September 26, 2025 • 20 mins
Austin talks Reds and Bengals with Charlie Goldsmith on ESPN 1530!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Football Frenzy Show brought to you by Fellow Windows and
Door Making Life Brighter, Helen now Hey, Later Skyline Shilly
Feeling Good. It's Skyline time, Encore Technologies visit OnCore dot Tech,
Hudson Oil Fueling Champions on and off the field, Game,
Dame Men's Health. Start your best life today, and by
(00:21):
the Creation Museum It's more than a museum. Visit Creation
Museum dot Org today on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official
home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hi, Hello, Welcome in our number two of the Friday
Football Frenzy here on CINCY three sixty. Also brought to
you by our good friends at Cincy Shirts. My name
is Austin Elmore. Much like Jake Browning coming in to
relieve Joe Burrow or Graham Ashcraft coming in to relieve Nicolodolo,
it is I taking over the show for the final
two hours as Tony travels with the Bearcats out to
(00:56):
Kansas ahead of their game tomorrow. So Tone back at
two forty five on Monday as he's got pregame sports
talk with Mo ahead of Monday Night Football. It'll be
me solo today for the rest of the show and Monday,
but things don't change. One o'clock on Friday, Friday Football Frenzy,
(01:17):
we talk to our guy, Charlie Goldsmith. Charlie, Happy Friday man.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
How are you.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
I'm doing great?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
How about you, Austin, I'm wonderful.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Take me back to yesterday, high drive right field, Noel
vi Marte under it, he jumps up, makes the catch,
essentially saves the game, potentially the season. As someone who's
around this team every day, what was going through your
mind in that moment.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yeah, that's the best part of doing this job. It's
being and having the context of being around every day.
Like I remember so vividly one day, David Bell trying
to fix noelbe Marte's throwing motion by hitting him ground balls,
kind of a desperation move to try to save the
weelb at third. It didn't work. It carried over into
(02:06):
twenty twenty five. I remember the day at City Field,
and you know, right after the Ulstar break in July,
when you know, I watched batting practice every day because
one day something like this waited that Lolvie Marte working
out in the outfield, and then Spencer Stear kind of
gave me this or excuse me. I saw Jack Westernal
kind of gave me the scoop that he was taking
this pretty seriously. And then you think back to that
(02:29):
big throw he had. I forget who it was against,
but that first big put out at the plate that
he had in right field and with that moment meant
and you know, but on the flip side and dodge
a stadium him playing center field, and the kind of
frustration with that moment. So you're there for all the
highs and lows, but it all leads to something. You
get to this point of the year, this is when
(02:49):
the stories kind of crystallize and all those memories, experiences
and conversations just flowed right back to my head when
I see a moment like.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
That with Marte specific as you mentioned, it's one of
the biggest storylines of the season, and I think most
fans ask where would they be without him? Why has
that transition to outfield worked for him?
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Well? Think about this, like if every day, at you know,
one thirty, in the middle of talkback someone said, all right, Austin,
you're doing a bad job today, get out of here,
or at one thirty every day they were like, you
know what, we don't even want to have to remove
you anymore at one thirty, so we're just not even
either going to start you or just prepare for that
heading into the day. Like that's what noelbe Marque was
(03:34):
going through. It was a pretty relatable human thing. The embarrassment,
the de moralization of being pulled for defense as often
as he was, or being you know, the one who
commits the air and a routine play that you just
remember constantly. You know, those were the mistakes we would
talk about, and there's something very human in that, something
you're just not good at translating on a very bright stage,
(03:57):
and all of a sudden, that's what the entire spot
on and it impacted Oldie Martine's ability to do his
job and moving to right field. You know, I don't
have to worry about any of that anymore. I've got
completely off of my plate. I get to play whole
games now, you know, I'm not getting benched for santiag Westnal.
Like there's something powerful and human about that. That was
a key to all this with Martin, and I think
(04:19):
it's something any of us can relate to.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Over the course of this last home stand, there were
a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot
of intense moments for this team as they try to
get to the playoffs. From what you've seen being around them,
how is this young team with some veterans mixed in,
handling the emotions of this final stretch run.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
At no point has it felt like a party, which
is interesting to me, which is much different than some
of their dramatic, unbelievable moments in twenty twenty three. Those
took place earlier in September when that team kind of
kind of made its run. Like even yesterday, it was
very work like, very professional. Postgame was just guy sitting
(05:03):
around chatting. Sure the music was playing and sure, you know,
before the reporters got in, they did their normal routine celebration,
you know, process that they always do, just like normal.
But then they packed up and headed to Milwaukee. And
you like that head on the shoulders of this year's
team that I think is reflecting kind of the way
they battle, the way they bounce back, and the way
(05:25):
they've approached this stretch run.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Ellie de la Cruz specifically has played really well in
the sweep of the Cubs and then as well against Pittsburgh.
His defense has ticked up a little bit. Why does
it seem like in the biggest moments, Ellie de la
Cruz elevates his game.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Well, the big story to me with Ellie is the
swing change that he made in Saint Louis. So assistant
hitting coach Alex Palaiaz kind of a really good under
the radar guy in the organization. Obviously on the big
league staff. He was with the hitters in Saint Louis.
You know, the offense was kind of scuffling a bit,
come up off that Fokland series and into Saint Louis
that first game, he was looking for a spark and
(06:04):
they're playing videos of home runs of different guys, and
then they show a couple videos of Ellie hitting home runs,
and instead of cheering, Ellie got really quiet. And then
he went into the cage and then he brought back
the leg kick that we all know, we all can
identify and recognize that he took away heading into twenty
twenty five as a way to cut down a strikeout.
(06:26):
That was the big thing. Ellie switched from a leg
kick to a toe tap that will lead to fewer strikeouts,
and it has Elie the old Cruise's strikeout rate has
significantly declined, and he's I forget, you know, kind of
go on base percentage would translate, but I feel like
he's getting on base more. That's been more of the
style of hitter he's been. But then when you add
in kind of some of the power that got zapped
(06:46):
from his legs with the squad injury that he dealt with,
they're just worldn't enough on that side of the spectrum
for him to be doing enough damage for the style
of hitter he wanted to be. So seeing that leg
kick again set something off. And when I did the
story the other day, he had like a one thousand
ohps so where first seven games back from the leg kick,
And Chris Balake has said this too, there's something just
(07:09):
human for a guy who's struggling. It all comes back
to these human stories, which is really cool just about
baseball and about sports of man, you're struggling, you know what,
Let's just fall back on the thing I did when
I was having a lot of fun. That makes me
feel excited and aggressive and confident. And you can look
at any number you want, but sometimes that's the most
powerful thing you can do, and that's what Ellie Cruise
(07:31):
has done.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Right now, So how do you balance that?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Like, Okay, here's something I want to do compared to
what the coaches might want him to do. And now
if we all know that the leg kick is back,
the opponents know that the leg kick is back, and
how do you kind of balance out how you're going
to now be attacked differently and try to still stay
away from the strikeouts? What can he take from the
(07:54):
toe tap and apply to the leg kick? And you
get where I'm coming from here, how do you balance that?
Speaker 5 (07:59):
Now?
Speaker 4 (08:00):
If this is the real stuff, like we have all
these conversations here on the show, like these are the
conversations that the coaches are having and the like these
are the in the room where it happens conversations. This
is the sweet spot right here. And I talked specifically
about Chris Vilaka about this in the off season. They're
gonna sit down with Ellie and they're gonna say, Ellie,
what kind of hit or do you want to be?
(08:21):
Your goal entering this season was the cutdown on strikeouts?
The power went away? Do you want to go? And
this is a direct quote, do you want to go?
Chase thirty homers? Next year? Great, how can we support
you with that? Do you want to make an even
bigger emphasis getting on base and keeping a strikeout right low? Great?
How do you support How do we support you with that?
Is there a middle ground where it's you know this
(08:41):
or that or adjusting based off situation? But Blake, you said, great,
how can we support you with that? For hitting and pitching,
a part of their philosophy is, while there is an
organizational identity, and boy have we talked about that this season,
the player does drive the ship. It's funny, like, here's
the zach like line that I think applies. Like that says,
(09:03):
if the quarterback believes the play is gonna work better,
the play has a better chance of working. And if
the quarterback doesn't believe the play is gonna work, when
it doesn't, he turns to the sideline and goes, see,
that's why we shouldn't run the play. And that's why
the Bengals let their quarterbacks rank plays before every game.
The same thing obviously is true in any sports. So
while there is an organizational philosophy on a somewhere between
(09:26):
micro and macro level, these macro decisions who I want
to be are driven by the player, and it has
always been that way. Now what players they have and
who they prioritize, and how the roster gets put together,
that's where you see the organizational stuff gets shaped as well.
But again, this is the room where it happens type
conversations are the really deep stuff.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Well, that's a good point that I think is also
a good stepping off point. Have we made too much
of this quote unquote philosophy that the home run is
not as important to the organization.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
If there's a middle ground for that as well, They
they want it. What's the best way to say this?
They think that players are going to develop into better
power hitters, and that Skier could hit thirty homers at
one point, and that McClain could hit twenty five and
keep going through the roster like that, and they'll build
(10:24):
it that way, as opposed to saying, all right, we're
gonna get someone who's already hit thirty homers or you know,
the Cees type slugger, but has some risk in their
profile that might even prevent them from being a good
tough hitter to justify a spot in your lineup. Like
they prioritize and draft and develop and target specific archetypes
of players on the whole in games, I think you
(10:49):
see the situational stuff translate in terms of stressing the
messaging the most and then move the runner to second
here at all costs. But bigger picture, yeah, they they
want these guys to hit for more power without sacrificing
some other stuff. But it's just that these hitters haven't
quite gotten there yet. Maybe I could you know, maybe
(11:10):
that wasn't a perfect explanation there, right, But it's all
a big stew of player developments. Well.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Also, you know, over the course of the last week
or so, it does feel like the power has increased
a little bit. And you talking in the previous answer
about them about it being player driven. At times, do
you feel like maybe that's been a player the mentality
of the guys in the clubhouse is to Okay, let's
hit some home runs here, let's try to do that more.
Or do you think it's just the nature of how
(11:38):
those games win.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I don't. I think it's just baseball. I think it's
Stevenson got hot, It's Fear got hot. For a while,
it was Benton briefly with south Stewart. I think it
was more circumstantial.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
There the foundation.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
One of the foundational pieces of sports talk radio, Charlie
is second guessing the manager. What do you think of
the Terry Francona has handled the last five or six games.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
I have found myself agreeing with more of his decisions
since the Saint Louis series than I did previously. And
he's talked about this, like I thought there was a
stubbornness and these aren't his words, but he used the
word stubbornness just in terms of you've got to keep
the line of the same. You've got to keep the
(12:26):
approach the same, you got to keep the way you
structure and manage games the same, because you don't want
to create a sense of panic by making those types
of changes. But he says balancing that with the urgency
of what these games are. And you're seeing him use
his bench now more analytically. You're seeing them having strategically
aggressive plans to use like Chase Burns and Nick Martinez.
(12:50):
I think it's been much more notable and much better now.
There was was like there was a game in Oakland
or in Sacramento on Saturday. I'm forgetting the specific circumstances,
but I remember the mistakes there. I understood where he
was going with Wednesday's game by keeping McClain in because
he had in the ninth, because he had hit that
(13:11):
nice line drive earlier. He had hit well off that
reliever in the past. But then by the time the
Clane came back around an extra innings, bench was already spent,
so he kind of missed your shot. But when you
look at it in that sequence, it made more sense.
He's more aggressive pulling the starters from the game. Now.
I like a lot more playoffs Tito than regular season Tito,
(13:33):
which I thought was very You know what, Let's put
in Ja boe in on opening day because he throws
a strike, and let Santiago Espanol hit second because he
puts the ball in play. Like I think the style
now is more more winning baseball. And because it's that
time of year.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
How do you ex excuse me, how do you expect
him to handle Matt McClain these three games in Milwaukee.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
It's a billion dollar question. And so I've planted my
flag like this is just gonna be a player evaluation
until that I die on, Like I just believe in
Matt McLain and I'm gonna keep believing in Matt McLain
for the rest of the season. I kind of can't
even explain it. It's just I think he's a winning
player who can help the team as much as kind
of anyone in that kicks through nine tier on this team.
(14:16):
Like I'll take that McLean over a Brian Hayes right now,
for example. But then today you look at today and
what have we learned. It's all about winning today. McLean
go for four against Priester and Andrew har has been
great against Priester and Tito. We hear all the time
talk about using those matchup stats to shape lineup decisions.
So is this a day where because we also had
(14:38):
a nice day yesterday, you put Lucks at second and
Hart dh and give McClain the day off until the
middle of the game, where you'd ideally put him in
for defense, because if a matchup thing, you know what,
I can behind that, Like I see that, I understand that.
And then we'll see who's pitching from Milwaukee tomorrow, and
then we'll see who's pitching Fromlwaukee on Sunday, and we'll
see how it looks in LA today. You could also
(14:59):
consider the fact too, that tell who's pitching is a
fly ball pitcher, not a ground ball pitcher. So the
issue with the Reds one is their logjam at d
H and two. It's that like one through nine or
maybe one through twelve. It's a lot of guys in
the same bucket right now that you could shake them
up and you know, spit out a lot of combination
(15:19):
and there wouldn't be you know, a lot of orders
would make a lot of sense just because there's not
guys in true pigeonholed roles because they haven't emerged in those.
McClain's defense is potential for pop and just the way
he plays the game is something I still believe in.
But let's see day by day what the what the
game gives.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You exact quote just now from Charlie Goldsmith, We'll see
what it looks like in LA. Is that a prediction
that the Reds are going to make the playoffs?
Speaker 4 (15:48):
So, I mean this is just me behind the scenes here,
I like, just for life reasons, just have to operate
under the assumption like I packed I packed seven shirts. Yeah,
like because you can covering the you can adjust when
they don't make the playoffs. This is the true story.
When Will Benson hit that ball up the middle for
an RBI against the Cubs on Saturday, the first out
(16:08):
that ran through my head was, oh, my god, I'm
completely unprepared if this team makes the playoffs. But story
ideas with that, I've also too been looking kind of
strategically at how some stuff could line up for LA
just because I wouldn't have time on Monday on my
flight out west to do that, and I wouldn't want
to land in LA without having already done that. So
I guess this is the advanced scouting department over at
(16:31):
Charlie Shockboard brain working.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So are you?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Are you in Milwaukee right now? I am, oh, okay,
all right, wonderful. I know you're in baseball mode. Let
me just ask you quickly about the Bengals. I know
you were there a little bit this week as well.
Does it feel like they've flushed it the game against Minnesota?
How do you What was the vibe that you got
from the Bengals this week?
Speaker 4 (16:54):
The ViBe's fine, But the thing I just keep going
back to is, man, are they starting Jalen Rivers and
the plan and the rotating cycle at the offensive line
and not that any player said this, But the doubt
that that puts in your head, how much that feels
twenty twenty ish for the Bengals, even more than twenty
(17:15):
twenty one ish for the Bengals, Like, just like in
twenty twenty, how they brought Hakeema dentagy off Ir to
be there starting growd immediately and it's you know, here
we go. There are those types of situations going on
that makes it hard to get really excited about turning
the page and changing the direction. My hottest take of
all time is that I thought the defense played pretty
(17:37):
well in Minnesota. I understand how bold that sounds, but
I believe that's what the tape showed me. So I
think there's some stuff going on too. But just what
game script do they have in Denver? Because boy, this
whole conservative Big ten West style football thing isn't working
for him. So do they let Jake try to cook?
Or is that too risky because the Bengals can't pass protect,
(18:00):
So you're kind of stuck until you have more answers
about this team.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Last question, what specifically about the defense did you like
and how do you feel like they can apply it
to Denver?
Speaker 4 (18:10):
It was really really, really an impressive week from Al Goldon.
On coming off the Jaguars game, he sat down in
the media room for you know, meeting with us and
he goes, third downs, that's on me. I have to
be better. I have to create free rushers. I have
to win downs out to put the team in situations
where play designs make a huge impact. And there were
(18:31):
like five situations in Minnesota in that first half where
the way that he designed stuff to attack the Vikings
running back and pass protection. There was even one player
that was diabolical where it was Night attacking him, and
then right behind him there was Geno Stone kind of
attacking Night, and then of course Stone worked off that
(18:51):
and got free right away, and Wentz just had to
get rid of the ball immediately. So the third down
ideas and even more than that, Al's ability to say
we need to fix this and then fix it in
a week that was good and that has my attention.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
His name is Charlie Goldsmith, covering the Reds, Covering the Bengals,
Charlie's Chalkboard, Fox nineteen power Stacks. He's doing the rewatch
with the Growler podcast Network. The guys everywhere Charlie are
you gonna get cheese kurds before or after the game
tonight or during.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
It depends. Some nights they serve cheess Kurds in the
media dining. So I'll see what the game.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Gives me and then au, I feel like Milwaukee's gonna
be one of the better media dinings in baseball?
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Is that true?
Speaker 4 (19:37):
You know, Austin, I'm not gonna lie to you.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Oh no, that's not the case.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
It's fine, it's workable, but it's not the case.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
It's better than Atlanta though.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Charlie, have fun. We appreciate it. Talk to you next week. Man.
Thanks at That is Charlie Goldsmith. He's the best.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
That might have been my favorite conversation I've ever had
with Charlie. There's some really good stuff in there. Hopefully
you've got some really good stuff for me for talkbacks
next on ESPN fifteen thirty am.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
Trying to get to business. Jeke Browning and his Big
Bad Bengos put it all on the line when they
face Bull Mix and his Denver devotees on Monday Night
Football and The Orange and Black Break The Broncos. Will
Cincinnati's aerial assault leave the Stallions stunned. Find out when
you get the call from Dangerous Dan Wood and Mighty
(20:28):
Dave Lappan cover It starts Monday at three pm. Stream
for free on the new and improved iHeartRadio app or
ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of US Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
When your commercial property needs black
Football Frenzy Show brought to you by Fellow Windows and
Door Making Life Brighter, Helen now Hey, Later Skyline Shilly
Feeling Good. It's Skyline time, Encore Technologies visit OnCore dot Tech,
Hudson Oil Fueling Champions on and off the field, Game,
Dame Men's Health. Start your best life today, and by
(00:21):
the Creation Museum It's more than a museum. Visit Creation
Museum dot Org today on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official
home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hi, Hello, Welcome in our number two of the Friday
Football Frenzy here on CINCY three sixty. Also brought to
you by our good friends at Cincy Shirts. My name
is Austin Elmore. Much like Jake Browning coming in to
relieve Joe Burrow or Graham Ashcraft coming in to relieve Nicolodolo,
it is I taking over the show for the final
two hours as Tony travels with the Bearcats out to
(00:56):
Kansas ahead of their game tomorrow. So Tone back at
two forty five on Monday as he's got pregame sports
talk with Mo ahead of Monday Night Football. It'll be
me solo today for the rest of the show and Monday,
but things don't change. One o'clock on Friday, Friday Football Frenzy,
(01:17):
we talk to our guy, Charlie Goldsmith. Charlie, Happy Friday man.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
How are you.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
I'm doing great?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
How about you, Austin, I'm wonderful.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Take me back to yesterday, high drive right field, Noel
vi Marte under it, he jumps up, makes the catch,
essentially saves the game, potentially the season. As someone who's
around this team every day, what was going through your
mind in that moment.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yeah, that's the best part of doing this job. It's
being and having the context of being around every day.
Like I remember so vividly one day, David Bell trying
to fix noelbe Marte's throwing motion by hitting him ground balls,
kind of a desperation move to try to save the
weelb at third. It didn't work. It carried over into
(02:06):
twenty twenty five. I remember the day at City Field,
and you know, right after the Ulstar break in July,
when you know, I watched batting practice every day because
one day something like this waited that Lolvie Marte working
out in the outfield, and then Spencer Stear kind of
gave me this or excuse me. I saw Jack Westernal
kind of gave me the scoop that he was taking
this pretty seriously. And then you think back to that
(02:29):
big throw he had. I forget who it was against,
but that first big put out at the plate that
he had in right field and with that moment meant
and you know, but on the flip side and dodge
a stadium him playing center field, and the kind of
frustration with that moment. So you're there for all the
highs and lows, but it all leads to something. You
get to this point of the year, this is when
(02:49):
the stories kind of crystallize and all those memories, experiences
and conversations just flowed right back to my head when
I see a moment like.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
That with Marte specific as you mentioned, it's one of
the biggest storylines of the season, and I think most
fans ask where would they be without him? Why has
that transition to outfield worked for him?
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Well? Think about this, like if every day, at you know,
one thirty, in the middle of talkback someone said, all right, Austin,
you're doing a bad job today, get out of here,
or at one thirty every day they were like, you
know what, we don't even want to have to remove
you anymore at one thirty, so we're just not even
either going to start you or just prepare for that
heading into the day. Like that's what noelbe Marque was
(03:34):
going through. It was a pretty relatable human thing. The embarrassment,
the de moralization of being pulled for defense as often
as he was, or being you know, the one who
commits the air and a routine play that you just
remember constantly. You know, those were the mistakes we would
talk about, and there's something very human in that, something
you're just not good at translating on a very bright stage,
(03:57):
and all of a sudden, that's what the entire spot
on and it impacted Oldie Martine's ability to do his
job and moving to right field. You know, I don't
have to worry about any of that anymore. I've got
completely off of my plate. I get to play whole
games now, you know, I'm not getting benched for santiag Westnal.
Like there's something powerful and human about that. That was
a key to all this with Martin, and I think
(04:19):
it's something any of us can relate to.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Over the course of this last home stand, there were
a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot
of intense moments for this team as they try to
get to the playoffs. From what you've seen being around them,
how is this young team with some veterans mixed in,
handling the emotions of this final stretch run.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
At no point has it felt like a party, which
is interesting to me, which is much different than some
of their dramatic, unbelievable moments in twenty twenty three. Those
took place earlier in September when that team kind of
kind of made its run. Like even yesterday, it was
very work like, very professional. Postgame was just guy sitting
(05:03):
around chatting. Sure the music was playing and sure, you know,
before the reporters got in, they did their normal routine celebration,
you know, process that they always do, just like normal.
But then they packed up and headed to Milwaukee. And
you like that head on the shoulders of this year's
team that I think is reflecting kind of the way
they battle, the way they bounce back, and the way
(05:25):
they've approached this stretch run.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Ellie de la Cruz specifically has played really well in
the sweep of the Cubs and then as well against Pittsburgh.
His defense has ticked up a little bit. Why does
it seem like in the biggest moments, Ellie de la
Cruz elevates his game.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Well, the big story to me with Ellie is the
swing change that he made in Saint Louis. So assistant
hitting coach Alex Palaiaz kind of a really good under
the radar guy in the organization. Obviously on the big
league staff. He was with the hitters in Saint Louis.
You know, the offense was kind of scuffling a bit,
come up off that Fokland series and into Saint Louis
that first game, he was looking for a spark and
(06:04):
they're playing videos of home runs of different guys, and
then they show a couple videos of Ellie hitting home runs,
and instead of cheering, Ellie got really quiet. And then
he went into the cage and then he brought back
the leg kick that we all know, we all can
identify and recognize that he took away heading into twenty
twenty five as a way to cut down a strikeout.
(06:26):
That was the big thing. Ellie switched from a leg
kick to a toe tap that will lead to fewer strikeouts,
and it has Elie the old Cruise's strikeout rate has
significantly declined, and he's I forget, you know, kind of
go on base percentage would translate, but I feel like
he's getting on base more. That's been more of the
style of hitter he's been. But then when you add
in kind of some of the power that got zapped
(06:46):
from his legs with the squad injury that he dealt with,
they're just worldn't enough on that side of the spectrum
for him to be doing enough damage for the style
of hitter he wanted to be. So seeing that leg
kick again set something off. And when I did the
story the other day, he had like a one thousand
ohps so where first seven games back from the leg kick,
And Chris Balake has said this too, there's something just
(07:09):
human for a guy who's struggling. It all comes back
to these human stories, which is really cool just about
baseball and about sports of man, you're struggling, you know what,
Let's just fall back on the thing I did when
I was having a lot of fun. That makes me
feel excited and aggressive and confident. And you can look
at any number you want, but sometimes that's the most
powerful thing you can do, and that's what Ellie Cruise
(07:31):
has done.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Right now, So how do you balance that?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Like, Okay, here's something I want to do compared to
what the coaches might want him to do. And now
if we all know that the leg kick is back,
the opponents know that the leg kick is back, and
how do you kind of balance out how you're going
to now be attacked differently and try to still stay
away from the strikeouts? What can he take from the
(07:54):
toe tap and apply to the leg kick? And you
get where I'm coming from here, how do you balance that?
Speaker 5 (07:59):
Now?
Speaker 4 (08:00):
If this is the real stuff, like we have all
these conversations here on the show, like these are the
conversations that the coaches are having and the like these
are the in the room where it happens conversations. This
is the sweet spot right here. And I talked specifically
about Chris Vilaka about this in the off season. They're
gonna sit down with Ellie and they're gonna say, Ellie,
what kind of hit or do you want to be?
(08:21):
Your goal entering this season was the cutdown on strikeouts?
The power went away? Do you want to go? And
this is a direct quote, do you want to go?
Chase thirty homers? Next year? Great, how can we support
you with that? Do you want to make an even
bigger emphasis getting on base and keeping a strikeout right low? Great?
How do you support How do we support you with that?
Is there a middle ground where it's you know this
(08:41):
or that or adjusting based off situation? But Blake, you said, great,
how can we support you with that? For hitting and pitching,
a part of their philosophy is, while there is an
organizational identity, and boy have we talked about that this season,
the player does drive the ship. It's funny, like, here's
the zach like line that I think applies. Like that says,
(09:03):
if the quarterback believes the play is gonna work better,
the play has a better chance of working. And if
the quarterback doesn't believe the play is gonna work, when
it doesn't, he turns to the sideline and goes, see,
that's why we shouldn't run the play. And that's why
the Bengals let their quarterbacks rank plays before every game.
The same thing obviously is true in any sports. So
while there is an organizational philosophy on a somewhere between
(09:26):
micro and macro level, these macro decisions who I want
to be are driven by the player, and it has
always been that way. Now what players they have and
who they prioritize, and how the roster gets put together,
that's where you see the organizational stuff gets shaped as well.
But again, this is the room where it happens type
conversations are the really deep stuff.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Well, that's a good point that I think is also
a good stepping off point. Have we made too much
of this quote unquote philosophy that the home run is
not as important to the organization.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
If there's a middle ground for that as well, They
they want it. What's the best way to say this?
They think that players are going to develop into better
power hitters, and that Skier could hit thirty homers at
one point, and that McClain could hit twenty five and
keep going through the roster like that, and they'll build
(10:24):
it that way, as opposed to saying, all right, we're
gonna get someone who's already hit thirty homers or you know,
the Cees type slugger, but has some risk in their
profile that might even prevent them from being a good
tough hitter to justify a spot in your lineup. Like
they prioritize and draft and develop and target specific archetypes
of players on the whole in games, I think you
(10:49):
see the situational stuff translate in terms of stressing the
messaging the most and then move the runner to second
here at all costs. But bigger picture, yeah, they they
want these guys to hit for more power without sacrificing
some other stuff. But it's just that these hitters haven't
quite gotten there yet. Maybe I could you know, maybe
(11:10):
that wasn't a perfect explanation there, right, But it's all
a big stew of player developments. Well.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Also, you know, over the course of the last week
or so, it does feel like the power has increased
a little bit. And you talking in the previous answer
about them about it being player driven. At times, do
you feel like maybe that's been a player the mentality
of the guys in the clubhouse is to Okay, let's
hit some home runs here, let's try to do that more.
Or do you think it's just the nature of how
(11:38):
those games win.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I don't. I think it's just baseball. I think it's
Stevenson got hot, It's Fear got hot. For a while,
it was Benton briefly with south Stewart. I think it
was more circumstantial.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
There the foundation.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
One of the foundational pieces of sports talk radio, Charlie
is second guessing the manager. What do you think of
the Terry Francona has handled the last five or six games.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
I have found myself agreeing with more of his decisions
since the Saint Louis series than I did previously. And
he's talked about this, like I thought there was a
stubbornness and these aren't his words, but he used the
word stubbornness just in terms of you've got to keep
the line of the same. You've got to keep the
(12:26):
approach the same, you got to keep the way you
structure and manage games the same, because you don't want
to create a sense of panic by making those types
of changes. But he says balancing that with the urgency
of what these games are. And you're seeing him use
his bench now more analytically. You're seeing them having strategically
aggressive plans to use like Chase Burns and Nick Martinez.
(12:50):
I think it's been much more notable and much better now.
There was was like there was a game in Oakland
or in Sacramento on Saturday. I'm forgetting the specific circumstances,
but I remember the mistakes there. I understood where he
was going with Wednesday's game by keeping McClain in because
he had in the ninth, because he had hit that
(13:11):
nice line drive earlier. He had hit well off that
reliever in the past. But then by the time the
Clane came back around an extra innings, bench was already spent,
so he kind of missed your shot. But when you
look at it in that sequence, it made more sense.
He's more aggressive pulling the starters from the game. Now.
I like a lot more playoffs Tito than regular season Tito,
(13:33):
which I thought was very You know what, Let's put
in Ja boe in on opening day because he throws
a strike, and let Santiago Espanol hit second because he
puts the ball in play. Like I think the style
now is more more winning baseball. And because it's that
time of year.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
How do you ex excuse me, how do you expect
him to handle Matt McClain these three games in Milwaukee.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
It's a billion dollar question. And so I've planted my
flag like this is just gonna be a player evaluation
until that I die on, Like I just believe in
Matt McLain and I'm gonna keep believing in Matt McLain
for the rest of the season. I kind of can't
even explain it. It's just I think he's a winning
player who can help the team as much as kind
of anyone in that kicks through nine tier on this team.
(14:16):
Like I'll take that McLean over a Brian Hayes right now,
for example. But then today you look at today and
what have we learned. It's all about winning today. McLean
go for four against Priester and Andrew har has been
great against Priester and Tito. We hear all the time
talk about using those matchup stats to shape lineup decisions.
So is this a day where because we also had
(14:38):
a nice day yesterday, you put Lucks at second and
Hart dh and give McClain the day off until the
middle of the game, where you'd ideally put him in
for defense, because if a matchup thing, you know what,
I can behind that, Like I see that, I understand that.
And then we'll see who's pitching from Milwaukee tomorrow, and
then we'll see who's pitching Fromlwaukee on Sunday, and we'll
see how it looks in LA today. You could also
(14:59):
consider the fact too, that tell who's pitching is a
fly ball pitcher, not a ground ball pitcher. So the
issue with the Reds one is their logjam at d
H and two. It's that like one through nine or
maybe one through twelve. It's a lot of guys in
the same bucket right now that you could shake them
up and you know, spit out a lot of combination
(15:19):
and there wouldn't be you know, a lot of orders
would make a lot of sense just because there's not
guys in true pigeonholed roles because they haven't emerged in those.
McClain's defense is potential for pop and just the way
he plays the game is something I still believe in.
But let's see day by day what the what the
game gives.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You exact quote just now from Charlie Goldsmith, We'll see
what it looks like in LA. Is that a prediction
that the Reds are going to make the playoffs?
Speaker 4 (15:48):
So, I mean this is just me behind the scenes here,
I like, just for life reasons, just have to operate
under the assumption like I packed I packed seven shirts. Yeah,
like because you can covering the you can adjust when
they don't make the playoffs. This is the true story.
When Will Benson hit that ball up the middle for
an RBI against the Cubs on Saturday, the first out
(16:08):
that ran through my head was, oh, my god, I'm
completely unprepared if this team makes the playoffs. But story
ideas with that, I've also too been looking kind of
strategically at how some stuff could line up for LA
just because I wouldn't have time on Monday on my
flight out west to do that, and I wouldn't want
to land in LA without having already done that. So
I guess this is the advanced scouting department over at
(16:31):
Charlie Shockboard brain working.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So are you?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Are you in Milwaukee right now? I am, oh, okay,
all right, wonderful. I know you're in baseball mode. Let
me just ask you quickly about the Bengals. I know
you were there a little bit this week as well.
Does it feel like they've flushed it the game against Minnesota?
How do you What was the vibe that you got
from the Bengals this week?
Speaker 4 (16:54):
The ViBe's fine, But the thing I just keep going
back to is, man, are they starting Jalen Rivers and
the plan and the rotating cycle at the offensive line
and not that any player said this, But the doubt
that that puts in your head, how much that feels
twenty twenty ish for the Bengals, even more than twenty
(17:15):
twenty one ish for the Bengals, Like, just like in
twenty twenty, how they brought Hakeema dentagy off Ir to
be there starting growd immediately and it's you know, here
we go. There are those types of situations going on
that makes it hard to get really excited about turning
the page and changing the direction. My hottest take of
all time is that I thought the defense played pretty
(17:37):
well in Minnesota. I understand how bold that sounds, but
I believe that's what the tape showed me. So I
think there's some stuff going on too. But just what
game script do they have in Denver? Because boy, this
whole conservative Big ten West style football thing isn't working
for him. So do they let Jake try to cook?
Or is that too risky because the Bengals can't pass protect,
(18:00):
So you're kind of stuck until you have more answers
about this team.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Last question, what specifically about the defense did you like
and how do you feel like they can apply it
to Denver?
Speaker 4 (18:10):
It was really really, really an impressive week from Al Goldon.
On coming off the Jaguars game, he sat down in
the media room for you know, meeting with us and
he goes, third downs, that's on me. I have to
be better. I have to create free rushers. I have
to win downs out to put the team in situations
where play designs make a huge impact. And there were
(18:31):
like five situations in Minnesota in that first half where
the way that he designed stuff to attack the Vikings
running back and pass protection. There was even one player
that was diabolical where it was Night attacking him, and
then right behind him there was Geno Stone kind of
attacking Night, and then of course Stone worked off that
(18:51):
and got free right away, and Wentz just had to
get rid of the ball immediately. So the third down
ideas and even more than that, Al's ability to say
we need to fix this and then fix it in
a week that was good and that has my attention.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
His name is Charlie Goldsmith, covering the Reds, Covering the Bengals,
Charlie's Chalkboard, Fox nineteen power Stacks. He's doing the rewatch
with the Growler podcast Network. The guys everywhere Charlie are
you gonna get cheese kurds before or after the game
tonight or during.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
It depends. Some nights they serve cheess Kurds in the
media dining. So I'll see what the game.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Gives me and then au, I feel like Milwaukee's gonna
be one of the better media dinings in baseball?
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Is that true?
Speaker 4 (19:37):
You know, Austin, I'm not gonna lie to you.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Oh no, that's not the case.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
It's fine, it's workable, but it's not the case.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
It's better than Atlanta though.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Charlie, have fun. We appreciate it. Talk to you next week. Man.
Thanks at That is Charlie Goldsmith. He's the best.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
That might have been my favorite conversation I've ever had
with Charlie. There's some really good stuff in there. Hopefully
you've got some really good stuff for me for talkbacks
next on ESPN fifteen thirty am.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
Trying to get to business. Jeke Browning and his Big
Bad Bengos put it all on the line when they
face Bull Mix and his Denver devotees on Monday Night
Football and The Orange and Black Break The Broncos. Will
Cincinnati's aerial assault leave the Stallions stunned. Find out when
you get the call from Dangerous Dan Wood and Mighty
(20:28):
Dave Lappan cover It starts Monday at three pm. Stream
for free on the new and improved iHeartRadio app or
ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of US Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
When your commercial property needs black
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