Cincy 360 -- Tony Pike with Tom Gelehrter

Tony talks FC Cincinnati with Tommy G on ESPN 1530!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cincy three sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati, sponsored in part
by Cincy Shirts. Cincy Shirts, All Cincy, all Day. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome back Cincy three to sixty. Thanks to Cincy Shirts.
Thank you for listening and following along here on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. It's our number two. It's Friday.
You know what that means. Charlie Goldsmith is with us
right now, ready to dive into some Cincinnati Reds. What's up, Charlie, Tony.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
How you doing Charlie? I'm great.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
How are you doing this week?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
I'm doing great. I'm doing great, having a good week,
good weekend, big.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Week and at the ballpark with the the big Red
machine in town. Also the San Diego Padres in town.
We'll get to that, but we've crossed over that halfway
point of the season, and for the Reds, I wanted
to get your thoughts. Give me the most promising thing
from the first half you saw, and your most concerning
thing from the first half that needs to be solved.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
The most promising thing has been the fact that TJ.
Friedel in the leadoff spot and Elie de la Cruze,
Bat and third have been able to carry the entire
offense through some muck and have certainly been some hot
stretches mixed in there as well, but there's also been
a lot of grind that they've had to get through
that freedom from a consistency perspective, and yes, Ellie, from

(01:27):
a consistency perspective, I have been able to contribute. The
biggest concern, the biggest trend is maybe the defense in
the base running, not just for Elliet but for the
whole team. That identity hasn't totally clicked yet. And even
on when Day you saw that lead to another game
getting away from them. I think it's gotten better over
the course of the year, but you know, in May
we were saying they've already lost twelve games where they

(01:50):
beat themselves. That raid has gone down, but you'd still
like to see another step there. But the stars on
the team are very clearly it's stars. The roles are
very defied. And I'll say this to that Yankees game
on Tuesday was the first time I really thought to myself,
the Reds actually have a real shot at this thing,
and they actually can do it.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Do you think that the good you've seen spread out
across the first half. Outweighs the bad and the questions
that this team has.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Well, we're over five hundred, so I think overall it
would be a you know what, I was gonna say
it being that positive, but still they're got in the
playoff spot, so you do have to bring in that
bit of skepticism in terms of where they are. I
am generally feeling a positive tone. A couple of players
have mentioned this, and I do agree with it too,
Like the Threads are playing your best baseball. The rotation

(02:38):
hasn't been pitching that well over the last month. It's
like there's a pretty clear path here, which is that
the rotation then really gets humming, and I think some
of the young relievers can help balance out the pitching
staff as well, and then the reads really start clicking
at that level in a way that's even more sustainable
than how they've played. Now I'll add this too. I

(02:59):
was talking to an opposing player recently, a guy who
have known for a bit of guy really trusts. He
really impressed. He said the Reds look like a playoff team.
He said that the air qualities and a lot of
bet are just dangerous. That the depth is better than
people give it credit force and the Reds are certain
to get that recognition around the league as well.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Do you think that we're seeing more and more Terry
Francona got to kind of leave his his fingerprint on
this team. I think there's certainly an understanding that it
takes a while to know the roster. But are you
feeling that that he's starting to push the right buttons
and having more of an impact on a game by
game basis for the team offensively?

Speaker 3 (03:35):
I mean, there's no doubt that the offense has been
doing better. I think what you've seen is, and I've
described this is like a scheme change, the identity shifts
and the more of a situational hitting emphasis that the
Reds have put into play this year. I think that
took time. I think guys were putting new situations and
we're like, I've never been in this situation before with
this style and this scheme, being asked to do this,

(03:57):
and I think as they've gotten more reps with that,
that's one area where you've seen the offensive identity improves.
Obviously that starts with Francona, but that's brought in kind
of on a daily basis with Christalaka and hitting staff,
which are new as well. The other big one I
mean is you know the Ellie hasn't had a clean week,
and you saw after the base running mistake on Tuesday one,

(04:18):
Terry Francona talked to him about it, addressed it very directly,
told him you're better than that. And two he just
said that to the media. Terry Francona did. He was
very honest and open and upfront with us about the
conversations that he that he was having with Elie. I mean, like,
accountability is the buzzword, right, but but there was really
right there that won't pay off. I don't know, but
that is what Terry Francona was brought here to do.

(04:41):
And of course he's he's he's sharing that and being
vocal about that when it's the right time.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
You have you've watched, probably as a fan, and now
you've seen covering this team some pretty memorable debuts for
the Cincinnati Reds. Where do you rank what you saw
from Chase Burns earlier this week.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
I remember watching Johnny Quiddo's debut from a dentist office.
I remember I remember watching Bruce's debut in my brother's
room where he had a little TV that he got
rid of a long time ago. But it's been a
long time since Bruce debuted. I was at Billy's debut
that was electric. I forget where I was for Chapman's debut.

(05:20):
That's a to me, it's a pretty short list. Green
had a very cool debut, even though he had to
grind a bit. I mean, here's the thing, though, Chase Burns, like,
all right, you can't write his tickets to Cooper's Town.
Yet you can say this though, there is no doubt
that Chase bern is an elite talent who should have
had even more hype coming up as a prospect and
ended up. It's funny like you'd ask me a couple

(05:43):
of weeks ago, like should they bring Burns up? And
i'd i'd him in haw and I say innings in
the big picture in the season, and it's like, no,
the right should have brought Chase Burns up. I don't
want to compare anyone to Paul's Steens, but this is
about as close as it can possibly look to scheme
for a prospect coming up, And just the way the
stuff's playing in a way that I even think is

(06:04):
more sustainable when you factor in the depth of the
arsenal as well than say Jacob Mazarowski and in Milwaukee,
Chase Burns is going to be a central figure for
the Reds for the next at least six years, obviously
ideally for them it'd be longer. He has the tools
to go into LA and lead the Reds to a
playoff with if they ever get there. Like he's that

(06:26):
type of piece now like you got Eli, got Hunter
yet Burns like he's very much in that tiear. Now
for me, looking forward.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
How do you view their rotation panning out going forward?

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Now? I mentioned the optimism that the rotation, They felt
like there's been some positive trends behind the scenes that
haven't quite shown up yet. On a very controversial take,
which is that I have and I'm not I'm very
optimistic today, but they are playing good ball. Like I'm
more optimistic on Mick Lidolo's season, and I know how

(06:58):
it's looked, But the fact that the whole thing with
Nick Lido and I talked to him about this in
Flint the other day, the whole thing for him has
always been the way he snaps the breaking ball. But
that's his thing. That pitch has been off all season
and he's had to rely on this changeup that he
picked up on the fly two years ago. And aside
from my two bad days, he's doing a pretty solid job.
So that can be such a clear adjustment. From a

(07:20):
mechanical perspective, sometimes you just find the pitch again. If
he does that, I think he's poised to pitch at
All Star level. Still. With Tick Martinez, the thing was,
I mean, he's the word focused. Several times, there was
a lot of talk in the bullpen between the coaching staff,
et cetera, about how putting Martinez in the bullpen for
two games helped him just click back into gear and

(07:43):
something snapped into place again for him from adrenaline perspective,
from how he felt. They feel good about that. I
think the ball's coming better at a Brady Singer's hands.
I think he's he's throwing his best ball right now,
and the Reds will certainly take that. What they're with,
what they're getting me Andrew Rabbit, Will Moore, can you say, Burns?
That thing will still be how they manage his innings
like flagged that last week before the All Star break,

(08:06):
do they add in a spot start just to get
burned an extra day. Then whenever Hunter Green returns, do
they move to a six man rotation, Like they'll have
to make those decisions because they're going to be careful
with Burns, but with Green then coming back too. I
still think this rotation has a lot of room to improve,
and I see that as very realistic to expect.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
I read earlier from you, Charlie about the Reds needing
to give their rookie relievers even more of a shot.
You make the case for Zach Maxwell. You also, I thought,
brought light to something very important earlier in the week,
and that is how good Tony Santion has been for
the Cincinnati Reds. Talk about him and talk about the
rest of this Reds bullpen a little bit going forward
here into the second half.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, funny because Santy and ties into it in twenty
twenty one. I think they should have given Santine more
of a shot out of the bullpen during the second
half of that season, or even earlier, moved them to
the bullpen earlier back before the trade deadline when the
bullpen just didn't have any option that that was a
terrible bullpen and Santiue was so young, but could he
have won them a couple more games if they would

(09:06):
have thrown him in there right away? And so what
the bullpen had been this year before Graham Ashcraft got
hurt was the whole game was just get the ball
to Ashcraft, Santye and Pagan at the end and they'll
you know, you'll live and die. You'll you'll ride or
die with those guys. But then when Ashcraft got hurt,
that kind of blew up the plan. Of course, Santina
and Pagan are still in the back, but because of

(09:27):
Ashcraft's versatility, they've kind of had to reassess everything from
a role's perspective. And Scott Barlow's come in. I think
Scott Barlow's done better, done a nice solid job, but
there's obviously a limited ceiling there. He also was one
of the worst walk rates in baseball. I'm impressed with
what I'm seeing, especially from Lion Richards and then the

(09:48):
lines ready to be a seventhdinding guy right now. Connor Phillips,
he looks good. I'm interested. Obviously a huge arm, the
commands the thing, but he was pitching great and triple A.
He had a nice rebound on two day pitch Bullgin
the other day belief. May we've seen it when he's
been up. Frankly, he's in the minor leagues right now
because he was the one of the only pictures they

(10:08):
had with options and they may not be carrying there
if they ate best re leaf pitchers on the roster
right now. And then throwing Maxwell, who's a lot like
last May we just haven't seen him yet. I say
about Maxwell, if I'm Ari's minstore one hundred dollars an hour, like,
that's pretty exciting threads. As of right now, I'd say
late back of the bullpen is as big of a

(10:29):
need as an outfield bad and that might sound controversial.
I see those as equal. But if multiple of those
young guys are those guys, if there's a wave here
that's ready to be the back of your bullpen right now,
well that completely changes your trade deadline strategy, and then
you can invest more into improving other areas of the roster.
So you need to know what you have first. So

(10:50):
let let's give those young guys a shock, because I
think a lot of them are ready for it, and
see what they can do. And then if they're not
ready then trade for some guys into the midline.

Speaker 4 (10:58):
What did you make of the real action from the
team after the news that jam Or Candelario had been
dfa'd And do you feel like that can kind of
give them some energy, not that one of their friends
is leaving, but that the organization seems to be trying
to win.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
You know what, Truthfully, I think the Reds would have
dfaed Candelario if they were fifteen games under five hundred,
or if they were fifteen games over five hundred, or
if they were exactly where they were. And I feel
they're very similarly about their decision to call up Chase Burns.
From an urgency perspective, I think the most urgent thing
they did was putting Martinez in the bullpen for those
two games. The other most urgent thing they did was

(11:36):
basically skipping Petty intel extra innings in that game on
Saturday in Saint Louis last week and making that a
true bullpen de Like that was them doing everything to
win a game. Candelario or they just just had better
guys and they were they'd been ready to maybe eat
that money for a while. I'll say it again, like,
what will really be the aggressive all in move will

(11:58):
be having the best eight with levers on the team.
That's what I'm keeping my eye on for because I
am so high on May and on Uh and on
the Backswell bullpen in depth is really important. But last
year the Red's made the mistakes back to him Tony Sandy,
and they kept so Tony Santine in triple A last year.
I believe him go pretty close to his opt out

(12:18):
date when he could have opted out if the Reds
hadn't called him up. Well, it turned out he was
their second best reliever and he just should have been
up all along, and they were overthinking the whole depth thing.
You don't want to repeat that seem mistake twice, especially
when you know you're every game so important because you're
fighting on the on the fringes of the playoff race.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
Charlie, this team has struggled against left handed pitching for
much of the season. This team has also been dealing
with a lot of injuries to their right handed bats.
Right now, they don't have the services of Noelva Marte,
they don't have Austin Hayes.

Speaker 3 (12:52):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
Where do we stand on their potential returns and is
them returning enough to turn this around against lefties or
do they still need to look to add more.

Speaker 3 (13:04):
You're always looking to improve with Hayes, to be honest,
we'll find out in an hour or two. I know
the plan was to plan five to seven eightings on Wednesday.
That's what happened reassessed on Thursday. It probably was a
positive that he didn't play on Thursday. Is he being activated?
We'll find out soon, Markte. What I found interesting was
that the week they had, the week through Sunday basically
mapped out for him, and it seemed to be a

(13:27):
reassessed point after that. That's good news as opposed to
maximizing the at bats that Marte could have gotten on
his rehab assignment, just like like they did with Christian A.
Karanaci and Strands for example. That's a mean signal that
there might be some more urgency to bring Marte back.
And I mean, well, we're seeing it at third base
right now. I mean, I'm not feeling strongly at all

(13:49):
about how Christian and Karanasi on Strand looks Santia West
and all you know, we see the swamp Heeason. They've
been reluctant to play Gavin Luck's at third base for
whatever reason. Third base is also on my trade deadline
watch list, So you know, put mart In with those relievers, Like,
let's see what you can do right now, see if
you can back up what you did in April and May,
and then yes they need more help. Like I was

(14:11):
looking at the bottom half of the lineup the other day,
I'll believe against Freed and this is just the top
of my head. But you're still doing the Stephenson DH
thing because to get Trevino's bat in the lineup and
Trevino's swinging the back. Great. But but if you're if
wing the trade market, you can find a better right
handed batt and then a backup catcher Cees. You can

(14:32):
hear my skepticism about it, like that be an area
or that'd be a spy who's still in the line
up Espanol and how he's slumping he deserves a spun
on the team. But that's an area of the lineup
you can improve. There not even been another guy who
is in the line up been there who I'm forgetting
against left handed pitching. There, even with Hayes and Marte back,
there are still flocks for maybe one more right handed

(14:53):
bat at third base or.

Speaker 2 (14:54):
In the update, Austin brought up to the Jamber Candelaureo
move not a move that maybe historically you would see
this making, but come on and say, hey, we got
this wrong. We're going to move on from it. At
the same time, they made a move, and a couple
of weeks ago it didn't feel like a possibility we
were going to see Chase Burns, and we saw Chase Burns.
Do you think that the urgency and the messaging that

(15:16):
was sent that this week could maybe add into to
this team being buyers at the deadline more so than
maybe they have been in years past.

Speaker 3 (15:24):
I think I know this. They looked at trades that
would be say buying trades at the deadline in twenty
twenty four. Obviously they did in twenty twenty three. Just
look at the Gavin Lux trade for example. I mean,
they traded two prospects to the Dodgers. You know the
Dodgers were the cellar, but yes they were, and that's
who you got Gavin Lux. I think in general, or

(15:45):
I know in general, the by lucks, the buy cell
divide has blurred a lot more big league for big
league trades in recent seasons, a lot of basically three
way trades be essential three way trade because all right,
the Dodgers theoretically to then use the prospects they got
from the Reds to go trade for a good another guy. Like,

(16:06):
there's a lot more just baseball moves going on. The Reds, yes,
are looking at opportunities to improve the roster. I'll say
it again, bullpen help and right handed bat. I would
see his neck and neck right now. They're also one
injury away from being in a scary spot from a
starting pitching depth perspective until they get guys back. So
on my trade deadline watch list that I've put together,

(16:27):
I have a couple more fit starter types like Ben
Livenet types who could just help them get through innings
between now and the end of the season. But yeah,
I mean, this is a scene that I know is
going to be very active in discussions and has clear
need that they recognize that they've tried to address and
in some cases by Candelaria, have failed to address. And
they still have massive needs that at those spots, and

(16:49):
again that's understood. So yeah, the Reds also don't have
there's like the mid tier of the farm system isn't
as good as it's been, like prospects like eight through
twenty twenty five that that's just my information. They have
a strong top that they might be more reluctant to
deal from. What do they have in the eight through

(17:09):
twenty five range and how much capital do they have there?
Maybe it is their bullpen depth that gives them something
to deal from in terms of how these trades get
worked out. But there's a lot of work they can
do between now and the deadline.

Speaker 4 (17:21):
Talking to Charlie Goldsmith Charlie's Chalkboard Fox nineteen, Charlie, how
do you feel about fan voting for the All Star Game?

Speaker 3 (17:27):
M you know what, it's just the starters now. I
think the real story is how their commissioner's office has
just completely taken over the rest of it, like for
example in Men and this is great. This is great
for the Reds. They should be celebrated. Even in May
when we were like, what's going on with Elie Delakers' season?
He hasn't clicked yet, Like I still knew that Eli

(17:48):
was gonna play. Ellie was always going to be in
the All Star Game this year. It is a major
market thing. But in some cases like Ellie transcends that,
but then a guy like TJ. Friedel just slides under
the radar and he's not going to get a fair
shot this season, and that's going to be really disappointing
if he doesn't make the team. So what I don't
like is the two rounds of voting, like you get

(18:09):
the finalists and then I think that's just cheating to
get people to plug in their emails, slice and have
more engagement with your server. But sure, you know, give
fans something to be a part of the process. Reward
the most popular players in the game. I'm all for that.
I just wish whether it be a player vote that
were taking that would be taken seriously, but that's always
hard to do, or a more widespread look from say

(18:33):
coaches around the game or something like that. Can you
fill out the benches of these teams in a way
that reward TJ Friedle types more.

Speaker 4 (18:40):
The other thing is we know Ronald Acunya Jr. Is
going to participate in the home run derby cal Raley,
Big Helper Talking has just accepted an invite. Do you
think Ellie would do it if he was invited?

Speaker 3 (18:54):
He's always taught and I mean, I believe they have
been legitimate talks in each of the previous seasons, and
Ellie's just felt like the exhaustion of the home un
derby experience maybe wasn't worth the hype, or it wasn't
worth the task. Now that changes every year. I think
it is something he would like to do at one point.

(19:15):
Better to get done while you're younger. Of course, I
don't know. I don't know. I know the league would
have interested. I can guarantee the league wants to see
Eli Delacruz in the Elfar game. How is he feeling
he's played every day? Did he want to put himself
through that? Like, I haven't asked Lee those questions. I'll
just figure that out on his own. But what I
can tell you is yes, the league like the Elie

(19:36):
effect is real around the league, around baseball, and they'd
like to put him on as many stages as possible.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
Charlie, you're the best man. Thank you so much for
your time again this week. What's the easiest way that
folks can follow along with so many different things you
got going on.

Speaker 3 (19:53):
You mentioned Charlie Shockboard love to give another the plug
to Power Stacks Podcasts with myself with Brian. He's just
thanks well. Today we had five minutes of takes from
Johnny Bench on the red That was fun. You got
to hear.

Speaker 5 (20:05):
Gavin Luck talk about the players only meeting the Reds
Tabs had or the Reds had on June sixth, So
a fun conversation there with Brian Charlie shockboard lock going on.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
Thanks for having me, Charlie, thanks so much. Have a
great weekend, man. We'll do it again next week. Hey guys,
that is Charlie Goldsmith all over the coverage with so
many things going on with power stacks with the guys
at Fox nineteen. Charlie's doing fantastic stuff and we appreciate
his time and appreciate his injury update. That could be
our Postman Law injury update delivered by Postman Law if

(20:38):
you're injured, Postman delivers. I think good news for Austin
hayesen ueove Marte moving in the right direction. We talked
about Hunter Green as well, uh maybe joining the team
in Boston through some bullpen sessions. So good things moving
forward for the Cincinnati Reds and more opportunities now for
you talkbacks when we come back and then all kinds

(20:59):
of give ways and prizes to hand out After that
Sincy three to sixty ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station
thanks to Cinci shirts.

Speaker 3 (21:08):
Now your chance to win one thousand dollars. Enter this
nationwide keyword on our website bonus. That's bonus.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
Enter it now. Hey Alexa, what's going on in