Cincy 360 -- Tony Pike and Austin Elmore with Joe Danneman

Tony and Austin talk Reds, sports, life, and more with Joe Danneman of FOX19, on ESPN 1530!

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
This is Cinci Shirts Cincy three sixtyabout Cincinnati from Cincinnati, sponsored in part
by Cinci Shirts. Cinci Shirts Allsince all Day. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Welcome backsince he three sixth the ESPA fifteen thirty

(00:54):
Cincinnati Sports Station. You know,I was gonna go into an introduction,
but nowhere on the internet is JoeDaneman's height listed. Oh really, you
can't find us height anywhere. SoI'd like that from what I've been told.
Nine, that's from what I've beentold. All grip. Joe Daniman

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from Fox nineteen joining us right now, Joey Day, what's going on?
My height is listed as significantly shorterthan Tony Pike, but taller, taller
than Yeah, I was gonna say, I like that. That's a good
list. And by the way,that intro music is on point, because,

(01:41):
like Michael Jordan, I am originallyfrom North Carolina. Oh, raise
up way like a helicopter. Thereit is, love it. Joe,
have you ever have you ever becauseyou do have a you have a musical
background a little bit, you canyou can sing with the best. Have

(02:04):
you ever attempted a national anthem?Anywhere I have not been asked to,
but I politely declined because of allthe things I don't do well, that
is one of them. Yes,I will say this though about my singing,
to go off topic real quick,and I'll let you go back to
hosting the show and running the interview. I went to the Justin Timberlay concert

(02:24):
last week, Tony maybe after partywas not the same without a certain someone
to go sings some carry open with. I just had to put that out
there. I said to you abouteight months ago to circle this. Yep,
get your butt to Ruperena. Yeah, I didn't see you, baby.
That baby thing happens and then everythingjust kind of falls through. Let's

(02:50):
that's the truth. There's just nothingI can do about it. I can't
escape at all, Joe. Firsthalf of the season is done. Ninety
seven games in the books, theCincinnati Reds three games under five hundred.
Austin and I talked earlier in theshow, and we kind of ran down
some of the best moments. Andyou know, if you go back to
I think June eighth, this teambeats the Chicago Cubs in their one game

(03:14):
under five hundred, and it lookedlike at that point, they just won
their seventh game in a row.They were poised to maybe make the leap,
maybe start playing better, and thenit fell off. Flash forward to
just a couple of weeks ago,they sweeped the New York Yankees in Yankee
Stadium, and you think, allright, ten games left at home,

(03:35):
all very winnable, three games underfive hundred, time for a push.
They don't make the push then aswell, is this, at this point
in your opinion, just who thisteam is or do they still have some
type of run left in them.Well, let me make two points here,
and let me start with what JohnSmolt said in the All Star Game
last night. He was talking aboutElie da La Cruz and then he veered

(03:58):
off and was talking about the Reds. Use the phrase that this team is
very close to clicking. I don'tknow if you remember him saying that during
the game, but it felt likea light bulb would off for me because
I actually believe and agree with whatJohn Smolt said less and I do think
the Reds are very very close toclicking. Now, you'll look at the

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standings and you'll see a lot ofteams that are right there in the same
boat with the Reds, who area few games right around five hundred under
or over, give or take.And that's the problem. It's not how
far the Reds are back, it'sthe number of teams that are in the
mix for what I think will betwo wildcard spots. Because let's go ahead
and assume that the Atlanta Braves aregoing to go ahead and despite not having

(04:43):
Rob mccunya, are going to holdon to the first wildcard spots. So
you're down to two spots for aboutseven or eight teams who are right around
the same level as the Reds.But to go back to what you were
talking about, the final homestand andif we take out the Tiger series,
and the Tiger Series happened and wecan't erase that. But you look at
the final week when they played theMarlins, when they played the Rockies,

(05:03):
it felt to me like a teamwho was starting to click. They did
win both series. Now the problemis everybody wants to lump together the home
stand with the three games they lostto the Tigers, instead of taking out
the two series against the two andworst teams in the National League that they
did pretty much handle very well.I know Sunday was a buzzkill, losing

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that game right before the All Starbreak, and it comes out to this
five and five Homestand but if youlook at it, the two series against
the Rockies and the Marlins, theystarted to hit better. They started to
hit more home runs. I don'tknow if rees Heines can continue what he's
doing, but he's been a shotin the arm. They might be able
to get other people back who cangive them a shot in the arm of
the second half of the season.So I think John Smoltz might be right

(05:48):
here that this is pretty close toclicking now starting fishing. Has to stay
healthy, they have to be asgood as they've been in the first half
of the year. But I thinkthe Reds are really close here to doing
something and going on a run.Will it be enough? We'll find out.
But I don't think doom and gloomas much as I think the normal
Reds fan might think after that tengame homestand because of what I thought they

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did the final week against the Marlinsand the Rockies eighten sixteen in one run
games. They have been atrocious attimes on the base pass. They have
been atrocious at giving teams extra outs, and taking outs away from themselves.
So when you factor all of thatin, if we are sitting here talking
on September twenty seventh, and theReds are departing for a series against Chicago

(06:34):
to finish the regular season, andthey are playing meaningful baseball with a chance
to go to the playoffs, whatwould have happened for the Reds in the
second half of the season they hitwell, because I think we know they're
going to pitch. They would haveto hit well here the next two months
for us to get to that pointwhere they are competing in September. And

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let's be honest. You look atthe lineup and there's no reason they shouldn't.
But we've been saying that all year, right that they should hit and
they're not hitting as well as theyshould. But I think the track record
here is important to look at,too, because you start to look at
the last few years what this team'sdone in the second half of the season.
And this would be the counterpoint tomy first point is they haven't played
good baseball in the second half ofthe year. In twenty twenty two,

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fifteen games under five hundred in thesecond half of the year twenty twenty three
seven games under five hundred, includinga ten and seventeen August, and played
five hundred baseball in September when therewas the opportunity there last year for them
to make the playoffs. So toyour question, they've got a hit,
I think they're going to pitch.I think I worry about the bullpen.

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I worry about Fernando Cruz wearing down. I worry about the entire bullpen wearing
down. But the starting staff isgoing to pitch as long as they stay
healthy. If this team can hitand hit what the pop they're hitting with
right now, and as it getswarmer and it's hot out right now,
the ball is flying a great Americanballpark. If this team hits like they
did this week, and understand thecavea yes is they've faced some really bad

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teams in Colorado and Miami. Butif they're able to hit the way they're
capable of, or even close tothat ability, I think this team's going
to be in it. In September, we're going to be talking about meaningful
baseball games. And I think givenwhat we've seen so far this year with
this team over nearly one hundred games, I think you got to take it

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at this point. If you getto September playing meaningful baseball, I think
Red fans would take it, consideringthis year has been so inconsistent and at
times so frustrating. If they're notdoing that in September. What went wrong
in the second half? It didn'thit. But that's been the thing all
season long, right again to thepoint that they've pitched, and that's been

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That's been the problem I think alot of Reds fans have had with this
season is the fact that if theydo get to the end of the season
and it's quote unquote a wasted year, a year that we thought this team
would take a step forward and winmid eighties games, win maybe near ninety
games. With what they had comingback and what they did last year and
what they did add to this team, I think people would be frustrated because

(09:07):
the starting staff did its job.And I think if you would have told
people at the start of the year, the starting staff would be like this,
where Hunter Green has found the nextlevel. Where Nick Lodolo granted that
the blister problems is his last twostarts haven't gone as well. But I
do think a lot of that isn'tnecessarily due to the blister, but more

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to the fact that he just hasn'thad a consistent run of starts to make
sure that his stamina is where itneeds to be, and he's talked openly
about that. But then you addon what Andrew Abbott's done. Carson Spires
has shown some mobility and hopefully he'sback sooner than raging later was his shoulder
impingement. But I think you lookup and down the starting rotation, it's

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been good. And I think that'swhat would be frustrating for this fan base
is if they get to the endof the year. I don't think anybody
thought this team wouldn't hit, andthey just had. I haven't hit consistently
so far this year, so I'llstick with that that if this team is
not competitive come September, it's notbecause of the pitching staff, it's because

(10:09):
of this head scratching offense that justcan't seem to figure it out. Now.
I will say this, Tony,and I remember going back to I
think you guys called it what thesecond opening day, and I thought that
might have been the turnaround. Thatnight when John India hit the Grand Slam
again, Spray or the Dodgers,and they got things going. I remember
saying multiple times during that month toyou guys that I wondered about this team

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and the role players from last yearwho had such big years. Could they
replicate it? The Frayleys, theBensons, the Freedles. And it's not
TJ's Falty's hurt, but so manyof those guys like that ninety nineteen,
those role players had career years andcouldn't replicate it in two thousand. I
worried about that with this team,and I think it's kind of come to

(10:56):
fruition here in twenty twenty four thatthose guys are able to perform like they
did last year, and that's beena big reason the Reds haven't been as
good offensively. Austin talked earlier inour number one about the pitching staff.
I mean, Hunter Green, Andrewabb and Nicolodolo all Era's under three to
four. Oh, but they've allpitched a lot of stressful innings. And

(11:16):
by stress raw, I mean they'repitching in a tie game or a one
run game. Very rarely do theyhave a ton of run support. Frankie
Montas has been injury prone, He'salready thrown seventeen starts this season. Graham
Ashcraft has been up and down,Fernando Cruz kind of limped to the All
Star break, Alexis Diaz at times. Is there I know you're you're more

(11:37):
on the hitting side. Is therea concern that they have used so much
good pitching that you wonder can theyconsistently do this throughout the rest of the
season. Yeah, I think thathas to be a legitimate concern. I
liken it almost to last year,and this might not. This is obviously
not an apples to apples, butI liking it a little bit to the

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Bengals offensive line last year. Whenyou talk about that team, how often
do you get seventeen games of thesame starting five starting as an offensive line?
It just doesn't happen. How oftendo you get these guys and what
the Reds pitching staff and albeit youknow Nick Ldolo has missed some time,
but not significant that you get allof these young arms throwing well, progressing,

(12:22):
developing and staying healthy. And thatincludes Frankie Montage who's had shoulder issues
in the past. He stayed healthythis year, and that to me would
be the most frustrating part of theseason that if you got to the end
of it and you had this,and if you would have told Reds fans
this, and you would have toldthe front office this, that you would
get this out of the starting pitchingstaff, that you would start printing the

(12:46):
playoff tickets. Now to your point, yes, that's the other thing that
I think you look forward to thisyear's Bengals season. You're likely not going
to get two straight years of youroffensive line staying healthy the whole year,
just like you're probably not going toget two halves of a baseball season where
all your aces, all your horses, all your important pitchers are full go

(13:09):
for most of the for most ofthe season like we've had with the team.
And I know Nick Lodolo has beena little bit of an outlier there,
but considering his history, as muchas they've gotten out of him in
the first half, I think that'sa win. So I think there should
be concern of the second half ofthe season that these guys can continue to
develop, grow, stay healthy,and stay consistently competitive into the second half

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of the season, because if itdoesn't, the way this team has inconsistently
hit throughout the season, that's whenthis thing could really go bad and the
Reds could fall out of contention.I know it's it's hard because he's an
All Star, but Ellie de laCruz, and I know you've highlighted this
with Fox nineteen. How impressive,not only the year that he's put together.
I'm listening to him at at theAll Star Day and he's he's joined

(13:56):
in interviews in English and he's wantingto learn, you know, jopping.
When you just think from a froma star player on your franchise, you
think of the Joe Burrow, youthink of the Luciano Acosta. How lucky
is this organization right now to havea guy who again on the field electric,
off the field electric and doing thingslike the little things, learning English,
to be able to communicate more withthe media and with the city.

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He's got to check every box rightnow for Eli da la Cruz. And
he's the only guy who can makea pair of pajamas look good at an
All Star I mean he really was. He was the only guy when I
was watching the game last night whenI thought, I said, actually,
he still looks pretty darn good becausehe just kind of has he has that
he has it. It is andthat's the word. It's the it,
it's the charisma, it's the everythingthat takes a guy from being a Cincinnati

(14:45):
star to a national superstar. AndI was so excited to see him on
this stage, to see how hewas received, not only by obviously no
casual baseball fans who are who watchedthe All Star Game and maybe don't know
a lot about Ellie Daylor Cruz.Look, Baseball fans understand what this guy
is. Cincinnati fans understand what thisguy is. But does a casual baseball

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fan living in in Iowa or Minnesota, or Vermont or Washington maybe getting the
first look at this guy and seeingand I think the word that a lot
of people use in Austin, Iknow this is probably a word you love.
See the aura right that's he isthe definition of aura right now.
It's it's not just what he doeson the field, it's the style.

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It's it's the swag, it's theway he carries himself. And if you
go back to the All Star MediaDay, and guys, I was lucky
enough with it with it being aFox event. The folks at Fox had
a live camera roving throughout media day, and I was able to watch that
feed and able to record everything Ineeded to record back at the station,

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and you could see from the livefeed the crowds around each individual player.
You could see what players were beinggravitated to more. And it was Show
Hay, it was Bryce Harper,it was Paul Schemes, and it was
Ellie that were getting the most attentionof everybody there. And when you're around

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All Stars and you're one of thestars of the All Stars and you're getting
invited up on set with David Ortizand a Rod, Kevin Burkhardt and of
course Derek Jeter. If you're gettinginvited up with them, of all the
people they could choose from, youhave it. You have it and they
sense it. And I thought thiswas a bit of a coming out party

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for Ellie de la Cruz to showthe world that might not know outside of
a hardcore baseball fan or a Cincinnatifan what he's all about. And it's
everything, everything from what he doeson the field to the language he's learning,
to wearing the pink suit with thecowboy hat on the red carpet and
looking like a million bucks. It'severything the guy gets it because he has

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it, and it's funny to watchit develop appear are fun to watch it
develop here in Cincinnati, Joe,How difficult of a decision does Nick Krawl
have to make over the next coupleof weeks. I look at this team,
it just feels like they're right stuckin the middle. They're not there
to where they can buy. They'renot out of it because where the NL
is that they should sell? Dothey hold? It just feels like,

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and again, it could clear itselfup a nine game road trip to start
the second half, you could knowpretty quickly. But if it stays murky
like it is right now, howdifficult does this become for Nick Crawl to
the deadline. Well, let's talkthis out, because let's go on this
side. If the Reds are sellers, who would they be selling. Let's

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start with Frankie Montas. That isthat a big loss. Even if this
team were to kind of to toedip into the water, stay in the
race and also sell off. Ithink they can make up for that with
what they have in the organization.So if he's one guy that they sell
off, I don't think that's goingto hurt their chances going forward. I
mean he's eating innings and once everyfive starts, maybe four starts, he's

(18:04):
excellent and gives them a really goodchance of winning. The other times he's
okay. But they have guys whocan give them okay within the organization,
especially considering how dominant Spires has beenwith his strikeouts recently. So that's one.
Who else would be would be consideredsomeone to sell off? Would it
be some bullpen pieces perhaps? Wouldwould Fernando Cruz get some interest? Would

(18:27):
would Sam Mule get some interest fromteams? I'm sure they would. I'm
not sure the Reds would want togive up either one of those guys,
considering how good they've been. Andthis is an a one year thing for
the Reds. They continue to buildin this window of Elie Day La Cruz
here for the next several years.So I think it's going to be difficult

(18:48):
for the Reds to make a needlemoving move just because so many teams are
going to either be making moves themselvesor not giving up players themselves because they're
in the same boat as the redSo I think this decision might be made
for Nick Crawl in the Reds frontoffice, where there just isn't a lot

(19:10):
to do because there isn't a lotof movement now. Most teams who are
in it will make some kind ofmove, albeit a small move, kind
of like what the red did lastyear by adding Stan Mall at the ultar
break, and he was a differencemaker. He is a difference maker as
much as we just kind of glossedover it and moved on. So that's
kind of a roundabout way of metaking a cop out here of thinking that

(19:33):
the Reds can toe dip this thingand also at the same time be active
at the trade deadline, and Ithink that's where they'll be. But I
do think it's a fascinating couple weekshere for what the Reds will do as
far as wins, losses and theway the schedule shakes out. Look,
they have another winnable series right outof the break. I mean, you
look at the National League's standings rightnow, the three worst teams are the

(19:56):
Rockies, the Marlins, the Nationals, and that'll be the three teams have
sandwiched around the All Star break.So it's not a make or break series,
because let's be smarter than that.There's still so much baseball to be
played. But I do think thesetwo weeks will be critical and will be
interesting to see how the Red handleit. But I think there's a way
to tap dance both sides of thisthing. If you're Nick Crawl in the

(20:18):
front office. Joe Hunter Green hadsaid that the team has talked about it.
Jonathan India mentioned that the team acknowledgesthe pressure that a lot of people
feel because they know that some guyscould be on the trade deadline or on
the trade block, and some guyscould be moved before the trade deadline.
How do you think that affects theplayers on the field, knowing that they

(20:41):
could be traded or they could besent somewhere else over the next couple of
weeks. And Jonathan India is interestingbecause when he signed the contract he signed
in the offseason. Maybe this isa cynic in me. The first thing
I said when I saw that contractwas, WHOA, that's a very tradable
contract when it comes time. Ifthat were to be the case, Uh

(21:03):
yeah, how how could it notaffect these guys right that they're human beings.
They they you know, guys likeJonathan India, just for him as
an example, was drafted by thisorganization came up in this organization, I
think we can all tell Jonathan Indiadesperately wants to be looked at in this
city and within the franchise and inthat clubhouse as a leader, as a

(21:27):
guy guys look to and and rallyaround. And I think he's been a
great pro and I think he feelslike he deserves to be treated as such.
But certainly, you know, guysdeal with this and they say all
the time, this is this isprofessional baseball. It's it's the business,
it's what they do. They understandit's part of it, but how could

(21:49):
it not affect what they do ona daily basis and and just creep into
the back of their mind. AndI think it's more of an individual thing
than it is a elective clubhouse thing. I don't think this should affect a
guy like a Hunter Green or aNick Lodolo, or a Spencer Steer or
an Ellie Dayla Cruz. The guysthat we know are cemented as the foundations

(22:11):
of this team. They're not goinganywhere. These guys are professionals, and
I think they're able to compartmentalize thatkind of thing and go out and play
well, but the guys that arebubble players, I would have to think
this enters your mind here the nextcouple of weeks with with what's coming up
at the end of the month.So yeah, you know, I've seen

(22:33):
it before. I saw this withJay Bruce. I witnessed how much this
weighed on him when he was herein Cincinnati. I sat at his locker
on trade deadline day. It wasone of the weirdest things I've ever seen.
There was a group of like sevenor eight reporters literally at three point
fifty eight on trade deadline day,waiting at Jay Bruce's locker as if GM

(22:53):
was going to come down and say, Hey, Jay, you're traded.
Talk to the media. It wassuch a bizarre thing to watch this happen.
He didn't get traded that time,but it was It's how could you
not when when everybody in the roomknows it, not know it yourself.
So yeah, I would think guyslike Jonathan India and other people who may
be interesting to other teams have tobe feeling this here in late July.

(23:17):
I have two rapid fire questions beforewe let you go. One better chance
to get out of the Cincinnati TBTRegionals. Zip them up for Nasty Natty.
I'm going zip them up. I'mgoing zip them up because of Adam
Kunkle. Yeah, yeah, rafters, Well how about that. That's pretty
cool. By the way, forTrayvon Blewett, for him to get up

(23:37):
in the rafters, it was longoverdue. You score two thousand points.
It's a golden ticket to the rafters. I'm going zip them up because Adam
Kunkle is a dog. Okay,that's that's my reason Xavier was missing one
guy last year on zip them upagainst Nasty Natty. And more importantly,
I think TV team needs to doeverything they can to make that game happen.

(23:59):
Yes, because that game needs tohappen. To see Nasty Natty and
zip him up go again. Isaw Xavier two years ago in the Sweet
sixteen overwhelmed by Texas. But AdamKunkle go out and get twenty five against
a professional backcourt. So he's apro. He's a difference maker. I'm
going zip him up because of AdamKunkle. Even though Nasty Natty has a

(24:23):
squad, even though Kevin Johnson's myguy, even though it's in Fitsford Arena,
going zip him up because of Punkle'sthat's the Northern Kentucky in me.
The Northern Kentucky buys for Adam Kunckle. Lastly, Joe Burrow's buzz cut.
How much of a wrench does thisthrow into your guys plans for the season.
I mean, unbelievable, this guydoes this before training camp. Good

(24:45):
luck to every other NFL team,But gotta throw a rege in what's going
on with Burrow's hair? Right?So so yeah, buzz cut Burrow.
We did start calling him buzz kill, so like that that should be his
name, But buzz kill I likeit going forward. I will say this.
I will say this, so thinkabout the poor Bengals, like promotions
department, So they shot all theseall these promos and all these videos that

(25:10):
go up on the big board withJoe with his perfect hair, and now
he's gonna show up with a buzzcut and I don't know if he's gonna
grow it out in time for theseason. Uh. These these are things
that make me laugh that I don'tworry about, but I do feel for
like the promo department, the marketingdepartment for the Bengals, who has all
this stuff ready to roll out.It's obviously going to be dated because of
Joe Burrow's haircut. He did thesame thing to him last year. He

(25:33):
had like that long, flowerer likehair on top and then went back to
his traditional cut after media day.So I think he's doing it on purpose
just to love it. I loveit, mix it all up. Say
this. Let me say one lastthing about Burrow's haircut. So so Burrow's
tight fade with the little Superman linein front, that little hair that comes
down in front. Man, ifI had hair like that, man,

(25:56):
I ain't. I ain't shaving myhead for any Hey, that guy had
absolutely perfect hair. Don't understand whythe freaked out is happening, but you
know, he's his own man.I think Joe likes to just I think
maybe I've been told by I've beentold by people close to Joe that he

(26:18):
sees these things and likes to messwith people, and so I think this
is another way of Joe Burrow justmessing with people because he can, and
I think he likes to have thepower to mess with people, and maybe
this is another one of those.I love it. Joe Daniman, You're
the best man. I look forwardto talking soon. Training camp gets underway
next week. I'll see you there. Until then, have a great weekend,
buddy, and I look forward totalking again. We'll take a picture

(26:41):
next to each other and put thaton Twitter so people can see how much
taller you are. That thing willblow up when we take that picture.
Joe Daniman Fox nineteen Joe, thankyou man. See you boys, yes,
sir, now Austin. On aday where there's no no baseball,
yeah, no football, we doget some FC Cincinnati Joe Danoman. That's

(27:03):
like a middle reliever when the game'sout of line, coming in and giving
you six innings. Yeah, hejust gave us twenty eight. That's that's
why Joe Danaman's and he was shotout of a cannon from the very beginning.
Yep. And you know that typeof player, that type of athlete
can really really be good for alocker room. And he's a huge part
of our culture. Unbelievable talkbacks.When we returned three time ESPN fifteen thirty

(27:25):
Cincinnati Sports Station, a service ofsin TI shirt