Cincy 360 -- Tony Pike and Austin Elmore with Chris Welsh

Tony and Austin talk with The Crafty Lefthander, Chris Welsh, about the Reds on ESPN 1530!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
See three sixty of Bound Cincinnati fromCincinnati, shuntered in part by Pennstation East
Coast Subs, handcrafted hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries and lemonade. It's
all about good taste. Penn StationEast Coast Subs order online today. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. All right, here we go our

(00:21):
number three sincey three to sixty.Thank you to Penn Station. Right here
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Let's get our number three started with
some more on the Cincinnati Reds.Let's get boots on the ground, Austin,
I believe from Manhattan. That's whatI'm told, Big City Chris Welsh,
Reds analysts joining us right now.Chris, what's going on? How
are you arny? I'm just walkingthe streets to New York, you know,

(00:43):
trying to get my steps in forthe day before I catch your bus
over there to go to a Yankeestadium. I love it now. Look,
I know, going into this series, the Yankees have lost seven of
ten. The Reds are not playingthe level that they want. But can
you feel a difference when you talkabout a series? Aaron Judge, Ellie
de la Cruz, the star powerthat's going to be on the field to
start this series. Yeah, Ithink from that perspective, it's really exciting,

(01:07):
you know. And the Yankees playedthe Reds last year. Ellie had
not been called up yet, sothey have no idea what's going on there.
And I think the Reds are veryaware of what capabilities of you know,
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge and therest of them. But it all
comes really down to being able toexecute your pitches, and they've got a
good picture on the man today andGil and also being able to get some

(01:27):
hits and runners in scoring position.That's one area where the Reds have not
really done a whole lot here lately. We know the lineup has struggled at
times, but on the other sidetonight, Graham Ashcraft gets the ball and
he's one of the most interesting partsfor me of the rotation in the future
because in the offseason there are alot of people that talk about Hunter Green,

(01:48):
Nickelodolo and Graham Ashcraft. It wasalmost like he was he was joined
at the hip with Green and Lodolo. He spent some time in Triple A.
He's had his struggles this year.How do you view the next step
of what Graham Ashcraft needs to doto establish himself in this reds rotation.
Well, first, I can tellyou that the reason that they group the

(02:08):
Graham Ashcraft in with all the otherguys because his stuff is every bit as
good as as Hunter Green and NickLudolo. And if that happens, you
know, if you judge a guybased on the analysis of his fastball and
the spin rate, how much isbreaking ball breaks and so on, you
think this guy ought to be rightthere with him. But you know,
like Hunter Green, this guy ispretty much a novice when it comes to

(02:30):
learning how to pitch on the abouthow to use your best stuff, and
he's struggling in that with that rightnow, he makes some great pitches that
seem unhittable, and then he makessome pitches right down the middle of the
plate that he ends up, youknow, having to go over and back
up third base on. So,I think it's just a matter of getting
repetitions out there, and for himit's also about confidence. I think that

(02:52):
you know, he he approaches pitchingin a very simple way, and I
think that they need to keep itthat way for him. You know,
let him cut loose his fastball downthe zone. I know that everybody's chasing
strikeouts and sometimes going upstairs with theheater as a way to go. But
you know, you've got to begood with your command when you go upstairs,
just like when you go downstairs.And I think that's a lesson that

(03:14):
he's learned and he's still in themiddle of learning. When you look at
the lineup, you have mentioned theinconsistencies, especially hitt him with runners in
scoring position, outside of the obvious, which is you just don't have key
members of this lineup healthy. Arethere things they can do to try to
get through that? Is this justa lull? Is it the roster and

(03:35):
what it is without so many guysbeing available right now? What do you
attribute that most to? Just thestruggles offensively for so much of the first
half of the season. Well,take a little bit at the lineup that
David Bell's had a pencil in there. I mean, these are not all
the names that you expect him pencilin when you're in spring training. Now,
you lost Matt McClain the middle ofspring training, but still he's the

(03:57):
type of player that makes the playersaround him better. Friedel same way makes
the players around him a little bitbetter. And then some guys that basically
fall off at the end of theearth here, like Will Benson, we
don't know what has happened to him. He swings and misses more than anybody
would have expected. I think theelevator cruise is realizing that this is a
daily struggle at the major league level. No matter how fast you are,

(04:19):
how good your arm is, they'restill not going to let you get on
base without earning it. And they'rethrowing there they get exposed. I mean,
both of those guys are getting jammedon every pitch that that comes inside.
They're swinging relentlessly after breaking pitches thatbreak down at their ankles, and
until they stop doing that, theleague is going to continue to pitch him

(04:41):
like that. So it's about adjustments. And then the rest of the lineup
is about these aren't the guys thatare supposed to be playing every day.
And there's it all saying in baseballmaybe in football too, Tony, that
you know, if you play anextra guy enough, you realize why is
an extra guy. One of thebright spots as of late is the run
that Jonathan India has been on oneight straight games with a double. He

(05:01):
has been consistently the Red's best hitter. Have you seen something fundamentally different from
the way he's approached some of theseat bats that has helped this adjustment and
this change from Jonathan India. Well, you know, he's confident and I've
talked with him quite a bit aboutit. And believe me, it's not
technical. This is not about mechanics, about you know, getting your wrists

(05:24):
in the right position or getting yourload right or whatever it is. It's
about confidence in the batter's box andseeing the baseball and hitting the ball.
I remember talking to kangrig Re Juniorseveral times and asked them, Hey,
what's this guy throw? And thisis the five o'clock during batting practice.
He says, who's pitching? Youknow? So you know, most players
at that level don't really care becausethey break it down to the most simple

(05:46):
of all. Pete Rose is thesame way. You know, if I
can see the ball and if Ithink I can hit the ball, I'm
gonna put the barrel on the ball. And I think that so many times.
Now the young players have so muchinformation, then it just it just
crowds their brain with white noise thatthey just can't get away from it,
because the reality of being at batis that you're trying to survive up there.

(06:09):
Nowadays, these guys are throwing highnineties with a high spin, breaking
ball, nasty pitches. The leaguebatting average is less than two forty.
The slugging percentages are way down aroundbaseball, and you're trying to survive and
you can't do it if you've gotyour mind thinking about, you know,
anything mechanic. You've got to justsee the baseball and hit it. Spending
some more time here with Chris Welsh, Chris, it feels like this team

(06:31):
and we go back to the injuriesand players available. They've also not helped
themselves with the small things, gettingthrown out on the base, pass,
getting picked off airs in the field. You know, I thought Eli Da
La Cruz catching the short flight ofcenter and allowing to run to score on
Friday hurt this team. When youlook at the fundamental side of where this

(06:53):
team has lacked at times, isthat something that can be changed or or
do you have time during the seasonto focus on that end season? Where
do you see the disconnect right now? From a fundamental standpoint, Yeah,
I think first of all, thatthey stand out more because the team's not
covering them up with runs. Imean, if you're averaging five runs a
game, you can make a coupleof mistakes, you can get picked off,

(07:14):
make an error, and nobody reallynotices. But when that error leads
to the only run of the gameand you end up losing by one,
then everybody wants to talk about it. So I think a lot of it
has to do with, you know, the age of this roster. I
mean, Ellie day La Cruz istwenty two years old. Because he's he's
got better tools than anybody in baseball. You know, we expect them to

(07:35):
play like a thirty year old,and I think that's the case there.
I know that they're working at it, but these are things that come along
slowly, and not everybody ends upwith the high high baseball IQ. Some
of these guys just never learned,and that's what you have to get used
to, and you have to figureout who those guys are and then you
adjust your roster accordingly. It wasa very unique run and obviously something that

(07:58):
doesn't happen every year, But lastyear Austin shared this earlier today. On
this date, the Arizona Diamondbacks werethirty five and forty four. They went
on to represent the National League inthe World Series. And I know that
that is a long way away.But if the Reds want to play themselves
back into contention, if they wantto play themselves back into the conversation,
what do they need to do inthis thirteen game span in your opinion before

(08:20):
the All Star Break? Well,I think they need to set a tone
that they can compete with the bigboys, because if you look at a
record up against teams that are aboutfive hundred, it's really bad. So
you know, those are the teamsthat are very difficult to beep they've got
them on their roster or on theirschedule coming up. I think that.
And then they have to make surethat they're pitching stays healthy. That's the

(08:41):
biggest thing I think, and that'sthe one reason I really like this team
is because they're starting pitching is good. You know, you need to get
Lodolo back, you need to keepAbbot healthy, you need to also keep
Hunter Green healthy and so on.But as long as they're starting pitching stays
intact, I think they've got achance to make a run. I really
do. There are a lot ofteams out there, Tony that are really

(09:03):
the same. I mean, otherthan the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies and
maybe the Atlanta Braids and maybe youknow Milwaukee. They always swoon at the
end of the year anyway, butthere are a lot of other teams that
are very equal. And that's whythe Res have played so many one run
games. And you've got to turnthat around. Certainly, maybe it's an
attitude, but you've got to getout there as a pitcher and say,

(09:24):
I'm going to stick it to thisguy right now. I'm not letting them
get any runs. I'm not goingto talk about me in the press conference.
I'm gonna talk about wins and losses. For Nick Krawl. Between now
and the deadline, a lot ofconversation is going to be made across all
of Major League Baseball. Is ateam a buyer, is a team a
seller? Do they do nothing?I'll ask you the same question from that
standpoint, if you're Nick Krawl,what do you want to see between now

(09:48):
and the deadline? That may urgeyou or nudge you in the direction to
say, you know, what Letlet let's buy a little bit. Let's
see if we can make a secondhalf run. Well, in order to
buy a little bit, you've gotto spend something, right, And when
you're talking about the trade market,you're talking about trading live assets. And
it's one thing that this office frontoffice has been doing the last three years.
They're collecting prospects, they're not tradingthem away. So I don't see

(10:11):
that really changing. Do I seea blockbuster trade for Hunter Green or for
Frankie Montas or Alexis ds No.I don't think so, because, hey,
they're down to the you know,the thinnest margin when it comes to
fielding a twenty six man roster rightnow anyway. So if they can pick
up a player that they think ispretty good, they're going to do it.

(10:33):
But I think at the same timethey also have to be very honest
with themselves to say where are weright now? Over four and a half
or five games back out of thewild card, you just play the team
that is in the wildcard and theSaint Louis Cardinals, you split it on
with them. The team the twogames that they want were by close margins,
so you're really close to being asgood as the Cardinals. If there

(10:54):
is field like they can make arun at it. And I don't mean
winning the World Series, I meangetting the eighty three wins. Then you
do whatever you can. But Ithink the bottom line is that this team
is pretty much going to stay intact. Chris, let me a broader picture
here, because last year we spendmuch a bunch of time of Okay,
next year is the year when yousee the way things are unfolding. This

(11:15):
year I viewed Saint Louis in away that a lot of people view the
Pittsburgh Steelers, and you know everyyear they're going to be competitive. The
Milwaukee Brewers are crushing expectations, butit doesn't look like they're going anywhere anytime
soon. We know where the Cubsare, and all of a sudden,
the Pittsburgh Pirates have three talents atthe top of their rotation that make them
dangerous to everybody. How do youview from a whole the competitiveness of the

(11:39):
NL Central, both now and goingforward. That's going to make it a
lot harder on the Cincinnati Reds inthe Central. Yeah, those are more
good teams that have been in theCentral than before. There's no question about
that. Milwaukee has always been there. Saint Louis is probably playing in my
estimation, and having just seen thempoor games, you know that I'm just
not that impressed. Really. Imean, two superstar guys on the corners,

(12:01):
Goldsman and Aaronado are clearly either hurtor getting old, and I think
that's where the Reds have an edge. But you know, you've got to
get your guys healthy. You reallycan't be playing extra players every day and
expect them to play like all starsbecause it's not going to happen. So
I think that they need a littlebit of good luck the Reds do with
health, and they need to justget after it every day, win these

(12:24):
one run games instead of losing theone run games, and I think that
would changing everybody's attitude. Chris Welchfrom the streets of Manhattan. What's on
the agenda before you get to theballpark? Well, I got to walk
back to the hotel. Now,I think I'm about fifteen blocks up Park
Avenue on at so I got tofind my way back to Madison and fifty
first and then hop on the busalong with Jeff Brantley and we'll head over

(12:48):
to Yankee Stadium. I'll go visitmy good friend Paul and Neil to find
out all the inside scoop about theYankee. We may even talk a little
golf, and then we'll be readyfor first pitch. Chris, what's the
cowboy life in these big city environments. I can't imagine it's something he really
likes. You know, he's aguy. He does get out and walk
a lot, and I don't seehim in the mornings very much because I

(13:11):
think he's still got the shades draw. He's one guy that probably brings,
you know, duct tape with himso that he can seal off every little
bit of light that comes in thewindow. I know that. A couple
of weeks ago, I texted hima scatter report for a team that we
were going to play, and hesaid, Hey, thanks very much for
that scat report, but don't eversend it to me at seventh. Hey,

(13:35):
he's been traveled a long time andhe knows what he's doing. I
love the Cowboy and I'll be seeinghim on the bus here in about an
hour. I love it. Sendour best, Chris, thank you so
much for your time. As always, man, I hopeful we get to
talk soon. Okay, Tony,take care buddy, Yes, sir,
there he is Chris Welsh. Howabout that boots on the ground. Every
time we talk to him, Ithink, gosh, we need to do

(13:58):
it more. Wait two months todo it again. From the concrete jungle
where dreams are made of, Oh, the streets of New York, Welsh,
look at you. I love it. That was good stuff. Can
you imagine that crew walking down thestreet in Manhattan, the Cowboy, Chris
Welsh, John Sadak, Tommy Thrallunbelievable. I think Tommy and Sadak go

(14:18):
on walks together beforehand and exchange notes. I want to know what they do
like the night before. That's whatI'm interested. Yesterday they had an off
day in New York. Baseball isa different animal because you game tonight,
you get to the ballpark late inthe afternoon. What those guys get into
last night in New York is whatI want to know. Well, he
is right. I've heard Cowboy talkabout this in the past. I mean,
you got to think he's on likea baseball schedule, been on a

(14:39):
baseball schedule his whole life. Yes, where he plays night games to him
earlier. I heard Juey Vado talkingabout this once too, is like he
would stay up usually until one,two, three o'clock in the morning,
and they'd sleep in until noon orone o'clock in the afternoon. Uh So
I've always wondered that too, aboutlike like former baseball player, like,

(15:00):
how hard it is to get outof that routine where you know you sleep
down noon every day. It's justdifferent, man, It's just a different
lifestyle. Yeah. I remember,like when I was first getting back from
Carolina and had no idea what iwas going to do. I'd just go
out like an idiot, and Iwould all see like Reds players out like
man, they are out all thetime, and they are out way later

(15:20):
than me. And then I'm like, yeah, they probably don't have to
do anything till like two or threein the afternoon. Yeh. A lifestyle,
insane lifestyle. Nonetheless, thank youto Chris Welsh for his time.
Any Reds do you want to namethere? No, I won't do that.
I've got over under ready when weget back. I've got some over
unders for Austin on this Tuesday hereof sincey three sixty, it's a July

(15:43):
second edition. We're close to theholiday. Let's get some over unders in
by the way, Best of editionon Thursday on Thursday for the first hour
and a half, and then Ibelieve we will have Major League Baseball on
ESPN Radio after that. Bring thehot dog competition, you know what,
Maybe we are although I think thatstarts at noon, doesn't it probably should

(16:07):
have got out of that as soonas Chess got did. Either way,
looking forward to that, I knowwe're going to bring back the conversation with
TJ Antone from The Holy Grail.That's another one we should reach out to
and see if we can get TJback on because it was phenomenal. That's
going to be part of our bestof series. I had a really good
conversation with Kelsey Conway while you weregone. That's going to be a part
of the Best of and some otherstuff as well, so definitely worth a

(16:30):
listen. On fourth of July,did you know that Joey Chestnut will in
fact be eating hot dogs competitively onJuly fourth? I heard something about this,
but it's not the Nathan's famous anthogand he's going to be competing against
soldiers in a five minute competition atFort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
Okay, that's cool. They're expectingfifteen thousand people at the event named Pop

(16:52):
Goes the Fort. All right,Chestnut, how did the US government sign
off on that? When it tolike the health and safety standards question for
the military. That's maybe why theykept it at five minutes. You mengine
just hanging out a day in thebarracks. You imagine they call that.
Yeah, you mentioned hanging out atFort Bliss and being like, all right,
I'm in this hot dog competition.I'll probably win it, and then

(17:15):
in walks Joey Chestnut, imagine thelatrine at Fort Bliss coming up next next
day. Either way, shout outto my uncle Joe as well, who
told me that grubs are actually thelarval stage of beatles. Oh no,
weeds, but are the larval stageof beatles. So that's good food for
more. They're going to feed onyour grassroots. And I'm learning so much

(17:37):
today. We'll take a break andwe'll learn what Austin thinks with some of
these over unders when we get back. Since he three sixty ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station Loweger, we've talkedabout this a lot. He's got what
you want, like, who's thego to guy, gonna be interviews,
his views and your calls. Goto guy isn't the team's leading school.
Loweger today at three on esp BNfifteen thirty