7/10/24 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Start listening ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati'ssports station. What's up, I'm moegar.
This is gonna sound really really hooky, really really stupid. Fine,
I've done it before. I lovesports, which is good because I do

(00:21):
a sports talk radio show. Ilove sports because I was sitting here two
days ago and the Reds had justlost three straight games to the Detroit Tigers,
and late on Sunday night, theymade a trade for Austin Slater,
and uh, there was a lotto sift through, right, and the

(00:42):
three consecutive losses that the contact play, Hunter Green being pulled out of that
game last Saturday, David Bell's decisionmaking the trade, what they did and
didn't do with Alex Young, whetheror not Austin Slater was going to help
the team or not, whether ornot he was gonna be the move they
made. And then amid all thisstuff. Buried in all this stuff,

(01:06):
the Reds brought up Reese Hines.I did three hours on Monday. I'm
not even sure I mentioned Reese Heine'sname. I know no one else on
this show mentioned Reese Hines's name.I didn't get calls about him. I
didn't get any tweets about him.Nobody was hitting us up for like in

(01:27):
depth scouting reports from those people thatwe call who know a lot about prospects.
We weren't spending any time on ReeseHines. It was all when it
happened over the weekend. It wasall the new guy coming to the Reds
from the Giants. It was allthe guy the Reds had traded away.
It was all David Bell. Fortyeight hours later, Reese Hines is perhaps

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at this moment, the most talkedabout player in baseball. This from last
night is one of the reasons why, Oh my goodness, dude, he'd
killed that ball that is way overthe Kroger Ks. The second home run
in his many nights for Reese Hines. Wow, Lord, what a home

(02:15):
run by this kid. He hasfirst onto the scene here with the Reds
and it's an eight to four Redsleague. The Cowboy Jeff Brantley the call
last night, Reds Radio Network,and seven hundred dol W. He has
played in two big league games.He has two second deck homers. Remarkable.

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He has a double, a triple, and a four hundred and fifty
eight foot homer midway up over thek's in the second deck in left field
of GABP last night, the dayafter, he goes four forty nine and
has a double in his big leaguedebut. Five extra base hits in his
first two major league games are youkidding me? According to MLB dot com

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Sarah Langs, who is awesome.He is the first player with at least
five extra base hits in his firsttwo career games since at least nineteen oh
one. By the way, I'moegar. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
Thank you so much for listening.Full show preview available on x thanks to
Emory Federal Credit Union your credit unionwith heart since nineteen thirty nine. Go

(03:27):
to EMORYFCU dot org. It's it'sremarkable, like, let's just in this
day and age that were I thinktwo things apply. Number One, we
can't agree on anything. I thinkwe can agree on this. This is
pretty remarkable. Number Two, Idon't know what happens next. I don't

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know if Reese Heines can really play. I don't know if he's ever gonna
get a hit again. I don'tknow if he's a big part of this
team's future. I don't know ifhe's a flash in the pain. I
don't know. Can we at leastrecognize that the last two nights have been
a lot of fun because they've beenalmost totally unforeseen. And let's be honest,

(04:11):
even a top end prospect who's gettinga lot of pub even like an
Elie de la Cruz or an O'NeillCruz, Yeah, they have two games
like that to start their big leaguecareers. It's a big deal. Reese
Hines, you know, again,on Monday afternoon was an afterthought. His
addition to the team was a footnotebecause there was a lot of other stuff
that was burying the Reese Hines news. And two days later there is I

(04:36):
think right now, nobody in thesport who is being talked about more than
Reese Hines, which is pretty cool. Reds and Rockies tonight, Reds are
cleaning up against the really bad teamson their schedule. The Rockies are awful.
I joked about this with Tony andAustin before I saw a lot of
this last night. God, theRockies are bad. Can you imagine being

(04:57):
a fan of a team like that? And it's like, yeah, it
was two years ago. Remember theReds lost one hundred games wasn't that long
ago. So Reesehines does what hedoes now. I see a lot of
this on social media. Aristide isa Keno. We all remember the punisher
right five years ago, comes upin August and hits fourteen home runs,

(05:24):
gets a cool nickname, and wasfor a brief while one of the most
talked about players in baseball. Wasawesome. It was a lot of fun.
So invariably, I guess someone asks, is Reese Hines aristide is a
Keno? Two point zero? Myfirst response was, god, I hope.

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So if Reesehines hits fourteen home runsin a month, obviously July,
it's going to be hard for himto do so because we have the All
Star break, because he just gotcalled up on July eighth. But if
he hits a lot of home runsin a month, okay, this team
benefits from that. Sign me up. But I don't think it's being framed
that way. And so the secondanswer is, okay, well, is

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he going to be a flash inthe pan? I have no idea.
I don't know. I play twogames. There are a lot of guys
in Big League history who have comeup and had awesome debuts and great first
games, and they've come up fora while and made an impact and they
don't really amount to all that much. Big picture, I don't know the

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beauty of this. We have noidea. Re Signs might be a cornerstone
of what's next. He might bea quarterstone of what's now, and he
might be a guy that finishes hisbig league career with a whopping two homers.
I don't know. I am gonnasay he's not Aristide's Akino because the
punisher, as much fun as thatwas in August of twenty nineteen, was

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a blast because of that, here'sthis guy who kind of came off of
the being off the grid and heshows up and he hits fourteen homers in
a month like that was and likekind of like Reese Hines, he wasn't
getting these gabp specials. He wasn'thitting cheapies barely scraping over the fence.

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He was hitting moonshots. There's otherverbiage we could use that I'm not But
what was cool about that story wasAristida Zechino's backstory. He had been non
tendered by the Reds after eight yearsas a professional baseball player. Eight years

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Aristida Zequino on one level of theother from twenty eleven through twenty eighteen,
had been with the organization for eightyears. They non tendered him. At
the end of that season, theybrought him back. He crushed it at
Louisville. He ends up having anunbelievable August. But when he got here,

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you had the sense Aristina Zequino wasa fun story involving a guy on
his last gasp, like when theycalled him up and in that month he
took advantage of it, and theReds kept trying to revisit and recapture the
glory of that month for a coupleof years. But when he got here,
it kind of felt like, thisis his shot, this is his

(08:18):
shot. It didn't feel like theywere calling up a guy that they had
really big plans for. Aristide isa Keno got to Cincinnati. By the
time he got here, he hadalready piled up over thirty eight hundred professional
at bats, some in winter ball, some in the minor leagues. Won

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with the Reds in twenty eighteen,thirty eight hundred professional plate appearances race Higns
when he got called up, fewerthan thirteen hundred. By the way,
The Reds were so in love withwhat aristide as a Kino did, and
if you remember, he was awesomein August, he was terrible in September.
They were so called up in whathe did that month that they went

(09:01):
out that following off season and paidbig money for two outfielders, Shogo Akiyama,
who was terrible and Nick Castianis,who had a really good year in
twenty twenty one. Aristide is Akino, though, felt like a guy who
made an impact and was to adegree at least rewarded for it because they
kept him around through the twenty twentytwo season. But he felt like a

(09:24):
guy who when he got here thatwas his shot. It felt like,
why not, let's give him achance. He's having a good season in
Louisville, the team's not that good, and if he fails, he's done.
Reese Hines feels like, all right, uh, we got room,

(09:45):
we need outfield help. Why not, and if he fails, we're just
going to continue to work with him. This didn't feel like and doesn't feel
like Reese Hines's only chance as abig leaguer. Aristid is Akena was twenty
five when he got here. Certainlynot old, but older than Reese signs
is right now, But it didkind of feel that way. I remember

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that time very vividly because it wasawesome. I love the Punisher like I
love that story. I remember writingin great detail about aristide as a quino
and how much I love that storyfor the athletic. But it did feel
like he got here and it wasall right, let's give this dude a
shot. If it doesn't work,we're done with him. And if it
does work, we'll maybe find aplace for him with resigns. It feels

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like, and I can be deadwrong about this, but it just feels
like, all right, twenty threeyears old, a guy who's moved through
our system. We know what heis. He's a power hitter. He
is going to strike out a lot. The numbers at Louisville this year weren't
great, but you know, he'sa guy that we envision possibly being a
part of what we do moving forward. Maybe it's as a bench guy or
a three true outcomes guy, orsomebody that we really can't pinpoint a position

(10:52):
for, or he's a big partof our outfield, or he's trade bait.
But this felt like whatever he didat the big league level was going
to result in and either him stickingand being a part of the team,
and or he was gonna go backto Louisville and they were gonna give him
another chance sometime down the road.It didn't feel that way with Aristida z
Achino. I don't know that ReeShins is aristidaz Achino two point zero in

(11:16):
the short term. Hell yeah,I hope he is. In the long
term. I don't know that they'resimilar situations. I don't know that I
necessarily jump to equate the two.I don't know how they feel about re
Sigins. I do imagine they feelbetter about him than they did even when

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Aristida z Achino was hitting fourteen homeruns in a month in August of twenty
nineteen. You could tell me ifI'm right or wrong. Numbers five win,
three, seven, four, nine, fifteen, thirty. Most important
thing is they win the game theyhave to, and to their credit,
they've done that this year. Thethree worst teams so far on their schedule,

(12:01):
they have absolutely kicked the crap outof They're eleven to oh, including
now five and oh against the Rockies. In the eleven games they've played against
the worst teams to date on theirschedule. The good news is I make
fun of a lot of things.It's what I do. I make fun
of the compartmentalization of the schedule.But you know, they do only play

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one team with a winning record betweennow in August ninth, and there's still
a lot of Colorado Rocky and MiamiMarlin in the offing, including tonight tomorrow.
In this weekend. You've got tobeat the dregs. You've got to
beat the really bad teams. Well, with good starting pitching and Reese Heines

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hitting four hundred and fifty foot homeruns every night, they've got a very
good chance to do that. Andif they do that, do I think
they're going to make the playoffs?Not necessarily, Do I think they're worth
not counting out? Yeah, eighteenminutes after three o'clock five point three,
seven, four nine, fifteen thirtyis my phone number. We would love
to hear from you today, althoughI do have some really bad news I

(13:09):
got to share with you a littlebit later on. Maybe not bad news
for you, but bad news forsomeone you know or maybe somebody else listening
today. I'll give you that.Coming up at four to five, there
was not bad news for Hunter Greenyesterday. Hunter Green's an All Star,
which is awesome. It made methink of something we said about a month

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and a half ago, and itmade me think of three other guys.
We'll do that next. By theway, you could send me a tweet
thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dentalis building healthy, smart, vibrant communities
for all. Good to Delta Dentalohdot com at moegger on X nineteen after
three o'clock. By the way,Justin Williams as well, coming up in
fifteen minutes on UC football and Bigtwelve Media Days, that is at three

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thirty five on ESPN fifteen thirty CincinnatiSports Station Cincinnati's ESPN twenty three after three
o'clock. I'm moegar, this isESPN fifteen thirty. Really do appreciate you
listening. I'm gonna wait till thefour o'clock hour to give you the bad
news. The weight may soften theblow. Justin Williams on you see football

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coming up at about ten minutes BigTwelve, Day two of Big twelve Media
Days with Dion Sanders talking today coachPrime Buffalo Bearcats late October in the game
in Boulder that is apparently sold out. Hunter Green's gonna be an All Star.
We found this during our show yesterday. Congratulations to Hunter Green. We
outlined this on Monday, that hehad an All Star case. I hope

(14:41):
he appears in the game, whichis maybe a different conversation. You know.
Look, man, there have beentimes I haven't been hard on Hunter
Green. I got accused of beinghard on Hunter Green. My take on
Hunter Green early in the season wasit would be cool if he would just
pitch deeper into games because you wouldoften watch hunter last year before he got

(15:01):
hurt last year once he came back, and very early this season, and
there was still an inability to getthrough six innings. And like, I
get it, it's not nineteen eightyseven. We're not asking these guys to
give you nine innings every time theytake the ball. For the most part,
they're never going to. But I'mlooking for six, like seven,
I want to not have to usethe bullpen as much as David Bell had

(15:24):
to use the bullpen last year.And I didn't necessarily think it was a
controversial take to suggest that it wouldbe great if Hunter Green could pitch deeper
into games. Well, he has. He is on the top ten in
Big League Baseball and innings pitched.That's really really good. But I remember
we did this on this show whenhe completed his fiftieth big league start,

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which happened earlier this year, Andyou know, it is kind of a
random point to use, but that'sessentially fifty is basically a season and a
half worth of big league starts.Now, obviously Hunter has been with the
Reds since twenty twenty two, butfifty starts to me is a year and

(16:10):
a half. I with a lotof athletes, I'm always interested in the
second half of year two leap,like Joe Burrow made it twenty twenty one.
It's a different sport entirely, ofcourse, the second half of year
two leap. And so I rememberbecause there was growing in patience with Hunter
and you have people calling him overpaid, which is ridiculous. He is the

(16:30):
one hundred and first highest paid pitcherin the sport, and you had some
rushing to call him a bust becausethey wanted to be the first to wave
their arms and say, hey,look at me. I'm the first to
call him a bust. And mytake was, let's let's cut him off
at fifty starts and then go fromthere and see how he does starts fifty

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one through one hundred. Let's seewhat the numbers look like those next fifty
one starts. He obviously since thenhasn't made fifty starts. He's made four.
In those last fourteen starts, hehas had two I think bona fide
clunkers. For the most part,he has kept his team in the game.

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He usually has been a reason whythey should win, or at least
a reason why they did win.In those fourteen starts, he's pitched eighty
three and two thirds innings, whichis five point nine innings per on average.
That average brought down a little bitbecause he did have two starts where
he couldn't get through the fifth,But for the most part, he's giving

(17:33):
this team some length. He certainlydid in his last start, so much
so that many of us wondered shouldhe be brought back for the eighth inning.
During those fourteen starts, his urnrun average is three point two three.
There are better and more nuanced waysat pointing out how effective a pitcher
is or how ineffective a pitcher is. I recognize that, but three point

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two to three. Era is prettydamn good opposing batters or hitting one ninety
six against him. I know battingaverage is a very flawed stap, but
I'll use it anyway. He isalso despite pitching his home games inside GABP,
he has given up just seven homersin eighty three and two thirds innings.
So what is happening is what wesaid, we hoped. What happened.

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Starts number fifty one through one hundredneed to show significant improvement from what
we saw, and starts one throughfifty. Now again we're only through sixty
four, but so far, sogood. And so the point there is,
as as much as we're so impatientwith this franchise, as much as

(18:38):
we can get so impatient with thisteam, especially for the dudes that have
an abundance of talent, sometimes youjust got to let him build experience and
learn from it. Which is whythis season sucks on one level, because
Matt McClain can't do that this year, and Chinning Cronassi on strand can't do

(19:02):
that this year, and because ofhis own doing Noelve Marte couldn't do that
for half a season, and rightnow that guy looks lost at both the
play in the field and like that. To me, the obviously the primary
impact of all those guys not beingavailable is the effect it has on the
team's ability to win and the dominoit has. Domino effect it has on

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where certain guys are gonna end uphaving a play that they might ordinarily not
play. But along with that,like Hunter Green, the cool thing about
Hunter Green this year knock on wood, as he has not dealt with any
injury and so you know, he'sbeen able to accumulate experience. He's been
able to develop some sort of consistency. He's taken the ball every fifth day,
That in itself is a good thing, but he's also continued to gather

(19:47):
experience that man, I believe thegreatest teacher in life is experience. The
greatest teacher in life is experience.Maybe not in every field, Matt McClain
is going to miss out on fourmonths, maybe six months of big league
experience for a guy who was alreadyreally good last year, And same for
Christian and Carnassi on strand, andsame for Noel ve Marte. Which is

(20:10):
why those injuries worry me, becausewe want this team to win as soon
as possible, and you just wonderfor how many of these guys do the
more finished products like Hunter Green haveto say, Okay, we'll wait for
you, because now you've got toplay catchup because of the experience you missed
out on. We are broadcasting fromthe Madewell Restoration Studios. Go to Madwell

(20:33):
Restoration dot com. Justin Williams onthe Big twelve Big twelve Media Days,
you see football and the upcoming seasonnext since in fifteen thirty sports headlines are
coming up in second Reds and Rockiestonight seven hundred WLW. More details on
that in just a bit, butfirst, Big Twelve Media Days are happening

(20:59):
in Las ve Justin Williams for along time covered UC football and basketball for
the Athletic, and obviously still coversthem, but he also covers everybody else
covering college football and basketball. Seniorwriter for the Athletic, and there's a
I think there's nobody in the inthe business who has has their finger of

(21:21):
the pulse more on the Big Twelvethan our guy, Justin. Plus,
it's it's been forever since we hadhim on, so I called him and
he's on with us now. Hi, Justin, what's up? Mo?
Good to talk to you. It'suh, it's it's good to have you.
I appreciate you doing this as always. Uh. You see was picked
to finish fourteenth in the Big twelvepreseason poll. Does that seem about right

(21:41):
to you? Yeah? I thinkthat's fair. I think I had him
twelve when in my vote when Iwhen I did the preseason poll. But
you know, I think they're probablyin somewhere in that bottom four group being
I think with the think with thebig toil that's interesting, Like I have
West Virginia eighth in my poll.I wouldn't be surprised if West Virginia like

(22:03):
is competing for a shot at theconference championship game down the stretch. You
know, this this conference, Ithink is going to be really bunched together.
That's kind of been the narrative that'sput out at a media day that
it's a lot of parody this season. So, you know, twelve,
fourteenth, whatever it is, sinceMATI, it's not where you want to
be. But I also think thatthere's not necessarily going to be a huge
gap between a lot of these teams, right you know, when the standing

(22:26):
checkout does does parody mean it's wideopen at the top. I think so.
I mean, honestly, I thinkthere is eight teams you can legitimately
make a case that have a shotto win the conference. I think there's
probably a couple more that you can, you know, squint and make a
reason for. I think if you'rea Dion Homer, then maybe you can
use that as justification for Colorado.But you know, I do. I

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think there's a couple teams that arekind of in that top Utah, Kansas
State. I had Kansas Day firstin my ballot, and then there's teams
like Kansas where if the quarterbacks ishealthy, you know that they could win,
or Oklahoma State, which showed lastyear that you know, they got
the conference title game. I thinkthere's a lot of teams that feel legitimately
like they have a shot. AndI think that's kind of the vibe with

(23:11):
this new Big twelve techn Oklahoma Gon. You know, maybe not this year,
but I think every team, allsixteen teams in the conference feel like,
you know, at some point,based on their history and kind of
based on the trajectory of their programs, that they can compete for conference titles.
Realistically, what's the best case scenarioin the league for UC this year,
I think getting to a bowl game, so you know, winning six,

(23:33):
six games overall, I think wouldshow some good progress. They won
three games last year, they finishedlast in the Big Twelve. You know,
I think year two under Scott Saderfield, there's been a lot of talk
about you know him kind of revampingthis roster. They have forty seven new
players, between high score recruits andtransfer recruits. You know, a lot
of talk about how this this teamkind of it has got sadderfields, culture

(23:56):
and mentality. All right, Well, then show some progress on the field,
go out and when a few moregames, get to a ball game,
build a little bit of momentum goinginto year three. You know,
I think if you fall short ofthat, if you're winning five games and
you're not going to a ball gameagain, I don't think he's on the
hot seat. It's only here two. But then I think that just puts
a lot more pressure on centerfield inthe program. If you can't show some

(24:17):
legit progress and maybe have a ballgameto show for it, you know,
maybe he's not on the hot seatif that doesn't happen. But at the
same time, we're in a differentera right, because of the portal,
because of the ease of player movement, because of nil And I think a
lot of people are going to say, look, it may be as difficult
as ever to be a coach inyear one at any place, but it's
never been easier to get things turnedaround pretty quickly because of those things.

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And so maybe the leash for anycoach not just got Sadderfield, but but
for any coach should should perhaps notbe quite as long. What would you
say to that, Oh, yeah, I mean, look, we're seeing
coaches getting fired after year two.We saw Jimbo Fisher get fired and paid
seventy seven million dollars. Like youknow, you're right in the way that
the money is right now and theexpectations are in college football, Like you

(25:03):
know, no one really is safeif you have a bad couple of seasons.
And yeah, I do think ifyou know, say Cincinnati goes out
and they underperform and they don't makea ball game where they really struggle again,
I don't know that I would predictthat Scott Cliderfield's gonna, you know,
have have his job risk and goingto be on the hot seat.
But I think it puts them onthe hot seat for year three, and

(25:23):
I think you're going to see thatin a lot of places, you know,
across college football, and in Cincinnatiis no different there. They're in
the Big twelve now they've made thischange. They put a lot of resources
and efforts in the getting back topower conference football. I don't think you
can really have these stretches where yougo three four years and not make a
ball game or not show legitate progress. So you know, I think Scott
Siderfield knows that he knows the pressurethat he inherited, you know, following

(25:45):
Luke Pickle on the job, andhe knows kind of what that stake this
year, and so that's why Ithink you got to at least get to
that six games, get into aball game, and feel like you're showing
some real, real momentum moving intoyear three. Justin Williams covering college football
all for the Athletic at the Athleticdot Com n Why Times dot Com as
well. I know you're not asin the weeds as you were when you

(26:07):
were on the uc B, butyou still followed this program closely. When
when fall camp begins, give methe one or two things you were most
interested in seeing unfold. So youknow, the two areas that they were
just terrible at last year was quarterbackplay and secondary and so you know,
I know there's all this talk aboutthere's going to be a quarterback battle and
it's not Brendan Thorsby's job. I'llbe shocked if it's not Brendan Sorosby's job.

(26:32):
This is the guy they kind ofpegged in the portal and you know
they brought here. He's a youngguy. So this is going to be
Brenan Sorosby's team, you know,for them hopefully this year and for the
next couple of years. I'm curioussee what he looks like. And you
know, again, fall camp cankind of be tough. I remember watching
Desmond Ritter run around as a redshirt freshman at camp and being like,
I don't know if this guy's gotit and shows you, you know how
smart I was, but I'm kindof curious see how he looks. And

(26:53):
it just kind of takes over anoffense. And then defensively, like they
just gave up so many big playsin the secondary last year and they really
revamped that unit, brought in sixor seven new guys, have a new
defensive coordinator, and so those aretwo areas. You know, they get
the offensive linebacker, they get CoreyKiner back, they brought in some other
pieces offensively. You know, they'vebeefed up the secondary. If they can

(27:18):
improve at quarterback play and in thesecondary and really just be above average in
those areas, then I think,you know, it totally makes sense that
they could go from three wins tothe six or seven this league. Every
time I read something from commissioner Brettyou or Mark, or every time the
Big Twelve is in the news,it feels like it's for something really forward
thinking, bold, outside the box, maybe beyond the boundaries of what you

(27:44):
expect college sports to be. Isthe Big Twelve in that regard so far
out in front of everybody else?Is that just par for the course in
college sports? And what's this leaguegonna look like in four or five years?
Yeah, I think it's a mixtureof you know, the person they
hired, they brought in Brett Ormarktwo years ago to be the commissioner.

(28:06):
He's kind of a business guy.He fancies himself a disruptor. But then
it's also, you know, theposition that the Big Twelve is in so,
you know, we've seen this GreigSankeye at the SEC. You know,
he's kind of the old standard,the old hat traditional conference commissioner with
the Big twelve Big ten is madeto do higher. But the Big ten
has a great TV deal and they'rekind of you know, at the top

(28:27):
of the food chains. They don'tnecessarily have to do those innovatives, maybe
sometimes risky or bold moves that theBig twelve does. And so I give
you know, Brett, you Ormarka lot of credit. I don't know
that every idea that's kind of beenput out there is the best idea,
and I don't know that all ofthem are always going to work. But
I think what he's done is he'srealized, all right, you know,

(28:48):
there have to be some things thatneed to be done, some risks that
need to be take to get theBig twelve, you know, to at
least keep pace with the Big tenor SEC, or certainly not even get
lapped by them when you're talking aboutfinancials or you know, national championship contenders.
And so, you know, someonedescribed me a Big twelve ad described
me earlier this year that Brett,your Mark's that kick every tire kind of
Commissioner, and I think we seethat in some of these ideas that he

(29:11):
puts for. It doesn't mean they'regoing to pursue all of them, doesn't
mean they're all going to work out. But I give you or Mark a
lot of credit that he kind ofunderstands where the Big twelve is in the
pecking order and that it's going totake some bold, you know, sometimes
risky ideas to keep them moving upthe food chain. Awesome stuff. As
always, great to have you on. I'll bother you this summer. Thanks
man, I appreciate the time anytime. Thanks Mom. That's our guy,

(29:34):
Justin Williams covering college football and basketballand all over the Big Twelve for the
Athletic part of the New York Timesthe Athletic dot Com. It is sixteen
minutes away from four o'clock. Yourphone calls are coming up. I have
some help. Yesterday Big Twelve mediaDay, the guy who made the most

(29:57):
headlines and the guy who news wasMike Gundy, the football coach at Oklahoma
State. I I'm going to helphim. I'm gonna help a lot of
people. I'm gonna help Mike Gundy. That coming up in the four o'clock
hour, and yeah, I wastalking about patients with certain players before,
patients with Hunter Green being paid off, and maybe to a degree with Elie

(30:22):
de la Cruz. I think there'san overarching goal here that we should talk
about the Reds pursuing that in thefour o'clock hour as well. And in
about twenty minutes, got some badnews. This This isn't bad news for
everybody listening right now, it's not. It might not be bad news for
you, but I've I've got somebad news. I'll share it with you

(30:48):
coming up at four h five onESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports station, Visit
houp. I neglected to do sportsheadlines. I'm sorry the service of Kelsey
chevroleth home of a lifetime i empowertrainprotection and guaranteed credit approval from their family
to yours for life, Kelsey Chefdot Com, Frankie Mantass, and Kyle

(31:08):
Freelan. Tonight, Reds and RockiesCincinnati looking for a third straight win seven
ten tonight on seven hundred WLW.Starting lineup tonight, Jonathan India is back
in and after being scratched last night, he is dching and leading off Elie
Tayler Cruz at short, Candelario atfirst, Spencer Steer, who hit a
long ball last night, is inleft field, batting fourth. Tyler Stevenson

(31:30):
had a big night last night.He is catching in batting fifth. Austin
Slater makes his Red's debut. Heis in center field, hitting six.
Marte had third, Rees Hines inright field. Santiago Espinhal excuse me,
is playing second base and batting ninth. According to our friend Charlie Goldsmith of
The Inquirer, some updates from DavidBell, Matt McClain has started swinging and

(31:53):
he's on track to start a rehabitsignmon on August twelfth. Nick Martini had
thumb surgery and has a chance toreturn this season. And Jake Frayley is
back in the clubhouse, which isawesome news. TJ. Friedel, Charlie
writes, is trending to return inthe first week to ten days after the

(32:15):
All Star break. I have beena Matt McClain skeptic. I want to
be dead wrong about Matt McClain.Matt McClain was terrific last year, and
you know, I guess with ayoung player, you don't know what you're
gonna get. But if I canget, hell, seventy five percent of
what Matt McClain gave the Reds forwhatever amount of games he plays this year,

(32:35):
that's that's a bonus. Now,mind you, rehab assignment on August
twelfth, I mean that's more thana month away now. The rehabit signment
can last anywhere from one to twentydays. And I don't know why I'm
being like this with Matt McClain.I just, you know, like you
hear something rehabit sign in August twelfth, and I think some just compute that

(32:58):
as he's going to be back August. Wealth he's trending toward starting a rehab
assignment August, and I hope toGod that he plays. I am not
as skeptical as I once was,but I'm still a little skeptical. Florence
plays the Jersey Jackals tonight. Xavieris going to open against South Carolina and

(33:20):
the Fort Myners tip off on Novemberthe twenty fifth. Musketeers haven't played the
game Cocks in eighty three years.Miami is also in that event, taking
on Siena. Those games being playedon Monday, November twenty fifth. Miami
is in the Palms Division, Xaviersin the Beach Division. Yesterday on the

(33:42):
show, we had Miles Robinson,who is an MLS All Star for FC
Cincinnati. He has had a terrificyear. He is getting set to head
off to Paris for the Olympics.He is going to be on the US
men's Olympic soccer team, the menqualifying in the Olympics for the first time
since two thousand and eight. Mileswas terrific yesterday. If you did not
hear that conversation, go and getit on the iHeartRadio app, also on

(34:05):
my page at ESPN fifteen thirty dotcom. Paul Danner Junior was with us
yesterday to kick around a whole bunchof different Bengals related topics, and we
went to Vegas spent some time withboth Jim Kelly and Scott Springer of The
Inquirer, both joined us on Bigtwelve Media Days Day one, talking UC
football. If you missed any ofthose conversations and so much more again find

(34:28):
them on the iHeartRadio app or ESPNfifteen thirty dot com. Slash Mo podcasts
of our show are a service ofLongneck Sports Grill with three locations in northern
Kentucky airing any better place to hangout on a warm summer evening than the
outdoor patio at Longnecks Check out longnecksportsgrilldot com. Speaking of UC and the

(34:50):
Bearcats, and we're gonna jump backinto the reds and I've got some tough
news for you coming up at fourfive. I asked a Paul question yesterday
Justin Williams was just with us.We talked about best case scenario for the
Bearcats being a bowl game, andI do believe if you double your win
total and you win six games andyou play in a bowl game, it's

(35:13):
it's gonna be hard. It's gonnabe hard to not feel like that's a
successful season. I guess what Iwould want to know, I feel like
I feel like Scott. We talkedabout skepticism, cynicism. I think Scott
Sadderfield's dealing with a lot of thatright now. There are a lot of
people who just either aren't sure orare a little bit skeptical that he's the
guy. So let's say he getsthem to a bowl game. How much

(35:37):
how much rope does that buy him? How much? How long? How
much does that lengthen the leash.Look, there are two things here in
play. One is this is aprogram where the bar was raised significantly with
the previous coach. Also, thereare twelve playoff spots. You seeson a

(36:00):
power league or twelve playoff spots.I love the expansion of the college football
playoff because it makes more fans feellike their team has access to the championship.
Now, I certainly believe that there'sgonna be most years a very big

(36:22):
difference between teams one and two andteams eleven and twelve. But still,
I think the beauty of this ismore team. More fans feel like their
team has access to the championship,which means more fans feel like their team
should be competing for a championship,i e. A playoff berth and so

(36:45):
because the field has expanded, Ifeel like, very very soon that's going
to be the standard. And soyou can talk about, well, get
to a bowl game this year.Once you do that, I don't know
that most are gonna say the nextsteps have to be incremental. Got some

(37:06):
bad news for some of you.Next. This report is sponsored by Derek
Cincinnati Sports Station. This is ESPNfifteen thirty Red scored twelve runs last night.
It's kind of a quiet night forElie de la Cruz. Resign stole
all his thunder, which made mewonder where's Resign's gonna be playing in twenty

(37:29):
thirty one. I'm alegger. Thisis ESPN fifteen thirty. It did not
make me wonder that. I'm justhoping that Resigns can help the team win
tonight. By the way, I'mgonna help out Mike Gundy, the Oklahoma
State coach who people are big madat for what he said at Big twelve
media Days yesterday because of what hesaid about one of his players. Will

(37:50):
make that make sense, you probablyknow what I'm talking about. I'm gonna
help out Mike Dundy plus Bredaman andJones on baseball, and I'm gonna this
is gonna be an hour where Ihelp people because I'm gonna help angry NFL
players too. I enjoy helping people. Unfortunately, now I've got to deliver
some bad news, so I've hadI've talked about this a little bit on

(38:13):
this show. I've gone back andforth with some people on social media.
Elie dela Cruz is an All Star, you know that, and I think
you if you're a Reds fan,even if you're not, you believe this
guy's got a chance to be oneof the truly special players in the sport.

(38:34):
And he has delivered, at leastto this point on a lot of
the promise that accompanied his arrival inthe big leagues. Now, once he
has established himself for many, theconversation pivots to what's next. Not what's
next this year, not what's nexttonight, not what's next in the second

(38:59):
half of the season, but what'snext regarding his contract status. Now,
I'll just lay this out there,okay, And I get it sometimes if
you're a hardcore sports fan, ifyou do this for a living, it
can be frustrating that you know notall your buddies understand how MLB contracts work.

(39:22):
Ellie Dela Cruz cannot be a freeagent until the twenty thirty season.
And I've talked before on this showabout how this is really good news,
Right, Ellie Dela Cruz will bewith the Reds for the next five and
a half years. That's awesome.We get a chance to get a good
chunk of this guy's prime. Weget a chance to watch him develop and

(39:44):
for the time being, we geta chance to watch his guy be an
All Star and he ain't making anythingthat's awesome. However, you will find
some And I was tweeting about EllieDela Cruz yesterday, and I've brought him
up nearly every single day on thisshow, and invariably you'll find someone who's

(40:07):
lamenting the fact that Ellie's gonna goleave. Anyway. Somebody said to me
yesterday, Well, it's obvious hewants to be a Dodger, and it's
like it is I haven't detected that. I haven't heard him say that.
I haven't seen him post that onsocial media. Or he's just gonna be
gone in three to four years anyway. Well, the only way that happens

(40:29):
is if the Reds trade him,and I don't think they're gonna trade him
anytime soon, or he's just gonnaleave via free agency anyway. And I
said yesterday that I feel like spendinga lot of energy in twenty twenty four

(40:49):
on where Ellie's gonna play in twentythirty is kind of a waste, But
I get it. It's out there. I went to Hooty and the Blowfish,
along with every other mid forties guywho likes golf a few weeks ago,
and Darius Rutger, who didn't doa whole lot of talking that night,
asked between songs, a are theReds gonna win the World Series?

(41:12):
The crowd cheered, And then arethey gonna sign Ellie de la Cruz long
term? And the crowd cheered evenlouder. And I cheered both times,
and then I wanted him to startplaying music again, but I cheered both
times. But I'm going to,well, yeah, Darius like it.
It'd be cool if it did happen. Probably not gonna happen, but but
you know, how about win whileyou have him? Now? Whenever I

(41:34):
bring this up, I get yelledat. I get told this is something
you know the Reds are gonna screwup? Are You're gonna be gone anyway?
And it's hard to enjoy him nowwhen you know he's gonna leave,
which I just I cannot relate tothat. So if you're and I don't
believe you represent the majority, butif you're among those of us who are

(41:58):
watching Ellie de la Cruze and you'reconsumed with yeah, but he's gonna be
gone in twenty thirty he's gonna leaveat the first chance that he gets,
which is twenty thirty. He's gonnabe playing for the Dodgers or the Yankees
in twenty thirty. If you're consumedby this and you're a Cincinnati sports fan,

(42:28):
well I'm gonna give you even morereason to worry, because you know
who else can be a free agentin twenty thirty, Joe Burrow. I
don't know if you knew that.I don't know if you've carried that knowledge

(42:51):
with you in the back of yourhead. But like, if we're gonna
do this, let's let's really dothis. Like, if we're gonna do
this whole worry fred, lose ourmind, lose sleep, cry, If
we're gonna obsess over where Ellie Delacruzis gonna play in twenty thirty, let's
let's just go all in. Man'slet's start talking about it right now.

(43:13):
Where's Joe Burrow gonna play in twentythirty? Why only worry about one?
Why? Now? I know thereare differences. There are differences between the
two sports. There are differences betweenhow the two leagues are structured. Financially,
One, at least for now,is a salary capped sport. One
player is older, you might argueone is more established. But but if

(43:36):
we're going to do this, let'sjust let's fold them both in. Okay,
Ellie Delacruz can be a free agentin twenty thirty, so can Joe
Burrow. Now when I put itthat way, then it sounds silly like
Joe just signed his contract extension.Joe hasn't taking the Bengals to a championship

(44:01):
yet, the ink is not evendrying the deal that he signed about a
year ago. Why are we alreadyworried about twenty thirty? Okay, fine,
then let's not worry about Elie Delacruz. Is that Is that a fair

(44:22):
way to look at it? Andto be completely honest, I'm doing this
mostly tongue in cheek. I'm notreally spending any time on either. Like
Joe Burrow is getting ready for aseason, the Bengals are getting ready for
a season where hopefully that dude canstay healthy, and if he does,
they're going to be a playoff team. And if they're a playoff team,
they got a shot to win.The whole thing and the idea behind drafting

(44:42):
Joe Burrow number one overall and thenpaying him all that money was he was
gonna bring a championship to Cincinnati.I want that to happen. I think
they've got a chance for that tohappen. I think they're built for that
to happen. Obviously, they needsome things to go right, not the
least of which is obviously Joe stayinghealthy. I couldn't care us about the
Bengals quarterback situation in twenty thirty,could not care less. It'll come up

(45:05):
reasonably soon. I mean it will, because that's that's kind of how it
works. But as as we aswe close in on the started training camp
in two weeks twenty thirty, likedo that with your friends, go out
tonight this weekend? Whatever, Hey, guys, guys, what's what's what's
gonna happen with Joe's contract is up? You know you're gonna get laughed at.

(45:27):
Do it at work right now?Like, walk up to somebody,
What do you think if we're notgonna do it with Joe Burrow, why
are we doing it with La dela Cruz five point three seven four nine
fifteen thirty Why if if we're ifit sounds stupid to do with Joe Burrow
because he just signed his contract.Doesn't it sound stupid to do with a

(45:49):
guy who got here about a monthand a half before Joe Burrow signed his
contract. That's not entirely true,but three months before he signed his contract
because the deal got done last yearon opening night in the NFL, and
Ellie got here June second, threemonths. But if if this is what's
going to consume us, I say, go all in with the worry,

(46:15):
go all in. Fact. Idon't know when Jamar Chase is gonna sign
his deal, but I assume it'sgoing to happen this offseason. Let's just
start worrying about what's gonna happen whenJamar Chase's second contract expires. I'm not
even sure what the contract status forSean and Wes Miller are. Let's start

(46:37):
worrying about what's gonna happen with thosetwo programs when those two coaches have their
contracts expire. We're not doing anyof that stuff. Why are we doing
it with Ellie? And I knowwhen I say we we're talking about a
minority, but you know those peopleare out there past this. Son to

(46:57):
Darius Rutger, I don't know he'snot a Bengals fan because the Dolphins make
him cry, But like, thereis something about this that has sent some
And I know I'm not supposed toto lose my mind or overreact to a
handful of people on Twitter, butI see this, and I feel this
all the time, Like all he'sgonna be gone anyway. Okay, by

(47:20):
the way, man, you can. You can criticize the Reds for a
thousand different things. God knows Ihave, and I've said now for a
while, I think we all haveto assume that Ellie's gonna not play for
the Reds in twenty thirty. Ifwe're if we're gonna spend a lot of
time, if we have to wageran amount of money, if we have
to wager an amount of money,that matters to us on does Ellie play

(47:43):
for the Reds in twenty thirty orplay for any one of the other twenty
nine or maybe by then more MajorLeague Baseball teams. My money is on
him playing for one of the otherteams, because the Reds can offer him
a killer contract, doesn't have tosign it. Reds can do everything they
can to try to keep him.He doesn't have to sign it. I
mean, if I was Elie DelaCruz, and maybe if you were Elie

(48:04):
Delacruz, I think what we wouldwant to do is play so well and
stay healthy so week and hit freeagency. But you have to acknowledge that
through different regimes. It's not likethey've had a ton of star players,
but they have, well, theyhave bought out arbitration years, or they've
at least tried. Sometimes it hasn'tworked. They did it with Hunter Green.

(48:27):
Hunter Green is gonna be for thenext couple of years, perhaps one
of the great bargains in baseball,because what do they do. Hey,
look, let's just go ahead anddetermine what your salary is going to be
right now, and we'll get onemore year past what you're under team control
for. You're gonna hit free agencyin your prime, but we get one
more year. It's not, Iguess, completely outside the realm of possibility.

(48:51):
They do that with Ellie Dela Cruz, and like there are other guys,
and again sometimes it's worked, sometimesit hasn't. They pay past the
arbitration years with Devin Mezerako and withTucker Barnhardt. They gave Homer Bailey a
long term contract. They gave JoeyVado a long term contract which a lot
of people did nothing but complain about. They gave Brandon Phillips, and we're

(49:13):
going back aways, but with playersthat have been good, like all star
caliber guys in some cases, dudeswho felt like cornerstones in some cases,
guys who felt like they were stillascending when they signed their contracts. In
some cases, they've at least guaranteedthe money for the arbitration years and then
paid for another year. Now ina handful of cases, they paid for

(49:37):
many, many, many more yearsVado Bailey. But so if you want
to look at it from a morepractical standpoint, I guess you could talk
about the franchisees track record. Itend to focus more on I guess three
things. Number One, can hecontinue to get better as a baseball player,

(49:58):
Because if the answer is yes,the Reds will be employing a superstar,
and they'll be employing a superstar fora decent amount of time. Number
Two, can they create the bestpossible baseball environment around Elie Dela Cruz?

(50:22):
Like you can't make him sign andchances are there will always be someone willing
to pay him more. All youcan do is create every possible baseball reason
for him to stay, whether it'sfor another year or for the rest of
his career. And again, ifwe're being smart about this, let's take

(50:42):
the money that we have to wagerand put it on him playing for somebody
else in twenty thirty. I wantto win while they have him. They
had Barry lark In, a Hallof Famer for eighteen years. They made
the playoffs exactly twice. They hadJoey Vado, a Hall of Famer for
sixteen years, right, yeah,sixteen fifteen years. They never advanced in
the postseason. I want to takeEllie for as long as he's here and

(51:06):
create a good enough team around himthat they can win with him. And
maybe maybe that, combined with thefat check, is enough to get him
to want to stay for at leasta little while longer. I don't know,
but they get this dude for fivemore years. The Bengals get Joe
Burrow for five more years. Whyaren't we talking about them the same way?

(51:28):
Like, do it tonight with yourbuddies, do it this weekend if
you have people over, go outor something, guys, wee Bengal's gonna
do long term for Joe Burrow,they're gonna look at you like you're out
of your mind. But if youdo it with Ellie Deayla Cruz, someone's
gonna be like, oh yeah,he's gonna play for the Dodgers. Well,
number one, you don't know that. Number two. It's twenty thirty

(51:49):
five point three seven four nine,fifteen thirty. So I'm sorry, I'm
sorry to deliver this, but Ijust I I hate, I hate to
be that guy. But you knowit's if you're you're gonna worry about one
thing, let's just add to it. Let's just do it now so you
can spend all your free time.You can spend the rest of your summer
just lying awake at night, unableto sleep, perhaps sweating, worried.

(52:14):
Twenty thirty who's gonna play shortstop forthe Reds And who's gonna play quarterback for
the Bengals? Your phone calls arecoming up, So is my advice for
Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy onESPN fifteen thirty. If you're like me,
you started thinking about the weekend byabout lunchtime on Monday. The good
news is it's not lunchtime on Monday. We're gonna be at the Holy Grail

(52:38):
Friday afternoon, three to six doingour show. I may have tickets to
an event on Sunday to give toyou if you show up at the Holy
Grail. I might. I'm workingon it because well that's what I do.
Regardless, We'll be there from threeto six doing our show, Reds
and Marlins at night. Start yoursummer weekend with us ice cold. Get

(53:00):
a nice cold, Mick Cultra andpost up. If you're going to the
game, no better place to hangout before, and if you're not going
to the game, then no betterplace to watch Holy Grail Friday afternoon.
We hope to see you there.Brandanman and Jones on baseball coming up.
Also, I know what NFL playerswho are mad at. I don't think

(53:20):
any NFL players are mad at JoeBurrow, despite what former bad backup quarterback
Jase Daniel says. But if forthe players who are mad at Joe Burrow,
I know what they should do.And we are okay with Hunter Green
pitching in the All Star Game right. More on that later on and uh

(53:43):
Reese Hinesmania sweeping through the Tri State, but first five point three seven four
nine, fifteen thirty is our phonenumber. Calvin, You're on ESPN fifteen
thirty. Good afternoon. Hey,my don't never been better. What's up?
So? I'm an uber driver inCincinnati. I have talked about the
Reds hundreds of times with people,and I agree completely with what you've been

(54:06):
saying about Ellie. You know whoelse I heard hundreds of times was never
going to be paid and was goneas soon as he was going to be
eligible, and he wasn't that goodanyway, Hunter Green, And now we've
paid him and he's an All Starand he's again They absolutely a bargain.
You know what we should be doing. We should reframe this conversation and every

(54:28):
time we talk about Ellie de laCruz, we need to talk about how
the World Series window is as longas he's here. Yes, just like
we do with Joe Burrow, exactlythe same. The World Series window is
as long as he's here. Well, and you know, because go ahead,
we've got people. I had akid in my car. His dad
said, you can go anywhere inthe country and watch any baseball team you

(54:51):
want. He came to Cincinnati towatch Ellie de la Cruz. Wow,
this team is exciting to people whoaren't even here. For as long as
that guy plays on our team,Yeah, he must watch. I mean,
you know they It makes me excitedto listen to the game on the
radio. No, yeah, becauseyou'll hear or see or read about or

(55:14):
go witness something that very few peoplecan do. It might not happen every
night, but you know, it'slike the game on Monday evening. They
had this terrible weekend against the Rockies, and yet on Monday I couldn't wait
to watch Ellie de la Cruz,and he paid off my excitement by doing
stuff on the base pass that nobodyelse can do. Now last night he
had a quiet night. But yeah, I mean to me, you're right,

(55:36):
I'm more concerned with while they havea guy at Hunter Green and another
only two players, and they needthey need more. But you have two
guys that have bright futures, twoguys who are having all star seasons,
two guys who Hunter Green can't leavehere until at the earliest after the twenty
twenty eight season. The last timethey had a collection of talent, they

(55:57):
didn't win the World Series. Theydidn't even advance in the postse I want
to win while they have those playershere. I want to create the best
possible baseball environment while they're here,and maybe that will compel them to want
to stay where they go, wherethey go when they can exercise their right
to choose where they play. TheReds can only control that so much.
And it's so far off in thedistance, it's not on my radar.

(56:21):
But if I guess, I frameit this way. If Ellie dela Cruz
today signed a contract extension. Let'ssay Ellie had the right to leave at
the end of the season. Ifhe signed a contract extension for five years,
would anybody's reaction be, Yeah,but where's he going to go at
the end of it? No?So why are we doing it now?

(56:42):
Because we're so disappointment. I can'targue with that. Calvin drive safe man,
Thanks so much. Thanks. Iknow, I know, I know
this. I know I'm sort oftargeting a tiny not even tiny, I
guess, but but a smaller sectof fans who are consume with this.
But it is, it is.It is interesting. I'm I love Ellie

(57:06):
della crue like there's there hasn't beena player who this early in his career
has excited me as an adult theway Ellie has. Now I'm as big
as Joey Vado guy as you'll find. But like you know, Joey had
a good first couple of seasons.I don't remember them. I remember twenty
ten when he was an All Starand initially didn't make the All Star Game.

(57:27):
Like Ellie's first season, I'll neverforget, never forget that excitement,
that just ability to do things thatgo viral and get me to talk.
I love watching him, but itfeels like it feels like and again social
media plays a role in this.It's hard to talk about him with somebody

(57:50):
wondering where are they gonna get itdone long term? Now, mind you,
the Hunter Green thing, it's notlike they locked in Hunter Green forever.
I mean they was, he wasguaranteed to be under team control through
twenty twenty seven. They essentially said, here's what you're gonna make. He
agreed to it so they'll never haveto go to arbitration. And then they

(58:13):
paid him for one more year twentytwenty eight, when he's gonna be twenty
eight, and then there's a cluboption for twenty twenty nine when he's twenty
nine, but if the Reds exercisethat option, he could be a free
agent too in twenty thirty. Ilooked, I know it's not as simple
as well, wait a minute,we're not going to talk about either guy
until the end of the twenty twentynine season. We're gonna discuss which players

(58:37):
are really worth investing in. Ifyou try to avoid arbitration with Ellie Dela
Cruz, can you get in tosign something long term? I mean,
they've done that with players before.But I want to win, and I
whether that or not they can doit is is very debatable, very debatable.
Whatever cynicism there is about their abilityto do that is justified. But

(59:01):
I'm more concerned with the Reds controllingthe part that they can control more.
They can control not by themselves,but they can do the best possible job
at fielding teams that Ellie and Hunterare champions on, and building a baseball

(59:27):
culture that those guys may decide Iwant to continue to be a part of.
They could also see what the nextCBA looks like. It just it
seems silly to me to be obsessingover where Ellie's going to play next.

(59:49):
I'm not going to talk about thisevery single day, because then I'll be
the guy who's obsessing over it.But it just it seems ridiculous to me
to watch Ellie dela Cruz through thelens of yes, he's gonna leave anyway.
I mean, think about how faroff in the distance that is five

(01:00:10):
and a half years. Think ofhow far off the Reds are guaranteed unless
they trade him to have Elie dela Cruz be in uniform for like over
eight hundred baseball games between now andwhen he could leave. Okay, great?
Four thirty, ESPN fifteen thirty.Sports head lines are a service of

(01:00:35):
Kelsey Chevrolet Home of lifetime power trainprotection and guarantee credit approval from their family
to yours for life, KELSEYSHEV dotCom, Reds and Rockies again tonight at
GABP Frankie Montas and Kyle Frielan onthe Hill seven ten tonight, seven hundred
WLW. I'll give you. I'llgive you some some news here. Are

(01:00:55):
you ready? Blake Donn option totripa a Louisville who is best known for
almost being safe when they use thecontact play on Friday Night. Bad news
from Blake Dunn. I think goodnews for all involved. Jake Fraley is
back from the family medical emergency list. If you know about what his daughter

(01:01:15):
and his family have gone through,that is beyond terrific news. We've got
some injury updates thanks to our friendCharlie Goldsmith. Matt McClain has started swinging
a bat. He's on track tostart a rehab assignment in August twelf Nick
Martini had thumb surgery, has achance to return this season. TJ Friedel

(01:01:36):
is trending toward returning the first weekto ten days after the All Star break.
Ian Jabbou did you even remember that? Ian Jabbau is still drawing a
paycheck from the Reds. He's gonnathrow his first bullpen on July sixteenth,
and he could be back with theteam in the middle of August. Brandon
Williamson's first bullpen is July twenty third. He's targeting return in September. As

(01:02:01):
for the guys who are gonna playtonight, Reds and Rockies, are you
ready? Here we go? India'sdhing La Dela Cruz at short Candelaria is
at first base, Spencer Steer inleftfield. Stevenson's catching Austin Slater makes his
Red's debut tonight in centerfield. Hebats sixth. Noel ve Martes at third

(01:02:21):
base rhes Hines. The sensation isthat's not his nickname, and if it
is, he needs a better nickname. He is in right field, betting
eighth. Santiago Espinall's at second base. He bats ninth. Florence Yaw's take
on the Jersey Jackals. Xavier isplaying in the Fort Myers tip Off on
November the twenty fifth. Their openinggame will be against South Carolina. That

(01:02:45):
game will be played on Monday,November twenty fifth. Miami is also in
that event. The RedHawks will battleSienna, which was my favorite crayon when
I was a kid. That gamealso on Monday, November twenty fifth.
Brendan and Jones on baseball. Comingup, We have to get some poll
questions, which we'll do that herein a bit. More of your phone

(01:03:05):
calls welcome as well. Five pointthree, seven, four nine, fifteen
thirty. We talked extensively about Bigtwelve Media Day and what the Bearcats might
do this season and how the leaguemight unfold. Then the new membership,
but the big story coming from Bigtwelve Media Day had nothing to do with
the Bearcats, had everything to dowith Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundhy.

(01:03:31):
So chances aren't you have heard thisor you have seen this. His star
running back Ali Gordon got a DUIrecently and his reported blood alcohol content was
point one zero. Oklahoma State didnothing to punish him, nothing to publicly

(01:03:52):
punish him. They haven't suspended him, they haven't held him out of practice,
they haven't announced he's going to missgames. They made him go to
Big twelve media days. Uh.And so I guess Mike Gundy was asked
to kind of explain, well,why didn't you really punish this guy?
And there there's been a been alot of things written, a lot of
criticism aimed at Mike Gundy for thisanswer. So I looked it up on

(01:04:14):
my phone. What would be thelegal limit like in Oklahoma's point eight and
Ollie was point one. So Ilooked it up and it was based on
body weight. Not to get intothe legal side of it, but I
thought, really, two or threebeers or four I'm not justifying what all
he did. I'm telling you whatdecision I made. Well, I thought

(01:04:38):
I've probably done that a thousand timesin my life, and and I'm you
know, it's just fine. SoI got lucky. People get lucky.
All he made a decision that hewished he could have done better. But
when I talked to Olie, Itold him said, you're lucky you got
out light because you make a lotof money to play football. So there

(01:05:00):
he's my Gundhy talking about Ali Gordon, and so that answer. This morning
on ESPN Radio, they were wonderingwhat should he be fired? No,
No, Now, look you mayhave nodded along with that answer, and
I will admit to you I kindof did not because I excuse what the
guy did. I gonna be honestwith you. I've had two, three,

(01:05:23):
four beers and driven, and myguess is the overwhelming majority of people
in my audience right now have donethe same. But you know that maybe
not something I should share. Maybeyou cannot along with it, Maybe you
think it's irresponsible for me to talkabout. That wasn't my reaction reaction to

(01:05:45):
the Ali Gordon thing. It wasmy reaction to all my Gundhi says like,
well, I've kind of done that, But that you might argue doesn't
justified not punishing him, and it'sprobably a tone deaf, stupid thing to
say when you're being asked about aguy who did get arrested who is one
of your players. That's fair criticism. Just do this moving forward, whether

(01:06:06):
you're Mike Gundy or anybody else.I love transparency and honesty. Right.
A football coaches job involves one thing, winning games. That's what they're asked
to do. That's what they're paidto do, that's what they're hired for.

(01:06:27):
They love to talk about molding youngmen, their job is to win
football games. They don't get firedfor not molding young men. They get
fired for not winning. So justsay, my job is to win football
games. This guy being on thefield helps me win football games. I'm
not taking them off the field.Now. Would some criticize that, sure,

(01:06:50):
but I think there are a lotof us. It's like it's like
when an athlete says, well,you know, it wasn't about the money,
dude, Just it's about the money. It's okay, it's okay.
Some aren't gonna like you saying it. Say it, it's about the money.
I took the highest deal, Itook the most money. Like there's
a movement to get Trevor Bauer backinto baseball. I have my thoughts on

(01:07:13):
Trevor Bauer back in baseball. Ithink what's interesting about Trevor Bauer is there
have been very few I don't thinkany actually of his former teammates who have
come to his defense. But like, if you want your team, let's
say say it's the Reds and youthink Trevor Bauer can make them better,
just say I would have win baseballgames. I want my team to win
I and Trevor Bauer can help.Where you lose me is when you start

(01:07:35):
twisting yourself in doing everything you canto justify what someone else did. Like
I've seen the Bengals drafted Joe Mixon. I don't want them Bengals to draft
Joe Mixon. But you know what, I kind of respected when I would

(01:07:57):
get phone calls about Joe Mixon frompeople who are like, yeah, man,
I just want to win games.He can help him win. Where
you lost me was if you calledand said, well, you know,
if you watch the tape, youdon't know what she just just say.
You want to you want to draftthe guy because he can help and win.
Fine, Like I watched What's unfoldingwith the two presidential candidates we have,

(01:08:18):
man, And I mean, theseare two awful choices as far as
I'm concerned. But you know,if you're just like, look, man,
I'm voting for Trump because five yearsago, financially I was in a
killer situation and I think he canget me back to that. May may
disagree, may agree, fine.Where you lose me is if you try

(01:08:40):
to twist yourself in a way thatyou're now trying to justify some of the
crazier stuff he has said or done. And if you're voting for the other
guy, Look, man, theguy showed up at a debate. He
was half asleep. He's a thousandyears old. You don't don't try to
tell look, just hey, Iwant him to be the president because I
like his foreign policy, or Icare about this issue like I just I

(01:09:03):
cannot stand the folks who go outof their way to justify something that they
don't need to justify. Just say, look, this is what I want.
Here's why I want Ali Gordon toplay because my jobs win football games,
not the rationalization for what they did, not justifying what they did,
not excusing it, like I am. You know this a die hard UC

(01:09:29):
basketball fan, and man, therewas a time where I had a lot
of guys who were getting in troubleoff the court, and they were constantly
being dragged through the mud for graduationrates. Now it's worth mentioning that reporting
was dramatically unfair, but I canget it from people all the time,
like, oh, your guys don'tgraduate. I don't care. I want

(01:09:50):
to go back to the final four. Oh yeah, but you got guys
who are burning people with pokers andpunching horses. I don't care. I
want to win what my team's namecalled on selection Sunday. Now, that
might be off putting, but atleast it's honest and transparent, and you

(01:10:12):
don't end up sounding like a buffoonrationalizing or explaining or excusing or justifying something
you shouldn't have to justify, explainor excuse. I want this guy to
win why because my life was betterwhen he was president. I want this
guy to win because I don't wantthat other dude to win. I think
he's dangerous. Okay, may disagree, but at least you're not. You're

(01:10:36):
not doing weird mental gymnastics and tryingto convince me that you believe that,
well, he's not that old,he's not decrepit, or he's not that
bad of a guy. Like,just here's what you want. I would
have win football games. That's whatI'm paid to do. This guy's one
of the best running backs in thecountry. I want to use him to

(01:10:58):
win football games. You're gonna losepeople where you're gonna lose me as well.
You know, you go on yourphone and look at him. He
had two or three four beers.I mean, like, stop, stop,
you're gonna you're gonna get more criticismfor that. You know, again,
it's not apples and apples. Whenwhen people say it's yeah, I
took the highest offer. I tookthe most money. Most normal people go,

(01:11:18):
okay, fine, you took themost money. Normal people don't want
to be bst. I don't wantto be bst. Well, you know
we decided to We decided to go. Yeah, they paid the most money.
But I tell you what, mywife really likes the schools. Okay,
sure, just lay it out there. I want to win football games.

(01:11:44):
We're in a competitive league. Ihave one of the best running backs
in the country. It doesn't dome or us any good to have him
on the sideline, and if youdon't like it, you don't like it.
It's my program. I'm free todisagree. I'm free to not like
what you did. I'm free tofeel like, God, you should have
punished him. But at least Igo fine. I don't have to listen
to explain or rationalize or justify.We had a guy who yelled and screened

(01:12:11):
the red should go get Trevor Bauera few months ago and it's like,
well, if if you look atthe text messages between him and the accused,
they're like, no, no,no, no, you don't have
to do that. You think Trevorcan help them win? Okay, fine,
but you know if you read thecomplaint, no, no, forget
it. Don't don't go down thatroad. You think you think he's the

(01:12:32):
best option to help them win.You want your team to win. Same
if you're a coach, man,I don't. I know there's going to
be a lot of folks who disagreewith that. I believe had Mike Gundy
come out yesterday and taken my approach, it would make headlines. It wouldn't

(01:12:53):
make news, not as much ashe's made. It wouldn't be talking about
it on CNN today. It wouldbe folks wondering if he should be fired.
It would be well, okay,you know, football coach is going
to football coach. He wants towin games. You could avoid a lot,
You could avoid a lot of stuffyou don't want to be involved in.
You can avoid a lot of headachesif you just tell people, here's

(01:13:15):
my motivation, ought to win footballgames. This guy helps me win football
games. Breniman and Jones on baseball, coming up on ESPN fifteen thirty for
over unders our outs, we haveto sift through them. Plus Hunter Greens
an All Star? Do we wanthim to pitch on the All Star Game?
And Reese Hines? Can he doit again tonight? All of that
coming up first, Breneman and Joneson Baseball on ESPN fifteen thirty. Cincinnati's

(01:13:42):
ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from theUC Health Traffic Center. The University of
Cincinnati Cancer Center is opening the mostcomprehensive blood center in the nation. The
future of cancer is here called fiveone, three, five eight five uc
CC slow track that is causing aten minute delay on northbound seventy one between
Kennedy Avenue and Ronald Reagan Cross CountryHighway. We also have a slow down

(01:14:08):
about twenty minutes on southbound seventy onebetween Dana Avenue and Fort Washington Way.
I'm Nicole with traffic. This reportis sponsored by Mason fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's
sports station. All Right, I'ma mullagger five o'clock Happy Hour on ESPN
fifteen thirty. Thank you, thankyou for being here, thank you for

(01:14:29):
joining us, thank you for beingyou. Uh Michelobultra one of those sounds
insanely good right now. I ata rain delay last night at the ballpark.
We had no rain at night.I got off the air, I
went home, but down some dinner, real quick, cut my grass.
Listen to the first part of thegame, then part of the Gym Day

(01:14:53):
podcast, then not the rest ofthe game, but a few more innings,
and then when I was done,sat back and relaxed with the best
beer to have after you've cut yourgrass, the post lawnmowing beer is one
of the best, especially when it'smichelo Ultra, which is awesome for anything.
So go get one, Go getgo, get a six pack,

(01:15:16):
go get a twelve pack, whateverit is. Drink responsibly, but make
it Michelobultra five o'clock Happy hour,we thank them another big night for rees
sign. It's a big opportunity fora Hunter Green. And I've been like
teasing this Joe Burrow thing with playerswho former NFL QB Chase Daniel says are
mad at Joe Burrow. I don'tbelieve they are, but I've got thoughts.

(01:15:40):
I'll share them between now and sixo'clock. I say this all the
time. Sports are the very bestform of entertainment, the very best.
What has happened the last couple ofnights, for my money is reflective of

(01:16:00):
why I feel that way. Sothink about what we were doing. Forty
eight hours ago. The Reds hadjust lost three straight games to the Detroit
Tigers. We were relitigating the contactplay from last Friday night. We were
examining whether or not Hunter Green shouldhave been pulled after seven innings on Saturday.

(01:16:21):
We were discussing an offense that ispunchless. We were talking about a
missed opportunity and how this team.The sweep against the Tigers was emblematic of
just what the Reds always do.Right dey teja, they give you a
reason for hope. And then theypull the rug out from underneath you.
And we were talking about a tradethe Reds had made Austin Slater acquired from

(01:16:43):
the Giants for Alex Young, andthere was a lot to discuss, a
lot on the table. We talkedabout Elie de la Cruz being an All
Star, which we found out hewas on Sunday. And buried in all
of that was the fact that theReds called up Resigns. I don't recall
spending much time on that transaction.I don't recall anybody calling the show to

(01:17:05):
talk about that transaction. I don'trecall anybody with a big hot take for
how Resigns was gonna make a bigimpact in his time with the Reds.
It was barely acknowledged, admitted.It was barely It was not on anybody's
radar. I went to the gameon Monday night, I get done here,

(01:17:26):
I go downtown, I go haveone at the ground. Nobody's talking
about Resigns. I get to theballpark. Nobody's talking about Resigns. Until
he came to the plate, linedout to the shortstop in his first plate
appearance forty eight hours later. Hemight be right now. The most talked
about player in the sport. Now, the shelf life for that might be

(01:17:48):
very short. He's in the lineuptonight betting eighth. We'll see. Does
it help that they're playing the ColoradoRockies were awful? Of course it does.
But nobody he saw this coming,you know, not that in sports,
you see anything. I'll be honestwith you, like we've we've made
a big deal this week, HunterGreen and Ellie de la Cruz are All
Stars, which is great. Ithink we saw that coming. Maybe not

(01:18:13):
this year. Although ESPN back inFebruary listed the player on every team who
was the most likely All Star andElie dela Cruz was the name. But
like Hunter Green was the number twooverall pick in the draft, Ellie Dela
Cruz is being billed as having thepotential to be maybe the best player in
the sport. Their stardom wasn't takenfor granted, and they're not there yet,

(01:18:35):
but they're going in the right direction. And them qualifying for the All
Star team this year is maybe amild surprise, but not that unexpected.
Reese Hines joining the Reds and hittinga home run, getting a couple of
hits, helping the Reds win acouple of games against a terrible team that

(01:18:56):
is not unexpected, him becoming thefirst player in the history the sport,
at least since nineteen oh one,to have five extra base hits in his
first two games, including two absoluterockets for home runs. Yeah, nobody
saw that coming. I don't recallanybody telling me on Monday afternoon. Looking,
dude, I think there was somehope. I think we understood where

(01:19:18):
Reese Hines maybe was in the peckingorder of the farm system, and you
could look at different prospect rankings,and you could look at his statistics that
he was putting up at Louisville atthe time and draw your own conclusions about
him. But this is I don'tknow where this goes. I don't I
don't know if Reese Hines is goingto be a part of this team in

(01:19:40):
a couple of weeks. I don'tknow if he is going to be a
guy who ends up being the catalystto the Reds making a second half run.
I don't know if he is goingto be one of those foundational pieces
that are worth building around. Idon't know if he's going to prove to
be a flash in the Pan.I have no idea. I had no
idea regardless if this is it,Like Reese Hines is going to be a

(01:20:01):
guy we talked about for a while. It's why I love this sport.
It's why I love sports. Thesethings that you don't expect to happen happen
and they're just awesome. And soa lot of heroes last night. I'll
be honest, I didn't love DavidBell bringing back Nicko Lodolo after the rain

(01:20:21):
delay. I know it's easy totalk about after things unfolded the way they
did, but the bullpen last nightwas terrific. Obviously, Tyler Stevenson had
a big, big night, SpencerSteer hits a home run. There was
a lot to love about last night, but the guy that most of us

(01:20:43):
walked away talking about was Reese Hines. And just at face value, like
for a second, forget what mayhappen next, What a fun couple of
days. If I would have saidto you at this time I'm Monday afternoon
that on Wednesday afternoon we're gonna leadtwo different hours with Reese Hinds, you

(01:21:06):
would have said why, Well,now we know why, so you know
we'll see many have made the airStitt as Achino comparison. I hope he's
aristed as a Chino for a month. Airstate is Akino August of twenty nineteen

(01:21:27):
gets to the big leagues. He'sputting up very good numbers at Louisville and
hits fourteen home runs in a month. Like yeah, I'm I'm on board
with that, Like if that's ifthat's what I'm getting, like this unending,
unrelenting supply of power in a briefamount of time, The Reds could,
need less to say, desperately usethat this team has needed some thump

(01:21:51):
all season long, and Ree Signshas given it to him the last couple
of nights. So hell yeah,man, give me some Aristida z Achino.
Fourteen homers in twenty eight games.Now, Aristida Zechino very quickly turned
into a pumpkin, so much sothat by the end of the season,

(01:22:11):
nobody was talking about him being apart of their plan for twenty twenty.
The Reds were so impressed with AristidaZechino that the following off season they went
and got Nick Castianos, who hadone really good year, and Shogo Akiama,
who had zero good years to playthe outfield, so and you know,
he was with the team and occasionallyhe would get opportunities, but you

(01:22:32):
know, we knew what he wasthe comparison, I guess it makes sense.
Re Signs has been ranked between tenand fifteen in different prospect rankings.
And you know, obviously his positionswitch has been talked about, and much
has been made of, well,he can hit the ball really hard and
he's got some power potential, buthe strikes out a lot. And some

(01:22:56):
of those same things were said aboutAristida z Achino. But I remember when
he got called up, and partof what made that story so much fun
was he wasn't really viewed as aprospect. He was a guy who had
been a part of the Reds franchisesince twenty eleven. He was a guy
that they non tendered at the endof the twenty eighteen season. He was
a guy that, by the timehe got here, had piled up over

(01:23:19):
thirty eight hundred professional at bats,and so when he got here, part
of it was he's here out ofnecessity, but it also kind of felt
like, this is his shot,this is his only shot, and if
it doesn't work, we're moving onnow. It did work, and so

(01:23:42):
they gave him more opportunities. Butit kind of felt like, if this
doesn't work, like, we're fine, we're moving on with Reese Higins.
This to me, at least,has felt like, all right, here's
an opportunity. It's been created byin it's been created by the revolving door
of alfielders we've had, it's beencreated by circumstance. He's getting a shot.

(01:24:06):
Maybe his numbers at Louisville aren't great, but you know what, we
think enough of them to give hima chance. And if it doesn't work
out, he's still just twenty threeyears old. We're still gonna work with
him, and we're still gonna hopethat he can play himself onto the team
and carve out a role. Idon't think they ever felt that way with
aristiediuz Achino. Re Signs got tothe big leagues with fewer than thirteen hundred

(01:24:30):
professional plate appearances. Aristateaz Achino hadtwenty five hundred more professional plate appearances when
he got to Cincinnati, twenty fivehundred more than Resigns did when he got
to Cincinnati. So we'll see ifthe comparison holds. I don't love it.
I get it. I'm gonna guessit's not the same because while I
am going to imagine, they're notanticipating that re Signs gets two and a

(01:24:55):
half extra base hits per game andhits a home run every game. We
have seen I think an amplified versionof what he is. Strikes out a
lot, can hit the ball reallyhard. We've seen an amplified, really
productive version of that over the firsttwo games. What is he going to
be long term? My guess isthe Reds have a more favorable view of

(01:25:15):
what he could be long term thanthey did Aristida Zechino, which means Resigns
might be given more of a chance, which means that when the well eventually
does dry up for Resigns, they'rewilling to sort of work through it.
Aristied A Zechino felt kind of likea gimmick as his career unfolded, not
so much in August of twenty nineteen, felt like, all right, well,

(01:25:39):
we'll run him out there because nothingelse is working, and you know,
against lefties, we still think hecan hit into the ballpark. Well,
we're just gonna see if he canrecapture the magic of August of twenty
nineteen. I didn't get the sensethey felt like he was a part of
the plan moving forward. I nevergot the sense that they looked at aristid
A Zechino as a guy who,when they were finally good, was going

(01:26:00):
to be a part of the solution. I think they at least are open
to that possibility with re signs.So we'll see. But it's a really
fun story in the short term,and most importantly, the Reds win both
games. The Reds are eleven tozero this year against the Rockies, White
Sox, and Angels. Now Imake fun of how some will compartmentalize the

(01:26:24):
schedule because I like to make funof stuff because it's harmless. But you've
got to beat the really bad teamson your schedule. One of the reasons
why the Reds hung in the racewas they played halfway decent last year against
the worst teams on their schedule.I think against the worst six teams on
their schedule, they were twenty andfifteen. You'd like for that to be

(01:26:45):
a little bit better, but it'snot like they were awful against the awful
teams. They still haven't played theMiami Marlins. They get him this weekend,
and then in a couple of weeksstill two more games against Colorado between
now and August ninth. They haveone series against an opponent that has an
above five hundred record. Now,some of these teams that have losing records
are kind of like the Tigers,and we saw what the Tigers did against

(01:27:09):
them. But you want to playyourself back into it. Take advantage of
what the schedule gives you. Itis giving you a rotten Colorado team in
your building. It is giving youthis weekend a rotten Miami team. It
is giving you a couple of weeksa return date against a rotten Miami team.

(01:27:30):
It's giving you some Giants and someMets, and it's giving you an
opportunity to at least to at leastjump into it. I don't think they're
a playoff team, but if thereare going to be one, it is
largely gonna happen on the strength ofhow they play against these teams that they

(01:27:50):
are better than. And I thinkit goes without saying they are better than
the Colorado Rockies, with or withoutHines. Eighteen minutes after five o'clock,
phone calls are coming up. Fiveone, three, seven, four,
nine, fifteen, thirty and eightsixty six seven two three seven seven six.
Our poll questions, as always,are a service of United Heartland Insurance.

(01:28:14):
Check out uhi ns dot com.These folks are going to help you
save mo money home insurance, carinsurance, vote insurance, residential commercial you
name ith Hunter Green is an AllStar, which we found out about about
twenty four hours ago. He isa National League All Star for the first
time, and I'll venture to guests, not the last time. Do we

(01:28:35):
want him to pitch in the AllStar Game? Vote now at Moegger on
X we'll address that question and talkabout Joe Burrow because I like talking about
Joe Burrow on ESPN fifteen thirty CincinnatiSports Station and Olympia. On the show
yesterday, Miles Robinson FC, CincinnatiMLS All Star center back. He's going

(01:29:00):
to play in two more games forthe Orange and Blue and then he's gonna
go play for the Red, Whiteand Blue in the Olympics. So he
was on the show yesterday. I'mnot sure what the bigger thrill for him
is this week finding out that hewas going to be on the Olympic team
or being on our show. Butif you missed it, go find it.
iHeartRadio app also in the podcast pageof ESPN fifteen thirty dot com.

(01:29:21):
Podcasts of our show are a serviceof Long Neck's Sports Grill, with three
locations in North Kentucky. There's nobetter place to hang out on a nice
summer night. Hunter Green made theAll Star team, which is terrific.
The patients. You know, I'vesaid this often. I've said this often

(01:29:43):
enough that at times I have foundmyself disagreeing with it. The Reds have
a lot of guys that demand patients. Noelve Marte. I don't know if
noelve Martes should be at the bigleague level right now, but not giving
up on them, not giving upon that guy. Not entirely given up.

(01:30:05):
I think this is a big secondhalf of the season for Graham Ashcraft
quite frankly, but you're not readyto bail on him entirely. Understand why
he was sent to Louisville. Butthey've they've got some guys that demand patience.
Hunter Green has been one of thoseguys, and I you know.
The NBA Championship this year was wonby the Boston Celtics, a team that

(01:30:28):
kept its main group of guys togetherdespite a lot of setbacks. Not making
the finals, losing in the finals, getting upset, going a long time
without hoisting the trophy, and thatfranchise his patients, with the core group
of players paid off. There's noguarantee that's gonna happen with any team,
and there's no guarantee that this isgonna happen with the Reds. But with

(01:30:49):
Hunter Green, I mean, it'sit's not even really an example of patients.
But but I you and I bothknow the climate that we're in.
We want instant and because we knowso much more about prospects and so much
more about guys when they're drafted.I mean, Hunter Green has been a
part of the red since twenty seventeen, and we've been reading and hearing about

(01:31:11):
this guy since even before then,and so it's like, all right,
you know, he should be afinished product. And then yeah, there
is the Tommy John surgery, andthere is the COVID year where he didn't
pitch in actual games. But thenhe gets to the big league level and
he gets here with a lot ofhype, and he has some moments like
the no hitter against Pittsburgh and someflashes of brilliance, and you're like,
all right, This should start tohappen any second now. And I know

(01:31:32):
I talked about this often with Hunter. I think you have to allow people
to accumulate experience and then let theexperience payoff. That's happening with Hunter Green.
His last fourteen fifteen starts. Hehas been terrific. He is having
an all Star caliber season. AndI think it's really cool that the two

(01:31:57):
faces of what the Reds are tryingto do, Ellie Taylor Cruz and Hunter
are all Stars. I also thinkit's not insane to suggest that they have
other players who reasonably soon could beAll Stars the one Hunter Green's success this
year has made me think of playerswho can't benefit from gathering experience, like
Matt McClain, and like Christian andCarnassian Strand and like at least for half

(01:32:19):
a season noelfe Marte and I worry. You obviously want those players in the
here and now, but you wantthose players to be able to, you
know, accumulate experience so that theycan enjoy a similar payoff. And that
still may happen, but maybe nowit's gonna happen later because of the injury
situations or the suspension situation in Marte'scase that those guys have gone through.

(01:32:45):
The All Star Game, let's behonest, does not hold the cultural significance
that it used to. There area lot of reasons for that, and
I don't say that as a complaint. It just it's not the big Midsummer

(01:33:05):
signature sporting event that it used tobe. And again, there are a
lot of reasons for that. Onemight argue it's diminished stature sort of parallels
the diminished stature of baseball as awhole in the collective consciousness of sports fans
in this country. But for ahuge chunk of my life, deep into

(01:33:29):
adulthood, the Major League Baseball AllStar Game was one of those signature events.
And now, eh now I'm energizedby the opportunity to watch Elie de
la Cruz, and I'm stoked forthe opportunity to perhaps watch Hunter Green because
the game doesn't hold the significance thatit used to, and I think in

(01:33:53):
part because we view players as commoditiesmore than we ever have. I think,
more so than there is a reluctanceto want to say yes, I
want to see my team's guys inthe All Star Game, especially if we're
talking about pitchers. So Hunter Greenis scheduled to pitch tomorrow, which would

(01:34:17):
if he pitched in the game onTuesday, basically put him on his normal
rest right Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, four days and then he
can maybe working inning in the gameon Tuesday. And so I know,
and you and I both know thatthere are going to be some who hope
that he doesn't get in the game. I'm not among them. First of

(01:34:43):
all, Hunter Green hasn't had aton of huge stages to pitch on,
and while the All Star Game mightnot be what it used to be in
terms of stature and maybe even prestige, it's still one of the bigger stages
in the sport. Red's games aretypically not featured in major primetime windows,
although they have gotten the Saturday NightFox treatment a couple of times this year,

(01:35:05):
and so I think it'd be reallycool if Hunter Green could get the
stage of the All Star Game.I also think like, if you're gonna
root for these guys to get picked, if you're gonna root for these guys
obviously from a position player standpoint,if you're going to root for these guys
to get voted in, you thencan't say, God, yeah, but
I hope they don't play. Hehas earned the opportunity to do something that

(01:35:29):
is really, really cool. It'sa really how could you root for a
guy and not want him to havethe experience of pitching in an All Star
Game, especially when it's on histypical rest, especially when he would be
working in a game if it wasTuesday. Perhaps Anyway, now I know
this blows up if something bad happensto Hunter Green in the All Star Game,

(01:35:53):
for the sake of him giving thatopportunity, for the sake of Reds
fans getting a chance to watch oneof the faces of this franchise pitch against
some of the best in the sportin that event, how could you root
against him? How could you notwant him to pitch in the All Star
Game? And that'd be one thingif he was dealing with a bulky elbow
or shoulder issues and really obviously couldbenefit from rest. He's coming off a

(01:36:15):
terrific start, by the way,he is still I think one of the
most marketable players in this sport.How Like I want to watch Paul Skeins,
I want to watch Ellie de laCruz, I want to watch Hunter
Green. So I asked this onTwitter, thanks to United Heartland Assurance,

(01:36:36):
do we want him to pitch inthe All Star Game? Twenty percent of
you say no, And that's obviouslya minority. Twenty percent of you say
no. Now, I know itgets thrown in my face if something bad
does happen. I just I don'tthink you could always walk through life anticipating
the worst. You have to acknowledgethe risk. You have to acknowledge there

(01:36:56):
is some downside. But if you'rerooting for Hunter Green, if you're a
Hunter Green fan, aren't you rootingfor him to get the experience and get
that moment? He may have more, he may never have one again.
And so there from an All Starperspective, there is that little kid in
me that wants to you know,wanted to see Barry Larkin in the All
Star Game in eighty eight and gotexcited when Chris Sabo pinch ran for Gary

(01:37:19):
Carter and stole a base at RiverfrontStadium in eighty eight, Like I was
excited when Jack Armstrong was going tostart for the National League in nineteen ninety.
Like, I don't know how youcould root against him to get a
chance to enjoy the experience of pitchingin the All Star Game. Now,
if he goes out there and hegets shelled, you know, you don't

(01:37:40):
you don't want and by the way, David Bell will be there. You
don't want Tory Leavello, to justleave him out there. But I don't
think that's gonna happen. I wanthim to get that chance, and I
think it'd be really cool. Youknow, the All Star Game is a
terrific commercial for the sport. It'sa terrific commercial for the individual players.
I think you'd be really neat tohear Joe Davis and John Smoltz spend a

(01:38:02):
few minutes they're calling the game forFox, spend a few minutes on the
season that Hunter Green has had andhow much upside he still has. Sports
headlines and more advice, this timefor former and current football players, mainly
current football players who might be madat Joe Burrow on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station. Cincinnati's esp sports headlinesare a service of Kelsey Chevrolet, home

(01:38:31):
of lifetime power train protection and guaranteedcredit approval from their family to yours for
life, Kelseysheve dot com, reds, and Rocks again tonight. Frankie Montas
and Kyle Freelan is seven to tenthis evening on seven hundred WLW Are you
ready for a Red starting lineup?I'm sure you are here We go.

(01:38:51):
John India is dhing, Elie dela Cruz is playing shortstop, and Jamber
Candelario is playing first base. Spencer'stears the clean up batter. He is
playing left field. Stevenson's catching AustinSlater in the lineup tonight Red's debut.
He is in center field, bettingsixth. Noelle Marte is at third base.

(01:39:13):
My handwriting is so bad I can'tread Marte. Legitimately, my handwriting
is the worst on the planet.He is playing third base, betting seven
to three. Signs in right field. Santiago Espinal at second base, batting
ninth. Our buddy Charlie Goldsmith,who's avatar on X looks like a senior
picture, informs us that Matt McLain, according to David Bell, has started

(01:39:40):
swinging a bat and is on trackto begin a rehab assignment. On August
twelfth, Nick Martini had thumb surgery. He has a chance, whether we
want it or not, to returnthis season. Jade Freley is back with
the team, which is terrific news. Cincinnati, in correspondence with that,
has optioned Lake Done to Triple A. Louisville TJ Friedol Charlie says is trending

(01:40:03):
toward returning in the first week toten days after the All Star break.
Ian Jabo is gonna throw a bullpennext week July sixteenth, could be back
with the team in the middle ofAugust, and Brandon Williamson's first bullpen July
twenty third, targeting a return inSeptember. There's a whole lot of hurt.
Guy is gonna be the best tradedeadline acquisition to that, isn't there?

(01:40:27):
Florence Yal's take on the Jersey Jackals. Xavier is gonna play South Carolina
and the Fort Myers tip off onNovember twenty fifth. Miami is gonna play
Sienna also on November the twenty fifth. Those teams, the Musketeers and the
RedHawks in different divisions in that event, Uh, can we quickly do this?

(01:40:48):
This got a lot of attention.Joe Burrow on Pardon My Take,
talking about what he thinks the NFLschedule structure should be given the very strong
likelyho One might argue inevitability that theNFL soon will have an eighteen games eighteen
game season. What do you thinkthe perfect football schedule is in terms of

(01:41:11):
weeks and bye weeks? How manygames are we playing? You tell me
eighteen eighteen gotta have two bye weeks, And I think it'd be cool to
do. I've said this before inan interview, like six games or like
normal bye week schedule that it isnow, like, have it spread out,
but then like week thirteen, dolike the Pro Bowl break where you're
doing like the seven on seven andall the skills challenges like the NBA does,

(01:41:36):
because I think that would get moreratings for the Pro Bowl. And
then it would also give everybody thatbye week going into like the last six
games. My big idea is,especially now with the expanded college football playoff,
you do the week before Christmas,no NFL college football playoffs. Give
everyone a break to go do theirshopping. Yeah, I'm with that.

(01:41:58):
Yeah. And then you get everyonereset league is on a level playing field
for the Yeah. And then youhave guys that are injured that would be
able to potentially come back, andyou want your best players, yes,
out there as a league, youwant them in the last six weeks of
the season. You want your bestplayers on the field. So I think
that would be a smart idea.I think, all right, there you
go. There's Joe Burrow on partof my take. So he said what

(01:42:20):
he said and it kind of wentviral, and it really mirrors what it
feels like the NFL would like todo. Chase Daniel, who you might
remember because he played at Missouri andthen he'd be played with the Saints and
the Chiefs and the Bears and theChargers and the Lions and the Eagles,

(01:42:41):
and I've seen some of his mediawork and it's actually quite good. He's
done some stuff on the NFL Network, He's done some stuff with the Athletic
I've heard him on podcasts like SmartAndsightful, like there's a lot to like.
But he puts something on Twitter theother day that I reposted. I
quoted it. He wrote, Iguarantee you every NFL player is seeing this

(01:43:03):
is not happy with Burrow for sayingthis. The NFLPA is already having meetings
about damage control. The owners justgained some leverage over the players. This
is what happens when a top fivequarterback speaks in favor of an eighteen game
season. Chase Daniel all Right,First of all, the average NFL player

(01:43:27):
could not care less. It's theend of their offseason. They could not
care less. The average NFL player, the average rank and file NFL player,
probably understands that by the time theNFL would implement the eighteen game schedule,
they will no longer be in theleague. I say this, and

(01:43:49):
I know there's nothing more boring thantalking about player unions and their relationships with
owners and labor agreements. But Isay this as someone who is usually on
the side of players and on theside of labor. For my entire life
as an NFL fan, the NFLPAhas been kicked around by owners because players

(01:44:15):
don't want to strike, because playersdon't want to dig in and actively fight
for what they say they want.Now, part of me understands that,
right, the average NFL career islike something like fifty one to fifty two
game checks. If we go onstrike, and my career is basically three
and a half years, I'm notgiving up any of those game checks.
Like, I get it. Butyou know, we've heard in recent years

(01:44:39):
NFL players have complained about Thursday Nightfootball, and they've complained about player safety
initiatives and lack of guaranteed money.But when push comes to shove, do
they fight for those things? No, they don't. You know, in
twenty eleven we had a real sortof drastic restructuring in the NFL. One

(01:45:00):
of the things that got implemented wasthe rookie wage scale. We could argue
whether or not that's been good,but that was implemented, and so you
no longer have a rookie player signinga ten year contract for that would make
him the richest player in the sport. But they also, the NFLPA fought
for stuff that the NFL was willingto give, Like, we don't want

(01:45:21):
as many OTAs. Okay, wedon't make money on OTAs. Hell,
do we care? Well, wedon't want is we don't want training camp
practices where we're doing two a days. Okay, fine, we'll take away
practices. We don't make money onpractices. Well, if you're really going
to fight for some of this stuff, if you're going to fight against the

(01:45:43):
notion of playing an eighteenth game,you've got to show a willingness to fight
against it, and that means diggingin, and so any of these players
who are mad at Joe Burrow,all Joe Burrow is doing is spitting out
an idea that he probably not knowsthe NFL wants to put forth. Anyway,
Joe Burrow probably has very little sway. You know who has sway the

(01:46:04):
people who help run the union andthe rank and file players who have historically,
like the eighty seven player strike.Do you know how many great players
cross the picket line. Lawrence Taylor, one of the best two players I've
ever watched, cross the picket lineand played against teachers and truck drivers and
garbage men. How crappy and weakthat union has been. Now one might

(01:46:28):
argue this doesn't help, This doesn'thelp with union solidarity, but it's never
been a union that's been about solidaritynever. So any of these players who
are upset, what they should dois go to their union head and figure
out a way to get players toactually rally around something that they want to
fight for, and then ensure thatthey fight for it. If they're so
anti the eighteenth game, then fightagainst it. You don't do that by

(01:46:55):
crying on Twitter. You don't dothat by crying on podcasts. You do
that by threatening the miss games.You do that by threatening to not come
to work. NFL players will neverdo that in my lifetime. I hope
they don't because I don't want thegames to go away. But if they're
gonna complain about something they don't get, you have to do something about it.
NFL players never do that. SupersedesJoe Burrow. How much time do

(01:47:24):
we have here, Tarren? Wehave about three minutes? Mike here on
ESPN fifteen thirty. How are you? Thanks? Mom? How about lightning
around for me? Can we dothat? Let's go lightning round? Mike?
First of all, how are you? I'm sitting out on the deck
share of the facility with my IDand that you know, those little things
you gotta seek them, walk aroundwith it in your arms, sitting out

(01:47:45):
in the beautiful sunshine on this verycomfortable rounde share. Okay, I just
wake up. They had a nicecold beer, but not to know.
No, I understand, I understand. Well, let's go ahead, Let's
do lightning round, Mike. Goahead anyway. Tomorrow I go up to
the Loma Linda University Hospital to getmy last ditch kind of effort with something

(01:48:08):
that's called a proton not ProTron,but proton beam therapy. They have people
that come from around the world toget this therapy and it might it might
help me. So I'm very excited. So that's the end of that.
I am not here tomorrow, butyou've got my email address and I want

(01:48:29):
you to if you can, letme know how things went okay, and
I will share that with the audiencebecause I've gotten a lot of questions about
you. Thank you, mom.I'm with you. Hunter. I one
pitch, this would be the trollof his lifetime. Yeah, twenty people
have your head up your butt,Okay, just selfish. It's very selfish,
so stop it. And the otherthing is, can you make a

(01:48:53):
diligent effort over the next few yearsto get to rectify the uni the uniform
situation in the All Star Game.I know you're the old way. I
do too. I don't want tobe labored, but I thought you could
work on it because I have anidea that might help the hitters because the
batting averages are abysmal this year.Yeah, the batting averages aren't very good.

(01:49:15):
I just in the All Star Game. I think it's one of the
few things we could all agree on. The game is more fun when you
have all of the players wearing theirregular uniforms. Absolutely, when when Bob
Gibson was virtually unhittable in the latesixties to early seventies, they lowered the
mound. Now they've done this offand on over the years. I think

(01:49:38):
that could be a legit way tomake these You know, we've never seen
heart thrummers like this before and suchbig guys, and I'm wondering if lowering
the mound might help the hitters alittle bit. Your thoughts, I've never
given that any thought. Okay,So I'm not going to say it's a
bad idea. I'm going to sayit's a good idea. Let me think

(01:50:02):
about that. Let me maybe talkto a picture or two and have an
answer for you on Friday. Okay, thank you. And Ellie is you
know i'd gotten a little discussion theother guy, the guy yesterday though.
You know, Ellie, Ellie's goingto be one of the greatest players ever,
And I said, yeah, he'sgot the potential to do. So.
He's got to hit for a hypeand I mean every he's got to

(01:50:24):
hit more home runs. But what'sincredible this year show, Hey Otani is
conceivably going to be the first sureDH to ever win the MVP. Yeah,
all right, yeah, yeah,I mean it's it's he's having an
unbelievable that there are Mike h insports. Things don't often live up to

(01:50:49):
the hype. Show Hey Otani asan La Dodger has and it's been something
to behold. Best of luck tomorrow. Let me know how you do.
And uh, I won't be heretomorrow, but we look forward to hearing
your voice soon. Okay, thankyou so much, mol and Karen takes
care of yourself. Brother. Allright, Mike, you sounding good today,

(01:51:11):
man, thanks so much. Wehave to go. I'm off is
Chad and tomorrow Mike Petrall Mike trackswill be here tomorrow. Very good.
I'm at the Holy Grail on Friday, so join us then. Have a
great night. Thanks to Tarran forproducing, and thanks to you for listening.
Have an awesome night and I'll talkto your Friday. Hopefully we'll see
at the Grail. This is ESPNfifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, Martin Bring

(01:51:54):
I'm into here for Trish statement.

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