May 24, 2025 • 17 mins
Sam LeCure joined us to discuss the Cincinnati Reds, which was nice of him.
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Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fifty one games in sam This is a team that
has good pitching, good relief pitching as well, good starting
pitching in relief pitching. So it means they have good pitching,
which we'll talk about here in a second. Offensively, uh
one run over the last two games in Pittsburgh, which
unfortunately is not an outlier.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
We all know this team has to hit more. My
question for you is can they I do?
Speaker 3 (00:23):
I mean, just because they've shown signs of it, I
guess is my deal. And everybody on the team has
shown it well, I mean for short periods of time.
It's just been the consistency that's eluded them and for
and I can't figure that out as to why. You know,
I mean, I feel like they've been around. You know,
(00:44):
some of these guys have been around long enough that
you know you're past the sophomore slump. You're pass to this.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
You know you're into a point where.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
You need to start really establishing yourself as a bona
five major leaguer, which I feel like a lot of
their guys are.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I mean they are Will Benson's.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
It's kind of a perfect example right now because he
showed a flash in twenty twenty three and it wasn't
a flash. I mean, it was four months where he
was a top fifteen hitter in baseball and then he
goes I mean a wall, right, and then he comes
back and he's shown it for a week. Does none
of them have really shown it consistently over a period
of time. And I think that's what this has eluded
(01:20):
this team as consistency.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
It's not talent, it's not ability.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
It's just the ability to do it over and over again,
which is essentially what makes you a bona fide Major leaguer.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
I think for the most part, you pitched for teams
that had good offenses. But do you have it in
the back of your mind where you're not getting the
run support that some of these starters aren't getting.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
I guess a little bit.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I mean each run feels like it takes on more value,
you know, I guess you know you come out of
the bullpen.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'll just kind of speak to that.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
It feels like a three run run versus a one
run run.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You know, is that if that makes any sense? That
was like a run on was like a run run
run Rudolph.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But you know, I mean, so you're pitching so it
feels like you're pitching with your back against the wall
more often.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
But I don't think it changes.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
The mentality of You're still going to go out there
and you're going to try to put up a zero.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Now you can't, you know, you can't beat yourself up.
But if you go out and give.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Up a run because you're just one, you know, part
of the tripod, right it's offense, defense, pitching, what you know,
all that stuff, So you can't beat yourself up. You
have to have somebody pick you up along the way,
whether that's the guy that comes in behind you that
you know strams the inherited runners, or it's the offense
that comes in and puts together an inning to answer back.
I mean, it's not on one person or one piece
(02:42):
of the team. Right now, it feels like it's on
one piece of the team.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
But you don't.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
You know, you don't win individually and you don't lose individually.
It's a group effort, and you have to remind yourself
that because once you start pointing a finger at somebody,
then your chemistry is lost a little bit and nuts
in times like these is work chemistry becomes so important
because you have to know that you're in this thing together.
And and I think that they still believe, you know,
(03:08):
I mean they you know, they come off. We're talking
about the two games in a row they lost versus
the five that they won, right and at the five
it's a five, it's a five and two week, and
it's kind of a oh my god, what happened because
of who they lost to the White Sox and the Pirates.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
So, I mean, it's it's.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Been a frustrating team to try to cover because you
never know who's going to show up. And I think
that that's what you know, ultimately, you want as an organization,
as a manager, is you want to know the back
of the baseball card is going to show up. But
these guys don't have a long enough back of the
baseball card to know yet.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So I often ask you about starting pitching. I want
to talk specifically about one here in just a second,
but I'm curious as to your thoughts on how the
bullpen has performed this year and the evolution of of it,
how Terry frank ConA has sort of used it, and
and how guys have sort of fit into certain roles.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Okay, I think the Bullfen's been great. I mean, I
don't think there's there's much denying that, and you're, you know,
first in some ways you feel like it could get
better if Alexis Das becomes Alexis Das again. But I
think that that's a kind of one of those prime
examples of guys stepping up and being giving, you know,
(04:27):
having wanted more responsibility. You know, talk about Tony santion
uh kind of wanting to pitch and high leverage situation,
Emilia Pegon stating that he's wanted the opportunity to close
over the course of his career. Now getting the opportunity
to do it and running with it. One because they've
wanted it, and two the team needs it, right, So
that's kind of a That's that's a nice little package
(04:50):
to come together, is that you want that and the
team needs that. So you're gonna go out there and
you're gonna do everything you can on two fronts to
make sure that it's happening. You've got a Taylor Rodgers
down there who's saved thirty games and you can hardly
get him into a game. Graham Ashcraft has been a
big lynchpin and all this because he's provided length, he's
provided you know, some domination at times, and he's.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Taking to a role that's trial by fire.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I think Terry, you know, we talked of the what
is it the closer role kind of came on. Tony
LaRussa kind of created that right with Dennis Seckersley, Terry Francona,
if you'll remember with it was probably the Indians at
the time, but it was Andrew Miller. And he started
using Andrew Miller in those situations where it became higher
(05:36):
leverage earlier in games because he knew that those were
the most important outs and if you didn't get those,
you weren't really going to have.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
An opportunity to win the game.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
In the ninth I think he still manages it that
way with a different group.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
He doesn't have that.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
One single guy like an Andrew Miller that he goes to,
but I think he manages each game to that effect,
and they've got enough depth with Scott Barlow can be better.
He's I didn't love him when he came into the
game at first. I didn't love Taylor Rodgers when he
was coming in the games. I just didn't feel as comfortable.
(06:12):
But they've looked better and better sometimes with the more
opportunity they've got. They weren't pitching a ton, but those
guys that now becomes viable options, so that he can
mix and match a little bit more and not have
to wear his you know, kind of his main guys out.
But he manages with the intent of winning the game
that day and worrying about the next day the next day,
(06:33):
and has enough depth to do so only because the
starting rotation for the most part, has given length, you know,
has given six innings at a time. So guys, even
if they are pitching multiple days in a row, it's
one inning a the time, and they know that they're
going to get a six inning start the next day,
and if they lose on the road, they don't have
to cover eight innings.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So there's just a ton of stuff that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
But for a guy that's won two thousand games, I'm
gonna trust what Terry does and it confirms a lot
of it, I think, which you know, makes me feel
like I know a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
About baseball, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
But I think, but I think he's done a fantastic job,
and I think, who knows that I don't want to
speculate on if it wasn't terry, but this team has
the ups and downs have just been so crazy.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Man.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I mean to go from just even when they won
the five in rows, they weren't scoring twelve runs a game,
but it felt like a more advantageous offense. And then
it just looks like I mean, my mom texts me,
it's like, man, I didn't know Pittsburgh had so many
thy young winners. I was like, man, when you're getting
a eighty three year old grandma at the time, you asked, like,
you know, that's a bad time, right, so you know
(07:37):
Granny calls it.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Likes the season.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, you know, it's just that ebb and flow is
that's the lack of inconsistency from a young team that
understands that there's expectations, wants those expectations, but it's trying
too hard to meet them, maybe externally rather than trying
properly internally to meet them. And I think that that's
where the problem. A better shape at fifty games in
(08:01):
than they should be. Yeah, record wise, yeah, I think.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I said, I'm I'm sort of I'm still glass half
full despite what happened in Pittsburgh. Despite the offensive issues,
I'm still glass half full because I think I think
the starting staff has given Tito options later in the game.
By the way, we talk about the bullpen, didn't even
mention my guy, Luis May.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Oh my god, Yeah, he looks the wreck the real deal.
Oh kuld me. He looks like the real deal. I love.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I mean, obviously the stuff is great, But man, he
just looks real comfortable out there, doesn't he.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, no, he I feel like that. I feel like
he does, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
And you know that's a guy that you know, you
keep an eye on for the next couple of years
and talk about wanting opportunities having He's already been given
opportunities by Terry, and I think that's you know, calculated
by Terry to throw him in there and see see
what the kids made of.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
And I feel like he's answered the bell big time.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I want to ask you, but but I mean, the
pitching staff is certainly a huge weapon.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Question, no question, And a huge part of the pitching
staff has been Andrew Abbot, somebody that you and I
have talked about in over the last couple of years,
ever since he got to Cincinnati, and you know, there
are outings he will have like the one in Atlanta,
which was unfortunately a game they lost, where he really
just makes it look easy. And then I'll have an
outing like this past Sunday against Cleveland where I thought
(09:22):
like the start was gonna fall apart in the first
inning he loads the bases. Yeah, but he gets through
five and he doesn't allow a run, and he clearly
doesn't have his best stuff. And it's cliche for somebody
like me to say, so I want you to elaborate
on this from your standpoint, Like, I love it when
guys get through games and help their team win when
they're not at their best, and I feel like that
(09:43):
is a sign of development and maguration. And we saw
that Sunday from Andrew.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Abbot, absolutely, and I think he's they have guys on
this staff, you know who can really all of them.
Now Hunter has gotten to that point where you know,
he can obviously overwhelm me with some of the stuff
we saw in Baltimore that if he doesn't have command
of it, it's he's still gonna get beat around, because
everything's for the most part hard. The guys that have
(10:09):
the multiple pitch types. Martinez feels like He's always going
to give you a chance because if one thing's not working,
he can go to another. Abbot Lodolo feel like there's
pitch ability within those guys. And I've always felt like
the term make a pitch when you have to. They
have guys that can do that, and nobody I feel
like exemplifies that more than Andrew Abbott.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And I mean even even Terry.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Said it on a post game show. Well, what do
you think about Abbitt being able to get through that?
Let me put this politically, big balls, you know, like
just just just just a belief in your stuff that
you can outcompete somebody within that moment by not letting
the moment get recognizing that it's a pitch that needs
to be made, but having the big balls to believe
(10:57):
that you're going to make it and it's going to
be the result that you want. And obviously it's not
always going to happen, but it seems to happen more
often than not for Andrew Abbot.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Now, I just I love the way that he goes
about it. You sit there and you look at the
stuff and.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
You kind of wonder how a lot you know, how
he went out there and punched out eleven, or how
he without his best up gets through six with two
hits and three, you know, or whatever the case may be.
But the length of the rotation has been awesome. I
feel like the pitching staff, you know, maybe if you
don't includeing Alexis is at full strength. The offense not really,
(11:35):
because McLean and Stevenson are still kind of playing catch up.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
That excuse is about to go out the window. To
be honest with you, I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
They're two of your they should be two of your
best hitters, maybe two of your top three or four hitters,
and they're hitting seventh and ninth.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
So there's room for them to grow, you know, like
you're you're fifty to fifty.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
You're at five hundred, but there's room for them to
get better in that aspect, you know, having steer starting
to come on, you know, there's signs that are showing.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
And you hope that once they put that all together
and have everybody together.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
On the field and for a consistent amount of time,
then the consistency is built by the consistency and the personnel.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
But you can't wait for that to happen. You have
to make some kind of an adjustment.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
I think it was after an Andrew Abbitt start. You
were talking about his chemistry with Jose Travino, and to
be fair, he's thrown well no matter who's been behind
the plate. But something else to elaborate on. Walk me
through the process for a new catcher like Jose Travino,
who shows up and he's got to learn all the pictures. Typically,
how long does it take for the battery to develop
(12:43):
the chemistry that I think we see a lot of
these guys have with the new catcher.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Well, it happened a lot quicker than I thought, and
maybe that's you know, you've seen more growth in the
pitching staff than you have offensively. That seems that kind
of goes out saying if you just look at numbers
and the consistency of what they've done, Hunter was going
to get better.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Nick is pitching, We've always known he was going to
be good. Lodolo.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Nick Martinez even struggled trying to trust I mean, he
was the one guy that kind of struggled more than
any in the beginning. We're trying to get on the
same page with with Travigno and Wins, But I think
for the younger guys they're going to trust to Travino.
I think that he's done a great job of probably
(13:28):
recognizing their misses. I think recognizing where those guys miss.
I mean, when you see Andrew Abbott miss, he's usually
kind of firing that ball into the high and a
way to the left handers batter's box, right up and
away from the righty.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
That's that's kind of his miss.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
What is the pitch that gets him back to his
release point? That's probably a breaking ball down and end
or the change up kind of and where he sets
up middle. So making those guys comfortable recognizing their miss
and then be able to hone them back into the
zone in a pitch or two, I think that's a
big part of it. I think Tyler's learned, and Tyler's
(14:07):
done a great job. I feel like the last couple
of years of kind of doing that. But it's communication,
it's kind of trusting each other. And I think that
after starts, everybody is giving the catcher credit. You know, oh,
Treviy did a great job, a guid me through Steve
O did that, whatever the case may be. And I
(14:29):
don't see a ton of shaking. So I think once
they got through. You know, the guys have known Tyler
so kind of understand what he's about. But after the
first few times out, when there's not a lot of
shaking going on and they're having the success that they had,
I mean, trust is built, right.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
I'm like, this guy knows what he's talking about.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Like, I'm not shaking a whole lot, and I just
went six with eight strikeouts, four hits in a run.
You know I'm gonna So the trust then and the
chemistry is built because success breeds confidence, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
So I think that's where a lot of it had
to do. So they had it built soon because they
had so much success coming out of the gate this year.
As a pitching staff, it's continued, you know.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I mean, obviously there's gonna be a little bit of
the loll here and there, but I think this is
this pitching staff is for real, and I think that
the offense.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Has a chance to be too. But they need to.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Find a way to create the confidence within the structure
of the lineup, you know, with the situational that I
mean they're like tenth and home runs, fourth and doubles
and last and runs or something like that. You know
what I mean if I and that's not last and runs,
because they've had some of those stats saver games, that's
what we always used to call the twenty four run game,
(15:41):
the fourteen run game. And then they've been shut out
eight times. You know that that can't happen because your
pitching staff is giving you a chance to win pretty
much every game they've played this year. You know, you
if you put feel like if you put four runs
on the board, you've got an eighty percent chance to
win the games. You know, Yeah, and I may and
maybe that comes with pressure, but they've got a tough
(16:03):
stretch coming up here. Hopefully that they don't press any
harder than they have, then you know, hopefully they kind
of maybe.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
A play with a nothing to lose.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
They feel like they have something to lose, and they
look like they're playing like it offensively. Maybe they can
play with a little bit of this team is supposed
to beause we got nothing to lose, and go out
there and kind of play spoiler a little bit here
in may.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Well said one of these like fridays when you're not working,
which I hope you are every week because I love
watching you come like hang out in the studio.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Do that. I can do it, all right, We'll make
it happen.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Brother, Well, enjoy enjoy the weekend. Uh now, you're a
couple of wins for me out there. Tell Turner to
shave his beard or at least.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Diet I was on, I was on him earlier.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
He's a he's a great one man, He's one I
wish they would have brought the Cincinnati for years.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
He's just such a good part of it. But yeah, that.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Crow Armstrong, I mean, Chicago's playing well, it's gonna be
a tough weekend.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Should be hopefully a full stadium for you.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, they got a they got a good club. There's
there's no doubt about that. Awesome to have you as always,
Thanks so much, ill brother,
Fifty one games in sam This is a team that
has good pitching, good relief pitching as well, good starting
pitching in relief pitching. So it means they have good pitching,
which we'll talk about here in a second. Offensively, uh
one run over the last two games in Pittsburgh, which
unfortunately is not an outlier.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
We all know this team has to hit more. My
question for you is can they I do?
Speaker 3 (00:23):
I mean, just because they've shown signs of it, I
guess is my deal. And everybody on the team has
shown it well, I mean for short periods of time.
It's just been the consistency that's eluded them and for
and I can't figure that out as to why. You know,
I mean, I feel like they've been around. You know,
(00:44):
some of these guys have been around long enough that
you know you're past the sophomore slump. You're pass to this.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
You know you're into a point where.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
You need to start really establishing yourself as a bona
five major leaguer, which I feel like a lot of
their guys are.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I mean they are Will Benson's.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
It's kind of a perfect example right now because he
showed a flash in twenty twenty three and it wasn't
a flash. I mean, it was four months where he
was a top fifteen hitter in baseball and then he
goes I mean a wall, right, and then he comes
back and he's shown it for a week. Does none
of them have really shown it consistently over a period
of time. And I think that's what this has eluded
(01:20):
this team as consistency.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
It's not talent, it's not ability.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
It's just the ability to do it over and over again,
which is essentially what makes you a bona fide Major leaguer.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
I think for the most part, you pitched for teams
that had good offenses. But do you have it in
the back of your mind where you're not getting the
run support that some of these starters aren't getting.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
I guess a little bit.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I mean each run feels like it takes on more value,
you know, I guess you know you come out of
the bullpen.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'll just kind of speak to that.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
It feels like a three run run versus a one
run run.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You know, is that if that makes any sense? That
was like a run on was like a run run
run Rudolph.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But you know, I mean, so you're pitching so it
feels like you're pitching with your back against the wall
more often.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
But I don't think it changes.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
The mentality of You're still going to go out there
and you're going to try to put up a zero.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Now you can't, you know, you can't beat yourself up.
But if you go out and give.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Up a run because you're just one, you know, part
of the tripod, right it's offense, defense, pitching, what you know,
all that stuff, So you can't beat yourself up. You
have to have somebody pick you up along the way,
whether that's the guy that comes in behind you that
you know strams the inherited runners, or it's the offense
that comes in and puts together an inning to answer back.
I mean, it's not on one person or one piece
(02:42):
of the team. Right now, it feels like it's on
one piece of the team.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
But you don't.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
You know, you don't win individually and you don't lose individually.
It's a group effort, and you have to remind yourself
that because once you start pointing a finger at somebody,
then your chemistry is lost a little bit and nuts
in times like these is work chemistry becomes so important
because you have to know that you're in this thing together.
And and I think that they still believe, you know,
(03:08):
I mean they you know, they come off. We're talking
about the two games in a row they lost versus
the five that they won, right and at the five
it's a five, it's a five and two week, and
it's kind of a oh my god, what happened because
of who they lost to the White Sox and the Pirates.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
So, I mean, it's it's.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Been a frustrating team to try to cover because you
never know who's going to show up. And I think
that that's what you know, ultimately, you want as an organization,
as a manager, is you want to know the back
of the baseball card is going to show up. But
these guys don't have a long enough back of the
baseball card to know yet.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So I often ask you about starting pitching. I want
to talk specifically about one here in just a second,
but I'm curious as to your thoughts on how the
bullpen has performed this year and the evolution of of it,
how Terry frank ConA has sort of used it, and
and how guys have sort of fit into certain roles.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Okay, I think the Bullfen's been great. I mean, I
don't think there's there's much denying that, and you're, you know,
first in some ways you feel like it could get
better if Alexis Das becomes Alexis Das again. But I
think that that's a kind of one of those prime
examples of guys stepping up and being giving, you know,
(04:27):
having wanted more responsibility. You know, talk about Tony santion
uh kind of wanting to pitch and high leverage situation,
Emilia Pegon stating that he's wanted the opportunity to close
over the course of his career. Now getting the opportunity
to do it and running with it. One because they've
wanted it, and two the team needs it, right, So
that's kind of a That's that's a nice little package
(04:50):
to come together, is that you want that and the
team needs that. So you're gonna go out there and
you're gonna do everything you can on two fronts to
make sure that it's happening. You've got a Taylor Rodgers
down there who's saved thirty games and you can hardly
get him into a game. Graham Ashcraft has been a
big lynchpin and all this because he's provided length, he's
provided you know, some domination at times, and he's.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Taking to a role that's trial by fire.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I think Terry, you know, we talked of the what
is it the closer role kind of came on. Tony
LaRussa kind of created that right with Dennis Seckersley, Terry Francona,
if you'll remember with it was probably the Indians at
the time, but it was Andrew Miller. And he started
using Andrew Miller in those situations where it became higher
(05:36):
leverage earlier in games because he knew that those were
the most important outs and if you didn't get those,
you weren't really going to have.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
An opportunity to win the game.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
In the ninth I think he still manages it that
way with a different group.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
He doesn't have that.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
One single guy like an Andrew Miller that he goes to,
but I think he manages each game to that effect,
and they've got enough depth with Scott Barlow can be better.
He's I didn't love him when he came into the
game at first. I didn't love Taylor Rodgers when he
was coming in the games. I just didn't feel as comfortable.
(06:12):
But they've looked better and better sometimes with the more
opportunity they've got. They weren't pitching a ton, but those
guys that now becomes viable options, so that he can
mix and match a little bit more and not have
to wear his you know, kind of his main guys out.
But he manages with the intent of winning the game
that day and worrying about the next day the next day,
(06:33):
and has enough depth to do so only because the
starting rotation for the most part, has given length, you know,
has given six innings at a time. So guys, even
if they are pitching multiple days in a row, it's
one inning a the time, and they know that they're
going to get a six inning start the next day,
and if they lose on the road, they don't have
to cover eight innings.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So there's just a ton of stuff that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
But for a guy that's won two thousand games, I'm
gonna trust what Terry does and it confirms a lot
of it, I think, which you know, makes me feel
like I know a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
About baseball, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
But I think, but I think he's done a fantastic job,
and I think, who knows that I don't want to
speculate on if it wasn't terry, but this team has
the ups and downs have just been so crazy.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Man.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I mean to go from just even when they won
the five in rows, they weren't scoring twelve runs a game,
but it felt like a more advantageous offense. And then
it just looks like I mean, my mom texts me,
it's like, man, I didn't know Pittsburgh had so many
thy young winners. I was like, man, when you're getting
a eighty three year old grandma at the time, you asked, like,
you know, that's a bad time, right, so you know
(07:37):
Granny calls it.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Likes the season.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, you know, it's just that ebb and flow is
that's the lack of inconsistency from a young team that
understands that there's expectations, wants those expectations, but it's trying
too hard to meet them, maybe externally rather than trying
properly internally to meet them. And I think that that's
where the problem. A better shape at fifty games in
(08:01):
than they should be. Yeah, record wise, yeah, I think.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I said, I'm I'm sort of I'm still glass half
full despite what happened in Pittsburgh. Despite the offensive issues,
I'm still glass half full because I think I think
the starting staff has given Tito options later in the game.
By the way, we talk about the bullpen, didn't even
mention my guy, Luis May.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Oh my god, Yeah, he looks the wreck the real deal.
Oh kuld me. He looks like the real deal. I love.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I mean, obviously the stuff is great, But man, he
just looks real comfortable out there, doesn't he.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, no, he I feel like that. I feel like
he does, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
And you know that's a guy that you know, you
keep an eye on for the next couple of years
and talk about wanting opportunities having He's already been given
opportunities by Terry, and I think that's you know, calculated
by Terry to throw him in there and see see
what the kids made of.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
And I feel like he's answered the bell big time.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I want to ask you, but but I mean, the
pitching staff is certainly a huge weapon.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Question, no question, And a huge part of the pitching
staff has been Andrew Abbot, somebody that you and I
have talked about in over the last couple of years,
ever since he got to Cincinnati, and you know, there
are outings he will have like the one in Atlanta,
which was unfortunately a game they lost, where he really
just makes it look easy. And then I'll have an
outing like this past Sunday against Cleveland where I thought
(09:22):
like the start was gonna fall apart in the first
inning he loads the bases. Yeah, but he gets through
five and he doesn't allow a run, and he clearly
doesn't have his best stuff. And it's cliche for somebody
like me to say, so I want you to elaborate
on this from your standpoint, Like, I love it when
guys get through games and help their team win when
they're not at their best, and I feel like that
(09:43):
is a sign of development and maguration. And we saw
that Sunday from Andrew.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Abbot, absolutely, and I think he's they have guys on
this staff, you know who can really all of them.
Now Hunter has gotten to that point where you know,
he can obviously overwhelm me with some of the stuff
we saw in Baltimore that if he doesn't have command
of it, it's he's still gonna get beat around, because
everything's for the most part hard. The guys that have
(10:09):
the multiple pitch types. Martinez feels like He's always going
to give you a chance because if one thing's not working,
he can go to another. Abbot Lodolo feel like there's
pitch ability within those guys. And I've always felt like
the term make a pitch when you have to. They
have guys that can do that, and nobody I feel
like exemplifies that more than Andrew Abbott.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And I mean even even Terry.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Said it on a post game show. Well, what do
you think about Abbitt being able to get through that?
Let me put this politically, big balls, you know, like
just just just just a belief in your stuff that
you can outcompete somebody within that moment by not letting
the moment get recognizing that it's a pitch that needs
to be made, but having the big balls to believe
(10:57):
that you're going to make it and it's going to
be the result that you want. And obviously it's not
always going to happen, but it seems to happen more
often than not for Andrew Abbot.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Now, I just I love the way that he goes
about it. You sit there and you look at the
stuff and.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
You kind of wonder how a lot you know, how
he went out there and punched out eleven, or how
he without his best up gets through six with two
hits and three, you know, or whatever the case may be.
But the length of the rotation has been awesome. I
feel like the pitching staff, you know, maybe if you
don't includeing Alexis is at full strength. The offense not really,
(11:35):
because McLean and Stevenson are still kind of playing catch up.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
That excuse is about to go out the window. To
be honest with you, I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
They're two of your they should be two of your
best hitters, maybe two of your top three or four hitters,
and they're hitting seventh and ninth.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
So there's room for them to grow, you know, like
you're you're fifty to fifty.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
You're at five hundred, but there's room for them to
get better in that aspect, you know, having steer starting
to come on, you know, there's signs that are showing.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
And you hope that once they put that all together
and have everybody together.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
On the field and for a consistent amount of time,
then the consistency is built by the consistency and the personnel.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
But you can't wait for that to happen. You have
to make some kind of an adjustment.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
I think it was after an Andrew Abbitt start. You
were talking about his chemistry with Jose Travino, and to
be fair, he's thrown well no matter who's been behind
the plate. But something else to elaborate on. Walk me
through the process for a new catcher like Jose Travino,
who shows up and he's got to learn all the pictures. Typically,
how long does it take for the battery to develop
(12:43):
the chemistry that I think we see a lot of
these guys have with the new catcher.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Well, it happened a lot quicker than I thought, and
maybe that's you know, you've seen more growth in the
pitching staff than you have offensively. That seems that kind
of goes out saying if you just look at numbers
and the consistency of what they've done, Hunter was going
to get better.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Nick is pitching, We've always known he was going to
be good. Lodolo.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Nick Martinez even struggled trying to trust I mean, he
was the one guy that kind of struggled more than
any in the beginning. We're trying to get on the
same page with with Travigno and Wins, But I think
for the younger guys they're going to trust to Travino.
I think that he's done a great job of probably
(13:28):
recognizing their misses. I think recognizing where those guys miss.
I mean, when you see Andrew Abbott miss, he's usually
kind of firing that ball into the high and a
way to the left handers batter's box, right up and
away from the righty.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
That's that's kind of his miss.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
What is the pitch that gets him back to his
release point? That's probably a breaking ball down and end
or the change up kind of and where he sets
up middle. So making those guys comfortable recognizing their miss
and then be able to hone them back into the
zone in a pitch or two, I think that's a
big part of it. I think Tyler's learned, and Tyler's
(14:07):
done a great job. I feel like the last couple
of years of kind of doing that. But it's communication,
it's kind of trusting each other. And I think that
after starts, everybody is giving the catcher credit. You know, oh,
Treviy did a great job, a guid me through Steve
O did that, whatever the case may be. And I
(14:29):
don't see a ton of shaking. So I think once
they got through. You know, the guys have known Tyler
so kind of understand what he's about. But after the
first few times out, when there's not a lot of
shaking going on and they're having the success that they had,
I mean, trust is built, right.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
I'm like, this guy knows what he's talking about.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Like, I'm not shaking a whole lot, and I just
went six with eight strikeouts, four hits in a run.
You know I'm gonna So the trust then and the
chemistry is built because success breeds confidence, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
So I think that's where a lot of it had
to do. So they had it built soon because they
had so much success coming out of the gate this year.
As a pitching staff, it's continued, you know.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I mean, obviously there's gonna be a little bit of
the loll here and there, but I think this is
this pitching staff is for real, and I think that
the offense.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Has a chance to be too. But they need to.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Find a way to create the confidence within the structure
of the lineup, you know, with the situational that I
mean they're like tenth and home runs, fourth and doubles
and last and runs or something like that. You know
what I mean if I and that's not last and runs,
because they've had some of those stats saver games, that's
what we always used to call the twenty four run game,
(15:41):
the fourteen run game. And then they've been shut out
eight times. You know that that can't happen because your
pitching staff is giving you a chance to win pretty
much every game they've played this year. You know, you
if you put feel like if you put four runs
on the board, you've got an eighty percent chance to
win the games. You know, Yeah, and I may and
maybe that comes with pressure, but they've got a tough
(16:03):
stretch coming up here. Hopefully that they don't press any
harder than they have, then you know, hopefully they kind
of maybe.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
A play with a nothing to lose.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
They feel like they have something to lose, and they
look like they're playing like it offensively. Maybe they can
play with a little bit of this team is supposed
to beause we got nothing to lose, and go out
there and kind of play spoiler a little bit here
in may.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Well said one of these like fridays when you're not working,
which I hope you are every week because I love
watching you come like hang out in the studio.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Do that. I can do it, all right, We'll make
it happen.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Brother, Well, enjoy enjoy the weekend. Uh now, you're a
couple of wins for me out there. Tell Turner to
shave his beard or at least.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Diet I was on, I was on him earlier.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
He's a he's a great one man, He's one I
wish they would have brought the Cincinnati for years.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
He's just such a good part of it. But yeah, that.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Crow Armstrong, I mean, Chicago's playing well, it's gonna be
a tough weekend.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Should be hopefully a full stadium for you.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, they got a they got a good club. There's
there's no doubt about that. Awesome to have you as always,
Thanks so much, ill brother,
Mo Egger News
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