June 17, 2025 • 23 mins
Tony and Austin chat with Jeff Carr from LockedOn about the Reds on ESPN 1530!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
All right, welcome back.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
It is our number three thanks to our friends at
Penn Station. Thank you for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station. Let's get it underway in the final
hour with our good friend from the Lockdown Reds podcast.
So much coverage going on with the Cincinnati Reds and
kind enough to join us right now.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It's Jeff Carr. Hi, Jeff, how are you.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Don I'm doing good Man.
Speaker 5 (00:48):
Always feel like I forget to eat lunch whenever I
hear though open for the hour, So now.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I'm hungry, you know, Jeff?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
How excited are you about the playoff hopes of the
Cincinnati Reds If they can just get Hunter Green to
all day Marte and Austin Hayes back from the injured list.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
I couldn't be more thrilled at the thought of a
completely healthy roster one hundred percent participation and nobody missing
anytime whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
But ultimately, though, I am happy.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
With where they are because they have been playing exactly
what I thought they would do, play five hundred ball
through this tough stretch of games. I'm surprised the way
that they've done it, as I have been all season long,
where it's like, Okay, you're beating the teams that we
don't expect you to beat, and you're losing to the
teams that we do expect you to be. But they
are within striking distance at least of a wild card spot.
(01:41):
And the craziest thing about where they have gone in
this past week was that a week ago they were
four and a half games behind the Saint Louis Cardinals
and now they are tied with them. And I think
that that just shows you that anything is possible so
long as they take this season seriously and look at
their deficiencies and think, can we fix this with the
(02:03):
trade and the answer of courses, yes.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
The issue becomes Jeff is we've seen this a couple
of years ago where you start talking about can you
add something out of deadline that can make this team
more serious of a contender, and for years it's been now,
we're gonna wait, We're gonna wait for guys to develop,
We're gonna see where things are. They go into the
off season, they don't make any ear shattering news in
the offseason, and as you mentioned a couple weeks ago,
(02:28):
there's a lot of folks ready to just close the
book on the Cincinnati Red season. And yet they come
off a weekend where they go to one of the
best teams in baseball and they win the series, and
they do so with impressive performances all around. They do
so without Hunter Green, who's on the injured list right now.
And yet over the weekend we hear kind of the
same old messaging from Nick Crawl as to, well, let's
(02:49):
wait until guys get healthy. Let's see what the roster
looks like then, because we haven't had a chance to
do that. Why does not remain the thinking in your
opinion for this organization win? It does feel like entering
play today, you're two and a half back in the
wild card. You could certainly use an addition that could
help the consistency of this offense.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Why does it feel like the messaging of the team
is never.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
That the only logical explanation that I really come back
to is just that he has not been given the
financial flexibility to make the necessary moves. And the only
reason that he would say what he said is because
there is no other alternative. And that's really what kind
of depresses me when you think about where this ball
club is. There's an interesting opportunity that has really come
(03:36):
about with the struggles of the Baltimore Orioles, because they
have a number of outfielders that are on expiring contracts
that the Reds could get on a rental basis for
what I don't believe would be a very expensive trade package.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Or they could get real.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
Creative and see if they could acquire one of their
young outfielders with lots of team control, albeit that would
be a much more expensive trade package. But the whole
point of this is the Reds have built up a
farm system that it feels as though isn't necessarily ready
to produce a ton of rookies next year, but definitely
(04:09):
has a lot of talent that they could use in
a trade. It's all about whether or not the Reds
want to take on a few extra dollars, and that
has just continually been the question mark of the last
few years of financially supporting a young core that is
talented but unproven, and how do you abridge that gap
between talent and production. The Reds have started to see
(04:33):
some fruits of that with different players here recently, but
they're not getting the across the board projection and progression
that they've expected from a number of guys. So how
do you supplement that. They just continually keep telling us, well,
it's with the guys that are coming off the injured list, obviously,
(04:53):
but Austin Hayes has been on the injured list more
times than he's not.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
At least this is what it feels like.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
So how can we continue to trust that, go out
and get something that can back that up.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
What message do you feel it sends to a locker room.
Let's say the Giants locker room who are playing good baseball,
winners of seven of their last ten, and then they
add a Raphael Devers. What messaging and uplifting moment does
that bring that locker room? And on the opposite side,
for the Reds who are playing better baseball, to hear, well,
we're just gonna get guys healthy. I would imagine just
(05:26):
the culture in the locker room would be lifted by
trying to make some type of addition to say, hey,
we see what you're doing. We're serious about trying to win.
Let's get some help along the way.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Absolutely, I mean, you can't tell me that guys like
Logan Webb and Jung Huli or all of a sudden like,
let's go win some awards, let's go win some ballgames,
let's go beat the Dodgers. As much as everybody thinks
that the Dodgers are just gonna waltz into the World Series,
the Giants are now going to try to compete with that.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
And on the other side of this.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Like if you're looking at the l Central, sure the
Cubs do have themselves a nice, cushy lead at the top,
but their pitching staff is vulnerable. And we saw that
during the series that the Reds lost to the Chicago Cubs.
They weren't losing it because they weren't scoring runs. They
were losing it because they were giving up the runs,
which was completely different from what we've seen from most
(06:19):
of the season from the Reds pitching staff. And it's
just because that Cubs lineup is such a talented group
of players. Let's make the Reds line up at least
closer to that. I don't think you're going to reach
the level of where the Cubs are with the trade.
But if Nick Caral happened to be on the phone
with Craig Breslo at the time that Rafael Devers was available,
(06:40):
it sounds like the Reds might have had a chance
there if they were willing to take on that contract,
because reports are that the Red Sox didn't even really
shop Devers. It just happened to be that they were
talking to the Giants at the time and they're like,
let's make this happen. So there's definitely been some opportunities
in this past offseason that I feel like the Reds
took advantage of alt Taylor Rodgers and Gavin Lux. So
(07:02):
can Nick crawl do that here? That's where his messaging
is so distressing, because it sounds like he's not Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I find it fascinating on one end because there's recent
recent history with this team where they chose with a
lead at the deadline to not make any moves, and
that season kind of fell apart at the end, and
now we're still trying to get back to that moment,
So that would lead one to say, man, maybe things
need to be handled a little bit differently. The other
side of it, as you mentioned, the pitching for this team,
(07:31):
if you could just compete in the wild Card, let
alone the NL Central, if you've got a one or
a three game series and you've got Hunter Green, Andrew
Abbott and any of these other pitchers, you feel like,
from a pitching standpoint, you would have a chance to
go win against anybody if you're able to get in.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
I think last season was the first season that the
World Series did not include somebody from the expanded wild Card.
I mean, if you just make it to the dance
and you have decent pitching, you can really make some
noise no matter who you're going up against. I mean,
the Reds have shown the ability to shut down some
really good lineups this season, albeit at different times and
(08:11):
a little bit inconsistency. But they've got the talent that
and the focus from Terry Francona that they're gonna be
ready to go for August and September in the stretch run.
They just got to get there. And it feels like
what gets them there is the timely hitting and how
can they kind of supplement that because this pitching staff
is going to be one of the top ten, if
(08:32):
not top five, all season long. The bullpen is going
to be just good enough. Our in rotation is going
to be the thing that carries them to that spot.
But does it get enough run support? I mean we're
seeing now, like if it feels like we've got Reds
blinders on and all we see are the Reds. Look
at what's happening in Pittsburgh right now. Paul Skeins will
(08:54):
go nine innings and allow one run and he'll get
the loss because he doesn't have run support. And that's
what you need to see, and that's what the Reds
need to get. And it feels like there's gonna be
some opportunities to add that, so long as they're willing
to take on that risk.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
The play as of late of Elie de la Cruz,
he always is able to pull something together games or
series where it's like that constant reminder of you know,
don't take this for granted, and just how special of
a player he is. Is there anything you've seen from
an approach standpoint at the plate that has led to
some of this recent success that we've seen.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Man, he's gained some sort of pitch recognition that it
just felt like he hasn't had yet in his career.
His walk rate is up and his strikeout rate is down,
and the fact that for me, the performance is looking
even better than it did last year. There's a statistic
that I love to look at, whether you're talking about
good luck or bad luck for a hitter, and that's
(09:52):
batting average on balls in play. His batting average on
balls and play was actually higher last year than it
was this year. But his batting average overall, the number
that actually matters and talks about the production that he's had,
not the luck that he gets, says that he is better.
So the fact that he is able to parlay better
plate discipline into more production from left luck in the
(10:17):
field just tells you that this is only the beginning.
Everything that he's done here over this past week, he's
just scratching the surface, and I really expect him to
continue this meteoric rise at the plate that we've seen.
And maybe there's a little bit of he's being cautious
with the hamstring, and that's why we haven't seen as
many stolen bases as we would have expected, and I
(10:38):
think he's on pace to steal less than fifty bags
this year, which would surprise me if that ends up
being the case. But the fact that he's done so
much better at the plate, that he's looking even better
in the wins above replacement department, and I got to
believe that there's a lot of folks looking around the
league like, Okay, he really is beginning to back up
all of the hype that has surrounded him in these
(11:00):
past couple of years.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Jeff, I have to ask, because I brought this up
with Joe Daniman earlier in the show, And if you
follow along to All Star voting, he's not even in
the top twenty. Austin Hayes actually has more All Star
votes right now than TJ.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Friedel.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
But where is this Cincinnati Red's current team at without
TJ Friedel and what he's meant to this team offensively
and defensively.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Yeah, man, fan voting for All Star Games is just dumb,
and J Friedel He's gone it. He's the best example,
the most recent example. There's plenty of examples, but he's
definitely the most recent best example for it, because this
team is in anywhere close to where it is without him,
because this team goes as Ellie and someone else does.
(11:44):
We expected that to be Matt McClain, but it hasn't
been up until these last couple of weeks. For much
of the season, it's just been Ellie and TJ. Friedel.
If it weren't for TJ Friedel at the top of
this lineup, the Reds don't have the on base machine
that TJ. Free is and he definitely provides some surprising power,
especially to the pool side and right field, but for
(12:07):
the most part, he's the guy that gets on base,
that starts the machine rolling. And they've had some tough
times trying to get anybody with productive at bats into
that number two hole in the lineup, but TJ's been
on base for pretty much all of the ground into
double plays that whoever Santiago West and all of Matt
McLain or Spencer Steer in the second spot hits into.
(12:27):
So as much as that's not TJ Friedel's fault, he's
the guy that's really been starting everything off for this team.
And I love the stat you know they talk a
lot about on the broadcasts that Terry Francoona challenged him
at the beginning of the year to get on base
at least twice in every ball game, and he has
done so more times than not. I know, the other
(12:48):
day it was thirty five to thirty one. I think
that's gotten better now. I think it's probably thirty six
games or thirty seven games that he's gotten on base
at least twice, and that is just a testament to
how good he has been.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Defensively.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
He's not the best center fielder, but he's fine, and
I think that overall that makes him one of the best.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
In the game right now.
Speaker 5 (13:08):
I think in the National League only Pete pro Armstrong
and Andy Paeyes have better wins above replacement than does TJ.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Friedel.
Speaker 5 (13:15):
But you wouldn't know that because outside of Cincinnati, people
just don't know his name, and he deserves way more
respect than he's getting right now.
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Give us a scouting report on the Minnesota Twins. I mean,
I know you've watched every single game that they've played,
but what can we expect from Minnesota this weekend? Do
you expect them to also throw some left handed openers
at the Reds.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Man, I'll tell you what you talk about. Peaks and valleys.
The Minnesota Twins have a huge peak and a huge valley,
and it's all like backwards. Like their season started off horrible.
They looked like they were going to just fall off
a cliff and not be a factor in the Al
Central and then they went on the craziest win streak
ever and got right back up to the top of
the mountain when it comes to that division. And now
(13:58):
they're sliding back down that slow And so what do
you expect from a team like this where they do
have a lot of talent, But they have a lot
of talent on the injured list as well and in
Byron Buxton and guys like that, and their pitching staff
is very intriguing. I don't think that we will see
all of the openers like we saw with the Tigers.
I mean the Tigers, it almost feels like their pitching
(14:19):
staff is built on openers. But I think that ultimately
we'll see at least one in this series, because there's
not a team in the major leagues that doesn't know
how much the Red struggle against left handed pitching. But
I think ultimately we will just see some really solidly
pitched games. They don't walk a lot of people. Their
pitching staff does, and they've got Juan Duran there at
(14:40):
the end of the bullpen that is going to shut
down a game if they've got a lead in the
ninth inning.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
So the Reds are.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Going to need to play on their ability to score
early in a ballgame and hold the lead for as
long as they possibly can. Because as much as it's
nice that they got that late inning monkey off their
back there on Sunday, I don't really want to bet
on them getting continuing that momentum against the guy like
the Ram because he can really spin it.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
They're about to enter a stretch of facing a bunch
of left handers. Is there a strategy or a lineup
that you believe Terry Francona can can put out there
that will give this gives them the best chance to
maybe hit their way out of this these struggles against
left handers.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
I don't know what Reese Higins did, but whatever it is,
I wish they'd put to pass them and just call
him back up and get and get rees signs on
the lineup, and get Garrett Hanson off this roster because
I don't know why he's here. I get it he
can play in field. Announcing old and blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
But I think his OPS is four.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Hundred, not his batting average. I think his OPS as
a hole is four hundred right now. So he's he's
just been a black hole on this lineup no matter
if he's sitting in the ninth spot or not. I
just want to see him out of here because he's
a huge reason why this right handed lineup where the
Reds are trying to face left hander's, really just struggles
(16:05):
a lot him. And then you also look at the
fact that TJ. Friedle actually split swize isn't that great
against lefties anymore like his first couple of years he was,
but he's sort of seen that regress to the mean.
He's much better against righty's than he is against lefties.
So that's a tough thing where your main guy that's
getting on base for you at the top of the
(16:26):
lineup struggles against right handers. So I think i'd almost
like to see Gavin Lux in the leadoff spot there
because he's actually gotten on base against lefties. He doesn't
hit for power against lefties, but he's gotten on base
against lefties pretty well. End Ironically, Connor Joe, he's actually
pretty good against righty so or against lefties. Sorry, got
(16:48):
split up there with my hands.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
But I take that.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
Ultimately, give me Connor Joe in the lineup, give me
handsome out off this team, and let's see Gavin Lux
featured a little bit more because dude can get on.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You mentioned Jeff that this team will go with Ellie
and whoever else. Are we getting closer to a point
where we're seeing a little bit more or a little
confidence from Spencer Steer and Matt McClain to be that
player that a lot of folks that had banked on
them being.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
I do think so. I think Spencer Steer has come
up with a lot more clutch singles than clutch extra
base hits than we would like, but he's really coming
up in the clutch in important spots. And Matt McClain,
I think that we saw what we needed to see
from him out of that two spot was a multi
hit game or a multi on base game on Sunday,
because Terry Franconner really challenged him by putting him back
(17:39):
in that spot where this month of June he's been
getting on base thirty four.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Percent of the time.
Speaker 5 (17:45):
He's been slugging over four forty, and you're like, that
is more of what we would expect from Matt McLain.
I don't expect him to slug five hundred, but if
you can slug around four point fifty, then that's what
you need out of Matt McClain and what we see
moving forward, I want to see more out of that.
I think he'll hit in the second spot at least
(18:05):
for this series because quite frankly, Santiago Westpinal has just
not been good.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
I get it. He had three hits on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
Two of those were in field hits that were horribly
misplayed by the Detroit Tigers fielding.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
That they had a bad game on Sunday, but.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
He definitely took advantage of some bad fielding there. I
want to see him at the bottom of the lineup,
or let's have Christian and Carnassi on Straam play third base,
Spencer Steer play first base, because Steer actually is number
two in Major League Baseball first baseman and outs above average,
So I really like what he's done with the glove,
(18:39):
something that he's not really been known for in his
short career, has actually really looked well at first base.
Let's stop moving him around. I think we found his position,
and let's see what ces has at third and keep
running steer out there about the fifth or sixth spot
in the lineup. I think those clutch hits are just
going to continue, and I think that Matt McClain is
going to continue to get better.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
You mentioned and clutch, Jeff, And it's the last question
I have for you. We watched over the weekend. I
thought one of the more impressive at bats of the season.
It didn't result in a hit, but it resulted in
something that this team has lacked, in my opinion, for
far too much of the season, and that is situational awareness,
situational hitting. And it came off the bat of Will Benson,
who put together a great at bat and he catches
(19:22):
up to the high pitch and he puts a ball
in play with a runner on third and less than
two outs and it gets the tying run in against
the Detroit Tigers. How much can something like that for
a player like Will Benson go into someone. I feel
like he's a guy that people just keep waiting, you
see the flashes for, But to put it in a
bat like that together and get the meaningful RBI on
(19:44):
a Sackfly. How much can that help with a confidence
level for a player like Will Benson.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Oh, it's immense. I mean, that's the key at bat
to see him take the next step, because Will Benson
was starting to fall into that category of man, he's
a streaky hitter, which you there's a time and place
for streaky hitters. Jay Bruce made a career out of
being a streaky hitter. But I think that for Will Benson,
if he is going to gain more trust from Terry
(20:10):
Francona and really show us that he can take that
next step and be more than just a platoon guy
that you hope you catch at the right time. It
was that at bat on Sunday to Sackfly where I mean,
he battled in that at bat, and sure he benefited
from a couple of early pitches that the umpire kind
of missed. I thought that it looked like he should
(20:31):
have fallen down two on those first two pitches, but hey,
you take what the empire gives you. And ultimately he
was really able to battle with Will vest who is
the best relief pitcher on a Detroit Tigers bullpen that
has been very good this year, and so he was
able to just foul off and catch up just enough
to that fastball to the point that Will vest knew
(20:52):
I either got to change it up on him or
just hope he misses this fastball here, and he was
able to outthink a good pitcher on the mound. I
want to see more of that because he's always had
good plate discipline. He doesn't chase bad pitches. He just
doesn't make regular contact on pitches in the zone. So
how can he use that to his advantage? Start to
(21:13):
battle more. We see more productive at bats out of him,
where if it's not a hit, it's at least moving
the runner along or keeping the Reds in the inning.
That is really where Will Benson is going to take
the next step for me, and I saw a part
of it on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Jeff Carr locked on Red's always always the best man. Jeff,
thank you so much. What is the easiest way for
listeners to follow along with everything you got going on
with the Cincinnati Reds.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Tony Austin appreciate you guys.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
You can always follow us on every podcasting app there is,
including the iHeartRadio app, and we're on YouTube as well.
You can watch us talk Reds. You can also follow
me on social media on x on, TikTok all the
good stuff at Jeff Carr three f's love.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It, Jeff, Thank you so much man. We'll talk again soon.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Thanks Jeff. Thanks guys, got red there.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
He is Jeff Carr, the Lockdown Reds Podcast. Appreciative of
Jeff's time for us when we get back. More on
the Cincinnati sports scene, Let's take a little bit of
a dive into uh, some things going on with the
Cincinnati Bengals. Next with your phone calls five one, three seven,
fifteen thirty on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Lowager, there was some pooling of the team last night.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
When it comes to sports, he's got something to say
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
All right, welcome back.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
It is our number three thanks to our friends at
Penn Station. Thank you for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station. Let's get it underway in the final
hour with our good friend from the Lockdown Reds podcast.
So much coverage going on with the Cincinnati Reds and
kind enough to join us right now.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It's Jeff Carr. Hi, Jeff, how are you.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Don I'm doing good Man.
Speaker 5 (00:48):
Always feel like I forget to eat lunch whenever I
hear though open for the hour, So now.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I'm hungry, you know, Jeff?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
How excited are you about the playoff hopes of the
Cincinnati Reds If they can just get Hunter Green to
all day Marte and Austin Hayes back from the injured list.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
I couldn't be more thrilled at the thought of a
completely healthy roster one hundred percent participation and nobody missing
anytime whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
But ultimately, though, I am happy.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
With where they are because they have been playing exactly
what I thought they would do, play five hundred ball
through this tough stretch of games. I'm surprised the way
that they've done it, as I have been all season long,
where it's like, Okay, you're beating the teams that we
don't expect you to beat, and you're losing to the
teams that we do expect you to be. But they
are within striking distance at least of a wild card spot.
(01:41):
And the craziest thing about where they have gone in
this past week was that a week ago they were
four and a half games behind the Saint Louis Cardinals
and now they are tied with them. And I think
that that just shows you that anything is possible so
long as they take this season seriously and look at
their deficiencies and think, can we fix this with the
(02:03):
trade and the answer of courses, yes.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
The issue becomes Jeff is we've seen this a couple
of years ago where you start talking about can you
add something out of deadline that can make this team
more serious of a contender, and for years it's been now,
we're gonna wait, We're gonna wait for guys to develop,
We're gonna see where things are. They go into the
off season, they don't make any ear shattering news in
the offseason, and as you mentioned a couple weeks ago,
(02:28):
there's a lot of folks ready to just close the
book on the Cincinnati Red season. And yet they come
off a weekend where they go to one of the
best teams in baseball and they win the series, and
they do so with impressive performances all around. They do
so without Hunter Green, who's on the injured list right now.
And yet over the weekend we hear kind of the
same old messaging from Nick Crawl as to, well, let's
(02:49):
wait until guys get healthy. Let's see what the roster
looks like then, because we haven't had a chance to
do that. Why does not remain the thinking in your
opinion for this organization win? It does feel like entering
play today, you're two and a half back in the
wild card. You could certainly use an addition that could
help the consistency of this offense.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Why does it feel like the messaging of the team
is never.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
That the only logical explanation that I really come back
to is just that he has not been given the
financial flexibility to make the necessary moves. And the only
reason that he would say what he said is because
there is no other alternative. And that's really what kind
of depresses me when you think about where this ball
club is. There's an interesting opportunity that has really come
(03:36):
about with the struggles of the Baltimore Orioles, because they
have a number of outfielders that are on expiring contracts
that the Reds could get on a rental basis for
what I don't believe would be a very expensive trade package.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Or they could get real.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
Creative and see if they could acquire one of their
young outfielders with lots of team control, albeit that would
be a much more expensive trade package. But the whole
point of this is the Reds have built up a
farm system that it feels as though isn't necessarily ready
to produce a ton of rookies next year, but definitely
(04:09):
has a lot of talent that they could use in
a trade. It's all about whether or not the Reds
want to take on a few extra dollars, and that
has just continually been the question mark of the last
few years of financially supporting a young core that is
talented but unproven, and how do you abridge that gap
between talent and production. The Reds have started to see
(04:33):
some fruits of that with different players here recently, but
they're not getting the across the board projection and progression
that they've expected from a number of guys. So how
do you supplement that. They just continually keep telling us, well,
it's with the guys that are coming off the injured list, obviously,
(04:53):
but Austin Hayes has been on the injured list more
times than he's not.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
At least this is what it feels like.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
So how can we continue to trust that, go out
and get something that can back that up.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
What message do you feel it sends to a locker room.
Let's say the Giants locker room who are playing good baseball,
winners of seven of their last ten, and then they
add a Raphael Devers. What messaging and uplifting moment does
that bring that locker room? And on the opposite side,
for the Reds who are playing better baseball, to hear, well,
we're just gonna get guys healthy. I would imagine just
(05:26):
the culture in the locker room would be lifted by
trying to make some type of addition to say, hey,
we see what you're doing. We're serious about trying to win.
Let's get some help along the way.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Absolutely, I mean, you can't tell me that guys like
Logan Webb and Jung Huli or all of a sudden like,
let's go win some awards, let's go win some ballgames,
let's go beat the Dodgers. As much as everybody thinks
that the Dodgers are just gonna waltz into the World Series,
the Giants are now going to try to compete with that.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
And on the other side of this.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Like if you're looking at the l Central, sure the
Cubs do have themselves a nice, cushy lead at the top,
but their pitching staff is vulnerable. And we saw that
during the series that the Reds lost to the Chicago Cubs.
They weren't losing it because they weren't scoring runs. They
were losing it because they were giving up the runs,
which was completely different from what we've seen from most
(06:19):
of the season from the Reds pitching staff. And it's
just because that Cubs lineup is such a talented group
of players. Let's make the Reds line up at least
closer to that. I don't think you're going to reach
the level of where the Cubs are with the trade.
But if Nick Caral happened to be on the phone
with Craig Breslo at the time that Rafael Devers was available,
(06:40):
it sounds like the Reds might have had a chance
there if they were willing to take on that contract,
because reports are that the Red Sox didn't even really
shop Devers. It just happened to be that they were
talking to the Giants at the time and they're like,
let's make this happen. So there's definitely been some opportunities
in this past offseason that I feel like the Reds
took advantage of alt Taylor Rodgers and Gavin Lux. So
(07:02):
can Nick crawl do that here? That's where his messaging
is so distressing, because it sounds like he's not Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I find it fascinating on one end because there's recent
recent history with this team where they chose with a
lead at the deadline to not make any moves, and
that season kind of fell apart at the end, and
now we're still trying to get back to that moment,
So that would lead one to say, man, maybe things
need to be handled a little bit differently. The other
side of it, as you mentioned, the pitching for this team,
(07:31):
if you could just compete in the wild Card, let
alone the NL Central, if you've got a one or
a three game series and you've got Hunter Green, Andrew
Abbott and any of these other pitchers, you feel like,
from a pitching standpoint, you would have a chance to
go win against anybody if you're able to get in.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
I think last season was the first season that the
World Series did not include somebody from the expanded wild Card.
I mean, if you just make it to the dance
and you have decent pitching, you can really make some
noise no matter who you're going up against. I mean,
the Reds have shown the ability to shut down some
really good lineups this season, albeit at different times and
(08:11):
a little bit inconsistency. But they've got the talent that
and the focus from Terry Francona that they're gonna be
ready to go for August and September in the stretch run.
They just got to get there. And it feels like
what gets them there is the timely hitting and how
can they kind of supplement that because this pitching staff
is going to be one of the top ten, if
(08:32):
not top five, all season long. The bullpen is going
to be just good enough. Our in rotation is going
to be the thing that carries them to that spot.
But does it get enough run support? I mean we're
seeing now, like if it feels like we've got Reds
blinders on and all we see are the Reds. Look
at what's happening in Pittsburgh right now. Paul Skeins will
(08:54):
go nine innings and allow one run and he'll get
the loss because he doesn't have run support. And that's
what you need to see, and that's what the Reds
need to get. And it feels like there's gonna be
some opportunities to add that, so long as they're willing
to take on that risk.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
The play as of late of Elie de la Cruz,
he always is able to pull something together games or
series where it's like that constant reminder of you know,
don't take this for granted, and just how special of
a player he is. Is there anything you've seen from
an approach standpoint at the plate that has led to
some of this recent success that we've seen.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Man, he's gained some sort of pitch recognition that it
just felt like he hasn't had yet in his career.
His walk rate is up and his strikeout rate is down,
and the fact that for me, the performance is looking
even better than it did last year. There's a statistic
that I love to look at, whether you're talking about
good luck or bad luck for a hitter, and that's
(09:52):
batting average on balls in play. His batting average on
balls and play was actually higher last year than it
was this year. But his batting average overall, the number
that actually matters and talks about the production that he's had,
not the luck that he gets, says that he is better.
So the fact that he is able to parlay better
plate discipline into more production from left luck in the
(10:17):
field just tells you that this is only the beginning.
Everything that he's done here over this past week, he's
just scratching the surface, and I really expect him to
continue this meteoric rise at the plate that we've seen.
And maybe there's a little bit of he's being cautious
with the hamstring, and that's why we haven't seen as
many stolen bases as we would have expected, and I
(10:38):
think he's on pace to steal less than fifty bags
this year, which would surprise me if that ends up
being the case. But the fact that he's done so
much better at the plate, that he's looking even better
in the wins above replacement department, and I got to
believe that there's a lot of folks looking around the
league like, Okay, he really is beginning to back up
all of the hype that has surrounded him in these
(11:00):
past couple of years.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Jeff, I have to ask, because I brought this up
with Joe Daniman earlier in the show, And if you
follow along to All Star voting, he's not even in
the top twenty. Austin Hayes actually has more All Star
votes right now than TJ.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Friedel.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
But where is this Cincinnati Red's current team at without
TJ Friedel and what he's meant to this team offensively
and defensively.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Yeah, man, fan voting for All Star Games is just dumb,
and J Friedel He's gone it. He's the best example,
the most recent example. There's plenty of examples, but he's
definitely the most recent best example for it, because this
team is in anywhere close to where it is without him,
because this team goes as Ellie and someone else does.
(11:44):
We expected that to be Matt McClain, but it hasn't
been up until these last couple of weeks. For much
of the season, it's just been Ellie and TJ. Friedel.
If it weren't for TJ Friedel at the top of
this lineup, the Reds don't have the on base machine
that TJ. Free is and he definitely provides some surprising power,
especially to the pool side and right field, but for
(12:07):
the most part, he's the guy that gets on base,
that starts the machine rolling. And they've had some tough
times trying to get anybody with productive at bats into
that number two hole in the lineup, but TJ's been
on base for pretty much all of the ground into
double plays that whoever Santiago West and all of Matt
McLain or Spencer Steer in the second spot hits into.
(12:27):
So as much as that's not TJ Friedel's fault, he's
the guy that's really been starting everything off for this team.
And I love the stat you know they talk a
lot about on the broadcasts that Terry Francoona challenged him
at the beginning of the year to get on base
at least twice in every ball game, and he has
done so more times than not. I know, the other
(12:48):
day it was thirty five to thirty one. I think
that's gotten better now. I think it's probably thirty six
games or thirty seven games that he's gotten on base
at least twice, and that is just a testament to
how good he has been.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Defensively.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
He's not the best center fielder, but he's fine, and
I think that overall that makes him one of the best.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
In the game right now.
Speaker 5 (13:08):
I think in the National League only Pete pro Armstrong
and Andy Paeyes have better wins above replacement than does TJ.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Friedel.
Speaker 5 (13:15):
But you wouldn't know that because outside of Cincinnati, people
just don't know his name, and he deserves way more
respect than he's getting right now.
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Give us a scouting report on the Minnesota Twins. I mean,
I know you've watched every single game that they've played,
but what can we expect from Minnesota this weekend? Do
you expect them to also throw some left handed openers
at the Reds.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Man, I'll tell you what you talk about. Peaks and valleys.
The Minnesota Twins have a huge peak and a huge valley,
and it's all like backwards. Like their season started off horrible.
They looked like they were going to just fall off
a cliff and not be a factor in the Al
Central and then they went on the craziest win streak
ever and got right back up to the top of
the mountain when it comes to that division. And now
(13:58):
they're sliding back down that slow And so what do
you expect from a team like this where they do
have a lot of talent, But they have a lot
of talent on the injured list as well and in
Byron Buxton and guys like that, and their pitching staff
is very intriguing. I don't think that we will see
all of the openers like we saw with the Tigers.
I mean the Tigers, it almost feels like their pitching
(14:19):
staff is built on openers. But I think that ultimately
we'll see at least one in this series, because there's
not a team in the major leagues that doesn't know
how much the Red struggle against left handed pitching. But
I think ultimately we will just see some really solidly
pitched games. They don't walk a lot of people. Their
pitching staff does, and they've got Juan Duran there at
(14:40):
the end of the bullpen that is going to shut
down a game if they've got a lead in the
ninth inning.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
So the Reds are.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Going to need to play on their ability to score
early in a ballgame and hold the lead for as
long as they possibly can. Because as much as it's
nice that they got that late inning monkey off their
back there on Sunday, I don't really want to bet
on them getting continuing that momentum against the guy like
the Ram because he can really spin it.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
They're about to enter a stretch of facing a bunch
of left handers. Is there a strategy or a lineup
that you believe Terry Francona can can put out there
that will give this gives them the best chance to
maybe hit their way out of this these struggles against
left handers.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
I don't know what Reese Higins did, but whatever it is,
I wish they'd put to pass them and just call
him back up and get and get rees signs on
the lineup, and get Garrett Hanson off this roster because
I don't know why he's here. I get it he
can play in field. Announcing old and blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
But I think his OPS is four.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Hundred, not his batting average. I think his OPS as
a hole is four hundred right now. So he's he's
just been a black hole on this lineup no matter
if he's sitting in the ninth spot or not. I
just want to see him out of here because he's
a huge reason why this right handed lineup where the
Reds are trying to face left hander's, really just struggles
(16:05):
a lot him. And then you also look at the
fact that TJ. Friedle actually split swize isn't that great
against lefties anymore like his first couple of years he was,
but he's sort of seen that regress to the mean.
He's much better against righty's than he is against lefties.
So that's a tough thing where your main guy that's
getting on base for you at the top of the
(16:26):
lineup struggles against right handers. So I think i'd almost
like to see Gavin Lux in the leadoff spot there
because he's actually gotten on base against lefties. He doesn't
hit for power against lefties, but he's gotten on base
against lefties pretty well. End Ironically, Connor Joe, he's actually
pretty good against righty so or against lefties. Sorry, got
(16:48):
split up there with my hands.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
But I take that.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
Ultimately, give me Connor Joe in the lineup, give me
handsome out off this team, and let's see Gavin Lux
featured a little bit more because dude can get on.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You mentioned Jeff that this team will go with Ellie
and whoever else. Are we getting closer to a point
where we're seeing a little bit more or a little
confidence from Spencer Steer and Matt McClain to be that
player that a lot of folks that had banked on
them being.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
I do think so. I think Spencer Steer has come
up with a lot more clutch singles than clutch extra
base hits than we would like, but he's really coming
up in the clutch in important spots. And Matt McClain,
I think that we saw what we needed to see
from him out of that two spot was a multi
hit game or a multi on base game on Sunday,
because Terry Franconner really challenged him by putting him back
(17:39):
in that spot where this month of June he's been
getting on base thirty four.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Percent of the time.
Speaker 5 (17:45):
He's been slugging over four forty, and you're like, that
is more of what we would expect from Matt McLain.
I don't expect him to slug five hundred, but if
you can slug around four point fifty, then that's what
you need out of Matt McClain and what we see
moving forward, I want to see more out of that.
I think he'll hit in the second spot at least
(18:05):
for this series because quite frankly, Santiago Westpinal has just
not been good.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
I get it. He had three hits on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
Two of those were in field hits that were horribly
misplayed by the Detroit Tigers fielding.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
That they had a bad game on Sunday, but.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
He definitely took advantage of some bad fielding there. I
want to see him at the bottom of the lineup,
or let's have Christian and Carnassi on Straam play third base,
Spencer Steer play first base, because Steer actually is number
two in Major League Baseball first baseman and outs above average,
So I really like what he's done with the glove,
(18:39):
something that he's not really been known for in his
short career, has actually really looked well at first base.
Let's stop moving him around. I think we found his position,
and let's see what ces has at third and keep
running steer out there about the fifth or sixth spot
in the lineup. I think those clutch hits are just
going to continue, and I think that Matt McClain is
going to continue to get better.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
You mentioned and clutch, Jeff, And it's the last question
I have for you. We watched over the weekend. I
thought one of the more impressive at bats of the season.
It didn't result in a hit, but it resulted in
something that this team has lacked, in my opinion, for
far too much of the season, and that is situational awareness,
situational hitting. And it came off the bat of Will Benson,
who put together a great at bat and he catches
(19:22):
up to the high pitch and he puts a ball
in play with a runner on third and less than
two outs and it gets the tying run in against
the Detroit Tigers. How much can something like that for
a player like Will Benson go into someone. I feel
like he's a guy that people just keep waiting, you
see the flashes for, But to put it in a
bat like that together and get the meaningful RBI on
(19:44):
a Sackfly. How much can that help with a confidence
level for a player like Will Benson.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Oh, it's immense. I mean, that's the key at bat
to see him take the next step, because Will Benson
was starting to fall into that category of man, he's
a streaky hitter, which you there's a time and place
for streaky hitters. Jay Bruce made a career out of
being a streaky hitter. But I think that for Will Benson,
if he is going to gain more trust from Terry
(20:10):
Francona and really show us that he can take that
next step and be more than just a platoon guy
that you hope you catch at the right time. It
was that at bat on Sunday to Sackfly where I mean,
he battled in that at bat, and sure he benefited
from a couple of early pitches that the umpire kind
of missed. I thought that it looked like he should
(20:31):
have fallen down two on those first two pitches, but hey,
you take what the empire gives you. And ultimately he
was really able to battle with Will vest who is
the best relief pitcher on a Detroit Tigers bullpen that
has been very good this year, and so he was
able to just foul off and catch up just enough
to that fastball to the point that Will vest knew
(20:52):
I either got to change it up on him or
just hope he misses this fastball here, and he was
able to outthink a good pitcher on the mound. I
want to see more of that because he's always had
good plate discipline. He doesn't chase bad pitches. He just
doesn't make regular contact on pitches in the zone. So
how can he use that to his advantage? Start to
(21:13):
battle more. We see more productive at bats out of him,
where if it's not a hit, it's at least moving
the runner along or keeping the Reds in the inning.
That is really where Will Benson is going to take
the next step for me, and I saw a part
of it on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Jeff Carr locked on Red's always always the best man. Jeff,
thank you so much. What is the easiest way for
listeners to follow along with everything you got going on
with the Cincinnati Reds.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Tony Austin appreciate you guys.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
You can always follow us on every podcasting app there is,
including the iHeartRadio app, and we're on YouTube as well.
You can watch us talk Reds. You can also follow
me on social media on x on, TikTok all the
good stuff at Jeff Carr three f's love.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It, Jeff, Thank you so much man. We'll talk again soon.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Thanks Jeff. Thanks guys, got red there.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
He is Jeff Carr, the Lockdown Reds Podcast. Appreciative of
Jeff's time for us when we get back. More on
the Cincinnati sports scene, Let's take a little bit of
a dive into uh, some things going on with the
Cincinnati Bengals. Next with your phone calls five one, three seven,
fifteen thirty on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Lowager, there was some pooling of the team last night.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
When it comes to sports, he's got something to say
or just natural byproducts and plenty of it of poor play.
Low Eger. Today a three on ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
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