All Episodes

February 20, 2025 11 mins
Tommy Thrall joined us from Goodyear to discuss the Cincinnati Reds, since that's the team he calls games for.

Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.

Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.

Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen

Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger


Follow on X: @MoEgger

Instagram too: @MoEgger
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are less than forty eight hours away from those first
few notes. The voice of Tommy Thrall Reds and Guardians
on Saturday. Red's gonna play two games. The one we'll
carry on seven hundred WLW is the tilt against the
Guardians in Goodyear, the Cactus League opener, and another season

(00:21):
of Reds on radio getting underway. The voice of the
Reds joining us from sunny and warm goodyear, Tommy Thrall,
it is good to have you as always. Thank you
for joining us.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
How are you hey, appreciate it, moo, thanks for having
me on is It is delightful out here. The sunshine
and bright, and it is plenty warm.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
It is outstanding awesome.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
I will live vicariously through you, especially on Saturday. The
vibes are great. There's a lot of optimism. Everybody stoked
about Terry Francona. I think we all agree that the
Reds have had a productive offseason in terms of player acquisition.
But a Terry Francona camp going to the nuts and
tell me how it's different.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
It's just it's it's hard to explain exactly what's different,
other than the attitude just seems to be so so positive.
And not that it wasn't before, but it's just different.
I think everybody's focus now is on strictly winning. It's
it's it's not about else, It's just what what do
we need to do to win? And that's everybody's focus.

(01:23):
That's been the messaging that the Terry Francona has delivered
to the team all the way through, and it's it
shows up. I mean, guys are just a little bit
more focused. They're hungry too, and I think that just
comes from some guys that didn't have years that they
wanted to have last year. Christian Internaci and Strand looks
better than I've ever seen him. Look, I mean he

(01:44):
looks tremendous. You talk about a guy that is driven,
a guy that is focused. This is a guy that's
on a mission, uh to prove that that he belongs
to the big leagues. And that's what he's gonna have
to do.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
I mean, guys are gonna have to earn their spots.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Albe Marte if he's gonna make this team, I'll be honest,
I think it's a long shot. But if he's gonna
make the team out of camp, he's got to earn
it and that's that's kind of the the way the
messaging is too. If guys are if guys gonna be
on this team, they're gonna earn it. Obviously, some spots
are filled, but it's it's great. It's good to see
Matt McClain healthy. That's been tremendous. But like I said,

(02:20):
the focus just solely on winning and a lot of
the guys. You know, Tito's great and he has a
lot to do with that, but a lot of guys.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
Are are out to prove something this year. And Graham
Ashcraft is another guy that that fits into that category.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
What parts of this team are you most interested in
learning more about starting on Saturday.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
I'm kind of.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Curious to see how this whole bullpen is gonna play out.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
And then the other thing is who's going to be
this team's.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Third basement when the season starts. Damer Candelario looks great. Uh,
like I said in carnassi O and Strand is another
guy that that didn't just come into camp looking good.
He's moving really well. Uh. He's everybody that I've talked
to who's been really impressed with his footwork at third
base and his ability to move around around third base.

(03:06):
So you know, I think before the thought was, well,
it's probably just a DH type of guy that can
play some first base. He wants to be able to
prove that he can play third base. And I think
Candelario came into camp in a similar situation. I think
he wants to prove that he can still play third base.
He came in great shape, lost a bunch of weight,
he's very lean, he's moving well, and so I think

(03:29):
that's that's gonna be one of the things I'm kind
of watching for is who's gonna take over third base. Now,
it could be a situation where you have a few
guys sharing that spot with Cees and Candelario kind of
bouncing back and forth between first and third, But that
that's gonna be one to keep an eye on. But
like I said, the bullpen, there's probably really only one

(03:52):
spot that's opened out there. But I think this team,
especially the way Tita likes to run a bullpen, I
think they're going to need a good bullpen.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
So we'll see how the arms look out there this spring.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, you know, that's an area the team to me
that is interesting because you know they late in the offseason.
Nick Krawl went and got some guys and got some
guys who've had success, acquired pitchers who have closed, and
so maybe we don't get an answer to this during
spring training, and maybe there's no need to find an
answer because he ends up being really, really good. But
I'm kind of curious as to how much of a

(04:24):
strangle hold Alectidz has on the closer spot.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well, he took a big step in the right direction
with that by coming into camp in really good shape
and ready to go. I think, and Kito said this
right out of the gate. Look, he was probably playing
catch up a little bit last year, meaning he didn't
come into camp maybe quite as ready. He came into
camp ready to go this year. So I think that's
a big step in the right direction, which kind of

(04:48):
says that, you know, he's a guy that.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
Understands that it's got to be a better year.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Of course, playing for different manager, you want to kind
of prove that you're the guy too, So I think
that that is thing that kind of benefits him coming
into this season. So I don't think that it's automatically his,
but I think he wants to prove that it is,
which is something that's very healthy for this team.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
You mentioned a guy who's going to pitch on Saturday,
not the game that you're gonna call Graham Ashcraft. If
things go well for him over the next four or
five weeks, what's his role in this club?

Speaker 2 (05:23):
I think if things go well, there's going to be
an opening in the rotation. I'm not so sure, even
though I think he's okay and I think he's healthy,
But just because he hasn't thrown in four or five weeks,
I don't know that Rhet Louder is going to be
a guy that's going to make the rotation out of
spring training.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
Just because I think they're going to be really, really
cautious with him. That kind of opens up a rotation spot.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
And I think Graham, if he proves that he can
get it done, I think he stays in the rotation
at least for now. And I think that's a good thing.
If he can earn his way into the rotation, there.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
Is nothing wrong with that at all, because he has.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
A chance to still be a really really good starting
pitcher on this team, and I think he wants to
prove that he can be. He's got to be able
to get through five innings a little easier than he's
done in the past. That's that's gonna be something that'll
be big for him. But he seems to be another
guy that's on a mission. But I don't know that
the bullpen is a bad fail to fail safe for him.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
It's scary to.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
Think about how good he could be in the bullpen,
and I really think that at some point that's going
to be his fate. But you know, if he's in
the rotation to start the year, I don't think there's
anything wrong with that.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
I think the most interesting acquisition this offseason is Austin
Hayes because I know what he can do against left
handed pitching, and everybody, you know, even folks connected to
the Philly said they didn't get the true Austin Hayes
last year because of the whole kidney issue. So thankfully
he's healthy. I think he can help. I think one
of the questions a lot of folks have had all
winter long has been is this team going to have

(06:52):
enough offense from the corner raulefield spots? What do you
say to that?

Speaker 2 (06:55):
Well, the thing that I've said to that all along
is I don't I think I think when you're looking
at it just from that aspect. It's a little bit
more of a broader picture type of thing. I look at,
can this team prevent more runs this year than they
did last year, and then maybe you don't need as
much offense.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
And I think that's the thing that this team is
capable of doing this year. I think they are going
to be better than that. I think you're going to
see the infield defense improve.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
I think the pitching is going to take a step forward,
and I think offensively, this team's going to be able
to take advantage of more opportunities than they did last year.
This team was not very good at taking advantage of
RBI opportunities, at least the way I saw it last year.
I thought there were a lot of opportunities that they
left on the table. I think that's going to be

(07:42):
something that'll be cleaned up. So because of that, I
think they are going to be good enough to take
the step forward that they need to take, regardless of
maybe getting a little bit more production out of the
corner outfield. I think Spencer Steel is going to have
a nice year. I'm not sure that he'll start the
year in left field, but I think Eventually he'll be
back out there. The shoulders kind of bothering him a
little bit. He's gonna start throwing soon. And Austin Hayes,

(08:06):
I think makes right field a better spot because I
think he is so to answer your question, I think
you will get a little bit more production out of
there because I think Austin Hayes is a guy.

Speaker 3 (08:17):
That's poised for a big year.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
You know, I mentioned some of the other guys that
are hungry because of this team's performance last year. He's
won that's hungry because of his performance last year Elsewhere.
This is an All Star player two years ago. I
think he wants to prove that that's still who he is.
He's on a mission to show that last year was

(08:39):
not who he was. And he also wants to prove
that he can hit right handed pitching, not just left
handed pitching. He's done in the past, but he got
off to a really slow start last year then kind
of fell into a tune role and never had a
chance to get out of it. I think if he's
healthy and he's locked in, I think he can hit
both right handed and left handed pitching and give you
a little bit more production out of the right field.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
But all right, one more. We've talked about a lot
of guys who stand to be reds in twenty twenty five.
When you're calling some of these Cactus League games and
you get into the seventh or eighth inning and your
scorecard looks like my daughter's coloring book because of all
the changes. Give me one or two guys that you're
going to perk up when they end of the game,
either positionally or on the mound.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Cam Collier is definitely one. Really excited to see what
he's capable of. Edwin Arroyo is another one. You know,
he set out all last year his the shoulder issue
similar to Matt McClain's injury last year. So I'm excited
to see where he's at right now. And because of
what I said before, I don't know that Noelvie Marte
is going to be on the scene to start the year.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
He's another guy that I'm gonna be curious to see. Now.
Obviously we've seen him, so I don't know that he counts.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
But the other guy that I will put into that
category from a pitching perspective is Zach Maxwell. I think
Zach Maxwell and Louise May are two guys that are
probably going to be able to help this bulk at
the major league level at some point during the season.
Maxwell is going to be a fun one. I'm excited
to watch him.

Speaker 1 (10:06):
Pitch, excited to listen on Saturday season. Can't get here
soon enough. Always appreciate the time, Tommy, Thank you so much.

Speaker 3 (10:15):
All Right, sounds good.

Speaker 2 (10:15):
Hopefully the sounds of spring can melt some of that
snowback home, you know what.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
I've tried everything else, so we'll see if it works
on Saturday.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Thanks so much, man, Thanks a lot, appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
The voice of the Reds Tommy Thrall Reds Guardians on Saturday,
first pitch at three h five pregame at two thirty five,
down the Hall on a seven hundred WLW Year six
with Tommy Thrall as the voice of the Reds. It's
hard to believe. And I said this to somebody in
the office this morning, like we were talking about, you know,

(10:51):
Red's broadcasters, and I mentioned Tommy being on the show,
and I'm like, I want this team to be in
the postseason for a thousand different reasons. Mainly I I
want Tommy to have like one of those calls that
just goes viral and people associate him with and maybe
this will be the year. It is twenty eight away
from four o'clock. Excuse me, Chad Brendle's going to join us.

(11:12):
Coming up in just about ten minutes on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from
the UC Health Traffic Center.

Speaker 2 (11:25):
At u See Health, you'll find comprehensive care that's so
personal it makes your best tomorrow possible.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
That's boundless care for better outcomes. Expect more at UCHealth
dot com. Westbound Ronald Reagan Highway, it's a disabled vehicle
on the exit ramp to southbound seventy five. On southbound
seventy five, traffic is slow between ezerd Charles Drive and
Fort Washington Way. A three minute delay.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
Northbound seventy one seventy five.

Speaker 1 (11:50):
Accident cleared approaching the Brent Spence Bridge. I'm at Ezelek
with traffic

Mo Egger News

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.