5-17-24 - Mo Egger With Sam LeCure

Sam LeCure joined us to talk about Elly De La Cruz, veteran leadership the Reds may or may not be lacking, Hunter Greene's improvement, and more. 

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Twenty eight from for This is ESPNfifteen thirty on MOEG of Reds and Dodgers
again tonight after a seven to twovictory Cincinnati looking for consecutive wins. Sam
Lecuria is with us, always kindenough to join us third time this season,
He said he wanted to be onmore, so here we are,
big boy. It's good to haveyou. What's going on? I know?

(00:22):
Careful what you wish for? Right? No, I appreciate it,
man. How are you? I'mgood, man, I'm good. After
last night? That was it?That was a fun ball game. Did
you stay up to watch it?I stayed up and watched the whole thing?
That? Okay me too? Yeah, I love I just lived important

(00:43):
for my job. But yeah,yeah, I was glad to stay up
to watch that one. I wasjust over taking a guitar lesson and was
talking to my guy and I waslike, hey, Man, was like,
do you happen to stay up watching? I was like, that had
been the first good one to watchin about three weeks, So I hope
some people stayed up to watch it. Yeah. No, I certainly did
the Ellie Deler Cruise Show answer methis? Obviously things are different now than

(01:04):
when you played, because you can'tthrow over at first base a thousand times.
But when you're on the mound anda guy like Ellie is on base,
what does that do for you?Mentally? You know, it is
going to be hard for me tototally relate just because of the different tools
that a pitcher had at his disposal. To be able to hold a runner
there, which is throw over asmany times as he damn well please,

(01:26):
and to hold the ball. Now, I've always thought that holding the ball
pass what the pitch clock would allow. Now, holding the ball's best way
to get somebody to stop. It'snot throwing over to pick some When you're
picking off, you're basically just tryingto shorten the lead. But your legs
are cut out from under you afterthe first two times, right, I
mean, you're you're done. Sobeing able to hold the ball and kind

(01:47):
of make that hitter and the wellboth actually the runner and the hitter at
the plate, make them kind ofjust get heavy in their legs, you
know what I mean. They're sittingthere and they're kind of waiting, and
they're engaged and what's about to goon. So the longer you can make
him wait the better then then Soat this point, basically what you have
is varying how quickly you take yoursign and engage the batter at the plate.

(02:10):
You know, like, Okay,so I got my sign at fourteen
seconds. Now I can quick pitchat eleven seconds, or I can hold
it all the way down to onevary it that way, or then it
becomes the slide step. But guyshave gotten away from the slidestep big time
because you're sacrificing probably stuff and commandwhen you're when you're doing the slide step.

(02:32):
So guys want to be throwing theira stuff, they want to have
their best commands, so they're notreally doing they're not really doing much to
control the running game. And obviouslyyou've seen the numbers have supported that.
What I want to talk about that, yeah, trying to get him out,

(02:53):
which and look, I mean,like like everybody else, we've we've
seen him struggle a little bit.But when you I mean, you watched
him last season, you watched himlate last season, and you've watched him
this year. He's been he's beentougher to get out from a from the
standpoint of maybe putting yourself in theposition of somebody trying to get him out
last year versus something similar this year. What's changed. I think that he's

(03:15):
from the left side. Definitely.He's shortened his his leg kick so it's
not as big so his and Ithink what that does, so he sacrificed
a little bit. I mean,I say a little bit of power.
Set's aball four hundred and forty feet, because he's just that good. But
it just it keeps his head alittle bit more still, so it's not
so much up and down, sowhen he's reading the trajectory of the pitch,

(03:36):
it's not his head movement, isn't, you know, getting in the
way of him being able to trackthat pitch. I think that's been a
part of it. And then theimprovements from the right side, I mean
that's been the biggest thing. Imean, he was just a dead out
last year from the right side,and now he's doing it. I think
he's done a really good job ofusing the entire field. I mean you
saw last night from both sides ofthe plate. One he hits the well

(03:59):
first the single up the middle.Secondly that he hits the ball down the
left field line for the double.Later in the game when they move him
over to the right side, hehits the ball through the right side,
so using the opposite parts of thefield. And I think just accepting the
fact that he doesn't need to begoing for power, like his power is
going to come when he's recognizing mistakes. And David Bell said it after the

(04:20):
game that Ellie's taking good swings inthe ball because he's controlling the strike zone
better and getting himselves into better countsto be able to get off that a
swing is what an offensive player willcall it. This team has gone through
a really rough last few weeks.Last night, notwithstanding, many have yeah,
you may have noticed, many havewondered, are they missing a veteran?

(04:42):
Are they missing a guy who's beenthere before? They missing not necessarily
from a productivity standpoint, but justa dude who can sort of guide these
guys through the inevitable rough patches thatcome during a long season. Does this
team miss that kind of presence onthe roster? Oh maybe I don't want

(05:04):
to. I don't I'm gonna bea little bit noncommittal on that, just
because they have a Candelario, rightand so when they when this like first
the struggle began. I remember hewas he was a big piece of it,
and then they got to San Diegoand we were talking about, Okay,
he's kind of your your veteran guy. I mean, you can consider

(05:26):
India and Stevenson veterans on this teambecause of the service time and who else
doesn't have any But those guys havehad seasons interrupted by injury and they've missed
a lot of times, so theymay have years in service time, but
not necessarily at bouts, so theydon't know how to come out of some
of these slumps. And and everybodyon this team is slumped before you know,

(05:46):
but there is seems to be somedifference of slumping in Double A and
slumping in under the bright lights ofthe big leagues. So when we're talking
about this, me and Brian,and I'm like, man, I really
feel like Candelario is the most importantpiece of this right now, because one,
he wants to start playing well,because he just he's going to be

(06:10):
here, he signed here for threeyears. He wants to have a good
start to his Reds career. Buttwo, I want him to come out
of this so that the younger guyswill go to him after he's come out
of his slump and say, hey, what was your thought process here?
What'd you do? How'd you getout of it? Because I haven't slumped
at the big league level, andI don't know how, which is why
I feel like this has been sucha prolonged slump, because nobody knows really

(06:32):
who to go to or how toget out of it at this level,
right because the scouting reports are somuch better, the execution by the opposition
so much better. So I feltlike he was a big key in all
this, and he's continued to swingthe bat well and over the past,
you know, I mean, Iknow they got pitched really well on what
was it, I guess Wednesday bythe Brandon fat for Arizona. I mean,

(06:57):
he does a great game, SoI'm gonna use that as an outline.
But the games before that, itwas five runs, ten hits,
five runs, ten hits, sixruns, whatever, more than ten hits.
So the bats were starting to comearound a little bit. And obviously
last night you saw against one ofthe best pitching staffs, well the best
pitching staff in the National League,that they put up some runs. So
that was that was a quality thingto see. It was spread out evenly

(07:17):
obviously was the Eli Show, whichI mean, there's just guys that are
different when it comes to being astar. When it's time to be a
star, and I think last nightwas a time for him to be a
star and he sure certainly was noquestion. But for the a short answer,

(07:38):
I'm gonna be noncommittal. Do Ithink they could use a little bit
more of it? I mean,I don't think it would hurt, but
you know, it's it's kind ofeasy to say that since they're going through
such a struggle, but when they'renot, and it's going to be,
oh, these kids are you know, their kids are just out there having
fun because it looks good, rightbecause there are going out there and they're
stealing the bases, and they're hittingthe double and they're doing all the things

(08:01):
that we've seen them doing. They'rebeing really successful. It is the light
bulb coming on for a Hunter Green. Yeah, yep, I think that's
been a talking I mean, Iwill be committal on that one. I
really believe that it is just becausethere's been, you know, different signs

(08:22):
and look, I mean, ifyou want to talk about lip service,
Hunter's got some of the best aroundlike he speaks like, you know,
he talked a really really great game, and he makes it and it's eloquent
and it sounds awesome, and youwant to believe everything he has to say.
He's got a career in politics afterhis baseball career. But you know,
it's been a lot to me,it's been a lot of lip service.

(08:43):
You can talk as much to yourblue in the face, but I
need to see it happened. Ineed to see something happening that is making
it feel real. And I hadn't. I really hadn't seen much of it
until the last month or so,right, and I feel like being around
Frankie, you know, I don'tthink it was a coincidence that he started

(09:05):
to learn a split with Frankie comingover, because I mean, I've been
thinking for a long time. Wewere on the Reds caravan this year together.
We had great conversations. Rhet Ladderwas on that was on the bus
with us, great conversations with himabout you know, even me just listening
to Frankie talk like I was excited. I wanted to go back and pitch
again, like he you know,invigorated me me to that point. And

(09:28):
I think that him being around guysagain, the veteran leadership on a pitching
staff with guys who maybe have acouple of years in the big leagues now,
but it's been interrupted by injury andsuch and such, so they don't
have a ton of innings. Ithink that Frankie's had a big impact on
Hunter and the rest of the staff, just as far as showing what it
looks like when you're aggressive within thestrike zone versus not. All these guys

(09:52):
have great stuff, why wouldn't yoube And if you're gonna get beat,
mo, I'd rather get beat onsecond pitch of an at bat than the
seventh. You're gonna get hit.I mean, you're gonna get hit in
the big leagues, and I don'tcare who you are, You're gonna get
hit. Obviously, Walks are gonnabe a part of it. Unfortunately we
all wish, you know, Ihad, I thought I had really good

(10:13):
control. I walked way too manypeople, you know, because now if
i'd have thrown a hundred, Iprobably would have walked a few less.
But uh, you know, that'sgonna be part of it. If you're
gonna you're gonna be in the bigleagues, you're gonna get hit. So
if you give up a hit onthe second pitch of the bat rather than
every hitter you face is going sevenpitch, there's a couple of innings in
there somewhere accumulated over the course ofthat outing with five pitches per dis played

(10:39):
appearance because you were aggressive and youforce them the issue. Now on the
same token, you're gonna get someouts on the second pitch too, right,
So it's gonna even out like that. So that's been the light bulb
that I've seen for Hunter is recognizingthat he's not gonna throw a no hitter
every time. He will eventually,but he's not gonna throw a no hitter
every time. I mean, youmight as well just get let's get it

(11:01):
out of the way, whatever itis. I don't want to sit out
here and screw with you for sevenpitches for a walk. I'd rather give
up a second pitch single or geta second pitch ground ball. So that's
the light bulb that I've seen.It's been really impressive, and he's such
an X factor for this team becausehe's got the least experience on this pitching
staff of it pretty much all ofthem, So, I mean, I

(11:24):
try to keep the eye forget aboutthat sometimes too. But he's got the
least innings accumulated of anybody on thispitching staff over the course of his career.
So he's still learning a lot,and he's learning it at the big
league level. But he's held hisown to a degree. I think he's
under achieved for sure, but thelight bulb definitely seems to be there,
and their whole pitching staff's done agreat job during the stretch. Yeah.

(11:48):
No, the starting pitching above theboard, across the board, above league
average. Can't ask for better thanthat right now. Best need to come
around. Awesome to have you asalways, man, I do appreciate it.
You got a brother, Thanks man, you're the best. Sam LeCure,
we appreciate his time, of course, check him out on Red's Live.
We're gonna go and make some moneyon the Preakness with our buddy Dick
Girardi, plus later on Devin KerrMLS Season Pass as we look ahead to

(12:13):
FC Cincinnati and our buddy Jedd deMusi from Valhalla. He's at the PGA
Championship. Scottie Scheffler, I guessis talking right now. Try to get
some of that audio as well.Lots to cover between now and six on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports station