on my
(01:19):
way down to the clubhouse, so it took a little
bit of time before I finally got down there, and
then I did the rest of the postgame show. I
think the last three segments were all live from the clubhouse.
It was it was really it was such a cool experience,
really really fun just to see the way that this
team just the emotions exploded. It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
What a Sunday afternoon it was. And I right now,
are you feeling, you know, physically, where are you? Because
I worry about the team? Shall we say? I saw
the champagne, I saw the beer, I saw the confetti,
I saw the dancing, and I'm thinking, now, way mate, guys,
you got to play a baseball game in the next
forty eight hours. What time did you get on Terra
Firma and Los Angeles?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
The good news is we've got we walked a day
to recover, so that's good. It was we'd landed. Shoot,
what time did we land? I would say it was
around eleven o'clock, ten thirty last I don't know. My
phone died, yeah, and I guess I could have looked
(02:19):
at my watch and I didn't, But I don't know
what time it was. To be completely honest with you,
I have no idea. I don't know what time it
was when we took off. I think that was maybe
around well, No, we left the ballpark at seven fifteen,
so I don't know. I don't know, Willie. I wish
I had were I was just along for the ride.
One thing I do know, we made it to La.
(02:41):
Everybody's here and we're at the hotel and there's a
workout later on.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
How was the plane ride? It was probably about three
or four hours Milwaukee to LA direct flight, probably left
about eight pm local time, got in about nine or
ten pm local time, LA time. What was the plane ride?
What was this sentiment on the plane?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Every bit every bit of four hours? It was great.
You know, sometimes the flights can be a little quiet,
some guys are sleeping there. It wasn't. It was a
very quiet flight. It was. It was a very joyous flight. Everybody,
as you might imagine, everybody's in great spirits, fired up
to be here. And I think this team, I mean,
part of what makes this team special really is they
(03:23):
all truly believe in themselves. This isn't a team that's
just making the playoffs and feeling like, hey, happy to
be here. This is a team that believes that they
can get here and make some noise. So yeah, they're
they're pretty fired up, as well as they should be.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And you know, the Dodgers like a nineteen ninety five
or a prohibitive favorite, allegedly. But I heard Marty Brenahan
this morning with with Tom talking about there's one team
that Dodgers don't want to play. You can hear it
in the comments of their manager. There's one team we
don't want to play. That's the Cincinnati Reds because we're
going to face Hunter Green, maybe the best bullpen in baseball,
(04:01):
and a team that's kind of hot. They've won eight
of the last eleven games, and no one could have
foretold well when they lost the three with the Sacramento
Athletics lost those three, you go to Saint Louis and
you lose two games there, it's like lower than low.
Then the next eleven games in order to get into
the playoffs had and won eight of eleven, and they
(04:22):
won eight of eleven and got in kind of backwards
by losing, but they won. And I think this team
is marked with a sign of greatness. Do you know
who's pitching in the second game on Wednesday night.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
At this point, I don't know yet. Like you said,
fully expect that Hunter Green will be starting tomorrow night.
I'm not even really sure who the Dodgers are going
to be starting yet, So you know, there's still some
things that are up in the air there. But with
the way that the red starting pitching has been, you
(04:53):
got a really good chance to win every night because
of the way the pitching has been regardless of who's
out there. So it's I tell you what, Willie, this
is a team and you kind of said it there
that the Dodgers probably were They might have been the
only group in baseball not rooting for the Reds because
(05:15):
I don't think there were a whole lot of people
that wanted to see the Mets make it. You know,
that's just excuse me, I just I just can't imagine
that that's that that's what other people around baseball. It
looks like Blake Snell is going to start for the
Dodgers by the way in Game one. But you know,
the Dodgers know how good the Reds pitching can be,
(05:37):
and when you get to the postseason, there's a pretty
good chance that good pitching is going to beat good hitting.
We know that the Dodgers lineup's good. We've also seen
the Reds find a way to beat the Dodgers. They've
struggled with the Dodgers this year, but last year and
a very similar pitching staff, the Reds were able to
handle them. So I think the Reds, if they do
(05:58):
what they're capable of, they stay within the moment day
that use the adrenaline and the energy that comes with
the postseason of their advantage, anything's possible, and the red
pitching can can certainly neutralize. I think a good lineup?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Is it too early, Tommy throw it? Talk about the lineup?
There's some think that south Stewart's got to get in
there somewhere, whether it's I guess not as a first base,
but second or third. I'm a little surprised you wouldn't
use yesterday to some extent or another at a critical point.
But is the lineup kind of known at this point
or not?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
I doubt it. The thing about it, it's gonna be
a big deciding factor for Titos. Does he want to
run out an offensive first lineup or a defensive first lineup?
Is you got to focus on run prevention or try
to squeeze out an extra run or two, because that's
that's the big decision. If you put if you put
south Stewart in, whether it's first base, second base, or
(06:51):
third base, you are sacrificing defense. And make no mistake
about it that that is the case. And he's a
young player. He obviously can hit a little bit, but
his defense at second base is nowhere close to Matt McLain.
Spencer Steer is a Gold Glove caliber first base and
Key Brian Hayes has already won a Gold Glove at
third base, and so you're talking about three really high
level defenders in all three of those spots. At times.
(07:16):
Spencer Steers has looked really good at the plate. Key
Brian Hayes looks like he's starting to come out of
his funk. And we know how up and down Matt
McLain has been. Unfortunately, he's been down more than he's
been up this year. But if he gets it, you
know he's the threat is still there with mclan. We've
seen him get hot for a few games too, so,
(07:39):
but south Swart's obviously been an electrifying bat provide some power.
We even saw that a little bit in the Brewers series.
So it all depends on what Tito's looking for. If
they're going to start, which it looks like the Dodgers
are going to start, a left hand or Blake Stell.
You know, Miguel and Duhar is going to be in
the lineup because he had left he so well hars
(08:00):
a D eight. So those are the things that all
factor into this. I'm really curious to see what the
lineup is gonna look like.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
You know, the last time the Reds won a playoff series,
Jeff Brantley was on the mound and they beat They
beat the Los Angeles Dodgers four straight. That was the
day of the Oj Simpson verdict. Yours truly was there
for that, met Steve Garvin, his lovely wife, and what
a weekend that was in Los Angeles between the purported
riots that take place. If OJ was found guilty, of
(08:30):
course he wasn't. The party broke out at three to
ten Rockingham. I was there for that. So it's been
thirty years and you were a young boy at that point.
The Reds haven't won a playoff series since then, and
they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a decade. Nomo
was on the mound and the Dodgers went down easy,
and then they came back and got swept by the
(08:51):
Braves and the rest is history. But when you get
Brantley at tonight or tomorrow, you see him, ask him
about the playoff series with Santiago catching and Brantley on
the mound and the Reds beat the Dodgers and that
was thought to be an upset.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Absolutely well, I mean it would be the same here.
But I mean it's all going to come down to pitching.
I think that's that's what it boils down to. It
would be awfully poetic. It's a great story if the
Reds can snap their postseason series losing streak to the Dodgers,
the team that they last beat. I mean, it just
seems finny, doesn't it. I Mean, the last time it
(09:28):
came down the game one sixty two, the Reds were
playing the Brewers and they were battling the Mets ended
up going to one to sixty three. I mean, come on,
you can't write this.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It's and of course major League Baseball once New York,
they want the Mets in, and they certainly went the
Dodgers in and they certainly don't want the Reds in
same thing in nineteen ninety when the Reds were prohibitive
underdogs against the Oakland A's and the red swept. And
you know, the Reds have about a nine game winning
streak in the World Series. They won the last they
won four, and they won seventy five. They won the
(09:59):
last game in seventy five against the Red Sox. That's one.
Then they won four straight against the Yankees. That's five.
Then went four straight against the Oakland A's that's nine.
I'm not sure too many other teams have a nine
game World Series winning streak. You know what I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Saying, Well, you know what, Billy, just win, Just win, baby,
Let's go get there and then keep it going because
I this is this is fun. I mean, I we
saw Great American Ballpark the last series at home. It
was electric. The city. The city is seemingly really rallied
behind this game, and it would be so great to
(10:35):
bring playoff baseball back to Cincinnati. I Mean I get
chills just thinking about that place rocking in the n
LDS kind.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Of look at the eighty five thousand fans showed up
for the Pittsburgh Pirates Series eighty eighty five thousand showed
up and they're real. The city's ready to erupt. Goes
right now, damn it. We needed badly with Joe Burrow
down and with with the with the Reds having third years.
When you see Tito Francona, I know he plays golf.
(11:04):
Couldn't he had head up the Ryder Cup American team
in two years? When you ask Francona, he's the magic man.
He's Merlin, the Magician. See if he can take care
of the Ryder Cup. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
It sounded like that was a little rough for the boys.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, just a bit. I mean just a bit. But
I'm embarrassed by the behavior some of the field.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I was preoccupied with some baseball, so I didn't see
much of the Ryder Cup.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
I'm going back and forth, back and forth.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
I did hear it wasn't great.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Not good. How are we looking? Not good? All right, Tommy,
you're the best. But also I see that Bob Castellini
also was in Milwaukee to celebrate. I'm not sure the
owner was actually in the dressing room. Would have been
wise to stay out of there. It would have been
good for Karen Kraft not to be in the or
Phil Castellini actually did be to be in the room,
and that's going on. I hope that's not the case,
(11:54):
but nonetheless, have a great time. I'm glad there's a
day off. Would you agree with the regine a day
off at this point they don't want to play tonight.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah, it's a day off. Comes of a good time.
They'll have the work out a little bit later on
to get tuned up and ready to go for the playoffs.
And let's let's get it all going. Lace them up
first pitch tomorrow and boy Red's Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium
to kick off the playoffs. I don't know if it
gets much better.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Let's go beat the Dodgers, beat the Phillies, beat the Brewers,
go on to the World Series, and beat the Yankees,
just like a nineteen seventy six. And once again, Tommy thrall,
you're a great American and thanks for coming on the
Bill Cunningham Show. Thank you, Tommy, Willie God bless America.
Let's continue with more history is repeating itself again, all
(12:40):
on news Radio seven hundred WL do
Bill cunning into Grant America and all begins tomorrow night,
first pitch about nine oh five, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,
maybe just Tuesday and Wednesday, as the Red should win
tomorrow night and Hunter Green see what happens after that.
Tommy Thrall, who walks in the shoes and Marty Brenneman
is the voice of your Cincinnati Reds, and Tommy Thrall,
welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And first of all,
(00:27):
where were you during the celebration in the clubhouse with
Brent Suter doing the Appelican? Where were you when that
was going on?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Gosh? I would imagine that happened probably while I was
finishing up upstairs, So we had there were there were
a lot of moving parts there. We tried to account
for everything, and then of course it all happens, and
and maybe the one scenario we hadn't really thought about
(00:57):
kind of took place. So we on the air upstairs,
trying to extend as long as I could until the
Marlin finally finished off their win. They won. I did
a really short segment then the segment with Chris and I,
and during that segment, I was I was on my
(01:19):
way down to the clubhouse, so it took a little
bit of time before I finally got down there, and
then I did the rest of the postgame show. I
think the last three segments were all live from the clubhouse.
It was it was really it was such a cool experience,
really really fun just to see the way that this
team just the emotions exploded. It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
What a Sunday afternoon it was. And I right now,
are you feeling, you know, physically, where are you? Because
I worry about the team? Shall we say? I saw
the champagne, I saw the beer, I saw the confetti,
I saw the dancing, and I'm thinking, now, way mate, guys,
you got to play a baseball game in the next
forty eight hours. What time did you get on Terra
Firma and Los Angeles?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
The good news is we've got we walked a day
to recover, so that's good. It was we'd landed. Shoot,
what time did we land? I would say it was
around eleven o'clock, ten thirty last I don't know. My
phone died, yeah, and I guess I could have looked
(02:19):
at my watch and I didn't, But I don't know
what time it was. To be completely honest with you,
I have no idea. I don't know what time it
was when we took off. I think that was maybe
around well, No, we left the ballpark at seven fifteen,
so I don't know. I don't know, Willie. I wish
I had were I was just along for the ride.
One thing I do know, we made it to La.
(02:41):
Everybody's here and we're at the hotel and there's a
workout later on.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
How was the plane ride? It was probably about three
or four hours Milwaukee to LA direct flight, probably left
about eight pm local time, got in about nine or
ten pm local time, LA time. What was the plane ride?
What was this sentiment on the plane?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Every bit every bit of four hours? It was great.
You know, sometimes the flights can be a little quiet,
some guys are sleeping there. It wasn't. It was a
very quiet flight. It was. It was a very joyous flight. Everybody,
as you might imagine, everybody's in great spirits, fired up
to be here. And I think this team, I mean,
part of what makes this team special really is they
(03:23):
all truly believe in themselves. This isn't a team that's
just making the playoffs and feeling like, hey, happy to
be here. This is a team that believes that they
can get here and make some noise. So yeah, they're
they're pretty fired up, as well as they should be.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And you know, the Dodgers like a nineteen ninety five
or a prohibitive favorite, allegedly. But I heard Marty Brenahan
this morning with with Tom talking about there's one team
that Dodgers don't want to play. You can hear it
in the comments of their manager. There's one team we
don't want to play. That's the Cincinnati Reds because we're
going to face Hunter Green, maybe the best bullpen in baseball,
(04:01):
and a team that's kind of hot. They've won eight
of the last eleven games, and no one could have
foretold well when they lost the three with the Sacramento
Athletics lost those three, you go to Saint Louis and
you lose two games there, it's like lower than low.
Then the next eleven games in order to get into
the playoffs had and won eight of eleven, and they
(04:22):
won eight of eleven and got in kind of backwards
by losing, but they won. And I think this team
is marked with a sign of greatness. Do you know
who's pitching in the second game on Wednesday night.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
At this point, I don't know yet. Like you said,
fully expect that Hunter Green will be starting tomorrow night.
I'm not even really sure who the Dodgers are going
to be starting yet, So you know, there's still some
things that are up in the air there. But with
the way that the red starting pitching has been, you
(04:53):
got a really good chance to win every night because
of the way the pitching has been regardless of who's
out there. So it's I tell you what, Willie, this
is a team and you kind of said it there
that the Dodgers probably were They might have been the
only group in baseball not rooting for the Reds because
(05:15):
I don't think there were a whole lot of people
that wanted to see the Mets make it. You know,
that's just excuse me, I just I just can't imagine
that that's that that's what other people around baseball. It
looks like Blake Snell is going to start for the
Dodgers by the way in Game one. But you know,
the Dodgers know how good the Reds pitching can be,
(05:37):
and when you get to the postseason, there's a pretty
good chance that good pitching is going to beat good hitting.
We know that the Dodgers lineup's good. We've also seen
the Reds find a way to beat the Dodgers. They've
struggled with the Dodgers this year, but last year and
a very similar pitching staff, the Reds were able to
handle them. So I think the Reds, if they do
(05:58):
what they're capable of, they stay within the moment day
that use the adrenaline and the energy that comes with
the postseason of their advantage, anything's possible, and the red
pitching can can certainly neutralize. I think a good lineup?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Is it too early, Tommy throw it? Talk about the lineup?
There's some think that south Stewart's got to get in
there somewhere, whether it's I guess not as a first base,
but second or third. I'm a little surprised you wouldn't
use yesterday to some extent or another at a critical point.
But is the lineup kind of known at this point
or not?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
I doubt it. The thing about it, it's gonna be
a big deciding factor for Titos. Does he want to
run out an offensive first lineup or a defensive first lineup?
Is you got to focus on run prevention or try
to squeeze out an extra run or two, because that's
that's the big decision. If you put if you put
south Stewart in, whether it's first base, second base, or
(06:51):
third base, you are sacrificing defense. And make no mistake
about it that that is the case. And he's a
young player. He obviously can hit a little bit, but
his defense at second base is nowhere close to Matt McLain.
Spencer Steer is a Gold Glove caliber first base and
Key Brian Hayes has already won a Gold Glove at
third base, and so you're talking about three really high
level defenders in all three of those spots. At times.
(07:16):
Spencer Steers has looked really good at the plate. Key
Brian Hayes looks like he's starting to come out of
his funk. And we know how up and down Matt
McLain has been. Unfortunately, he's been down more than he's
been up this year. But if he gets it, you
know he's the threat is still there with mclan. We've
seen him get hot for a few games too, so,
(07:39):
but south Swart's obviously been an electrifying bat provide some power.
We even saw that a little bit in the Brewers series.
So it all depends on what Tito's looking for. If
they're going to start, which it looks like the Dodgers
are going to start, a left hand or Blake Stell.
You know, Miguel and Duhar is going to be in
the lineup because he had left he so well hars
(08:00):
a D eight. So those are the things that all
factor into this. I'm really curious to see what the
lineup is gonna look like.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
You know, the last time the Reds won a playoff series,
Jeff Brantley was on the mound and they beat They
beat the Los Angeles Dodgers four straight. That was the
day of the Oj Simpson verdict. Yours truly was there
for that, met Steve Garvin, his lovely wife, and what
a weekend that was in Los Angeles between the purported
riots that take place. If OJ was found guilty, of
(08:30):
course he wasn't. The party broke out at three to
ten Rockingham. I was there for that. So it's been
thirty years and you were a young boy at that point.
The Reds haven't won a playoff series since then, and
they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a decade. Nomo
was on the mound and the Dodgers went down easy,
and then they came back and got swept by the
(08:51):
Braves and the rest is history. But when you get
Brantley at tonight or tomorrow, you see him, ask him
about the playoff series with Santiago catching and Brantley on
the mound and the Reds beat the Dodgers and that
was thought to be an upset.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Absolutely well, I mean it would be the same here.
But I mean it's all going to come down to pitching.
I think that's that's what it boils down to. It
would be awfully poetic. It's a great story if the
Reds can snap their postseason series losing streak to the Dodgers,
the team that they last beat. I mean, it just
seems finny, doesn't it. I Mean, the last time it
(09:28):
came down the game one sixty two, the Reds were
playing the Brewers and they were battling the Mets ended
up going to one to sixty three. I mean, come on,
you can't write this.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It's and of course major League Baseball once New York,
they want the Mets in, and they certainly went the
Dodgers in and they certainly don't want the Reds in
same thing in nineteen ninety when the Reds were prohibitive
underdogs against the Oakland A's and the red swept. And
you know, the Reds have about a nine game winning
streak in the World Series. They won the last they
won four, and they won seventy five. They won the
(09:59):
last game in seventy five against the Red Sox. That's one.
Then they won four straight against the Yankees. That's five.
Then went four straight against the Oakland A's that's nine.
I'm not sure too many other teams have a nine
game World Series winning streak. You know what I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Saying, Well, you know what, Billy, just win, Just win, baby,
Let's go get there and then keep it going because
I this is this is fun. I mean, I we
saw Great American Ballpark the last series at home. It
was electric. The city. The city is seemingly really rallied
behind this game, and it would be so great to
(10:35):
bring playoff baseball back to Cincinnati. I Mean I get
chills just thinking about that place rocking in the n
LDS kind.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Of look at the eighty five thousand fans showed up
for the Pittsburgh Pirates Series eighty eighty five thousand showed
up and they're real. The city's ready to erupt. Goes
right now, damn it. We needed badly with Joe Burrow
down and with with the with the Reds having third years.
When you see Tito Francona, I know he plays golf.
(11:04):
Couldn't he had head up the Ryder Cup American team
in two years? When you ask Francona, he's the magic man.
He's Merlin, the Magician. See if he can take care
of the Ryder Cup. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
It sounded like that was a little rough for the boys.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, just a bit. I mean just a bit. But
I'm embarrassed by the behavior some of the field.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I was preoccupied with some baseball, so I didn't see
much of the Ryder Cup.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
I'm going back and forth, back and forth.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
I did hear it wasn't great.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Not good. How are we looking? Not good? All right, Tommy,
you're the best. But also I see that Bob Castellini
also was in Milwaukee to celebrate. I'm not sure the
owner was actually in the dressing room. Would have been
wise to stay out of there. It would have been
good for Karen Kraft not to be in the or
Phil Castellini actually did be to be in the room,
and that's going on. I hope that's not the case,
(11:54):
but nonetheless, have a great time. I'm glad there's a
day off. Would you agree with the regine a day
off at this point they don't want to play tonight.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah, it's a day off. Comes of a good time.
They'll have the work out a little bit later on
to get tuned up and ready to go for the playoffs.
And let's let's get it all going. Lace them up
first pitch tomorrow and boy Red's Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium
to kick off the playoffs. I don't know if it
gets much better.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Let's go beat the Dodgers, beat the Phillies, beat the Brewers,
go on to the World Series, and beat the Yankees,
just like a nineteen seventy six. And once again, Tommy thrall,
you're a great American and thanks for coming on the
Bill Cunningham Show. Thank you, Tommy, Willie God bless America.
Let's continue with more history is repeating itself again, all
(12:40):
on news Radio seven hundred WL do
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