5/7/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are you ready for some football?

Speaker 2 (00:04):
We are.

Speaker 3 (00:05):
This is Dave Blackwood and you're listening to the Home
of the Bengals ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (00:09):
I tell you what it is, May May seventh, twenty
twenty five. Chances are you knew that he didn't need
me to tell you what what day it is? May seventh,
twenty twenty five, and yet it feels like May seventh,
twenty twenty four. May seventh, twenty twenty three, May seventh,

(00:32):
twenty twenty two.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
I don't like it.

Speaker 4 (00:34):
Hi, I'm Mullegar. This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Thanks for listening.
I hope you're having an awesome Wednesday afternoon show. Rundowns
available on Twitter at mullegar thanks to Emory Federal Credit Union,
which is, of course, your credit union with heart since
nineteen thirty nine. Go to EMORYFCU dot org. By the way,

(00:55):
Emory Federal Credit Union one month from today their annual
shred Day where they shred all your personal documents. And
it's a great, easy, fun, fun way to get rid
of your stuff that you want shredded, that you don't
want stolen, I said fun.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Shredding documents can be fun.

Speaker 4 (01:12):
Let's see. I wish the Reds could have shredded last night.
I wish we could shred last night. We can't. We'll
talk about it here in a second. Also, we touched
briefly yesterday on Hollywood Joe Burrow because the Bengals quarterback
didn't come to the optional, involuntary, not mandatory practice yesterday
because he went to the Met Gala on Monday night.

(01:35):
I've made some of the met Gala fans among us
mad by proclaiming that I didn't know what the met
Gala is. I'm still not sure I know what it is.
My apologies to you.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
If you don't like Hollywood Joe, I.

Speaker 4 (01:47):
Got really really bad news for you, really bad news
for you. Got bad news for noel Vee Marte. So
he goes on the injured list. This is not a surprise.
He was scratched late with a pin in his side,
and I think most of us at that point, I'm
not sure we feared the worst. I think I assumed
the worst, which is you don't want to do but

(02:09):
I did. Anyway, Well, he's going on the injured list
with an oblique issue. So no Noelve Marte tonight or
for the foreseeable future. Reese Hines is up, Reese Hines
is back. We talked a lot about Reese Hines yesterday
on the day that they called up Jacob Herdabies, who

(02:30):
got in the game last night and was stranded in
the tenth inning. Let's start with the game last night.
I just said this to Tony. The Reds have played
thirty seven games. They've lost nineteen of them. Now, during
the course of a big league baseball season, even the really, really,
really good teams are gonna lose like fifty five games.
I mean, that's like you win, you win one hundred
and seven, you're still gonna lose fifty five. So and

(02:54):
not all of them are gonna be like gut punch losses.
Sometimes you lose a ball game eight to two. Sometimes
we lose a ball game five to one. Sometimes the
other team just rolls out a really good pitcher and
you're helpless against him. And that was kind of the
story with Chris Sale last night. We'll talk about Andrew
Abbott's night here in just a second. And sometimes, you

(03:14):
know what, you're a starting pitcher just doesn't have it,
get shelld Sometimes one of your relievers doesn't have it.
Gets shelld and you lose a game nine to three,
and you shrug your shoulders and go come back and
get them tomorrow. Doesn't it, though, feel to you starting
on opening day that we have already exhausted a season's

(03:36):
worth of tough losses, of gut punch losses. Now, like
some gut punch losses are because of something that happened
in the game, Like the other night. They lose on Monday,
and it was an awful offensive performance, the Reds got
just one hit. But I think what everybody was thinking
about as that game unfolded, and certainly in its immediate aftermath,

(04:00):
was Tyler Callahan's injury. And you know, if you're a
human being at all, you felt bad for Tyler Callahan,
And if you know anything about his story and how
many different injury issues he's had to deal with during
his journey to the big leagues, you feel awful for
the guy.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
You feel really bad for a guy.

Speaker 4 (04:15):
He's there, he's made it, he realizes his dream, he's
a major league baseball player, and then in a pure
effort play, he gets hurt. And so the loss on
Monday was tough to take because, well, Tyler Callahan got
hurt at the end of the day, though they got
one hit, it wasn't that close of a game. It
was for nothing. It really felt like it was about

(04:36):
fourteen nothing but another tough loss last night, a tough loss,
And I agree with that characterization. By the way, it
was a tough loss because Andrew Abbott was awesome last night,
And like what I thought and what I hoped we
would be talking about today was gonna be like, dude,

(04:57):
Andrew Abbott like, hasn't had a bad start this year?
Like has has Dude? Looks the part. I mean, we
talk a lot about Hunter Green and Nicolodolo and Brady
Singer has been good, and I think Nick Martinez last
couple of starts has been pretty good the overall depth
of the starting rotation, But dude, how about Andrew Abbott?
Like what if they get thirty two starts from this

(05:17):
guy this year? Like, holy crap. And I know they're
not gonna get quite that many because of where he
joined the team, but still he was terrific last night.
I was texted with a buddy of mine during the
game and I said, like, he just looks like he
really enjoys throwing to Jose Travigna. That is no knock
on Tyler Stevenson or Luke Maley, who has been here
the last couple of years. No knock on Austin Wins.

(05:38):
He just looks like he really likes throwing to Jose Travino.
Those two look like they have a really good chemistry,
and so he was terrific last night. You scratch out
or run. You scratch out a run because of Elie
de la Cruz's speed. In large part, Santiago Espinal gets
another big hit. What a what a fine? He ended
up being like, we're gonna dump on the Reds for

(05:58):
some roster construction stuff. But Santiago Espinal, in the role
that they acquired him to fill, has been really really good.
They get some good relief innings last night. They get
Brian Snitger, the Braves manager, trying to employ the contact play,
much to my delight because I like the contact play
when the other manager uses it, because the Reds benefit

(06:19):
from it. They have a lead going into the eighth
inning last night, and you're thinking, like, all right, a
night after the most recent tough loss, on a night
where Chris Sale made him look silly for most of
the night, they've got a shot to even up this series,

(06:41):
get back to above five hundred, and you got your
staff A's pitching the next day instead, atlantaize it, and
you know how they tied it. They tied it because
Stuart Fairchild is a pinch runner scores on a play
that we can assign if you want. Maybe it's Matt

(07:01):
McClain's fault. Maybe it's Spencer Steer's fault. Maybe it's Jake
Fraley's fault. I'm not interested in blame.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
I'm interested in mistakes like that getting fixed, which, if
you're a Reds fan, you listened all spring long about
how stuff like that was gonna get fixed.

Speaker 4 (07:20):
Well, it didn't get fixed last night, and it came
back to bite him. It helped the Braves tie the game.
They then bring in in the tenth inning after the
Reds go one, two, three in order, with the stupid
magic runner at second base, with the third, fourth and
fifth place hitters up, Ellie delor Cruz staring at a
meatball for strike three, Tyler Stevenson, who I'm a huge
fan of and non competitive at bet and then Espenall

(07:41):
flying out to end the inning and effectively the game
because they bring in Lion Richardson, and Lyon Richardson might
have a real cool, great awesome big league future, but
he's like the captain mop up. He's a hero for
pitching in a game that the Reds got destroyed and
getting sent to Louisville. The next day, he throws a
meatball to Marcelo Zuna on a one to two pitch.

(08:02):
Reds lose a tough loss, a really tough loss. Much
like two nights ago. Most attention gets focused on one play.
Two nights ago, it was a Tyler Callahan catch that
wasn't last night. It was Stuart Fairchild scoring on the

(08:22):
ball that Harris hit with McLain vapor locking. I don't
know if he took a few seconds to count all
the hits he's had this year that shouldn't take that long.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
Or maybe it's Spencer Steers.

Speaker 4 (08:33):
Faults for not telling Matt McClain, a major league baseball player,
where he should go with the ball situationally, And maybe
it's Jake Fraley's fault for throwing the ball to Matt McClain.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (08:45):
I don't know. I kind of put it on the
player who had the ball in his hands. Like, don't
you kind of have to anticipate the dude who's running
to third may keep going. Been years since I played
organ baseball, but I did play it, and even if
I didn't, I could tell you balls in your hand,
Guys on third, he may try to score. You have

(09:07):
no play at second. You're somehow turned towards second base.
Bodies drifting towards second base. That's where the throw came.
I have no idea why. But it's not so much
to me about blame. It's about the margin for error
that last year the Reds continued to shrink, and because
they did that, the manager got fired. Now nobody is

(09:30):
saying that Terry Francona should be fired. That would be ridiculous.
I think all of us are still excited that Tito
is the Reds manager. But but this was one of
those things that when they change managers. We heard a
lot about how these sort of mistakes that plagued the
Reds last year cannot continue to plague the Reds this year.

(09:53):
Last night, not only did a mistake like last year's
plague the Reds, it contributed them significantly losing a game.
Here's Terry Francona in his office last night in Atlanta
talking about that play in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Speaker 5 (10:10):
Arrian and I thought runner scoring from first.

Speaker 6 (10:12):
It seemed like Matt McLain maybe.

Speaker 7 (10:13):
Hesitated on the on the throw at home.

Speaker 5 (10:15):
What did you see there?

Speaker 8 (10:16):
Well, there was a hesitation, but he was on his
way over to set up to play at home, so
he was going back because the throw was going more
towards second, So there was a few things happening there.

Speaker 4 (10:28):
On the relay was communicating something that I don't know,
something that wasn't where it needed to be. There.

Speaker 8 (10:33):
Well, we really didn't have anybody because, like I said,
he was if he's over where he was going, steers
behind him. Throw took him over there, So nobody's there.

Speaker 4 (10:43):
All right, So there's Tito, you heard Annie Sabo and
then Charlie Goldsmith with a follow up.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
Whatever.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
I gotta be honest with you, Is there anything that
the manager is going to say that's going to make
you feel good about how that game unfold, how they
lost it and that play in the eighth inning. I
don't know why the throw is going toward second. I
don't know what Matt McClain is doing, and I don't
know what Spencer Steeer is doing. I don't know if
these guys like just met each other and don't know

(11:12):
each other's names. I don't know if like they don't
know the rules. I don't know if their minds are
on something else while they're in the field. I have
no idea. I know the Reds lost last night in
part because of that play in the eighth inning. I
also know that stuff like that is what plagued last
year's team, and stuff like that reoccurring is why the
manager lost his gig. So here's what I want to know.

(11:35):
And I don't think anybody right now has the answer
to this. When do we stop seeing things like that?
It cost him a game? Cost him a game?

Speaker 2 (11:44):
Now? Man?

Speaker 4 (11:44):
Like you know, who knows what happens? Maybe the next
guy up I think it was Baldwin. Maybe he hits
a three run homer in the Reds. I don't know.
But wouldn't you like to go back and replay starting
in the eighth inning with runners on second and or
just to see how the rest of the inning would unfold?

Speaker 1 (12:04):
I would? I would, And by the way I said
eighth inning, I mid night, thinking obviously.

Speaker 4 (12:13):
I would. You could be hanging on Emilia Pagan if
you want, I don't know some and like you are,
you are being reasonable if you go look man. The
entire thing gets set up by Pegan walking the first hitter,
which he did, and then Brian Snicker tried to have
u Eli White bunt, which doesn't make any sense. He

(12:35):
ends up striking out. Harris gets a hit, fair Child scores,
Pagan retires the next two guys.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
We go extras. I sound frustrated because I.

Speaker 4 (12:49):
Think if you're a red Span you feel the way
I do watching that last night. Yes, offensively, this team
is below average. Yes, Chris Sale was terrific. You're not
gonna score many runs. Uh, yes, you're three, four and
five hitters. You would think could get a guy in
from second to give you a lead in the top

(13:10):
of the tenth inning. But come on, man, the play
of the game last night is whatever was going on
when the ball came toward Matt McClain and he stood
there for half a second and watched Stewart Fairchild scoring.
He did make a throw that made the play competitive,
He ultimately was safe. When are plays like that not

(13:33):
gonna plague this team anymore? When five point three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty is our phone number. Now you might go, hey, Mo,
come on, give a time, Tito's gonna fix it. Okay,
I buy that. But by the time that happens, where
are the Reds going to be in relation to first place?

(13:55):
How many games out are they going to be? How
unrealistic is a playoff spot going to be? Where are
they gonna be by the time Tito waves's magic wand
and like, by the way, dude, like Jake Frayley's been
around for a while, Dude, Jake Frailey's almost thirty. Spencer
Steeers playing in a lot of big league games by now,
Matt McLean should know better? What are we doing? When

(14:18):
are things like that gonna get fixed? I think the
other question would be, like last year, is lack of
depth gonna do them this team? Because it really does
feel like and I know it's just May seventh, so
it's still early there, not even yet mathematically to the

(14:40):
one quarter mark of the season. But I'll tell you what, man,
we asked often this offseason. On top of like, are
those plays like last night's gonna get fixed? On top
of that, we also asked, will this team be better
equipped to handle the test of depth that comes when

(15:02):
you lose a lot of guys due to injury. Right now,
depth is being tested. That lack of depth just doomed
last year before it even began. Is the same thing
going to happen this year? More on that coming up
in just a bit. You can send me a tweet
at mogar thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dental is building

(15:26):
healthy and smart and vibrant communities for all. Go to
deltadentalh dot com. It's it's exasperating, man, I'm sorry. It
is frustrating to keep talking about losses that were tough

(15:47):
because they came down to a play or a pitch.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
Or an at bat.

Speaker 4 (15:53):
Last night's came down to a play, the kind that
we were told the Reds were not going to make
as often this year as they did last year.

Speaker 2 (16:05):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (16:06):
Meanwhile, we had Paul Danner yesterday, we talked a little
bit about Joe Burrow's absence.

Speaker 9 (16:10):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (16:11):
I have just one more thought on Hollywood. Joe.

Speaker 4 (16:14):
I spent some time yesterday talking about Genostone. I am,
I want to put my arm around Genostone. I like
I I want to put my arm around genostone and
just offer him a piece of maybe life advice. We'll
spend some time on that coming up in justin five

(16:36):
point three seven four nine, fifteen thirty is our phone number?
Eight six six seven oh two three seven seven six
works as well? Can the Reds do what they didn't
do last year again?

Speaker 1 (16:50):
Next?

Speaker 4 (16:50):
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station for it could be you.
It's the Mow Your Lawn Contest. We announced the winner
on May twenty third, on this show at four thirty
five right here on ESPN fifteen thirty. If you haven't
signed up yet, okay, look you do have time, but
why wait you might be going Wait a minute, will

(17:11):
you talk about mo by? Now you don't know what
the Moyor Lawn Contest is? Well, thank you for listening
for the first time ever. Moyor Lawn Contest is awesome.
We get a brand new lawnmower from Backslat Tractor and
we give it away to one lucky person. Now, that
in itself is an awesome prize. Like if if you
won that, you go, dude, I just won a six
hundred and twenty dollars push mower. Awesome, But that's not

(17:35):
that's not all. No no, no, no. You also win
tickets to every Riverbend show this year. That's a lot
of shows. You win both. You win all the tickets,
you win the lawnmower, and I think the best thing
is you don't even have to come pick the stuff up.
We bring it to you. We bring you the mower,
we bring you the tickets. I always offer to mow

(17:58):
someone's lawn for them. Usually people just want me to leave,
which can't blame me for that. This is an unbelievable prize.
So what you do not want is for me to
announce someone's name and you're listening to that going man,
that could have been me, except I didn't sign up,
So do yourself a favor. Sign up now. You can
go to the contest and promotions page at ESPN fifteen

(18:21):
thirty dot com and I've also put this on all
of my social media channels at Moleger. Sign up and win,
or at least give yourself a chance to win. We
announced the winner May twenty third, thanks to baxlea Tractor
and Riverbend Music Center. Like that play in the ninth
inning last night, It just I know this isn't the case.

(18:44):
It looked like something they barely practiced. Like here's where
the ball should go. Two runners are on one guy's
running from first.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
He's got some pretty good speed.

Speaker 4 (18:55):
You know that, by the way, because it's Stuart Fairchild
who was put in the game to pinch run. You
don't know where to go with the ball. You ought
to know how to communicate to the guy who's catching
the ball with his back turn toward the plate, and
if the guy catching the ball, you ought to know
what to anticipate. None of that looked like it happened.
What do they practice during spring training? That's the sort

(19:17):
of play you practice during spring training. And again we're
not exactly talking about you know, newbies here either. Uh
five point three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty is our
phone number. So there's that, and then there's this. And
this is a concern, but it's a concern that can
come with a complaint. Last year's season doomed very early
because of all the injuries, and they they they stayed

(19:39):
afloat for a while, but it really came up to
bite them in May. So Noelve Marte is the latest
to go on the injured list, right, and you feel
bad for noelve marte uh, the guy got caught up
from Louisville the second time, and in a large part
because of that massive game in Baltimore where they scored
twenty four.

Speaker 1 (19:57):
Runs, put up pretty good numbers.

Speaker 4 (20:00):
Last night they had to start because of the Noel
de Martin injury, they had to start three catchers in
the starting lineup. Right now, they are employing a platoon
that involves Blake Dunn and Jacob Hurdibies. I feel like
all that's missing is Mike Ford. We asked often this offseason.

(20:21):
Is this year's team going to be able to pass
the death test because last year's team could not. I
don't have the answer for you, but it feels like
this thing this season is kind of at an intersection.
Only a game under five hundred, only four games out
of first. But if the death gets tested and the

(20:46):
test isn't passed and it hurts this team in the
coming weeks, how much of a hole will they have
dug before they get healthy again. I don't have the
answer for you, but this is not a reaction to
losing the last the game last night. It's it's a
reaction to the four game losing streak. A whole slew

(21:09):
of injuries and the fact that last year's team, this
franchise has a track record of when the death gets tested,
failing the test. Is that going to happen this year?
Gotta be honest with you when we talk about some
of the names involved here, I don't love their chances
and I hate to say that. Twenty nine away from
four o'clock, your phone calls are coming up sports headlines.

(21:30):
Next go, It's spend a few minutes on Hollywood. Joe Hollywood,
Joe Burrow. Hollywood, Joe Burrow didn't come to phase two
of the offseason practices yesterday. Let's ask a question to
our friends in Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Speaker 9 (21:46):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health
Traffic Center. When it comes to stroke, every second counts.
That's why you SEE Health is the clear choice for
rapid life saving treatment. Learn more at u see health
dot com. Northbound seventy five, the left center lane is

(22:06):
blocked from an accident between Mitchell Avenue and Norwood Lateral.
That's a three minute to lay in through there. Northbound
seventy one seventy five Some more slow traffic between Donaldson
Rode and Dixie Highway. That's got a three minute delay.
I'm at exelic with traffic.

Speaker 10 (22:22):
This report on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (22:26):
Catchy tune sports headlines are a service at Kelsey Chevrolet,
home of lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from
their family to yours for life, kelseyshev dot Com. Red's
trying to break a four game losing streak tonight in Atlanta,
third of four against the Braves. My guy Hunter Green
throws against righty Grant Holmes. Seven point fifteen is tonight's

(22:48):
first pitch on seven hundred WLW. As feared, for the
second consecutive day, the Reds put a player on the
injured list. This time, it's Noelvee Marte, who was a
late scratch before the ball game last night. Felt pain
in his side, and as many of us feared and
as some of us expected, it turns out to be
an oblique strain. He is on the ten day injured list.

(23:10):
Reese higins up from Louisville. I have not yet seen
a Red starting lineup four tonight. Meanwhile, in the NFL,
the Pittsburgh Steelers have traded wide receiver George Pickens to
the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a twenty twenty six
third round pick in a twenty twenty seven fifth round
draft choice. We spent some time on the show yesterday

(23:30):
talking about Joe Burrow's absence from yesterday's not mandatory practice,
and it's it's only kind of a practice. And I'll
be honest with you, I didn't really detect anybody who
was mad about this. I was listening this morning to

(23:51):
Paul Danner Junior, actually earlier this afternoon to Paul Danner
Junior and Jay Morrison their podcast The Growler, and they
were discussing Burrow going to the met Gala in New
York and then subsequently not being there for practice yesterday,
and they mentioned that they detected outrage. I haven't detected

(24:12):
any outrage, but if you're among those who are outraged.
So in Pittsburgh right now, they just traded George Pickens,
which is not a surprise. It certainly felt like he
fell out of favor with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is
a guy who had had some really good games against
the Bengals. For what it's worth, they acquired DK Metcalf
and now they're going to find out who their number

(24:33):
two wide receiver is going to be. Ain't going to
be George Pickens. Meanwhile, they're still trying to figure out
if Aaron Rodgers is going to say, yeah, I want
to go play for the Steelers. It's May seventh. Now
you know there's time, but it's May seventh. Pittsburgh Steelers,
a franchise that quite frankly really doesn't seem to care
that much about the quarterback position, is putting it all

(24:55):
on Aaron Rodgers and if not him, Will Howard or
Mason Rudolph or yeah, okay, well, let's compare situations. The
Bengals' biggest quarterback issue is their famous QB. Well, did
not come to one practice that he's not required to

(25:17):
be at that's not even really a practice. He is
in his prime, and he's got a well established reputation
for being studious, for being a quote Jim Ratt, for
having great chemistry with the players who matter most on
the team, for being a good teammate, or in Pittsburgh,
they're still trying to figure out if Aaron Rodgers is

(25:38):
going to grace the Stealers with his presence in Cleveland.
They have the weirdest quarterback room maybe in the history
of the sport. Deshaun Watson's not going to play this year.
He is still a member of the Cleveland Browns. Joe
Flacco is back. I think Joe Flacco's my age. They
have Kenny Pickett, they have Dylan Gabriel, and they have
Shadora Sanders, and they have a training that's going to

(26:00):
be an abject circus. Like do you remember when Tim
Tebow went to the Jets. That was in twenty twelve,
and like every major show was broadcasting from Jets training
camp because of Tim Tebow, I envisioned something similar for
the Cleveland Browns. And look, the Shodor Sanders thing may work,

(26:21):
but if you have a room like that and you're
trying to compete this coming season, good luck. Would you
rather have the weirdest quarterback room of all time or
a quarterback room that includes a guy who took one
day away to go to an event. It's not an
event that I would want to go to. It's not
an event that any of us can relate to. The

(26:44):
reality is Joe Burrow is in a different social strata.
I kind of hate to put it that way, but
he is he took advantage of being in a different
social strata for a day missed one not mandatory practice.
Ask your friends in Cleveland if they would rather have
Joe Burrow taking one day away to miss one not

(27:07):
mandatory practice, or sifting through the weirdest quarterback room of
all time. Or ask your friends in Pittsburgh. Number one,
why do people at pirates games keep getting into fights?
Because there's been a lot of that on the internet recently.
And number two, would you rather have Hollywood Joe going
to the met Gala and missing one non mandatory practice

(27:29):
or trying to convince yourself that the Aaron Rodgers side
show is going to work when he's going to turn
forty two during the season and like has one guy
to throw too if he decides to come and the
backup plan is effectively having no quarterback.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
I don't know, man, I'd rather have what we have here.

Speaker 4 (27:51):
NBA Playoff tonight, Game two Nick Celtics in Boston, Game
two Nuggets Thunder in Oklahoma City, Boston down one, down one,
as well, both at home. The NBA Playoffs have been
awesome the last two nights, in particular New York's come
back against the Celtics obviously on bias toward that one,

(28:12):
but what Denver was able to do on the road
against Okasee forty eight hours after playing a game seven remarkable,
and then the collapse of the Cavaliers last night, combined
with the clutch shot making of Tyrese Haliburton, is unlike
anything I think I've I've ever seen watching professional basketball.
I heard this this morning on on Sportsmanlike on ESPN Radio.

(28:35):
NBA teams since nineteen ninety eight that trail by seven
or more in the fourth quarter and overtime are three
and over sixteen hundred. I think the number was sixteen
forty one three. In fact, I jotted it down when
I heard Evan Cohen give this three and sixteen forty one,

(28:59):
which means of it. Last twenty seven seasons sixteen hundred
and forty four instances where a team trailed by seven
or more in the fourth or in overtime and had
under a minute ago one thousand, six hundred and forty
four games, the team that trailed won three of them.
The Indiana Pacers owned two of those victories over the

(29:21):
last two weeks.

Speaker 1 (29:23):
Indy can win the East.

Speaker 4 (29:24):
Man, I'm sure we have Pacers fans in our audience,
Pacers can win the East, and all the talk all
year long in that half of the league has been
Boston and Cleveland, and understandably so. And then the Knicks
get a lot of run because they're in New York.
Indy can win the East. Now they would have to
play the Celtics at the Celtics beat the Knicks, and
I still think they will. And Boston swept him in

(29:46):
the Eastern Conference finals last year. I would anticipate a
non sweep. My pick would still be Boston. My pick
is still Boston to win the East. Indy certainly can.
That is a fun team to watch hockey Tonight's Stanley
Cup playoffs, Anthers, Leaf's Game two Toronto up one nothing
and Stars and Jets Game one later tonight, seventeen away

(30:08):
from four o'clock.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
I do have a.

Speaker 4 (30:12):
Few thoughts on Hollywood, Joe Burrow that I've got to
get to in I want to help a Bengal. I
want to there's one Bengal that I have developed a
real soft spot for and I wish, I wish I
could be there for him.

Speaker 1 (30:29):
I'll tell you who that is.

Speaker 4 (30:30):
More on the Reds and last night's loss will take
some phone calls. I do want to know if history
can repeat itself. A UC will do that next on
ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 9 (30:38):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 11 (30:44):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. When it comes to stroke,
every second counts. That's why you See Health is the
clear choice for rapid life saving treatment. Learn more at
u see health dot com. Northbound seventy five, it's the
right lane blocked from an accident between Mitchell and Norwood Lateral.
That crash has been moved away from the left center lane.

(31:05):
On Russellman Roade. It's an injury accident at Rye Bolt
and seventy one northbound slow traffic from Smith Edwards to
Ronald Reagan Highway. I'm at e Zelik with traffic.

Speaker 4 (31:15):
This report is sponsored eleven away from four o'clock. You
are not being pulled over. I promise you. The cops
are not behind you. There's no ambulance approaching. It's just
Tarn playing Bubba Sparks h five, one, three, seven, nine,
fifteen thirty. We'll get back to the Reds and a
little on Joe Hollywood coming up in the four o'clock

(31:37):
hour plus Brenneman and Jones on Baseball. This came out
on social media yesterday. I'm not sure it's something we
had a chance to mention on the show, and if
I did well, my apologies. But next week, next week,
we uh were broadcasting on Tuesday from UC for five
to one three day. Tuesday is May the thirteenth, and

(31:57):
there's going to be a baseball game that night. You
see baseball teams having a good year. We're gonna be
broadcasting from the UC Baseball Stadium. I'm not entirely sure
where in the stadium. That's kind of more of a
technical question. But it's gonna be fun and we're gonna
be joined West Miller's gonna come by, Scott Saderfield's gonna
come by.

Speaker 1 (32:17):
I am working.

Speaker 4 (32:20):
I'm not sure if I should reveal who I'm working
on getting, but there's there's somebody that I think it'd
be interesting to talk to that I am working on. Anyway,
we'll be broadcasting from UC on Tuesday and before a
baseball game, and the sort of thing I wish we
would do more off Quite frankly, we're gonna be doing
it on Tuesday, So we are looking forward to that
I spent some time on Monday show talking about those

(32:41):
USA Today rankings where they ranked every FBS team for
the upcoming season. Didn't do a top twenty five, did
a top one hundred, whatever it is. UC was ranked
one oh three, the lowest Big twelve school in those rankings,
lowest ranks to Big twelve school, and I think it

(33:03):
was Perdue and Northwestern, And if I was at all industrious,
i'd have this list in front of me. There was
one other school, you see, was ranked one oh three.
And then you know, Pike and I were talking about
this a little bit yesterday, and we were just having
a conversation about an hour ago on Quick Hits on
since e three sixty about the importance of this coming

(33:23):
season for Scott Sadderfield, and the importance of this coming
season athletically for the University of Cincinnati, and the importance
of this coming season, call it what it is for.
John Cunningham, by the way, is also going to join
us next Tuesday. It's a big, big season. The schedule itself,
if you look at expected win totals, is not the

(33:44):
most daunting. The Big twelve top to bottom, is not
the Big ten of the SEC. It doesn't mean there
aren't some really tough games. And so you know, Tony
and I were talking and he's kind of clinging to
and I get it. He's clinging to the relative softness
of the schedule. Some of the players the school has
brought in, some of the players that Scott Saderfield and

(34:06):
Zach Grant the GM have brought into the program this year.
The chip on the shoulder that a lot of players
have talked on this show about having for this upcoming season,
wanting to spend the offseason getting rid of the bad
taste that was in everybody's mouth from how the season
unfolded late last year, where UC went from five to
two and looking like they could be a fringe Big

(34:28):
twelve contender to a team that was on the outside
looking in when Bowl invitations were handed out.

Speaker 1 (34:38):
I make this all about the quarterback.

Speaker 4 (34:40):
I make this all about Brendan Soarsby, and I as
a guy, as a kid, I love Brendan Soarsby. I
said this on this show about a year ago that
if you talk to anybody close to the program, they
would say, like this guy treats this like a job,
Like this guy takes ownership of the program understands his
role instrumental in, you know, working on guys who might

(35:01):
be thinking of transferring to UC, and he's done some
of that this offseason. Brendan came on this show about
two months ago and talked about that, talked about the
chip on his shoulder that he has talked about some
of the things that went poorly late last season. But
when I think of how things unfolded late last year,
there were a lot of things right. Special teams was
kind of a disaster. You know, they lost some They

(35:24):
lost games that might have kind of been there for
the taking. There were obviously issues on defense, but I
think of how the offense just totally went into a
shell and there was a profound lack of explosiveness, a
profound lack of creativity. They suddenly looked like a team
that was really easy to defend. There were a lot

(35:45):
of reasons for that, but the declined quarterback play, considering
how good Brendan was in some games early in the season,
was impossible to ignore. The last six games last season,
he threw for two hundred and six yards or less

(36:07):
in five of them. He threw for two hundred yards
or less in four of them. He threw for fewer
than two hundred yards in three of them. He had
one game where he threw for sixty six yards. I'm
not doing this to pick on Brendan Soresby. You could
say all you want about players they have brought in

(36:27):
and some explosiveness they have brought in from other programs.
Quarterback play has to improve. QB play has to be better.
Offensive output has to be more explosive. That starts with
the QB. I don't know if it was gun shy.
I don't know if it was he was limited by
the play calling.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (36:49):
I've seen like and I make it all about Brendan Soorsby.
If he's a significantly better player this year, well then
I'll start talking about the additions they've made. You know,
the last time you see he was good. Des Ridder
was one of the major reasons why, and when they
went to the playoff in twenty one. He obviously was
on a great team. But I remember distinctly during the

(37:12):
twenty twenty season, during the COVID year, early on, his
play was uneven and if you remember, they had some
games that got moved because of COVID, so there was
a lot of time to talk about like what Luke
Fickle should do at quarterback. And I remember having a
long drawn out on air conversation with Tony about is
it time to turn things over to Ben Bryant. They
came back from a pretty long layover. They played Smu

(37:35):
des Ridder, carved him up and then took off and
ended up leading the team to a conference championship. We
all know what happened the following season. He goes down
as the most decorated quarterback in program history, an NFL
draft pick and a UC football legend.

Speaker 1 (37:50):
Now, is Brendan Sorozby have to do all those things?

Speaker 4 (37:53):
No, but history does kind of have to repeat itself
for the quarterback position. If the bear Cat are going
to be dramatically better this year, I make It's obviously
very early in May, so we have a long time.

Speaker 1 (38:06):
To talk about this.

Speaker 4 (38:08):
But as much as I think there's gonna be a
lot of focus on players who have come from other programs,
Dante Corleone obviously having a normal offseason is going to help,
and the chip on everybody's shoulder and the team being
more athletically fit, does the quarterback play improve because and
I like Brendon a lot. At the end of the

(38:28):
season last year, the quarterback play was not good enough,
which meant the overall offensive output was not good enough.
They scored no more than twenty five points in any
of their last seven games, and fewer than twenty one
in four of them, or twenty one or fewer in
four of them. Quarterback plays not the only reason why,

(38:51):
certainly a major one. It's question number one. Do the
Bearcats get a des Rider type leap from Brendan Sores
might not be the most fair comparison, it's one that
you cannot help but make a couple away from four
o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty, Reds and Braves tonight, Can
Hunter Green stop the slide?

Speaker 1 (39:12):
We'll get to that.

Speaker 4 (39:15):
And if you don't want Joe Burrow to go Hollywood
on you, then you probably don't.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
Want him to win a Super Bowl. We'll spend some
time on that.

Speaker 4 (39:23):
But first, there's a Bengal I want to help and
I wish I could have gone back in time to
help him.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
I'll tell you who that is. I bet you can guess. Next.

Speaker 4 (39:33):
It's coming up on four o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports station.

Speaker 10 (39:38):
Are you ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station?

Speaker 1 (39:43):
All right, four h four ESPN fifteen thirty. I get
an email here.

Speaker 4 (39:47):
I'm way too down on the Reds. I'm not down
on the Reds. I have higher expectations. I have higher expectations.
Being around five hundred is not good enough. Telling your
fan base they have to keep waiting is not good enough. Dude,
it's been thirty years man. Like, Yeah, I admit there's

(40:07):
a huge part of me that is exasperated and impatient
when it comes to being told constantly just gotta wait.
Because the thing now is they're dealing with a lot
of injuries. Noelve Martes on the injured list now with
the oblique issue. Candelario's Candelario wasn't hitting to begin with.
Cees has heard again another dude who wasn't hitting to
begin with. Tyler Callahan's injury stinks for human reasons. Tyler

(40:32):
Callahan was in Louisville a couple of weeks ago. Like,
but the injuries aren't mounting, and you know there's there
are reasons, and there are excuses.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
There are times I certainly.

Speaker 4 (40:45):
Will buy that injuries are an excuse if the Bengals,
if Joe Burrow gets injured like the seventh game of
the season and then has to miss the rest of
the year, Okay, well, you know you can't hold the
Bengals accountable for not winning a championship. I mean, you know,
you could go, well, you have this offensive lineman got beat,

(41:07):
Joe got hurt. I mean, there's things you could do,
but they're not a championship team. That doesn't give them
the excuse. If they go four and thirteen, you should
still be you know, good enough to be competitive. Two
years ago, Joe Burrow got hurt right and missed. You know,
at the beginning of the season, he was playing, but
he wasn't completely healthy. And then right when he got
healthy and was playing really well, he got hurt. Missed

(41:27):
the entire year. They finished nine to eight, and it
was disappointing, and we all wish they would have, you know,
found their way into the postseason. But I think we
went all right fine, you know what, the team was
still well built and good enough to stay competitive. Coaching
staff did a good job getting Jake Browning ready. Joe
Burrow's injury can be used that as an excuse for

(41:49):
not winning a championship, fine, but if you go four
and thirteen, I can't go. Well, they had no Joe
Burrow like, uh man, be better, have a better constructed team,
be a better coaching staff. So you know, even with
the Reds, we did this exercise last year because guys
got hurt early and then instantly. Red's apologists and there

(42:11):
are many out there would tell you, come on, man,
look at the injuries. Now, I think, and I guess
reasonable minds will disagree.

Speaker 2 (42:25):
That.

Speaker 4 (42:25):
The response to that is, yeah, well you have to
do a better job of being able to withstand injury.

Speaker 1 (42:32):
Injuries are not an excuse.

Speaker 4 (42:34):
Especially we're not exactly talking about the Reds being World
Series winners are bust, right, We kind of just want
them to play real, meaningful baseball in late September. Also,
I don't know, man, Like I look around the sport.
The Chicago Cubs, Justin Steele's out for the season elbow injury,

(42:56):
Javier Assad's out showed at em and Ague is now out. Now.
Cubs have a three game lead in the division. The
Milwaukee Brewers, who have had to go on a little
bit of a mini surge, although they got a club today,
are still kind of hanging in there with a pitching
staff that has just been crushed by injuries. Brandon Woodriff,

(43:19):
Connor Thomas, Nestor Cortez, Aaron Ashby, Aaron Savali, like you
named the Brewers starter, he has spent time on the
injured list. The Detroit Tigers have had to play without
Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, they haven't had Glabor Torres, Jake
Rogers got hurt. The Seattle Mariners have had all sorts

(43:44):
of issues with their pitching staff, both Detroit and Seattle
in first place. Jackson Merrills miss time with the Padres,
Jake Croninworth, Fernando Tattis, Junior Tenden's had a lot of injuries.
Some teams have stayed healthy, man. The San Francisco Giants
have been pretty much this season. They picture of pretty
good health. Although I saw mike Y Streemsky's on the

(44:05):
injured list, So sorry man. Also this and this is
when we talk about like depth being tested. And by
the way, maybe they pass. Maybe they win tonight and
maybe they go in a little bit of a role.
Maybe they win this series this weekend and Houston come
back beat up the awful White Sox and we feel

(44:25):
good again. And by the way, it was just a
couple of weeks ago, a lot of us were feeling
really good about where this team was, what it had overcome,
who they were playing, and to a degree, how healthy
they were. Hopefully they get Austin Hayes back, perhaps as
soon as Friday. But if we're going to talk about
what the injuries many of us, many of us in

(44:53):
February and March, when commenting about the Reds and their
chances for the upcoming season, made the observation that it
felt like the team itself was kind of incomplete. That
was no knock on some of the players the Reds acquired,

(45:16):
like Austin Hayes, who when he's been healthy, has been
really good, like Gavin Lux, like Jose Travino who has
been awesome. And by the way, Jose Travino and Andrew
Rabbit behind the plate last night as a battery was
terrific and really fun to watch. You could tell those guys,
no knock on any of the other catchers. I think
you could tell Andrew Rabbit really likes throwing to Javier

(45:37):
or I'm sorry, Jose Trevigno and Brady Singer has been good.
But back in February, in March, how many times did
you either think or hear someone expressed the belief that
the team itself still felt incomplete. I think a lot
of that was focused on the outfield or by the way,

(45:57):
right now, we're talking about in the short term at
least a platoon between Blake Donn and Jacob Herdebes. Really, really,
and you know this isn't a Maz seventh complaint. This
was a March seventh observation. Boy, tell you what if
injuries take their toll, I don't know if they're going

(46:18):
to be built to withstand it. If you're built to
a stand injuries, you can hang in there, right, you
can hang in there and sometimes even thrive. Detroit has,
Seattle has, the Cubs have. I'm not even talking about
teams like the Dodgers that have had all sorts of
starting pitching issues like I'm talking about, you know, teams
that we feel like the Reds should be able to
compete with. San Francisco Giants have been really healthy. San

(46:42):
Diego Padres not so much. San Diego Padres have a
better record than the San Francisco Giants despite having a
bunch of guys get hurt. Seattle starting pitching has been
ravaged at times this year. Chicago's had to do some
patchwork stuff in their rotation. You know, last year we
talked about all the Reds injuries. I think every starting

(47:04):
pitcher on the Milwaukee Brewers last year got hurt. They
were so desperate they acquired Frankie Montas. Remember that, So like,
I don't use injuries as an excuse. Unfortunately, what I
do use is your track record and what a lot

(47:26):
of is feared or thought coming into the season. Like
if back in March you were thinking, God, you know what,
I'm not sure this team is built to a stand injury.
If they have treaded water out of the gate through
the first quarter of the season and the injuries continued
to mount, how then do you not worry about the

(47:48):
injuries catching up to this team and the Reds not
being prepared to withstand them. I hope to God I'm
wrong about this. I fear though that over the next
let's just say week or two while they try to
get some of these players back, and you know, again,

(48:08):
all signs are pointing toward Austin Hayes being able to
play this weekend, which would be a big help. But
also Austin Hayes has already gone on the injured list twice.
Austin Hayes has a long track record of injuries. That
doesn't mean the Red shouldn't have signed him. And again,
when he has been healthy, he has been great. But
I couldn't blame you if you made a wager on
Austin Hayes having to go back on the inter list

(48:29):
at some point, because he's already been on it twice
with what feel like chronic leg issues. Last year's team
could not handle injury, could not survive all the early
season injuries. It doesn't help. You know Matt McClain, and
it sounds like I'm like picking on Matt McClain. I

(48:49):
don't mean to like I wouldn't talk so much about
Matt McLain if number one, I didn't think he had
a chance to be really, really good, and number two,
if I didn't recognize his importance to this franchise. It
doesn't help when you know a guy that you got
back who wasn't playing a year ago, is playing poorly.
It doesn't help when he vaporlocks in the field in
the ninth inning, of a one run game. But the

(49:11):
death is being tested now, man, and it's not exactly
like they have built a big cushion where they are
five or six games above five hundred, or where they
have a reasonably comfortable lead in the National League Central
So this is to me, this is where you really

(49:33):
get the true separation from last season. We talked about
this at the top of the show, that the play
in the ninth inning last night McLain, Freiley, Steer. I
do not care about blame. I am uninterested in blame.
I am interested in plays like that not happening, and
certainly not happening in the ninth inning of one run
games can't happen. So there's a separator from last year.

(49:57):
But the bigger separator from last year is when injuries
started to mount, when they start to take their toll,
they don't take that much of a toll. Last year's
team was doomed early in the season because of all
the injuries. Now, I certainly do believe you could argue
this year starting pitching gives the Reds a better chance
this season of not completely unraveling. But it was an

(50:19):
already limited offense to begin with, already a low ceiling
offense to begin with, and already a team that felt
incomplete before a pitch was even thrown. If it was
an incomplete team then and by the way, injuries took
their toll really early, and injuries are a problem. Now,
why am I to assume that the Reds incompleteness isn't

(50:42):
going to catch up to them with the season kind
of at a crossroads. We'll see, we'll see. But if
this season is really different. When I think of the
twenty twenty four Reds now, I don't think about David Bell.
I'm thinking about not having Joey Vado. I think about
all the starting pitching injuries the Reds had late last season.

(51:04):
I think of how they were desperate that Mike Ford.
By the way, Mike Ford, they acquired him, and for
like the two weeks he was with the team, dude
batted third frequently, Like that's what we were doing. You
know what? Mike Ford? Uh killer spring training, not good
enough to bring north, But now we could use Mike Ford.
He's the savior. They might not be doing that pretty

(51:27):
damn close. Sorry, are they built to a stand injury
last year? The answer was no. If this year's team
is truly different and therefore better. The answer will be yes.
I might make this a pole question. Are the Are
the Reds built to a stand injury and still qualify

(51:49):
for the postseason? Five one, three, seven, four nine, fifteen
thirty and eight sixty six, seven oh two, three, seven,
seven six Brendanman and Jonesaw Baseball's coming up in just
about thirty five minutes. There is a Bengal that I
talked about yesterday who has engendered big word, no sympathy

(52:10):
at all. I wish I was there to help him.
That's next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 10 (52:15):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 11 (52:20):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. When it comes
to stroke, every second counts. That's why you see health
is the clear choice for rapid life saving treatment. Learn
more at u sehealth dot com. Northbound seventy five an
accident now cleared out between Mitchell Avenue and Norwood Lateral.
Still some stop and go traffic back from seventy four

(52:42):
On northbound seventy one. It's an accident onto the right
shoulder that between Montgomery Road and Ronald Reagan Highway. A
two minute delay in the area on that Ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 4 (52:52):
This e free Free, I said, twenty after four, this
is ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (53:00):
I had something I was going to announce.

Speaker 4 (53:03):
Oh, that's right. One week from tonight is our schedule
Lee show starring Lance. Lance McCallister and I are are
gonna do a little bit of a switcher route next Wednesday.
He and Tony Pike, I know, will be there. I
have not I think Austin's actually hosting my show. I'm

(53:24):
I'm gonna overly complicate this. I'm just gonna tell you
this that we're doing this. Chad Brendle's doing this show.
Yes on next Wednesday, Yes, all right. I will be
on another station that day for Pete Rose Day at
the Holy Grail. But anyway, the purpose of this segment
here is to tell you the ESPN fifteen thirty Orange

(53:45):
and Black Breakdown schedule ly show, which is has turned
in one of my favorite nights of the year. I
used to be one of those like a lot of folks, Oh,
we already know who they're gonna play. Why do we
make a big deal about this? The schedule release night
is a really and it's gonna be even more fun
this year. Tony and Lance I know for sure are

(54:06):
gonna be broadcasting from Smoke Justice. I unfortunately am not
able to be there because I have inside pitch and
extra innings duty that night. But anyway, Smoke Justice schedule
le show Tony Lance and it's gonna be a lot
of fun from US six to nine.

Speaker 1 (54:26):
You have a lot of folks. We've done that show
over the last couple of years. We do it out somewhere.

Speaker 4 (54:29):
People bring like their laptops, and as soon as this
schedule comes out, they booked their flights and hotels and
stuff for Bengals road games. I know a lot of
folks are holding out hope they go to Madrid. It's
interesting that they've been to London twice twenty sixteen and
twenty nineteen, and number one, the NFL announced those games

(54:51):
much earlier than on schedule release night. Number two, the
football ops people, I could tell you this, we're tipped
off so they could start to plan, you know, for
having the travel and all that. And my understanding is
they haven't been told anything. I talked to a couple
of people with the Bengals who are like, dude, we've
been told nothing. So we'll see we'll see see if
they go to Madrid twenty two minutes after four o'clock. Again,

(55:14):
that's one week from tonight tonight, one week from tonight
at Smoke Justice from US six to nine. Lance McAllister
making his triumphant ESPN fifteen thirty return. How about that?
Uh five, one, three, seven, four nine, fifteen thirty. Phil,
you're on ESPN fifteen thirty. Good afternoon, Phil, how are
you afternoon?

Speaker 3 (55:35):
We Actually I want to I want to give you
a good John Lovets the Devil impersonation, because you know
who I love. No, I love Phil Castellini. And you
know why I love Phil Castellini.

Speaker 1 (55:47):
Oh boy, why because.

Speaker 3 (55:50):
He listens to me. And so we're sitting here in
February and he's looking at the team and I go,
you know, you can't possibly have this many injuries this year.
She did last year.

Speaker 1 (56:05):
Everyone's going to play the whole season.

Speaker 3 (56:07):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (56:07):
Sure, yeah, that's it.

Speaker 3 (56:10):
And Phil, believe me. The second, the second best deal
with the Devil that's been made since I convinced the
Brown family to put their whole season in the hands
of a first year defensive coordinator.

Speaker 4 (56:25):
I have fun, though, well, I'd rather hear from a
guy impersonating John Lovet's impersonating the devil than the devil himself.

Speaker 1 (56:35):
You know, I don't put as much of this on
Phil Castellini.

Speaker 4 (56:42):
I do know that Nick Krawl operates within a certain
framework that is set by ownership.

Speaker 5 (56:50):
I just.

Speaker 4 (56:52):
I hope this is a non topic in two weeks,
because if it's a non topic in two weeks, the
Reds have gone on a roll, right, and maybe some
players have outperformed expectation, and maybe the pitching has carried them. Hope.
So but here's my fear. When we were talking about

(57:13):
this team, I'll just make it about opening day. Tony,
Austin and I had smoked justice on opening Day, and
you didn't like to do this because opening Day is
a day for hope and vibrancy and enthusiasm and optimism.

Speaker 1 (57:30):
But you couldn't help but ask as we.

Speaker 4 (57:31):
Talked about the season, Number one, how much could injuries
sink this team early? Because they weren't gonna have Stevenson.
We found out about Austin Hayes. Steer was gonna play,
but he couldn't play the field and was going to
be basically hitting with one arm. Where are they going
to be Okay, let's be honest. They lost seven of
their first ten games. Now you could also argue, hey,

(57:53):
they pulled themselves out of that. They got to as
many as three over five hundred just this past weekend.
They were eighteen and fifty team, right, but still that
three and seven Those games do count. But the other
part was like, even even when everybody's healthy, it still
feels like an incomplete team, especially in the outfield. Incomplete

(58:19):
teams can get by if everybody's healthy. I think sometimes,
and man, I know I do it. You talk about
a team being healthier, acquisitions or how the roster's going
to be constructed, and he just you assume good health
like you're not gonna I just read for you the
list of teams that have figured out ways to survive

(58:40):
despite having a whole bunch of injuries. Incomplete teams have
a hard time when depth becomes an issue. Last year,
depth became an issue and the season was sunk to
a large degree before it even started. It was sunk
despite the fact that the twenty twenty four Read's had

(59:00):
dramatically better starting pitching than the twenty.

Speaker 1 (59:02):
Twenty three Rads. The twenty twenty five.

Speaker 4 (59:05):
Reds have dramatically better, dramatically but better starting pitching than
the twenty twenty four. In fact, I'll say dramatically have
been dramatically better starting pitching than the twenty twenty four Reds.
And yet we're talking about injury. And I think the
other thing is, like some of the dudes who are
out right now, Austin Hayes is a different story. But

(59:26):
maybe one day they get Cees back, What the hell's
that going to mean? Maybe one day they get jam
or Candelario back, Like what the hell is he gonna
bring to the table. It does to me, and it's early,
and it's you know, they've played thirty thirty seven games.

(59:47):
It just it feels to me like the season's at
a little bit of a crossroads here while they're dealing
with some guys not being healthy. Nobel ave Martez is
injured now and they wasn't because it's what Terry Franklin
I wanted. They had to start all three catchers last night.
They're giving significant playing time to dudes like Blake Dunne,

(01:00:09):
plus players who are just not performing all that well,
like Freiley and like McLean. You know, as much as
we could talk about the death being tested. You can
also say, like, man, it's time for some of these
guys to start pulling their weight, and like, that's where
the Matt McClain discussion should drive to, because all right,
nobody wants to demote them. I read every single day

(01:00:31):
somebody on social media or in an article somewhere pleading
that Matt McClain is not somebody anybody should worry about.

Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
Don't worry about Matt McLain.

Speaker 4 (01:00:38):
But like, all right, can, like some of these guys
who are supposed to be big parts of this team
start pulling their weight. Can Ellie Dela Cruz not look
at a to strike fastball down the gun with a
guy on second base and the tenth inning, lots of questions.
I would have asked a question if I were one back.

(01:01:00):
We'll talk about him after headlines. Next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 10 (01:01:03):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 11 (01:01:08):
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(01:01:30):
injury accident at rivol and westbound River Road. An accident
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Speaker 10 (01:01:40):
This report is sponsored by Triple.

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Exip Lines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet Home of
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to the Mountainnight, Reds and Braves. Third of four, Cincinnati
trying to break a four game losing streak. Seven fifteen

(01:02:02):
is Tonight's first pitch. Righty Grant Holmes will throw for Atlanta.
We have a starting lineup. Are you ready to get
your As an homage to my friend Lance I mentioned before,
get your scorecards ready? Friedol in center, McLean ats second,
Eli Dela Cruz is playing shortstop, Gavin Lux is dhing
Tonight Santiago est but also third base.

Speaker 1 (01:02:22):
Spencer Steer at first.

Speaker 4 (01:02:23):
Stevenson is catching Jacob Herdabis's in left field, and the
newly promoted Reese Hines is in right field. Hines added
to the team because Noelve Marte has had to go
on the injured list due to that oblique strain that
caused him to be scratched before last night's game. NFL
news the Steelers have traded George Pickens to the Dallas

(01:02:46):
Cowboys in exchange for a twenty twenty six third round
draft choice and a twenty twenty seven fifth round draft choice.
George Pickens had one of the best games you'll see
a wide receiver play against the Bengals late in the
twenty twenty three season Buck ninety five and a couple
of touchdowns. Uh NBA Tonight, Nick Celtics New York Cup

(01:03:08):
one OH in Boston, Denver, OKC in Oklahoma City, Nuggets
up one OH, Toronto up one OH. In the NHL
Stanley Cup playoff series against Florida Game two tonight, and
the Stars and Jets will play game one of their
series in the NHL. Brendanan and Jones on Baseball is
just about fifteen minutes away.

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
Mike, You're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:03:35):
Go ahead.

Speaker 12 (01:03:37):
What a privilege, because for a change, I have some
good content.

Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
What do you mean for a g George?

Speaker 12 (01:03:44):
What do you mean for a change, Sometimes my stuff's
probably not.

Speaker 4 (01:03:50):
Mike. You could say that about me eighty percent of
the time, and then I still show up to work
every day.

Speaker 12 (01:03:56):
Yeah, I got a bid medical for today. For that.
It's got me freaked out a little bit. So I'm
distracting myself here by focusing on other things.

Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
Oh, let's do it all right, what do you got?

Speaker 12 (01:04:06):
Okay, let's start with your comment earlier about which we'll
dovetail into the Bengals then Bradston playoffs. We were talking
about the value, the critical value of a well built
team to sustain all kinds of stuff, right, Yeah, Like
that's backup quarterbacks and football for instance of depth at

(01:04:29):
these different positions. Just a good trivia thing. I don't
know if you know this, but in nineteen seventy one
Super Bowl five, I believe the Baltimore cultural planning in
Super Bowl, Johnny Unitas one of the greatest gets hurt
or more. Earl Morale comes in at thirty five years old,
I believe, and takes them to the Super Bowl championship

(01:04:53):
in sead. He becomes the starter in seventy three. Earl
because well, I think they had a well built team
in they go back to the Super Bowl. Earl Moral
wins it again Baltimore, well built team. Then they trading
to Miami with Tula's team, well built team Grease, He's hurt.
Earl Moral comes in Super Bowl eight as a backup

(01:05:16):
wins his third Super Bowl. Just to illustrate what you mentioned.

Speaker 4 (01:05:21):
Yeah, I mean you have to have a reliable backup, right,
you have to have depth, you know. It's we've talked
about this with the Bengals making everything about Joe Burrow's greatness. Look,
he is the centerpiece of everything they do. He is
a great quarterback, but your team still has to function
if you know, he has to miss time. And like,

(01:05:43):
there's what they have now as a backup quarterback in
Jake Browning. I always look at it like this, not
so much can I win a Super Bowl with him,
but if they're playing a game against a good opponent,
it's a seventeen all game, first drive of the second half,
Burrow has to go in the protocol. Can the offense
still function with Jake Browning? And I think what he

(01:06:05):
proved at the end of the twenty twenty three season
was the answer is yes. That was always the litmus
test going back a while with AJ mccern, Like I
used to say this, you know, when there was AJ
mccern mania, before he ever threw a pass in a
real NFL game, I would say he has to prove
first that he is a backup.

Speaker 1 (01:06:26):
A good backup is a guy that you could put in.

Speaker 4 (01:06:29):
The game, maybe play a couple of weeks for you,
and you could still function. And at the end of
the twenty fifteen season, he proved that he wasn't great
in those games. He was not good at all for
three quarters of the playoff game. But I walked away
from the AJ mccern experience that season and said, cool,
the Bengals have a reliable backup quarterback.

Speaker 1 (01:06:49):
That's what you're looking for.

Speaker 4 (01:06:51):
Your team should still be able to function even when
you lose a guy like Joe Burrow. And in baseball,
your team should still be able to win games if
you've built enough depth when you lose players. And like
with the Reds specifically, you know Austin Hayes is a
good player. We're talking about him like he's very bonds

(01:07:13):
And wait, you know, Christian and Carnassi Instagram might be
good one day. We're talking about him like he's you know,
in his prime, Joey Vado. Like they're without players who
weren't performing to begin with. Are they good enough to
withstand those players being injured for a while? If they're
not like last year, then the answer is yes, I fear.

Speaker 1 (01:07:32):
I fear, Mike. The answer is going.

Speaker 5 (01:07:34):
To be no, me too.

Speaker 12 (01:07:37):
Now, just a Bengals thing, even a little further than
that you mentioned. I didn't realize this, but you mentioned it.
I don't know, doing the end of the football season,
maybe right after that, the Bengals had scored ninety nine
points in three games and lost all those games. Why
not because of Doe, not because of the receivers, but
because of the defense.

Speaker 1 (01:07:55):
This is what I know.

Speaker 12 (01:07:57):
You know, there's always this argument, whether it's are you
pessimistic or you opt or are you realistic? And I
don't care if Al Golden's the greatest Buddy Ryan reincarnated,
You're not going to turn that defense around in one
year and take them from where they were to a
top fifteen or twenty defense. That doesn't sound possible, does it.

Speaker 4 (01:08:19):
I think it sounds possible. I mean, you know, there's
a difference between possible and likely. I think it's entirely possible, because, look,
I if the defense is substantially better this year, two
things will have happened. Their plan to make the pass
rush better will have worked, right, And that plan is
obviously acquiring Shamar Stewart, It includes obviously keeping Trey hendrickson.

(01:08:43):
It includes giving Joseph Osai another chance, and it includes
Miles Murphy being better. It also includes maybe Al Golden
using some of those edge guys Dana and I talked
about this yesterday, using some of those edge guys in
ways that Leun Rumo didn't last year, and that being effective. Also, like,

(01:09:03):
there are I think some really talented players in the secondary.
I don't think they have a cornerback over the age
of twenty five years old. I think there's a lot
of upside. I certainly do believe it's possible that Al
Golden can help some of those guys, and maybe the
collective group of players help them tap into their upside,

(01:09:24):
and then the defense is going to benefit from that.
You might not think that those two things both happening
are likely, but they can happen, and if they do,
you know, are they going to have a top ten defense?

Speaker 1 (01:09:36):
Probably not. But do they need one again?

Speaker 4 (01:09:39):
If the litmus test is that stretch last year where
they scored thirty four against the Baltimore Ravens and lost,
twenty seven against the LA Chargers and lost, and thirty
eight I think it was against the Pittsburgh Steelers and lost. Well,
my guess is if Al Golden is effective with what
the Bengals organization is asking him to do, they'll win
those games. They'll win those games where Joe is awesome.

(01:10:01):
They'll win those games where Joe puts up a big number.
I think what I want to know is this, it's
twenty eight to twenty four, you're up four, other team
needs a touchdown. They've got to go seventy five yards
in a minute fifteen with a timeout. Can you get
the stop? That's what I want to know. Can the
Al Golden defense get the stop? I don't have an

(01:10:24):
answer for you. If the answer is yes, this team's
probably gonna be okay.

Speaker 1 (01:10:28):
But I do think there are players to work with.

Speaker 4 (01:10:31):
I just would have liked to have seen him add
a three technique, and I think it would have made
sense to add a safety and frankly, in terms of
a pass rushing three technique. They didn't do that, and
they didn't add a safety either.

Speaker 12 (01:10:44):
Well, I'll shine up my rosary and get that rascal
ready for football. Okay, okay, last night McClain. Is it
nonchalant on that play? Or is he deer in the
headlights one.

Speaker 8 (01:10:56):
Of the other.

Speaker 4 (01:10:56):
I think it's deer in headlights. I think it's just
lack of anticipation. Its lack of awareness. And look, you
can you can hang it on Steer for not yelling
at him to look toward home. Matt McLean should know that, uh,
he knows there's one out. He knows there's a guy
running from first base. He knows he knows who's running,
the former teammate of his.

Speaker 6 (01:11:17):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:11:18):
He certainly has to know.

Speaker 4 (01:11:19):
That, uh, there's a chance that Stuart Fairchild is going
to put the pressure in the ninth inning on the
Reds defense in a one run game, and instead he
just vapor locked again. I certainly can understand you go, hey, Spencer,
Steer has got to tell him, dude, you know, turn here,
look here, pay attention here. Matt McLean should know that
high school players know that that situational stuff. The Reds

(01:11:41):
have to be better at that. We were told this
offseason they were going.

Speaker 12 (01:11:45):
To be better at that was so disappointing. Okay, NBA,
that first game the Celtics played, that guy was malpracticed coaching.
It was, it was, it was, it was god awful.
And if they pulled again, I wanted to do shoot
threes in the second half. It was something obnoxious.

Speaker 4 (01:12:06):
Yeah, I mean, people focused on the number of threes
they took. They shot sixty, they made fifteen. It was
jacking threes when they were building a big lead that
they didn't need to shoot threes to add to. They
could have milked some clock, they could have worked for
a better shot. Like I understand math, Mike, I understand
threes worth more than two. I understand it's a three

(01:12:27):
point heavy league, Like I understand all that. But you
talk about situational basketball. You know, my Knicks deserve credit
for coming back, but Boston and Joe Mizula's coaching was
certainly complicit in their own game one demise.

Speaker 12 (01:12:43):
Yeah, well, you can't just live and die, right that three?
Not in a playoffs. I just don't believe it. And
I'm so rooting for the next because I will never
like the Boston Celticks to my grave. So I'm a
big Necks fan. Pacers. Wow, watch out Cleveland. You're maybe
you're surprised, maybe you're not, but this team and correct

(01:13:03):
Carlisle are so impressive, well so impressive.

Speaker 4 (01:13:07):
Yeah, you know, they've they've won. The way they won
Milwaukee's game was insane. The last game of the Milwaukee
series was insane. And the way they they won last
night was insane. This was a fifty win team that
was offensively one of the most efficient in the sport.
Tyrese Haliburton is a star. I know in the player's
poll he was voted the most overrated player in the league.
I do not believe that they have depth. They have

(01:13:29):
a lot of different scoring options, you know, offensively, all
season long they were terrific. They flew very much under
the radar because just in the East, all the conversation
all year long is about Boston and Cleveland and to
a large degree, the Knicks. Indiana can win the East.
And if it's not the Knicks, that's kind of what
I'm rooting for. I'm hoping it's the Pacers. All right.

(01:13:50):
That's a that's a fun, very well coached team. The
way you know, just in Game one, the way they
took the fight to the Cavaliers, and the Cavs are
shorthanded but had no answers on defense for a good
offensive team the Pacers have. Yeah.

Speaker 12 (01:14:04):
Almost, I feel like there almost are adopted team, being
only one hundred miles from away from Cincinnati. I've always
thought that way. Okay, the last thing, I know, you
gotta go. You last night's step goes down with the
millions of miles that guy runs. It's amazing you ever
had an injury yet. Really, but I think this game's

(01:14:25):
over right. You got to be thinking it too. Man.
Did Draymond show up? I mean now, and you know
I didn't realize this, but once they picked up Jimmy
Butler the end of the year, they were the best
defensive team in the NBA.

Speaker 4 (01:14:38):
Uh yeah, no, that was that was mentioned during the
Game seven broadcast where they beat the Rockets.

Speaker 12 (01:14:45):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:14:46):
Steph did have that year in twenty twenty, the COVID
year where I think he was held to just four
or five games. But for the most part, yes, he
has led a very from a health perspective, a pretty
clean existence.

Speaker 12 (01:14:57):
You guys, you get who you like in that series.

Speaker 4 (01:14:59):
Now, you know I said to somebody last night, I
think from a wagering perspective, I liked whoever was gonna
lose Game one because I think it's that evenly matched.
I don't think Minnesota is going to be as bad
offensively as they have been throughout that series, but I
love how Golden State defends. We'll see if Curry is
healthy for Game two. The interesting thing about the Warriors,
and I'm sure you'll see it in this series.

Speaker 1 (01:15:21):
When they lose, they lose badly.

Speaker 4 (01:15:24):
I'm not betting against that experienced team against what still
feels like an upstart wolf squad. And I say that
recognizing what they did against the LA Lakers. But I
think even though I said I was going to take
the game one loser to win the series, my money
would be on Golden State.

Speaker 1 (01:15:41):
Mike guy gonna run, man.

Speaker 12 (01:15:42):
Thank you When the first five teams on the road
win all those games never happened in the NBA. Thanks moment, All.

Speaker 1 (01:15:48):
Right, Thanks Mike.

Speaker 4 (01:15:49):
So we talked about Geno Stone yesterday and I asked this,
and like, Geno Stone's an easy target and not a
very sympathetic figure, right, But the Bengals asked them to
take a pretty big, pretty big pay cut, one point
six million dollar pay cut. And you know that's all
well and good. You know, fans, we love players who

(01:16:13):
take less money. But yesterday he mentioned that he wasn't
sure what the Bengals were going to do with the
one point six wouldn't that be your first question? Now,
there are many who believe that this signals the fact
that a Trey Hendrickson deal is going to be close.

(01:16:36):
Maybe that is the case. I find it hard to
believe that the difference between Trey signing long term and
not signing long term is Geno Stone's one point six
million dollars. If I was Geno Stone, I would go
to Trey Hendrickson and go, really, so, they've had a
deal on the table for you, and what had to

(01:16:56):
get done was this one to six that now comes.

Speaker 1 (01:16:58):
Up my expense, Like, really, that's what we have to do.

Speaker 4 (01:17:04):
I wouldn't sit well with me, But I'll tell you what,
like Genostone expressed uncertainty, bewilderment, he didn't know why did
the Bengals ask him to take a pay cut? Number one?
Do you believe him? Number two? If you do believe him,
would you take a pay cut and not ask why,

(01:17:24):
Like I want to put my arm around a gino
and go, dude, I don't believe that the difference between
try Hendrickson signing long term and not signing long term
is your one point six You had a bad year
last year, but they have expressed confidence in you. There's
nowhere no one else on the roster right now, Like
it just doesn't feel like they came to him with

(01:17:46):
an ultimatum, take the pay cut or you're going to
be cut.

Speaker 1 (01:17:52):
Maybe it's just me.

Speaker 4 (01:17:53):
If I was asked to take a significant pay raise,
I'd want to know, like why w legitimately and maybe
we get that answer in the coming weeks. Why wouldn't
you want to know that? I want to know it,
and it's not my one point six mil? Why do
I have to take a pay cut? Five one, three, seven,

(01:18:18):
four nine fifteen thirty UH is our phone number. We
will revisit last night. I want to know when the
twenty twenty four red season will end. But first, Brenneman
and Jones on.

Speaker 9 (01:18:30):
Baseball Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 11 (01:18:36):
From the UCE Health Traffic Center. When it comes to stroke,
every second counts. That's why you see Health is the
u seehealth dot com. Southbound seventy one after Ronald Reagan Highways,
still got an accident there onto the right shoulder, a
two minute to lay back from flight for road. Westbound

(01:18:57):
River Road still got an accident between Evans Street and
State Avenue. And he's found two seventy five slow traffic
from Dixie Highway to Madison Pike on that he's sound
like with traffic.

Speaker 6 (01:19:07):
This best radio show in Cincinnati, according to the readers
at City Beat magazine, The Moeger Show on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station number four.

Speaker 4 (01:19:17):
That's right, what's not ESPN fifteen thirty Moliger This is
the mikeelob Ultra five o'clock Happy Hour, thanks to our
friends at michelob Ultra. You know there's nothing better than
that post lawnmowing beer while you're listening to Tommy and
Chris and so when Ice called michelob Ultra hit well

(01:19:39):
last night as Cinna's got done with the grass, the
Reds did not hit well last night on Mulleger. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty. By the way, I think I
already said that Reds did not hit well last night,
Praise did not hit well last night either, and uh,
last night was it felt like the tenth time already.

Speaker 1 (01:19:58):
It's we're not yet to the second weekend of May.

Speaker 4 (01:20:01):
They haven't yet played a quarter of their schedule, and
yet it feels like we've already exhausted the season supply
of gut punch type losses, tough losses, those sort of losses.
You know, there's there's different types of losses. Sometimes you
lose seven to two and you fall behind early, your
starter doesn't have it.

Speaker 1 (01:20:22):
Sometimes you lose five nothing, five.

Speaker 4 (01:20:25):
One, and your offense just gets stimied by the other
guy in the mound. There have been a lot of
games this year that we have categorized as tough losses.
The one two nights ago, I think it was tough
from an emotional standpoint, right because of the Tyler Callahan thing.
Everybody's concern was with him. But it would have been
a little bit better had they won the baseball game.

(01:20:46):
They did not because they scored one run. Last night.
Another tough tough loss, one in which they go to
the ninth inning with a one nothing lead, one in
which they get great starting pitching from Andrew Abbott. He
was terrific. You do maybe wish he could have gone
a little bit deeper into the game, but when he

(01:21:07):
was on the mound he was fantastic and great Mashcraft
was good, and Tony Santien was good enough. Maybe the
alarm went off an Amelia Pagan walked the lead off
guy in the ninth inning. I don't know, let's start
that with the offense. Chris Sale was terrific, and you
could talk last night up to Chris Sale. Unfortunately, it

(01:21:32):
just feels like there have been way too many games
recently where we're just tipping our cap to the other guy.
Two nights ago it was a j. Smith Shaver. On
Sunday it was Mackenzie Gore. This team, which we know
is not great offensively as is, is in the middle
of a stretch where as a club, they have lost

(01:21:55):
six out of eight. In the losses, they have scored
one run or fewer in five of them. There was
the eleven six game on Saturday night. With the exception
of that one six Zip nine to one, four to one,
four Zip two to one. Not good and so but

(01:22:16):
you know it's not a good offensive team, and an
offensive team that's not very good has a low floor. Okay, fine,
okay fine, And yet despite their offensive deficiencies, in spite
of Chris Saale looking like well a guy who is
the reigning at LSI Young Award winner, in spite of
all that, you took a one nothing lead into the

(01:22:38):
ninth inning, and you might have had the sinking feeling
that I did when Emelio Pegan walked the leadoff guy.
You might have thought when Brian Snicker was asking the
next batter, Eli White, to bunt, Hey, that's cool. Brian
Snickers using bad strategy, just like he did with the
contact play a couple of innings earlier. And so maybe

(01:22:59):
this is gonna work out. As it turns out, Eli
White struck out. Uh, then we know what happened with
Michael Harris. He hits a ball to right field, Jake
Fraley feels it, Stewart Fairchild's pinch running, he starts on
first base, he comes around all the way to score. Now,
obviously a bunch of stuff would happen after that, including

(01:23:23):
the red starting the tenth inning. You know, we do
the dumb magic runner now in extra innings. So a
guy's on second base, and you've got well Ellie Stevenson
and Santiago Espinal coming up. I am the world's biggest
Elie de la Cruz fan, my guy with two strikes
that pitch, if you saw it, that's a meat ball

(01:23:43):
you got to swing. Stevenson strikes out, Amelia Pegan flies out.
At that point, it kind of felt like the outcome
of the game was pretty much sealed. Mop Up hero
Lion Richardson comes in, works Ozuna to a one to
two count, through some tough pitches, throws a meatball. Ozona
lashes it to left. Braves win. Tough, tough loss. Part

(01:24:08):
of what makes it tough is, yes, they had a
one nothing lead going into the ninth inning. Part of
what makes it tough is the sense that offensively there's
just gonna be too many stretches like this, the sense
that the loss came against the backdrop of another injury

(01:24:28):
and the depth continuing to be tested. Also, the play
in the ninth inning were fair child scores. I was
asked earlier, like who do you putting the blame on?
And I start, I start with the guy who had
the ball standing there in the infield, and like we
all hope Matt McLain is awesome, and most of us
still think he will be. Matt McClain's got to not

(01:24:49):
fall asleep on the field. Man, Jake Freiley has to
make a better throw. Spencer Steer has to yell at
Matt McClain. Matt McLean's gotta know, I gotta know there's
a guy who is rounding third and may score like
there just has to be better awareness, better anticipation. I
am not that interested in assigning blame. I think that's

(01:25:12):
sort of a useless exercise. What I am interested in
is knowing when plays like that will become a thing
of the past. Last year's team was largely defined by
two things that are issues right now. One is the

(01:25:34):
play that we just talked about, Matt McClain, Spencer Steer,
Jake Frayley, a combination of the three.

Speaker 1 (01:25:44):
Making a mistake.

Speaker 4 (01:25:46):
It's not an error, but it's a mistake, and it's
a mistake that led Atlanta to tie the game. Now,
you know, maybe McLain makes the right play, throws home,
they get him out, there's two outs, Pegan gets out
of it, Reds win. Maybe the Braves still tie it.
Maybe the Braves end up winning it in nine innings

(01:26:08):
if fair Child holds a third, who knows, We don't know.
What I do know is this that that play last
night could not help but make you think of the
off season and all season spent talking about how this
year's team with the new Hall of Fame manager, is

(01:26:30):
going to be different and thus better than last year's
team because one thing last year's team didn't do well
enough on a consistent basis are the little things like
on defense, this is something that was harped on a ton. Hey,
it's errors, yes, but it's the things that don't necessarily

(01:26:51):
show up in the box score. Those are the things
that this team has to be better right now. One
might say, well, you know, the show up in the
box score because the run scored, but there was no
error assigned on the play. If you read the official
MLB dot Com play by play, it doesn't say Matt
McClain falls asleep on the field. It doesn't say Matt

(01:27:14):
McClain catches ball from right field and pauses because he's
counting all his hits, which shouldn't take all that long.
It doesn't say, uh, Fairchild scores because Spencer Steer doesn't
yell at Matt McClain and tell him to wake up.
It doesn't say Freley throws the ball where it shouldn't
be thrown. All it says is Harris doubled to right,

(01:27:35):
Fairchild scored. One of the things we talked about a
ton this offseason, a ton when David Bell goutlet go
is the Rads got to clean some of that stuff up.
And yet it's basic errors and things like that. But
there's an example. There's an example of the sort of
thing that the Rads did way too often last year,

(01:28:00):
the sort of thing that because they did it way
too often last year, got the manager fired, got them
replaced by the Hall of Fame guy. The sort of
play that when we talked about why twenty twenty five
could be different, it was gonna be because those sort
of plays were a thing of the past. Maybe last

(01:28:23):
night ends up being one of those moments where everybody
realizes they've got to play cleaner baseball, more fundamentally sound baseball.
Everybody's gonna have their head in the game, players have
to communicate better with each other. Maybe and by late
July we're laughing at that play in Atlanta last night,

(01:28:44):
But I'm sorry until we see plays like that not occur,
and like, it's one thing if that happens in a
six to one game in the seventh inning. Hell, it's
one thing if it.

Speaker 1 (01:28:57):
Happens in the first inning of a scoreless.

Speaker 4 (01:28:59):
Game, happened in the ninth inning of a game that
the Reds had a very good chance to win, that
you would argue, not that I care about pitcher wins,
because I don't, but that Andrew Abbott deserved to win.

Speaker 1 (01:29:14):
And that you could argue the Reds needed.

Speaker 4 (01:29:17):
To win because they had just lost the last three
they lost in part because of that play. So it
could sound like, well, you're making a big deal out
of this one play, and I understand that. But like
all off season, all I heard, not even all off season,
all last year, all I heard was the reason why
David Bell's got to go is those things, those plays

(01:29:39):
need a manager, need a way of doing thing that's
going to.

Speaker 1 (01:29:41):
Eliminate those things. When when are those things going away?

Speaker 4 (01:29:49):
The other thing is, and I hate to do this,
but noelve Marte was scratched late before the game last night,
the club pretty close to the first pitch, like fifteen
twenty minutes, and so the Reds had to play three catchers,
which is an anomaly. It's not ideal. The Reds have
three catchers because Austin Wins and Jose Travino have done

(01:30:09):
a nice job and Austin Wins came close to hitting
a home run last night. Austin Hayes has been terrific.
Tyler Stevenson's back. They had to start three catchers last
night because of the Noelve Marte thing. Marte has since
got on the injured list. He's got an oblique strain
and so rees Hines is back, which fine. The other

(01:30:32):
thing that we talked about a lot last year, and
one of the hallmarks of the twenty twenty four Reds
was when their depth got tested. The twenty twenty four
Reds failed often during the offseason, certainly often during spring training.
We discussed how one of the things that doomed last

(01:30:52):
year's team was the lack of depth and when injuries
started to mount, the Reds were not built to overcome
those injuries. Well, we're dealing with an already offensively limited
team kind of stockpiling injuries right now, and so at

(01:31:17):
eighteen and nineteen, four games out of first place. Neither
is this sort of thing that you can't recover from.
I'm sure there have been lots of teams that were
eighteen and nineteen and still ended up winning their divisions.
There obviously have been a lot of teams that were
four games out of first place on May seventh that
still ended up winning their divisions. But tonight, in the outfield,

(01:31:44):
we have Jacob Herdebes and Reese Hines. Jacob Herdibes, let's
be honest, does not look like a major league hitter.
Reese Hines, briefly last year looked like a major league
hitterer and was putting up good numbers in Louisville. But
the dude was sent to a little oval in spring
training for a reason. The plan at the beginning of
the year wasn't to have two thirds of your outfield

(01:32:06):
be Hertebese and Hines. Yet here we are. So you're
eighteen and nineteen. You've kind of blown opportunities to win
series against teams like the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals,
and injuries are starting to mount, and admittedly some of

(01:32:27):
the players who have gotten hurt weren't exactly doing much
to begin with. Good news is that it feels like
Austin Hayes is on the verge of coming back in
Austin Hayes, when he was healthy, was hitting. I think
they are legitimate questions about his health. But when the
season was beginning, and when we were talking about the
chances for the Reds to be better this year, one
of the concerns that many of us expressed was, God,

(01:32:50):
it feels like the Reds roster it's kind of incomplete.
That Nick Carl did some good work this offseason, but
it feels like he could have done a little bit more,
and you hope, you hope that that doesn't turn into
a problem. Once injuries become a thing. Injuries are becoming
a thing. If the twenty twenty five Reds are different

(01:33:11):
than the twenty twenty four Reds, which lost more than
they won and cost the manager his job, then this
team will be better equipped to handle the depth being tested.
This team will be better equipped to withstand injury. Does
it feel like they are? Does it feel like they

(01:33:33):
are when back in March many wondered if they were.
I guess we will see Hunter Green pitches tonight. This
is the quintessential ace game. Like I, for all intents
and purposes, Hunter Green is my favorite red. I think
he's one of the biggest bargains in baseball. I thought
on Friday night there were times against Washington he was

(01:33:56):
flat out unfair. His previous two starts left oh little
to be desired. But Hunter Green's having an excellent season
established himself as a staff Ace has a chance to
be an All Star. That's not to take anything away
from Andrew Rabbit, who was really good last night, or
a Brady Singer who's been pretty good this year, or

(01:34:16):
even Nick Litolo, whose last start was a bit of
a struggle. But we talk about like staff Aces. Staff
As isn't the guy who pitches on opening Day. He's
not the guy who pitches game one of a postseason series,
although that's obviously important. Your staff As, to me, is
a guy who you've lost four straight. You don't lose five.

(01:34:37):
Staff Ace is a bucket getter in basketball. Other teams
on an eight to nothing run, I'm getting a bucket
ain't going to be a ten to nothing or twelve
nothing run. I put a lot on Hunter Green. It's
not that dissimilar from that game in San Francisco about
a month ago. Right the team is reeling. They've lost
four straight, all sorts of injuries. They're not at their healthiest.

(01:34:58):
They just went through a tough loss last night. Bullpen
kind of text. They're not hitting at all. Hunter's got
a deliver, does he?

Speaker 1 (01:35:09):
Now?

Speaker 4 (01:35:09):
My money is always going to be on Hunter Green.
The problem is if he delivers, do they waste it?
Because they did with Andrew Abbott last night twenty minutes
after five o'clock. Our phone numbers are five one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty and eight six six, seven oh two three, seven,
seven six. We've been Red's heavy today on Twitter at

(01:35:31):
Moegar as well. No real Bengals news today. They haven't
made any other players take a pay cut. They haven't
gotten Trey Hendrickson signed. I have no idea. Yesterday's Phase
two pseudo practice was made available to the media yesterday.
Today's workout not so much.

Speaker 6 (01:35:49):
So.

Speaker 1 (01:35:49):
I have no idea if Joe Burrow was there today.

Speaker 4 (01:35:52):
I do know he wasn't there yesterday because he was
at something called the met Gala on Monday.

Speaker 1 (01:35:57):
Now, some are going.

Speaker 4 (01:35:58):
To push back at the concept of Hollywood Joe. If
you are pushing back against the concept of Hollywood Joe
you don't want what I want, We'll do that. Coming
up at five thirty five on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 9 (01:36:15):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from.

Speaker 11 (01:36:21):
The UC Health Traffic Center. When it comes to stroke,
every second counts. That's why you SEE Health is the
u sehealth dot com. Earlier accident has been cleared out
southbound seventy one after Ronald Reagan Highway. Still got one
in place though, southbound seventy one after Martin Luther King

(01:36:42):
that's off onto the right shoulder and southbound seventy five
stop and go traffic between Hoppole and Fort Washington Way.
I'm at Ezelach with traffic this.

Speaker 1 (01:36:51):
Week on contest. Speaking of free, it's free.

Speaker 4 (01:36:54):
We're not gonna make you give us your credit card
or your Apple pay info. You don't have to then
moas anything. No, you just sign up and if you win,
you win a brand new lawnmower from Baxla Tractor and
you win tickets to every Riverbend show this year. Sign
up on the Contests and Promotions page at ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (01:37:14):
Thirty dot com.

Speaker 4 (01:37:15):
The link to which you can find on pretty much
any of my social media channels.

Speaker 5 (01:37:20):
Hopefully the winner takes me to the concerts.

Speaker 4 (01:37:23):
Yeah, you know, that should be a condition of winning,
that if if there's a concert that Arran wants to
go to, you have to take him with you. We
might I might put that in the official language of
the contest that if you win the Moyoralon contest and
you win tickets to every river Bend show, we pick
a show where you have to take Terran.

Speaker 1 (01:37:44):
And it's not gonna Pitbull coming to Riverbend this year.

Speaker 5 (01:37:47):
Not this year, okay good. The other one will see
this year is Nelly.

Speaker 1 (01:37:51):
Nelly's that I saw Nelly at Riverbend.

Speaker 4 (01:37:54):
This is how old I am tearing in two thousand
and one and either he open for Destiny's Child or
Destiny's Child open for Nelly.

Speaker 1 (01:38:03):
I do not recall the order in which the concert went.

Speaker 5 (01:38:06):
And then I believe in O till he went on
to per format super Bowl.

Speaker 4 (01:38:09):
Uh yeah, And what I remember about the concert in
two thousand and one, and I don't remember who the
headliner was. I don't think I think Destiny's Child was
the headliner. But Nelly's on stage and it's him, and
you know the people he's on stage with, and they're
all riding ATVs on stage like he's doing it. He's
singing hot in here and number one whatever, He's all

(01:38:30):
his hit songs. And as he's singing, like all the
guys in his crew were where where dressed?

Speaker 1 (01:38:37):
We're not.

Speaker 4 (01:38:38):
I'm I'm fumbling this year. They were all riding around
on ATV's on the stage. I remember that that night,
it was like August of oh one.

Speaker 1 (01:38:45):
I was there.

Speaker 4 (01:38:47):
I actually think I could beat I think that was
a triple header. I think it was Christina Aguilera Destiny's
Child in Nelly. I might be I might be confusing
the Christina agg park. I'm gonna have to go like
that's got to be on the internet somewhere. But I
have seen Nelly. Nelly is back at Riverbend this summer.
So a condition of winning the contest is if the

(01:39:09):
dates work out, you have to take tarror to go
see Nelly uh Rich in Cleeves. Please rescue this segment.
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:39:20):
How's it going good?

Speaker 12 (01:39:22):
Good good?

Speaker 7 (01:39:22):
Thanks for taking my call me.

Speaker 5 (01:39:24):
That's my job.

Speaker 12 (01:39:25):
I got a question for you. Yeah, I thought.

Speaker 7 (01:39:28):
I heard somewhere during the offseason that the Reds were
replacing David Bell with a Hall of Fame manager. And
the question is, when does that guy start.

Speaker 1 (01:39:38):
It's a good question. I heard.

Speaker 4 (01:39:39):
He's won a couple of World Series, had a lot
of success in Boston and in Cleveland, has managed different
types of teams, and there's going to be a heavy
emphasis on the little things and fundamentals and defense.

Speaker 1 (01:39:51):
And I am really excited for him to start accountability.

Speaker 7 (01:39:54):
And yeah, I just some of the decisions being made.
I mean, last night, in the eleventh or in the tenth,
you got a tigh score. We're bringing in Lion Richardson, Yeah,
I mean, and we're using what Antienne and Ashcraft probably
are two best relievers. They're covering inning six through eight,

(01:40:15):
and then we're drown Pagan out there thinking he's a
closer in the ninth.

Speaker 12 (01:40:18):
I don't get it.

Speaker 7 (01:40:20):
I really don't we I was down there at opening day.
He throws your bou in, you know, to say the
game on opening Day. I mean, honestly, what I heard
was he was a genius managing the bullpen, right.

Speaker 12 (01:40:33):
I don't see it.

Speaker 7 (01:40:34):
MO, It's just maybe it's me, but I for me,
the honeymoon's over, Like I got to see more from
Francona beyond the players. I get the players aren't hitting,
but man, I mean some of the decisions being made
are just outrageous.

Speaker 4 (01:40:47):
Yeah, you know you're right. Opening day, Ian, I thought
the honeymoon ended. That day the bullpen gate flings open
and it's Ian Jabou And we know how that worked out.
You know, Lion Richardson went from and I get he
had used to that point three relievers, like I do understand,
but Lyon Richardson was the mop up guy in the
second game of that double header who went back to Louisville,

(01:41:10):
and now he's pitching in the highest of high leverage
situations in the tenth.

Speaker 7 (01:41:15):
I just I don't get not using your best relievers.
I mean, I think ashcrafty Era is still under one,
isn't it. And then you got Santine that's done a
great job minus one outing. Yet we're throwing Jebo and
Richardson into high leverage situations.

Speaker 12 (01:41:30):
I don't get it.

Speaker 7 (01:41:31):
I know resources are limited, but you have Rogers down there.
You know, you had anybody but Ryan richards I don't
get it. But maybe it's just me and maybe I
just have to wait and see. But so like we're
falling right into that pattern from last year. We get
to five hundred or one above, and then we loose

(01:41:52):
four in a row, and then we have to make
up the ground again. It just feels just like it
feels like groundhog game.

Speaker 4 (01:41:57):
But it really does feels like they're spinning their tires.
I think what the argument for Richardson last night might
be is, at that point, you're gonna have to get
six outs, so there's a decent chance you're gonna have
to use him anyway, So let's use him because he's fresh.
But my bigger issue there is like every manager during

(01:42:19):
the course of the season is going to get that right,
and every manager during the course of the season is
going to get that particular decision wrong.

Speaker 1 (01:42:27):
I wanted the small stuff to be made cleaner.

Speaker 4 (01:42:30):
I wanted that stuff to be cleaned up like this,
the play in the ninth inning last night. I'd like
to see there not continued to be an insistence on
using guys in roles positionally that they're not having any success.
And I'll get you, it's hard to find, you know,
a two hole hitter right now. And Matt McClain did
get on base a couple of times last night, but

(01:42:52):
Matt McClain is not producing at all, and there just
is seemingly no thought given to trying something else, anything
else to get him going again, to shake things up
in the batting order, and that I thought that would
be different. You know, using Lyon Richardson last night, I'll
be honest, doesn't bother me too much because of where

(01:43:15):
things were in the game. He needed at that point
six outs because his team didn't score. Bigger issue for
me is, you know, three, four, five come up and
Dela Cruz and Stevenson did not give the Reds good
at bats with a guy in scoring position. I think
they were in a position to use Richardson because of
that failure and because of the play in the ninth inning,
which again it's one play in one game across an

(01:43:38):
entire season, but that is the sort of play that
was reflective of how the Reds played last year. I
was hoping that last year would not repeat itself in
twenty twenty five.

Speaker 7 (01:43:48):
Yeah, I agree. I agree with your batting order comments too.
I mean, you know, some nights he's got lucks hitting
seven when he's sitting over three hundred and you keep
McLean in the two hole. And I mean, for God's sakes,
I know Austin wins. Eventually, he's going to come back
to the back of his baseball card. But right now
he's hitting four or fifteen. Couldn't we move him up
in the lineup a little bit? I mean, you know,

(01:44:09):
I heard Frank kind of likes to play the hot hand.

Speaker 12 (01:44:12):
Why isn't he.

Speaker 7 (01:44:12):
Setting his lineup based upon who's hot? I just I
don't know. I'm frustrated, moo. But it's red baseball, so
I guess that's what will always be.

Speaker 1 (01:44:20):
Yeah, it Rich, Thank I appreciate the phone call.

Speaker 4 (01:44:23):
It it just whether it's a direct reflection of Terry Francona,
a direct reflection of some players underperforming, or a direct
reflection of the front office. Twenty twenty five doesn't feel
too dissimilar from twenty twenty four. But by the way,
I will also acknowledge this that I it felt to me.

(01:44:43):
And there was a shot on FanDuel last night Andrew
Rabbit came after it came out of the game after
five innings, and it looked to me like Terry Francona
was asking him, can you go one more? Now? Athlete
knows his body. If the pitcher says I'm not going,
I'm not going. Like I understand, I just I do

(01:45:04):
wonder how the game unfolds to a degree later in
the game if Abbott goes six. But look, he's used
Pegan as the closer. I think Amelia Pagan is for
the most part pitched. Okay, you can't walk the lead
off guy in a won nothing game. But he also
got out of the you know, the jam after they
allowed Fairchild to score. Certainly don't want to give up

(01:45:25):
the hit. I don't know that. That didn't bother me
as much as the play in the field. And again,
like Matt McLain should know better, Spencer Steers should know better.
Those two in particular, Spencer Steeers should know your job
in that situation is to be the eyes of the
guy who's catching the ball. At the same time, it

(01:45:47):
felt like Matt McClain didn't anticipate the play. Do I
put all of that on Terry Francona. No, those players
should perform better, those players should execute better. But the
cleaning up of the little things, cleaning up of those
defensive mistakes was supposed to be something that happened with
a new manager as accomplished as Terry Francona. Last night,

(01:46:11):
it wasn't. And this team's margin for air right now
is really small. Just talked about what they haven't done offensively.

Speaker 2 (01:46:20):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:46:20):
Of the last six losses, they've scored one runner fewer
in five of them. The margin for air is really tiny.
Plays like that cost you games. Plays like that last
night cost him a game. Deeply frustrating, deeply frustrating.

Speaker 2 (01:46:35):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:46:35):
And then you add to it, you know it just
it felt like an incomplete team coming out of spring training.
An incomplete team is not built to a stand injury.
The Reds are dealing with a lot of injury. Are
they going to be built to a stand this? See
see we are way late twenty four from six five

(01:46:57):
three seven, fifteen thirty is our phone number. I want
Hollywood Joe to continue next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 10 (01:47:07):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 11 (01:47:12):
to stroke, every second count. So that's why you see
health is the clear choice for rampid life saving treatment.
Learn more at U sehealth dot com westbound two seventy five.
The entrance ramp from US fifty two partially blocked off,
that is, from low hanging branches on that ramp. Northbound

(01:47:33):
seventy one got some slow traffic between Smith Edwards and
Ronald Reagan Highway up to a twelve minute delay in
through there. I'm at Ezelach with traffic.

Speaker 1 (01:47:43):
This report is.

Speaker 4 (01:47:44):
Bun all right, so just really quick and then we'll
give you the sports headlines. My guy Tarren looked it up.
April August sixteenth, two thousand and one. I did indeed
see Nelly at the at Riverbend Music Center as part
of the MTV TRL Live tour. Now I'm looking here.

(01:48:06):
It also says part of that tour, Destiny's Child was
the headliner, correct, along with Nelly, and then we also
had Eve City High Jessica Simpson dream, I don't know
what that is, and three LW I don't know what
that is. I don't know where my mind came up
with Christina Aguilera, but I do remember distinctly being at

(01:48:30):
that show Nelly and all the ATVs on stage and
Destiny's Child. I remember that. I think I saw Christina
Aguilera and Destiny's Child together in a separate show.

Speaker 1 (01:48:42):
So there you go. When is Nelly going to be
at Riverbend this year?

Speaker 5 (01:48:46):
I believe sometime in July.

Speaker 4 (01:48:47):
Sometime in July the morea lawn contest. If you win,
I'm gonna have to hook you up with Terrence so
you could take him to that show. Sports headlines are
a service of else Chevrolet? Who else is touring with Nelly?
He's not playing by himself?

Speaker 5 (01:49:04):
No, and August tenth, So compare earlier birthday Get for.

Speaker 1 (01:49:07):
Me all right, August tenth? Who's opening for Nelly was Nellie?

Speaker 5 (01:49:12):
Jaw Rule? Eve again?

Speaker 4 (01:49:13):
Eve's back? Okay, jaw Rule?

Speaker 1 (01:49:15):
So this is really like two thousand and one all
over again pretty much?

Speaker 4 (01:49:19):
Yeah, didn't y'all rule.

Speaker 1 (01:49:20):
Play like a free concert at Fountain Square or something?

Speaker 5 (01:49:22):
Yes, he did.

Speaker 4 (01:49:24):
Sports headlines for a service of Kelsey Chevrolet, Home of
lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family
to yours for life kelseyshef dot com. By the way,
Reds are getting set to play the Brave tonight and
Jake Freley is now dealing with a tender left calf,
which is why he's not in the lineup. Gordon Wintmeyer,
The Inquirer says he is quote day to day for now,

(01:49:48):
Hunter Green and Grant Holmes on the hill tonight at
seven fifteen first pitch on seven hundred WLW Noelve. Marte
to the injured list with an oblique strain after he
was scratched last night. Reese Hines is up your starting
lineup tonight against Grant Holmes, Friedel McLain and Ellie locks
his dhing Espinall's playing third, Spencer Steer at first, Stevenson

(01:50:13):
catching her Abeson left, Rees signs his in right field
batting ninth.

Speaker 1 (01:50:21):
It's not funny NFL news.

Speaker 4 (01:50:24):
The Steelers have traded wide receiver George Pickens to the
Cowboys for a twenty twenty sixth third round pick and
a twenty twenty seven fifth round pick.

Speaker 1 (01:50:34):
There you go here.

Speaker 4 (01:50:35):
Spent a little bit of time yesterday and Joe Burrow.
Joe Burrow didn't go to the Bengals optional practice yesterday,
which I honestly could not care less. His absence, which
is in no way, shape or form violation of his contract,
was due to the fact that he attended the met
galap Paul Daanner Junior and I yesterday tried to wrap
our brains around what the Met Gala is. I will

(01:50:56):
admit to you that over the last I don't know
how many years, I have decided to put myself in
a cocoon because there's so much bad stuff out there.
I know what I need to know. My cocoon has
not included room for the Met Gala. I'm sure it's
an awesome event. I have no idea what it is.
I barely care to look it up. Yesterday and I've

(01:51:18):
kind of already forgotten. I was listening to Paul and
Jay Morrison on his podcast talk about Hollywood Joe. Some
I guess don't like Hollywood Joe. Last year he was
in France with the fashion show with the suit jacket
that had no back. I guess at the Met Gala,
he was wearing a suit that some said it was

(01:51:40):
a very good suit, some said not so good a suit.
I haven't bought a suit this decade, and when I
bought one, it was from Joseph A Bank, and so like,
I don't wear a lot of suits. If I have
to wear a suit, something really bad has happened. I'm
either at a funeral or in court. So I'm not
the guy to talk about that. Hollywood Joe could be

(01:52:02):
a thing, and if it is awesome, and if it's not, well,
that probably means Joe Burrow is not an upper echelon quarterback.
And if Joe Burrow is not an upper echelon quarterback,
Bengals are probably not winning a super Bowl. If you
don't want Joe Hollywood or Hollywood Joe, I guess we
would go with Hollywood Joe. If you don't want Hollywood Joe,

(01:52:25):
then chances are you're probably rooting against this team because
if they win a super Bowl, guess what You're gonna
see a lot of Hollywood Joe.

Speaker 1 (01:52:36):
You know, I.

Speaker 4 (01:52:39):
Don't know how interested he is in doing a lot
of endorsements. I know Patrick Mahomes has done a bunch.
Why Patrick Mahomes has won a bunch. Travis Kelcey, you
could not miss that guy. I think his commercial roles
have slowed down a little. Travis Kelcey, big personality at it,

(01:53:00):
very popular podcast, dating Taylor Swift. Maybe he's still dating
Taylor Swift. If he's on a five and twelve team,
My guess is the likelihood is not as high. Also,
he's probably not doing as many commercials. NFL quarterbacks who
win in this country are royalty. By the way, Joe

(01:53:21):
Burrow has often been compared to Tom Brady. Now, obviously
he'll be lucky to win one Super Bowl, much less seven.
But even in the run up to the draft in
twenty twenty, when folks were making comparisons, it was like,
you know what, he's.

Speaker 1 (01:53:32):
Got some Brady in them.

Speaker 4 (01:53:33):
Nobody is saying he's going to be as good as
great as Brady, Who's the greatest quarterback of all time
for my money, and a lot of people share that opinion,
but just in terms of characteristics they share Burrow and Brady.
There have been comparisons. Tom Brady is one of the
biggest celebrities in this country and was while he was
an active player for the Patriots and then for the Buccaneers.

(01:53:57):
Now maybe not doing a ton of commercials, although he's
doing a bunch now, but started his Instagram feed, was
dating a supermodel, was married to a supermodel. He was
Hollywood Tom Brady. That came with winning. If Hollywood Joe
becomes a thing, it's gonna be because he has won
a bunch. Alex Smith wasn't getting invited to the met Gala.

(01:54:22):
This is happening with Joe Burrow, having not played in
the playoffs in two years, was on the outside looking in.
I only want the Hollywood portion of Hollywood Joe to
get bigger and better, because that's.

Speaker 1 (01:54:35):
Going to mean the team has won a lot.

Speaker 4 (01:54:38):
If you bristle at the idea of a celebrity quarterback,
you want an average quarterback. Nobody was inviting Andy Dalton
a fashion shows. Nobody's inviting Kenny Pickett to fashion shows.
I couldn't care less about a fashion show. And maybe
some of the other upper resh long quarterbacks in the
league are getting invites and not going. But if you know, well,

(01:55:00):
if dude's going to get invitations to things, I expect
him to say yes to some of them. Well, you know,
the guy quarterbacking the team that's four and thirteen is
probably not getting as many invitations. The dude who's not
close to an MVP finalist not getting as many invitations,
not getting as many opportunities. If Joe is getting a

(01:55:23):
lot of opportunities, maybe they're commercial, maybe they're fashion oriented,
maybe they're in the high society realm. I have no idea.
What I do know is if Joe Burrow is getting
a lot of opportunities, it's because he's won a lot
of football games. If he gets a lot of opportunities,
he's going to say yes to some. I want Joe

(01:55:44):
Burrow to be offered a lot of opportunities. I expect
him to say yes to some. If the opportunities dry up,
it means the winning is dried up. Let's root for
Hollywood Joe. By the way, I want the same for
any number of players on this team. Sign me up,
Jamar Chase t Higgins, Chase Brown, any number of young

(01:56:06):
defensive players. Maybe if they end up being any good
with winning comes attention. Like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelcey.
Play in Kansas City. Nothing against the city of Kansas City.
It's a fine place to visit, awesome restaurants. I stayed
in a very nice hotel there once. But it's Kansas City.

(01:56:27):
It's not New York or Los Angeles. It's not Chicago.
It's not the Dallas Cowboys. The great thing about being
a quarterback in the NFL is in Middle America. You
can be an international star if you win. I want
international stardom for Joe Burrow. Sign me up so like
I want this to be the tiboty Iceberg. I hope

(01:56:49):
Joe Burrow misses multiple, multiple optional workouts over the course
of the next couple of years, because that just means
Joe Burrow is getting more opportunities, and he's getting those opportunities.
If the Bengals win big and he's playing on the
biggest stages in the sport, let's go. That's the goal.
Next year, Joe has to miss a whole bunch of optional,

(01:57:11):
not mandatory, not not the ones in August, not the
stuff he can get fined for missing, but the stuff
by the CBA he doesn't have to go to.

Speaker 1 (01:57:21):
I want him to miss as many of.

Speaker 4 (01:57:23):
Those as possible because it means Joe has gotten more
and more opportunities. He'll get more and more opportunities the
more and more he wins, and he has it one
in a while, show's over. Is that what that music means?

Speaker 1 (01:57:37):
Okay, yes, we're done.

Speaker 4 (01:57:41):
We're back tomorrow at three oh five since he three
sixty at noon and have an awesome night. Thank you
for listening. Thanks to Tarren Bland for producing This is
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 10 (01:57:55):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 11 (01:58:22):
Traffic from the u See Health Traffic Center. When it
comes to stroke, every second counts. That's why you See
Health is the clear choice for rapid life saving treatment.
Learn more at u seehealth dot com. On Grossbecker, there's
an accident east of Argus Road once found two seventy
five is down to one lane for repairs in the

(01:58:43):
Carrol Cropper Bridge. Traffic slow from the Petersburg exit and
southbound seventy one slow. Traffic from Martin Luther King to
Fort Washington Way. I'm at ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 1 (01:58:54):
This report is sponsored by twenty twenty five

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